Two lakefront lots on Via Vizcayasell

Two vacant side-by-side lakeside lots on Via Vizcaya in theEstate Section -- marketed earlier this year by Martha A. GottfriedInc. as a possible single home site with more than 260 feet of waterfrontage -- have sold in separate transactions to two limitedliability companies incorporated in Delaware.

With 108 feet on the water, 12 Via Vizcaya sold for $3.9 million,while 235 Via Vizcaya -- just to its north with 155 feet of waterfrontage -- sold for $4.75 million, according to warranty deedsrecorded May 2 at the Palm Beach County Clerk's office.

Richard J. Kurtz sold the lots, which he bought for about $7million each in April 2006, according to property records. Kurtz hasowned a house on Banyan Road since 2009 and also resides in NewJersey.

It's still unclear whether one home will be built on the twoparcels of land, although the signs point to a single buyer: Thedeeds list the same post-office box in South Burlington, Vt., as themailing address for both limited liability companies. The deeds alsowere both dated April 22.

JDC Florida Properties LLC bought 12 Via Vizcaya and 235 ViaV PBLLC bought 235 Via Vizcaya.

Representatives of Martha A. Gottfried would not comment on thebuyers or their intentions for the lots. Brother-and-sister agentsJacqueline and Adam Zimmerman acted on Kurtz's behalf.

Agent Cristina Condon of Sotheby's International Realty broughtin the buyers of both properties but wouldn't comment on the sale orprovide the names of anyone associated with the companies, citingconfidentiality agreements.

Martha A. Gottfried issued a statement saying that the parcelssold "in record time" after they were listed last Nov. 12. Theagency had billed the two properties as comprising the largestparcel of its kind on the market in Palm Beach.

Kurtz is CEO of Kamson Corp., a New Jersey company that investsin and manages apartment complexes. He made national real-estateheadlines last year when he and his wife, Patti, put their nearlycompleted mansion in Alpine, N.J., on the market for $68 million.The 30,000-square-foot home is part of Estates at Alpine, anexclusive residential development Kurtz carved out of a 60-acreestate that he bought in 2005 for $58 million from Henry ClayFrick's grandson.

The Kurtzes have owned another home in Alpine for more than 25years, according to a Wall Street Journal article last year.

Norman estate off the market -- No Palm Beach properties found aspot on Zillow.com's recent list of the Top 10 highest-pricedresidential properties for sale in the country, culled from theInternet giant's database of listings.

The closest property to Palm Beach on the May 3 list was No. 7-ranked Tranquility, golfer Gregg Norman's Jupiter Island oceanfrontcompound, listed at $65 million. But things can change quickly inthe world of high-end real estate: The listing for the property withCorcoran Group agent Suzanne Frisbie expired April 30, and Normanhas taken the home off the market, says Frisbie, who is married todeveloper David Frisbee.

Measuring more than 8 acres, the property had been for sale since2008, and the price never wavered, according to Suzanne Frisbee.With 172 feet of oceanfront, the property features multiplebuildings, a 5,500-square-foot lawn and a dock.

As it did last year, 123-room Spelling Manor, owned by CandySpelling, the widow of the late TV producer Aaron Spelling, in LosAngeles took the No. 1 spot on the list with its $150 million pricetag. Another home named Tranquility, this one in Zephyr Cove, Nev.,earned second ranking at $100 million, immediately followed by thehistoric $90 million Frank Woolworth townhome in New York City.

Just how much is that house? -- That Zillow.com Top 10 articlefeatured properties with prices of at least $50 million but it didnot include Corcoran agent Jim McCann's listing of a never-lived-in, 25-room home on the lakefront at 1220 S. Ocean Blvd. onBillionaire's Row, just south of the Southern Boulevard trafficcircle.

Developed and completed last year by Dan Swanson's AddisonDevelopment, the French Chateau-like home stands on about 2.5 acresand was originally listed for $84 million, although Internet sourceslater put the price at $74 million. McCann's listing on the Corcoransite says only that the price is available on request. McCanncouldn't be reached for comment.

The property is not presently listed in the local MultipleListing Service, according to real estate sources. And a search ofZillow's website shows a listing for the house but gives no price.

The 27,355-square-foot house is featured in its own website,1220SouthOcean.com.

More deals, better comparisons -- Palm Beach homeowners -- andtown officials -- are no doubt breathing a small sigh of reliefafter learning that Palm Beach County Property Appraiser GaryNikolits expects the island's overall property values, which arebased on the market's activity in 2010, to stop falling and,perhaps, even increase slightly.

That contrasts with last year's 11.4 percent plunge in valuesbased on the disastrous 2009 real estate market, when islandtransactions sputtered in the wake of the nation's housing-bubblebust, the Bernie Madoff scam and the general economic malaise.

Nikolitz's report, to be finalized in July, came as no surpriseto Palm Beach real estate attorney and property owner Leslie Evans,who recently completed his annual Evans Report analysis of 2010sales and prices for single-family homes and condos on the island."The market is firming up," Evans said this week. "There were 87closings of single-family homes in 2009 and 121 in 2010."

In the condo sector, Evans listed 267 recorded sales in 2010compared to 198 the year before.

Those sales provide more "comparables," Evans explained, thatNikolits can use to compare what similar properties sold for. That'sa key factor in determining each property's "market value," which ispart of the equation that generates its final taxable value.

Still, Evans says, single-family property values will likely endup in better shape than those of Palm Beach condominiums, especiallyon the island's glutted south end.

Darrell Hofheinz edits Home & Loggia and writes about realestate.