Memorial Day weekend home shoppers may find things surprisingly busy in Palm Beach
Memorial Day may typically signal the start of the summer real estate doldrums in Palm Beach, but let’s face it, nothing is typical these days, as the island copes with the after-effects of the once-in-a-generation real estate boom that accompanied the coronavirus pandemic.
In the old days, Monday’s holiday — and the weekend that precedes it — would have resonated with Palm Beach real estate agents as a housekeeping sort of thing: A few contracts might have gotten inked in the waning days of spring by house-hunters who had shopped during the season and were ready to head out of town to their summer destinations. Meanwhile, many local brokers would simply be awaiting the closings of deals already in the works.
This weekend, however, could be different, because agents and brokers are still reporting bustling activity, with new contracts being signed and sales closing.
In any case, house-hunters in Palm Beach this weekend could find as many as 90 single-family homes and townhouses for sale, according to a search early this week of the Palm Beach Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service. Asking prices ranged from $72.8 million to $3.5 million.
And of the single-family houses, the search showed, 14 had asking prices of between $12 million and $16 million — the price range that many consider the so-called “sweet spot” among buyers today.
On the multifamily scene, 178 condominiums and co-operative units were for sale on the island as of Monday. Their prices started at $449,000 and soared to $28 million, although the vast majority were priced at $12 million or less.
Those shopping for land could find 21 properties in the MLS, of which eight listings were for houses that could be considered tear-downs. Prices ranged between about $3.2 million and $150 million.
Those numbers, of course, don’t reflect properties that are quietly on the market but not listed in MLS.
Meanwhile, would-be buyers as of Monday had already spoken for 17 houses, townhomes and condos. That’s the number of under-contract “pending” sales, generally with a nonrefundable deposit put down by the buyers.
Happy hunting!
Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call 561-820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Memorial Day weekend home shoppers may find things busy in Palm Beach
