Included is the Sales Data as mentioned in the Palm Beach Real Estate Guide.

Ask anyone why Florida remains so popular and opinions will vary wildly.  Most people will generally mention the many beaches, the sunny weather and the attractions that exist throughout the state such as Walt Disney World.  If we move down to the South Florida region, we already know Miami Beach is a major contributor to Florida’s appeal but it’s Palm Beach that arguably caters to the widest age demographic, among other cities.

Palm Beach real estate is popular with the older generation and boasts widely recognized names like Donald Trump while also offering beachfront properties for the young professional and investor wanting to live near the beach.  A few years ago however, most people found living in Palm Beach—and everywhere else in Florida—a little too much on the expensive side which subsequently drove many people to move elsewhere.

Baby boomers were among the groups of people who decided Florida was too expensive.  And while Florida can still be considered a little on the pricey side, the real estate market plunge it’s experiencing has made things substantially more affordable for people wanting to own beachfront condos in Palm Beach or a single family home by the water.  Baby boomers are looking for a place to spend their golden years and since prices in Florida have dropped so drastically, a lot of them may soon be calling it their retirement home.  While it may require some legwork, retirees can find very good deals on beachfront condos for over fifty percent less than its original asking price.

Palm Beach realtors would surely appreciate a surge in demand from baby boomers in order to help get them rid of all the existing property for sale but there is a potential problem that could arise if such a trend were to take place: as more and more young immigrants come into South Florida.  The large gap in age may cause public services to be spread too thin.  Chances are by the time a situation like that threatens to become a problem, there will already be a solution in place.

Prices and values for South Florida homes have generally seen an “across the board drop”, with some markets experiencing more drastic percentage drops than others.  The Palm Beach real estate market is actually one of the markets where prices and values are still doing significantly better in comparison and is therefore slightly less of an investment and/or buying risk than markets where prices continue to fluctuate.

On top of that, the state of Florida also seems to be eyeing Palm Beach with more confidence.  It recently bestowed the county’s local governments with its State Housing Initiative Partnership (SHIP) program, an $8.9 million dollar fund which, much like the name implies is intended to further develop programs and grants in order to boost homeownership among those with lower income and tackle foreclosure prevention by continuing to fund programs designed to assist distressed homeowners.

Receiving the SHIP funds does entail a few prerequisites however.  Programs designed to assist first time buyers and existing homeowners must already be in place and no neighborhood can have inflated mortgage rates that are higher than thirty percent of what the median value of homes in the neighborhood are currently at.  This removes the need to start from scratch and ensures that the funds are being used as effectively as possible.

The money does (and can) go beyond foreclosures and first time home buyer assistance.  Assuming the requirements have been met, governments may also choose to use the money to construct additional beachfront condos, take care of costly repairs or create additional assistance programs of some sort.

The more that can be done to help those people who don’t have six figure salaries or the homeowners drowning in mortgage debt, the better the chances of improving the country’s real estate market situation and SHIP can only work in favor of these buyers and homeowners.