Palm Beach house on North End fetches $14.35M, more than twice its 2021 sale price

Commercial real estate investor Michael Burns has sold, for $14.35 million, a house he bought on the North End of Palm Beach about two years ago for $6.75 million, according to records at the Palm Beach County courthouse and in the multiple listing service.

The sale of the four-bedroom house at 152 Dolphin Road closed Wednesday, a little less than a month after the property was listed for sale at $16.5 million.

The contemporary-style residence was completed as a custom home in 2017, property records show, with 4,780 square feet of living space, inside and out.

A deed had not recorded for the sale of late Wednesday afternoon, so the buyer had not been identified in public records. It was also unclear if the price expected to be documented by the Palm Bech County Clerk’s office will match the one reported with the closed sales listing in the MLS.

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Burns is president and CEO of Torburn Partners, a commercial real estate investment firm based in Northbrook, Illinois. The company also does business in South Florida.

Burns and his wife, Caroline, used the house seasonally, according to property records. On a quarter-acre lot, it’s fourth house west of the lakefront on Dolphin Road. The street is about a half-mile south of the inlet at the northern tip of Palm Beach.

Michael Burns, who owned the house in his name, was represented in the sale by agents Whitney McGurk and Liza Pulitzer of Brown Harris Stevens. The agents also handled Burns’ side of the sale when he bought the house in July 2020.

‘The market is alive and well’ in Palm Beach

McGurk says the speed of the sale that just closed demonstrates the vibrancy of the Palm Beach real estate scene, even during the off-season.

“I think it shows the market is alive and well,” McGurk said.

The high quality of the house was an attractive selling point, he said.

“And I think it was priced right – and the right buyer came along,” he said, noting that he and Pulitzer quickly saw strong interest in the property from would-be buyers.

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Agent Spencer Schlager of Douglas Elliman Real Estate acted on behalf of the buyer, the MLS shows.

Burns bought the house from the couple who built it, Austrian-based real estate entrepreneur Dr. Josef Huainigg and his interior designer wife, Andrea.

Lap pool measures 50 feet Palm Beach home’s backyard

The interior features a terrazzo floor in the foyer and a sweeping staircase. In the free-flowing layout, the living room has a wall of glass doors facing a 50-foot infinity-edge lap pool in the backyard.

After the sale in 2020, the first-floor primary bedroom was redesigned and expanded to accommodate dual separate closets, vanities and toilets, according to the sales listing.

The second floor has an informal living room and three guest bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and a terrace.

The house also has an air-conditioned two-car garage, a full-house generator and laundry facilities on the first and second floors, the MLS shows.

Residents of Dolphin Road have access to a cabana on the beach at the east end of the street.

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This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

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Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call (561) 820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach house brings $14.35 million, more than twice its 2021 price