Palm Beach County home prices fall again as slump intensifies

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports:

The median price of an existing home sold last month in Palm Beach County slipped 5 percent to $348,300 from $365,600 a year ago, the Florida Association of Realtors said Wednesday. Existing-home sales fell 27 percent in October, to 450 from 618.

The county's median now has slid 17 percent since peaking at $421,500 in November 2005. One analyst said area prices could fall 10 percent more in the coming year, with some neighborhoods experiencing even worse declines.

"There's no question that prices will continue to fall over the next several months and maybe for the next year," said Per Gunnar Berglund, a senior economist for Economy.com, a Pennsylvania-based research firm. "We're not seeing any recovery in the market until 2009."

Palm Beach County's condominium market looked especially grim last month.

The median price for existing condos plummeted 30 percent to $158,900 from $225,500 a year ago. Sales of existing units decreased 12 percent, to 392 from 447.

Can you say grim???