Retired Padres and Mets pitcher Frank Seminara is heading to a new home in South Florida.
The former MLB pro turned Morgan Stanley financial adviser downsized from his waterfront property in Jupiter to another waterfront property in Palm Beach Gardens.
Tony Hernandez is representing Seminara in the buying and selling of both homes. He was also the developer of both homes.
Records show Seminara bought the house at 2169 Driftwood Circle for $5.8 million from the estate of Ronald C. Martin Sr., with Ronald C. Martin Jr. signing on behalf of his late father. Martin Sr. was a longtime partner at Ernst and Young, and passed away in March.
Billy Nash of Illustrated Properties represented the sellers.
Martin Sr. bought the property for $3.1 million in 2020, according to records. The five-bedroom, five-bathroom house spans almost 6,000 square feet, sits on 0.3 acres with 100 feet of waterfront. Nash said the home is suited for a fisherman, and comes with a tackle room in addition to a private dock.
Hernandez said that Seminara’s waterfront Jupiter home at 341 Old Jupiter Beach Road is closing for just under $10.9 million on Friday. Hernandez developed it on spec and sold it to Seminara in July of last year for $7.4 million, according to MLS records.
The nearly 7,000-square-foot, five-bedroom, seven-bathroom home also has 100 feet of water frontage, and sits on 0.7 acres, according to the listing.
Hernandez said multiple factors influenced his client to relocate down to Palm Beach Gardens.
And the transactions were an opportunity for the developer to witness the successful maturity of his speculative projects.
“It’s a unique position to be in –– everyone who bought from you is in the positive of millions of dollars,” he said. “It was a fair, win-win situation for everyone involved.”
Seminara’s Palm Beach Gardens purchase reflects how the community has maintained market interest and strong pricing even as the market begins to settle from its fevered gold rush over the past two years.
“The last 24 months was a frenzy, and the frenzy is over, but the demand still exists,” said Nash.
He emphasized the majority of buyers in the Palm Beach County luxury market are cash buyers, and not necessarily affected by increasing mortgage rates, which just hit a 21-year high.