SoFla enjoys flurry of record deals in 2013

A flurry of record-smashing real estate transactions in 2013 made it clear that South Florida has come a long way from the Great Recession, particularly in Miami-Dade’s high-end residential sector.

Beginning with a pair of January deals in Miami Beach, sales set milestones throughout the year. Luxury residential transactions dominated headlines, as wealthy vacation home buyers paid prices never seen before in the region.

In the commercial real estate sector, the $225 million sale of the Resort at Pembroke Pines set a post-recession multifamily record.

Below are some of the most notable record-setting South Florida transactions of 2013. But don’t look for them to hold the top spots for long. The reported $34 million sale of a combined-unit penthouse at the Residences at the Miami Beach EDITION is expected to set a new standard when the project is completed and it closes next year.

Former Marlins shortstop Edgar Renteria sells Allison Island home for $8.3 million

Known by Miami Marlins baseball fans for his 1997 World Series heroics, former major leaguer Edgar Renteria showed he is quite the real estate player with the $8.3 million sale of his home on Miami Beach’s Allison Island in January.

Renteria’s sale of the 6633 Allison Road residence set a record for the island. He had purchased the 11,772-square-foot property for a mere $1.5 million in 2000 from Miami-area developer Sergio Rok.

The home was previously listed at $8.8 million in June 2012.

Setai condo fetches $27M in record sale

It was clear very early that 2013 would be a banner year for the Miami Beach condo market.

A Setai penthouse sold for $27 million in January. The transaction set a pricing record for the South Florida condo market. The identity of the buyer, a Delaware corporation, is not known.

The 40th floor unit at the 101 20th Street tower has four bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms and 7,100 square feet of living space.

The seller paid $15 million for the penthouse in 2010 and rented it out to celebrities like Madonna, Jim Carrey and Simon Cowell at exorbitant rates, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Theory founder pays $8.6M for Setai unit

January’s Setai penthouse sale wasn’t the only transaction at the luxury building to set a record.

The founder and co-owner of clothing brand Theory paid $8.6 million for a three-bedroom, 2,521-square-foot Setai unit. At $3,411 per square foot, Andrew Rosen’s purchase set a price per square foot milestone for a non-penthouse unit. The sale represents a 74 percent premium over the median price per square foot paid at Setai between April 2012 and April 2013.

Fort Lauderdale mansion sells for record $17.5M price

Fort Lauderdale’s luxury housing market diverted some attention away from its neighbor to the south in June, when a Harbor Beach mansion sold for $17.5 million in a record for Broward County.

The recorded price of the 2400 Del Lago Drive home was $14.5 million, but an additional $3 million in furnishings and buyer-paid commissions drove the true sale price to a record level. The previous record was set in 2005, when a home at 1 Isla Bahia Drive in Fort Lauderdale sold for $16.2 million.

An eight-bedroom mansion totaling 13,000 square feet, 2400 Del Lago Drive was originally listed at $20 million. The home includes eight full bathrooms, two half bathrooms, a home theater, custom pool and walk-in wine cellar.

Pembroke Pines multifamily sale establishes post-recession milestone

South Florida’s apartment sector showed how far it has come since the real estate collapse when the Resort at Pembroke Pines changed hands for $225 million in June.

The Atlanta-based Carroll Organization acquired the relatively run-down community in a transaction that set a post-recession pricing milestone for South Florida’s multifamily market. Carroll was not scared off by the somewhat outdated fixtures and amenities at the 1,520-unit complex north of Miami.

Seller CBRE Global Investors paid about $194 million for the community three years ago.

La Gorce Island mansion sets record with $30M sale

Another record-breaking June transaction was the $30 million sale of a La Gorce Island estate known as Castello del Sol.

The 11-bedroom home at 42 La Gorce Circle was the most expensive to be sold on the Miami Beach island, according to brokerages EWM Realty International and Coldwell Banker, which arranged the deal. At the time, the sale was tied for the third most expensive residential transaction in Miami-Dade County’s history.

As with many high-end home transactions, the true identity of the seller and buyer is unclear. An unnamed European corporation bought the home from another corporation, 1418518 Ontario Inc.

Villa Fendi gets $14M in record Venetian Islands deal

The Dilido Island home of fashion designer and speedboat racer Luca Fendi sold for $14 million over the summer in a deal that set a record for the Venetian Islands.

Villa Fendi, an 8,030-square-foot residence, at 1 East Dilido Drive on the manmade island in Biscayne Bay, was originally listed for $14.9 million. The home includes six bedrooms, an infinity pool, a separate two-story guest house, 132 feet of bay frontage and a boat dock.

Luca Fendi is the grandson of Adele and Edoardo Fendi, who founded the luxury fashion house. He paid $5.5 million for the 16,700-square-foot property in March 2011.

Other notable transactions:

-A 497-square-foot condo at The Residences at W South Beach sold for $1.5 million in less than 24 hours, setting two Miami-Dade records — the fastest deal and the most ever paid for a studio or a one-bedroom.

-The $12.4 million sale of an Apogee Miami Beach condo broke a record for a non-oceanfront unit in Miami-Dade.

-Spinal surgeon Ronald DeMeo sold a top-floor penthouse at Four Seasons Residences on Brickell Avenue for $5.2 million, or $1,506 per square foot, in a deal that shattered the highest price per square foot paid for a Brickell condo. DeMeo’s record could be topped when the reported $7.6 million, or about $2,000 per square foot, preconstruction sale of an Echo Brickell penthouse closes.