Like everything else in life, the housing market has its ups and downs.
And, these days, Palm Beach County appears to be at the peak of its cycle – according to market analysis from faculty at Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University.
“The current Housing Price Index (HPI) score for the county is 311.32, which is slightly below the peak achieved for the county in the second quarter of 2006 of 318.3,” notes a press release. “Residential property price appreciation for the county in the first quarter of 2019 was just .15 percent, while the prior two quarters were 1.35 percent and 2.79 percent, respectively.”
Ken H. Johnson, a real estate economist with FAU’s College of Business, explains in a press release: “Housing prices move in a cycle, and slowing property appreciation rates typically indicate that a market is approaching the peak of a cycle.”
Adds Eli Beracha, a real estate economist with the Hollo School of Real Estate at FIU, in a press release: “The downward pressure on the demand for ownership is clearly translating into slowing property prices across the county.”
Johnson and Beracha agree that what will happen next is hard to predict. But there’s some good news.
“Both feel that strong employment, low mortgage rates and the rapid influx in population should serve to moderate the impact of the approaching housing slowdown,” according to the press release.