Palm Beach Real Estate News & Events

By CHRISTINE DAVIS

Special to the Daily News

With its fanciful fretwork bannister, the foyer’s staircase marches to a mid-landing and then continues above the front door. Palm Beach decorator Jack Fhillips used white-framed mirrors to bounce natural light into the space. The floor is covered in marble.

A new look and a younger feeling that’s what builder Paul Wittmann and interior decorator Jack Fhillips had in mind for Wittmann Building Corp.’s latest high-end oceanfront “spec” home at 102 Banyan Road.

“When my partner, Peter Callahan, and I purchased the property, we wanted to create a fresh, clean and crisp look,” Wittmann says.

While researching, he came across a photograph of Rosedon, a small boutique hotel in Bermuda that had once been a private residence.

“It was striking — painted white with white roof and blue shutters and awnings,” Wittmann says. “I gave the photo to Michael Perry of MP Design & Architecture and said, ‘Give me this to build.’”

A classical English Bermuda-style home, the house is perfectly symmetrical. Large pedimented gables crown the seaside facade as well as the northern edifice, with its front door facing Banyan Boulevard. The home, of course, is positioned to make the most of ocean views and breezes.

With 11,000 square feet of living space inside and out, seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms and a powder room — plus a tunnel to the ocean beneath South Ocean Boulevard — the home is being offered for sale with its furnishings for $26 million. It has been listed for sale by Wittmann’s wife, Paula Wittmann, a real estate agent at Fite Shavell and Associates.

Wittmann, whose West Palm Beach-based company has built a number of custom and spec homes in Palm Beach, says he understood that a house of this size would be more appealing to potential home buyers if it were presented furnished.

“I gave Jack Fhillips carte blanche to complete the package. I had complete confidence that he would get it right,” Wittmann says.

Fhillips decided on a traditional English look with touches of tropical and contemporary elements.

A view of the swimming pool in the inner courtyard.

“But we didn’t want it to have that plantation feeling, with dark mahogany and white. We painted it all to make the house feel less serious, keeping it simple and clean,” Fhillips says.

Fhillips chose a palette of eggshell and off-white, adding accents with the soft, grayed-out colors of sea glass. And he used lots of linen fabric for a look that is at once elegant and relaxed.

He, like Wittmann, considers the two-story foyer, with its staircase featuring fretted Chippendale railings, one of the home’s most notable spaces.

“I really like the mirrors on the wall going up the stairs,” Fhillips says. “People often fill that space up with collections of seascapes or botanicals. But the railing itself makes a statement, so I started collecting mirrors — old and new — and we sprayed them the color of the railing to let them create a three-dimensional effect. The table in the foyer is by Ralph Lauren, and is one of the few dark pieces of furniture in the home.”

Other elements in the foyer include wainscoting and decorative molding along with a honed gray-and-white marble floor set in a checkerboard pattern.

The foyer opens to a main hall that accesses the living room through three archways to the east and the family room to the west. Each room can be seen from the other through the arcade, an

The front door faces Banyan Boulevard and is set into a façade with a variety of classic British Colonial-style elements – bulls-eye windows, top-hinged window shutters and a balcony above the main entry.

effect that visually links the spaces while keeping them distinct from each other. The arcade also allows those in the family room look to the east and enjoy the living room’s ocean views. Because of the lot’s elevation, the sea can be seen across South Ocean Boulevard from the first-floor rooms — a distinction that many Palm Beach oceanfront homes don’t have.

The living room has hardwood floors, a fireplace and floor-to-ceiling French doors with fanlights above that open to a covered loggia to the east. The room is capped by a 12-foot-high coffered ceiling.

The family room’s French doors open to the loggia, which wraps around the inner courtyard with a swimming pool.

To the north of the living room is a paneled bar. It has a marble fireplace, coffered ceiling, decorative molding and French doors, with fanlights above them, that offer more views of the ocean and open onto the east loggia.

In the south wing of the house are two guest bedroom suites with marble-appointed bathrooms.

West of the foyer, a hallway leads past the elevator and powder room and opens to a second hallway with French doors on the south side that offer views of the courtyard. Off of this hallway are the formal dining room, the breakfast room, the kitchen, a laundry area, staff quarters, and access to the garage and a poolside cabana.

