Palm Beach County Condo Sales Free Fall, Leasing Activity Climbs To New Heights
In this latest issue of the Miami Condo Market Intelligence Report™, we examine the recently completed 2024 Palm Beach County Summer Buying Season for insight into the 2025 market.
Volume 2024, Issue 44 (Subscribe here)
This week’s Miami Condo Market Intelligence Report™ newsletter examines a dramatic slowdown in the Palm Beach County condo market during the recently completed 2024 Summer Buying Season.
The Summer Buying Season traditionally extends from May through October when visitors and locals, alike, flee the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach to avoid the humidity, hurricane warnings and limited number of events.
As the busier Winter Buying Season - which extends from November through April - begins to ramp up for the hordes of tourists expected to visit, there are lessons to be learned from the summer condo market trends for buyers, sellers and real estate professionals, alike, in South Florida.
The summer trends are especially important this Winter Buying Season as Florida’s condo market is undergoing dramatic changes as a result of the implementation of new requirements in the aftermath of the Surfside condo collapse.
Beginning in January, condo associations in Florida will be required to start collecting money from unit owners to place into reserve accounts - based on the results of Structural Integrity Reserve Studies (SIRS) conducted by experts - that will be used exclusively to fix, maintain and improve the structural integrity of residential buildings that are at least three-stories tall.
People are dubbing this moment as the 2025 Florida Condo Association Financial Cliff as it is expected to result in significantly higher costs for unit owners. News reports are already chronicling condo owners selling their units at deep discounts ahead of the 2025 deadline.
Buyers - who are seeing condo asking prices fall - are probably thinking this might be the time to make a purchase.
Conversely, sellers are probably worrying that they need to unload now as prices could be lower in the future.
For real estate professionals, they are probably wrestling with whether or not it is worth their time and the marketing expense to accept condo listings that are too richly priced and never going to transact.
This is a push-pull scenario that many are facing in late November now that the U.S. elections are over.
We did a deep dive into the statistics to figure out the latest trends for condos, luxury condos, distressed condos and rentals in Palm Beach County.
As part of our research, we pulled the statistics going as far back as 2007 before the symbolic start of the Great Recession with the failure of the investment bank Lehman Bros.
Here are the key findings from Palm Beach County’s 2024 Summer Buying Season:
Condo transactions cratered by 24 percent to levels not seen since 2010;
Condo prices stagnated, increasing by less than one percent to about $497,170 per unit;
Luxury condo transactions decreased by about eight percent to about 391 units;
Luxury condo prices decreased by nearly 12 percent to about $2.2 million per unit;
Leasing activity increased by three percent on a year-over-year basis to about 6,069 deals;
And median rental rates flatlined with zero percent growth, remaining at about $2,300 per month.
These are the macro points from our research but we would encourage you to check out our specific reports. Each report features five different charts that focuses on the number of transactions, the price per unit, the price per square foot, the Days On Market and the overall statistics going back nearly two decades.
If seeing is believing, below you will find links to our Palm Beach County Summer Buying Season reports.
Please note, you will not find any reports and accompanying charts on the distressed condo market as we decided the lack of activity did not warrant the effort at this time.
We are certain our research will give you a first-mover advantage in strategizing what to do in this 2024-25 Winter Buying Season in Palm Beach County.
It is a lot of information but we are confident our reports will assist you to better understand current market conditions in South Florida.
It is worth noting that we are sharing a portion of our research for free with subscribers to our newsletter and readers of MiamiCondo.Club.
If you want access to all of our published information and charts, we would encourage you to join the Miami Condo Investing Club™.
The objective of the Club is to create a community that shares realtime, actionable information on the latest real estate trends, opportunities and service providers in South Florida.
The Club is ideally suited for Do-It-Yourself (DIY) condo buyers who can rely on our latest statistics, expert opinions and access to consulting services.
Additionally, we encourage you to listen or view our podcast wherever you get podcasts. The podcast is available on Apple, Spotify and/or YouTube.
As a reminder, we are always available for consulting, expert witness work and buyside brokerage services just as we have been since 2006.
If you are seeking information on condo resales in South Florida, please visit CondoVulturesRealty.com or call the office at 305.865.5859.
— Peter Zalewski, Founder of the Miami Condo Investing Club™
Story 1
Palm Beach County Condo Sales Crater 24% In 2024 Summer Buying Season
A review of the Palm Beach County condo statistics shows that less than 3,710 units traded between May and October of 2024. This is the fewest number of condo sales since the 2010 season.
Story 2
Palm Beach Luxury Condo Prices Plunge 12% In Summer Buying Season
A review of the Palm Beach County luxury condo sales statistics shows the average price per unit fell to $2.2 million in the 2024 Summer Buying Season.
Story 3
Palm Beach County Sees 3-Year Streak Of Record Rental Rates In Summer Season
A review of the Palm Beach County rental statistics shows the median monthly rental rate per square foot is now a record high of $2.15 compared to $2.13 in the 2023 Summer Season.
Story 4
Exclusive Seminar On Navigating Florida's 2025 Condo Association Financial Cliff
Join Miami condo expert Peter Zalewski at 1 pm on Wednesday, Dec. 4, for an exclusive four-hour seminar to gain valuable insights before Florida's 2025 deadline takes effect.
This information is provided for general informational purposes only, based on research, personal experience and interviews. It should not be considered legal advice, as we are not attorneys. While believed to be accurate and complete, this information is provided "as is" without warranty or guarantee of any kind.
Copyright © 2024 Condo Vultures®, LLC. All Rights Reserved.