Last month existing home sales activity in both Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties dipped; however, what stood out more were the sharp declines in the volume of cash transactions.
In Palm Beach County a total of 2,790 homes, including single-family and condos, sold during March, which equated to a nearly 7.8 percent year-over-year dip, according to Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches.
Accounting for 1,520 of those sales were single-family homes.
Of those sales, 579 represented cash deals, a 25 percent year-over-year decline. In Palm Beach County’s condo sector 812 of the 1,270 sales that occurred last month were done so via cash. The total equates to a 15.6 percent drop in condo cash deals.
To the north in St. Lucie County a total of 586 homes traded last month, a 4.4 percent year-over-year drop. Of the 493 single-family homes that sold, 146 were cash transactions. During March of last year there were 219 cash deals. Last month 55 condos were purchase in the county with cash, a more than 31 percent drop.
While sales activity in both counties and the volume of cash deals declined the median sales prices for single-family homes and condos has been on the rise.
Palm Beach County‘s single-family median sales price is up yearly by 8.5 percent to nearly $300,000. Condos in the county trade at a median price of $155,000, which is up 13 percent year-over-year. Sellers in the region for the most part appear to be getting near what they’re asking for, as the sales-to-list price ratios for single-family homes and condos stood at 95 percent and 93.3 percent, respectively.
The median sales price of a single-family home in St. Lucie County, $179,000, was up noticeably in March by 19.4 percent year-over-year. The sales-to-list price ratio for these homes was 96 percent.
The county’s condo sector nearly missed achieving double-digit price appreciation last month. Entering April, the median sales price of a St. Lucie condo stood at $136,500, up 9.2 percent year-over-year. Similar to the single-family sector, the condo markets sales-to-list price ratio stood at nearly 96 percent.
Counties’ largest cities all experience declines
Palm Beach Counties four largest cities all experienced year-over-year declines in total home sales activity of 14 percent to 18 percent last month. The county’s largest city, West Palm Beach accounted for 421 sales last month, a 14.3 percent year-over-year drop. Contributing the second most sales was Boca Raton with 358 and Boynton Beach with 344. Delray Beach chipped in 301 transactions.
Port St. Lucie is responsible for the majority of sales activity that occur in St. Lucie County. Last month 395 home sales closed within the city, which was down 39 percent from the same time last year. However, to put things in perspective it was only a decline of 16 sales.