The formal dining room features a bay window, hardwood floors set in a herringbone pattern along with chair-rail and decorative moldings. The kitchen has a marble floor but a relaxed ambience, thanks to its tray ceiling lined with beadboard, white cabinetry and an island topped with stainless steel. Other countertops are marble with a subway-style tile backsplash.

The living room features a stately wood mantelpiece and simple furnishings that don’t detract from the view of the sea through the floor-to-ceiling French doors with fanlights above them. The furnished home is listed for sale at $26 million by Fite Shavell and Associates.

Upstairs, the stairway’s mid-landing has French doors opening to a balcony above the front entry. The French doors are flanked by round windows that frame ocean views.

The master suite is on the south side of the house through double louvered doors that access a “morning bar” and a sitting room, where more French doors lead to a private balcony. The bedroom features a tray ceiling and French doors that open to a “Juliet”-style balcony that overlooks the ocean.

One of the two master bathrooms also has French doors that offer sea views. Other features include white paneling under the wainscot, white marble with subtle blue and green veins, a soaking tub and walk-in shower. The other master bath is appointed in white marble with touches of gray and has a large walk-in shower. Also part of the suite is a room that can function as an exercise area or an office.

In the northeast corner is a bedroom suite with a tray ceiling, hardwood floors, another Juliet balcony and a  bathroom outfitted in marble.

Also on the second floor is another guest bedroom suite with a marble bathroom. Nearby, a guest suite could serve as a second master suite.

Wittmann credits Keith Williams of Mario Nievera Design for the landscape design and Diane Poli, his in-house designer, for her selection of traditional and transitional interior finishes and colors that create a sense of calm and softness — a look perfectly echoed by Fhillips’ decor.

For information about 102 
Banyan Road, call Paula Wittmann at (561) 373-2666.

By David Rogers and Michele Dargan
Palm Beach Daily News Staff Writers

Palm Beach tops the list of the 10 richest ZIP codes in America, according to a new Bloomberg Businessweek.com report.

The publication reports that data company Gadberry Group of Little Rock, Ark., reviewed all ZIP codes in the country with more than 100 households and ranked them by average income and household net worth.

Rounding out the top 10 are: (from second to 10th) Old Westbury, N.Y.; Kenilworth, Ill.; Beverly Hills, Calif.; Portola Valley, Calif.; Los Angeles, Calif. (90077); Gladwyne, Pa.; Purchase, N.Y.; Los Altos, Calif.; and Santa Monica, Calif.

The survey’s focus on primary residences served to eliminate the Hamptons and Aspen, where many of the homes are second homes, according to the report. Although a number of Palm Beachers also live in Manhattan, that area did not make the list because it has a wider range of income earners, according to Businessweek.com. Estimates for Palm Beach include some part-year residents, the report says.

The high ranking of ZIP code 33480 does not surprise Laurel Baker, president of the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce.

“I don’t think there are any communities in the country that have, within a three-block-wide area and a 14-mile stretch, the level of service and conveniences and beauty, and cultural amenities and fine dining you have in Palm Beach,” Baker said.

The availability of medical services in town, provided by a primary care physician, a dermatologist and rehabilitation center, is another reason Palm Beach is a highly desirable place to live, Baker said. The business climate and community safety are also key factors, Baker said.

Mayor Gail Coniglio agrees.

“It doesn’t surprise me because of what the island is and what the island offers,” Coniglio said. “It’s the quality of life, the beauty, the safety and security that draws a person here who’s reached the point in their life that they want to enjoy that same peaceful quality that’s our paradise. It’s a magnificent place to live. We’re lucky to attract those people who’ve been so successful in their life. Our residents are the most giving, generous and most sharing of their time, talent and treasures in giving back to others less blessed — and they’re more than willing to give back.”

Town Council President David Rosow is skeptical of the findings.

