As they did one year ago, prices for luxury homes in Palm Beach are skyrocketing.
Builders are tearing down old homes and constructing modernized houses, with all their bells and whistles. In Redfin’s luxury housing price index, which tracked luxury sales in more than 1,000 cities across the Unites States in the third quarter, Delray Beach in Palm Beach County capped the list.
Ivonn Goihman of the Goihman Group in the South Florida luxury real estate market, attributed growth to various factors. One driver is hedge funds that are either opening up subsidiaries in Palm Beach, or transferring their offices from New York to Palm Beach.
“The benefit of being a Florida resident for tax purposes has trickled many funds to look toward Florida, since we do not pay state income tax and the cities of choice have been Palm Beach and Miami,” Goihman says.
Average prices of luxury homes in Delray Beach jumped 70 percent over the past year to stand at $2.98 million. In Boca Raton, prices went up 38 percent to $2.59 million, while in West Palm Beach prices climbed 22 percent to $1.32 million.
Miami saw less growth with luxury prices tumbling 10 percent over the past year to an average of $1.4 million. Buyers in Miami have more choice, and therefore, more negotiating power than residents of Palm Beach.
Palm Beach, on the other hand, offers investors more opportunity, particularly with waterfront-placed condos, such as the Bristol Tower. "This is a luxury development that we introduced to our company Douglas Elliman when we came aboard three years ago," Goihman says, speaking about the residential building. "My husband Richard met and consulted with the developers, and toured the Miami luxury developments, and they saw the opportunity of bringing super high-end projects like those in Miami to Palm Beach. The Bristol is one of the first being developed in Palm Beach, and most of the buyers are from New York City, and they are having great success in Palm Beach."
Although high-end real estate continues to falter across the country, it’s climaxing in Palm Beach.
Buyers keen back to the land, which boasts prestige and almost unrivaled benefits. Palm Beach commands attention, more than ever, since not only does it beckon Old World wealth and celebrities, but it also complements our political times. After all, the region houses the South Wing of The White House, home of America’s new President-Elect.
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