Gulf Stream Flow

With ever more record-breaking deals, Abode2 discovers why Gulf Stream is becoming the new luxury property hotspot

A sprinkle of flamboyant mansion sales and a recent $35 million listing are raising eyebrows in the small Town of Gulf Stream — a beachside enclave that prides itself for its demure affluence over the glitz and extravagance of Palm Beach.

Last month alone, two deeds for oceanfront estates were recorded at sales of $26.7 million and $33 million, with the latter’s price tag more than doubling the previous sale just three years ago.

Still available is a 1926 “Spanish-style farmhouse” designed by society architect Howard Major. It was last purchased in May 2019 for a recorded $10.5 million, according to the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser.

It hit the market in late February for triple the price at $35 million.

If it sells at that amount, it will be a record-breaker for the slender two-mile-long town of about 1,000 residents between Delray Beach and Boynton Beach.

“A lot of people are talking about it,” said Curtiss Roach, president of the Gulf Stream Civic Association, about the high-end sales and listing. “There are only a few properties on the beach and if you happen to own one, you can ask for whatever you want.”

A Highland Beach estate recently fetched $45 million as recorded in the multiple listing service, or MLS. The deed filed in official county records this week for the home at 2455 S. Ocean Boulevard reflects a sale price of $40 million, but that doesn’t include $5 million in personal property.

Bev Knight, broker owner of Ocean Estate Properties, was the listing agent on the home, which she said set a record for the most expensive sale in Highland Beach, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Gulf Stream and Ocean Ridge.

While low inventory in the luxury home market may be driving some well-heeled buyers from Palm Beach to West Palm Beach or Manalapan, Knight said Highland Beach buyers may have looked unsuccessfully in Boca Raton before finding oceanfront just to its north.

Luxury home sales expert Candace Friis with the Corcoran Group worked on two oceanfront sales in the Town of Gulf Stream that closed in February and March. She said people who buy in Gulf Stream aren't Palm Beach castoffs — they want to live in Gulf Stream.

“These are people who prefer Gulf Stream over Palm Beach,” said Friis, who would not give details about the identity of her clients. “They like the understated nature.”