For the month of January 2020, we are bringing you a story on Harbour Oaks in Palm Beach Gardens. Our local Appraiser works regularly in Harbor Oaks of Palm Beach Gardens. This is a gated development just east of the Palm Beach Gardens Mall with a close proximity to Palm Beach State College Campus. Harbor Oaks offers townhomes built primarily between 2004 and 2005 with sizes ranging from 1900 s/f to 2600 s/f. We decided to highlight this development in our Behind the Gates Series due to it having a healthy turnover with a high demand. These market conditions create an environment in which home appraisals are performed at a high volume. Go ahead and take a look of our story produced by an Appraiser that services Harbour Oaks of Palm Beach Gardens.

Harbour Oaks Question

Does the development have a manned gated entrance? As of the writing of this story, no, the development has a call box. How much are the Homeowner Association Fees for Harbour Oaks? As of January 2020, the HOA fees are just about $350 per month. What extra features does the development offer? The development has gated entrances, club house, swimming pool, fitness area, lakes, preserves and a picnic area. What is the biggest townhome in Harbour Oaks? The largest townhome has a size of 2600 s/f with 3 bedrooms, 3.1 bathrooms and a 2 car garage.

History of Harbour Oaks Median Prices

Harour Oaks has had a volatile history like most developments in South Florida. The development was constructed close to the top of the prior Real Estate Cycle. This cycle is reported to have topped out between 2006-2008. As many new construction developments, the sale price highs were made at the time of purchase when new. Original owners that are informed are aware of the choppy prices over the past decade. Currently the market is showing resistance to the homes that are original and these sales are making up the low levels. However, homes that have been updated to current design preferences are able to attract the high levels of the market. This particular trend is not uncommon within the overall Palm Beach County Real estate market. Harbour Oaks is popular among family buyers, secondary occupant buyers and younger professionals.

Palm Beach County Appraisers

This month we are bringing a very popular development to our Behind the Gates Series. We are covering Home Values in Palm Beach Polo Club in Wellington. The Palm Beach Polo Club is made up of a number of different segments that stretch along Polo Fields and golf courses. Featuring Villas, Townhomes, Condominiums, Single Family Homes and Estate Homes. Developed mostly in the late 80's to early 2000's, the area is almost at full capacity. It is common practice for owners and buyers to perform full renovations within this market segment. Contractors that cater to this market segment state the current environment is fantastic with increasing renovation costs and a high demand. Realtors that service this segment state business is strong with a growing seasonal buyer due to recent tax law changes in the Northeast.

New Construction in the Polo Club

The market is almost built out with the remaining sectors being under construction. There are some remaining sites left for development on Cypress Island Way and Blue Cypress Ln. Over the past 5 years, the price of land has significantly increased due to the scarcity and demand for new construction. As of the writing of this story, there are 6 available homes that are new construction ranging in price from $2,795,000 to $10,495,000. The homes range in size from 3635 sf to 8198 s/f with all homes having oversized sites and swimming pools.

Estate Home Trends

The Polo Club is a large development with multiple areas featuring a wide range of homes. The estate sections are considered the Bridle Path, Cypress Island and Blue Cypress. There are some estates located on Maidstone Dr and Long Meadow Dr. However, historically the highest sales have taken place in Bridle Path and Cypress Island. In fact, over the past 19 years based on MLS data, the highest sale was in Bridle Path for $12,500,000 and Cypress Island for $11,000,000. There are currently 3 listings available between Bridle Path and Cypress Island priced between $13,000,000 and $14,900,000. Rumors overheard by our appraiser that services Wellington is that parties (Recorded Trust) connected to Lou Dobbs recently purchased a home in Bridle Path for $5,000,000. Since the time of purchase for $5,000,000, the home is under full renovation. Lou Dobbs has been reported to have real estate holdings in Wellington for years now with a family interest in the equestrian activities. Lou Dobbs is a TV personality currently on Fox Business with prior shows on CNN. Are there mandatory membership fees for Wellington Polo Club? No, but some new sites are subject to a mandatory membership to the Polo Club. These fees start with an initial fee of $21,000 and annual dues of $6,000 to $11,000. What was the highest sale in the Polo Club? The highest sale in the Polo Club to date stands at $12,500,000 per the local MLS. There may be off market transactions that exceed this amount. How much does an appraisal cost in the Polo Club? Appraisal fees start at $400 in the Polo Club. The rates vary based on size of the home and complexity.

Local Property Appraiser Experience

Property Values in Fountains of Palm Beach This month in our Behind the Gates Series we are discussing Property Values in Fountains of Palm Beach. This project is large gated development locate in Lake Worth. Our property appraisers have seen a high demand for home appraisals in this market. Historically we have experienced a large number of Estate Appraisal, Pre-Listing and Pre-Purchase appraisals. This is due to the project being an age restricted development with most transactions being settled in Cash Terms.

Golf course communities struggle attract younger participants

There has been a trend in South Florida over the past 10 years among golf course communities. And the trend has not been positive! Palm Beach County is known one of the Golf Capitals of the World. However, there currently is an oversupply of private, public and municipal courses. The current supply of land assigned towards golf course requires a high demand of players and buyers. However, the game of golf has not attracted among the younger generations. And as the golfing population ages, the oversupply of golf course assigned land has come under pressure. In Palm Beach County over the past 5 years there have been a number of Golf Course closings. Some of the most popular closings came in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach. These parcels of land have become attractive to local builders due to there being a scarcity of vacant land.

GL Homes buys the Fountains of Palm Beach

Stories and rumors started swirling in 2016 that GL Homes buys the Fountains of Palm Beach. In fact in June 2016 it was confirmed that GL purchased 63 acres of Golf Courses for $17 million. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/real-estate/fl-gl-homes-golf-course-20160623-story.html Initially our appraisers were reporting that GL Homes was planning on building homes and condominiums. The new construction would conform to the existing designs of the Fountains of Palm Beach. There were conversations that the new owners would have a required Mandatory Membership. However by 2018, plans started to circulate that GL Homes is planning on building WorkForce Housing with apartments. https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/local/homes-plans-hundreds-workforce-homes-golf-courses/qXrX3MaiyS3p7VIl0EryHP/

Northside of Fountains at Palm Beach

The Northside of Fountains at Palm Beach is the section that has sold their golf courses to GL Homes. At the time of this writing there is going to be a 318 unit Apartments with 56 Workforce Housing units. The appeal of the Northside may start to diminish when compared to the Southside. The Southside will have a club, no apartments, no Workforce Housing and operating Golf Courses. The impacts of the proposed units will increase traffic. Also bring in an occupant that has traditionally not occupied the Fountains of Palm Beach. This is mainly due to the new occupants being primary occupants without age restrictions while historically the occupants have been 55+ with a mixture of primary and secondary.

Home Appraisals in Fountains at Palm Beach

Home Appraisals in Fountains at Palm Beach are something that we perform on a regular basis. In fact that is why we have decided to highlight the community in one of our Behind the Gates Series. Our appraisers have experience in this community performing Estate Appraisals, Pre-Purchase Appraisals, Pre-listing Appraisals, Divorce Appraisals, FSBO or For Sale By Owner Appraisals. If you are in need of home valuation or a property appraisal in Fountains at Palm Beach in Lake Worth Florida than go ahead and contact our local Lake Worth Appraiser. Contact a Lake Worth Appraiser

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