A waterfront mansion on Miami Beach’s Hibiscus Island just flipped for $18.5 million, handing New England developer James Vitas a hefty payday and landing the property among the priciest recent single-family sales on the island. The buyer is reported to be a London-based purchaser who plans to trade vacation-home status for full-time residency.
Sale details and who handled it
The deal is recorded at $18.5 million with a late May closing, according to public listing data. Redfin shows the sale hitting the books in late May, and The Real Deal reports that buyer’s broker Dora Puig said her client is based in London and is upgrading from a vacation property to a primary residence.
Listing information credits Michael (Mick) Duchon of The Corcoran Group with representing the seller, with the purchase recorded in MLS records cited by Redfin.
From a 2021 buy to a pricey exit
Public sales history shows Vitas, working through a trust, bought the property in March 2021 for roughly $6.45 million, more than doubling his money with the new closing price. Property records and the local database reviewed by Broker One list the 2021 transfer to a trust tied to James L. Vitas II.
What $18.5 million buys on the bay
The modernized bayfront residence sits on roughly a 0.24-acre lot with about 60 feet of water frontage. Listing descriptions highlight an in-ground heated pool, a two-car garage, and direct bay access. Inside, brokers describe a four-bedroom, 5.5-bath layout with marble and fluted-oak finishes and home-automation upgrades.
The property did not get there overnight. It carried higher asking prices last year, at one point listed above $24 million, before returning to the market and ultimately closing at $18.5 million, according to listings on Realtor.com.
What the sale says about the market
Brokers and market watchers see the deal as part of a broader surge in demand for South Florida waterfront homes, particularly turnkey houses on prime lots as high-net-worth buyers keep pouring in. The Real Deal has linked similar trophy purchases to a wave of out-of-state billionaires and to policy and tax debates that are nudging buyers toward Florida.
The South Florida Business Journal ran a photo gallery of the home by Gabriel Matarazzo alongside its reporting on the sale. Industry coverage also notes that Vitas leads North Andover-based VMD Companies, a real estate investment and development firm with a growing regional footprint.