“If their data is correct that’s really interesting news,” Rosow said. “However, Bloomberg has been known to make errors and recently claimed that the Federal Reserve lent banks $7.7 trillion, a figure that I believe has been widely disparaged. It’s difficult to include some second residences when I know some of these same people have homes in Aspen, the Hamptons and elsewhere. The publicity is only good for Palm Beach if it increases real estate values and helps eliminate the overhang of unsold homes and condominiums.”

Twenty-four Palm Beachers made this year’s Forbes list of the top 400 richest Americans. The only Palm Beacher to make the top 10 was industrialist David Koch, who tied at number four with his brother Charles, of Wichita, Kan., both having an estimated net worth of $25 billion.

To see the full report, visit: http://images.businessweek.com/slideshows/20111206/america-s-richest-zip-codes-2011/?campaign_id=lifestyle_related

Three Geodisic Domes rest in the middle of Manalapan. They rest on 2.5 acres. At one end, 211 feet of Intracoastal Waterway. At the other end, 211 feet of private beach on the Atlantic Ocean. No one lives there. No one has lived there since 1978.

If the converging triangles of the geodesic domes were anthropomorphic, they might say, “You built me, you left me. You bought me, you seldom visit. Here I stand invulnerable to hurricanes, intriguing to hippies — an art abandoned, a home alone.”

The domes began with one man’s dream that turned to disappointment. The property became another man’s vacation home. Now, it’s listed for sale at $6,750,000.

“Unfortunately, whoever buys it, will most likely tear it down,” said Carla Christenson, Fite & Shavell broker associate, acknowledging the land value before quickly adding, “You never know, I shouldn’t say that.”

Ms. Christenson backtracks her words, because as the listing agent for 1860 South Ocean Blvd. in south central Palm Beach County, she has shown the property to two clients interested in keeping the domes, walking them the 500 feet from the lapping sounds of the intracoastal to the crashing sounds of the ocean break.

To her, preserving the domes would be ideal. She would love for some “Willie Nelson”-type — millionaire/hippie/ artist — to come along and not tear them down. She says this wearing an aqua paisley dress fit to match the house — funky.

Ms. Christenson considers the domes her recent study, going so far as subscribing to TIME magazine online, so she may read archived articles of Buckminster Fuller — the inventor of the geodesic design.

“These domes withstand hurricanes because of their design,” Ms. Christenson said. “They’ve been directly hit by two hurricanes, but never sustained any damage because the wind wraps around it, there’s no roof for the wind to go under and rip off.”

As hard as they may be for Mother Nature to take down, Gyora Novak says the domes were hard to put up. The original owner, Mr. Novak intended to live out his life there, and build more domes. But he claims building permits were taking too long to acquire and he believes bias came into play, because as he says, he was an artist and “a bearded man.”

Mr. Novak built his domes in 1968. At the time, the Palm Beach County property appraiser valued his domes at $60,000. Here’s how Mr. Novak, now 77, recalls obtaining his permit to build — he went to see the Manalapan town manager and offered to give up his geodesic vision, posing instead to turn the property into a surfers park.

Mr. Novak says he told the town manager, “Any surfer will be welcome to use it. And the only way around it, I give you one week to give me my permit.”

According to Mr. Novak, the surfer stigma must have been worse than his beard. He got his permit. He built his domes. He lived there long enough to enjoy it, and he does not care to say any more than that. Somehow what he once called “his dream,” turned into what he now calls “that place.”

“I reject the idea of having anything to do with that place. It’s a terrible disappointment, a waste of time,” Mr. Novak said. “It’s destroyed for me. When your life’s destroyed, why come back to it?”

He will not comment on how it feels to live in a geodesic dome, because he does not wish to help the current owner or broker sell the Manalapan house — “They’ll get six or seven figures for it, what do I get?”— though on his website, gyoranovak.com, he describes the experience as, “a creative, energizing force,” or a “contemplative, elevating sensation.”

Mr. Novak now lives in a seven-dome hamlet in North Carolina.

Stephen Cohen now owns the three Manalapan domes. He bought them in 1978. He describes them as three igloos joined by two corridors. And he’s kept them original.

The main dome — blue tile floors, red fireplace, framed paintings of squid and sun, maybe nuclei, though a poster of Florida from space most encapsulates the feel of the place. Sunhats and beach umbrellas hang near a bookshelf of board games and puzzles, all evidence of vacation. Pegboard separates the kitchen, lavender cabinets, teakettle on a GE stove.

