By Ava Van de Water – Executive Managing Director, Palm Beach
We are off to a great start in 2026. All signs point to a return to a “normal” market as opposed to the run-up we had during the pandemic. That said, all eyes seem to be focused on Palm Beach County. Some in real estate circles are betting on the “Mamdani effect” – with New York buyers rushing to South Florida – but I put my money on the Billionaire tax in California to bring additional newsworthy mega-million dollar buyers here.
While our super sales make national headlines, we do have the same factors impacting our market as other areas – inventory, interest rates and property taxes. Those factors tend to make some owners resist becoming sellers and some buyers being priced out of the market.
Single-Family Homes
Overall our single-family market is incredibly strong – if the property is priced right. New construction reigns supreme in some areas; while historic or landmarked properties are preferred in others.
Palm Beach currently has 94 houses for sale – less than one-fourth are under $10 million. Our midpoint is now $18 million. The least expensive is $5.3 million on a street with multi-family; our most expensive is $205 million on the ocean.
In Intracoastal West Palm Beach there are 119 houses for sale, from $700,000 to $42.5 million on the Intracoastal. Midpoint is about $3.5 million.
Condo Market
The condo market has proven to be a bit challenging, with the very high end projects faring the best. While new condos were once a scarcity in our market, we now have 2,000 new units underway in Intracoastal West Palm Beach, providing more competition than we have ever had.
Even in the Town of Palm Beach, which hasn’t had a new condo building in decades, developers are eyeing older buildings with plans to tear down and build new, larger units. There certainly are a lot of choices for buyers.
Overall I see a very positive year ahead. We saw the real estate momentum build as soon as everyone said Happy New Year! All eyes are on us – we are full speed ahead.
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