West Palm Beach is the only one of the three South Florida counties’ core cities where the condominium median is rising. Palm Beach County posted $325,000, up 3.17% in June 2026, against Broward at −1.83% and Miami-Dade at −3.15%. Single-family ran $700,000, up 11.82%, with sales above $1 million up 57%.
That divergence has a cause, and it has a name.
Wall Street South is not a slogan any more
Wells Fargo is moving its Wealth & Investment Management headquarters to One Flagler — 50,000 square feet, roughly 100 employees by the end of 2026, with stated intent to expand. Announced 20 January 2026, it is the first major bank to relocate a wealth headquarters to Florida.
One Flagler, a 25-storey Related Ross tower opened in 2025, was 100% leased by January 2026. Its tenant list reads like a directory: J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Management, GoldenTree Asset Management, Bessemer Trust (relocated from Palm Beach island), Baron Funds, Diameter Capital, GTCR, Lancer Capital, Paulson Capital, Citizens Bank, Metropolitan Commercial Bank. Down the road, 360 Rosemary — completed 2021 and reported at “105%” occupancy after converting the top garage floor to workspace — holds Goldman Sachs, Elliott Management, J.P. Morgan Chase and Point72.
Another one million square feet is under construction: 10 CityPlace (470,000 square feet, anchored by ServiceNow) and 15 CityPlace (490,000 square feet, anchored by Cleveland Clinic at 120,000 square feet, with BDO and Shutts & Bowen, and Related Ross moving its own headquarters in), both delivering 2027 on a $772 million construction loan led by Ares with Monarch Alternative Capital and HPS. Roughly 500,000 square feet of office leases were signed across the Related Ross portfolio in 2025 alone. One Flagler has quoted rents of $100 to $140 per square foot.
West Palm Beach metro luxury pending home sales rose 30% year over year for the three months ending January 2026 — the largest increase among the fifty most populous US metros — with a median luxury sale price of $4,243,867, up 10.7%. Redfin attributed this in part to the city’s emergence as “Wall Street South,” alongside tax migration and constrained waterfront supply. An honest caveat: no source isolates or quantifies a causal residential price effect from the office migration. What is documented is the leasing volume, the tenant roster, and the luxury outperformance. Treat it as strong association, not proven causation.
Verified 3 August 2026. Source: Redfin, 2 March 2026.
The three-market problem — and why it will cost you at appraisal
Three numbers, all true at once. The countywide condominium median is $325,000. The city’s all-homes median price per square foot fell 10.0% to $274. And Palm Beach County luxury condominium contracts averaged $2,366 per square foot in January 2026, with new construction like South Flagler House running around $3,000.
That is roughly a nine to eleven times spread in price per foot between the resale stock and the new waterfront towers. The practical consequence: an appraisal on a new Flagler Drive tower will not find supporting resale comparables in the older buildings around it. If you are financing pre-construction, expect an appraisal gap and confirm the developer’s appraisal-contingency language before your deposit goes hard.
The pipeline — 2,000-plus condominiums, mostly delivering in one window
South Flagler House, 1355 South Flagler — Related Ross, two 28-storey towers, 105–108 residences, 2027. It took $700 million in presales in 90 days. Olara, 1919 North Flagler — Savanna, 26 storeys, 275–287 residences, broke ground August 2025 for 2027, $175 million in presales in 100 days. Ritz-Carlton Residences West Palm Beach, 1717 North Flagler — Related Group with BH Group, 138 residences, groundbreaking Q1 2026 for early 2028, 80% presold. Mr. C Residences, 320 Lakeview — Terra with Sympatico, 146 residences and 110 keys, 85%-plus presold.
Behind them: Shorecrest (Related Ross, 98–100 residences), Edgeworth (Related Ross, 168 residences from $2.5 million), Mandarin Oriental Residences (Great Gulf, 87 residences from $3.5 million), Maison d’Or (39 residences from $5.7 million), The Berkeley (193 residences, groundbreaking June 2026), Forté on Flagler (41 residences, at or near completion) and Alba Palm Beach (55–61 residences, delivering early 2026).
Palm Beach County condominium inventory is already 6,216 active listings at 7.2 months of supply — balanced, not tight. More than 2,000 new condominiums are in the pipeline and the great majority deliver in 2027 and 2028. Presale absorption today is genuinely strong (80–85% at Ritz-Carlton and Mr. C), but resale competition at delivery will be concentrated into the densest window in the city’s history. Anyone buying pre-construction as a flip is underwriting an exit into that. For a reference class, look one county south: Broward is a development cycle ahead and sits at 10.1 months of condominium supply with a falling median.
