The outlook was poor when Palm Beach’s season began this winter. The weather was rainy and gloomy, and almost no one was buying houses.
However, for real estate agents on the island, time was running out to sell their multi-million dollar listings. 2021 and 2022 were record years for the island, followed by a slowdown in 2023. had more listings over $50 million than anywhere else in the United States, but the question remained: would they sell? This was Palm Beach’s opportunity to prove that it was not an isolated wonder, but a new emerging powerhouse on the global luxury real estate scene.
Then, in February, the sun began to shine and activity resumed. A flood of eight-figure sales was achieved in April and May, placing the island among the best-performing luxury markets in the world.
It was a “slow start, but a strong finish,” said West Palm Beach developer Blair Brandt.
“It proves that Palm Beach is here to stay,” Margit Brandt, an on-island agent with Premier Estate Properties and wife of Blair Brandt, said of the market’s performance this season. She represented the buyer of Tarpon Island, who closed the megamansion for $152 million in May.
“A lot of people said, ‘Oh, you had this boom, it’s going to come back down.’ Some of these people were staying on the sidelines saying the prices won’t hold up,” Brandt said. According to her, this season proved the naysayers wrong.
The numbers too. Sales of Palm Beach properties priced $10 million and up reached $1.1 billion in volume in the first quarter of the year, according to a report from Knight Frank. This represents an increase from the volume of $617 million in the first quarter of 2023.
Yet some of the season’s biggest ads didn’t sell. After listing two adjacent oceanfront lots for $200 million with Jim McCann of Premier Estate Properties, cosmetics heir William Lauder re-registered them separately for $88.9 million each with Christian Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate.
Ambitious pricing was less likely to succeed this season and price cuts were more common than in recent years. This season’s pace, with its slow start and late spring crescendo, marked a return to Palm Beach’s pre-covid pace, according to Corcoran Group’s Suzanne Frisbie.
“If you look back, it’s the second and third quarters that account for the lion’s share of closings,” she said. “We’re going back to what I would call the season and the offseason. And now we are in low season.
Even though it’s not the season, there are still buyers looking and last-minute deals to be had, agents said.
“It’s been an active end to the season,” said Douglas Elliman agent Samantha Curry. “I currently have three offers on three different listings.”
While most Palm Beach residents are settled into their summer homes, here’s a look at the 10 biggest deals of the season:
$152 million | 10 Tarpon Island | Sellers: Todd Glaser and partners
In his second season on the market, spec developer Todd Glaser found a buyer for the 2.3-acre Tarpon Island, which closed for $152 million at the end of May. Glaser first listed it for $218 million in 2022. He and his investment partners bought the island for $85 million in 2021 and renovated and expanded the mansion to nearly 24,000 square feet, with 11 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms and seven half bathrooms. The estate has two swimming pools, a dock, a floodlit tennis court, a catering kitchen and a wellness wing with cold pool, hammam, sauna, hairdresser, massage room and gym. sport. Frisbie and Chris Leavitt of Elliman held the listing and Brandt represented the buyer.
$85 million | 108 El Mirasol | Seller: Anand Khubani
Ideavillage founder Anand Khubani sold vacant beachfront land for $85 million in April. Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens Associates had the pocket listing for the one-acre lot at 108 El Mirasol, and Dana Koch of Corcoran brought the buyer. Khubani and his wife, Neeta Khubani, purchased the El Mirasol property for $12.7 million in 2005, according to property records.
$74.3 million | 740 Salut Mount Road | Buyer: Harvey Jones
Nvidia billionaire Harvey Jones purchased the 10,500 square foot lakefront mansion at 740 Hi Mount Road for $74.3 million in an off-market deal in March, his first of two trophy contracts this season. The saleswoman, Candida Burnap, was downsizing to one $13 million home in the North End she bought in December. Burnap purchased the one-acre Hi Mount Road estate for $4.4 million in 1995 and she built the six-bedroom, six-and-a-half-bathroom mansion in 1999. It features a swimming pool and a dock on the Intracoastal Waterway.
Chris Leavitt and Ashley McIntosh of Douglas Elliman represented Jones in the latest deal. Todd Peter of One Sotheby’s International Realty represented Burnap.
