This Fisher Island home sold for $13M. Here’s what helped close the deal.
.jpg "The 7,630-square-foot unit at 7021 Fisher Island Drive sold for $12.2 million to an Ohio buyer looking for a vacation home, said listing agent Cyril Matz of Douglas Elliman.")
What do luxury condo buyers want these days? Customization may be the answer.
A 7,630-square-foot unit at 7021 Fisher Island Drive on exclusive Fisher Island just sold for $12.2 million to an Ohio buyer looking for a vacation home, said listing agent Cyril Matz of Douglas Elliman. The buyer paid another $800,000 on the Minotti, Chevalier, Hugues & Roche Bobois furnishings, bringing the total sale to $13 million.
It was the highest resale in the 2016 building, said Matz.
The buyer — Fisher Island Trust, with attorney Hewitt B. Shaw as trustee — was represented by One Sotheby’s International Realty agent Gabriela Dajer.
The home has five bedrooms, five bathrooms, a 2,913-square-foot terrace, custom wine cellar, billiards room with bar, library and study. It is on the second floor of the 10-story Palazzo del Sol.
What clinched the deal was the unit’s customization: home design and layout by Italian architect and designer Augusto Busnelli and woodwork in solid walnut and Brazilian teak executed by craftsmen flown in from Italy, said Matz. “Buyers coming from the northeast and Midwest don’t want to deal with construction. They know the headache was taken on by the homeowner.”
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“The buyer fell in love with the unit because it was move-in ready,” Matz said.
The condo sold at a 12% discount, down from $13.86 million after 92 days on the market.
“It shows that when the property is priced well and with these finishings of that level, there are buyers,” Matz said.
The selling price was $1,598.95 per square foot, higher than the most recent comparable sale of $1,051.53 per square foot for a 6,462-square-foot unit at 5012 Fisher Island Drive in March. Another Palazzo del Sol unit was sold by the developer in August 2019 for $2,200 per square foot.
While sales do continue, Matz — like other agents — has seen a slowdown in South Florida’s luxury condo market due to over-supply.
Cindy Stumpo, founder of the Newton-based custom home builder firm C. Stumpo Development, said she predicts the decrease in local condo luxury sales to continue. She’s built single-family residences and worked on renovations for condos and single-family residences in South Florida, and sees buyers from the northeast looking for single-family homes.
“Condos are going to be hit hard, because there’s just so many of them,” she said.
Single-family homes, Stumpo and Matz said, are expected to fare better because the supply is more limited.
The 216-acre Fisher Island remains a desirable location for luxury shoppers, Matz said, who are attracted to the island’s high security and limited number of units — capped at 40 — in any given building, especially after the spread of the coronavirus. The island, home to the nation’s wealthiest Zip code, recently came under fire for applying for a Payroll Protection Program loan; the island’s board decided to reject it.
As for the sellers, husband and wife Peter and Nellya Drut, will remain on the island.
This story was originally published May 12, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