PHOTO BY ATHENA PONUSHIS/FLORIDA WEEKLY

The north dome — pink tile floors, two bedrooms, Jack-and-Jill bath, orange sink. Spiral staircase up to loft, where a fort made out of blankets lends more evidence to family vacation. Old TV’s with knobs, no flat screens. One television topped with an 8-track stereo, next to an ashtray.

The south dome — yellow tile floors, master bedroom stylized by a dome within a dome. The inner dome serves as a looming headboard, harboring the bath with his-and-her sinks. The “his and her” permeates the room, with his and her beanbags, his and her desks, his and her lamps, his and her corded phones. One mini-fridge.

Light bulbs near the floor accentuate the triangles of the domes. They’re cool to the touch and seem to card-house up, though they’re made of Douglas fir, covered by a reinforced concrete exterior.

All domes open to the swimming pool, an inverted dome, black-and-white checkered. All doors are sliding glass.

Mr. Cohen remembers the day he and his wife first pulled into the driveway and looked at each, before they had even looked at the house, “Right then, we knew this was for us,” he said, calling from his holiday in Thailand.

Originally from South Africa, Mr. Cohen moved to New York, thinking he and his wife would take up snow skiing. They didn’t take to it and started searching for someplace warm. They found the Manalapan domes and fell for waterskiing instead.

“We just love the house. We’re not down often, not nearly often enough,” said Mr. Cohen, whose family visits on Easter, Thanksgiving, Labor Day and the stretch from Christmas through New Year’s. “Just a day and you feel a differ- ent person, in part, it’s the house, the house has something to do with it.”

In his 10-minute international phone call, Mr. Cohen expressed how he loves the house — his wife loves geodesic domes; he loves the overgrown, native Florida grounds; he and his sons love scuba diving the ocean reefs; his grandchildren love the loft — so why is he selling it?

“I’m not,” he said, then explaining real estate agents approached him, said someone was interested, told him to name a price. “I named a high price.”

Here’s how he sums up the sale of the house, “Make me an offer I can’t refuse and I’ll consider it, but not otherwise.”

As far as Manalapan, Town Clerk Lisa Petersen said of the domes, “I’d hate to see them go, but I understand if they have to go. … If someone buys oceanfront property, they have the right to do what they wish. We understand me may lose them.”

And as the domes circle a visionary’s architecture, a resentful man’s drama, a traveling man’s respite, the one who would feel the loss the most, would be the man who circles the domes — Peter Jefferson, caretaker/estate manager of the domes since 1974.

Mr. Jefferson admits he has an attachment to the domes, saying simply, “Yes, I’ve been there so long, I’ve spent more time there than anybody else.”

He considers himself a nature person. He considers the Manalapan property a “piece of paradise” because it has been left to be natural, from the sea grapes on the intracoastal to the sea oats on the Atlantic. The domes grew on him as he worked around them.

“It’s indescribable unless you take somebody there,” he said. “The feeling of tranquility when you’re within them,” he trails off.

As easily as one man can call the domes his dream, another man, his holiday, Mr. Jefferson cannot call the domes his job. He once made the comment to a friend, “I love being here so much, I guess I really should be paying them, I get so much pleasure out of working here.

“I will miss it when it’s gone,” said the 74-year-old. “It’s part of my life. When you’ve been going somewhere so long, it becomes part of your life. I will miss being on the property.”

He calls the domes unique. He calls the domes special. “Special is just a word, but I suppose I say special because of the fond memories I have of the place.”

He would like to see the domes remain.

Mr. Cohen surprised him, all the years he’s owned the domes, he’s left it all intact, including the furnishings inside.

“Some place, somewhere there must be a person,” Mr. Jefferson said. “This will be just what they’ve wanted.”

Would he live there? He says he could not afford it.

Can he think of anyone else who could speak to the house? He says, “There really isn’t anybody else.”

