Prices Down 12% in The Oaks for 2018

The average price in The Oaks fell to $1.11 million in the first half of 2018, down from $1.26 million in 2017. On a dollars per square foot basis prices also fell from $244 per square foot to $221 per square foot, a 9.4% drop. What this really reflects is that 2017 was a good year for sellers and this year appears to be returning to similar numbers we saw in 2016.

Twenty three homes sold so far this year. On the bright side this is a faster pace than 2017 where a total of 36 homes closed in the full year. There are currently 39 listings, down significantly from the 50 we reported earlier in the year. The reduced saturation may help sellers going forward.

More listings failed than closed, with 23 listings canceled and another 6 expired. The average transaction took over five months, but that doesn’t account for previous failed listings of those houses.

17738 Middlebrook Way; image by Google.

The top price so far this year is $2.05 million for 17738 Middlebrook Way. Built in 2004, this genuine mansion has seven bedrooms in nearly 10,000 square feet on a 1/3 acre cul de sac lot. The seller was Kenneth Hudson, CEO of a prominent South Florida advertising firm. All other sales were 6500 square feet or less.

The biggest deal in dollars per square foot was 17519 Cadena Drive selling for $1,745,000. At just under 3450 square feet it works out to $320 per square foot. Built in 2015, it just sold at the end of June and the property appraiser records have not updated yet. The only other home selling for over $300 per square foot, and just barely, was 9082 Pintura Way at $1.63 million for 5400 square feet.

The best bargain was 17541 Circle Pond Court selling for $1.09 million for this 6500 square foot house with six bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and three half baths. It’s loaded with features including an 11-seat media room.

The seller was Benzion Abboud, a noted entrepreneur, investor and an interesting guy. You can see an interview with him here:

The house was on and off the market a few times dating as far back as 2008 with list prices as high as $2.7 million.

The two lowest prices were foreclosed, bank-owned homes. 17874 Lake Azure Way sold for just $500,000. Short sale attempts failed in 2010 and 2011, and the foreclosure was completed in 2013. JP Morgan Chase Bank sat on it for a few years until they listed it in 2017. It foundered on the market until an investor finally bought it and even then the transaction took another six months to close. With a price this low it could have been a house with defective drywall but we can’t see any evidence of that. It otherwise seems to have great bones with five bedrooms in 4700 square feet. The other distressed sale was 17585 Middlebrook Way, another five bedroom house with 4300 square feet that sold for $695,100.

Overall ten of the homes sold for over $1 million and fourteen sold for less than a million. Most homes sold for $880,000 or more and the average home had five bedrooms in just over 5000 square feet.

Home Prices Up In The Oaks


Homeowners in The Oaks will appreciate a resurgence in prices paid for houses in their neighborhood in 2017. There were 36 transactions. The average price rose to $1.26 million, up $100,000 from last year. It’s even better than that as our number for last year excluded a few distressed sales. Leaving distressed homes out, the average for 2017 rises to $1.3 million at $244 per square foot. As expected at this price level the homes take longer to sell, averaging over 4 months.

17518 Grand Este Way sold for $2.8M in November. Image by Google.

Four homes sold for over $2 million. Three of those had seven bedrooms in over 7000 square feet. The somewhat smaller 9091 Redonda Drive, with six bedrooms in 5600 square feet, sold for $2.36 million. That works out to $418 per square foot. This one is spectacular with water features on the walk up to the front door, an over the top pool in the backyard, and absolutely gorgeous interior. It was sold new by the builder but records show the house was built in 2014, which is what happens to the model used to show prospective buyers of other homes to be built. It was featured in their Palm Beach Post ad in 2014.
Lake Azure Way dominates the under $900K category with six homes on the street selling for prices between $832K and $900K. Most of these are around 4500 square feet working out to roughly $200 per square foot. The lowest price for 2017 was 17720 Villa Club Way, a 3400 square foot 3-bedroom that sold for $750K.
Sixteen houses sold for prices between $1M and $1.5M. This group averaged 5300 square feet (average $236/sq.ft.). One standout in this group was 9074 Pintura Way which sold for $1,225,000 with only 3400 square feet, working out to $355 per square foot. The house has top of the line finishes including Viking and Subzero appliances but the price still seems a bit high. You could buy a roughly comparable home in Saturnia and save about half a million dollars.

