Expensive taste: Palm Beach’s priciest residential sales this year

It’s no secret Palm Beach buyers have expensive taste. 

Home prices have skyrocketed in the tony enclave, as the pandemic brought an influx of wealthy buyers looking to live on the island full time. Despite the cooling effect of rising mortgage rates, price growth continued this year and reached new heights, with sales topping out at $170 million. Here are the priciest sales in Palm Beach’s ultra-luxury market so far this year: 

1. $170M | 589 North County Road

Luxury car dealer Michael Cantanucci’s April purchase of this oceanfront estate set a price record for Palm Beach. The sale came within a few million of the $173 million Florida state record set by billionaire Larry Ellison last summer. Cantanucci bought the 20,200-square-foot mansion, built in 2006, from Green Mountain Coffee billionaire Bob Stiller. 

2. $155M | 1495 North Ocean Boulevard, 1501 North Ocean Boulevard, and 108 Mediterranean Road

This 2.7-acre compound briefly held the price record for Palm Beach when cosmetics heir William Lauder bought it in March. The estate, reportedly a teardown, was the longtime home of the late conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh. His widow, Kathryn Adams Limbaugh had been shopping the property around off-market since last summer. After closing on the estate, Lauder listed a pair of parcels at 1063 and 1071 North Ocean Boulevard for $200 million. 

3. $68.1M | 149 East Inlet Drive 

Local developer Mosie Miller and his wife, Michelle Miller, first listed this oceanfront estate for $78.5 million in 2021, and sold it in June. The couple bought the 1.4-acre property for $14.6 million in 2017, and built the 7,700-square-foot home in 2020. The Millers also bought a lakefront Palm Beach home for $21.6 million in June.

4. $66M | 1350 North Lake Way

After selling their oceanfront mansion for a record price, Bob and Christine Stiller downsized to a 13,400-square-foot mansion on 0.8 lakefront acres. The Stillers bought the home in May from casino mogul Steve Wynn, who had purchased it for $49 million in 2021. It’s another example of mansion-hopping in the island’s luxury market. 

5. $63.4M | 854 South County Road

Spec developer Todd Glaser and his partners sold the waterfront 2-acre North Lake Way mansion to an undisclosed buyer in May. The partners bought the estate for $53 million last year, with plans to renovate the home and relist it for $115 million. Instead, they fixed just the seawall and listed it for $79 million in November. The buyers plan to renovate the mansion themselves, Glaser confirmed.

6. $50M | 940 North Lake Way

Tech investor Harvey Jones bought the longtime home of late liquor mogul Jimmy Tigani Jr. in July, three months after it was listed for $55 million in April. Built in 1974 on 0.8 acres, the house spans 7,500 square feet, with 130 feet of lakefront. Tigani, a member of a prominent Delaware family, bought the estate for just $7.4 million in 2002, and spent $4 million renovating the home. 

7. $45M | 550 South Ocean Boulevard

Billionaires Dwight and Martha Schar sold their 8,100-square-foot oceanfront mansion in January, after downsizing to a 6,500-square-foot lakefront house on Worth Avenue that they bought for $46.4 million in March of last year, records show. They had purchased their Ocean Boulevard mansion for $11.5 million in 2013. Dwight Schar, the founder of Reston, Virginia-based homebuilder NVR, was also a minority owner of the Washington Commanders from 2003 to 2021. 

8. $41.4M | 930 South Ocean Boulevard

Designer and real estate investor Tommy Hilfiger flipped this historic home in just five months, selling it in June to an undisclosed buyer. Hilfger’s sale amounted to a $4.5 million gain. The 6,500-square-foot house, built in 1927, was the home of famed island architect Maurie Fatio and his socialite wife, Eleanor Chase Fatio. 

9. $36.9M | 930 South Ocean Boulevard

Both of Hilfiger’s deals with this home are among the priciest sales so far this year. The designer bought the house from Palm Beach superbroker Lawrence Moens in January. Moens had purchased the 0.4-acre home for $17.9 million in 2021. In the time since he bought the house, Moens closed more than $1 billion in real estate sales, an analysis by The Real Deal shows. 

10. $34.9M | 107 Dolphin Road 

Irwin and Mary Ackerman sold their North End ocean-facing home in January to an unknown buyer. Built in 1957, the 3,600-square-foot house includes deeded access to the Dolphin Road cabana. The couple had bought the home for $6.1 million in 2012. An entity with a similar name to the Ackerman’s buyer also bought an oceanfront estate for $66 million in December.