Median condominium prices in half of the country’s oceanfront counties surpassed the typical $305,000 condo price nationwide in the second quarter, according to a report by ATTOM on condo sales and prices.
Median condo prices in the second quarter also increased by at least 20 percent year-over-year in slightly more than half of the oceanfront counties analyzed. Less-expensive markets, concentrated in the South, generally showed bigger year-over-year gains, while the most expensive counties, located mainly in the West, showed the smallest.
The condo price gains in oceanfront counties came at a time when the national housing market boom was roaring into its 10th year, with median single-family home and condo prices rising annually by more than 15 percent across most of the country.
“Condos in oceanfront areas appear to be right in the middle of the pack when it comes to the ongoing market boom. Broadly speaking, they are worth close to what condos around the nation are worth and are gaining value at around the same pace as all homes in the U.S.,” ATTOM Chief Product Officer Todd Teta said in a release.
The South had 69,616, or 67 percent, of the 104,359 condo sales in the 86 oceanfront counties analyzed. Florida had the most sales in the second quarter (58,404), followed by California (20,042), Hawaii (4,686), South Carolina (4,617) and Massachusetts (4,198).
The five counties with the most second-quarter transactions accounted for 37 percent of all condo sales in the areas analyzed. They were Palm Beach County (West Palm Beach), Fla., (10,454 condo sales); Miami-Dade County, Fla., (9,396 sales); Los Angeles County, Calif., (7,228 sales); Broward County (Fort Lauderdale), Fla., (6,890 sales) and San Diego County, Calif. (4,740 sales).
Among the counties analyzed, the highest second-quarter median condo prices were in San Francisco County, Calif., ($1,175,000); San Mateo County, Calif., (outside San Francisco) ($915,500); Kings County (Brooklyn), N.Y., ($876,250); Marin County, Calif., (outside San Francisco) ($723,000) and Santa Cruz County, Calif. ($693,500).
In the South, the highest second-quarter median prices were in Walton County, Fla., (along the Florida panhandle) ($475,000); Monroe County (Key West), Fla., ($465,150); Nassau County, Fla., (north of Jacksonville) ($416,750); Baldwin County, Ala., (east of Mobile) ($351,563) and St. Johns County (St. Augustine), Fla., ($329,414).
The lowest median condo prices in the second quarter were in Atlantic County (Atlantic City), N.J. ($124,000); Jefferson Parish, La. (west of New Orleans) ($135,000); Citrus County, Fla. (north of Tampa) ($145,000); Mobile County, Ala., ($148,000) and Onslow County (Jacksonville), N.C. ($155,000).
Median condo prices in the second quarter increased by at least 20 percent year-over-year in 47 of the 86 oceanfront counties analyzed, or 55 percent. Median values rose by at least 30 percent in 28 counties (33 percent). The largest year-over-year median home price increases were in Pasco County, Fla. (north of Tampa) (up 245 percent); Galveston County, Texas (up 102 percent); Indian River County (Vero Beach), Fla., (up 68 percent); St. Lucie County (Port St. Lucie), Fla., (up 66 percent) and St. Johns County (St. Augustine), Fla., (up 61 percent).
Median condo prices decreased in seven counties, led by Santa Rosa County, Fla. (east of Pensacola) (down 22 percent); Onslow County (Jacksonville), N.C., (down 18 percent); Suffolk County (Boston), Mass., (down 11 percent); Juneau County, Alaska, (down 10 percent) and Queens County, N.Y. (down 8 percent).