But if the domes could speak, Mr. Jefferson, a man from London, says something close to what some boys from Liverpool may have said, “Don’t knock me down.” ¦

If you’re interested in the Manalapan domes listing, please call Fite & Shavell broker associate/ listing agent Carla Christenson at 307- 9966. The property is co-listed with Samantha Curry and Scott Gordon.

By Darrell Hofheinz/Daily News Real Estate Writer

The longtime lakefront home of the late real estate investor and philanthropist Robert “Bob” Gordon and his wife, Arlette, has changed hands for $7.8 million, according to the price recorded Wednesday on the warranty deed filed with the Palm Beach County Clerk’s office.

Palm Beachers Abe and Giovana Haruvi bought the five-bedroom house at 980 N. Lake Way, which was last marketed at $11.9 million, said Scott M. Gordon of Fite Shavell & Associates. Gordon listed the house for his parents and is the only one of the couple’s three sons to have lived there while growing up.

Although the Haruvis are just finishing work on an 11,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom custom home at 112 Via Palma, the deal for the North Lake Way house was just too good to pass up, said Abe Haruvi, a real estate investor who owns a number of properties in Palm Beach County and New York City.

“We always wanted to be on the water,” Haruvi said. “This was an opportunity I couldn’t resist. We’re very excited about the house.”

With a little more than 12,000 square feet of living space inside and out, the home on North Lake Way had at one point in early 2010 been listed for nearly $17 million but never sold. Bob Gordon had taken it off the market for much of last season, his son said.

“He loved that house and didn’t really want to sell it,” Scott Gordon said, explaining that by setting such a high price and refusing to negotiate, his father “could sell it but not sell it.”

After his father died in May, Scott Gordon put the house back on the market with an asking price of $13.9 million.

With 155 feet of lakefront, the North Lake Way house was designed by Ames Bennett and built in 1962 by the late developer Robert Gottfried in his signature Palm Beach Regency style on a lot that stands five streets north of the Palm Beach Country Club.

The Gordons bought the house in the early 1970s when Bob Gordon expanded his development interests into South Florida from Boston, according to a 2010 article about the house in the Shiny Sheet.

“My wife and I went down to Key West, stopping along the way, looking for a place to live. And then we arrived in Palm Beach,” Bob Gordon said in the article.

When the real estate agent opened the front door and the couple looked straight through the house to the lakefront, Bob Gordon was sold: “I remember that like it was yesterday. I said, ‘That’s where the boat is going to go.’”

After the Gordons moved in, they added a dock, which was replaced in 2009. Over the years, the Gordons carried out a variety of renovation projects, including an addition on the north side of the house. The layout includes a grand foyer, a great room, a conservatory-style sun room, a billiards room, a sauna and a staff suite. Outside are fountains, gardens, patios, a loggia and a slat house.

Arlette Gordon, meanwhile, has bought a condominium in the Palm Beach Biltmore. She was represented in the transaction by her son, who said the deal would close this week.

Bob Gordon developed a variety of apartment buildings between Boca Raton and Miami. Most recently, he joined his son, Lee Gordon, in developing three “spec” homes — since sold by son Scott — on the island with George L. Ford III of Leeds Custom Design in West Palm Beach.

By Darrell Hofheinz
Daily News Real Estate Writer

Real estate markets are cyclical, although Palm Beach brokers agree predicting anything in the wake of the Great Recession is like predicting storms during hurricane season. There’s plenty of historical data, but you never really know what the future will bring.

The most expensive property sold during the last year was an estate at 40 Blossom Way that changed hands in May for $29.15 million, and several other transactions hovered in a nearby price ranges.

But sales above $30 million? Zilch.

More homes also sold for between $5 million and $10 million. But by far, the most active single-family home sales category this year involved properties that changed hands for less than $2.5 million, reflecting sellers whose price expectations finally aligned with market realities.

Across the island in every price range, prices have dropped to their lowest levels in at least six years even as the inventory of properties, especially in the higher-end categories, has tightened.

So how to make sense of it all? Here are a few guidelines gleaned from real estate agents across Palm Beach to help would-be homebuyers navigate the island’s real estate market this season.

