Sellers of existing homes in Palm Beach County found relief in the new year when plummeting prices leveled in January after 2006 ended with three consecutive months of double-digit declines.

The county’s median price last month was $388,000, down just $5,700 or about 1 percent from $393,700 a year ago, the Florida Association of Realtors said Tuesday. The January median increased $19,800 over December’s $368,200.

Still, it will take time for South Florida’s housing market to rebound, and it could be years before it comes close to the windfall that was 2000 to 2005, experts say.

“I’m reluctant to say we’ve hit bottom yet,” said David Levin, a Delray Beach housing consultant. “I’m still concerned about the overall affordability issue. Prices are still not low enough for the average person.”

Mike Halleran, 52, who is buying a home in Boca Raton, said many of the properties on the market are overpriced by at least 10 percent.

Another buyer, Melissa Rutherford, 35, of Boynton Beach, agrees. She and her fiancé plan to wait awhile longer because they think prices will keep falling. Read more

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