Boca estate list price drops to $30 million
Entrepreneur Marc Bell, the former owner of Penthouse magazine, is making another push to sell his 27,000-square-foot mansion in Boca Raton.
Bell first listed the home in 2014 for $35 million with Douglas Elliman. It’s been on and off the market since and now is listed for just under $30 million with Nestler Poletto Sotheby’s International Realty.
The estate inside Woodfield Country Club has nine bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, an arcade room, a nine-car garage and a movie theater, among other bells and whistles.
Nestler Poletto has launched an international marketing campaign, and the home will get even more attention on Aug. 8 when it hosts a real estate broker fundraiser that’s expected to attract 400 people, listing agent John Poletto said.
“It’s a very unique offering,” he said. “Where would you go to find something like this? It’s beyond the typical residential home.”
The property received plenty of publicity for its Star Trek-themed theater and memorabilia three years ago, but Poletto said he is downplaying that angle now in hopes of showcasing the home’s many other attributes.
Poletto said Bell told him he did receive an acceptable offer, but the home was off the market at the time and Bell wasn’t prepared to move.
Some housing market observers are skeptical, saying the property is still overpriced, especially for a country club requiring equity memberships. The home’s total market value last year was $6.1 million, down from $6.2 million in 2015, according to the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s office.
Bell, obviously, thinks the home’s value is much higher than that. “It only takes one person,” he said in 2014.
Keyes Co. acquires Shorewood offices
The Keyes Co. scooped up another com- petitor, acquiring the Florida offices of Shorewood Real Estate.
Denver-based Shorewood has 40 agents in two offices in Palm Beach and Aventura. The agents can select from which of Keyes’ 58 offices they want to work.
“In a time when real estate brokerages continue to consolidate, our independent company keeps expanding and thriving,” Keyes CEO Mike Pappas said in a statement.
A year ago, Miami-based Keyes and Illustrated Properties of Palm Beach Gardens joined forces, and the firms continue to operate under their existing names. The Keyes-Illustrated tandem is the largest independently owned real estate firm in Florida.
Office markets post strong second quarter results
Office markets remain robust in Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to a second-quarter report from Colliers International.
Vacancies in both counties were the lowest in roughly a decade, while overall asking rents are steadily climbing.
Broward’s overall asking rents in the second quarter averaged $27.02 a square foot, up from $25.68 a year ago and $24.68 in the second quarter of 2016.
The overall average asking rent in Palm Beach County was $28.76 a square foot, up from $26.70 in the past two years. The increase was fueled by demand for space in Class B and C buildings, Colliers said.
Efforts to replace ObamaCare have prompted healthcare call centers to hand back space or to ask for shorter lease periods in Broward, according to the report. But tech and e-commerce companies, including Chewy, are eager for more space, Colliers said.