Resi roundup: Hedge funder, spec developers buy, sell homes across South Florida

Spec developers, doctors and a hedge funder bought and sold homes in the latest roundup of South Florida luxury residential sales.

Prices ranged from $9.8 million to $11.2 million, and spanned Coral Gables to Golden Beach. 

Coral Gables

In Coral Gables, hedge funder Clinton Biondo sold his Coral Gables home for $9.9 million. Records show he and his wife, Elizabeth Biondo, sold the house at 5601 Arbor Lane to SCMK3018 LLC, a Florida entity managed by Shahal Khan. The buyer financed the purchase with a $6.9 million loan from the sellers, according to records.  

Geraldine Blakely of McB Realty Group had the listing, and Jill Velarde with Waterfront Investment Real Estate brought the buyer.

Clinton Biondo is a managing partner at Fir Tree Capital, a hedge fund with offices in New York and Miami with $6.7 billion of assets under management. The Biondos bought the house for $3.2 million in 2011, records show. Built on 0.9 acres in 2005, the 5,500-square-foot house has five bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a pool, records show. It was renovated in 2022, according to the listing. 

The couple listed it for $9.9 million in August, Realtor.com shows. 

Elsewhere in Coral Gables, spec developers Sergio and Remir Guardazzi dropped $11.2 million on a waterfront teardown. Records show their 6941 Sunrise Investments LLC bought the house at 6941 Sunrise Court from longtime owners James B. Black Jr. and his wife, Faith Black. 

Renier Casanova of Compass had the listing, and Barbara Elmir of One Sotheby’s International Realty brought the buyers. 

The Guardazzis are spec developers in Miami-Dade County. In June, they sold a waterfront spec house in Key Biscayne for $17.5 million. In 2021, they sold another waterfront spec house in Key Biscayne for $7.5 million. 

The Blacks bought the waterfront Coral Gables home for $880,000 in 1996, property records show. Spanning 0.4 acres and 174 feet of waterfront, the property includes a 3,700-square-foot house with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, one half-bathroom and a pool, according to records. 

The couple listed it for $12 million in December, advertising it as a teardown or renovation, Redfin shows.

Miami Beach

In Miami Beach, mental health professionals Dr. John H. Burger Jr. and James Gerhardstein sold their waterfront home for $9.9 million. 

Burger and Gerhardstein sold 6465 Pine Tree Drive Circle to a Nevada entity named for the address. The true buyer is unknown. 

Nancy Batchelor and Nesti Mendoza of Compass had the listing, and Jordan Karp of Jordan Karp LLC brought the buyer.

Burger and Gerhardstein, who are married, are both in mental health professions. Burger is a psychiatrist, and Gerhardstein owns South Florida Behavioral Health. They bought the Pine Tree Drive Circle house for $780,000 in 1998, records show. 

Built in 1936 on 0.4 acres, the 3,300-square-foot home spans six bedrooms and five bathrooms, according to property records. The property includes a pool and 102 feet of waterfront. 

They listed it for $13.8 million in 2022, and dropped the price several times over the course of 2023, Redfin shows. In 2022, New York developer Steve Witkoff flipped the waterfront lot next door for $20 million. 

Also in Miami Beach, an entity linked to the New York City-based investment firm Owl Creek Asset Management bought a non-waterfront Sunset Islands house for $9.8 million.

Records show Peter Kramer and Elizabeth Etkin Kramer sold the home at 2834 Regatta Avenue to an entity named for the address. The buying company listed its address as the New York office of Owl Creek, which is helmed by founder Jeffrey Altman. 

Altman’s Owl Creek has invested in South Florida real estate in the past. In 2015, the firm landed a $25 million construction loan for two mansions in Miami Beach. 

Dr. Elizabeth Etkin Kramer is a gynecologist with Mount Sinai in Miami Beach, and Peter Kramer is a partner at the law firm Squire Patton Boggs in Miami. 

They bought the Regatta Avenue house for $335,000 in 1991, property records show. Built in 1938 on 0.4 acres, the 4,600-square-foot main house has five bedrooms and six bathrooms, according to the listing. The property also has a guest house and a pool.

The couple listed it for $10.9 million in October, Zillow shows. 

Golden Beach

In Golden Beach, lawyer, electronics mogul and real estate investor Michael Newman sold a renovated waterfront house for $10.5 million. Newman’s NWC Properties LLC sold the home at 260 South Parkway to Echo Properties 809, a Florida entity. The buyer is unknown.

Alan Eskenazi Bone and Eli Eskenazi Bone of Miles Goldstein Real Estate had the listing, and Cassio Faccin of Faccin Group Realty brought the buyer.

Newman heads the Miami-based consumer electronics company Newtech Holdings as well as his real estate investment firm, NWC Properties. He bought the South Parkway house for $4.6 million in 2021, records show. He renovated the house, which was built in 2008 on a quarter acre, expanding it from 6,100 square feet to 6,500 square feet, according to the listing. 

Newman listed it for $12.5 million in March, selling for $2 million below its asking price, according to Redfin.