Spec homes, mega-mansions, and vacant land — oh my. It was a banner year for residential sales in Miami, with big houses trading between even bigger names, from January all the way to December.
The Real Deal compiled a list of Miami-Dade County’s biggest home and condo sales using archived stories and MLS data. The five properties that topped the list ranged from $23 million to $60 million and were located in South Florida’s meccas for glamorous houses: Miami Beach, Indian Creek Village and Key Biscayne.
Faena District
1. Hedge funder behind $60M Faena penthouse
Billionaire hedge fund manager Kenneth Griffin paid $60 million for two penthouse units at the newly completed Faena House in Miami Beach, blowing past all records for residential sales in Miami-Dade County.
The massive 12,500-square-foot unit in Miami Beach was purchased in September through an LLC registered in Delaware. Griffin had the penthouse under contract for over a year, and he paid $10 million more than its asking price.
The Faena sale exceeded Miami’s record price for a condo unit, which was set by a $27.5 million unit in Miami Beach’s Continuum in December 2014. It even beat the record price for a single-family home that previously belonged to the $47 million sale of 3 Indian Creek Island Road.
Griffin, the CEO of investment company Citadel, has reportedly dropped just less than $300 million on properties in Chicago, New York and Miami Beach over the last two years. [more]
775 South Mashta Drive in Key Biscayne
2. Key Biscayne estate sells for record $47M
The former estate of one of Key Biscayne’s founding family members sold for $47 million to an undisclosed buyer, marking the most expensive sale ever on the island and tying the record for single-family home sales in Miami-Dade County.
The 11,600-square-foot mansion, at 775 South Mashta Drive, was listed for a then-record $60 million in 2014. The waterfront five-story estate spans 2 acres and includes 2,000 feet of water frontage. It features 360-degree views, a pool and gazebo area, and a private deep water yacht harbor.
The property was the “playground of America’s elite at the turn of the century.” William J. Matheson built the original home, known as Mashta House, in 1917. ONE Sotheby’s International Realty agents Jorge Uribe and Tata Botero represented the seller, and Uribe also represented the buyer. [more]
5800 North Bay Road and Phil Collins
3. Phil Collins picks up J. Lo’s former Miami Beach manse for $33M
Singer-songwriter Phil Collins is the new owner of Jennifer Lopez’s former North Bay Road mansion, paying a whopping $33 million for the property in June.
Healthcare executive Mark Gainor and his wife were the sellers of the waterfront Miami Beach estate at 5800 North Bay Road. EWM’s Nelson Gonzalez represented the couple. Mathieu Rochette of Barclay’s Real Estate Group represented the buyer.
Lopez initially sold the 1.2-acre property in 2005 to Gainor for $13.9 million. The 12,153-square-foot mansion includes seven bedrooms, eight full baths, three half-baths, a pool and Jacuzzi. It was built in 1929 and features 200 feet of Biscayne Bay frontage. [more]
Aerial view of 17 Indian Creek Drive
4. Buyer of $30M Indian Creek mansion revealed as former US Airways CEO
Rakesh Gangwal, a former CEO of U.S. Airways, purchased a Miami Beach mansion for $30 million in February.
Financier Charles Johnson sold the 16,393-square-foot home at 17 Indian Creek Island Road to Rakesh and Shobha Gangwal, Miami-Dade County records show. Gangwal, co-founder of IndiGo, an Indian budget airline, was CEO of U.S. Airways from 1991 to 1998.
He also led Worldspan Technologies, a travel technology and information services company as its CEO from 2003 to 2007. Nelson Gonzalez of Esslinger Wooten Maxwell/Christie’s represented both the seller — the retired founder of Franklin Templeton Funds — and the buyer of 17 Indian Creek Island Road.
The 16,393-square-foot waterfront estate sits on an 80,000-square-foot lot and has five bedrooms, five baths and three half-baths. [more]
9 Indian Creek Drive
5. Hotels.com founder sells lot on Indian Creek for $25.7M
Hotels.com founder Robert Diener and his wife Michelle Diener sold the lot at 9 Indian Creek Drive in March. The Dieners sold the 1.8-acre property to Vladimir Krasavtsev for $25.69 million, or about $321 per square foot. That marks a new record for vacant land on Indian Creek Island.
Before that, Barry Schwartz, the co-founder and chairman of Calvin Klein, sold the lot for $19.2 million in 2012.
Robert Diener is also president and co-founder of travel website www.getaroom.com.