■ Expect stiff competition among buyers for premium properties — During the economic turbulence of the past three years, many put off buying a Palm Beach home because of suddenly tightened finances or because they were waiting for sellers to drop their prices. But that extended hiatus has created a pent-up demand among many buyers, brokers report. Last season saw a steady return of buyers to the market, and barring a major economic setback, Palm Beach brokers expect that more house-hunters will join the trail in the coming months.

One reason for the return, especially in the upper market — the $10 million to $30 million range — is that the buyers are often age 60 and older, have made their fortunes and know they only have so many years to enjoy the good life. Having a home in Palm Beach has always been part of their plans. In the lower end, meanwhile, younger affluent families continue to see Palm Beach as a prime spot for vacations and year-round living alike.

■ The price is likely right, or at least closer to right — To the dismay of some homeowners who bought at the height of the market — or invested in costly renovations that have been hard to recoup — prices in Palm Beach have either bottomed out or are approaching that magic figure, most brokers agree.

Setting home prices has never been an exact science, but “comps” are key. That’s real estate lingo for comparable sales of similar homes. If an agent sees the price similar properties have fetched, setting a so-called “fair-market” price becomes easier.

A big problem? As sales dwindled after the downturn took hold three years ago, appropriate comps were few and far between. Last season’s uptick in the market has helped stabilize that situation, however. And brokers say today’s listed prices are by and large a good indication of what the market will bear, while still leaving room for negotiation.

The past few months have also seen at least one waterfront property with an outdated home on it priced at its land value. Aimed at buyers who want to build a new home, it’s a pricing strategy that immediately focuses attention on the lot’s location rather than what’s on it.

■ Don’t count on seeing many premium waterfront properties for sale — And that goes especially for houses directly on the beach, which are entering the market at a snail’s pace.

Property owners who landed in financial distress because of the downturn that began in late 2008 and had to sell did so quickly, sometimes within months. Today, however, Palm Beach brokers are operating in a sales environment they know well: Secure in their wealth, most homeowners here feel no financial pressure to sell unless they want to.

As a result, many an owner of a premium property — facing the prospect of not finding another home for sale on the island better than his or her present residence — has chosen not to sell.

It’s a Catch 22, of sorts: With inventory of better properties remaining tight, trading up isn’t nearly as easy as it used to be.

So here is the lesson for potential buyers: If you see it and you like it, make an offer, as stories abounded last season of fence-sitters who waited too long and lost out to someone else.

■ Buy used, or expect to build — The number of for-sale “spec” homes built by developers in Palm Beach has dwindled, as builders scrambled to sell the houses that were in the pipeline before the recession tightened its grip. The spec market is only beginning to recover — and such homes can take two or three years to develop. So you won’t find many never-lived-in homes for sale on Palm Beach this season.

Notable exceptions are in the upper brackets and include a $26 million oceanfront home at 102 Banyan Road by Wittmann Building Corp.; and two homes by Addison Development — one a $47.5 million oceanfront residence at 101 El Bravo Way and the other on the Intracoastal Waterway at 1220 S. Ocean Blvd. Priced at $74 million, the latter is the most expensive home on the market in Palm Beach.

For those who plan to build, the market for vacant lots has been active. In fact, the second largest sale of the last season by a single buyer involved two transactions for adjacent lots in the 1000 block of North Ocean Boulevard that together totaled $28.9 million.

■ Easy money from a mortgage or a home equity line may be difficult to find — The rule in Palm Beach has always been that the majority of homebuyers — some brokers say as many as 85 percent to 90 percent — pay cash.

But that doesn’t mean home loans have not been a longtime part of the island’s real estate picture. In the days of easy credit, many buyers immediately took out jumbo mortgages and home equity lines after the cash exchanged hands. At relatively low interest rates, that priced-right money often was used for investments but could also pay for renovations, redecorating, new landscaping — no small expenses for new homeowners of mansions. Even today, interest rates remain attractive, but wary banks have made financing much harder to come by. The result is that even those with deep pockets are putting out more cash than they once did after buying a home.

■ Consider a fixer-upper, if you don’t mind the time and expense — Palm Beach is filled with older homes ripe for renovation or replacement. But finding buyers isn’t always easy. Not only has financing for major renovations become a stumbling block for some, but many vendors of renovation products have also tightened credit policies.

