(Bloomberg) -- Mark Fisher made a four-decade career out of trading commodities, forged in the same pits that hardened Paul Tudor Jones and Louis Bacon. For his next big trade, he’s seizing on South Florida’s surging market for luxury real estate.
Fisher’s asking $78 million for the nine-bedroom waterfront mansion he built at Bal Harbour, a wealthy enclave near Miami. He paid $9 million for the lot in 2013, property records show, then tore down a small multifamily building to make way for his massive 21,972 square-foot (2,041 square-meter) compound.
Located at 284 Bal Bay Drive, the house has its own basketball court, a rooftop putting green and a jacuzzi, plus 11 full bathrooms. Fisher, who founded proprietary trading firm MBF Trading, plans on staying in Florida after the sale, said Danny Hertzberg, who’s handling the transaction. He said sellers of multimillion-dollar homes in Miami tend to stick around.
“They sell more because of life adjustments than to just realize gains, and end up buying again into a market that appreciated significantly,” said Hertzberg, a founding partner of the Jills Zeder Group.
Wealthy buyers including Ken Griffin, Jeff Bezos and David Beckham have helped propel the soaring values of ultra-luxury waterfront properties in Miami Beach and environs. Mansions in the area are sporting asking prices these days that are rarely seen outside New York, Palm Beach and Malibu.
Earlier this year, Bezos paid $90 million for a house at Indian Creek that had last traded hands in 1998 for $2.5 million. The seller, former banker Javier Holtz, then bought a $17.3 million condo at the Ritz-Carlton Residences in Miami Beach. In October, Beckham and his wife, Victoria, spent $72.3 million on a spec waterfront Miami Beach mansion, property records show.
The village of Bal Harbour, located at the northern tip of Miami Beach, is home to about 3,000 residents in mostly gated communities, including the one that holds Fisher’s mansion. The area’s main draw is the Bal Harbour Shops, an open-air luxury shopping mall lined with palm trees. Brazilian soccer star Neymar bought a $26 million vacant lot in the area, the Wall Street Journal reported this month.
“Bal Harbour has a similar appeal to Indian Creek and Star Island,” said Hertzberg, referring to the posh islands where Bezos and Griffin bought their Miami-area homes. “But it’s much more walkable and has a serious yacht marina, so your boat doesn’t block your view.”
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