The co-founder of Miami-based blockchain security startup Halborn bought a non-waterfront home in Miami Beach’s Lakeview for $8.6 million, setting a price record for dry properties in the neighborhood.
Records show Steve Walbroehl and his wife, Berenika, bought the house at 795 Lakeview Drive from Richard and Kirsten Tester as trustees of the Tester Family Trust.
Brenda Bassett of Magic City Realtors represented the buyers, and Douglas Elliman’s Bill Hernandez and Bryan Sereny represented the sellers.
Steve Walbroehl is the co-founder and chief information security officer of Halborn, a crypto security startup. Halborn raised $90 million in Series A financing in July, Bloomberg reported.
Richard Tester is CEO of Miami-based Redzone, a productivity technology company for manufacturing. He held the role of chief revenue officer for seven years before he was promoted in 2019.
Records show the Testers bought the Lakeview house in 2017 for $2.9 million. According to the listing, in the spring the Testers completed an extensive renovation of the home, which was built in 1949.
The updated 5,600-square-foot property on 0.4-acres includes a main house with four bedrooms and five bathrooms, and a guest house with one bedroom, one bathroom, and one half-bathroom, the listing shows. The backyard includes a pool, hot tub, and outdoor kitchen.
Dry properties in Miami Beach have been trading for increasingly higher prices over the past two years. It’s a pandemic trend that has yet to ease up, as demand for luxury homes in the area remains strong.
The Testers upgraded to a waterfront Sunset Islands home in Miami Beach, according to records. The couple bought a 7,300-square-foot house at 1617 West 22nd Street in May of last year for $13 million. The eight-bedroom, nine-bathroom home was built in 2016 on nearly half an acre, the listing shows.
The purchase is also an upgrade for the Walbroehls. They paid $1.3 million for a 1,900-square-foot, three-bedroom, four-bathroom, condo at Biscayne Beach in Miami’s Edgewater in March.