Palm Beach Real Estate and Loans

For all the folks who insist that real estate is dead in Florida:

"Florida's existing home sales rose in February, making it the sixth consecutive month that sales activity showed increases in the year-to-year comparison..."

AND

"Existing home sales rose 20 percent last month with a total of 9,858 homes sold statewide compared to 8,181 homes sold in February 2008...."

(Thanks to FAR for the information)

(Unfortunately, you'll probably never see the mass media printing that info - positive news doesn't sell newspapers!)

So far this year, Palm Beach Gardens luxury real estate has seen the following:

BallenIsles - 5 properties SOLD

Mirasol - 12 properties SOLD

PGA National - 33 properties SOLD

Those #'s do not include any CONTINGENT or PENDING transactions, just closed sales.

So... if you're one of those people whose waiting and waiting because "nothing is selling" ....... don't be surprised to find that the home you really liked has already sold because:

Those who wait, lose.

When people think of Palm Beach Gardens and the luxury real estate that it offers, the conversation always seems to swing to a group of communities right in the middle of town:

- PGA National

- Mirasol

- Old Palm

- BallenIsles

- Steeplechase

Each of the areas has it's strengths and the types of property available vary quite a bit.

Today I'm going to feature PGA National.

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PGA National is the largest of the Golf / Country Clubs in the area with roughly 4900 units.  Condos, Townhomes AND Single Family Homes are available giving a potential Buyer a huge range of options.

Currently there are 256 properties listed for sale.  These range from $79,900 all the way up to $1,390,000.

Above and beyond the selection of homes, PGA National does NOT insist that Homeowners purchase Club Memberships.  All of the other areas do.

However if you do want to become a member of the Club, the prices are extremely reasonable - and if you purchase the membership within 30 days of closing, the cost is even lower.

If you are a serious golfer, this is the place to be.  Members have access to 5 18-hole courses.  Four are on property with the 5th a few miles West on Northlake Boulevard. And for those of you that might need some help with your game there's the Dave Pelz Scoring Game School, The David Leadbetter Golf Academy and The Hot Stix Performance Center.

In addition to all of this you have the Resort and Spa, The Honda Classic, several fantastic restaurants, the Fitness Center, Tennis Facility and on and on....

Call me when you're ready for a tour...

PGA National - along with BallenIsles and Mirasol - showed an increase in third quarter sales over 2007.

In the third quarter of 2007 there were 42 sales compared to 45 in the third quarter of '08.  Certainly not a huge increase - but anything in a positive direction is fantastic.  After all, we just keep hearing negative things .....

Do you think that the the news will EVER print anything positive? 

(Sarcasm?  Nahhhhhhhh.) 

Right now there are 223 properties listed for sale ranging from $52,500 to $3,750,000 and there are terrific Membership deals to be had if you decide to purchase a Club Membership within 30 days of closing on your home.

Did you notice that I said "if you decide to purchase"?  That's because PGA National is the only Golf / Country Club in the area that doesn't make membership MANDATORY.

Will it always be that way?  I have no idea - but it's that way now so take advantage of it!

When you look at buying luxury real estate in Palm Beach Gardens, you quickly see that there are quite a few very desirable areas to choose from-

On the west side of town alone you have PGA National, BallenIsles, Mirasol and Old Palm bordering on each other - and that's within just a few miles. 

There are many more Golf / Country Clubs scattered throughout Palm Beach Gardens, each with their own merits.

However, they do all share one feature - you HAVE to buy a Club Membership if you want to live there.

Except for PGA National where you can purchase a home WITHOUT having to buy a Club Membership if you don't want to.  Now that could certainly change in the future, but that is currently the case.

Those mandatory Memberships at the other clubs can run up to several hundred thousand dollars for full golf privileges - and that's just to start!  Don't forget the yearly fees.

If you do decide to purchase a Membership you will be plesantly surprised at the cost AND (as of this writing) if you get the Membership within 30 days of buying your home you will be treated to a nice discount.

So if the thought of spending a ton on a Membership you don't really want doesn't appeal to you, you now know that you have another option.

Call me @ 561-282-7406 if you have any questions about PGA National real estate or the optional Memberships.

When I got back to PGA National after work I was very surprised to pull up to my building and see 4 Sandhill Cranes apparently just hanging out on the front lawn-

You see them wandering around every few days but rarely do you get anywhere near them - so I was very lucky to have my camera with me.

Had they not been moving so much I would have been able to get a few more good shots.

As I got out of my car they seemed to be getting more and more aggitated - then I saw what the problem was: they were 'playing' with 2 squirrels!?!

But, these birds eat meat as well as plants, so 'playing' might not be an accurate description.

Overall, the Sandhill Cranes are not a threatened species, but the 3 southernmost subspecies are very rare.  The Florida crane that you see here is down to roughly 5,000 individuals.