Last month overall single-family homes sales activity in Palm Beach County was down; however, recent data suggests the demand for $1 million-plus homes is increasing.
According to brief from Rabideau Law, lenders doled out 62 residential loans that were each valued at more than $1 million in February. During the prior month, 48 such loans were issued for transactions in Palm Beach County.
The 62 loans issued in February equated to $121.1 million in lending volume. The average loan had a value of $1.95 million.
Eyeing the last three months, December through February, lenders doled out 175 loans for $1 million-plus loans for a total volume of $341.7 million.
During the three months prior, 145 such loans were originated for a volume of $266.9 million.
A significant volume of the county’s luxury home sales activity is occurring along State Road A1A, specifically in and around the cities of Delray Beach, West Palm Beach and Boca Raton. In the Boca Raton, the epicenter of luxury deals is the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club.
This residential loan data gives some insight into the county’s luxury market, but it doesn’t take into account the volume of cash deals that have recently occurred.
In South Florida, and specifically Miami-Dade County, cash deals can represent more than 50 percent of a market’s annual sales volume. Additionally, a number of luxury sales are typically all-cash sales.
Three active lenders in Palm Beach County
Spanning December through February, Wells Fargo originated the most $1 million-plus residential loans (21) in Palm Beach County. The average value of these 21 loans was $1.7 million.
Bank of America lent 19 such loans to borrowers during the same period. These loans’ values averaged $2.65 million.
JP Morgan Chase was the other lender to reach double digits, issuing 11 loans valued above $1 million. The average loan size was $2.2 million.
Seven additional lenders issued five to eight $1 million-plus loans. They included: Citibank, Suntrust Mortgage, Sabadell United Bank, Northern Trust Company, Morgan Stanley, Seaside National Bank & Trust and Florida Community Bank.
