Palm Beach County’s property values rise by 9%

The demand for housing remains high in Palm Beach County, with home values rising across the board last year in all of the county’s 39 cities, towns and villages, according to property appraiser’s estimates released Wednesday.

Countywide, the taxable property values increased 9.12%, including factoring in new construction, and every municipality saw its overall home value rise, the appraiser’s office said. Cities alone, excluding the unincorporated areas, increased by 9.26%.

Still, the overall increase in taxable value has slowed compared to previous years, noted Palm Beach County Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks in a statement. Records show the countywide taxable value increase, including new construction, was 13.36% in 2022 and 13.55% the year before.

Among the latest findings:

— A dozen cities had homes selling above a median of $1 million last year. The town of Palm Beach ranked the highest, at $13 million.

— Home values rose the most in Westlake, Palm Beach County’s newest city, which is still under construction. While existing home values rose 9.44%, that figure saw a whopping 40% increase when new construction was factored in. In 2023, Minto Communities USA, the Westlake developer and its main builder, constructed 414 single-family and townhomes in Westlake. The village of Golf came in next at about 18%.

— South Bay was the most affordable place to buy a home in Palm Beach County, with a median sales value of $200,000. Pahokee was next at $212,500.

Kevin Spina, a real estate agent specializing in northern Palm Beach County, still has buyers from California, the Northeast, as well as other parts of Florida. “Out-of-state buyers still think South Florida has value,” he said of the demand.

Here is a city-by-city breakdown of median sales prices in 2023, and the percentage of increased values, a figure that includes new construction. The figures are based on sales from Jan. 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2023.

Atlantis

— Increase in taxable value last year: 4.99%
— Median home sale price: $675,000

Belle Glade

— Increase in taxable value last year: 10.70%
— Median home sale price: $314,575

Boca Raton

— Increase in taxable value last year: 7.83%
— Median home sale price: About $1.07 million

Boynton Beach

— Increase in taxable value last year: 8.19%
— Median home sale price: $430,000

Briny Breezes

— Increase in taxable value last year: 10.79%
— Median home sale price: No recorded single-family home sales

Cloud Lake

— Increase in taxable value last year: 11.45%
— Median home sale price: $397,500