Dan Toback runs two things that give him an unusual read on St. Lucie County: SLCScanner, a community news page with more than 165,000 followers, and a Port St. Lucie home-buying business he has operated for roughly 15 years. He joined The Current by TreasureCoast.com to talk about how the page works, what he’s seeing in the local housing market, and where he expects growth to head next.
Key topics Toback discussed in the conversation:
- How SLC Scanner sources and verifies community-submitted news
- Why the local market has softened and what foreclosure activity suggests
- Which buyers are in the most difficult position right now
- His advice on time horizons for anyone buying today
- Where growth is heading, from Fort Pierce to Okeechobee
- Port St. Lucie neighborhoods he thinks are overlooked
How SLC Scanner Works
Toback described SLC Scanner as unfiltered news from the community that lives it. The page covers traffic incidents, crime, weather, and fires across St. Lucie County, working alongside coverage from the Port St. Lucie Police Department, Fort Pierce Police Department, and the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.
The defining feature is where the information comes from. Most posts originate with residents who witness something and send it in, which Toback said is the source of the page’s speed. A team of admins and volunteers vets submissions in real time and works to confirm accuracy where possible.
He was clear about the limits of that model. The page carries a disclaimer and does not attempt to replace official agency communications, and posts are written to encourage people to stay alert since situations change quickly, particularly with traffic.
Though the page is centered on St. Lucie County, coverage regularly extends into Martin County and Indian River County. Toback said that’s intentional, since residents commuting along I-95 are affected by incidents well outside county lines.
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How He Got Into Both Businesses
Toback moved to St. Lucie County at 12 and has spent most of his life in the area, apart from college and a brief stint in Colorado. He returned around 2013 and joined his brother in real estate investing, buying homes as-is from sellers who want to avoid repairs, showings, and listing costs.
His involvement with SLC Scanner started as a sponsorship. He came in as an advertiser supporting giveaways and page initiatives, and after roughly a year and a half, an opportunity emerged to take it on full time.
What Sellers Are Actually Dealing With
Asked what typically brings people to him, Toback described listening for the underlying reason rather than the transaction. Common situations include job relocations, family circumstances, and significant repairs a homeowner cannot afford or manage.
He said a meaningful share of conversations end with a referral to a licensed agent instead, particularly when the seller has no urgency or timeline. His stated position is that eliminating yourself as an option when you aren’t the best fit is what keeps a business viable long term.
He offered one example where the homeowner did not need to sell at all. The call came in about listing the property, but the actual problem was code violations tied to landscaping the owner could no longer handle. Mowing the lawn resolved the violations and the sale never happened.
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Reading the Current Market
Toback said the market has softened noticeably. He pointed to a broker colleague of roughly 20 years whose foreclosure caseload is the highest it has been in eight or nine years, which he described as tangible data rather than sentiment.
His framing is that the region came off one of the strongest runs in recent history around 2021 and 2022, and has now flattened. Inventory is still moving, but he characterized the current moment as a plateau with historical patterns suggesting some correction ahead.
The group in the hardest position, he said, is people who purchased in 2022 and 2023. Many of those callers are now looking at selling for less than they paid. His advice to anyone in that situation who can hold, including renting at break-even, is to wait rather than sell into the current market.
For sellers already listed with an agent, his guidance was straightforward:
- Communicate directly with your agent first, since you’re under contract with them
- If you need to move the property, price aggressively enough to generate competitive interest
- Avoid letting a listing go stale, which damages perceived value
- Research anyone you work with, whether an agent, contractor, or cash buyer, and confirm they’re licensed and reputable
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Advice for Buyers
Toback described his position on buying as somewhat unpopular within the industry. He does not believe it is always a good time to buy, and said the standard advice needs to be broken down by individual circumstances: financial goals, experience level, risk tolerance, and cash reserves.
For anyone purchasing now, his recommendation is to plan on a ten-year horizon rather than five. He said he’s confident the area appreciates over that period given its growth trajectory, but considers a two- or three-year resale plan risky in the current environment.
He noted that many first-time buyers aren’t investors at all. They’re families looking for somewhere to live, sometimes in careers like traveling nursing or engineering that may relocate them before they control their own exit timing.
Where Growth Is Heading
Asked where growth goes next, Toback pointed west. Many of his sellers are relocating to Okeechobee and western areas where more land is available. He also expects significant change in Fort Pierce, predicting that within seven to ten years parts of it will resemble developed areas like Tradition.
He paired that prediction with a concern. Families have lived in those Fort Pierce neighborhoods for generations, some in homes dating to the 1950s, and he questioned whether enough is being done to keep those areas affordable for the people who built them.
Listeners interested in how other local leaders view growth pressure may want to hear TreasureCoast.com’s conversations on development and preservation across the Treasure Coast.
Overlooked Port St. Lucie Neighborhoods
Toback works primarily in the River Park area, southwest Port St. Lucie, and closer to Tradition. He encouraged buyers, especially newcomers, to look beyond the neighborhoods currently trending.
He singled out South Bend and Sandpiper, older neighborhoods with homes largely from the 1970s through 1990s, noting larger lots, quieter streets, and proximity to the golf course. He described the area as personally meaningful, since many childhood friends lived there.
He offered a practical caveat on River Park, where many homes are starter-sized at around 1,500 square feet or less. Larger homes exist depending on the section, but he cautioned larger families to look carefully rather than assume fit.
He also mentioned, with some regret, that vacant lots in the area once sold in the range of a few thousand dollars, and that holding more of them would have been the better call.
Getting Off the Sidelines
Toback closed with a broader point about community participation. He said the current media environment offers unusual opportunity for anyone with something to contribute, and that consistency and a good idea can take someone from no audience to a meaningful one.
His encouragement was for people who care about local issues, whether government, real estate, or news, to get involved rather than watch from the sidelines.
Toback can be reached through SLC Scanner on Facebook, and news tips are best submitted through the page’s messenger, which is monitored around the clock. For more conversations with the people shaping Florida’s Treasure Coast, visit The Current by TreasureCoast.com.
