Palm Beach County Condominium Sales Continue Rising in November
MIAMI (PRWEB) December 19, 2018 -- Palm Beach County condominium sales have now increased in 12 of the last 13 months after another strong November of condo sales, according to a new report by the MIAMI Association of Realtors (MIAMI) and the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system.
Palm Beach existing condo sales rose 6.1 percent year-over-year in November, from 958 to 1,016. Year-to-date, Palm Beach condo sales are now 7.2 percent higher than this time last year with 12,886 transactions through the first 11 months of 2018.
“Palm Beach’s live, work and play lifestyle, strong schools and increasingly diversified economy is leading more home buyers, particularly from high-taxed northern states, to purchase here,” said JTHS-MIAMI President Barb Fox, a Palm Beach Realtor. “A look into the condo stats shows double-digit percentage sales growth at every price range from $300K and above. Palm Beach’s luxury condo market increased its sales by 50 percent in November.”
Total Palm Beach Home Sales Increase in November
Total Palm Beach County home sales increased 0.2 percent year-over-year in November, from 2,201 to 2,205.
Palm Beach single-family home sales decreased 4.3 percent year-over-year in November, from 1,243 to 1,189. The market had posted positive sales for four consecutive months, from July through October. September 2018 (12.9 percent increase in single-family home sales) and October 2018 (15.7 percent sales growth) led the way.
Sales Dollar Volume Increased 1.8 Percent to $893.2 Million
Total sales volume increased to $893.2 million from $877.4 million in November 2018. Existing condo sales volume increased from $222.4 million to $274 million (an increase of 23.2 percent). Single-family home total dollar volume decreased 5.5 percent, from $655 million to $619.2 million.
Palm Beach Median Prices Continue Rising
Palm Beach County single-family home prices increased 5.5 percent in November 2018, increasing from $330,000 to $348,250. Existing condo prices rose 2.8 percent, from $172,000 to $176,750 in November.
Low mortgage rates make purchasing a home more affordable. According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage increased to 4.87 percent in November from 4.83 percent in October. The average commitment rate for all of 2017 was 3.99 percent.
Palm Beach Distressed Sales Continue to Drop, Reflecting Healthy Market
Only 3.8 percent of all closed residential sales in Palm Beach were distressed in November 2018, including REO (bank-owned properties) and short sales, compared 5.4 percent in November 2017.
Total Palm Beach distressed sales decreased 28.6 percent year-over-year, from 119 in November 2017 to 85 in November 2018.
Short sales and REOs accounted for 0.9 and 2.9 percent, respectively, of total Palm Beach sales in November 2018. Short sale transactions stayed event at 21 transactions year-over-year while REOs decreased 34.7 percent.
Nationally, distressed sales accounted for 2 percent of sales (lowest since NAR began tracking in October 2008), down from 4 percent a year ago.
Palm Beach Real Estate Selling Close to List Price
The median number of days between listing and contract dates for Palm Beach single-family home sales was 50 days, a 12.3 percent decrease from 57 days last year. The median number of days between the listing date and closing date for single-family homes was 92 days, a 8.9 percent decrease from 101 days.
The median time to contract for condos was 50 days, a 10.7 percent decrease from 56 days last year. The median number of days between listing date and closing date was 89 days, a 5.3 decrease from 94 days last year.
The median percent of original list price received for single-family homes was 94.6 percent. The median percent of original list price received for existing condominiums was 94.3 percent.
National and State Statistics
Nationally, total existing-home sales increased 1.9 percent from October to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.32 million in November. Sales are now down 7.0 percent from a year ago (5.72 million in November 2017).
Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 20,578 last month, up 3 percent compared to November 2017, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide closed condo sales totaled 8,643, up 4.9 percent compared to a year ago.
The national median existing-home price for all housing types in November was $257,700, up 4.2 percent from November 2017 ($247,200). November’s price increase marks the 81st straight month of year-over-year gains.
November marked 83 months-in-a-row (more than six and a half years) that statewide median sales prices for both single-family homes and condo-townhouse properties increased year-over-year. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $255,000, up 6.3 percent from the previous year. Last month’s statewide median price for condo-townhouse units was $185,000, up 5.1 percent over the year-ago figure.
Palm Beach Cash Buyers Represent More than Double the National Figure
Palm Beach cash transactions comprised 44.9 percent of November 2018 total closed sales, compared to 44.6 percent last year. Palm Beach cash transactions are more than double the national figure (21 percent).
Condominiums comprise a large portion of Palm Beach’s cash purchases as 58.3 percent of condo closings were made in cash in November compared to 33.6 percent of single-family home sales.
Seller’s Market for Palm Beach Real Estate
Inventory of single-family homes increased 4.9 percent in November from 7,058 active listings last year to 7,405 in November 2018. Condominium inventory decreased 2.8 percent to 6,242 from 6,424 listings during the same period in 2017.
Monthly supply of inventory for single-family homes increased 4.1 percent to 5.1 months, which indicates a seller’s market. Existing condominiums have a 5.4-month supply, which also indicates a seller’s market. A balanced market between buyers and sellers offers between six and nine months supply of inventory.
Total active listings at the end of October increased 1.2 percent year-over-year, from 13,482 to 13,647.
New listings of Palm Beach single-family homes increased 4 percent to 1,913 from 1,839. New listings of condominiums decreased 12.3percent, from 1,809 to 1,587.
Nationally, total housing inventory at the end of November decreased to 1.74 million, down from 1.85 million existing homes available for sale in October. This represents an increase from 1.67 million a year ago, however. Unsold inventory is at a 3.9-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 4.3 last month and up from 3.5 months a year ago.
To access November 2018 Palm Beach County Statistical Reports, visit http://www.SFMarketIntel.com
Note: Statistics in this news release may vary depending on reporting dates. MIAMI reports exact statistics directly from its MLS system.
About the MIAMI Association of Realtors
The MIAMI Association of Realtors was chartered by the National Association of Realtors in 1920 and is celebrating 98 years of service to Realtors, the buying and selling public, and the communities in South Florida. Comprised of six organizations, the Residential Association, the Realtors Commercial Alliance, the Broward Council, the Jupiter Tequesta Hobe Sound (JTHS-MIAMI) Council, the Young Professionals Network (YPN) Council and the award-winning International Council, it represents more than 46,000 real estate professionals in all aspects of real estate sales, marketing, and brokerage. It is the largest local Realtor association in the U.S. and has official partnerships with 204 international organizations worldwide. MIAMI’s official website is http://www.MiamiRealtors.com
Lynda Fernandez, MIAMI Association of Realtors, http://www.MiamiRealtors.com, 3054687040, [email protected]
Share this article