Just south of Palm Beach, the small island town known for its popularity with the rich and powerful, lies an even smaller island town: Manalapan. Long overshadowed by its more famous neighbor, it is now an ultra-luxury market hub with some of Florida’s most expensive home listings.
“In the past, everyone only wanted to be on the [Palm Beach] island. Now, we’re seeing specifically people who want to be in Manalapan,” said Douglas Elliman agent Senada Adžem. “It’s not a Palm Beach address, but it’s become very prominent.”
Currently six properties are listed in Manalapan asking more than $50 million, remarkable for a town that spans just 2.4 square miles and has about 400 year-round residents, agents say. Those trophy listings include a 4-acre spec estate asking $285 million. It would be the priciest home on the market in the U.S., except for a 9-acre Naples compound listed for $295 million.
“I’m shocked. I’m a little blown away with the amount of interest we’ve received,” said Nick Malinosky, the Douglas Elliman agent representing the record Manalapan listing.
Perhaps the first sign of Manalapan’s ultra-luxury boom was billionaire Larry Ellison’s $173 million purchase of a 16-acre oceanfront compound in 2022. It remains the most expensive home ever sold in Florida. Ellison doubled down on his investment in the town in August, dropping $277.4 million on the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa. All Manalapan residents are granted free membership to the resort, which functions as the de facto town center.
Other high-profile Manalapan buyers include Fox News host Sean Hannity, who bought a waterfront mansion for $23.5 million in November.
Still, brokers say many of their clients are interested first in a Palm Beach home. The island emerged from the pandemic as an epicenter of the American ultra-luxury market, a place where homes frequently trade for north of $50 million. Last year, the two most expensive home sales in Florida were both in Palm Beach: A private island sold for $150 million, and a historic oceanfront estate traded for $148 million. But with fewer than 2,500 homes on the 16-mile long barrier island, Palm Beach options are limited.
Palm Beach’s market also has a crucial mismatch between what buyers want to buy and what sellers want to sell. Since the onset of the pandemic, affluent buyers across South Florida have prioritized large, oceanfront properties in turnkey condition. Nothing on the market in Palm Beach fits that bill. Pocket listings for such homes have make-me-move prices that agents say range from about $100 million to as much as $300 million.
Meanwhile, oceanfront properties in Manalapan are abundant, and buyers don’t have to pay the premium for a Palm Beach address.
“You’re going to get more bang for your buck,” Malinosky said.
In addition to large lots –– oceanfront Manalapan estates have a minimum of 150 feet of beach frontage –– the enclave is also a short distance from private schools, private airports and private clubs like President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. Many of the properties have both oceanfront and Intracoastal Waterway frontage, allowing for residents to keep their yachts docked in the backyard.
“What they have to offer is exceptional,” said Corcoran Group agent Candace Friis, who has an oceanfront Manalapan listing asking $87 million.
Malinosky agreed, saying spec developers in Manalapan also have a keen understanding of what ultra-luxury buyers want, something others have struggled with.
“There is no shortage of buyers who can spend $100 million, $200 million right now,” he said. But they want homes that check all the boxes: spa facilities, office space, a guest house and staff quarters are must-haves for buyers at that price range. Manalapan has ample listings with these amenities, agents said.
All together, these market dynamics have made Manalapan a household name among a certain set of sophisticated buyers, agents added.
“There was a time I would have to explain to buyers coming to town what Manalapan is,” said Malinosky. Not anymore.
Here are this season’s trophy listings in Manalapan:
- $285M | 1960 South Ocean Boulevard | Seller: Stewart Satter
Spec developer and former Manalapan mayor Stewart Satter is asking $285 million for the 4-acre ocean-to-Intracoastal estate planned for 1960 South Ocean Boulevard. He bought the land for $27.5 million in March, records show. The planned estate will have a 50,390-square-foot main house with eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms, seven half-bathrooms and two kitchens. It will also have a guest house, boathouse, beach house, car museum, bowling alley, shooting range, padel court, gym, spa, theater and golf simulator, the listing shows. The design team for the estate, which is being marketed fully furnished, includes architecture firm Choeff Levy Fishman and Marc-Michaels Interior Design.
