Key Highlights
- Average home price in Palm Beach +$7M in Q3 2020
- Signed contracts jumped +62% in September
- Inventory of for-sale home on island dropped -79% in Q3
A new report from Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel indicated that the island of Palm Beach in Florida may be the “hottest real estate market in the world.”
The average home price in Palm Beach topped +$7M in Q3 2020, signed contracts jumped +62% and inventory on the island dropped -79%. With less than a five-month supply of for sale homes, Jay Phillip Parker, CEO of Douglas Elliman’s Florida brokerage firm, said, “You just can’t fine homes to buy there now.”
Action in Palm Beach reflects broader demand for high-end homes across Florida. Prices in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton and parts of Tampa increased by double digits in Q3. Luxury home prices in Miami surged +42%.
The COVID pandemic is not the only driver of these statistics. Wealthy people in the Northeast are becoming older and more interested in retirement. Florida’s lower taxes compared to those in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York as well as Florida’s altogether lack of income tax are serious drivers. Added to aging, retiring and lower levels of taxation is a growing expectation that both federal and state taxes will be higher soon after November’s election if Democrats win the White House and both houses of Congress.
After all, someone has to pay for the hundred of millions of dollars lost by state and local governments that were required to foot the bill for hugely increased costs due to the COVID pandemic. Many high earners believe that the “someone” might well be them.
Thanks to CNBC.
Also read: Best Place to Buy a Vacation Home in 2020, Home Prices See Biggest Gains in 2 Years, Why Home Prices May Drop Soon
