Excerpt from Palm Beach Post Story 12/9/14 Click Here to View Full Story
Units are priced from the $300's to $700K |
Kevin
Dickenson, an agent with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, said 95 percent of
his clients want to be on the water, and agreed there is not much in the way of
newly-built inventory. He said his buyers are often interested in Palm Beach,
but that many of the condos on the island are decades old and have “dated
designs.”
The
number of Palm Beach County waterfront parcels has increased just 8 percent
since 2000, while non-waterfront parcels have grown by 17 percent, according to
the property appraiser.
Still,
Dickenson said there is newish inventory that can be found at reasonable
prices.
Dickenson
represents an investor who bought multiple units at the bottom of the market in
the colorful Marina Grande condominium on the Intracoastal in Riviera Beach.
Built in 2007, the 349-unit development suffered with the real estate downturn,
losing buyers who didn’t mind walking away from their contracts when the market
crashed.
He said
units can be purchased now at the Marina Grande for about $200 per square foot,
$50 to $100 less than at the peak.
“That is
a bargain for a building built during the boom,” Dickenson said. “My investor
is starting to sell and he’ll triple his money on some units and double it on
others.”