As the weather turns cooler, it’s almost time for snowbirds to fly south to places like the Palm Beach area. Over the past year, the real estate market, nationwide, has become a little tougher. We asked brokers, familiar with both Palm Beach area markets and the state of real estate in the Hamptons, to weigh in on the state of the two markets. How do the Palm Beach and Hamptons markets compare in these conditions?
Dana Koch
THE CORCORAN GROUP
PALM BEACH
“There are many synergies between the Palm Beach and Hamptons real estate markets. Our clientele is the same in many respects. Currently, both markets do not have the same sense of urgency that we experienced during the pandemic. There are fewer bidding wars and even though inventory is down, the days on market is up. In Palm Beach, it is not uncommon to see a property on the market between 6-9 months as opposed to 30 to 90 days that we saw a couple of years ago. The good news is that it’s still less than the days on market (1+ year) that we experienced in Palm Beach pre-pandemic. Quality properties that are new/renovated and priced properly are still the gold standard in both markets. The Palm Beach market returned to its normal seasonality pace over the summer. Presently, the Palm Beach market has 55 homes for sale, which is near historic lows. At the beginning of our high season, we normally have between 150-200 homes for sale. The Hamptons market is much more vast and spread out. Palm Beach has 2200+ single-family homes on the entire island. Of utmost importance to note is that we are still dealing with a lack of inventory which will continue to propel our market. Though not completely immune to some of the headwinds (interest rate hikes, inflation) that both markets are contending with these days, we are still very much in a “lack of supply and a strong demand” world where the market is stable and pricing is holding steady.”
Elliot Epstein
SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY
SOUTHAMPTON
“The Palm Beach market and the Hamptons market are very similar at this time. Low inventory, relatively stable pricing and slightly lower amount of sales. In the Hamptons, there was a summer uptick in the number of sales during the summer as always, but slowing down now as the number of signed contracts is less. In Palm Beach, the number of summer sales was down with stable prices this summer but I’m confident that the market will pick up as the weather cools up north.”
Alan Gabay
SERHANT.
SOUTH FLORIDA
“As a real estate broker who grew up in New York and spent many years in the Hamptons, as well as someone who has been involved in real estate sales in both markets and now calls Florida my home, I can tell you that Palm Beach offers you a similar lifestyle with excellent shopping, restaurants, art galleries and museums, amazing cultural experiences and of course the beach. We even call Palm Beach, “The Hamptons South.” When the weather gets cold you can still have the extraordinary fun of the summer lifestyle you love in the Hamptons all winter long in Palm Beach. However, aside from all of those reasons, one of the biggest and most popular reasons that my clients love Palm Beach, is that they are much easier to get around (no one likes to sit in traffic on Route 27 in the Hamptons all the time) and it’s close to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, for the urban experience you may want, while being close to the calm and serene life that the Hamptons offers you.”
Adam Hofer
DOUGLAS ELLIMAN
BRIDGEHAMPTON
“As much as we love summer in the Hamptons and even the fall, we do look forward to our time in Palm Beach for the winter. It is important to be there as many of my clients are or want to be, especially as the two areas have become more primary than secondary markets. The two markets largely run parallel as far as activity: turnkey is still selling quickly and for record pricing, homes that need improvement have become harder to sell, but over time they do, and inventory remains low, but the amount of ready, willing and able buyers is still high.”
Richard Steinberg
COMPASS
MANHATTAN
“Having both my New York and Florida licenses and dealing with transactions in both markets, I can tell you they are very similar – during Covid many of my New York clients with my help were transported to the Hamptons and southern Florida. Many of these buyers decided to keep their residences in New York and either did not rent them out or left them for occasional use. Once the supply in both regions became absorbed, Palm Beach and the Hamptons have slowed considerably. As an example, the rental market this past summer in the Hamptons was very slow and home prices presently in both Palm Beach and the Hamptons, although have appreciated significantly in the past two years have now slowed down. I see the market in the next 12 months in both Palm Beach and Hamptons to be very competitive with an appreciation of probably only 10 to 15% from present values. It is important to note that although that seems high the past 24 months have shown an appreciation considerably more so in essence, I am saying, that both markets have slowed down, and I anticipate a climate and transaction health similar to that of pre-COVID.”
This article was the cover story in the October 6, 2023, edition of Behind The Hedges. To read the full digital edition, click here. For more Real Estate Roundtables, click here. Be sure to check out more Real Estate Roundtables.