Verified 3 August 2026. Source: MIAMI REALTORS, June 2026, published 17 July 2026 and The Real Deal, 19 March 2026.
Recent trades
$19,420,500 — The Bristol, 1100 South Flagler, unit 1801, 5,544 square feet at roughly $3,500 per foot, 24 April 2026. The highest recorded property sale in West Palm Beach in 2026.
$15.7 million — 122 Bloomfield Drive, 8,600 square feet at $1,820 per foot, 22 July 2026. The most expensive non-waterfront sale ever recorded in the city, beating a $9 million record set in 2024.
A South Flagler House penthouse went under contract at a $39.5 million ask in January 2026 — a contract, not a closing.
Every building in West Palm Beach
Across the Intracoastal from Palm Beach, and the fastest-repricing waterfront market in the state since the finance-industry migration.
- Alba Palm Beach New
4714 N. Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, Florida 33407 - Forte on Flagler New
S. Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, Florida 33401 - La Clara Palm Beach New
South Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, Florida 33401 - Olara Residences New
1919 N. Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, Florida 33407 - South Flagler House New
1355 S. Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, Florida 33401
What to check before you buy in West Palm Beach
Appraisal-gap language if you are financing pre-construction. See the three-market problem above. This is the single most likely place a West Palm purchase goes wrong.
The same Florida condominium exposure as the rest of the coast, aimed at exactly the stock buyers want. Milestone inspections trigger at 25 years for buildings within three miles of the coast; reserve studies were due at the end of 2024; structural reserve waivers are gone. The North and South Flagler Drive waterfront resale stock is squarely in that coastal 25-year-plus cohort.
Your delivery date against everyone else’s. If you are buying to hold, this matters less. If you are buying to exit, ask specifically what else completes within twelve months of your building on the same stretch of Flagler.
West Palm Beach real estate — frequently asked questions
Why are West Palm Beach prices rising when Miami and Fort Lauderdale are falling?
Palm Beach County was the only one of the three counties with a rising condominium median in June 2026 — $325,000, up 3.17%, against Broward at −1.83% and Miami-Dade at −3.15%. Single-family rose 11.82% and $1M-plus sales rose 57%. The documented driver is the financial-industry migration: Wells Fargo moving its Wealth & Investment Management headquarters to One Flagler, a fully leased tenant roster of hedge funds and private banks, and a million square feet of office under construction. Redfin recorded West Palm Beach luxury pending sales up 30% year over year — the largest increase of any major US metro.
What is being built in downtown West Palm Beach?
More than 2,000 condominiums, with the great majority delivering in 2027 and 2028: South Flagler House (2027, $700M of presales in 90 days), Olara (2027), Ritz-Carlton Residences (early 2028, 80% presold), Mr. C Residences (85%+ presold), Shorecrest, Edgeworth, Mandarin Oriental Residences, Maison d’Or, The Berkeley, Forté on Flagler and Alba Palm Beach. On the office side, 10 and 15 CityPlace add nearly a million square feet in 2027 on a $772 million construction loan.
Is buying pre-construction in West Palm Beach risky?
It carries two specific risks. First, an appraisal gap: new waterfront towers price around $2,366 to $3,000 per square foot while the city’s all-homes median is $274 per foot, so there are no supporting resale comparables. Second, delivery concentration: over 2,000 condominiums arrive mostly in 2027–2028 against inventory already at 7.2 months. If you are holding, neither is fatal. If you are flipping, both are.
What is the most expensive home sale in West Palm Beach?
In 2026, unit 1801 at The Bristol on South Flagler Drive at $19,420,500 — 5,544 square feet, roughly $3,500 per foot, 24 April 2026. Separately, 122 Bloomfield Drive sold for $15.7 million in July 2026, the most expensive non-waterfront sale ever recorded in the city.
Sources
- MIAMI REALTORS — Palm Beach County June 2026 market report, 17 July 2026
- Redfin — West Palm Beach luxury housing market booming, sales up 30%, 2 March 2026
- Bisnow — Related Ross lands Wells Fargo HQ lease at One Flagler, 20 January 2026
- The Real Deal — Inside West Palm Beach’s billionaire condo development boom, 19 March 2026
- Florida YIMBY — Related Ross secures record $772M construction loan for 10 and 15 CityPlace, 21 December 2025
- The Real Deal — West Palm Beach home sale breaks record at $16 million, 22 July 2026
- citybiz — Priciest condo sale in West Palm Beach in 2026 trades for nearly $20M