Darrell Hofheinz, Palm Beach Daily News
“Monthly sales reports prepared by the Rabideau Klein law firm were used to re-confirm some of the sales.”
Fewer Palm Beach single-family homes closed at prices recorded at more than $30 million between Sept. 1 and May 3 than during the same period a year ago.
As of early May 3, six sales had topped the $30 million threshold, compared to nine last season.
Yet at least 11 transactions managed to hit the $20 million mark. And more appear to be coming in the weeks ahead, according to the number of properties under contract in the “pending” category of the multiple listing service and people familiar with off-market sales currently in the offing.
Here’s a look at the season’s biggest deals with sale prices documented at more than $20 million by the Palm Beach County Clerk’s office, unless otherwise noted. The list also includes the season’s highest-dollar condominium sale and commercial transaction.
Monthly sales reports prepared by the Rabideau Klein law firm were used to re-confirm some of the sales.
$85 million, 108 El Mirasol: On the North End, this vacant lot measuring about an acre with 225 feet of direct beachfront sold privately in April. The sale price for the lot was likely a record-setter for a vacant parcel of its size in Palm Beach. The buyer was a Delaware-registered limited liability company named after the property’s address. The seller was ANK Palm Beach LLC, a Delaware entity managed by New Jersey businessman Anand Khubani. Broker Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens Associates represented the seller’s side, while Corcoran Group agents Paulette Koch and Dana Koch acted on behalf of the buyer, real estate sources confirmed for the Palm Beach Daily News.
$74.25 million, 740 Hi Mount Road: Palm Beach entrepreneur and investor Harvey Jones in March used a trust in his name to buy this North End house overlooking about 166 feet of Intracoastal Waterway frontage from one of the highest points in Palm Beach. On a lot measuring an acre, the 1999 Mediterranean-style house has six bedrooms and 15,487 square feet of total living space, property records show. On the seller’s side of the off-market sale was a trust in the name of Candida Burnap, known as “Candy” and the widow of venture capitalist Bartlett Burnap. She was represented by agents Ashley McIntosh and Chris Leavitt of Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Agents Todd and Frances Peter of Sotheby’s International Realty acted on behalf of Jones.
$60.37 million, 130 Banyan Road: Interior designer Victoria Hagan and her media-investor husband, Michael Berman, sold this extensively renovated house in a sale that closed May 2. Built in 1924, the eight-bedroom house with about 15,700 square feet stands on a lot of about an acre near the ocean in the Estate Section. It was sold through the couple’s ownership company, 130 Banyan LLC. Brown Harris Stevens agents handled both sides of the sale, with Liza Pulitzer and Whitney McGurk acting for the sellers. Blair Kirwan represented the buyer, the Banyan Road Trust, for which New York City attorney Steven M. Loeb serves as trustee.
$43.77 million, 205 Via Tortuga: A just-completed French-country-style estate on nearly an acre in Phipps Estates on the North End was sold in April by West Palm Beach-based luxury homebuilder Malasky Homes, which developed and built the estate on speculation. An unidentified buyer from overseas used The Mijko Trust trust to buy the five-bedroom house and its two-bedroom guest house, which have 13,523 square feet of living space, inside and out. They occupy a non-waterfront lot of nearly an acre. Agent Jim McCann of Premier Estate Properties represented Malasky Homes and negotiated opposite broker Jeremy Stewart, who founded Park View Realty in Jupiter.
$39 million, 10 Via Vizcaya: This 2007 Mediterranean-style estate changed hands in the Estate Section, according to the deed recorded in May. The estate was sold by a Florida limited liability company named after the property’s address and managed by siblings Darlene Yelvington and Gary Yelvington, state business records show. Their late parents — Daytona Beach businessman Conrad Yelvington and his late wife, Margaret — were the original owners of the six-bedroom residence with 10,720 total square feet and 117 feet of frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway. Premier Estate Properties agent Margit Brandt represented Sugar Magnolias LLC, the Delaware-registered limited liability company that bought the property. Agent Heidi Wicky of Sotheby’s International Realty had held the listing for the estate but withdrew it from the multiple listing service April 30, records show.
