Palm Beach Real Estate News & Events

Fite Shavell & Associates – Q1 review

The Palm Beach real estate market appears to be improving more quickly than other parts of the country.  At the end of 2009, the number of home sales in Palm Beach County rose 33%. This is more than twice the state increase of 15.5% and in stark contrast to the national decrease of 15%.  And, our local Palm Beach data shows the number of transactions is up 50% and sales volume is up 98% year to date March 2010 vs 2009.

In Palm Beach, the month of January, mid-way through the selling season, is seen as a key indicator of real estate sales for the year.  In January 2010, two homes were sold in Palm Beach and nine more were put under contract.  This was a considerable improvement from January 2009, when only one house was sold in Palm Beach.

Fite Shavell agent Scott M. Gordon represented the buyer in the first Palm Beach home sale of 2010. 120 Canterbury Lane, a never before on the market 5 bedroom 6 bath home contemporary home, was sold for $8 million.  The home is situated on a double lot, 200′ x 193′, and has an extremely rare private deeded 10′ direct ocean front easement.

Fite Shavell agent Thor Brown represented both the seller and the buyer on the first oceanfront home to sell in Palm Beach in 2010.  Built in 2003, this 5,000 sq. ft. residence, located at 131 E. Inlet Drive on the north end of Palm Beach, sold for $8.54 million.

The real estate market in Palm Beach has been very active at all price points.  Consumers realize that values on the island are the best they have been in years and Fite Shavell & Associates is happy to see that transactions are picking up significantly.

When they sold their winter home in Palm Beach nearly a decade ago, German natives Rebecca and Horst Niehues weren’t expecting to return to the snowbird life.

But Europe’s cold weather has a way of altering even the best-laid plans.

“After two winters, we decided we wanted some time in Palm Beach,” says Rebecca, with a smile.

So in 2003, the two returned to Palm Beach and started condominium-hunting in earnest.

“By the time we found our unit, we knew all the condo buildings in Palm Beach and felt like real estate agents,” Rebecca says about their ground-floor apartment in the oceanfront 2500 Building, just south of the Palm Beach Par 3 Golf Course.

“Although this apartment needed a lot of work, I completely fell in love with it, because it overlooks the golf course and the ocean and has the lawn in front of it,” she explains. “We feel like we are living in a home with a doorman.”

Remodeling was then a hobby for the couple but has since turned into a passion and a sideline. So today, the two are looking for another project, and have listed their apartment for sale at $2.1 million through Fite Shavell & Associates in Palm Beach. The furniture can be purchased separately.

The four-bedroom, four-bath condo — with a recently remodeled poolside cabana — has 3,000 square feet of living space inside and 1,200 square feet of patios. With 9-foot ceilings, the apartment is decorated in an uncluttered, contemporary style.

“We wanted to bring in the colors from the outside. We wanted to make our apartment as lively, light and open as possible,” says Rebecca, who with her husband spends part of the year these days in Switzerland.

There are a number of custom details, including art niches in the entryway, a wall-hung shelf unit in the living room and built-in cabinetry in the master bedroom. The public areas are tiled in Thasos marble.

“Because the apartment is on the first floor, we could really change the floor plan, reconfiguring it and opening up areas,” Rebecca says.

“We enlarged the master bathroom by getting rid of the dressing room. And in another bedroom suite, we downsized a huge closet to make that bathroom bigger. Now, the entry to the kitchen is from the dining room.”

Rebecca designed the new custom kitchen, which features marble counters and mosaic tiles along with high-gloss cabinets and professional-grade stainless-steel appliances.

The bathrooms, meanwhile, have onyx accents, and the furniture, materials and accessories are from high-end European manufacturers FlexForm, Bonacino and Odegaard.

Rebecca also designed the living room’s coffee table. She and her husband collect art and, inspired by the work of Donald Judd, she came up with a custom design with movable parts.

Waking up in the morning is a joy, she adds: “I like to run. I just open my bedroom door, and I am right on the beach.”

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For more information about 2500 S. Ocean Blvd., No. 2B1, call listing agent Joan Wenzel at (561) 371-5743.

