Residential Real Estate News
Palm Beach Area Home Sales Down 39 Percent Annually in November
In comparison to November 2021, Palm Beach County November 2022 residential sales decreased 41.1% year-over-year, from 2,793 to 1,646, because of high mortgage rates and low inventory, says the Miami Association of Realtors.
Single-family home sales decreased 38.8% year-over-year, from 1,491 in record-breaking November 2021 to 920 in November 2022, due to lack of inventory and rising mortgage rates. Palm Beach existing condo sales decreased 44.2% year-over-year, from 1,302 record-breaking November 2021 to 726 in November 2022, due to lack of inventory and rising mortgage rates.
Palm Beach County single-family home median prices increased 10.8% year-over-year in November 2022, increasing from $510,000 to $565,000. Existing condo median prices increased 10.8% year-over-year, from $262,750 to $291,000.
Total active listings at the end of November 2022 increased 97.7% year-over-year, from 3,873 to 7,656.
Single-family homes inventory increased 113.2% year-over-year in November 2022 from 2,027 active listings last year to 4,322 last month. Condominium inventory increased 80.6% year-over-year to 3,334 from 1,846 listings during the same period in 2021.
New listings of Palm Beach single-family homes decreased 7.5% to 1,360 from 1,471. New listings of condominiums decreased 14.8%, from 1,504 to 1,281.
Months' supply of inventory for single-family homes increased 175% to 3.3 months year-over-year, which indicates a seller's market. Inventory for existing condominiums increased 133.3% to 2.8 months, which also indicates a seller's market. A balanced market between buyers and sellers offers between six- and nine-months supply.
Nationally, total housing inventory at the end of November was 1.14 million units, which was down 6.6% from October, but up 2.7% from one year ago (1.11 million). Unsold inventory sits at a 3.3-month supply at the current sales pace, which was identical to October, but up from 2.1 months in November 2021.
Only 0.6% of all closed residential sales in Palm Beach were distressed last month, including REO (bank-owned properties) and short sales, compared to 0.7% in November 2021.
Short sales and REOs accounted for 0% and 0.6% year-over-year, respectively, of total Palm Beach sales in November 2022.
Palm Beach's percentage of distressed sales are on par with the national figure. Nationally, distressed sales represented approximately 2% of sales in November, identical to November 2021.
The median percent of original list price received for single-family homes was 94.3% in November 2022, down 4.9% from 99.2% last year. The median percent of original list price received for existing condominiums was 95.1%, down 2.9% from 97.9% last year.
The median number of days between listing and contract dates for Palm Beach single-family home sales was 32 days, up from 13 days last year. The median time to sale for single-family homes was 75 days, a 36.4% increase from 55 days last year.
The median number of days between the listing date and contract date for condos was 29 days, up 93.3% from 15 days. The median number of days to sell for condos was 71 days, a 26.8% increase from 56 days.
Cash sales represented 52.6% of Palm Beach closed sales in November 2022, compared to 49.8% in November 2021. About 26% of U.S. home sales are made in cash, according to the latest NAR statistics.
Cash buyers are not deterred by rising rates. The high percentage of cash buyers reflects South Florida's top position as the preeminent American real estate market for foreign buyers, who tend to purchase with all cash as well as some moving from more expensive U.S. markets who can buy more with their profits from real estate sales.
Cash sales accounted for 62.5% of all Palm Beach existing condo sales and 44.8% of single-family transactions.
