Published by The Real Deal South Florida, May 20, 2021
Edward G. Watkins sold his Oceanfront Palm Beach, Florida estate for $95 million, marking the second most expensive sale this year in the ritzy town. Lawrence Moens was the Listing Broker. Per the listing details, the Mansion at 1341 South Ocean Boulevard is located on a 2-Acre Lot with ~170 feet of Oceanfront, has 7 Bedrooms and approximately 28,000 total Square Feet.
Records show The Goodrich Florida Realty Trust II sold the mansion at 1341 South Ocean Boulevard to The 1341 South Ocean Boulevard Trust. Watkins was the true owner, and had the mansion homesteaded, according to the Palm Beach County property appraiser.
Watkins, who is known as Chris, is the grandson of E.G. Watkins, the creator of the punch time clock. E.G. Watkins founded Simplex Time Recorded in 1894, and Chris Watkins began leading the company in 1967, according to Forbes. He expanded the company to include security systems, later selling Simplex to Tyco for $1.2 billion in 2001.
Earlier this year, a private equity partner spent more than $120 million on an oceanfront estate in Palm Beach, which still stands as the most expensive sale on the island this year.
Waterfront Estates in Palm Beach have sold for sky-high prices throughout the pandemic. In March, a hotelier sold her waterfront Palm Beach mansion for $57 million, and the Ziff family sold their compound in Manalapan for $94 million.
Also this year in Palm Beach, hedge fund billionaire David Tepper paid $68.4 million for an oceanfront mansion, and Steve Wynn dropped $49 million for a lakefront estate.
Sylvester Stallone and Tommy Hilfiger also recently bought homes in Palm Beach for $35.4 million and $9 million, respectively.
Luxury Single Family Homes in South Florida are in high demand and their sales have shattered records–not only the number of sales, but record high purchase prices as well. There’s very limited inventory of Single Family Oceanfront Homes in South Florida.
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