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South Florida

Port St. Lucie draws home buyers from PB County

By one estimate, the median price of a new home in St. Lucie County is $182,000.
By one estimate, the median price of a new home in St. Lucie County is $182,000.

As home prices rise in Palm Beach County, more affordable homes in Port St. Lucie are attracting more attention.

Real estate agent Donna Levy and her husband long resided  in Delray Beach and hunted for a house to buy there before purchasing a newly built one in Port St. Lucie for $164,300.

Levy, an agent with Keyes Company Realtors, said she probably would have paid $100,000 more for a residence in Palm Beach County comparable to her new two-bedroom home in Port St. Lucie, which has granite countertops and a two-car garage.

“I did a double-take. It’s a really phenomenal deal,” Levy said

Located 30 miles north of the county’s northern border, Port St. Lucie has long been a bedroom community for residents who commute to work in Palm Beach County.

“Prices are up in Palm Beach, gas is cheap and the commute isn’t bad. From my house, I can be in Jupiter in 35 minutes. So it’s pretty compelling right now,” Greg Oravec, the mayor of Port St. Lucie, told the Palm Beach Post.

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Port St. Lucie, population 170,000, is “back on the radar” for people seeking bargain home prices, Lesley Deutsch, senior vice president of  John Burns Real Estate Consulting, told the Post.

According to Deutsch, the median cost of a new home is  $182,000 in St. Lucie County and $526,000 in Palm Beach County.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity reports that 11,615 residents of St. Lucie County commute to jobs in Palm Beach County.

Sunrise-based GL Homes controls much of Port St. Lucie’s undeveloped land, including 2,800 acres along Interstate 95.

Real estate agent Donna Levy and her husband long resided  in Delray Beach and hunted for a house to buy there before purchasing a newly built one in Port St. Lucie for $164,300.

Levy, an agent with Keyes Company Realtors, said she probably would have paid $100,000 more for a residence in Palm Beach County comparable to her new two-bedroom home in Port St. Lucie, which has granite countertops and a two-car garage. “I did a double-take. It’s a really phenomenal deal,” she said. [Palm Beach Post] — Mike Seemuth

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Home OwnershipPort St. Lucie