A look inside the Boca Raton mansions commanding Miami Beach prices

Ultra-high-end real estate in Boca Raton, Florida, is on a stratospheric rise, breaking record sale prices every year for five consecutive years. And the price per square foot of the town’s top-end homes is now on par with Miami Beach pricing.  

“People tend to think of Miami when the subject turns to high-end South Florida real estate,” said Douglas Elliman real estate agent Senada Adzem, “But Boca Raton is, without question, one of the region’s premier luxury residential markets.”

The all-time top sale in the town, located about 45 miles north of Miami and 28 miles south of Palm Beach, traded last year for $24.5 million, delivering a price per square foot of more than $2,800, according to public records. That’s more than four times the average $670 price per square foot for a luxury home, representing the top 10% of sales, in Boca.

The record sale also tops the average price per square foot achieved in Miami Beach, at $2,766, according to the most recent Elliman Report for Q1.

“Trophy properties have gained momentum in the South Florida market over the past three years — for tax benefits, for safety reasons, and because of the pandemic,” Adzem told CNBC.

This year’s already seen three more mega-homes hit the Boca market, each one priced to break last year’s record and push the town’s high-end even higher.

Here’s a closer look at the three highest-priced homes for sale in Boca Raton:

The waterfront home at 169 West Key Palm Road was listed this week for $26.9 million. It’s located behind the private gates of Boca’s swanky Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club community, and the asking price is just shy of $3,000 a square foot.

The almost-9,000-square-foot residence is being sold fully furnished. Dustin Nero at Douglas Elliman, who co-lists the home with Adzem, says high-end buyers moving from places like California and New York are wiling to pay a premium for a turnkey mansion.

“It overlooks the Royal Palm marina. You don’t look at a house — it’s a very premium view,” said Nero, who believes the home’s unique view will help it break the town’s sale price record.

The six-bedroom home sits on 104 feet of waterfront with deep water dockage on the Fishtail Palm Waterway and includes five full baths and two half-baths.

Nero, who represents clients in both Miami and Boca, believes a trophy home in Boca is still a relative bargain compared to the very top-end in Miami.

“This home in Miami would list at $4,000 or $4,500 a square foot,” he said.

Another selling point for Boca: Buyers can land their private jets here. The private airport in Boca recently added its own customs office, Nero said, the ultimate convenience for local residents traveling internationally by private jet.

This almost-10,000-square-foot home located on the Intracoastal Waterway in the Estate Section of Boca was listed this month for $28.5 million. That puts the price per square foot just under $2,900.

“It’s like a work of residential art that manages to walk the line between artful splendor and resort-style comfort,” said Adzem, who is a co-listing agent on the property with Nero.

The contemporary home, which is also being sold fully furnished, unfolds over two floors with six bedrooms, eight baths and one half-bath. The owner’s bedroom is cantilevered over the deck, so when you’re laying in bed the room appears to float over the water.

The home’s great room has a double-height wall-of-windows that deliver panoramic views and drench the room in sunlight.

The ground-level glass panels slide away blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor space.

The room also includes a 12-foot double-sided fireplace clad in grey and black porcelain.

Adzem told CNBC the home also includes an ultra-high-end, hospital-grade air filtration system that’s tied into the central air system.

“It’s designed specifically for a Covid-free home environment, with separate zones of HVAC for every room,” she said.

The highest priced home for sale in town is a $35 million mansion spanning almost 11,500 square feet, built by developer SRD Building Corp.

“We’ve been setting new highs consistently,” said SRD’s president, Scott Dingle.

The newly constructed modern residence, also located on West Key Palm Road at the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club community, is situated on the Butterfly Palm Waterway. It includes a private dock and more than 166 feet of waterfront.  

The home’s five-car garage doubles as a supercar showcase that’s visible through a floor-to-ceiling glass wall from a desk in the home office.

Roberts, who sold $545 million worth of homes in the community just last year, said the spec builder’s record-breaking strategy is simple.

“They buy premium [lots], and they put premium on it,” he said.

The home’s $3,050-per-square-foot asking price is a high bar for Boca Raton, which has yet to see a sale breach $3,000 a square foot. But Dingle, who said he’s built 160 homes in the community over the past 28 years, is confident it can happen.

The spec builder told CNBC he has another home in the community under contract for $26.5 million, scheduled to close later this year at a record-breaking $3,200 per square foot.

“This year you are going to see some new records set,” he said.

Dingle says 95% of the homes he’s built are in this one community and, after almost three decades, he continues to bet on Boca breaking records.

“With a country club, marina, championship golf course, direct access to the beach, it’s a special spot,” Roberts said. “We have all our cards and chips in.”