Bugle Miami

Most Expensive Private Island in the Florida Keys Sells for $11 Million

Another day, another record-breaking home sale in Florida.

A nearly five-acre private island in the Florida Keys sold for an unprecedented $11 million on Friday, making it the priciest sale ever in Marathon, Florida, and the most expensive private island sold in the Keys.

The island, which offers deep-water dockage and a bridge exclusively for residents and guests, sold for 40% more than the next biggest sale in Marathon, according to local sales history on Zillow. It was also the highest private island sale ever in the Florida Keys, said listing agent Pierre Marc Bellion of Ocean Sotheby’s International Realty.

“Here in the Keys, $11 million is a record sale,” he said. But for the prospective buyers interested in the island, who came from California, Texas and Connecticut, “they think it was an amazing deal.”

The island features a main house with views of the water through French doors on both the first and second floors, plus porches on each level. There’s also a guest house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms, and a one-bedroom guest cottage with water views and a sandy beach.

A sundeck and swimming pool can also be found on the grounds, and there’s a marina for up to 15 boats, Mr. Bellion said.

“In the Florida Keys, we have pretty shallow waters everywhere,” he noted. “It’s not easy to find a property where you can have a 100-foot boat, but this buyer owns a 118-foot boat that he is going to keep there, and that is absolutely unique.”

Mr. Bellion declined to identify the buyer.

The island was first listed for $15.5 million in March 2019, according to listing records. It could not be determined how much the property last traded for, and the seller was not immediately available for comment.

Mr. Bellion explained that the Keys are relatively undiscovered by out-of-town buyers, although that’s starting to change.

“In Miami, you have people coming from all over the world…but these people don’t know about the Keys,” he said. “It takes 10 years to realize that if they drive one hour, they are literally on Caribbean islands. The Keys are still completely unnoticed, and that’s why I think the coming years are going to be amazing.”

The ongoing migration from high-tax areas to lower-cost states such as Florida and the Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused buyers to seek out more space and warmer weather while they are working from home have both been a boon to vacation markets like the Keys, Mr. Bellion added.

That’s also caused a frenzy of home buying in Florida and led to several record sales in recent months.

On the state’s west coast, along the Gulf of Mexico, another $11 million property broke a record for Sanibel Island’s highest price home sale, according to Zillow’s sales history for the area. The deal closed in late January and appeared in public records last week.

The five-bedroom, six-bathroom home was on and off the market in 2020, and most recently listed for $11.5 million by Phaidra McDermott, owner of Kingfisher Real Estate Inc. It last sold for just under $2 million in 1998.

Ms. McDermott did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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