West Palm Beach, Florida Real Estate Market 2026: Score 16, $527K Median

West Palm Beach, Florida scores 16 out of 100 on the PropertyIQ index as of February 2026.

A score of 16 places West Palm Beach in the bottom quartile of the PropertyIQ dataset, consistent with the broader pattern across South Florida, where Miami scores 13, Fort Lauderdale scores 13, and West Palm Beach sits at 16. The three major South Florida metros collectively represent one of the lowest-scoring large metro clusters in the country.

PropertyIQ scores West Palm Beach a 16 out of 100 as of February 28, 2026. Scores are updated monthly using Zillow, Census, Realtor.com, and economic data.

The West Palm Beach Scorecard: February 2026

The core data for the West Palm Beach metro as of February 2026:

• PropertyIQ Score: 16 (F grade, 100/100 confidence)
• Median price: $527,000
• Home sales: 1,770 (February 2026)
• Score trend: Up 10 points over the past six months
• Score low: 5 (August through September 2025)

The $527,000 median price makes West Palm Beach the second most expensive major Florida metro after Miami at $565,000. At $527,000 with a score of 16, the gap between price and composite market health is the defining characteristic of the Palm Beach market.

West Palm Beach Score History: From 5 to 16 in Six Months

The West Palm Beach score trajectory since early 2025 is worth examining in full, as it provides context for the current 16 reading.

The market hit bottom in June through July 2025 at 5, a reading that represents near-minimal composite market health. The recovery to 16 over the following eight months reflects genuine improvement in market conditions, but a score of 16 still places West Palm Beach in the lowest 16% of all markets in the PropertyIQ database.

The trajectory is positive. The score has more than tripled from its trough. But recovering from 5 to 16 means moving from very bad to bad, not from bad to good.

Why West Palm Beach Scores 16

South Florida's low PropertyIQ Scores reflect a combination of factors that have been building since the pandemic-era price surge of 2020 through 2022.

Valuation disconnect. West Palm Beach prices reached and held levels that are difficult to support based on local income fundamentals. At a $527,000 median, the income required to purchase without being cost-burdened is well above the metro median household income. The affordability compression that followed the price spike has not resolved.

Insurance and carrying costs. Florida's property insurance market has repriced dramatically since 2022. Annual insurance premiums in Palm Beach County for homes in the $500,000 range have risen to levels that add thousands of dollars to effective carrying costs. This insurance burden has suppressed buyer demand and introduced a new category of seller in the market: owners who can no longer afford to hold their properties at the new insurance cost levels.

Investor pullback. South Florida was a major destination for domestic and international investors during the 2020 through 2022 period. As interest rates rose and yields compressed, investor buying declined. Markets that depended on investor demand to sustain pricing saw inventory build as that demand source withdrew.

Comparison to other Florida markets. West Palm Beach at 16 is ahead of Miami (13) and Fort Lauderdale (13) but behind Tampa at 47 and Jacksonville at 31. The scoring pattern across Florida is consistent: markets with lower price points and stronger primary-resident demand score higher than the premium coastal markets.

West Palm Beach vs. Other South Florida Markets

The three major South Florida metros present a unified picture of market stress as of February 2026.

All three are F-grade markets on the PropertyIQ scale. The relatively small score difference between them (13 to 16) reflects the regional consistency of the South Florida market challenge: extreme overvaluation relative to incomes, high insurance costs, and reduced investor demand affecting the entire coastal corridor simultaneously.

View the Miami real estate market breakdown here.

View the Fort Lauderdale market analysis here.

West Palm Beach in the Florida Context

Across the broader Florida market, West Palm Beach's score of 16 is not an outlier. It is representative of the coastal and high-price tier.

As of February 2026, most Florida major metros score below 50. Tampa scores 47 and Orlando scores 44, making them the strongest major metros in the state. Markets like Cape Coral (25), Sarasota (27), and Tallahassee (42) round out a state where no major market scores above 50 on the PropertyIQ index.

West Palm Beach at 16 sits in the lower half of even this weak group.

The Recovery Question

The score rising from 5 to 16 in eight months introduces a relevant question: is West Palm Beach in a sustained recovery?

The data does not answer that question definitively. A score of 16 is still very low. The trend direction is positive. But three months of low-single-digit readings followed by a gradual climb does not constitute a recovery thesis. It constitutes an improvement from a very depressed baseline.

For the score to reach the 40 to 50 range, West Palm Beach would need a combination of price adjustment to restore affordability, insurance market stabilization to reduce carrying costs, and demand recovery that absorbs the existing inventory overhang. As of February 28, 2026, that combination is not yet reflected in the composite score.

The score will be updated again following the March 2026 data cycle. Whether the current trend continues, accelerates, or reverses will be visible in the updated PropertyIQ Score.

Investment and Buyer Takeaways

A PropertyIQ Score of 16 does not mean the West Palm Beach market is uninvestable. It means the model expects West Palm Beach to significantly underperform the typical Florida market over the next few years, a read built from a weak demand signal — soft home-value momentum, longer days on market, and elevated price cuts.

For investors and buyers evaluating West Palm Beach:

• The score of 16 is a forward-looking read on performance relative to Florida, not a direct price forecast
• The trend direction (up from 5) is a positive signal but at an early stage
• At $527,000 median, the affordability gap remains a fundamental constraint
• Insurance cost structure is a carrying cost variable that does not appear in purchase price and should be modeled explicitly in any investment analysis

PropertyIQ score as of February 28, 2026. Score history from March 2025 through February 2026. Median price as of February 28, 2026. Home sales as of February 28, 2026. All data for informational purposes only.