Palm Beach County single-family home prices drop in July from record high

Palm Beach County home sales slumped in July with fewer closed deals, stale pricing and a stubborn lack of choices for buyers.

At $600,000, July’s median sale price for an existing single-family home broke even with the same month last year, but was $25,000 less than the record high set in June, according to a report released Tuesday by the Broward, Palm Beaches and St. Lucie Realtors Group.

The number of closed sales in July of 1,164 was 2% lower than July 2022, and the supply of inventory was just 2.9 months. That’s the lowest amount of inventory since September of last year and far from the 5.5 to 6 months’ supply that is considered a balanced market where neither the buyer or seller has the advantage.

Realtors and economists said the lack of homes for sale is partly an issue of sellers not wanting to lose their low mortgage interest rates in favor of the current rate, which at 7.09% is the highest in more than 20 years. The last time an average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was more than 7% was April 2002, when it was 7.13%, according to Freddie Mac.