By Darrell Hofheinz
Home Loggia Editor
Palm Beach real estate values may have taken some punches over the past few
years, but extraordinary residences can still weigh in as champions on the
value scale, especially when you do comparison shopping with properties up
North.
Take the case of the Munders — money manager Lee and Laura, his jewelry
designer wife. Their lakefront condominium on the top floor of Il Lugano
holds the distinction of having the highest “market value” of any condo in
town, at least according to Palm Beach County’s 2011 tax rolls.
County Property Appraiser Gary Nikolits’ office says the four-bedroom,
four-bathroom condo at 300 Seminole Ave. is worth a cool $7 million.
But here’s the kicker: That $7 million figure is actually more than the asking
price the Munders have set for Thistlewood, their 14-room historical home in
the Berkshires. And that house comes with nearly 13 acres of land!
Built around 1890, Thistlewood entered the market last spring at a price of
$6.9 million. Within walking distance of the village of Lenox, Mass., the
Colonial Revival-style house was designed by noted Boston architects Rotch
and Tilden. The property was sensitively renovated by the Munders after they
bought it for $2.3 million in 2003, according to property records.
“The renovation was just really beautifully done. It’s historically
respectful, but it has every modern amenity,” says Suzanne Crerar, a partner
at Stone House Properties of West Stockbridge, Mass., who has co-listed the
house with agent Kelley Vickery.
The features, according to the sales listing, includes eight fireplaces, a
renovated 4,000-square-foot carriage barn and “an authentic English
conservatory overlooking the formal gardens” — not to mention the pizza oven
in the kitchen.
Meanwhile, back in Palm Beach, the Munders’ penthouse — like just about every
other property in Palm Beach — has dropped in value over the past couple of
years, according to property records. Property records show the couple
purchased it for $12.1 million in May 2008, when the island’s go-go market
was still go-going strong. The couple subsequently gutted it. In January
2009, it was appraised for taxes at nearly $2 million more than it was at
the start of this year.
The main house at Thistlewood and the condo, by the way, are actually about
the same size, both in the 6,000-square-foot range. But only one comes with
Palm Beach’s winter weather and resort lifestyle.
And those, to no one’s surprise, are still worth quite a bit.
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Agents on the move — Susan Sternfeld and William Goldberg have joined
Scott Gordon Realty in Manalapan. They were formerly at Martha A. Gottfried
Real Estate.
Sternfeld has sold real estate in Palm Beach for 12 years and is known as a
specialist in the island’s condominium market. She also holds a professional
certification as an “accredited staging professional” and helps her clients
improve the sales potential of their residences by making them more visually
attractive. Among her notable listings is a two-bedroom direct-oceanfront
condo in Atriums on South Ocean Boulevard, priced at $700,000.
Goldberg has more than 30 years of experience selling real estate in Palm
Beach. The U.S. Navy veteran is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University.
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A home for the short-term — Although the inventory for better
properties available for rent remains tight in Palm Beach, Rosalind Clarke
of the Corcoran Group recently listed Ian Kean’s seven-
bedroom house on
Everglades Island for seasonal lease at $35,000 per month.
Built in 1955 but since updated, the house at 550 Island Drive has a den along
with a one-bedroom guesthouse near the 40-foot pool. Across the waterway
from the Everglades Golf Course, the lot also boasts 150 feet of lakefront.