The Dirt: Sean Hannity and Bret Baier living in Palm Beach? Is the island big enough for them both?

Welcome to The Dirt! I’m real estate reporter Kimberly Miller with the latest developments in the sizzling market.

A fan of The Palm Beach Post's real estate coverage recently emailed to say he was amused to see the words "foul-mouthed tirade" and "multi-million dollar mansion" in the lead of a news story. But why be surprised?!? This is South Florida! And Danielle Bregoli, AKA "Cash me outside" girl, AKA "Bhad Bhabie," has her suburban Boca Raton estate on the market for $7.9 million. "Howbow dah?"

But wait, there's more! We've also got Fox News pundit Sean Hannity making it official that he is a bona fide Florida resident using his Palm Beach address, and his colleague Bret Baier asking for two new security gates at his $37 million Palm Beach home. If you think a couple of gates are boring, you don't know the town's cutthroat Architectural Commission. Stay tuned.

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On the mainland, the housing market settled in 2023, and by "settled" I mean prices continued to increase (just not at double-digit rates) and most people probably still can't afford a median-priced single-family home. Also, foxes are taking over historic Flamingo Park, and developer GL Homes is suing its own homeowners association west of Boynton Beach. What the? Really? Yes. Why? Because South Florida. See first paragraph.

But what about the honeybees?

There's nothing new about developers gobbling up former farmland in Palm Beach County to build gated cookie-cutter communities with lofty names like Heron's Call or Eagle Beak😂. But a recent purchase had a bit of a twist in that we know the world's honeybees are struggling. And that is bad, bad news.

The property, which sold for $24 million to an Arizona-based developer that specializes in townhomes and apartments, was most recently used for hundreds of honeybee hives. So, folks, please plant some bee-friendly plants for the newly unhoused pollinators.

Median sale price spiked to a totally reasonable $597,000 last year

The frantic rush to South Florida during the pandemic has subsided, but that doesn't mean home prices are crashing. Not. Even. Close. Not yet anyway, and economists aren't expecting any kind of housing bust but there is an unknown to grapple with. If interest rates go down, and more people jump into the market, will that spike prices or will they mellow as home sellers are more willing to add to the inventory because they too can now buy something with a lower interest rate?

It's a mind bender for sure. Where's Miss Cleo when you need her?

Spec house near Trump-owned home near Mar-a-Lago up for grabs at $45 million

Whether you love him, hate him, love to hate him or hate that you love him, a home selling near a Trump-owned home near Mar-a-Lago seems to get attention. The most recent addition hasn't even been built yet but is already on the market for $45 million. It will be next door to former President Donald Trump's sister Elizabeth Trump Grau.

And there's a bonus! The home comes with a free membership to the Mar-a-Lago Club. Whether it's only for the early-bird specials or reservations at the kiddie table is a caveat emptor situation.

Brave the scary world of ungated neighborhoods, or pay a hefty fee?

Some people love gated communities because everything is kept nice and neat and tidy and Disneyesque. Others are willing to take their chances in the chaotic wilds of ungated neighborhoods because HOA fees can be a bear. At Valencia Sound west of Boynton Beach, the HOA wants to charge new buyers a hefty "welcome to Valencia Sound" fee. GL Homes, which is still trying off load homes in the community, isn't happy about it.

So, now there's a lawsuit, which seems to happen a lot in HOA-land.

Live lightly.

Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County home prices settled in 2023 which means they went up