Chilean casino mogul sells waterfront Palm Island spec mansion for record $40M

Chilean developer and casino mogul Claudio Fischer sold a waterfront spec mansion in Miami Beach for $40 million, setting a record for home sales on Palm and Hibiscus islands. 

FK Florida Investments sold the 14,930-square-foot, eight-bedroom, nine-bathroom home at 40 Palm Avenue to MI 8787 LLC, a Delaware entity, property records show. The deed was recorded for about $38 million, but Compass said it closed for $40 million. 

Compass agent Liz Hogan was the listing agent, while Matthew Dugow with the Chad Carroll Group, also with Compass, represented the buyer. Dugow declined to comment. 

Completed last year, the Palm Island home hit the market in November for $48.5 million, according to the listing. It’s one of a number of ultra high-end properties to enter into contract recently at a reduced price from the original asking price, as buyers and sellers adjust their expectations. 

Hogan, who also declined to comment on the buyer, said she had more than two dozen buyers look at the home when it was first listed. 

“They were all legitimate, and then it tapered off,” she said. “It was astounding how many buyers were out there, but a lot of them were nervous to strike.” 

Once some of the bigger listings started going into contract, “it was almost a domino effect,” she said. 

Fischer’s company paid $5.4 million for the 0.7-acre Palm Island  lot in 2012, records show. The estate includes a primary suite with its own patio and pool; a rooftop terrace, a home theater, gym, and a private dock with 100 feet of water frontage. 

Fischer co-founded Sun Dreams, the largest casino resort operator in Latin America with 19 casinos across Chile, Peru, Panama, Colombia and Argentina, according to the Associated Press. He told The Real Deal via WhatsApp that he spent about $25 million to build the house. 

“I executed the purchase in a time of crisis, at a good price, then I spent some time developing and defining details of the project until the construction began,” wrote Fischer, who said his family lives in Chile. 

Last year, spec home developer William Campbell sold the waterfront mansion at 158 Palm Avenue for $32 million, then a record for Palm Island, to hedge funder Ron Ozer. 

In December, two homeowners banded together to list their three waterfront homes on Palm Island for $150 million, aiming to set a single-family home sale record in Miami-Dade. 

Farther north in Miami Beach, Ideavillage CEO Anand Khubani is in contract to purchase a waterfront residential assemblage on La Gorce Island for about $100 million, with another buyer spending up to $25 million on the adjacent parcel, according to sources.  

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