The analysis covers all closed residential sales (single-family and condominium) at $1M and above in Palm Beach County from 2020 through 2025, sourced from BeachesMLS via Spark API. For each sale, we track days on market, list-to-sold ratio, price tier, city, and waterfront status. The dataset is segmented into DOM buckets (sub-7-day through 365+), four price tiers ($1M-$2M through $10M+), and ten cities.
The Distribution, Not the Median
Median DOM is the most commonly reported speed metric in real estate. It is also one of the least informative. A median of 46 days could describe a market where every property sells between 40 and 52 days. It could also describe a market where 22% sell in a week and 11% take more than six months. PBC in 2025 is the second scenario.
In 2020, the DOM distribution was broad. The 25th percentile was 25 days; the 75th was 201. The average (144) exceeded the median (89) by more than 60%, indicating a long right tail of slow-selling properties. Properties sitting for a year or more accounted for 9.2% of all $1M+ sales. By 2025, the distribution had compressed and shifted left. The 25th percentile dropped to 10 days; the 75th to 110. The average (78) exceeds the median (46) by a smaller margin. The 365+ day tail collapsed to 2.3%.
The chart shows the shift. In 2020, the distribution was relatively flat across the 31-90, 91-180, and 181-365 day buckets, with substantial volume past 180 days. The 2022 compression pulled 62% of all sales into the first 30 days. By 2025, the market settled into a new pattern: roughly 41% sell within 30 days, another 28% between 31 and 90, and the remaining 31% take longer. This is a faster market than 2020 by every measure, but meaningfully slower than 2022.
The practical implication: 2022 was an anomaly, not a baseline. Agents and sellers who internalized the 17-day median as normal are operating with outdated expectations. The current 46-day median is the resting level for PBC's luxury market given the current mix of cash buyers, inventory, and price points.
Speed and Price
The relationship between DOM and pricing outcome is the most actionable data in this report. Using 2025 closed sales at $1M+, the median list-to-sold ratio decreases with time on market.
≤7 days: 100.0% of asking (n=931). 5.2% sold over list.
8-30 days: 94.0% (n=795). 3.3% over list.
31-90 days: 92.9% (n=1,177). 1.0% over list.
91-180 days: 92.3% (n=837). 0.8% over list.
180+ days: 92.0% (n=479). 0.6% over list.
The decline from 100% to 92% across the full DOM range represents approximately 1.3 percentage points per month. At a $5 million list price, that is roughly $65,000 per month on market.
The sharpest drop occurs in the first 30 days: from 100% to 94%, a 6-point decline. After 30 days, the rate of decline flattens. The difference between a 90-day sale and a 180-day sale is less than 1 percentage point. This suggests the pricing penalty is front-loaded: a property that does not sell quickly is repriced (formally or via negotiation) within the first month, and after that repricing, additional time adds relatively little additional discount.
Properties that sold in 7 days or fewer (n=931) split roughly evenly: 46% closed at asking price, 49% below, and 5% above. The 46% at-list figure is notable. In a market where the overall median L/S is 93-94%, nearly half of all sub-7-day sales close at full ask. These are correctly priced listings meeting ready buyers.
by DOM
Pricing Outcome
DOM by Price Tier
Higher-priced properties take longer to sell. In 2025, the median DOM at $1M-$2M was 44 days. At $2M-$5M, 42 days. At $5M-$10M, 64 days. At $10M+, 119 days. There is a step function above $5M where the buyer pool thins materially. The $1M-$2M and $2M-$5M bands have converged to nearly identical DOM (44 vs. 42), suggesting a liquid market at entry and mid-luxury. Above $5M, each dollar of additional price adds disproportionately more time.
The 2022 compression was most extreme in the lower tiers. $1M-$2M DOM went from 77 days (2020) to 14 (2022), then rebounded to 44 (2025). The $10M+ tier compressed from 210 to 44 in 2022 but has re-expanded to 119, closer to its pre-pandemic level. At $10M+, the structural determinants of DOM (small buyer pool, property heterogeneity, complex negotiation) reasserted themselves. At $1M-$2M, the market found a new, faster normal.
