Saturday, September 19, 2015

PROPERTY PRICES IN PALM BEACH CONTINUE TO SOAR FOR BOTH HOUSES AND CONDOS


According to Attorney Les Evans, Managing Partner of Leslie Evans and Associates, a Palm Beach law firm, “People have no other place as attractive to put their money.”  His quarterly Evans report tells the story.

The median price for a single family home, he says, totaled $ 3.375MM in 2Q-2015, up 13.4% from $2.97MM the previous year.  The biggest sale in the first six months of 2015 was  to hedge fund star Paul Tudor Jones, 1300 South Ocean Boulevard, for $71.2MM. Built in 1923 on 11+ acres, the property has 7 bedrooms, 18 full bathrooms.  Previous sale in October 2014 was for $11,520,000.


His popular Evans Report, which details quarterly sales of homes in Palm Beach, shows that the median price for a single-family home totaled $3.375 million in the second quarter, up 13.4 percent from $2.975 million a year earlier. Condos are up 23.1% from $540,000 a year ago to $665,000 in 2Q-2015.


Evans compared the S&P 500 Index climbing only 5.2% in the 12 months through June 30, and it plunged 11% from August 17 to August 25, making homes a more stable buy, not being subject to daily fluctuations.


Not unexpectedly, sales of single family home numbers are declining with record low inventory.  2Q sales total 50 and the previous year totaled 64.  Condo sales climbed 13.8% to 165 from 145 a year ago. Evans said, “People are holding on to their homes because they are such a good investment.


Two bedroom condos range from $500,000 to $3MM and three bedroom condos range from $1.5MM to $20MM.  Single family homes start at $2-3MM with properties going for about $1000/sq ft.  With 80-85% Palm Beach home sales for cash, continued market strength is predicted; future interest-rate hikes won’t affect that part of the market.