Palm Beach is a lot like Manhattan – an island with limited inventory and super-high prices, where homes generally start at $1.5 million and go up to above $30 million.
It’s also much the same clientele as Manhattan, so it’s no surprise that several firms in New York have opened offices in Florida’s most expensive real estate market.
Three Manhattan firms – Brown Harris Stevens, Sotheby’s and Corcoran – have offices there, and they rank among the biggest firms on the island.
The Corcoran Group is the latest Manhattan entry into the Palm Beach market, buying Paulette Koch Real Estate in October, which has around 25 agents. The company is currently in the process of doubling its space in moving to a new office, and will eventually make room for 20 new agents, said Corcoran CEO Pam Liebman.
Koch, who is now vice president of sales at Corcoran, said the company was getting a lot of referrals from Manhattan as a result of the merger.
“If I tell you it’s one referral a day, we are getting much more than that,” she said. “It’s exceeded our expectation, and this is just the beginning.”
But Hall Willkie, president of Brown Harris Stevens, said it remains to be seen how Corcoran will do in Palm Beach.
“They are a very broad market firm, and it will be interesting to see how they do there,” said Willkie. “Time will tell.”
Brown Harris Stevens has 50 agents in Palm Beach, and has been in the market since buying two independent firms there in 1998. Sotheby’s has around 30 agents in Palm Beach.
The biggest firm on the island is Martha A. Gottfried, which has around 80 agents. McCann Coyner Clarke Real Estate is another big player, with around 40 agents. The island is saturated with small agencies, with some 56 real estate offices total, even though there are only around 400 sales a year on the island, according to Willkie.
Palm Beach is the priciest market in Florida, though “Naples is on its way up, and South Beach [Miami] is a hot spot again,” said Eva Vanderwater. assistant managing director in BHS’ Palm Beach offices.
Anything below $1 million on the island is generally a tear-down, said Vanderwater. “The land is more expensive than some of the homes, and that’s why we see teardowns,” she said.