Llwyd Ecclestone III, a luxury home builder whose father and grandfather built PGA National Resort & Spa which includes the golf course, has sold his sprawling North Palm Beach mansion at a discount of $4.7 million.
“It’s not such a deep discount in light of today’s market,” said Dolly Peters of Illustrated Properties, which sold the property. “That’s what’s happening out there. People are making offers and sellers are discounting.”
Ecclestone sold the 13,000-square-foot home in the exclusive 450-acre enclave of Lost Tree Village community, developed by his father and grandfather, for $11.2 million, to Thomas Ryan, chairman of CVS Caremark, on February 5, according to Palm Beach County property records. Ryan, who was apparently trading up, sold his 6,000-square-foot home in Lost Tree for $6 million on January 29, according to county property records. Ecclestone’s waterfront estate had been on the market since July for $15.9 million. Ecclestone could not be reached for comment.
“Houses are definitely coming down in price. We’re back to the levels we saw in 2003 and 2004,” Peters said.
And Peters isn’t sure the mansion market has hit bottom.
“I’m getting offers that are 25 percent and 30 percent below [the asking price],” she said, adding, “With all of the foreclosures and short sales going one, everybody is out there looking for a bargain.”
Ecclestone’s Lost Tree Village Bermuda-style estate at 11027 Old Harbour Road overlooks the Intracoastal and has seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms. The Illustrated listing describes it as “a true treasure” on 1.3 acres. Property records indicate he bought the land in May 2005 for $5.1 million and built the existing house.
Ecclestone, chairman and CEO of Palm Beach Gardens-based Ecclestone Signature Homes, builds million-dollar homes in luxury communities in Palm Beach County, Martin County and Central Florida.