Meanwhile, brokers report many would-be buyers who have re-entered the Palm Beach market after sitting on the sidelines for a couple of years are showing little enthusiasm for major renovation projects that will take a year — or more.

In the island’s aging condominium market, meanwhile, buyers are far more likely to find units that need extensive updating than not. Renovated properties in prime buildings tend to sell quickly these days, brokers report. What remain are plenty of apartments that will require a major outlay of cash, either by the sellers to make them more marketable or by the buyers, post-sale.

A bit of good news for the condo market? The inventory of new luxury apartments in downtown West Palm Beach is expected to shrink significantly this year, according to experts who have watched the same thing happen over the past year in Miami-Dade County, and to a lesser extent, Broward County. Without alternatives as readily available across the bridge, Palm Beach apartments may look ever more attractive.

■ Renting may be a good option while shopping for your dream home — Brokers report that the leasing market during the past few months has gotten red-hot, thanks to the tight inventory of homes for sale. Renting a house, apartment or condo on a seasonal or even annual basis is a strategy that lets house-hunters enjoy the amenities of Palm Beach while they research the market. That way, they can jump on the right property when it becomes available.

Renting also allows those new to Palm Beach to see if the lifestyle suits them. Another bonus: If a leased property turns out to be a good fit, many such homes are for sale.

The rub? Agents were surprised to find that by the end of summer, the bulk of premium, for-lease homes had been snapped up — perhaps another indication this season’s real estate market will write its own rules.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Oct. 20, 2011 – Florida’s existing home and existing condo sales continued their upswing in September, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Existing home sales increased 10 percent last month with a total of 15,036 homes sold statewide compared to 13,723 homes sold in September 2010, according to Florida Realtors.

“One of the most overlooked statistical trends in all of real estate is the growth in home sales, both single-family and condo, in the state of Florida,” said Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo. “We’ve seen an upward trend in sales since January 2011, and September’s sales were a full 10 percent above September 2010. Even prices, which have been static over the past few months, are well above where they were in January 2011.

“One of the reasons for this is stabilization in the distressed property market. This is not a problem that’s going away, but there’s a degree of certainty that is helping the market.”

Fifteen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported higher existing home sales in September; 11 MSAs had higher existing condo sales.

The statewide median sales price for existing homes last month was $133,900; a year ago, it was $135,000 for only a 1 percent decrease. According to analysts with the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

The national median sales price for existing single-family homes in August 2011 was $168,400, down 5.4 percent from a year ago, according to NAR. In California, the August statewide median resales price was $297,060; in Maryland, it was $241,564; and in New York, it was $220,000.

In Florida’s year-to-year comparison for condos, 6,666 units sold statewide in September, a 10 percent gain over the 6,035 units sold in September 2010. The statewide existing condo median sales price last month was $87,200; a year earlier, it was $81,800 for a 7 percent increase.

“Historically low mortgage rates and stabilizing home prices all across Florida’s local housing markets continue to attract potential buyers – housing affordability conditions are very favorable right now,” said 2011 Florida Realtors President Patricia Fitzgerald, manager/broker-associate with Illustrated Properties in Hobe Sound and Mariner Sands Country Club in Stuart. “However, financially qualified buyers are still being denied home loans because of overly restrictive lending requirements, and that’s a significant obstacle to the housing recovery.”

According to Freddie Mac, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.11 percent in September, down from the 4.35 percent average during the same month a year earlier. Florida Realtors’ sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

© 2011 Florida Realtors®

Real estate agents who sell single-family homes in Palm Beach may need to replace their Jimmy Choo pumps and Gucci loafers for the upcoming season.

The latest Evans Report sales analysis shows plenty of shoe leather hit the pavement during the first half of this year, when the number of house sales rose substantially over the same period last year.

The increase both reflects lower home prices and more confidence in the island’s real estate market, said Leslie Evans, the Palm Beach real estate attorney and property owner who prepares the reports.

“I’m optimistic. We’re seeing a big increase in sales,” said Evans, whose firm provides legal services to real estate agencies and their clients. “If people didn’t think (prices) had bottomed out, they wouldn’t be buying here.”

