Palm Beach County’s luxury housing market has already broken its annual record for $10 million-plus home sales, underscoring the resilience of South Florida’s high-end market even as elevated mortgage rates weigh on more conventional buyers.
The county recorded 170 sales of homes priced at $10 million or more through August 2026, surpassing the previous full-year record of 169 set in 2025, according to August 2026 data from Miami Realtors. The pace puts the county on track for about 255 such transactions this year, which would be roughly 51% above the previous record.
“Palm Beach County is heavy cash and high demand,” said Stacy Plean, Palm Beach regional vice president of Miami Realtors. She pointed to the region’s lifestyle, growing fintech sector, global connections and pro-business environment as reasons executives and companies continue relocating to the area.
The strength of the luxury market contrasts with softer activity elsewhere. Total Palm Beach County home sales fell 4.5% year over year in August, while single-family transactions declined 2% and condominium sales dropped 6.71%.
Higher borrowing costs are contributing to the slowdown. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.67% in August and climbed above 7% in September, reinforcing the advantage of buyers who can transact without financing.
Cash accounted for 48.1% of Palm Beach County sales in August, up from 45.5% a year earlier. Cash represented 41.8% of single-family purchases and 57.2% of condo sales.
At the same time, supply is tightening. Active listings fell 20.1% year over year to 10,115 at the end of August. Single-family inventory dropped 23.8%, while condo listings declined 17.1%.
Prices continued to rise despite the slower transaction pace. The median single-family price reached $650,000, up 3.17% from a year earlier, while the median condo price rose 5.26% to $300,000.
The luxury surge is part of a broader transformation of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach into a magnet for wealthy households, business leaders and investors. Redfin reported that luxury-home sales in the West Palm Beach area rose 43.9% year over year in July, the fastest increase among the U.S. metros it tracked.
For now, Palm Beach County’s market is increasingly defined by a split between buyers constrained by financing costs and affluent purchasers largely insulated from them–a dynamic that is helping the county’s luxury segment reach record territory even as overall sales cool.
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