Coral Gables home heads to the auction block after years on and off the market

Villa Dwora, a custom-built home surrounding a 300-year-old Banyan tree in Coral Gables, is heading to the auction block.

Owners Dora and David Topp are turning to a high-end auction house to sell their 10,730-square-foot mansion, which is just west of Gables Estates and Cocoplum. 

The Topps built their eight-bedroom house at 4800 Pine Drive in 2009, a year after they bought the 1-acre property for $2.1 million. It features a koi pond, waterfall, two-story pool house, a master suite with a private terrace, and a gazebo. Finishes include hardwood, marble and quartz, crystal chandeliers and designer wallpapers.

Villa Dwora backyard

They’ve put it on and off the market since 2012, according to Realtor.com. ONE Sotheby’s International Realty had the listing last year for $11.5 million, then just under $10 million. Now, it’s on the market with Luis Fernandez of the LRF Group at Keller Williams Realty.

Villa Dwora will be auctioned on Oct. 27 without a reserve price, Supreme Auctions CEO Maverick Commins told The Real Deal. “Buyers are just not coming to reserve auctions,” he said.

Supreme Auctions and Fernandez are working together to sell the Mediterranean-style mansion as more luxury homeowners turn to auctions to sell their houses in South Florida, including in Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach.

“Sellers have to be realistic in price expectations,” Commins told TRD.

The auction house gets a 10 percent buyer’s premium and the agents get their full commissions. Bidders can register up to three days before the live auction and are required to put down $200,000 via escrow account or check.