Miramar Beach and Sandestin: A Buyer's Guide
Where Miramar Beach and Sandestin sit, which Walton County offices answer for a parcel, how buying inside the Sandestin gates differs, and what to check first.
Miramar Beach begins at the Okaloosa County line just east of Destin and runs east along Scenic Gulf Drive and US 98, all of it in Walton County. Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort sits inside it. Buyers tend to search the two together, but they are different things to buy into: Miramar Beach is a beach community of condo towers and neighborhoods, and Sandestin is a gated resort. Current listings are on the Miramar Beach and Sandestin pages.
Which government answers for a Miramar Beach address?
Walton County does. Its comprehensive plan names only three municipalities inside its borders, Freeport, DeFuniak Springs and Paxton, and neither Miramar Beach nor Sandestin falls within any of their limits. Construction goes through two county offices. Planning and Development Services checks a new home, pool or accessory structure against the Land Development Code first; the Building Division then issues the permit and does the inspections. The Walton County Property Appraiser values the parcel and runs a real property search on its website, which is where to confirm the owner of record and the parcel number before you write an offer.
What kinds of property line the corridor?
Gulf-front condo towers line Scenic Gulf Drive, and neighborhoods of houses fill the ground between and behind them. One of those neighborhoods, Frangista Beach, has a guide on this site; its homeowners association posts its community documents, financials and meeting minutes on its own website. What is for sale changes block by block, so compare one building or one street at a time rather than the corridor as a whole.
Grand Boulevard, a mixed-use center with shops, restaurants, offices and hotels, is in Miramar Beach. So is Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast, the hospital at 7800 US 98. To the east, where Scenic Highway 30A begins, is Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, addressed on West County Highway 30A in Santa Rosa Beach.
How is buying inside Sandestin different?
Sandestin describes itself as 2,400 acres of amenities from the beach to Choctawhatchee Bay, with four golf courses, Baytowne, Raven, The Links and Burnt Pine, the 223-slip Baytowne Marina and The Village of Baytowne Wharf. It is gated, and its own site points visitors to what lies just beyond the gates.
Before comparing a Sandestin unit with a similar condo elsewhere in Miramar Beach, find out which associations govern that unit. Get each one's governing documents and its list of recurring charges.
First checks for a Miramar Beach or Sandestin parcel
Start with the parcel itself. Check on the property appraiser's search that the legal description matches the listing, then put the address into FEMA's Flood Map Service Center to see the mapped flood zone. If renting is part of the plan, the association's rules come first. Walton County publishes its vacation rental registration program on the county site, and we have a separate article on how the county and Destin differ.
Condominium buyers can turn to condo, townhome or house for what an association must hand over and the newer safety laws. Our high-rise checklist picks up from there, and Walton County's homestead and coastal permitting rules are in our Walton County buyer guide. Once you have a short list, talk with our agents.
Frequently asked questions
Is Miramar Beach part of Destin?
No. Destin is a city in Okaloosa County. Miramar Beach begins at the county line east of Destin and is unincorporated Walton County, so permits, planning and the property appraiser for a Miramar Beach parcel all belong to Walton County.
Is Sandestin its own city?
No. It is a gated resort inside Miramar Beach, on land governed by Walton County.
Which office issues building permits for Miramar Beach?
Walton County. Planning and Development Services reviews the plans for a home, pool or accessory structure against the Land Development Code, and the Building Division issues the permit and inspects the work.
Where is the flood map for a Miramar Beach parcel?
On FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. Enter the street address and it shows the flood map for that parcel. FEMA revises its maps over time, so look up the exact parcel on the current map instead of going by a neighbor's.