$32.66 million, 280 N. Ocean Blvd.: In October, a deed transferred ownership of this restored 1920-era landmarked house, although the Palm Beach Daily News could not confirm if the private transaction on the North End was a so-called “arm’s length” deal or just an internal transfer involving the Weisfisch family. Businessman Rami Yoram Weisfisch, who was joined on the deed by his wife, Pnina Apolonia Weisfisch, transferred his 99% ownership stake to Palm Beach Family Holdings Inc. of the British Virgin Islands. The deed let his wife retain her 1% ownership interest, live at the property for the remainder of her life and continue to homestead the 12-bedroom Mediterranean-style house as her primary residence in the Palm Beach County tax rolls. The oceanfront property has 15,323 total square feet of living space, inside and out, including a beach cabana east of the coastal road. It was unclear if any real estate agents were involved.
$29.25 million, 120 Via Del Lago: Tennessee payday-lending mogul W. Allan Jones bought this 1958 house in the Estate Section in March through a limited liability company named Jones Lakeland LLC. It was sold by the estate of the late retired Chicago industrialist Harold B. Smith Jr. With Regency-influenced architecture, the seven-bedroom house has a separate guesthouse and cabana — all totaling 13,165 square feet — on nine-tenths of an acre near the ocean. Agent Suzanne Frisbie of the Corcoran Group represented Jones and his wife, Janie, in the deal. Agent Gary Pohrer of Douglas Elliman Real Estate was the listing agent.
$28 million, 313 Dunbar Road: In April, a limited liability company controlled by fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and his wife, Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger, sold the 2006 lakefront house they renovated on the near North End. The buyers were businessman, real estate investor and private-equity specialist Steven Mark Esrick and his wife, Anna Kiki Esrick. With 100 feet of Intracoastal Waterway frontage, the house has three bedrooms and 6,175 total square feet on a third of an acre. Broker Christian Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate held the listing. Pohrer represented the buyers. Agent Allison Nicklaus of NV Realty Group was also involved on the buyers’ side.
$24.29 million, 167 Dunbar Road: Through a trust, Laura Andrassy in December sold the North End custom home she built in the years following her 2008 divorce from Australian golf legend Greg Norman. On an ocean block, the West Indies-style house built in 2016 has five bedrooms and 7,514 square feet of living space, inside and out, property records show. The buyer was HousePoor LLC, Delaware-registered limited liability company with a mailing address in Larchmont, New York. Andrassy was represented by her daughter Morgan Dillavou, an agent at Florida Living Realty of Hobe Sound; and her daughter-in-law, Michelle Thomson of The Thomson Team at Coldwell Banker Realty’s Pinecrest/Miami office. The two agents also represented the buyer.
$21.8 million, 1080 S. Ocean Blvd.: This never-lived-in house developed on speculation in the Estate Section sold in February to the 1080 South Ocean Boulevard Trust. The seller was an entity managed by Todd Michael Glaser, who developed the Mediterranean-style house with two of his Miami-based investment partners, Scott Robins and Jonathan Fryd. The five-bedroom house has 9,847 total square feet on a lot of two-fifths of an acre at the corner of Kings Road. Broker Linda Olsson of Linda R. Olsson Inc. acted on behalf of the buyer. Frisbie represented Glaser’s side of the sale.
$20 million, 960 N. Ocean Blvd.: Longtime resident Kathy Bleznak in September sold this four-bedroom, Palm Beach Regency-style house she shared for many years with her late husband, Alan. The 1970 house and its separate pool cabana have a combined 5,361 square feet of living space, inside and out. A trust affiliated with the Cardinale family bought the property. A different trust, linked to Redbird Capital founder and managing partner Gerry Cardinale, already owned a house next door facing Sandpiper Drive, town records show. Moens represented Bleznak, and agent Lilly Leas Ferreira of Brown Harris Stevens handled the buyer’s side.
Biggest condominium sale
$14.75 million, Penthouse 4, 2 N. Breakers Row: The PBP Trust, for which attorney Maura Ziska served as trustee, bought this three-bedroom, oceanside condominium with 3,095 square feet of living space, inside and on its private terrace, via a deed recorded in early January. A trust in the name of the late Diane Belfer was on the seller’s side of the deal in the development’s north building. Moens was the listing broker, negotiating opposite agent Jack Elkins of William Raveis South Florida. The sale was one of three condo deals that recorded at more than $10 million within two weeks at 2 N. Breakers Row, which was developed in 1986.
Biggest commercial sale
$12 million, 233-235 Royal Poinciana Way: A company affiliated with The Breakers Palm Beach in April made its sixth purchase on Palm Beach historic Main Street, using a limited liability company named 235 RPW LLC to buy a pair of adjacent buildings with two retail storefronts and eight residential apartments. The seller of the 1940s-era buildings was Dr. Sundarapmillai Jeyanandarajan, who acted as trustee of the Maha Ganapathy Trust of Pismo Beach, California.