With the median sale price of single family homes in Our Fair Island City now crossing the $500,000 barrier, this column will compare pricing in competing nearby neighborhoods. In addition, since many people have been totally priced out of the Wilton market due to the escalation in pricing, I thought it might be helpful to compare more affordable options to being within Wilton's boundaries.

My statistical analysis from a few columns back showed we could break WilMa into two parts, due to their different pricing characteristics. The first part would be West Wilton (meaning west of Andrews) plus the area in Center Wilton north of 26th Street. The other area (obviously) would be East Wilton (east of the train tracks) plus the area of Center Wilton that’s south of 26th.

I demonstrated that, holding everything else constant, pricing in the latter section was roughly $100,000 higher. Of course, amenities such as house and lot square footage, presence of a pool and whether the home was on waterfront, would also contribute to additional value variation.

Take a look at the table included here to see the disparity in these two segments. Because we are dealing with smaller lists of eligible properties, I report the numbers on a six-month basis ending at the end of June, in this and the preceding two calendar years. We see a median sale price in the West/Center North sector at $407,000, with pricing in the East/Center South sector at an eye-popping $566,500. And that’s median – meaning half the sales were above that price, and half below.

Now move down in the table to see median price history in the most directly-competitive areas (price-wise) to WilMa. The East/South Center sector leads the pack, and has over the comparable periods in the last two years, as well. West/Center North sandwiches the WilMa competitors at the other end. You should note the brisk price increases in the Oakland Park Corals neighborhood (meaning the area bounded by the train tracks, Commercial, Federal, and Oakland Park Boulevard. Perhaps the commercial development along and nearby “Main Street Oakland Park” is assisting valuations – and might indicate a lesson for other areas in the County. 

Now, understanding that many buyers cannot afford the $400,000 plus price tag in Wilton and competing neighborhoods, I’ve included the more value-based options that we Realtors typically suggest when buyers have sticker shock in Wilton. 

Note the wide variation in price changes over the one-year and two-year comparative timeframes. That’s why when people ask me (as they often do) what’s going with pricing, I always ask them to be more specific. Real estate here in East Broward is hyper-local, and different neighborhoods have different sale and pricing characteristics.

Can we determine how much of the pricing variance in these neighborhoods is due to things like home and lot size, pool etc., and how much due to location? Stay tuned.  

James Oaksun, Florida's Real Estate Geek(SM), is Broker-Owner of New Realty Concepts in Fort Lauderdale. In addition to having degrees from Dartmouth and Cornell, he is a Graduate of the Realtor Institute (GRI).

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