Despite the glut of luxury inventory sitting on the market, there was no shortage of big residential sales in South Florida last year.
The majority of the top deals were in Palm Beach, a barrier island that’s home to celebrities like Howard Stern, author James Patterson, and Bruce Springsteen’s drummer, Max Weinberg. Two properties broke all-time records for residential sales in all of South Florida, tying for $105 million.
Here are the top 10 closings in the tri-county region:
$105 million — 1415 South Ocean Boulevard, Palm Beach
1415 South Ocean Boulevard
Billionaire hedge funder Steven Schonfeld and his wife Brooke broke the all-time record for residential sales in Palm Beach County when he closed on the 10-bedroom waterfront estate at 1415 South Ocean Boulevard for $105 million. Brokers Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens Associates and Christian J. Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate brokered the deal.
$105 million — 1295 South Ocean Boulevard, Palm Beach
1295 South Ocean Boulevard
The estate of the late Broadway producer Terry Allen Kramer sold her sprawling Palm Beach home for $104.99 million in June. The buyer is Wemio LLC, a Delaware company. Kramer, who died in May, listed the 13-bedroom, 37,516-square-foot estate for $135 million in October 2018. Ashley McIntosh, Gary Pohrer, Lisa Wilkinson, Cara McClure and Adam McPherson of Douglas Elliman were the listing agents. Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens Associates Inc. represented the buyer.
$99 Million — 60 Blossom Way, Palm Beach
60 Blossom Way
Billionaire hedge funder Ken Griffin is still buying pricey homes, just to eventually knock them down. Fellow billionaire, real estate investor Frank McCourt, sold the 18,452-square-foot mansion to Griffin for $99.1 million. Griffin has now spent at least $350 million on assembling land in that area for one large property.
$50 Million — 3 Indian Creek Island Road, Miami Beach
3 Indian Creek Island Road
Mystery buyers — and sellers — struck again in the $49.9 million sale of 3 Indian Creek Island Road. In February, AVK Land Holding LLC, managed by Russian attorney Andrey M. Kaydin, sold the 10-bedroom, 14-bathroom home to Angouleme Holdings II Limited Land Trust. Oren and Tal Alexander of Douglas Elliman represented the seller and Ralph Arias of One Sotheby’s International Realty represented the buyer. The home was built in 2011 by Shlomy Alexander, the Alexander brothers’ father and Felix Cohen, a spec home developer.
$43M — 1960 South Ocean Boulevard, Palm Beach
1960 South Ocean Boulevard
Embattled casino mogul Steve Wynn paid $43 million for the eight-bedroom, 24,600-square-foot mansion. A company tied to Emma Cisneros, part of the billionaire Venezuelan family that owns a media conglomerate, sold the 2.25-acre property. It was on the market with Cristina Condon of Sotheby’s International Realty.
$43M — 1125 South Flagler Drive, 24th floor, West Palm Beach
1125 South Flagler Drive
Sydell Miller closed on a full-floor penthouse at the Bristol in West Palm Beach for $42.6 million. Miller, who with her late husband sold their hair and beauty products line Matrix Essentials to Bristol Myers Squibb in 2005, closed on the entire 24th floor at the luxury condo project. Douglas Elliman represented the developer, Al Adelson and Gene Golub of Chicago-based Golub.
$41M — 1071 North Ocean Boulevard, Palm Beach
1071 North Ocean Boulevard
Philadelphia attorneys and charter school owners Vahan and Danielle Gureghian sold their custom-built Palm Beach mansion for $40.87 million. The Gureghians sold the seven-bedroom, 33,000-square-foot estate to REIWA LLC, which is led by West Palm Beach lawyer Alan Ciklin. Agents Ashley McIntosh, Gary Pohrer and Vince Spadea of Douglas Elliman were the listing agents. Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens Associates Inc. represented the buyer.
$30M — 101 Casa Bendita, Palm Beach
101 Casa Bendita
The Gureghians quickly purchased their next home, spending $30.2 million on the property at 101 Casa Bendita. The 12,077-square-foot, six-bedroom mansion previously belonged to developer and convicted fraudster Robert Matthews. The deal came about after a court-ordered auction to sell the property in March fell through. Bidders were required to make bids of at least $31 million to qualify, but no bid reached that level. The home was then taken over by its mortgage lender DB Private Wealth Mortgage in April.
$29M — 980 North Ocean Boulevard, Palm Beach
980 North Ocean Boulevard
Edward T. Holt, trustee of the Mary Hulitar trust, sold this 2,062-square-foot mansion to a Delaware company. Hulitar and her late husband Philip, a fashion designer and artist, had owned the home since 1971. The property traded hands in April for $28.7 million, nearly $10 million off the asking price. Ashley McIntosh of Douglas Elliman represented the seller and Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens Associates brought the buyer.
$28M — 428 South Hibiscus Drive, Miami Beach
428 South Hibiscus Drive
Former Formula One driver turned spec home developer Eddie Irvine sold a Hibiscus Island mansion in Miami Beach for $27.75 million. Casa Alaia LLC, led by Enrique Gonzalez, bought the seven-bedroom, 10,448-square-foot mansion at 428 South Hibiscus Drive. Julian Johnston, then with Calibre International Realty, represented the seller. Lino Morejon brought the buyer.