May Home Sales I: $800K to $6.4M

16031 Quiet Vista Circle in Stone Creek Ranch sold for $6.4M. Image and map data by Google.

We reviewed over 80 single family home sales (west of the Turnpike up to Atlantic in Delray) from May 1 into early June, restricted to homes with 3 or more bedrooms and at least 2000 square feet of living space. This is Part One of that review, covering homes selling over $800,000. All these homes were in zip codes 33498, 33496, and 33446, mostly in The Bridges, Seven Bridges, and The Oaks.
Click here for Part Two.
At the high end was 16031 Quiet Vista Circle in Stone Creek Ranch, on the west side of Lyons just north of Seven Bridges. The nearly 14,000 square foot house with 10 bedrooms and 10 1/2 baths sold for $6.4 million. The seller was billionaire Steven A. Cohen. The buyers are Cynthia Williams and her husband Ronald “Ron” Williams, former CEO of Aetna, with an estimated net worth close to $200M.
8700 Surrey Lane sold for $2.8M; image and map data by Google

There was one other transaction for over $2M. 8700 Surrey Lane in Horseshoe Acres (north of Clint Moore, east of Lyons) sold for just over $2.8M with only 5 bedrooms and 5 1/2 baths in 6000 square feet.
Nine other homes sold for $1M or more, in The Bridges, Seven Bridges, The Oaks, and Long Lake Estates. Most of these sold for between $215 and $250 per square foot, with two in The Bridges going for closer to $300 per square foot.
The smallest of these was 8510 Hawks Gully Avenue, with 3 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths in 3350 square feet. It sold for $1.1M ($328/sq.ft.) in just 17 days on the market. The house is on a corner lot with no waterfront and has significant upgrades including a gorgeous pool, but it still seems like a hefty price for what the buyer got. The house was previously purchased for less than $1M in 2015.
The best bargain of the million dollar homes was probably 8646 Lewis River Road, a 5200 sq.ft. 5 bedroom with a partial lake view which sold for just over $1.1M, or $216/sq.ft.
Others sold include:

  • $1.43M: 18529 Long Lake Drive, Long Lake Estates, 6 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths, 5800 sq.ft.
  • $1.35M: 16844 Strasbourg Lane, Seven Bridges, 5 bedrooms, 6 full and two 1/2 baths, 5500 sq.ft.
  • $1.2M: 17681 Middlebrook Way, The Oaks, 5 bedrooms, 5 1/2 baths, 5500 sq.ft.
  • $1.14M: 16615 Sagamore Bridge Way, The Bridges, 4 beds, 5 baths, 3900 sq.ft.
  • $1.08M: 17745 Vecino Way, The Oaks, 5 beds, 4 baths, 4450 sq.ft.
  • $1.07M: 8518 Hawks Gully Ave, The Bridges, 4 beds, 4 1/2 baths, 4300 sq.ft.
  • $1.02M: 9488 Eden Roc Ct, Seven Bridges, 5 beds, 6 baths, 4700 sq.ft. (new home)

$800K – $1M
Six homes sold for prices between $800,000 and $1,000,000, including three in The Oaks, one in Mizner Country Club, one in Saturnia, and one in Rio Poco.

16135 Rio Baile sold for $995,000. Image by Google.

16135 Rio Baile in Rio Poco (west side of 441 across from Saturnia Isles) sold for $995K. The house has 6 bedrooms and 5 1/2 baths in 4200 square feet on a one-acre lot.
What would seem to be one of the biggest bargains was 17891 Monte Vista Drive in The Oaks. Selling for $880K, the house has 7 bedrooms, 6 full and 2 half baths in 5500 square feet. Those familiar with The Oaks will guess correctly that the house has a Chinese drywall history. Purchased in 2007 for $1.3M, it was foreclosed in 2013 and then sold to an investor for $751K. Considering the cost of capital and other expenses, the investor probably lost money on this deal.
Others selling at $800K or more include:
$860K: 17978 Lake Azure Way, The Oaks, 4 beds, 5 1/2 baths, 4300 sq.ft.
$832K: 17689 Lake Azure Way, The Oaks, 3 beds, 3 full and 2 1/2 baths, 3400 sq.ft.
$800K: 16367 Braeburn Ridge Trail, Mizner Country Club, 4 beds, 3 1/2 baths, 3550 sq.ft.
$800K: 11742 Watercrest Lane, Saturnia, 6 beds, 4 1/2 baths, 4700 sq.ft.
It’s an interesting question comparing older and newer homes and that’s illustrated by two of the above transactions. In Saturnia, 11742 Watercrest Lane was built in 1999 and seems a relative bargain at $800K for a two-story home with 4700 square feet. While it could use updating in a few places the house has some very nice features including a gorgeous kitchen, a downstairs master bedroom suite and a swimming pool. By comparison in Seven Bridges, 9488 Eden Roc Court sold brand new for just over $1.02M, also with 4700 square feet. The Seven Bridges buyer paid an extra $224,000 for a house that is narrower on a smaller lot with no pool, and the master bedroom is on the second floor. Seven Bridges also has substantially higher HOA fees at close to $500/month vs. $320/month in Saturnia.
11742 Watercrest Lane in Saturnia at $800K vs. 9488 Eden Roc Ct in 7 Bridges at $1.02M. Images by Google.

