Thanksgiving – the traditional start of Palm Beach’s peak social season – always brings with it more than a few people who will be shopping for a home on the island.
This year, the buyers can find even more competition than before, due to the explosion of interest in Palm Beach following the election to the White House of its most famous resident – President Donald Trump.
Since the election of Nov. 5, the country has been filled with people in Trump’s orbit — or who hope to be, come Inauguration Day. Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago Club, like his residence, is also the center of the political world, where the former president is busy planning his second term and meeting with influencers. plans, colleagues and even bosses. In Nov. 22, for example, Trump supported Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO.
Trump is surrounded by many Palm Beach residents — some billionaires — who endorsed him or Vice President J.D. Vance during the campaign and may be advising them or leading reform groups. them. Among those Palm Beach names may be financier John Paulson; New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune and ambassador to Great Britain during the first Trump administration; Wilbur Ross, who served as Commerce Secretary after Trump’s 2020 election; real estate agent Richard Kurtz; at the Steve Wynn Casino and Resort.
Other supporters with residential ties to Palm Beach are among those said to be among the supporters of the October fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago, including sugar magnate Pepe Fanjul; investor John Phelan; real estate mogul Gary L. Schottenstein, venture capitalist and investment banker Omeed Malik; and real estate developer Blair Brandt.
Meanwhile, Trump has already chosen renowned heart surgeon and Palm Beach resident Dr. Mehmet Oz to choose the headquarters for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
But there are plenty of other people outside of Palm Beach who know the value of being close to Trump. It’s surprising that real estate professionals have told us how their phones started ringing immediately after Election Day, as people from the city flock to short-term rentals, preferably near Mar-a- Lake. The problem is that they want to rent for a short time – only from the date of dedication in Jan. 22, the latest. And as any seasoned Palm Beacher can tell a newcomer who calls a premier restaurant at six o’clock on a Saturday evening looking for a one-day dinner reservation at eight o’clock: good luck with that.
Those looking for short-term rentals know that Palm Beach landlords often want a commitment to extend beyond a few months, especially during the winter months.
As far as potential home buyers go, Palm Beach bankers report a lot of interest in the island – and that’s quite a change from early fall.
“September and early October are really quiet. Many consumers are saying, ‘Let’s wait until after the election.’ And then they didn’t wait,” said real estate agent John Cregan, who works with Sotheby’s International Realty with his wife, Lisa.
“About 10 days before the election, the work was really done. Now Lisa and I have five houses under contract. And, interestingly, (the work is) across the board – condos, single family home, (property in) West Palm (Beach), low-end, high-end. There’s no common theme for buyers either. They’re from all over, including the area.” Cregan said.
Anyone shopping for real estate on the island now will see more properties on the market than they did last year. But the best apartments and condominiums are still rare, experts agree.
In any case, for those looking to buy in Palm Beach, the multi-area listing service on Monday showed 87 listings for single-family homes and six townhouses, for a total of 93 properties. That’s more than last year at the time. a, when the total is 78.
Single-family homes for sale as of earlier this week ranged from $95 million down to $3 million, with asking prices for townhomes ranging from $20 million to $2.5 million, the MLS showed.
However, more information revolves around the number of houses and units that work together for sale throughout the country. There were 122 of those homes available last year for Thanksgiving week buyers. As of Nov. 25, there are a staggering 190, MLS research shows, and 73 are in Midtown and near the North End; and another 117 in the South End.
Condo or co-op hunters will find apartments in the city ranging from $28 million to $465,000. In the South End, units are less expensive, with prices ranging from about $7.5 million to $229,000.
New home buyers in the South End neighborhood may be discovering something locals have known for a while: A driver wants to get from the South End to Mar-a-Lago — or other points north. of the club – will encounter major traffic jams while Trump is at home, due to the safety-related closure of South Ocean Boulevard that transports cars to the island and back again via a separate bridge . Depending on the traffic, detours can add half an hour – or more – to the trip.
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Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida reporter who writes about Palm Beach real estate weekly “Beyond the Hedges”. He welcomes advice about the story of the house on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call 561-820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz. Help support our journalism project. Register today.
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