Since early spring, Brazilian Avenue has been a hot spot for house sales — and why not? A block south of Royal Palm Way, the prime Midtown street is close to shopping and dining options, and within easy walking distance of either the beach or the Town Docks.
The latest transaction there occurred in the lake block and involved seller Dola Hamilton Stemberg’s four-bedroom house and its separate one-bedroom guest apartment at 430 Brazilian Ave. The property changed hands for $4.2 million, the price recorded July 31 by the Palm Beach County Clerk’s office. Stemberg, ex-wife of Staples Inc. founder Thomas G. Stemberg, has her Boston address listed on the deed.
Corcoran Group agents were involved on both sides of the deal. Paulette Koch and her son, Dana Koch, had listed the house — built in 2005 with a little more than 4,600 square feet of living space, inside and out — at $4.395 million last December. Team Koch also had represented Stemberg in her purchase of the property in May 2010 for a recorded $3.975 million when it was listed by Christian Angle Real Estate.
The latest sales price works out to about $911 per square foot — tantalizingly close to that $1,000 gold-standard figure that agents so often celebrated during the boom years; it has often proved frustratingly elusive since the recession began.
Corcoran agent Barry J. Ratner acted for the buyer, Samisa Palm Beach LLC, a Florida limited liability company. State business records identify Samisa’s manager as Fredrick Alama, who co-founded Index International, a Stockholm-based company that manages and develops real estate and equity investments, according to its website. The company lists a P.O. box in Jupiter as its North American address.
Team Koch’s sales listing described the home’s “gracious foyer and elegant master suite,” plus two fireplaces and a private loggia by the lap pool.
For those keeping track, here’s a recap of other sizable deals for properties sold this year on Brazilian Avenue:
* In March, a five-bedroom house at 416 Brazilian Ave. changed hands for a recorded $7.35 million. Angle’s firm had listed it, and Lawrence A. Moens Associates represented the buyer. In December 2010, it had sold new for a recorded $7.45 million, with Corcoran Group on the seller’s side and Angle on the buyer’s side.
* In April, a five-bedroom house at 133 Brazilian Ave. sold for a recorded $6.6 million. Corcoran Group represented the seller in the private deal, with Linda A. Gary Real Estate on the buyer’s side.
* Also in April, a four-bedroom townhouse at 323 Brazilian Ave. sold for a recorded $3.11 million. Sotheby’s International Realty represented buyer and seller in that deal.
* In May, a three-bedroom a townhouse at 429 Brazilian Ave. changed hands for a recorded $2.8 million in a deal handled on both sides by Brown Harris Stevens.
* In July, a vintage six-bedroom house at 141 Brazilian Ave. fetched a recorded $5 million. Listing agency Sotheby’s International Realty acted opposite Hall Real Estate.
Want to get in on the Brazilian Avenue action? A search of the Palm Beach Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service showed four single-family homes for sale on Brazilian Avenue — priced from $3.2 million to $5.5 million — along with a townhouse listed at $2.95 million. In addition, a large vacant lot near South County Road – and zoned for either single-family or multi-family use — is on the market for $9.8 million.
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Settling in — Michael Kramer is the new marketing coordinator at Sotheby’s International Realty in Palm Beach, replacing Andrea Fredericks. His marketing experience includes stints with Boca Textiles and The Palm Beach International Boat Show. A communications graduate of Temple University, Kramer also earned his master’s degree in marketing from the University of Miami.