Real Estate News & Market Insights:
The rich are getting richer in Palm Beach County, FL as properties continue to skyrocket in price.
One property in particular is turning heads—a Manalapan megamansion with a price tag of $134 million listing. That’s five times more than what it originally sold for back in 2013, according to Realtor.com® data.
“It is arguably one of the most exclusive and private communities in the country, perhaps even more so than Palm Beach,” says local agent Antonio Liguori, of Premier Estate Properties, whose family has been selling in the area for 25 years.
The waterfront estate has 22,355-square-feet of living space sprawling over 2.31 acres of prime land buffered by the Atlantic Ocean and the intracoastal waterway—offering dual waterfront access.
With a tiny population (approximately 420) and eight miles directly south of Mar-A-Lago, the town with a staggering $38.5 million median list price is quickly becoming an alternative for those who want a more subdued and private Palm Beach experience.
“The people who buy in Manalapan can buy anywhere in the world,” adds local agent Nick Malinosky, of The Exclusive Group at Douglas Elliman, who has been selling property on the isle for 20 years. “These are the who’s-who of billionaire clients. It’s not like Manalapan was their second choice.”
Another compound at 820 S Ocean Blvd has “215 feet of direct ocean frontage,” with the listing calling it “bar none one of the most important residences to ever become available in South Florida.”
The 2007-built property last changed hands in 2011 for a mere $23.5 million, according to property records. The $1,177 per square foot it once commanded has now exploded to $5,994 per square foot—more than three times the price.
Normally, when a resale price jumps five times its original price in a little over 10 years, there is new construction involved, but that doesn’t appear to be the case here.
Listing agent Margit Brandt would not comment on the listing.
But there’s little doubt the “Mediterranean marvel” is unique: It comes with not only a separate guest house but a dedicated security house. Then, there’s not one but two pools, nine bedrooms and no less than 16 bathrooms, a resurfaced tennis court, and a six-car garage.
“The overall ambiance channels the timeless romance and regal sophistication of the most storied European villas,” crows the listing. “This is not merely a home, it’s a legacy, trophy residence destined to host and entertain the world’s most discerning buyers.”
Realtor.com had previously reported that the mansion was owned by Randal J. Kirk, a pharmaceuticals and biotechnology investor. The Palm Beach County Appraiser shows the property is owned by 820 South Ocean Trust and Alvarez Cesar L Trust (an international law firm).
Brandt tells Realtor.com that if buyers in the county want large estates with beach and lake access, then they must come to Manalapan.
In Palm Beach “you have the road between you and the ocean,” she says. “Ocean-to-lake and direct sand bank is the norm here.”
If you want to buy a 30,000-square-foot house that’s ocean-to-lake and new, beautiful, and gorgeous and you have an endless budget, those homes [in Palm Beach] are asking $300 to $400 million, or more likely, aren’t even for sale.”
Manalapan prices might seem fantastical but Brandt thinks they’re a comparative bargain.
“I think we’re in the early stages of growth here,” she says. “It’s good value price per foot. If you look at it five or 10 years from now, the value will go up even more.”
Local agent Nick Malinoksky with Douglas Elliman, who reps the town’s most expensive listing, a $285 million 50,000 square-foot modern spec manse on almost four acres, says that the $134 million price tag on the 20-year-old mansion could make sense for the right buyer.
“It sounds like they are trying to take advantage of a buyer who will fall in love with that property,” he tells Realtor.com. “That one buyer who just has to have it.”
In general, homes in the $100 million price range are new construction, which is seemingly not the case with the older Mediterranean-style property.
“You may find someone who just falls in love with it,” says Malinosky of the mansion.
He adds: “Manalapan is unbelievably hot right now, and sometimes an issue you run into with that is sellers might have unrealistic expectations.”
But finding that one discerning billionaire who can afford these properties doesn’t happen overnight, reflected in the area’s 145 median days on market.
“These buyers can buy anywhere in the world, so the property has to be really well kept, present a great opportunity, and also check all the buyers’ individual boxes,” Malinosky says of the Manalapan typical buyer, who is usually either from New York City or California.
“Taxes, politics, and crime,” are what the agent says these mega-wealthy buyers are fleeing.
Manalapan: Getting hot
Manalapan may have once been Palm Beach’s wallflower cousin, but Malinosky says it is “on the map.”
The heat turned up in June 2002 when tech billionaire Larry Ellison bought a 22-acre waterfront property in town for $173 million.
The resort owner and friend of President Donald Trump was recently tapped to help run TikTok.
Then in August 2024, Ellison also spent an eye-watering $277 million to snag Manalapan’s largest structure and biggest local employer, the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, which will have a Nobu restaurant.
Ellison has teamed with Robert De Niro and chef Nobu Matsuhisa to bring their Nobu restaurants to his various high-end resorts.
Other mega-rich neighbors on the barrier island include wellness guru Tony Robbins, WeatherTech founder and CEO David F. MacNeil, and wealth management expert Robert Fessler, and Fox News host Sean Hannity. A Vanderbilt mansion, Eastover, still stands at 1100 South Ocean Boulevard.
What’s available if you have the millions
There are currently 27 active listings in Manalapan, all with eye-popping price tags, including the $285 million 50,000 square-foot modern spec manse on almost four acres, which hasn’t been built yet.
If it does get built, there are spectacular planned amenities such as a 3,700-square-foot infinity-edge pool, a private bowling alley, a luxury car showroom, and a movie theater. But what truly makes this listing stand out is its indoor shooting range.
“Oddly enough, we’ve had clients ask for that,” listing agent Malinosky tells Realtor.com
The agent says he has received numerous inquiries about the property, which has been on the market for 265 days, but many potential buyers want only the land so they can build their dream home.
The second most expensive listing in the township is a $150 million nine-bedroom manse at 1370 S Ocean Blvd on 2.83 acres. Described as “Modern Balinese inspired,” the estate boasts 300+ feet of water frontage and was “completely reimagined” in 2015.
The cheapest listing is a $3 million two-bedroom condo. In a town where a small parcel of empty land can easily run $10 million, that seems like a bargain.
The Florida Keys
Should you find yourself priced out of Manalapan, you may want to head 145 miles south to the Florida Keys, specifically to Islamorada, which is beginning to make a splash.
Barstool Sports president Dave Portnoy reportedly just bought a $27.75 million compound in the picturesque village, setting a record for the area.
The sale price is 12 times the price since it last sold in 2019, according to Realtor.com property data.
The eight-bedroom, 9.5-bath 10,228-square-foot manse at Overseas Hwy on a 1.65 acre lot was originally listed for $31.2 million.
“He loved the view,” listing agent Leslie Leopold of Ocean Sotheby’s International Realty told the Wall Street Journal. “There’s a pizza oven in the outdoor kitchen, which he noticed right away.”
Portnoy is known as a pizza fanatic, who is hosting a One Bite pizza festival and travels all over the country reviewing local pizzerias.
Leopold said the luxury market in the Florida Keys, a string of islands south of Miami, has been growing as older homes have been renovated or replaced with new construction.
The Islamorada house is the latest addition to Portnoy’s roughly $95 million portfolio of luxury real estate in New York, Massachusetts and Florida, says the outlet.
Portnoy isn’t the only high profile newcomer to the Keys.
In 2024, “Anyone But You” actress Sydney Sweeney reportedly shelled out $13.5 million for a six-bedroom mansion in Summerland Key, 23 miles north of Key West—which is still famous for legendary author Ernest Hemingway‘s Spanish Colonial.
Sweeney managed a 25% discount on the property, originally listed for $17,999,900.
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