As anticipated, the lingering, widely internalized uncertainty surrounding November’s election has waned in the first quarter of 2017, with global, national and local markets improving. Recent studies show that, since the Presidential election, Americans are entering a “new era of optimism,” feeling economically optimistic and displaying record high optimism towards investing. According to the latest All-American Economic Survey, a CNBC special report, 38% believe the economy is good or excellent, (up 400 basis points from December), 44% approve of the President’s handling of the economy, 47% believe now is a good time to invest, 40% expect the economy to improve in the next year and, of those 40%, 67% believe the improvements will be directly linked to President Trump’s policies. While these statistics reflect positively on the Administration’s economic policies, President Trump’s approval ratings remain, in contrast, surprisingly low, representative of the polarization among political parties relating to other areas of the new Administration’s agenda. Although essential to remain cognizant of these and other risk factors, from Brexit to potentially unobtainable campaign promises, it is logical to expect positive economic sentiments to endure in the months ahead. As evidenced by a positive first quarter, the Palm Beach residential real estate market appears to reflect the current and growing economic optimism, even benefitting disproportionately from an unsolicited and unintended marketing campaign, deemed by some as “Mar-a-Lago Mania,” and promulgated by the President’s 7 highly publicized visits to the island since his inauguration. Per another CNBC report, Florida property inquiries from Chinese buyers, for example, are up 62.5% from 2015. Arguably in need of little introduction or positive PR, as the advantages of Palm Beach tend to speak for themselves, buoyed global interest and awareness in the Palm Beach market should continue to put positive pressure on valuations and encourage further market activity.
