New construction in South Florida is concentrated in a few places, and where you look changes the price dramatically. We looked at every home built in 2024 or later that sold through the MLS in our five counties over the past 12 months: 3,375 sales out of about 60,600 total, or roughly 1 in 18.
Share of sales that were brand new
| County | New-home sales | Share of all sales | Median new single-family | Median resale single-family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Lucie | 1,324 | 19% | $464,990 | $389,000 |
| Indian River | 238 | 19% | $396,695 | $380,000 |
| Martin | 342 | 10% | $589,000 | $665,000 |
| Palm Beach | 1,054 | 4% | $1,466,250 | $690,000 |
| Broward | 417 | 2% | $1,900,000 | $626,000 |
The table shows two very different kinds of new construction. In St. Lucie, Indian River and Martin counties, new homes are mostly production-built communities priced close to resales. In Palm Beach and Broward, where land is scarce, most new homes are custom builds, teardowns and luxury infill, so the median new home costs two to three times the median resale.
Where new homes are selling
- Port St. Lucie: 998 new-home sales, by far the most of any city. Median price across all new homes was about $473,000. The busiest new communities included Brystol at Wylder, Veranda Preserve, LTC Ranch, Verano and the Southern Grove and Tradition area, including Telaro and Esplanade at Tradition.
- Fort Pierce: 324 sales at a median near $327,000, some of the most affordable new construction on the coast.
- Vero Beach: 227 sales, median about $402,000.
- Stuart and Palm City: 129 and 69 sales, with medians around $585,000 and $664,000. Salerno Reserve and The Preserve at Park Trace led in Stuart, and Newfield led in Palm City. Indiantown added 73 sales near $414,000.
- Westlake: 76 sales at a median near $611,000, led by Cresswind Palm Beach, a 55+ community. Loxahatchee added 78 at about $693,000. Along with the Lake Worth area (128 new-home sales), these are among the main places to find production-built new homes in Palm Beach County.
- Palm Beach Gardens: 165 sales at a median around $1.22 million, most of them in Avenir, the large master-planned community in the western part of the city.
- Boca Raton, Delray Beach, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale: mostly luxury new builds and condos, with medians from about $1.95 million to $3.7 million.
What to know before buying new
The builder's agent works for the builder. The sales team in the model home represents the seller. You can bring your own agent at no cost to you in most communities, but many builders require that your agent be registered on your first visit. Call us before you walk into a sales center.
Read the purchase contract carefully. Builder contracts are written by the builder and are very different from a standard resale contract. Deposit terms, completion dates and what happens if construction is delayed all deserve a close look.
Get inspections anyway. A new home should still be inspected before the drywall goes up and again before closing. Builders fix what is found during construction far more easily than after you move in.
Ask about CDD and HOA costs. Many new communities in Port St. Lucie, Westlake and elsewhere are part of a Community Development District, which adds an annual assessment to your property tax bill. Add it to your monthly budget alongside HOA dues so you can compare new and resale homes fairly.
Compare against resales. In Martin County, the median new single-family home actually sold for less than the median resale, because the new homes are mostly in newer master-planned communities such as Newfield and Salerno Reserve, while the resales include established waterfront and golf neighborhoods. Where you are buying matters as much as when the home was built.
About the numbers: figures come from Beaches MLS records for Palm Beach, Broward, Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties, analyzed by Exodus Realty. New construction means homes with a year built of 2024 or later that closed between October 24, 2025 and October 23, 2026. Many builders sell directly without the MLS, so actual new-home volume is higher than shown. City medians include all property types. Homes sold privately or by builders outside the MLS are not included.
Talk it through with Paul
Every number above is a starting point, not a verdict on any one home. If you want to know how a specific property or neighborhood compares, reach out to Paul Christle or call (561) 420-9620. You can also answer a few quick questions in our Find Your Home tool and we will pull the homes that fit.