The median cost to buy an existing single-family home in Palm Beach County reached another staggering benchmark last month, setting a new record high in a market where sales volume has slowed but prices are still hot.
June’s median sale price of $659,999 was about 5.5% higher than in June 2023 and nearly $10,000 more than the previous record set in April.
At the same time, the number of closed deals in June dropped 11% from last year to 1,269.
The sales information, released Tuesday, July 23, by the Broward, Palm Beaches, and St. Lucie Realtors Group, comes ahead of potential interest rate cuts this fall that some Realtors said could lead to further hikes in prices as sidelined buyers jump back into the market.
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Jeremy Lu, a Realtor with the Tom Davis Group in West Palm Beach, said there may be “preemptive buying” happening this summer.
“People are buying and if the feds drop the rates, they can refinance,” Lu said. “They want to do it before prices go up.”
As of July 18, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage interest rate was 6.77%, according to Freddie Mac. While that is a small decrease from earlier in the month, it’s up from the 5.5% from the same time in 2022.
Bankrate, which surveys the country's largest lenders, said the average mortgage interest rate for a 30-year fixed loan was 6.87% this week.
The record sales price came as the existing homes for sale also increased to a 4.5 months’ supply in June, which is up from three months last year. But it’s still below the 5.5 to six months that is considered a balanced market where neither the buyer nor seller has the advantage.
And, the inventory is uneven, with newly renovated homes selling quickly, leaving less to choose from in the luxury market, Realtors said.
“Buyers are laser-focused on location and they are willing to pay a bit of a premium for a home that has a high level of finishes,” said Lisa Wilkinson, executive director of luxury sales for Douglas Elliman Palm Beach. “There are definitely negotiations going on, but we are still setting price records.”
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Wilkinson said she has a client flying in from the Northeast this weekend who has 36 hours to look for a home in West Palm Beach or Palm Beach. She feels confident they’ll find one.
“People want to be near downtown, they want to be near good schools, they want to be near the island,” Wilkinson said. “We are in a bubble. It’s a unique situation where people are still moving here.”
The average sale price of a single-family home in June was $1.13 million. That’s a 7% increase over the same time in 2023 and at least the 16th time since early 2021 when monthly reports noted average prices topping $1 million.
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Realtors prefer to use the median price as a measuring stick because it isn't as easily skewed by jumbo sales as the average price. The median is the midpoint where half of the properties sell for less and half for more.
In addition to higher interest rates than in the recent past, Florida homeowners also grapple with rising insurance costs.
This year, average statewide premium increases are running below 2%, according to a June report from the Insurance Information Institute. New data in the report said Florida homeowners paid an average premium of $3,340 in 2023. That’s 80% less than the institute’s estimate of $6,000. The U.S. average premium is $2,230 according to Bankrate data.
However, the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp has announced it expects to increase its rates by an average of 14% in 2025. That hike is subject to approval by Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation.
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Rate hikes already levied on aging condominiums are hurting people on fixed incomes, said Vicki Nieter, who owns a Kings Point condominium in unincorporated Delray Beach.
“Some people who are only on Social Security may have to sell,” Nieter said. “For the others, we are griping, but we are paying.”
Palm Beach County's townhome and condominium buyers gained a slight upper hand in June with 7.1 months of inventory available. That's a whopping 97% increase over the same time last year.
The median sale price on a condominium and townhome was $325,000 in June, which is about the same as the previous year. The average sale price dropped 3% to $532,702.
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Home sale prices in Palm Beach County hit another record high in June
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