When the 4,000-square-foot, four-bedroom waterfront house at 518 Palm Dr. in Hallandale Beach, Fla., sold for $2 million in July, Compass broker Chad Carroll got a surprise. The NYC-based buyer wasn’t looking for a holiday home. He just wanted a place to park his yacht. In Fort Lauderdale, a five-bedroom, 8,494-square-foot mansion at 1500 SE 10th St. sold late last year for $6.5 million, also with Carroll. (It’s currently on the market for $10 million, with Compass’ Tim Elmes.) Once again, the buyer was just looking for somewhere to park their yacht.
Throughout South Florida, a surge of boat sales — especially since the pandemic — has led to a slip shortage, spurring buyers to spring for waterfront single-family homes with yacht parking, brokers say.
“We have a finite amount of developable waterfront, and they aren’t building mega-yacht marinas,” says broker Nathan Zeder of the Jills Zeder Group, whose brokerage is listing 41 Arvida Parkway in Coral Gables — a 14,000-square-foot, eight-bedroom estate that can accommodate a 200-foot-plus mega-yacht asking $49.9 million. “But during the pandemic, people are buying boats. It’s just supply and demand.”
He adds that waterfront lots and teardown estates are especially popular boat-parking destinations. Some buyers, however, demand turnkey homes, all the better to shelter their yacht’s crew.
One of the most prime waterfront homes with dock space currently on the market is at 1325 N. Venetian Way on the Venetian Islands. The modern four-bedroom, five-bathroom estate features a brand new “open water” boat dock with lift (meaning there are no canals or bridges blocking the ocean). It’s asking $18.4 million with Corcoran’s Julian Johnston, who has represented celebs such as Beyoncé, Jay-Z and DJ Khaled.
“Boats are a COVID-safe way to entertain,” says Zeder. “So we are seeing a lot of people buying waterfront and parking their boat while they plan a rebuild or create their dream home.”
