Median sales prices are calculated slightly differently, but also reflect hefty price increases. They are calculated by taking the middle figure of all homes sold in a specific time period, where half sold for more and half sold for less.
Clients searching for homes in Palm Beach — the narrow, eight-mile long island where former President Donald Trump lives at his Mar-a-Lago club — can expect the same seller’s market the rest of the county is experiencing, she said.
“In Palm Beach, the median sales price is $6 million,” Gary said. “It’s very crazy — from $6 million to $10 million to $12 million, we don’t have the inventory.”
The reason buyers are gobbling up homes in Florida is simple, Gary said. They simply cannot resist the lure of Florida’s sun and sand.
“The weather up north, they had a brutal winter,” she said. “Wouldn’t you rather live down here where it’s warm and you are not freezing to death?”
Apparently, buyers agree. The average single-family home in Palm Beach County is selling twice as fast as it did a year ago, averaging 30 days on the market.For condos and townhomes, it’s 40 days.
Additionally, cash buyers now account for 15.5% of all single family home sales, up 13.2% over last year. Cash buyers for condos and townhomes are trending the opposite direction, decreasing by 6.7% over last year but still accounting for a whopping 53.3% of buyers.
In a competitive market with limited inventory, cash is king, explained John Greene, a sales associate with Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Wellington.
“It’s unusual, but these are unusual times,” he said of the large number of cash transactions. “In order to get their contract accepted by the seller, buyers find that the stronger their offers are, the more likely they will close.”
Bidding wars mean sellers hold the cards, Greene said, making delaying closings for things like credit approvals a thing of the past. A seller’s market also means that out-of-state buyers sometimes must pounce on homes sight unseen.
“If clients can’t get down here, they are just going to have to trust the realtor, and they have to act quickly,” he said. “That’s why you see so many absentee buyers doing so from remote locations.”
The pandemic has also proven that people can be just as productive working from home, Greene said, making the dream of living in Florida within reach for those who might have previously dismissed it.
“High net worth earners are finding they can work remotely and conduct business in a similar fashion in a state that is very tax friendly, business friendly and very open,” he said.