Miami Beach Art Collectors Score $18.9M Sale Record
Key Takeaways
- •Jason Rubell sold Miami Beach home for $18.9 million record price.
- •ESJ Capital Partners completed $21.4 million Lantana commercial portfolio sale.
- •North Palm Beach golf course home sold for $13.6 million.
Art collectors Jason Rubell and Michelle Simkins Rubell recorded South Florida's highest residential transaction on June 9, 2026, selling their waterfront property at 6500 North Bay Road in Miami Beach for $18.9 million.
The buyers, represented through an LLC connected to Cesar Molina's CMA Design Studio, acquired the 6,600-square-foot residence that features four bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms. Built in 1950, the property delivered substantial returns for the Rubells, who originally purchased it in 2021 for $10.5 million.
Commercial activity also showed strength in Palm Beach County, where Aventura-based ESJ Capital Partners completed a $21.4 million portfolio sale to American Infrastructure Partners, a California-based firm. The transaction included a four-building shopping center located at 1330 and 1450 West Lantana Road, which sold for approximately $10.9 million. ESJ had acquired this 11,100-square-foot retail complex in 2017 for $7.2 million.
The second component of ESJ's sale involved 600 East Coast Avenue for $10.5 million, a property currently occupied by the Palm Beach Maritime Academy.
North Palm Beach witnessed significant activity as Richard and Jacqueline Emmet, with Richard being a former financial executive, acquired a golf course residence at 12150 Lost Tree Way for $13.6 million. VMD Real Estate LLC, managed by Vincent DiBenedetto, served as the seller for this 5,400-square-foot home built in 2019. The property, featuring six bedrooms and seven and a half bathrooms, commanded approximately $2,500 per square foot and had previously changed hands in 2020 for $6.8 million.
Boca Raton contributed to the active market as Marelis Morales sold her residence at 17106 Avenue Le Rivage for $7.1 million to a trust. The nearly 7,800-square-foot home, constructed in 2016 with five bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms, traded at roughly $905 per square foot. Toni Valentino and Pam Thomes with Compass represented the seller, while Jonathan Postma with Coldwell Banker Realty brought the buyer to the transaction.
These transactions demonstrate continued momentum in South Florida's luxury residential market, with properties showing substantial appreciation across multiple price points and geographic areas throughout the region.
