Grayton Beach

What Grayton Beach does

Grayton Beach operates two integrated assets in the Florida Panhandle: (1) graytonbeach.com, a community information and tourism portal covering dining, shopping, services, history, and attractions for the Grayton Beach and South Walton County area; and (2) Tommy Sholes, Inc., a full-service real estate brokerage founded by Thomas Sholes in 1975 and headquartered at 3812 W. County Hwy 30A, Santa Rosa Beach, FL. The brokerage is led by Richard Stafford (Principal, Broker of Record, licensed since 1992) and Carol Sholes Stafford (Owner and State Certified Residential Appraiser), supported by a small team of Realtor Associates. Core offerings include residential and commercial property sales, residential appraisals, REO/broker price opinions, and short sale brokerage services across the South Walton 30A corridor (Grayton Beach, Seaside, WaterColor, WaterSound, Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach, Sandestin). The underlying technology stack is modest: an IDX Broker integration that surfaces Emerald Coast Association of REALTORS MLS data through 16+ sub-market quick-search pages on graytonbeach.com, supported by content partnerships with SoWal.com and design services from Moon Creek Studios. The business is a hyper-local, relationship-driven real estate firm wrapped inside a community content portal, with no disclosed funding, no recurring revenue model, and no AI or proprietary technology differentiation.

Name

Grayton Beach

Legal name

Grayton Beach

Website

https://graytonbeach.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Grayton Beach operates a community information portal (graytonbeach.com) and the affiliated Tommy Sholes, Inc. real estate brokerage, serving buyers, sellers, and vacation-home seekers in the South Walton County, Florida 30A corridor with residential and commercial sales, appraisals, REO, and short sale services since 1975.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Residential Real Estate Brokerage

NAICS

Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (531210), Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (53121)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential Investment Property Brokerage (SFR/Small Multifamily) (BPAJAAAE)

Keywords

• Real estate brokerage
• Residential sales
• Property appraisals
• MLS search
• Coastal real estate

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Rosa Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Sales & Marketing: Commission-based residential and commercial property sales in South Walton County coastal market. The firm represents both buyers and sellers with full-service real estate transactions.
2. Residential Appraisal Services: State certified residential appraisals for property valuations, REO broker services, and broker price opinions.
3. Short Sale Brokerage: Experienced short sale brokerage services for distressed property transactions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Grayton Beach operates as a community information portal for the Grayton Beach area of South Walton County, Florida, paired with the full-service real estate brokerage Tommy Sholes, Inc. The firm provides residential and commercial property sales, state certified residential appraisals, REO/broker price opinions, and short sale brokerage services across the Emerald Coast coastal market.

Product overview

Grayton Beach operates as a community-focused tourism and real estate portal for the Grayton Beach area in Florida's Panhandle. The primary offering is the community website providing local information about dining, services, attractions, and history. Associated with the portal is Tommy Sholes, Inc. Real Estate Services, a full-service brokerage providing residential and commercial sales, appraisals, and property valuations since 1975. The MLS Search functionality enables property searches across the Emerald Coast region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tommy Sholes, Inc. Real Estate Brokerage Full-service real estate brokerage offering residential and commercial property sales, property valuations, and representation for buyers and sellers in the South Walton County coastal market, operated by Tommy Sholes, Inc. since 1975.
• Real Estate Appraisal Services State certified residential appraisals for property valuations, REO broker services, and broker price opinions, provided by State Certified Residential Appraiser Carol Sholes Stafford.
• Short Sale Brokerage Services Experienced short sale brokerage services for distressed property transactions in the South Walton County market.
• South Walton MLS Property Search Multiple Listing Service search tool enabling users to search for homes, land, condos, and commercial properties for sale across South Walton County communities including Grayton Beach, Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach, WaterColor, Seaside, and Sandestin.

Quantifiable outcome

• Richard Stafford consistently ranks among top producing Real Estate Brokers on the Emerald Coast

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• IDX BrokercoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides the MLS data integration and property search functionality on the Grayton Beach website, enabling real-time access to Emerald Coast Association of REALTORS listings.
• SoWal.comcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociated local portal providing additional community information, forums, webcam feeds, beach information, and vacation rental listings for the Grayton Beach and South Walton area.
• Emerald Coast Association of REALTORS (ECARMLS)coreOthersProvides the Multiple Listing Service data powering property searches for South Walton real estate transactions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Keller Williams Realty: Large franchised residential brokerage active across Florida with a tech-forward agent model and significant capture of mid- and high-tier coastal transactions.
• Compass: Large national luxury-flavored brokerage rapidly expanding agent rosters in Florida coastal markets, presenting both competitive overlap and a possible roll-up/acquisition opportunity for established independents.
• Christie's International Real Estate: Affiliated luxury residential brokerage brand competing in coastal luxury markets globally, including the Florida Panhandle region.
• Coldwell Banker Real Estate: Established national franchise with broad Florida presence offering residential brokerage across price points, including luxury coastal segments.
• Sotheby's International Realty: Parent brand for high-end residential brokerage with affiliated firms on the Emerald Coast; offers luxury cross-market referral reach that independents must match.

Direct peers

• Scenic Sotheby's International Realty: Direct competitor operating in the same 30A/South Walton County luxury coastal market, providing residential sales and vacation-property brokerage services with comparable agent rosters.
• The Corcoran Group: Luxury coastal brokerage with a strong Florida footprint serving high-net-worth buyers in second-home and resort markets comparable to South Walton.
• Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beach Properties of Florida: Coastal Florida brokerage serving the Panhandle and Emerald Coast markets with a similar mix of luxury residential, second-home, and vacation property transactions.
• Engel & Völkers 30A: Luxury-brand coastal brokerage operating on the 30A corridor with similar buyer segments (vacation and second-home luxury) and global referral networks.
• Premier Property Group: Independent boutique brokerage focused on 30A/South Walton luxury residential sales, competing head-to-head with Tommy Sholes for the same coastal buyer pool.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/graytonbeach
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/teknisk-gymnasium-aarhus-midtby

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Grayton Beach