Meanwhile . . . in Palm Beach: Le Reve Breaks Ground, Home Prices Come Off Median Price

Construction is underway at Le Reve, a new collection of luxury townhomes in downtown Boca Raton with Douglas Elliman just launching sales at the boutique property.

Le Reve, or “the dream” in French, was inspired by “the dream of Addison Mizner,” the architect who developed Boca Raton in the 1920s. It consists of five three-story modern residences that allow both privacy and community living in a convenient location, across the street from famed Mizner Park. “Le Reve is unlike any other residential offering in Boca Raton,” Douglas Elliman’s Tinka Ellington, executive director of luxury sales for Le Reve, says. “With this amazing design and curated amenities, Le Reve is a perfect residential oasis in the heart of downtown Boca, surrounded by the best shops, restaurants and cultural offerings.”

Unlike most townhomes, each one not only offers three bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths, but an additional one-bedroom, one-bath, twostory guest house with a summer kitchen, as well as private pools.

Prices begin at $4.85 million. Ownership is structured as a fee-simple deed, according to Douglas Elliman.

Located at 200 East Boca Raton Road in what has been dubbed the “Golden Triangle” neighborhood, each townhome boasts 4,600 square feet of space, each with resort-like amenities like private pools.

Each unit has four parking spaces: a two-car garage and two additional covered spots.

“I am thrilled to celebrate the groundbreaking, as we bring the vision for Le Reve to life,” says Nicholas Netta, the owner of the architectural firm, who is also a partner on the development project. “Boca has become South Florida’s most desirable place to live, work and play. The townhomes we are creating at Le Reve offer the ultimate Boca lifestyle, delivered with exquisite design and exceptional quality.”

Real Estate Insider:

This summer Palm Beach single-family home prices came off their median price of $15 million by 27% to $11 million, according to Elizabeth DeWoody, the top-producing Compass agent in the Palm Beach office, who pulled figures from the MLS and Property Appraiser.

However, sales prices are still more than double the days pre-pandemic when you could buy a nice home on the island for $5 million, she says. Meanwhile, midtown condo/coop median prices rose 35% to $3.1 million as compared to the same period the previous year. Behind The Hedges asked DeWoody a little bit more about her findings.

BTH: What do you attribute the fall in the median sales price to despite the demand in Palm Beach, particularly for waterfront properties?

ED: Palm Beach waterfront home sales in the first half of this year have set records, which has been a contributing factor to the rise in demand for Palm Beach homes compared to the decline in median home sales prices in other markets — $170 million and $150 million are two record-breaking sales. The average price of a waterfront home — mostly tear-downs or complete renovations — is up 35% to $57 million first half this year versus last.

BTH: Due to lower inventory, is it true there is a trend for buyers to cross the bridge and shop up and down the coast?

ED: Absolutely! Palm Beach’s low inventory and stratospheric prices are driving buyers to cross the bridge. West Palm Beach and the barrier islands up and down the coast are now viable options for Palm Beach buyers. One of my new construction off-water listings is now pending in the South End neighborhood of West Palm Beach for over $8 million … another record-breaking sale for West Palm Beach. Downtown West Palm Beach, now touted as the “Wall Street of the South,” with incredible growth and infrastructure, is catapulting West Palm Beach to be one of the hottest cities to live in on the East Coast.

Notable Sale:

A three-bedroom house in the North End of Palm Beach sold off-market last month for $14 million, a 6,122% increase since the property last traded in 1985.

Yes, you read that right. Thirty-eight years ago, the house at 1186 N. Ocean Way sold for $225,000.

Gary Pohrer of Douglas Elliman represented the buyer in the off-market deal that closed Aug. 4.

Situated on a 0.4-acre parcel on the corner of the highly desirable Nightingale Trail, the land is what drove the price. The lot is 18,731 square feet in size, while the home, originally built in 1958, offers 5,518 square feet of living space.

This article appeared in the September 1, 2023 issue of Behind The Hedges. Read the full digital edition here.