Palm Beach is a barrier island of roughly 9,476 permanent residents with a median age of 70.4 — a profile shaped by deliberate concentration of inherited and earned wealth, not population density. At least 68 billionaires hold primary or seasonal residences here, according to an April 2025 Palm Beach Daily News analysis of Forbes data.
The town of Palm Beach recorded a median home sale price of $3,418,750 in January 2025 — up 79.9% from January 2024 — across 34 closed transactions. Monthly samples this thin carry volatility, so the figure is directional rather than authoritative in isolation; what reinforces it is the contract data. Douglas Elliman data for the same period shows signed contracts for homes priced $5 million to $9.99 million increased 157%, from 7 to 18, while contracts at $10 million or above rose from 3 to 13 — both measured January 2024 to January 2025.
Two transactions from the 2024–25 season mark the outer boundaries of the price range. In February 2025, two side-by-side beachfront lots at 1063 and 1071 N. Ocean Blvd. sold off-market for at least $160 million — a Palm Beach record for vacant land — covering 2.26 acres with roughly 363 feet of shoreline. The seller, Estée Lauder heir William P. Lauder, conveyed title through two LLCs with no publicly recorded deed at the time of sale. In May 2024, a 28,600-square-foot home on Tarpon Island — the only private island within Palm Beach — sold for $152 million to Australian investor Michael Dorrell, CEO and co-founder of investment firm Stonepeak, a record for lakefront properties.
The structure of those transactions — off-market, LLC-held, unrecorded — reflects how capital moves at this level. A lender dependent on standard documentation chains cannot serve this market.
Florida's homestead provision, Article X, Section 4 of the state constitution, exempts a primary residence of unlimited value from forced sale. Exceptions exist for purchase-money mortgages, improvement liens, and tax obligations, but the protection is otherwise absolute — removing it requires a constitutional amendment, not ordinary legislation. For a borrower whose primary asset is a Palm Beach home valued at $20 million or more, that asset is unreachable by judgment creditors and cannot serve as general-purpose collateral.
The practical consequence: borrowers who need liquidity without selling must pledge non-exempt assets — securities portfolios, art, jewelry, watches, vehicles, and watercraft. That is the collateral class we review and structure loans against.
A second constitutional provision, Article VII, Section 7 — the "Save Our Homes" cap — limits year-over-year increases in a homestead's assessed value to the lesser of 3% or the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index. In a market where property values have roughly doubled since 2020, long-held Palm Beach residences carry assessed values that diverge sharply from market values. That gap is a meaningful variable in any collateral or liquidity analysis, particularly for owners who have not refinanced in recent years.
Florida repealed its annual intangibles tax effective January 1, 2007 (Chapter Law 2006-312, H.B. 209). Before repeal, the tax ran at $0.50 per $1,000 of portfolio value — $500 annually per $1 million in stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. Florida also imposes no state income tax. For a borrower using a large securities portfolio as collateral for a portfolio-asset loan, there is no annual intangibles tax drag — a distinction from jurisdictions that still assess portfolio assets each year.
Each engagement begins with a collateral review. Advance rates, loan structures, and terms vary by asset class, borrower profile, and the underwriting criteria of the originating lender. See how the process works or review bridge financing structures before reaching out.
Loans are originated by licensed lender partners. All figures on this page — market data, statutory references, and transaction records — are provided for general informational purposes only and do not constitute a loan offer, commitment, or guarantee of approval. Applicable terms and disclosures will be provided by the originating lender prior to any transaction. See our full disclosures page.
Loans are originated by licensed lender partners. Loan offers, terms, rates and final decisions are made by the originating licensed lender at appraisal — figures shown here are general guidance, not loan offers.
Last reviewed August 30, 2026.
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