Malinosky has the listing.
- $150M | 1370 South Ocean Boulevard | Seller: Christopher Rokos
Billionaire hedge funder Christopher Rokos is asking $150 million for his 2.8-acre ocean-to-Intracoastal estate. The founder of London-based Rokos Capital Management has a net worth of $2.3 billion, according to Forbes. He bought the estate for $40 million in 2017, records show. The 18,400-square-foot mansion was built in 1972 and renovated in 2015. It has nine bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, five half-bathrooms, a spa wing with a gym and wellness facilities, a billiard room, game room, theater and a 10-car garage with a club room, according to records and the listing. It is being marketed fully furnished with interiors by Marc-Michaels Interior Design.
Jack Elkins with William Raveis has the listing.
- $95M | 1140 South Ocean Boulevard | Seller: Joe Farrell
Spec developer Joe Farrell has already found a buyer for the oceanfront estate at 1140 South Ocean Boulevard. He listed it for $95 million in August, and it became pending earlier this month, Redfin shows. Farrell bought the 1.6-acre site for $32.5 million in January of last year, and is planning a 19,000-square-foot, nine-bedroom main house and a 4,000-square-foot, four-bedroom guest house, eight-car garage, two pools and a pickleball court, the listing shows. Construction is expected to be completed later this year.
Margit Brandt with Premier Estate Properties is representing both parties in the deal, she confirmed.
- $87M | 1160 South Ocean Boulevard | Seller: Robert Wexler
Spec developer Robert Wexler is asking $87 million for the renovated oceanfront estate at 1160 South Ocean Boulevard. Records show his NBU Land Trust bought the 1.7-acre compound from Cantor Companies CEO Michael Cantor for $28 million in 2021. The estate was built in 1995 and renovated in 2022, records show. The compound includes a 14,800-square-foot main house with seven bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and two half-bathrooms, according to records. It also has a 1,700-square-foot, two-bedroom guest house, a pool, gym, wine room, game room, theater, 13-car garage, staff quarters and a catering kitchen, the listing shows.
Candace Friis and Phillip Friis with the Corcoran Group have the listing.
- $85M | 640 South Ocean Boulevard | Seller: Robert Wexler
Wexler has another listing down the road at 640 South Ocean Boulevard asking $85 million. Records show his trust bought the 1.9-acre oceanfront estate for $36 million in 2020. Built in 2019, it includes a 12,800-square-foot main house with nine bedrooms, 12 bathrooms and six half-bathrooms, according to property records. The compound also has a guest house, a guard house at the entrance, a wine room, gym, spa and pool, the listing shows.
Casey Flannery with Equestrian Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing.
- $79M | 1040 South Ocean Boulevard | Seller: 1040 Ocean LLC
A Delaware entity named for the address is selling the estate at 1040 South Ocean Boulevard, asking $79 million for the 2.2-acre compound built in 2018. The LLC’s address is listed as 616 Nimes Road in Los Angeles, which is a Bel Air mansion currently on the market for $56.8 million. The listing agent told the Wall Street Journal the owners are European, but declined to comment further on their identities. They bought the Manalapan mansion for $25.8 million in 2021.
The estate has a 16,400-square-foot mansion with eight bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, three half-bathrooms, a guest house and a pool, according to records and the listing.
Margit Brandt has the listing.
- $69.9M | 1460 South Ocean Boulevard | Seller: Vivian Dimond
Developer and investor Vivian Dimond is asking $69.9 million for the 1.5-acre oceanfront estate at 1460 South Ocean Boulevard. Her Bayshore Grove Capital bought the property in August for an undisclosed amount, after Edward London’s London Financial South Ocean LLC foreclosed on the home from Nigerian oil mogul Onajite Okoloko.
The 19,700-square-foot mansion was completed last year and includes six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, five half-bathrooms, a pool, wellness wing, staff quarters and 16-car garage, according to the listing.
Chris Leavitt with Douglas Elliman and Toni Schrager with Brown Harris Stevens have the listing.
