The Dirt: Chef José Andrés opening restaurant in West Palm Beach on shores of Lake Worth Lagoon

Welcome to The Dirt! I’m real estate reporter Kimberly Miller with the latest developments in the sizzling market.

The "doomsday glacier" is gunning for South Florida, our corals are battered by marine heat waves, people are kayaking in Death Valley and there's an inch of top soil left! (Remember Under Siege? Love vintage Steven Seagal).

But everything's coming up roses in coastal Palm Beach County where waterfront land is still at a premium with apartments being flipped for $28.5 million, island homes selling for $12.5 million and Spanish chef José Andrés opening up in Olara on the shores of the Lake Worth Lagoon.

Maybe it's foreshadowing that the chef whose nonprofit World Central Kitchen feeds folks in disaster areas is bringing an operation to South Florida with sea level rise and La Niña threatening to wipe the Florida Peninsula clean this hurricane season.

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In non-climate Armageddon news, there are good signs on the horizon for homebuyers as inventory increases. GL Homes settled a lawsuit against its own HOA, which is refunding nearly $100,000 to recent buyers. And there's going to be a total solar eclipse in April! So, we should probably just get to it. Grab your life jacket, a martini and some eclipse glasses.

Average home price over $1 million but buyers are gaining some ground

The months supply of inventory of single-family homes in January was 4.2 months, which is 23.5% higher than in January 2023 and nearly the same as before the pandemic in January 2020. That's the good news. The other news is that the median price also saw an increase and the average price hit $1.17 million.

Realtors don't like to use average because it's more easily swayed by whopper deals, but have we grown so immune to high prices that $1 million is just meh? The median price was $615,000, which is still too high for many workers whose raises — or lack thereof — aren't keeping up with higher insurance costs and higher interest rates. 😮

Chef José Andrés brings a 'wow' factor and sophistication to West Palm Beach

I met José Andrés in Puerto Rico in 2017 right after Hurricane Maria left the island reeling with no electricity, ruined infrastructure and scant water. It was a sweaty night, mosquitos were bleeding us dry and ... well, he was very upset with the state of rescue efforts. DM me if you want details. (Just kidding though, I don't know where DMs go or how to find them.)

But, that was then. Today, the acclaimed chef is bringing some of his shine to West Palm Beach at the planned Olara condominium, where his presence is expected to boost the reputation of the city. But he's got to also like the influx of wealth to the area. Olara has already sold at least 13% of its units at an average of $4.7 million each.

Canadians buy flipped apartment complex for $28.5 million

An affiliate of Great Gulf Group of Canada bought an aging apartment complex on the Lake Worth lagoon in West Palm Beach for $28.5 million from the Palm Beach-based Frisbie Group. Frisbie's plans included a space age-looking apartment complex rising like a shark fin out of the soft shores of the lagoon.

What Great Gulf Group, or "Triple G" as I like to say😉, has planned is unclear. The shark fin was supposed to be for luxury affordable housing — two things that don't normally go together. But that plan is kaput, and Frisbie is focusing elsewhere.

New home sells on the other Palm Beach Island

Everglades Island and Ibis Isle are adjacent to Palm Beach Island. They are still part of the Town of Palm Beach but stand alone in the Lake Worth Lagoon. There are also a few Beer Can Islands, as the kids say, but maybe they're now Mocktail Islands since everyone is sober curious.

Anyway, Ibis Isle is awash in development with a new home built on speculation recently selling for $12.5 million. Entrepreneur, real estate investor and developer Richard Fertig signed the deed to sell the house. Notable features described include bathrooms and a fireplace with book-matched marble, which we ALL know of course is having mirror-image marble slabs next to each other so they look like the open pages of a book.

Live lightly.

Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Average Palm Beach County home price more than $1 million in January