Why Look at Price Bands?
Florida Realtors reported 1,112 single-family closings in Palm Beach County in August 2026, down 2% from a year earlier. The median price rose 3.2% to $650,000. The average price jumped 27.5% to $1,221,953.
That gap between the median and the average is a clue. A handful of very expensive sales can pull an average way up. So the better question is where on the price scale homes are actually selling.
To answer it, I sorted closed MLS sales into five price bands by closing year and sold price. I did this twice: once for the 55 country club communities, waterfront home markets, distinctive communities, and other areas I follow closely, and once for the broader county records available in a separate MLS extraction.
The 55 Featured Markets
The same 55 markets are used for every year. They include parts of Palm Beach Island, and a sale that falls in two overlapping markets is counted only once in the combined totals.
| Year | $1M or less | Over $1M–$3M | Over $3M–$5M | Over $5M–$10M | Over $10M | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1,328 | 807 | 150 | 107 | 52 | 2,444 |
| 2024 | 1,149 | 852 | 157 | 116 | 90 | 2,364 |
| 2025 | 1,160 | 890 | 176 | 147 | 102 | 2,475 |
| Change, 2023–25 | −12.7% | +10.3% | +17.3% | +37.4% | +96.2% | +1.3% |
Total sales were nearly flat, up 1.3%. Underneath that, 168 fewer homes sold at $1 million or less, and 199 more sold above it. Sales over $10 million nearly doubled, though they are still a small group. The under-$1 million band ticked up slightly from 2024 to 2025, so the decline has not been a straight line.
The longer view. Comparing 2015–2019 with 2021–2025 in the same markets, sales at $1 million or less fell from 10,689 to 7,757. Sales above $10 million rose from 89 to 402. The later period includes the unusual 2021 boom, which is why the year-by-year table matters too.
The Broader County Tells the Same Story
This table covers recorded Palm Beach County residential sales in a separate, broader combined MLS feed. It includes more property types and a wider area, so these numbers should not be added to the 55-market table. It is not a census of every county sale.
| Year | $1M or less | Over $1M–$3M | Over $3M–$5M | Over $5M–$10M | Over $10M | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 30,966 | 1,315 | 233 | 128 | 52 | 32,694 |
| 2023 | 23,139 | 3,096 | 455 | 230 | 84 | 27,004 |
| 2024 | 20,083 | 3,305 | 462 | 265 | 124 | 24,239 |
| 2025 | 20,107 | 3,500 | 523 | 331 | 148 | 24,609 |
| Change, 2023–25 | −13.1% | +13.0% | +14.9% | +43.9% | +76.2% | −8.9% |
In the available county feed, total sales fell 8.9% from 2023 to 2025, while the 55 featured markets held steady. The pattern by price is the same: fewer sales at $1 million or less and more in every band above it. Compared with 2019, sales at $1 million or less were down about 35%, while every higher band grew.
These are fixed dollar bands, not adjusted for inflation. A home can move into a higher band simply because it gained value. The mix of what sold also changes from year to year, including location, size, age, and condition. The tables show where buyers paid, not every reason why.
What 2026 Is Showing So Far
The completed-year pattern needs a current-year check. Comparing January through August in both years within the same countywide MLS extraction, closings increased in every price band in 2026. This uses closing date and actual sold price, not contracts or a partial year against a full year.
| County closings, January–August | $1M or less | Over $1M–$3M | Over $3M–$5M | Over $5M–$10M | Over $10M | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 13,464 | 2,415 | 363 | 238 | 104 | 16,584 |
| 2026 | 14,178 | 2,902 | 489 | 308 | 158 | 18,035 |
| Change | +5.3% | +20.2% | +34.7% | +29.4% | +51.9% | +8.7% |
That changes the near-term reading: sales at $1 million or less are up this year, even though the 2023–2025 decline remains true. The 55 selected markets show the same lower-band rebound for January–August, from 772 closings in 2025 to 854 in 2026 (+10.6%). Countywide sales above $1 million rose faster than lower-band sales, from 3,120 to 3,857 (+23.6%), lifting their share of recorded closings from 18.8% to 21.4%. The over-$10 million increase is 54 transactions, so its percentage is sensitive to a small base.
