Jupiter area?? (Palm Beach Gardens, New Smyrna Beach, Palm Beach: sales, rentals, home sales)

[tanyarwood]

Hi...

My family is relocating to somewhere between St. Lucie County down to Palm Beach county. We have three kids ages 5-12, so we are looking for a nice middle class (houses up to around 400,000) community with GREAT schools. We saw that Jupiter looked like a nice place with good schools...Does anyone have any suggestions on specific cities or neighborhoods that I can look into. ANY help would be greatly appreciated! We moved from Dallas Texas (which we loved!) in June to New Smyrna Beach, which we don't love.
Thank you SO much in advance!

[Sunandsand]

We lived in Jupiter for 3 years, great place. If you want a little land, try Jupiter Farms. Closer to the beach try Egret's landing. Palm Beach Gardens is also nice, just south of Jupiter.

I would suggest renting first though. Jupiter has a ton of inventory and got overinflated the past 5 years. Prices are coming down but will keep sliding down for the next few years. I would hate to see you pay $400,000 for a house that is worth $300,000 in 3 years. Especially when you can negotiate a great rental for $1700-2000/month and let someone else take the loss.

[TriMT7]

Ask a realtor about Abacoa, Evergrene, Egret's Landing for traditional family neighborhoods.

If you want some land, Jupiter Farms and Palm Beach Country Estates.

[5FLgirls]

I got a chuckle at the posters trying to get your business.

Jupiter is a very nice place to raise a family. I lived there for 8 years until my husband was transferred in 2006.

There is something for everyone in the area. New construction and older homes, homes with zero lot lines, half-acre lots and one-acre parcels. Have you considered, as other posters mentioned, renting for a year while looking around? Every area mentioned is great but you have to find the area that works for your family. Neighborhoods such as Whispering Trails and Fox Run are older homes with 1/2 acre lots. The Shores, Egret's Landing, Maple Island, Jupiter River Estates are all nice options with smaller (1/4 acre to zero lot line) lots and Clocktower Hammock is zero lot line but newer. New construction can still be found in Paseos (stuff investors bought), Botanica and Abacoa. Home sales are still not great in the area and you could find a bargain but why not wait and see what you area you love.

[tanyarwood]

Thank you so much to all of you for your replies...that will come in really handy. We like a little more land, so I will look closely at Jupiter Farms. We are thinking of possibly renting...but don't know if we should buy since the market is low...hhhmmmm.....

[JimKing]

Originally Posted by tanyarwood

Thank you so much to all of you for your replies...that will come in really handy. We like a little more land, so I will look closely at Jupiter Farms. We are thinking of possibly renting...but don't know if we should buy since the market is low...hhhmmmm.....

I can speak first hand about Jupiter Farms. We lived there and had to sell to move to PA on business. It is a great area. However, do NOT buy yet. Rent. Great rentals on 2.5 acres can be had for $2000.

We bought for $350,000 in 2003, sold for $550,000 in 2005, the house was listed again by the new owner as high as $750,000. Not one look in over a year.

There were no houses under $300,000 at the peak of the bubble. 6 months ago there were 10, 3 months ago 15. Now there are 30 houses listed for under $300,000. Prices are dropping on a weekly basis and have a long, long way to go.

Write down the asking prices today of 5 houses you like from realtor . com. The zip code is 33478. Look at those houses in a month, in 3 months. You will see renting is the way to go. Prices will be a lot lower in 2 years in Jupiter Farms. Those who rent for a few years will be richly rewarded.