Florida may be the Sunshine State, but Palm Beach is having a moment in the spotlight. Some brokers say President Donald Trump could be the reason.
Take 1980 South Ocean Boulevard, a 2-acre vacant lot five minutes from the Trump-owned Mar-a-Lago on Palm Beach’s “Billionaire’s Row.”
Its owner — a lawyer and real estate investor named Nathan Royce Silverstein with ties to New Jersey — tried to sell it before, asking $150 million in 2022. This week, he relisted it for $200 million.
Sure, there are renderings for a 20,000-square-foot-plus residence that are ready to show Palm Beach’s Architectural Review Commission, and the two-parcel lot has frontage on both the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway.
Still, a key difference between 2022 and 2025 is that now Trump is president.
Agents — including Margit Brandt, who represented the buyer in Palm Beach’s most expensive sale of 2024, a man-made island that traded hands for $150 million — call it a “Trump bump.”
“In the postelection era, like, Q1 of 2025, we’re seeing a lot of these high-priced listings, but at the same time, a lot of action in the market,” Brandt, Premier Estate Properties, told Business Insider. “These are not like hypothetical asking prices. We’re seeing a lot of actual movement within the high end here.”
“Palm Beach is a small island with big people,” she added.
According to Douglas Elliman, the number of signed contracts for homes from $5 million to $9.99 million increased 157% — or from seven homes to 18 — from January 2024 to January 2025. And sales for homes $10 million or more increased by an even larger margin: Three homes were sold in January 2024, while 13 were sold the same month in 2025.
We’re tracking the Palm Beach real estate boom as it happens. Below are some key properties and deals.
A spec mansion in Manalapan, Florida, is on the market at $285 million
A Florida home built on spec, meaning it’s being built without a specific buyer in mind, hit the market in January at $285 million. It’s currently the most expensive listing for a new home in the US and, if sold at that price, would be the most expensive sale in Palm Beach.
The proposed 50,000-square-foot home is in Manalapan, Florida, about 11 miles south of Palm Beach. It’s on a lot next door to billionaire Larry Ellison’s house, which he paid $173 million for in 2022.
The lot has 700 feet of Intracoastal and ocean frontage and will feature impressive amenities like a car museum, an indoor shooting range, and a bowling alley.
An advantage to buying a home that isn’t built yet is that the plans can be altered, listing agent Nick Malinosky told Business Insider in January.
A vacant lot with plans for a new home is listed at $200 million
Two acres of undeveloped property in Palm Beach is on the market with a massive $200-million price tag.
The property boasts both oceanfront and private Intracoastal waterfrontage — which is one of the perks of the narrow strip of island that is Palm Beach.
Records show that the current owner, Nathan Royce Silverstein, who tried to sell the lot in 2022 for $150 million, bought the property in 1966 for an unknown price.
While there’s nothing on the property now, the next buyer won’t have to think too hard about what to do with it. Building plans and renderings have already been made and are ready to be submitted for approval.
2 oceanfront lots owned by Estée Lauder cosmetics billionaire heir, William P. Lauder, are listed for $200 million
Billionaire and heir to beauty brand Estée Lauder, William Lauder, found a buyer for his more than 2-acre oceanfront lots in Palm Beach after initially listing them for $200 million in 2023.
The offer for the lots — which Lauder bought in 2020 and 2021 — came in at $173 million in February. According to records, he purchased the first lot for $25.3 million and the second for an undisclosed amount.
The property has about 360 feet of direct ocean frontage, according to The Palm Beach Daily News.
If the sale were to close above $170 million, it’d set a new record that’s stood since 2023.
A private island in Palm Beach sold for $152 million in 2024
In May 2024, a 28,600-square-foot home on a private island in Palm Beach, Florida, sold for a $152 million, a record for lakefront properties.
Palm Beach, Florida, is already an island, but Tarpon Island, where the home is located, offers an extra amount of seclusion.
As the only private island in Palm Beach, the property features two private decks, multiple pools, a waterfront gym, and a wellness facility complete with a massage room and a nail salon, according to Mansion Global.
Australian investor Michael Dorrell, the CEO and cofounder of investment firm Stonepeak, purchased the home, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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