PALM BEACH COUNTY LUXURY HOME SALES UP SO FAR IN 2010
Luxury market strengthens in Palm Beach County. Seven  homes in Boca Raton sold for an excess of $5MM so far in 2010, 2 in  Delray Beach (one 25,000 sq ft oceanfront house for $17MM), 2 in  Manalapan, 9 in Palm Beach and 1 in Jupiter with a total of 24 in Palm  Beach County.  A total of 29 homes sold for an excess of $5MM in 2009.   We will report 2010 end-of-the-year figures in due time.
Gloomy  news that July sales of existing homes dropped 25.5% year-over-year has  overshadowed new statistics showing summer sales of million dollar plus  homes significantly outperformed other price ranges.   “Luxury  homebuyers have been buying this summer,” said Laurie Moore-Moore, CEO  of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing (ILHM).  “After waiting in  the wings, many affluent buyers spent the summer shopping for value and  snapping up trophy properties.”
Statistics  would indicate that she’s right. According to The National Association  of Realtors (NAR), for 2009 million-dollar and above home sales were  just 1.2% of total sales or about 61,500 sales nationally.  In July  2010, million dollar plus market share was up to 1.9%.  While sales of  homes in the $500,000 and above range rose dramatically in June, the  million-dollar-plus market segment was the only price range in July  showing positive growth compared to last year.  “The mix of what is  selling has shifted in favor of homes priced at $750,000 and above,”  added Moore-Moore.
NAR’s report that July’s median sales  price increased 0.7% year-over-year may be more a function of increasing  sales of expensive properties relative to other price ranges than an  indicator of across-the-board home price appreciation.  According  to the ILHM National Luxury Market Report -- which does a weekly  analysis of luxury homes for sale in more than 30 major markets -- after  a dramatic rise in upper-tier inventory, which started in January of  this year, the numbers of luxury homes for sale has declined about 5%  since the beginning of July.  Along with a decrease in inventory, there  has been a decline in asking prices.  Forty three percent of luxury  homes currently on the market have had at least one reduction in asking  price over the last 90 days.  An additional 19% have been pulled off the  market and subsequently relisted.  
“While  I wouldn’t say the luxury market is in recovery,” said Moore-Moore,  “the growing market share of luxury sales relative to total sales, a  slight downward trend in inventory, and sellers who are more realistic  about price are factors shifting the affluent into a buying mode.” 

 
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