This pocket of South Florida is heating up, while the rest of the region is cooling.
New Douglas Elliman data shows that Palm Beach — long an affluent enclave — saw single-family home sales jump by 63.2% to 31 in the first quarter over the same period last year, according to Mansion Global. That activity brought with it a median sales price of $13.95 million, which itself marks an 11.6% jump year-over-year.
Even Palm Beach’s luxury segment saw its own boost. Defined as the top 10% of the market, this portion saw 11 sales in the first quarter, up a modest 22.2% from the nine recorded in the same period in 2024. However, quarter-over-quarter, those 11 sales marked a 175% spike from the four closed in the final quarter of 2024, according to the market report. The median sales price on the luxury end also soared annually — reaching $23.75 million, a 70.9% increase from a median $13.9 million.
Such activity in Palm Beach has been brewing for several months, and especially in the wake of the November election. Referred to by local brokers as the “Trump bump,” luxury home sales near Mar-a-Lago have grown in number. Even the sum of listings under contract between November and December 2024 alone skyrocketed by more than 400% year-over-year, with sales volume at that time reaching nearly $291 million — a jaw-dropping 612% annual increase.
Palm Beach is an island of its own, Mansion Global notes.
Across the Intracoastal, West Palm Beach saw the sum of closed sales fall, though the median sales price edged up a modest 2.1% to $590,000. All the while, inventory grew, with 32.2% more homes up for grabs in the first quarter of 2025 over that of 2024, making for 11.5 months of supply.
Other South Florida hot spots — such as Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale — also saw sales slow and listings pile up, though prices remained resilient, Mansion Global noted. Not too far away from those, Miami Beach had its median price grow 4.3%, though sales slowed by 17.1% and inventory swelled by 34.1% to nine months of supply.
Experts have previously told The Post the broader South Florida market catching its breath after its pandemic-era years of high activity. Now, rising insurance rates, property taxes and condominium assessments have scared potential buyers away. Recent weeks have also brought other aspects of concern among them.
“They are more conscious of the state of the world, the economic situation, insurance, real estate taxes and then mortgage rates, for sure,” Simon Isaacs, CEO and founder of Simon Isaacs Real Estate, previously told The Post.