Market report definitions and sample rules

Current reporting periods

All current MLS calculations use one reporting cutoff: the newest verified MLS source file across the site. An unchanged older export can mean no new activity; its original modification time is retained internally and does not shorten the reporting period. Tax records, lifestyle research and historical studies retain their separate source dates. The published condo-fee decade study retains its October 5, 2026 edition, original cohorts and disclosed calculation rules; its frozen article and chart values have not been recalculated under the current policy. Historical PDFs have not all been revised. Preserved monthly editions retain their cohort dates, counts and original display rules. Their explicit legacy thresholds do not change the current 1% rule. When a combined total has not been reconciled to the current community period, it is withheld while the individual comparisons remain available.

Which properties and sample rules apply?

The display minimum is max(1, round(total residential inventory in the measured area and property type × 0.01)). Use the full verified residential total without subtracting residential lots. Round to the nearest whole transaction, with halves rounded upward: 20 or 100 properties require 1 usable observation, 250 require 3, 401 require 4, and 889 require 9. Earlier report editions retain their recorded minimum until refreshed. Each community, building, region, subdivision or street uses its own verified residential scope. Nonresidential parcels, common areas and separately assessed ancillary interests are excluded. Tax parcels count once; multifamily dwelling-unit counts are not estimated. When a dwelling-only tax export omits residential lots, a corresponding complete directory can supply those lots only after its developed parcel identities and classifications match the current export exactly. Both source dates and fingerprints remain distinct; conflicting or incomplete populations and their inventory-based percentages remain unavailable. For the explicitly provisional parent scopes East of Olive, Northwood, Boca Raton waterfront east of the ICW and Singer Island waterfront, two observed source scenarios yield the same rounded 1% minimum. Parent sample-based measures may be displayed only when their own usable counts pass both scenarios. The scenarios do not verify the current population or establish bounds; unverified subgroups remain unavailable. The same current inventory applies to both historical comparison periods, and both must qualify. Admirals Cove uses a total of 889 residential properties—866 developed residential parcels plus 23 residential vacant lots—and a minimum of 9 usable transactions. Lots receive no invented dwelling-type, floor, bedroom, size or construction-year allocation. Condominium buildings retain their own verified residential-unit counts.

Palm Beach Island applies the same sales display rule within its separate residential scope; see its published methodology. Medians, averages, highest and lowest prices, financing shares, listing-outcome percentages, price-reduction shares and contract-timing findings each use their own valid-observation count. Both windows of a historical comparison must qualify. Contract-timing studies use the matching current total residential inventory as a proxy; historical inventories are unavailable, and the threshold does not adjust for historical construction or changing sales mix. Missing or invalid values do not help another metric qualify. A missing verified denominator withholds the affected sample-dependent measure unless an explicit provisional parent policy documents two observed scenarios with the same rounded minimum; that limited exception retains a visible source caveat. Counts remain visible, and no parent policy is inherited by an unverified subgroup. Zero sales make supply unavailable; zero Active listings with a qualifying sales sample means zero months of supply.

This is a display rule, not a claim of statistical reliability. Every result shows its usable sample; a one-sale result is labeled single transaction. The same 1% rule applies to headline findings; there is no additional fixed-sale minimum. Counts and small groups require care even when the display minimum is met.

Waterfront and Distinctive Communities follow the membership of their audited area or development groups. They do not apply an additional city-name, county-parcel or waterfront-flag filter. MLS city labels and water features are shown explicitly. A market name does not certify boundaries, direct frontage, navigability or dock rights. Property type comes from MLS classification; tax-record land use does not determine the sales cohort.

What does each measure mean?

Closed sales

Recorded Closed transactions dated within the stated period. Duplicate listing identities use the latest recorded update; repeated parcel, closing-date and closing-price combinations count once. A listing identifier substitutes for a missing parcel. Country Club, Distinctive and Waterfront closing counts require a valid closing price of at least $10,000. Coastal Condos retain their established dated closed-event cohort; only finite positive prices contribute to their price median.

Median sold price

The middle eligible closing price. A one-sale median equals that transaction's price. A small group can change sharply when a different home sells. Zero eligible observations mean no reported price, not a price of zero.

Median sold dollars per living square foot

For each eligible sale, divide closing price by positive recorded living area, then take the median of those sale-level ratios. It is not the ratio of total prices to total living area.

Market time

Calendar days from the recorded on-market date, with listing-contract date as fallback, to the purchase-contract date. Valid intervals are 0–3,650 days. This is derived listing-to-contract time, not the MLS DOM field. The Waterfront and Distinctive audits withhold conflicting duplicate dates or living areas from the affected metric while retaining the closing count.

