The former executive director of the CIA found a buyer for his Palm Beach mansion asking $33 million, making it the most expensive residential contract inked in the county last week.
Buyers signed 44 contracts between April 13 and April 19 for luxury properties in Palm Beach County, the most of any week so far this year, according to a report by Douglas Elliman’s Eklund-Gomes team. The homes that went pending last week total $326.8 million in asking dollar volume and averaged 88 days on the market. The previous week, buyers signed 28 contracts totaling $203.2 million.
The report tracks signed contracts for single-family homes and condos asking $3 million or more in the Beaches MLS. It identified 45 new listings, and 1,226 active listings on the market.
Of the properties that went pending last week, 33 were single-family homes, and 11 were condos. The average asking price for the condos was $4.7 million, or $1,926 per square foot. They spent an average of 62 days on the market.
The average asking price for the single-family homes was $8.4 million, or $1,694 per square foot, and they spent an average of 115 days on the market.
The priciest home to find a buyer last week was the 9,200-square-foot mansion at 226 Via Las Brisas in Palm Beach, asking $33 million.
Records list the sellers as Alvin B. and Cheryl Krongard, who bought the 0.8-acre estate for $9.6 million in 2018. A.B. Krongard, who goes by Buzzy, was the executive director of the CIA under George Tenet from 2001 to 2004. Prior to joining the CIA, he worked as CEO and chairman of the investment bank Alex. Brown & Sons.
The 1996-built Via Las Brisas mansion has seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, three half-bathrooms, a gym, a pool and a guest house, records and the listing show.
The Krongards listed the mansion for $34.5 million in March of last year, Zillow shows. The listing price is 259 percent over the property’s 2018 value. Christian Angle with Christian Angle Real Estate has the listing.
The next most expensive home to find a buyer last week was the 6,100-square-foot home at 239 Emerald Lane in Palm Beach, asking $29 million.
Records show the seller is British oil mogul Tony Buckingham, who bought the house for $15.5 million in 2022. He has since renovated the six-bedroom home, which was built in 1950 on half an acre. It has nine bathrooms, one half-bathroom, a pool and a wine room, the listing shows.
Buckingham listed the home for $33 million in February of last year, according to Zillow. Steve Hall and Lindsey Tronolone with Compass have the listing.