Property appraiser forecasts 7% to 9% rise in home values
Nikolits predicts big year for apartment rents as vacancies remain low.
Palm Beach County home values rose 8.97 percent last year and should increase by 7 percent to 9 percent this year, Palm Beach County Property Appraiser Gary Nikolits says.
After several years of strong growth, Nikolits predicted a “softening” of home values during 2016.
“That’s fine, because it’s a much more normal market,” Nikolits said this month during a presentation to the Economic Forum of Palm Beach County.
Apartment values — driven by rising rents — soared 16.2 percent from Jan. 1, 2015, to Jan. 1, 2016, and Nikolits predicts another big year for apartments as vacancies stay low. The same goes for commercial properties, which rose 11 percent last year.
Meanwhile, Nikolits said he’s perplexed by the premium prices investors are paying for office space. Nikolits didn’t name properties, but the Esperante Corporate Center sold in July for $126 million, or nearly $500 a square foot. Phillips Point sold last year for $246 million, or $546 a foot.