Joy Howell of Delray Beach says many homebuyers new to the area are looking for larger, older homes that are move-in ready and have that something special about them. 'You don’t have a lot to pick from that are fully renovated, completely up to date, with tripped out designs, and yet, have character,' she says. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By John Pacenti
David Cooke, a real estate agent with Douglas Elliman, said for every billionaire who has moved operations to South Florida, there are highly paid professionals who followed in what he called the “tech migration.”
They are professionals with young children. They are sophisticated. And they are looking for unique homes that at least aesthetically capture the Old Florida charm and are renovated and are move-in ready, Cooke said, though in many cases Old Florida may be as young as the early 1980s.
“When I think of Delray and new construction, I think of white concrete houses with black windows. How many of those are going up right now?” Cooke said.
“There was a time when that was what everyone wanted. I feel we are in a place now where people appreciate the old and they want the character.”
This trend isn’t just in Delray Beach. It is being seen up and down Palm Beach County’s coast from Boca Raton to Jupiter, real estate professionals say.
“I am seeing buyers want more move-in ready homes as buyers are more price sensitive and don’t want to deal with renovations,” said Alex Mendel, the owner of Boca Raton’s Mendel Group.
“People still want new — but with character — and homes that still have that homey, you know, warm feeling. A lot of these new builds are ultra modern, a little bit of a colder side,” he said.
Cooke said Delray Beach’s Seagate neighborhood on the barrier island south of Casuarina Road is hot right now because the architecture and character of the homes eschew that bland monochrome aesthetic of brand new construction.
He pointed to a pristine home on Seagate Drive, built in 1950, that he said sold for $8.5 million. It has Mediterranean doorways and arched windows. He pointed to another Seagate Drive home on the market for $6.7 million that is fairly new but still has the aesthetic these buyers want.
“It was built in 2014, but if you look at that house, it could have been built in 1950 and updated,” Cooke said. “It’s full of charm.”
These buyers don’t want open floor plans, Cooke said. He said one client specifically said when he walks in the door he doesn’t want to see the kitchen.
They want walls.
“People who are moving here, they’ve got art collections. They want to hang that art. They don’t want to walk into their house and see dirty dishes, right?” he said.
Mendel concurred.
“I am also seeing walls coming back in style as we move away from a completely open floor plan and closed-off sections,” he said. “More so like a hybrid of open floor plans and closed-off sections.”
An example of this, he said, would be a kitchen separate from the living area or dining area — but still able to entertain or for a parent to keep an eye on the kids while preparing dinner.
Patrick and Kristen McCaughan are a perfect example of the type of prospective buyer that Cooke and Mendel are seeing more and more. The couple, who recently moved from Houston to North Palm Beach and have a toddler, are now looking at older homes in established neighborhoods.
“Florida real estate seems to like these big open spaces where the living, dining and kitchen are all together,” Kristen said. “I like to have walls.”
And the McCaughans are not looking for a fixer-upper.
“I’m willing to do some work if we need to do some bathrooms or this and that, but I’m not looking to have to rebuild a house,” she said. “Especially with, you know, with a young family and all of that.”
Cooke in May said he was encouraging the McCaughans to look at homes as far south as Delray Beach. “I would say they are open-minded,” he said.
Joy Howell, who is selling some Delray Beach properties she previously rented out, said she has seen the trend, as well, recalling one couple who said, “We want one that is not a big white box.”
“Let me say it this way: You don’t have a lot to pick from that are fully renovated, completely up to date, with tripped out designs, and yet, have character.”
They also need to have space, she said.
The homes in the Seagate neighborhood mentioned by Cooke sported as much as 5,000 square feet.
Ken Johnson, a former Florida Atlantic University professor who recently became the Christie Kirkland Walker Chair of Real Estate at the University of Mississippi, called the market a toss-up on whether it favors buyers or sellers. But he said there is a niche market for older homes.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a 200-year-old property in Boston versus a 100-year-old property in Atlanta, Georgia, versus a 50-year-old property in Delray,” Johnson said.
“There are people who like that nostalgic look, and they’re going to have the old tortoise shell shutters on their windows when there’s a risk of a hurricane, and there’s going to be the bright colors and the hardwood floors or the terrazzo tile that’s huge in that area.”
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