Active inventory

Latest MLS listing records marked Active at the snapshot. Pending and active-under-contract listings are excluded. Listing IDs do not necessarily represent unique physical homes.

MLS months of supply

Active MLS listings ÷ (trailing-year recorded closings ÷ 12), subject to the collection's minimum sample. It compares inventory with recent sales pace. It is not a forecast of selling time or a count of all available homes, and zero sales do not establish zero demand.

Historical percentage change

Country Club and Distinctive Community ten-year change compares the same January 1 through snapshot month-and-day window in the baseline and current years, using transaction-level median sold price per living square foot and requiring the measured area’s 1% display minimum of usable observations at both endpoints. Country Club owner cards, comparison tables and community rankings use the same calculation. The Country Club ten-year peer benchmark is the median of the other eligible clubs’ percentage changes, excluding the club being viewed, with each peer weighted equally. A qualified selection and at least one qualified other community are required; peer counts are displayed and a single peer is labeled explicitly. The hub’s inclusive collection median is a separate statistic. The combined figure on Home and the Country Clubs hub instead uses pooled, deduplicated transactions in the same matched periods; it is not an average of club results. Coastal Condo reports compare current YTD with the stated full-calendar-year baseline. Waterfront and street histories label their actual calendar-year endpoints; a 2017–2026 series is not called a ten-year comparison. Annual year-over-year charts remain a separate measure. Changes compare different sold homes, not repeat-sales appreciation or a return on an individual property.

Monthly comparisons

The latest complete month is compared with the previous month and the corresponding month a year earlier. Small counts remain visible even when a price median or percentage comparison is unsupported. Going from one sale to zero does not establish that demand disappeared.

Sample counts

Each n is the number of usable observations for that particular metric. The same measured-area and property-type 1% minimum controls transaction-derived measures, each historical endpoint and the closed-sale minimum for supply. Raw activity counts, active-inventory percentages and tax-population shares remain descriptive counts or census ratios rather than transaction-sample estimates. Counts remain visible below the minimum. One usable observation is labeled single transaction, and meeting the display minimum does not establish statistical reliability.

What can MLS coverage miss?

Builder-direct and other off-MLS transactions may be absent. Available builder inventory may also differ from MLS inventory. These reports have not reconciled all builder-direct closings and inventory, so neither the size nor direction of any coverage bias is established. Read the supply measure as MLS months of supply.

File update dates identify the inputs used; they do not guarantee every late-reported transaction is present. BeachesMLS supplies listing status, dates, prices, living area, financing, MLS property type, waterfront flags and active inventory. Palm Beach County property-tax records supply residential parcel or condominium-unit counts, situs/address fields, recorded floor levels and county classification fields used for property-count, floor and availability analysis. Tax data does not determine the MLS sales cohort, MLS property type, waterfront classification or an individual property’s value. Tax-record denominators used for the 1% display rule count unique properties in the measured scope under the recorded residential classifications, including verified residential vacant lots and excluding nonresidential or separately assessed ancillary interests. Recorded residential use and separately verified vacant lots define the population; the count does not certify physical completion or occupancy. Other tax-directory or availability totals may have broader scopes and are labeled separately. A tax source that covers only part of the measured MLS area cannot supply its display denominator.

Markets can overlap, and housing mix differs. Do not add overlapping sales counts or average community medians into a county-wide price. Compare the property-type and geography tables before interpreting differences.

Where can I inspect the evidence?

Nine Waterfront markets · 13 Distinctive Communities · Country-club comparisons · Coastal Condo comparisons

Each report provides metric-specific counts, annual and monthly tables, and expandable methodology, coverage and calculation notes. The data rules and source details accompany the relevant report rather than a separate, potentially stale copy of its figures.

Market analysis and comparison methodology by David Abernathy, derived from BeachesMLS records and Palm Beach County property-tax records. Each report identifies which fields and measures come from each source. Public tables contain aggregate statistics. Availability to read these pages does not grant redistribution rights to the underlying licensed MLS records.

Dataset license and usage terms

Rights notice, version September 22, 2026. The aggregate market tables and analysis are available to read for informational use. Public access does not grant a general license to copy, redistribute, republish or commercially reuse the datasets or underlying licensed MLS records. No Creative Commons or other open-data license is granted by this site.

David Abernathy retains rights in his original analysis and presentation. BeachesMLS and other identified sources retain their respective rights in source material. Any separately applicable source terms and rights remain in effect. For reuse permission, contact David Abernathy; permission for third-party material must come from its rights holder.