Three bedroom, two bath house, in the south part of West Palm Beach

Between Olive and Dixie, actually right at the corner of Olive and East Lakewood, is on the market with an asking price of $695,000. It has about 2,000 square feet which is about 200 square feet larger than my house. Here are some interesting details from the listing on Trulia.com.

For those who do not think the area's perceived "quality" doesn't affect property value, here are some perceptions about this area. It is a little over 1 mile from my property.

Then, check this per square foot pricing trend of homes in the south end of West Palm Beach.

Excluding this home, which has a high listing price compared to recent sales, and multiplying the average price by the square footage of my house you get $412,200. My assessed value is $145,000 and if I were to put my house on the market today it would be somewhere in the high $200,000 range. Even if you use the average of all the 33405 West Palm Beach zip code of 33405, which would include many properties further inland, you would still be well over $330,000. Still a $50,000 premium over what I could list my house.

Ask yourself the question, why would a house about the same distance from the water, about 1 mile from each other, fetch a $150,000 premium by being in West Palm Beach versus Lake Worth? And then ask yourself if it is worth the risk to invest in public improvements that may decrease the disparity in values between the two areas by increasing property values in Lake Worth.

If you find other examples that prove or disprove this theory, let me know. I am also sure that the electric rates are a factor too. I am already expecting the response that if we have a higher millage rate, then it will make it worse. According to West Palm Beach City Commission Shanon Materio, who was at the District 3 meeting this past Wednesday, West Palm is looking at the same sort of bond issue too - so those would cancel each other out.