Record Real Estate Sales Hit New Heights

Record breakers in real estate used to be an occasional event—one that had industry insiders and the public talking for weeks on end. Today, however, these records have become such a common occurrence that eyebrows hardly raise when they happen. 

“The wealthy have gotten wealthier following the start of the pandemic, and they’re willing to pay up big for real estate, which is leading to record sales across the globe,” says Kelly Mangold, a principal at the global real estate consulting company RCLCO. “This demand, along with industry shortages, has also impacted listing prices and made them hit record levels.” In short, says Mangold, the word “record” is tossed around freely in the current landscape of residential real estate, which wasn’t the case five years ago. “Some of the trends leading to these big records were happening prepandemic, but the pandemic has only accelerated them,” she says.

The first few weeks of the new year are proof of this trend. 

A Los Angeles property named The One, for example, hit the auction market on January 7 for $295 million. As AD online reported, if the property goes for the asking price, it will be the most expensive home sold in the country and the biggest online purchase ever.

Then, in Miami’s Star Island, an estate was recently listed for $90 million—the highest listing ever for Miami-Dade County.  If the property sells at or near the asking price, it will be a record sale for the county; the current record is $75 million. Spanning 25,000 square feet and on a 40,000-square-foot waterfront lot, the property includes two homes. One was originally built in 1924 by the celebrated architect Walter De Garmo. It has 11 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, and amenities galore, including a waterfront gym, a 1,400-bottle wine room, a spa with a massage room and hair salon, and a large wraparound pool.

Also in Florida, a riverfront home in Fort Myers is on the market for $15.5 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. If it sells, it will be the most expensive home sale for the city. Right now, the record is $10 million, the Journal reported, for a property that sold in 2007.