For Jared Dalto, West Palm Beach’s true deals are in the short sales, where investors and owner-occupants are snapping up properties faster than ever.
Dalto sees the current market as a once-in-a-lifetime period to buy and says that people will look back at this time and wonder what they didn’t purchase more.
BS: What’s the market like in West Palm Beach these days?
JD: A lot of investors are buying, and a lot of people who couldn’t afford to purchase when prices were so high are buying. The average median sales price in April was only $230,000. I’m getting a strong sense from clients that now is the time to buy, and the waiting is over. When people see a property they like, they aren’t staying on the sidelines anymore. They’re coming in with strong offers because there’s a lot of buyers on the market and a lot of competition.
BS: What sort of properties are moving on the market?
JD: At the $230,000 range, you can find a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home from, depending on location, 1,300 to 2,000 square feet. There’s even some newer homes that will fall within that range. Some of these homes may even have pools. The new construction prices are coming down in price as developers realize they have to meet market value, like short sales and bank-owned properties that undercut the builders’ prices. The price has to come down to move inventory.