Palm Beach Becomes a Mecca for GOP—and More Than $19 Billion Has Flowed Into the Wealthy Enclave Since Trump’s First Presidency

Local real estate agents call it the “Trump Bump”—and the marked impact that Donald Trump has had on the sleepy community of Palm Beach, FL, can’t be overstated.

More than $19 billion in wealth has flowed into the wealthy enclave, where Trump, a Republican, has his Mar-a-Lago, since 2019, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The president-elect’s Palm Beach resort is often referred to as the Winter White House. Over the past decade, it has emerged as a prime center of Republican power.

While it’s typical for a president-elect to rent temporary office space in Washington, DC, during the postelection transition months, Trump has instead hunkered down at Mar-a-Lago. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for instance, recently flew to Palm Beach to meet with Trump. Trump has also held meetings with incoming administration members Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Robert Kennedy Jr. at the 17-acre property.

“The median-priced listing in Palm Beach is up 38.4% from November 2020 to November 2024,” says Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale.

“Between Oct. 31, 2020, and Oct. 31, 2024, Republican registered voters in Palm Beach rose 0.6%. This may not sound like a lot; but for context, the total voter registration fell 10.8% in the same period and registered Democrats declined by 21.6%.”

Many GOP hopefuls are circling the area in the hopes of gaining access to the president-elect’s inner circle.

“With plans to spend significant time in his Winter White House, Mar-a-Lago, many inside affiliates, colleagues, and political insiders are choosing to put down roots in Palm Beach,” says Kourtney Pulitzer, a senior global real estate adviser with Sotheby’s International Realty.

Perhaps they’re hoping that their proximity to Trump will give them a leg up and into the White House. It certainly did during his first administration, when Palm Beach neighbors Wilbur Ross served as Trump’s Commerce secretary and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman served as the chair of Trump’s former Strategic and Policy Forum.

“We have seen a significant uptick in activity in both pending and closed sales,” Pulitzer says. “Many properties, both on the island, in nearby West Palm Beach, and in Manalapan, have increased showings, offers, and bona fide contracts. A landscape of powerful and affluent residents has always been prevalent in Palm Beach, but the desire to be here is swelling in a noticeable way.”

Developer Isaac Toledano says his company, BH Group, has sold over $100 million of inventory in the six weeks since the election.

“There are a lot of buyers and smart money that was waiting on the sidelines to come into this market, and they will continue to do it, I believe, during 2025.”

Politicos swarm the Palm Beach scene

“Most assumed Trump would fit into norms and stay in Washington,” says Jeff Lichtenstein, CEO and broker at Echo Fine Properties in Palm Beach. “Now, people who are lobbyists or want businesses that want Palm Beach influence know they must be down here.”

Incoming Department of Government Efficiency head Musk is rumored to be among them. Recent rumors suggest that Musk, the president-elect’s self-anointed “first buddy,” was eyeing the purchase of a penthouse condo in the Bristol building.

Conservative talk show hosts Ben Shapiro and Sean Hannity have both relocated to Palm Beach.

A preponderance of private airports makes it easy to take a private jet from Palm Beach to DC in less than three hours.

“There will be some people who will try to buy access to Trump through property in Palm Beach,” Douglas Elliman real estate broker Gary Pohrer told Bloomberg. “You’d have a good shot if you’re willing to pay up for membership at Mar-a-Lago.”

That membership now costs around $1 million a year. But as Laurence Leamer, the author of a 2019 book on Mar-a-Lago, told the outlet: “What is the million dollars for membership if you can get a $2 billion deal from the White House?”

Palm Beach’s market buttons up

With so much money and power flocking to the area, local real estate agents are being kept on their toes.

“There is no secret that Florida is a Republican state,” says Toledano. “We see a lot of people that say, ‘Hey, if Florida is good for Donald Trump and his family, if Florida is good for Jeff Bezos, for Ken Griffin, and now maybe for Elon Musk, it’s probably good for us.'”

“I’m in Palm Beach, and you feel it,” says Lichtenstein. “Just yesterday, Kimberly Guilfoyle broke up with Donald Trump Jr. and was named ambassador to Greece. I would assume her Admirals Cove Jupiter estate home will go on the market, and Donald Trump Jr. will be looking for new digs.”

Lichtenstein believes the Palm Beach market will tighten even more, due in part to the area’s shrinking inventory.

“The Northern Palm Beaches has also changed from 2016,” he says. “There was a ton of new construction available in 2016. Not anymore. Everything east of I-95 and the turnpike is built out. The marketplace turned on once the election ended in the Palm Beaches.”

That’s why Toledano sees West Palm Beach as the new frontier.

“Obviously, we can all agree that the Palm Beach market is a very, very tiny market. One of the reasons that the West Palm Beach market is exploding, and you will enjoy a lot of growth, is because there is not much that people can find in Palm Beach. You don’t have any new condo projects. You don’t have new office buildings.”

The influx of new people—and money—into the area has pushed many first-time homebuyers out of Palm Beach proper and to West Palm Beach. However, Lichtenstein notes that “75-degree winter days and no income tax make up for price appreciation and the extra insurance cost associated with it.”