The World's Wealthiest Will Be Drawn To Another $40 Million Island Listing

This season, listing prices in 32963 have undergone a revolution. By the end of January and the beginning of March, in just five short weeks, four houses with a combined listing price just shy of $190 million went on the market.

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The homes include 850 feet of ocean frontage, 34 bedrooms, 44 bathrooms, 36 garage spots, six swimming pools, and more than 70,000 square feet of living area in total.

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The most recent one is a $40 million estate across from St. Ed's that includes two 2,000 square foot guest houses in addition to a 13,050 square foot main house and 155 feet of ocean frontage. These include a $60 million spec home being built by a star team out of Miami; another grand $60 million house in the estate section that comes with 5 acres of land; a $29 million home in Sandpointe.

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UHNWIs (ultra-high net worth individuals) from all over the country and the world who really are looking for trophy characteristics to park their riches or enjoy a seaside lifestyle have taken notice of Vero Beach as a result of this flurry of mega-listings, catapulting it into the top echelon of the global real estate market.

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Several of those affluent buyers hadn't considered Vero previously, but they and their agents are now interested as 32963 prize properties keep appearing on their radar.

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Daley claimed that as soon as she listed the $40 million home at 1925 Sears Cove and advertised it via the Douglas Elliman and Knight Frank networks, her phone began to ring.

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Daley stated, "I have heard from folks in Vero as well as England, Germany, and South America. "We're speaking with a number of family offices. Such a unique chance exists here.

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The two spacious guest homes, the length of the ocean frontage on a big beach, and the newness of the house—which was finished in 2018 and complies with all the most recent codes—are some of the home's advantages. Additional benefits include the position across from St. Edward's School, which is about 4 miles south of Sexton Plaza, and the enormous 4.85-acre parcel, which satisfies the post-COVID yearning for seclusion and space among wealthy buyers. The parcel also has an intriguing history.

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The area was formerly platted and approved for a community called Sears Cove, which would have included "eight or nine homes," but the dwellings were never built, and the land remained fallow for years after that length of seaside land was developed with other tiny subdivisions, according to Daley.

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It was a unicorn, according to Daley. Many spotted it because it was tucked in between other developments and close to St. Ed's and wondered, "How can it be that this hasn't been developed? ’”

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The property's earliest recorded deed, which may be seen on the website of the Indian River County Property Appraisers, is dated September 14, 1979. At that point, the neighborhood was currently plated and was ostensibly named after the seller.

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According to the deed, Sherman N. Smith, Jr. was selling the land to Josephine Sturgis, a member of a well-known Vero family, in his capacity as personal attorney of the estate of Ruth K. Sears, deceased.

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In 1955, Jack and Josephine Sturgis established Sturgis Lumber & Plywood Company in Vero Beach, which is still in business today at 4645 U.S. 1. The pair dedicated themselves to the community while while managing their business and raising a family, according to the company website. Jack Sturgis presided over Vero Beach from 1961 to 1965 while Josephine Sturgis spent 29 years as a second-grade teacher.

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Fourteen years after Jack Sturgis turned out the final light in the mayor's office, Josephine bought the Sears Cove site. She kept it for 40 years, essentially leaving it alone as neighborhoods came up all around it.

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When a client approached Daley in 2015 and said they were searching for land to build a new seaside home but felt like "there was nothing out there," Daley became engaged with the wooded parcel.

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Daley, a resident of the south island whose daughter attended St. Edward's, was aware that the Sears Cove property wasn't up for sale.

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When Daley asked his coworkers about the property, they had discouraging responses. "They said the land had been owned by the same family for a very long time and that other people had tried to buy it over the years, but to no avail.

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I began snooping and made contact with the Sturgises. We had a pleasant chat over time, and, to cut a long story short, I mediated the purchase of the land.

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Denis and Jennifer Manelski are mentioned in public records but Daley denied to give her clients' names. The couple had an oceanfront house in Riomar at the time of the sale, but they desired a larger lot with more seclusion. For the Sears Cove property, they forked out $6 million.

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According to Bloomberg & Bank of America Corp., Denis Manelski is the head of worldwide fixed income, currencies, and commodity sales at Bank of America.

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In order to ensure that the purchasers could construct what they desired on the land, Daley explained, "we executed a purchase agreement in late 2015 and closed in August 2016.

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Village Architects, based in Tequesta, Florida, created the three-building complex, which was finished in 2018. The Transitional Georgian-revival main house, which is 13,050 square feet, contains the high-end materials and amenities you would anticipate in a property of this size as well as pleasant surprises like the matching glass staircase that connect both the first and second levels.

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There are nine ensuite bedrooms, ten full bathrooms, four half bathrooms, two wine cellars, three fireplaces, six air-conditioned garage bays, and a 40-by-20-foot swimming pool with views of the ocean between the main house and the two guest houses.

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Just past the coastal control line and situated back from the flood zone lies the attractive, very symmetrical property. In order to show respect for what came before them, Daley added, "they kept the Sears Cove moniker rather than having an A1A address and protected as many trees and shrubs as they could.

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The family saved a stand of live oak trees, so the long driveway heading from A1A loops them halfway to the house.

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The sellers wanted to sell the house after four years and after their children had grown up, so they listed it with Daley for $40 million.

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Daley is relying on an X-factor to attract a buyer in addition to the home's intrinsic quality and remarkable location, which are likely to offer it wide appeal.

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If someone is searching for a home of this level that is still very new, there aren't many options available, she added.

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"I did some research, and there are just three other coastal properties that sit on acres and were constructed since 2016 on the Florida east coast, between here and Key West.

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"There's one on Ocean Boulevard in Highland Beach for $32 million, with 2 acres, 100 feet on the ocean, and no guest house; a new construction in Stuart for $49 million, also with 2 acres, and no guest house; and the $60 million spec house in the estate section here in Vero, which won't be finished for two years. There you have it. Other properties might be quietly accessible, yet these are the only ones that are offered for sale in the open market.

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The highest price ever paid for a home in 32963 was $27 million in 2021, but according to Trade Algo, there are already around to 400,000 ultra-high net worth people in the world, who are each worth $30 million or more.

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if they've never heard of Vero Beach, they or their representatives will undoubtedly notice 1925 Sears Cove when they browse property websites if one or more of them is looking for a huge, gorgeous, relatively new home on a sizable piece of beachfront property in Florida, as seems likely. And they won't be surprised by the $40 million price tag.

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Daley claimed, "We are getting there now where it is like property investment without borders.