This season was an amazing year… particularly sales of oceanfront, lakefront and estate section homes. In fact, there were 9 sales this season all over $15,000,000! This trend shows many high net worth individuals relocating from the North East and other high tax rate states to Palm Beach to take advantage of Florida’s tax benefits; no personal income tax, no inheritance tax…just to name a few. In this low interest rate economy, buying hard assets, i.e., Palm Beach real estate, is viewed as a wise investment. Preserve your wealth, relocate to Palm Beach!
$43.7 million — 1695 N. Ocean Way: The biggest sale of the season was recorded in March when a just-completed oceanfront house developed by Palm Beacher Pat Carney on the far North End fetched nearly $44 million.The property was on the market about two months. With 24,000 total square feet of living space and 110 feet of beachfront, the five-bedroom house and a four-bedroom guesthouse were furnished when they sold to a trust in the name of Palm Beach hedge-funder Kenneth G. Tropin.
$39 million — 89 Middle Road: After nearly five years on the market, the estate of the late billionaire John W. Kluge sold in April for $39 million to developer Palm Beacher Peter Wood. With 4.3 acres, 150 feet of beachfront, two historic houses, three major outbuildings and extensive gardens, the Estate Section property was sold by the board of trustees of Columbia University, which had been bequeathed the estate before Kluge died in 2010.
$32 million — 225 Indian Road: February saw the island’s third-highest price ever paid for a house on the lake or inlet. Developed on speculation by the Frisbie family and still under construction on the inlet, the eight-bedroom house sold for $32 million in an off-market deal. A Florida limited-liability company managed by attorney Curtis Shenkman bought the house, which has 12,445 square feet of living space, inside and out, and stands on an irregularly shaped lot measuring nearly 1½ acres with 217 feet of water frontage.
$31.4 million — 390 N. Lake Way: Developed on spec by Pat Carney and sold in December for $31.4 million to a Bain Capital financier, the five-bedroom lakefront house is the fourth-highest lakefront or inlet property ever sold in Palm Beach. With 12,655 square feet of living space, inside and out, the house occupies a lot of a little less than three-quarters of an acre with 130 feet of lakefront and deep-water dockage.
$23.95 million — 720 S. Ocean Blvd.: Named El Solano, the 1923 house is best known as the vacation retreat of the late John Lennon, who co-owned it briefly with his wife, Yoko Ono, before his death in 1980. She subsequently renovated and sold the property. The most recent sale, for nearly $24 million, occurred January, when its longtime owners sold it to equity investor. The house was designed by noted society architect Addison Mizner.
$20.76 Million — 240 Banyan Road: In late September, a trust sold a lakefront house at 240 Banyan Road for $20.76 million, the second time it had changed hands within three months.
$18.14 million — 757 Island Drive: On the southwest tip of Everglades Island, a vacant lot with nearly 400 feet of waterfront at 757 Island Drive sold for $18.14 million in an off-market February deal.
$18 million — 473 N. County Road: A television personality paid $18 million for Louwana, a landmarked house at 473 N. County Road built in 1919. On a 1½-acre lot with 150 feet of beach frontage, the 12-bedroom, 12,483-square-foot house was designed by Addison Mizner and renovated by architect Maurice Fatio.
$17.6 million — 101 El Brillo Way: The longtime home of the late Jean van Waveren, a landmarked 1921 oceanfront house at 101 El Brillo Way changed hands in January for $17.6 million in an off-market deal. The Palm Trust bought the five-bedroom house with 10,400 square feet with a Moroccan-style loggia. Designed by noted society architect Marion Sims Wyeth, the house is known as Qui Si Sana (“Here is the Cure”).
Are you interested in analyzing the Palm Beach real estate market? Click here to see our 2016 1st Quarter Market Report.
Specializing in Palm Beach Real Estate for 26 years… Linda was recognized by The Wall Street Journal as one of “America’s Best Agents”; ranking #26th in the State of Florida for sales volume. Visit our unrivaled website lindaolsson.com to view all Palm Beach properties, client testimonials and more.
If you are thinking about buying or selling a home in Palm Beach, call us for experience you can trust! Sales information in this blog post was pulled from The Palm Beach Daily News Article Sunday May 1, 2016 Author Darrell Hofheinz.
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