REAL ESTATE

INSIDE STORIES BEHIND AREA REAL ESTATE DEALS

Helping Hands
One new number to consider entering into your Blackberry this season is that of Excellence Property & Lifestyle Management, an international corporate and personal concierge service that just launched its first U.S. office in Palm Beach. Sister company to Excellence International in Geneva, the Palm Beach location offers a home management program (great for part-timers who need help opening and closing their estates) as well as services such as general property maintenance, relocation assistance and lifestyle management services (think personal shopping, home staging and even party planning). Run by veteran realtor Victoria Brewer and developer Russell Colodny, Excellence can be reached at (561) 746-3080 or www.excelplm.com.

Crash? What Crash?
In Palm Beach, there's plenty of cash. We've heard it many times before, but it's clear that Palm Beach is indeed different. One need only look at the local real estate trends to see just how true this is. Contrary to worldwide reports of a nationwide slump, Palm Beach properties are not just selling—median and average sale prices are actually up!

According to Palm Beach attorney Les Evans' latest report analyzing sales figures between January 1 and September 30, sales of single-family homes in Palm Beach rose three percent over the same period last year. In 2007, there were 114 island homes sold compared to 111 in 2006. But the bigger news has to do with the dollars being spent to live on the island. The median price of a single-family home in Palm Beach jumped a whopping 24 percent, from $3.07 million in 2006 to more than $3.8 million in 2007. And, for the first time ever, according to Evans, the average price for a home in Palm Beach has exceeded $5 million.