Why Are There Not Enough Houses for Sale in Palm Beach Gardens, FL?

Where are all the houses for sale in Palm Beach Gardens, FL?

Let’s start with the general and then drill down into the specifics. The most obvious and big-picture reason why there never seems to be enough houses for sale in Palm Beach Gardens is that it is a great place to live and has become more popular than ever. Aside from the nearby beaches having the bluest ocean water in Palm Beach County due to the gulf stream coming closest to the U.S. in that precise location (and some say bluer than any ocean town in all of Florida), it also enjoys extremely quick and easy access to Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), great hospitals and other services, and every possible amenity on both land and sea.

Because of what it has to offer, more people are coming to Palm Beach Gardens than there are those people leaving. Let’s face it, it’s paradise. (See detailed specifics about what it has to offer in my other blog: Why Palm Beach Gardens Real Estate is So Hot.)

Another reason there are not enough houses for sale in Palm Beach Gardens is the “pandemic hangover”. Whether they were forced to out of necessity —or just wanted to —so many homeowners made renovations to create a work-from-home dynamic and/or to make their property more livable, in general. Financing those upgrades was easy and much more inexpensive back when interest rates were low. Now these homeowners want to stay and enjoy them. They’ve got their living space exactly how they want it and they don’t want to start over; having to re-create it somewhere else.

Additionally, thousands of homeowners just decided not to sell —at all — because of those very interest rate hikes. Even if they did not make any renovations and perhaps want to trade down, for many of them, it is simply more cost effective to stay in their larger home, with the low interest rate, than it is to pay a higher rate in order to purchase a smaller home.

For some buyers, even building “new” is a challenge because there is so little land available east of Route 95. There is buildable land, and new developments, in the western portion of Palm Beach Gardens. But, it is a little further away from the beach, the completion dates can be too far out for some buyers, or the homes are at a “luxury” price point and out of their price range. But, builders are now including lovely new condos and townhouses in their master plans, and at affordable price points.

The good news is that the economics will change. They always do. And the change will create more houses for sale, for sure. Any market that contracts, resulting in less inventory, will expand again, resulting in more. And interest rates are expected to come back down, as well. As the real estate market has possibly hit its peak for this particular cycle, more houses for sale in Palm Beach Gardens will make their appearance! And, the western portion of Palm Beach Gardens is becoming a hugely desirable area with new homes, golf courses, vibrant shopping districts, and other amenities —all currently in progress —and this will create many new housing opportunities at all price points.