Palm Beach County saw a notable increase in luxury real estate contracts as the area entered its busy season. Between January 26 and February 1, buyers signed 37 contracts for properties priced at $3 million or more, according to Douglas Elliman’s Eklund-Gomes team. The total asking price for these pending deals reached $273.5 million, with homes spending an average of 84 days on the market. This marks a significant rise from the previous week, when there were 21 contracts totaling $132.5 million.
The report monitors signed contracts for single-family homes and condos listed on the Beaches MLS at $3 million or above. During this period, there were 61 new listings and a total of 1,268 active listings available.
Of the properties that went under contract last week, 26 were single-family homes while 11 were condos. Condos had an average asking price of $4.9 million, or about $1,839 per square foot, and stayed on the market for an average of 81 days before going pending. Single-family homes averaged an asking price of $8.4 million—roughly $1,687 per square foot—and spent about 88 days on the market.
The most expensive property to find a buyer was a waterfront home at 751 Island Drive in Palm Beach, which was listed at $35 million. Records indicate that the seller is the estate of Patsy Johnson, widow of financier and Flagler National Bank founder Dick Johnson; she passed away in July. The couple purchased the home in 1994 for $2.4 million. Built in 1988 on a lot measuring 0.4 acres, it features five bedrooms, four bathrooms, one half-bathroom, a pool and a dock.
Jim McCann of Premier Estate Properties listed this property for sale in November.
Another high-value contract involved a house at 242 Tangier Avenue that was listed at $17.8 million. Sellers Julie and Thomas Frist III acquired it for $7.9 million in 2016; Thomas Frist III is the grandson of HCA Healthcare founder Thomas Frist Sr., whose company operates health care facilities across the country valued in billions of dollars. The Tangier Avenue residence sits on a third-acre lot and was built in 2008 with five bedrooms, six bathrooms, two half-bathrooms, a pool and guest house.
Crista Fanjul Ryan of Tina Fanjul Associates brought this listing to market in December.
