In a land where pastel polo shirts and bleached blondes are all the rage, is there an affordable haven? Let’s go fishing. But for home hunters intent on targeting spooky Palm Beach, there is some relief in sight.
“We’ve been in a frenzy where prices have more than doubled over the past four years,” said Jonathan Miller, CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel. Good news? “Right now, prices are stabilizing.”
Honestly speaking, prices aren’t going down. There are too few properties on the market for that to happen. But the onslaught of Northeasterners who flocked to South Florida seeking tanning and tax breaks during the pandemic has slowed. As a result, buyers may feel like they need to work a little harder.
Roll the golf cart 550 Island Drive Let’s see theory in action on Everglades Island in Palm Beach.
The approximately 5,000-square-foot home was listed with Brown Harris Stevens in April 2023 for $39 million. Built in 1955, it has seven bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a covered loggia with a fireplace overlooking a backyard with a 40-foot waterfront infinity pool.
Currently, the owner is asking just $32.5 million. That sounds inflated until you realize it was sold for just $9 million a decade ago.
From here, head north on North County Road to the historic home. 245 Dunbar Roadwas brought to market last March for $28 million, also in partnership with BHS. It’s a charming building full of character, with a large lot for its size and a main house with five bedrooms and five bathrooms. With a lush backyard, swimming pool, and four-bedroom, four-bathroom guesthouse, it’s stunning. But just recently, that request was reduced to $26 million.
The problem is that with relatively low supply and relatively high demand, inventories are still down about 50% from pre-pandemic levels, according to Miller’s Q4 Douglas Elliman Market Report. Regardless, the question is why we are seeing price easing in the first place. The answer comes down to emotion, says Carla Coniglio McClure, a broker at Douglas Elliman.
The “emotional component” that drove markets at the peak of the pandemic has been “removed,” she said. “We’re now moving into a normal, healthy market where buyers have a little more power.”
Here’s McClure’s list: 266 Alhambra Place What happened in West Palm Beach is further evidence.
The newly built, contemporary-style home measures 6,200 square feet and features four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms, as well as a guesthouse with an additional bedroom and bathroom. It was listed for $6.5 million before construction in March 2022, but the price was later reduced to $4.45 million.
Similarly, her 4,400 sq. ft. property is 3101 Washington Road In West Palm Beach, it hit the market in late January 2023 for $7.5 million, but is now asking $6.9 million.
The three-bedroom, three-bathroom home, built in 1920, features a kitchen with a Wolf range and quartz countertops, a backyard with a pool and barbecue area, and a bedroom and full bathroom. Completely updated with separate guest cottage. .
“Both listed stocks were priced at the height of the market, so they were priced a little aggressively,” said Lisa Wilkinson, McClure’s partner at Elliman. “I’m not actually saying our market is declining, but rather that homes built in the midst of COVID-19 are having to adjust.”
Stabilizing housing prices won’t solve the inventory problem, but it could, with about 600 condos coming onto the market in the area over the next four years. New condos like Olala and Shorecrest are currently on sale from $2 million and $1.3 million each, and are part of a major redevelopment of West Palm Beach. But don’t expect supply to absorb demand, said Holly Meyer Lucas, a real estate agent with Compass.
She points to the thousands of people who have come to the Sunshine State in the past few years following well-paying jobs.
“People who move here stay here,” she said. “The people who are here right now, the teachers, the nurses, the average American who lives in Palm Beach County, if they are still renting and have the ability to buy, they have to buy something.”