This compares currently retained MLS records, not a reconstruction of what each feed showed on the same date last year. September is omitted because its 2026 closings are incomplete. The county extraction excludes sales found only in the separate Palm Beach Board feed, a material limitation at the top end. The price bands show where sales occurred; they do not establish like-for-like appreciation or explain why volume changed.
The 170 sales at $10 million or more mentioned in my Five Markets article come from MIAMI REALTORS® + RWorld’s August release. This separate extraction counts 158 strictly above $10 million through August; two more closed at exactly $10 million, making 160 at $10 million or more within this feed. The remaining ten-sale gap has not been reconciled transaction by transaction and may reflect feed coverage and reporting methods. The 12 Palm Beach Board-only island closings discussed in Five Markets were found in a different September–August single-family sample, so they cannot be added directly to this January–August county figure.
Single-Family Homes and Condos Moved Differently
Most of the recorded countywide drop at $1 million or less came from condos.
| County, 2023 → 2025 | Single-family | Condo |
|---|---|---|
| $1M or less | 9,798 → 9,386 (−4.2%) | 8,485 → 6,359 (−25.1%) |
| Over $1M | 2,894 → 3,440 (+18.9%) | 805 → 863 (+7.2%) |
The next examples are single-family sales in individual community files, 2019 versus 2025:
| Community | $1M or less | Over $1M–$3M |
|---|---|---|
| Abacoa | 117 → 29 | 17 → 67 |
| PGA National | 161 → 74 | 5 → 35 |
| Jupiter Farms | 179 → 126 | 5 → 49 |
Boca West is different. Its condo sales at $1 million or less rose from 126 to 148, even though its total under-$1 million sales across all property types fell from 194 to 161. A community-wide number can hide what is happening with one type of home. These community counts come directly from each current file and are not added into the 55-market totals.
At the top of the market, sales above $10 million moved as follows between 2015–2019 and 2021–2025:
| Featured area | 2015–2019 | 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Palm Beach Island North End | 26 | 74 |
| Midtown and In-Town | 6 | 54 |
| Admirals Cove | 1 | 38 |
At this price level, small numbers can swing a lot from year to year.
How This Fits With the Florida Realtors Report
The Florida Realtors August 2026 report is a useful independent check. It shows a higher median price, a much higher average, and 4,345 active listings, down 23.8% from a year ago. Its research glossary notes that averages are sensitive to high-priced sales.
The report covers only one month of single-family sales and does not break sales into these five price bands. It cannot be compared directly with my all-residential annual tables.
The data sources also differ. For August, my county extraction shows 1,021 single-family closings in 2026 and 1,040 in 2025, compared with 1,112 and 1,135 from Florida Realtors. I use their numbers as a broad benchmark, not an exact match.
What This Means for Buyers and Sellers
County averages will not tell you what your home is worth or what you will pay. The real question is how many comparable homes, of this type and in this community and price range, are selling right now.
The old $1 million threshold may no longer describe the same homes it used to. Before drawing conclusions about price or demand, look at recent closed sales, current competition, and what is going under contract in that specific group. Request a property-specific analysis.
Sources and Methods
55-market data. MLS exports updated September 21–28, 2026. Only closed sales with a positive recorded sold price are counted in the year they closed. A sale appearing in overlapping markets (same parcel and event date) is counted once in the combined series. Waterfront groups exclude condos and co-ops; other groups include their recorded residential types.
County data. A separate Palm Beach County residential extraction from a combined BeachesMLS, MIAMI REALTORS® MLS, and limited Martin County-origin feed, grouped by close date and sold price. The source workbook was built around records with a contract date. Its audit found 399 closed source rows without that date that were excluded before this analysis. It does not include the separate Palm Beach Board feed or off-MLS sales. The feed covers the county's geography but not every sale in it.
Florida Realtors. Palm Beach County single-family monthly summary for August 2026, released September 16.
Price bands. All figures are in actual, unadjusted dollars. A sale of exactly $1 million falls in the lowest band; the top band starts strictly above $10 million.