His analysis shows that 81 single-family homes sold during the first and second quarters of this year, compared to 60 in the first six months of 2010. In the first half of 2009, when the real estate slump tightened its grip on the island, just 38 single-family homes changed hands.

Condo sales picture mixed

On the condominium scene, the report reveals a fairly stagnant market overall, with 157 Palm Beach condominiums sold during the first half of this year — just five more than sold during the first half of 2010.

Still, condo sales were up substantially north of Sloan’s Curve, with the number of transactions rising from 51 in the first half of 2010 to 67 for the same period this year. But the median condo sales price in the same area, which includes the many Midtown buildings, was down — from $869,000 last year to $625,000. The median is the price at which half the properties sold for more and half for less.

In the northern area, the highest-priced condominium during the period covered in the report was March’s $4.5 million sale in the Leverett House at 110 Sunset Ave., followed the same month by a $3.77 million sale in the Palm Beach Biltmore. Another three condos sold in the area for more than $2 million.

In the less-expensive Condominium Row area south of Sloan’s Curve, however, fewer condos sold during the first half of this year than in the same period of 2010. The number of transactions dropped this year to 90 from last year’s 101. But the median sales price there increased from $300,000 to $327,000, as buyers returned to the market and snapped up better-quality and pricier properties. That has left the market glutted with older, outdated units in lower price ranges, according to real estate brokers and agents.

Single-family action heats up

Although more single-family homes found new owners during the first six months of 2011, the report’s sales-price profile for them isn’t clear-cut. The median price of the homes sold in the first half of 2011 clocked in at $2.4 million, compared to $2.9 million for the same period last year. But when the sales prices of all of the homes sold are averaged, the number comes out to $5.1 million, higher than the $4.7 million average recorded for the first half of 2010.

Following longtime trends, there were more house sales in the second quarter of this year — 54 — than in the first quarter, when 27 changed hands.

Several price categories were substantially more active during the first half of this year than they were last year. For instance, five homes sold for more than $20 million between Jan.1 through June 30 of this year, compared to the sole house sold during the same period last year.

Also seeing more activity were homes sold in the middle range — between $5 million and $10 million. Last year nine sold in that category during the first six months, while 14 sales were recorded in the latest report.

But the price category that saw the largest increase in the number of transactions involved houses that sold for less than $2.5 million. That bread-and-butter category likely reflected changing attitudes among sellers, who finally agreed to take less for their houses than they would have the year before. The report showed that 41 houses changed hands this year versus 25 last year.

Neighborhood distinctions

As for a geographic breakdown of the single-family home sales, the report showed that the most activity occurred in the North End, where the number of sales in the first six months rose from 43 last year to 48 this year. The median price in that area this year was $2.06 million, versus $2.35 million last year. The highest-dollar home sale in the area was 102 Canterbury Lane, which sold in March for $26.4 million. In the Midtown area, 15 single-family homes sold in the first six months of this year, compared to 10 in the first half of 2010. The median price there fell from about $3.21 million last year to about $2.21 million this year.

The South End and Estate Section saw the greatest number of sales of higher-end homes, the report confirmed. Eighteen houses changed hands there in the first half of this year, versus seven in the same period last year. And six of the 2011 sales were priced at more than $11 million.

The report showed the median sales price in the South End and Estate Section was down to about $8.6 million in 2011, compared from $11.6 million in 2010. The least expensive home changing hands there was 221 El Vedado Way, which sold in March for $3.8 million, while the most expensive was 40 Blossom Way, which brought $29.15 million in May. The latter remains the highest-dollar sale so far this year.

In all, $405 million worth of single-family homes and $106 million worth of condominiums changed hands during the first half of this year throughout Palm Beach.

“That’s over a half-billion (dollars in sales),” Evans said. “We’re on track for a billion dollars (by the end of) 2011.”

The report also showed that like last year, there were no single-family homes sold in foreclosure during the first half of this year. But the report recorded five such units among the condos and cooperatives that changed hands. For the same period last year, nine apartments sold in foreclosure.

Evans said he and his staff compile sales and price figures from a variety of sources, including public records, newspaper articles and multiple listing services.