The most common question in Palm Beach County's housing market this year has been whether it is crashing. According to real estate agent Loodmy Jacques, who leads The Jacques Team at Keller Williams Reserve in West Palm Beach, the numbers tell a different story: two markets operating in the same zip codes, moving at different speeds. Single-family homes remain in seller's territory, while condos have tipped toward buyers. This divergence matters for anyone buying, selling, or owning property in the region, as it shapes pricing, negotiation leverage, and financing options.
The gap between the two segments shows up less in price than in time and leverage. According to Jacques, single-family homes in the county carry roughly 3.5 months of supply, a level still associated with a seller's market. Condos sit closer to 6.7 months. The median single-family home goes under contract in about 40 days, compared with about 69 for condos, and single-family homes typically close near 95 percent of their original list price, against roughly 93 percent for condos. That extra month on the market carries weight, since each additional week tends to invite a lower offer. Multiple offers still occur on well-priced houses but are uncommon on condos unless the building is newer or fully funded. Condo prices have not collapsed, either: Jacques puts the median condo price up about 5 percent year over year.
Much of the pressure on older condos traces to reforms Florida adopted after the 2021 Surfside collapse. For years, associations could choose not to fund reserves, and many did. Buildings three stories or taller must now complete a Structural Integrity Reserve Study and set money aside for the repairs it identifies. "Owners in older buildings are now paying for decades of delayed repairs all at once," Jacques says. That cost arrives as higher monthly dues, special assessments, or both. Financing has tightened alongside it. Jacques estimates that only about 21 of roughly 2,400 South Florida condo buildings are approved for FHA loans, and more than half of condo purchases in Palm Beach County are now paid in cash.
The single-family side faces the opposite problem. Many owners holding low-rate mortgages are staying put, and Jacques estimates the county has about 24 percent fewer single-family homes available than a year ago. Buyer preference is shifting too, toward owning land without association rules and toward simpler financing. That does not make it 2021 again. Buyers remain price-sensitive, and homes that are priced in line with the market tend to move quickly while those that are not can sit.
The county-wide condo figure can mislead. A headline showing condo prices up 5 percent blends newer, well-funded buildings with older ones that may be flat or declining. For an individual unit, Jacques says, the building's reserve study and financial health matter more to price than the county median does. That makes the buyer's side of the process increasingly about documents rather than square footage. The county's housing story heading into the fall is less about direction than divergence. Single-family homes are being priced against a shortage. Condos, as Loodmy Jacques puts it, "are a building-by-building decision." For readers, this means that general market reports may not reflect local conditions, and that due diligence on condo finances is now as important as location.