Fite Shavell & Associates has ranked number one in Palm Beach, Florida in Real Estate sales for the first half of 2010. With over 120 million in total sales, we outrank Sotheby’s, Corcoran, Brown Harris Stevens and Lawrence A. Moens in the area.

Fite Shavell has almost twice as many buyers as our closest competitors. These savvy buyers understand the value of Luxury Real Estate and appreciate the Fite Shavell difference.

Contact the number one team in Palm Beach Real Estate before you list your home and experience the difference.

Fite Shavell Ranked Number One

From the Wall Street Journal by Candace Jackson – 6/18/2010

Singers Faith Hill and Tim McGraw have sold their Beverly Hills, Calif., home for $9.55 million. The home, in Beverly Park, was originally listed in 2008 for $14.8 million, and later cut to $10.8 million.

The 11,000-square-foot house, on three acres, has six bedrooms and eight baths, and expansive views of downtown Los Angeles. The Mediterranean-style home has a large master suite with his and hers bathrooms and comes with a fitness center, gardens and a pool.

Ms. Hill’s hit pop and country songs include “This Kiss.” Her husband has sold more than 40 million albums, and his hits include “I Like It, I Love It.” Both have also appeared in films. In the sale, Marisa Zanuck of Hilton & Hyland in Beverly Hills represented both seller and buyer, whose identity couldn’t be learned.

Dennis Miller Lists

Comedian and television-radio personality Dennis Miller has listed his Montecito, Calif., estate for $17.5 million.

The home was designed in 1895 by Stanford White, who designed the Washington Square Arch in New York. The Millers’ 3.76-acre property includes a 10,000-square-foot main house with nine bedrooms and a second, smaller house on the property, built in 1917, with two more bedrooms.

The estate, a five-minute drive from the ocean, includes a pool, a tree house, a sunken trampoline and a tennis court. Mr. Miller and his wife bought the main house in 1993, according to public records. It was restored in 1994 and renovated again in 2002. Mr. Miller hosts a three-hour daily radio show and appears as a commentator on Fox News. Susan Burns of Coldwell Banker Previews International in Montecito has the listing.

James Patterson Sells

Thriller writer James Patterson has sold his Palm Beach, Fla., home for $10.3 million to Robert Greenhill, Greenwich, Conn.-based founder and chairman of Greenhill & Co., an investment banking advisory firm. Mr. Patterson originally listed the property for $14.95 million in November and bought it for $5.2 million in 1999.

The nearly 11,000-square-foot colonial plantation-style house has five bedrooms and 7½ baths. The house has a heated pool and a boat dock, along with 136 feet of waterfront on the Intercoastal Waterway. The 1955 home was expanded in 1993.

Mr. Patterson’s more than 60 novels have sold 200 million copies world-wide; “Private,” which he wrote with Maxine Paetro, is to be released later this month. Mr. Patterson says he decided to sell because he found a new place “with massive windows on the ocean,” which he bought last summer for $17.45 million. Betsey Hall of Fite Shavell & Associates represented buyer and seller in both transactions.

From the Palm Beach Post by Kim Miller – 6/16/2010

A waterfront house owned by best-selling author James Patterson was sold for $10.3 million according to a warranty deed filed Tuesday.

The buyer is Robert Greenhill of Greenwich, Conn.

Browse more photos of the home.

Patterson bought the five-bedroom, eight-bathroom home on the Intracoastal for $5.2 million in 1999 from Barbara and Doyle Rogers. It has about 11,000-square-feet, a terrace surrounding a heated pool and spa, built-in barbecue and a dock with a boat lift.

Built in 1933 and expanded in 1955, the property also has 136-feet of frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway.

The home was listed for $14.95 million, and has a total market value of $11.83 million according to the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s office.

Fite Shavell & Associates handled the sale. The Palm Beach-based real estate company’s sales director, Betsey Hall, acted as listing agent. With closing costs, the total sale was $11 million.

Everglades Island is an exclusive enclave of homes west of the Everglades Golf Course and the main island of Palm Beach.