Which house do you think is a better deal?
Coming in Part Two – Homes from $185K to $750K.

The Oaks: $750K to $2.5M in early 2017


House sales in The Oaks ranged from $750,000 up to $2.5 million in the first part of 2017. The Oaks is a luxury gated community on the north side of Clint Moore between 441 and Lyons Road. HOA fees are over $800/month.
At the “low” end, 17720 Villa Club Way sold for $750K. The house has 3 bedrooms with four full and two half baths in 3400 square feet, making it one of the smallest and cheapest homes in the hood – complete with marble floors and other elegant features.
As for the high end, 17558 Grand Este Way sold for $2,538,000. The house palace has 6 bedrooms, 6 full and 2 half baths in over 7500 square feet. It took roughly 14 months to sell.

The middle, in The Oaks, includes several transactions of $1M or more.

  • $1M – 17827 Lake Azure Way, 5 bedrooms, 4.2 baths, 4700 square feet
  • $1.07M – 17609 Middlebrook Way, 6 beds, 6.2 baths, 6650 square feet
  • $1.075M – 17745 Vecino Way, 5 beds, 4 baths, 4450 square feet (closed in early May)
  • $1.2M – 17710 Cadena Drive, 7 beds, 4.1 baths, 5500 square feet
  • $1.225M – 17701 Circle Pond Court, 6 beds, 7.1 baths, 6500 square feet (sold in two months)
  • $1.4M – 9636 Bridgebrook Drive, 6 beds, 5.1 baths, 5900 square feet (sold in less than 3 months)
  • $1.67M – 9261 Este Lago Drive, 6 beds, 7.2 baths, 6450 sq.ft.
  • $1.75M – 9356 Grand Estates Way, 6 beds, 7.2 baths, 6500 sq.ft. (on the market for nearly a year)

Two of the more recent sales were for less than $1M. 17978 Lake Azure Way took about 18 months to sell, closing in early May for $860,000. The 4 bed, 5 1/2 bath house has “only” 4300 square feet.
17911 Monte Vista Drive closed in late April for $960K with 5 beds, 6.2 baths and 5500 square feet.
One other house just missed the $1M mark – 17590 Circle Pond Court sold for $980,000 with 6 beds, 7 1/2 baths in a whopping 6550 square feet.

Prices in The Oaks Continue Decline


Home prices in The Oaks were down in 2016 when compared to the two previous years. After excluding foreclosure-related transactions, the average sold price was $1.16 million in 2016, down from $1.21M in 2015 and $1.25M in 2014.

The Westgate model in The Oaks, with over 6500 square feet of living space; image copyright Warren Redlich 2015.

Looked at on a dollars per square foot basis, the average in 2016 was $221/sq.ft., compared to $229/sq.ft. in 2015 and $246/sq.ft. in 2014, or a roughly 10% drop in the past two years.
2016 was a busy year in The Oaks there with 50 total transactions, up from 35 in 2015 and 29 in 2014. Fifteen of the 45 non-foreclosure transactions went for less than $1M down to as low as $730K. There were a couple of even cheaper foreclosure-related transactions with one Chinese drywall house going for only $315K.
17566 Grand Este Way sold for $2.35M. Image and map data by Google.

On the high end only one house sold for over $2M in 2016. Just built, 17566 Grand Este sold for $2.35M with 5 bedrooms and 6 1/2 baths in 5900 square feet, it works out to nearly $400/sq.ft. That’s more than $100/sq.ft. higher than any other house sold in 2016. It’s unclear why the buyers paid so much for the house.
The Oaks is a gated community on the north side of Clint Moore between US-441 and Lyons Road. We have been in The Oaks many times and it definitely feels high end with gorgeous houses and true luxury amenities. The southwest part of the neighborhood borders the Thomas Produce property which will potentially be developed in the near future.
Satellite image showing The Oaks outlined in red. Image and map data by Google.

Homes in The Oaks are facing pricing pressure from new homes in the nearby Bridges and Seven Bridges communities, along with Azura and Royal Palm Polo on Jog Road. Various other issues also impact pricing, including the high association fees, concerns about what will happen with Thomas Produce, and the hangover from the Chinese drywall problem. With all of that said, there are some remarkable bargains in The Oaks if you want a house over 4400 square feet.
Call Warren at 888-733-5299 if you’d like to buy or sell a house in The Oaks.