Mar-a-Lago Security Zone is Palm Beach’s hottest neighborhood

The best security money can buy, no traffic, private beach access and a five-minute walk to the golf club –– these are some of the perks of living in one of Palm Beach’s most coveted neighborhoods.

Also, you might meet the president.

Since November, sales have surged in the Mar-a-Lago Security Zone, a stretch of the island’s Estate Section protected by the Secret Service when President Donald Trump is in town at his private club. Seven sales totaling $118.3 million have closed since his election, with deals ranging from $12 million to $27.5 million, according to an analysis by The Real Deal. The neighborhood offers a rare perk: proximity to the presidency.

“If you’re a Trump fan you probably want to be able to witness history for three or four years,” said Gary Pohrer of Serhant, a top agent on the island. “It’s interesting that you have that close of access to a sitting president.”

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Margit Brandt with Premier Estate Properties, one of the president’s go-to agents on the island, has closed four deals in the Security Zone since November. She said buyers are calling her with the specific request to be in the neighborhood.

“If you looked pre-election, there were six or seven properties. None of them moved. They sat on the market for a year,” Brandt said of listings in the Security Zone. Trump’s election victory boosted the market throughout the island, with pending contracts surging 400 percent in the weeks following the election, according to data from appraiser Jonathan Miller.

Blair Brandt, her husband and chief brand officer, said living in the Security Zone now comes with cachet. “It’s almost like cocktail party bragging rights, to say, ‘We’re neighbors of the president,’” he said.

Boasting aside, brokers say buyers are flocking to the neighborhood for a range of reasons. In the Estate Section, lots are larger than in other areas of the island, and each of the streets has deeded beach access. At the southern end of the island, the neighborhood also has easy access to West Palm Beach and local airports.

“It’s [a] good bang for your buck,” said Corcoran agent Dana Koch.

But one feature of the neighborhood is considered an “unmentionable” in Palm Beach’s polite company. Security Zone homes sit directly in the flight path of Palm Beach International Airport, meaning residents have to see and hear nearly all of the county’s air traffic on a daily basis. Some Palm Beach buyers refuse to even consider homes in the neighborhood for that reason.

Still, the safety benefits are a major perk for buyers. Spec developer Todd Glaser lives in the Security Zone, and said the blockade brings him peace of mind.

“I know every night when [the president]’s in town I have the sheriff’s department checking everybody going in,” he said. “Laying in bed knowing I’m completely secure –– it’s not a weird feeling, but a comforting feeling.”

Other bonuses come with the blockade: No through traffic means Glaser can play catch with his kids in the street, and their stretch of beach is even emptier than usual when the president is in town. It comes with some inconveniences, like Homeland Security turning away your DoorDash driver. And in September, when a second assassination attempt targeted Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club, Glaser and his wife weren’t allowed to return home for several hours, so they went and had lunch at the Colony Hotel to kill time.

One street in the Security Zone has a bonus perk that makes its homes especially valuable right now, agents say. Homes on Woodbridge Road, which is directly adjacent to Mar-a-Lago, have deeded membership to the club, as part of a deal Trump worked out with the town decades ago when converting the historic estate into a members-only operation. Membership costs at least $1 million these days — and that’s if you can get off the wait list.

“Mar-a-Lago is a very hot ticket now,” Margit Brandt said. “To be able to purchase something and have immediate access is huge.”

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