Miami Beach investor sells waterfront home for $18M, following bidding war

Greg Mirmelli with 2120 Bay Avenue (Credit: John Parra/Getty Images)
Greg Mirmelli with 2120 Bay Avenue (Credit: John Parra/Getty Images)

UPDATED, Nov. 18, 9 a.m.: Miami Beach investor Greg Mirmelli sold a waterfront Miami Beach house for $18 million, following a bidding war, The Real Deal has learned.

Property records show Mirmelli sold the seven-bedroom, 6,400-square-foot home at 2120 Bay Avenue on Sunset Island IV to David Lindsey, founder and CEO of Defenders, a security systems company bought by ADT earlier this year for $381 million.

The property, a renovated villa, has views of downtown Miami and Biscayne Bay. A previous listing said the zoning allows for a 14,500-square-foot mansion or two 7,250-square-foot homes. It features 210 feet of waterfront and a new dock.

2120 Bay Avenue

2120 Bay Avenue

Mirmelli paid $5.7 million for the 28,458-square-foot property in 2007. He used the Sunset Islands home for luxury short-term rentals, which are illegal in Miami Beach. Two former renters have sued Mirmelli, seeking rent reimbursements for the home. One case was dismissed earlier this year.

Scott Porter

Scott Porter

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David Kreps of Sterling Equity Realty represented Mirmelli in the sale. Scott Porter of Douglas Elliman and Compass agent Nile Lundgren represented the buyer. Porter said the buyer is a family that is possibly relocating to South Florida. He declined to comment on whether the buyer was a former tenant living in the home.

Porter said the buyer was looking at multiple properties and ended up in bidding wars on the properties because of the heated market. Luxury single-family home sales have surged during the pandemic, as out-of-state buyers look to relocate to larger homes and reap the tax benefits of living in Florida.

2120 Bay Avenue

2120 Bay Avenue

According to Douglas Elliman’s third quarter reports, single-family home sales increased by 71 percent, year-over-year, to 171 closings in Miami Beach and the barrier islands.

Spec home developer Todd Michael Glaser recently paid $5.9 million for a waterfront home he is building on the Sunset Islands, with plans to list it for nearly $10 million. Andrew Mirmelli, who is related to Greg Mirmelli, sold the house to Glaser.