Palm Beach County in Florida has a reputation for penning record-breaking luxury property deals, and Quarter Three was no different. Coming off of the second quarter when the New York Post reported Palm Beach leading $10million-plus sales with a 44% home value spike, beating out Miami and New York, here again, in Q3, some of the nation’s loftiest transactions kept Palm Beach County real estate lawyers’ especially busy. Let’s take a look at the five largest residential real estate transactions in the State of Florida during Q3 2024.
1. $51.6M for 200 Via Palma, Palm Beach
An unknown buyer that’s registered in Delaware swooped into close the most expensive home in Florida during Q3 2024. The lakefront compound at 200 Via Palma on Palm Beach Island was sold to Geats LLC on the first day of the quarter for $51.6 million, which translates to $5,099 per square foot.
The 10,100 square foot lakefront mansion was the home of Jeanne Siegel, widow of the late billionaire media magnate Herbert Siegel, whose famed deals included the sale of 10 TV stations to Rupert Murdoch and the merger of Warner Communications and Time Inc. The Siegels paid $29.9 million for the property in 2015. Built in 1952, the mid-century grand mansion was completely redesigned just last year.
2. $42.5M for 101 Jungle Road, Palm Beach
Not far away, also on day one of the quarter, in the neighborhood of “billionaires row,” another Palm Beach property was snatched up by another LLC. The Wisconsin-based company, going by the name PB Jungle 101, purchased the property for $42.5 million, which equates to $4,236 per square foot.
The estate had been the home of the late Democratic political activist Elaine Schuster and her late husband Gerry, the founder and longtime CEO of Boston-based Wingate Companies, a real estate development and investment firm that today owns multifamily properties across the Eastern United States. The estate is situated about a mile north of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club. The neighborhood is also home to several of the world’s wealthiest people, including hedge-fund CEO Ken Griffin.
3. $40.25M for 101 N. Hibiscus Drive, Miami
The following month, ever-bustling Miami was tapped for the third largest Q3 Florida home sale when an estate with the exclusive property address of 101 N. Hibiscus Drive was snapped up by a Wyoming-based LLC for $40.25 million, or $3,734 per square foot.
A company managed by builder Paul Vogele had bought the original parcel, and developed and sold the result. Vogele has also authored books on French architecture and was living in the10,800-square-foot Hôtel Particulier-inspired home. The waterfront estate is located on Miami’s man-made, guard-gated Hibiscus Island in Biscayne Bay, which is only accessible by car via the MacArthur Causeway.
4. $36.49M for 3675 Fort Charles Drive, Naples
It appears that in mid-September, on the other side of the state, highly desirable Naples enticed a former Dean Foods President to purchase in the luxe Port Royal community—the most expensive neighborhood in all of Florida according to American Home Shield—for $36.49 million. The price per square foot was $3,469.
According to public records the purchase was made by Carol Bernon, as trustee of the Carol Bernon Revocable Trust, whose husband, Alan J. Bernon, is the founding partner of Sequel Holdings, a Dallas-based private equity firm, and past President of Dean Foods. The selling party, William “Chip” H. Wood, founder of Cincinnati-based Tire Discounters—now ranking as the eighth-largest independent tire dealer in the U.S.—and his wife Carla, constructed the house with Kukk Architecture and Design and A.Vernon Allen Builder in 2020.
5. $34.39M for 2700 Sunset Drive, Miami
Miami-Dade County is a tough competitor in the ultraluxury market, where Palm Beach lawyers and Miami lawyers often themselves representing clients buying and selling in each other’s home turfs, so it comes as no surprise that, following Palm Beach, Miami also dominated the state’s top five of Q3.
In July, Q3’s fifth most expensive estate was listed and sold in a single day. The spec home at 2700 Sunset Drive brought $34.39 million—or $4,299 per square foot, and is situated on the ultra-exclusive Sunset Island II, one of four manmade islands positioned between North Bay Road and Biscayne Bay. A Douglas Elliman real estate agent, owner Oliver Lloyd teamed up with developer Todd Glaser to raze the parcel that was purchased in 2021 and build a 8,000-square-foot waterfront spec mansion. The buyer was a Land Trust associated with Hannah Kardux of North Miami.
As your closing approaches, feel free to contact Florida Bar Board-Certified Attorneys David E. Klein, Esq. and Guy Rabideau at Rabideauklein.com. They have the expertise and experience you need to ensure that your contractual methodology and drafting ensures the results you want. Contact Rabideau Klein to discuss the legal implications of your next Florida property transaction.