Welcome signs dot the drive along Florida’s A1A through each coastal enclave, from Gulf Stream to Briny Breezes to Ocean Ridge and Manalapan.
But you won’t find one for Palm Beach.
Subtlety is the name of the game on the barrier island, where America’s most powerful dynasties have wintered for more than a century.
The largest transactions happen privately. This year alone, those off-market deals include luxury car dealer Michael Cantanucci’s purchase of an oceanfront estate for a record $170 million in April; and a month earlier, cosmetics heir William Lauder’s $155 million buy of the oceanfront home that belonged to the late Rush Limbaugh, considered a teardown.
Non-waterfront properties are setting records off-market as well. In a deal reportedly valued at over $100 million, designer Tom Ford swapped homes with Sterling Organization CEO Brian Kosoy in May, a record for non-waterfront homes on the island.
The behind-the-scenes deals help explain why some of the top brokers in Palm Beach didn’t land where expected on The Real Deal’s ranking of agent teams in Palm Beach County, which is based on on-market transactions.
But the ranking includes plenty of familiar names — and deals — all the same.
Superbroker Lawrence Moens ranked fourth with more than $260 million in on-market sales in the 12-month period ending in mid-September, likely a fraction of his total deal volume over the last year. Christian Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate placed seventh with more than $194 million of on-market deals. Angle claims he sold more than $800 million off-market, a figure that could not be verified by TRD.
“So much of what I sell never comes to the light of the market,” Angle said.
The top 25 agent teams in the county closed nearly $4.4 billion in on-market sales for the year ending in mid-September. Leading the pack is David Roberts of Royal Palm Properties, with almost $350 million in closed deals.
Roberts specializes in Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club, a gated community in Boca Raton where he started selling homes in 1984. He is the go-to agent for Steve and Scott Dingle, spec developer brothers who have built the community’s most expensive homes.
He represented the Dingles and buyer Frances Moceri in the $28 million trade of a waterfront spec mansion that set a price record for Boca Raton when it closed in February. The previous record was also a deal Roberts brokered, months earlier, for $25.8 million.
Roberts’ career-long focus on Royal Palm has paid off, and he isn’t the only agent with this strategy. Agents who focus on Admirals Cove in Jupiter made the ranking: a team led by Waterfront Properties & Club Communities’ Rob Thomson ranked sixth with more than $200 million in on-market sales, and Thomas Frankel of Admirals Cove Realty placed 18th with nearly $134 million in on-market sales.
Gated communities like Admirals Cove and Royal Palm have benefited from South Florida’s boom, especially as buyers increasingly prioritize privacy and security.
“They’re all wanting to feel secure in their homes,” said Douglas Elliman agent Senada Adžem, ranked 12th with $172 million in on-market sales.
While increased demand and price growth have characterized markets across Palm Beach County, the island is still home to the area’s priciest real estate and the most competitive market, brokers say. Among Palm Beach agents, Chris Leavitt of the Leavitt McIntosh Team at Douglas Elliman closed the most on-market sales, ranking second overall with nearly $267 million in deal volume.
“You have to give Palm Beach agents credit, because there is no other market like this,” he said. “This is chess.”
Leavitt said his background as a cast member on Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing: Miami” wasn’t the best look when he moved to the island.
“I had to really prove myself over and over again before I got the nod,” he said.
Corcoran Group agent Dana Koch, who ranked third with about $262 million in on-market deals, said success requires experience and up-to-date market knowledge.
“In more difficult markets, the cream rises to the top,” he said.
Agents anticipate a strong winter busy season. The Federal Reserve’s rate hikes that began last year resulted in fewer deals, but tight inventory and continued demand have maintained pricing in the region.
“For sure, there’ll be more record-breaking deals to come,” said Corcoran agent Candace Friis, who ranked fifth with about $222 million in on-market deals. Still, Friis said luxury buyers are very educated, and agents need to be “realistic when you’re pricing a property.”
Buyers also want new or newly renovated homes and are willing to pay top dollar for them, agents say. Waterfront is preferred, but that is where supply is the most limited.
“The properties this certain group of people want, no one wants to part with,” Leavitt said.