Patterson purchased a home at 710 Ocean Blvd. last summer for $17.4 million. The home, which fronts the Atlantic Ocean, has 21,000-square-feet and sits on nearly two acres.

Hall also represented Patterson and the seller in that transaction. Patterson’s new home is located next door to the estate once owned by John Lennon.

His new neighbors include Ivana Trump, who owns a home just two lots north, and developers Richard and Leslie Schlesinger, who are a few doors south.

A prolific author with an estimated 14 million copies of his books sold in 38 languages, Patterson has 51 New York Times Best Sellers.

Articled featured in Palm Beach Daily News – 6/15/2010

Novelist James B. Patterson has sold his Everglades Island house at 686 Island Drive for $10.335 million, according to the warranty deed filed Tuesday.

The buyer, Robert F. Greenhill of Greenwich, Conn., is the founder and chairman of Greenhill & Co. Inc., an independent investment firm, and is a former chairman and CEO of Smith Barney.

Listed for $14.95 million, the seller and the buyer were represented by Betsey Hall, associate with Fite Shavell & Associates.

The five-bedroom two-story plantation-colonial style house with nearly 8,000 square feet of living area featured 136 feet of waterfront along the Intracoastal Waterway.

The house is currently appraised for $11.8 million. Patterson bought the waterfront property from Doyle and Barbara Rogers in 1999 for $5.2 million, according to court records.

In 2009 Patterson paid $17.415 million for Casa Ananda at 710 S. Ocean Blvd. The well-known 2-acre property is next door to the estate once owned by John Lennon. Hall also represented the buyer and seller in that transaction.

For the Everglades Island house, “The actual price paid by the buyer was $11 million and after closing costs were backed out, the price recorded on the warranty deed was $10.335 million,” said David Fite, principal at Fite Shavell & Associates.

Fite Shavell & Associates has added a new and attractive home to their luxury listings for $9.9M. This new property at 1558 N. Ocean Way is not only a beautiful, 6,645 square foot Caribbean-Georgian-style home, it also represents the peak of technological innovation.

Along with four bedrooms and 6.1 baths, 1558 N Ocean Way features new technologies that control lighting, temperature, electronics, and an extensive security system at the push of a button.

For more information, search our featured listings or read the full article here.

Robin Donnelly of Fite Shavell & Associates successfully represented NSHE Rosemead LLC, an affiliate of the National Safe Harbor Exchange, in the purchase of the spectacular home at 140 El Mirasol.

This 9000 square foot, British West Indies-style home features eight bedrooms and nine baths, along with a beautiful location and deeded beach access. Although listed at $7.9M, the home was bought for the final price of $6.7M.

Read the full article or visit our full listings for more information.

This Thursday, Fite Shavell & Associates will be opening the doors to a variety of new homes in Palm Beach and the surrounding area. Homes will be open between 10:00am and 3:00pm. For information on the full Open House listings, visit www.fiteshavell.com/openhouses

May 27, Open Houses:

New home with direct lake and ocean access at 271 La Puerta Wy Palm Beach, FL 33480 This 5,931 square foot home features 6 bedrooms and 7 full baths for 3.95M. For more information, contact Steve Hall at 561.373.2668

Luxury 8,442 square foot home at 137 Peruvian Av Palm Beach, FL 33480 for 3.95M. This rare opportunity is located near the center of town, and features 4 bedrooms and a 7 car garage. For more information, contact Toni Hollis at 561.373.1835 or Gloria More at 561.373.7444.

Newly renovated, single family home at 2300 W Ibis Isle Rd Palm Beach, FL 33480. This 3,095 square foot home features an elegant pool area with a new dock and lift, for 3.2M. For more information, contact Joan Wenzel at 561.371.5743.

Palm Beach decorator Gay Tice’s newest project is 240 Garden Road in Palm Beach. The home is listed at $4.5 million through Fite Shavell & Associates by Lynn Warren and Gary Little.

For information about 240 Garden Road, call listing agents Lynn Warren at 346-3906 or Gary Little at 309-6379.

Read more about Gay Tice’s decorating work in a story by the Palm Beach Daily News.