$60.4 million | 130 Banyan Road | Sellers: Victoria Hagan and Michael Berman
Interior designer Victoria Hagan and her media mogul husband Michael Berman have sold their renovated mansion at 130 Banyan Road for $60.4 million, which marked one of the most expensive off-shore sales ever on the island. Liza Pulitzer and Whitney McGurk of Brown Harris Stevens represented the sellers, and Blair Kirwan, another Brown Harris Stevens agent, brought the buyer. The couple purchased the one-acre plot of land for $11.1 million in 2020. The 9,700 square foot mansion was built in 1926 and features five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, one half bathroom, a swimming pool and a tennis court.
$51.3 million | 200, boulevard de l’Océan Sud | Sellers: David and Becky Gochman
Former sporting goods mogul David Gochman and his wife Becky Gochman have sold their home at 200 South Ocean Boulevard for $51.3 million in May. The couple purchased the 0.9-acre property for $15.4 million in 2014 and built the 5,800-square-foot home in 2018. It has six bedrooms, five bathrooms, a pool and faces the beach. They listed it at $59 million in February, before closing on a $9.4 million home in the El Cid neighborhood of West Palm Beach in April. McCann had the listing on South Ocean Boulevard, and Phatavahn and Derek Olsen of Elliman brought the buyer.
$50 million | 940, chemin du lac Nord | Seller: Harvey Jones
Jones, who built his $1.1 billion fortune as a longtime tech executive and Nvidia board member, flipped the vacant lakefront lot at 940 North Lake Way to $50 million in May. He purchased it for the same price in July 2023. He listed the 0.8-acre property for $59 million in November and dropped the price to $55 million in February before breaking even. Todd Peter and Frances Peter of Sotheby’s International Realty represented him and Angle represented the buyer.
$49.6 million | 315 Chapel Hill Road | Seller: Estate of Bill Flaherty
The family of the late industrialist Bill Flaherty sold their lakefront home at 315 Chapel Hill Road for $49.6 million earlier this month. Angle represented both sides of the deal. Flaherty and his then-wife purchased the 6,400-square-foot home for $1 million in 1990. Built in 1987 on 0.8 acres, the main house and guest house include eight bedrooms, eight bathrooms and two half bathrooms, as well as a pool and 200 feet of beachfront. The Flaherty family listed the complex for sale for $59.5 million in October.
$43.7 million | 205 Via Tortuga | Seller: Malasky Homes
Real estate developer Malasky Homes sold the non-waterfront home located at 205 Via Tortuga for $43.7 million in April. Malasky purchased the 0.8-acre property for $9.4 million in 2020 and completed the 11,000-square-foot mansion earlier this year. It has seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, two half bathrooms, a swimming pool and a guest house. The buyers are European, a source confirmed. McCann held the listing and Jeremy Stewart of Park View Realty represented the buyers.
$39 million | 10 Via Biscay | Sellers: Gary and Darlene Yelvington
Aviation heirs Gary and Darlene Yelvington have sold their family’s longtime lakefront mansion in Palm Beach for $39 million as part of an off-market transaction. Their late parents purchased the home at 10 Via Vizcaya for $3.6 million in 2004, and the siblings listed it for $45 million in November. The 8,600-square-foot mansion was built on 0.7 acres in 2007 and features six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, one half bathroom, a pool and a dock. The Yelvingtons listed the house in March and closed the deal in April. Heidi Wicky of Sotheby’s International Realty represented them and Brandt brought the buyer.
$29.3 million | 120 Via Del Lago | Buyer: Allan Jones
Payday loan magnate Allan Jones purchased the mansion at 120 Via Del Lago for $29.3 million in April. The sellers were the billionaire Smith family of Chicago, heirs to banker and industrialist Byron Smith. He founded Northern Trust and Illinois Tool Works, private companies that the family still owns. They collectively have a net worth of $19.8 billion, according to Forbes. The late Harold Byron Smith Jr. purchased the 10,000 square foot home for $7.3 million in 2004. Built in 1958 on 0.9 acres, it has seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, four half bathrooms and a swimming pool. It was designed by the prominent Palm Beach architect Marion Sims Wyeth. The family put it up for sale for $37.5 million in April 2023. Gary Pohrer of Elliman had the listing and Frisbie brought the buyer.
