Jeffrey Epstein’s $22M Palm Beach home may sell faster than you’d think. Here’s why
Jeffrey Epstein’s Palm Beach estate is on the market for a cool $22 million. But who would want a house where the late financier and convicted sex abuser Epstein committed many of most notorious crimes against under-aged girls?
More people than you might think, say Realtors.
The 2-story, 14,223-square-foot home landed on the market in late July for $21.995 million. The house has six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a half bathroom, pool, staff house and three-car garage. It sits on the Intracoastal Waterway.
The home is priced at $1,546 per square foot, slightly higher than the most recent comparable sale. Related Urban CEO Kenneth Himmel and Janet Himmel, his wife, sold their 13,603-square-foot home at 102 Flagler Drive for $18.4 million, or $1,352 per square foot, in early July, according to The Real Deal.
While listing agent Kerry Warwick of Corcoran declined to comment, the notoriety may actually draw some buyers to the property, said Nelson Gonzalez, senior vice president of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty and a veteran of South Florida celebrity listings including the Star Island compound of the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church in the 1980s. He also listed Al Capone’s former Palm Island residence in 2018.
“Although these people are criminals, there’s intrigue,” Gonzalez said.
The homes often sell faster than the average amount of time a home is on the market, Gonzalez said, due to the amount of media attention.
Palm Beach Realtor Eric Sain, district sales manager for Keyes Real Estate, agrees.
“There are going to be more opportunities than challenges for celebrity listings [in general],” he said “because there’s extra attention and marketing opportunities...There’s always going to be an allure. Some people see it as owning a piece of history.”
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What’s more, the pricey Palm Beach market seems to be benefiting from a city exodus. Sales of single-family homes priced at more than $4 million in the months March 15 to July 28 grew from 37 in 2019 to 52 in 2020, according to the Multiple Listing Service. The average time on market is 250 to 300 days.
In contrast, Miami-Dade County and Broward saw a 55.6% drop in total luxury sales when comparing the second quarter 2019 to the second quarter 2020 for both condos and single-family homes. Single-family luxury home sales fell year-over-year by 23.1% in Coral Gables, 40.7% in Fort Lauderdale and 18.2% in Miami Beach.
“The Palm Beach market has been on fire,” Gonzalez said. Tax flight, primarily from the northeast and California, continue to attract buyers to the market.
Still, Sain expects the Epstein offering will come with its share of headaches. “With the good attention comes bad attention. As a Realtor, you sometimes find serious buyers and some that just want to say they toured the home...[And] a buyer is going to be concerned about their privacy with some people driving by and pointing out the house.”
Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse on the Upper East Side is also on the market. Asking price: $88 million.