DOM by Geography
Speed varies materially by city. In 2020, median DOM ranged from 55 days (Singer Island) to 186 days (Wellington). In 2025, the range runs from 31 days (Boynton Beach) to 94 days (Palm Beach Island). The spread has compressed, but geographic patterns persist.
Boca Raton's median DOM dropped from 85 to 32, the largest absolute improvement among major volume cities. The share of properties selling within 30 days went from 28% to 50%. Jupiter moved from 69 to 35. Palm Beach Gardens from 77 to 50. These are the cities with the deepest new construction pipelines and the strongest non-waterfront demand, which tends to transact faster than resale waterfront.
Palm Beach Island remains the outlier. Median DOM moved from 133 (2020) to 94 (2025), and the share of sub-30-day sales held at 15-19%. The island's market operates at its own speed, determined by the thin intersection of ultra-high-net-worth buyers and a small number of estate-zoned properties.
The Waterfront Paradox
In 2020, waterfront properties at $1M+ sold slightly faster than non-waterfront: 4 fewer days (88 vs. 92). Since 2021, the relationship has been inconsistent, and by 2025, it inverted: waterfront median DOM was 54 days, non-waterfront 39 days, a 15-day gap.
Three factors explain the inversion. First, the non-waterfront market has a deeper inventory of relatively homogeneous product, particularly in new construction communities where units are similar and pricing is transparent. Buyers compare and decide quickly. Waterfront properties are heterogeneous: each has different water frontage, dockage, views, and lot configuration, which lengthens evaluation. Second, waterfront pricing has reached levels that narrow the buyer pool. Third, the expansion of the non-waterfront $1M+ market has been concentrated in product types that sell quickly: new construction, master-planned communities, and renovated homes where comparables are readily available.
The implication for sellers: waterfront is not a guarantee of fast absorption. It commands a price premium, but the premium comes with longer time on market. For correctly priced waterfront properties in high-demand locations (Jupiter Inlet, Intracoastal with dockage, direct ocean), DOM compresses. For waterfront properties where the asking price exceeds what the specific water access justifies, the 15-day gap is the cost of mispricing in a segment where comparables are sparse.
Bottom Line
The DOM distribution in PBC's luxury market has restructured since 2020. The long tail of 365+ day listings collapsed from 9% to 2%, the sub-7-day segment nearly doubled, and the market settled at a median of 46 days. The most actionable finding is the pricing gradient: the first 30 days on market cost approximately 6 points of list price, and the penalty is front-loaded. After 30 days, additional time adds relatively little additional discount. Price tier determines speed more than any other variable, with a step function above $5M where DOM nearly triples.
For sellers: If a property has not generated serious interest in 30 days, the market is telling you the price is wrong. The sharpest L/S decline occurs in the first month (100% to 94%). Waiting longer does not improve the outcome. Repricing early preserves more value than holding and hoping.
For buyers: A property that has been on market for 90+ days at $5M+ is in a different negotiating position than one at 30 days. The median L/S at 180+ days is 92%. Use the DOM data to calibrate your offer.
On waterfront: Waterfront now sells 15 days slower than non-waterfront, reversing the pre-2021 pattern. The premium commands a longer marketing period. Price accordingly, and do not benchmark waterfront DOM against the county median.
Real estate data covers all closed residential sales (single-family and condominium) at $1,000,000 and above in Palm Beach County, sourced from BeachesMLS via Spark API. The dataset covers 2020 through 2025 full-year.
Days on market (DOM) is calculated from listing date to sold date as recorded in the MLS. Properties that were withdrawn and relisted may show DOM from the most recent listing date only; cumulative days on market (CDOM) is not available in the dataset.
List-to-sold ratio is calculated as sold price divided by list price at time of sale (final list price, not original). Properties with price reductions will show the ratio against the reduced price. The "1.3% per month" figure is an approximation derived from the spread between the ≤7-day median (100.0%) and the 180+ day median (92.0%) divided by approximately 6 months.
Waterfront designation uses the MLS "Waterfront" field (Yes/No). DOM bucket analysis uses inclusive boundaries.
City-level DOM figures use the City field in the MLS record. Minimum sample size for city-level reporting is 20 sales in a given year.
BeachesMLS (Spark API), Palm Beach County closed residential sales $1M+, 2020 through 2025. Analysis by Palm Beach Luxury.
