Home Prices Are Surging in Palm Beach, Florida

Palm Beach, Florida’s housing market kicked off the year with a hot first quarter, with bigger homes driving price data skyward. 

The median sales price for single-family homes in the tony South Florida town—where the real estate market as a whole is considered luxury—surged from a year earlier, jumping 40% to $12.5 million, according to reports from Douglas Elliman on Thursday. Sales were also up slightly, with 19 total sales, an increase of three from a year ago.

The significant rise in median sales price can be attributed to a notable increase in average square footage, which is up 29.1% year over year, said Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of the appraisal company Miller Samuel and author of the reports. 

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“The median price is relatively in line with the last couple of years, but…for the past year, sale size has been much smaller, so I think part of this surge in median price was due to the surge in average sale size, which is almost 5,100 square feet,” Miller said. 

Inventory on the island is up as well, with active listings up by 22.5%. 

The luxury market in mainland Miami—which Douglas Elliman defines as the upper 10% of sales—as well as neighboring Coral Gables, also saw prices go up for single-family homes.

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The median sales price for luxury homes in Miami rose 26.4% year over year to $3.35 million. Sales ticked up slightly, by 2.1%, and active inventory is up as well, increasing by 10.9%.

In Coral Gables’s luxury sector, the median sales price skyrocketed, rising 61.6% from last year to $11.15 million, despite both sales and average square footage dropping. Sales fell from 11 in the first quarter of 2023 to nine this year, and average square footage was down 4.8% to 6,737 square feet.

Though there was obvious price growth, it is “somewhat exaggerated because of the small sample size,” Miller said.

“It’s a very narrow market, and one or two large sales can impact the median,” he said.

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Miami Beach, however, saw luxury prices fall in the first quarter—the median sales price for these single-family homes dropped 27.8% year over year to $13.25 million, which Miller said is partially a result of average square footage falling to “one of the lowest average sales sizes.” 

There were two more sales than last year’s first quarter, and inventory was up by 50%, according to the report.

As for luxury Miami beach condos, median sales price dropped 4.3% year over year to $4.45 million, it was up 11.3% from the end of 2023. Additionally, both average sales price and average price per square foot hit all-time highs, Miller said. 

“All three of the price trend indicators for luxury [Miami Beach] condos are almost double what they were pre-pandemic, and they’re all up double digit from the prior quarter.” Miller said.