From grand estates in booming ski towns to private islands, Christie’s International Real Estate was involved in several notable sales throughout 2024. Here’s a look at 10 that stand out and what they tell us about the market.

Tarpon Island, Palm Beach, Florida

Sold Price: $152,000,000

Sold By: Margit Brandt, Premier Estate Properties, exclusive Christie’s International Real Estate affiliate in Palm Beach

Listed By: Chris Leavitt, Douglas Elliman; Suzanne Frisbie, Corcoran; Christian Angle, Christian Angle Real Estate

The Story: The sale of Tarpon Island was one of the priciest single-residence transactions not only in 2024 but in US history. The island, accessible by private bridge, is located in one of Palm Beach’s most exclusive neighborhoods, offering 2.3 acres and more than 28,600 square feet of living space. The price reflects not only the size and opulence of the estate, but also the opportunity to own a “one of one” asset in what many consider America’s preeminent housing market. Palm Beach is seeing a gradual rise in inventory following the record-low levels driven by the pandemic-era luxury real estate boom. This surge in demand not only depleted available properties but also significantly drove up home prices in the area, which remain well above pre-pandemic levels.

10721 Stradella Court, Los Angeles, California

Sold Price: $90,000,000

Listed By: Aaron Kirman, Kirby Gillon and Bryce Lowe, Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California

The Story: In September, in an off-market transaction, an anonymous buyer paid $90 million for this contemporary 20,000-square-foot estate in Bel Air. The kicker: the buyer purchased the property using Bitcoin, which skyrocketed in the 4th quarter of 2024. This means that if the seller is still holding the Bitcoin today, it would be worth at least 50% more than at the time of the sale. According to Aaron Kirman, the listing agent and founder and CEO of Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California, more luxury homebuyers, particularly from the tech-forward Gen-Z and Millennial cohorts, are using cryptocurrency to purchase trophy real estate. Given the growing popularity of the practice – and the price points involved – Kirman has established a special group within his brokerage to handle these complex transactions. He estimates that Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California brokered $150 million worth of real estate involving crypto in 2024.

1041 Lakeshore Boulevard, Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Sold Price: $62,000,000

Listed and Sold By: Christine Perry, Christie’s International Real Estate Sereno

The Story: The sale of this lakefront estate originally built for casino mogul Steve Wynn set the record as the most expensive home ever sold in Lake Tahoe. Known as Old Forge, the property has 210 feet of sandy private beach, a deep-water pier and boat hoist. The region’s luxury home prices have stabilized since the pandemic boom many vacation markets experienced, but high-net worth buyers are still drawn to tax-friendly Nevada.

Les Jardins d’Eau, Mareterra, Monaco

Sold Price: Approx. $37,000,000

Sold By: Miells, Christie’s International Real Estate’s exclusive affiliate in Monaco

Listed By: Development Sponsor

The Story: This waterfront apartment is located in Monaco’s new Mareterra district, a multi-billion-dollar development that was designed as a man-made extension of the existing coastline from the Grimaldi Forum to the Formula One Grand Prix tunnel. Most of the units at Mareterra have already been put under contract, with buyers jumping at the opportunity to purchase new construction in a favored tax shelter with extremely limited housing supply.

3675 Fort Charles Drive, Naples, Florida

Sold Price: $36,490,000

Listed and Sold By: Jane Wood and Emma Beckmann, John R. Wood Christie’s International Real Estate

The Story: Naples’ priciest home sale of the year, this waterfront home offers 10,000 square feet of living space, with five bedrooms, six-and-a-half bathrooms, and a four-car garage. Despite being hit by several damaging hurricanes in the past five years, Naples’ luxury real estate market remains robust, according to Ron Howard, executive vice president of sales for John R. Wood Christie’s International Real Estate.

Bridehead Estate, Dorchester, U.K.

List Price: Approx $36,600,000

Listed By: David Hebditch, Carter Jonas, exclusive Christie’s International Real Estate affiliate for the United Kingdom

The Story: Bridehead Estate, which encompasses over 2,000 acres of England’s coastal countryside and is one of the country’s largest estates, traded hands for the first time in seven generations this year. The Grade II* listed property is home to dozens of buildings, including a 19th-century Regency manor with an indoor pool, the entire historic village of Littlebredy, and The Valley of Stones, a 250-acre National Nature Reserve. In the U.K.’s luxury home market, discerning buyers are seeking properties that offer plenty of acreage and privacy.

23 Ludlow Lane, Palisades, New York

Sold Price: $26,125,000

Sold By: David Sanders, Christie’s International Real Estate Group

Listed By: Richard Ellis, Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty

The Story: The sale of this 8,000 square foot Victorian Gothic home broke the record for the most expensive single-family home sale in Rockland County and Snedens Landing, an upscale community referred to as “Hollywood on the Hudson” for its numerous celebrity residents. Built in 1874, the eight-bedroom home, known as Neiderhurst, overlooks the Hudson River and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The seller, a Manhattan-based interior designer, acquired the estate in 2011 and spent several million dollars and several years renovating and restoring the property.

Cologny, Geneva, Switzerland

Sold Price: Approx. $24,300,000

Listed By: Amélie Woitrin and Sacha Maître, SPG One Christie’s International Real Estate

The Story: This turnkey villa in the prestigious Swiss community of Cologny closed after just a month on the market. The quick sale highlights the continued strong demand in Geneva’s highly sought after neighborhoods, as the city’s reputation as a stable investment destination for international buyers remains strong. Buyers in this segment are prioritizing exclusivity and high-end amenities.

Aloha Lodge, Lakeshore Drive, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Sold Price: $21,850,000

Listed By: Brandie Malay Siavelis, @properties Christie’s International Real Estate

Sold By: David Curry, Geneva Lakefront Realty

The Story: A grand Lake Geneva mansion designed for Tracy and Anna Drake, prominent Chicago hoteliers of the early 20th century, and named in honor of their friend, the Hawaiian queen Lili’uokalani, closed in July, becoming the second priciest transaction ever on Lake Geneva, an upscale resort area 90 minutes north of Chicago. The original home was completed in 1901, but additions and renovations tripled its size to 10 bedrooms, approximately 16,000 square feet of living space and 368 feet of lake frontage. While the ultimate sales price did not threaten the Lake Geneva record of $36 million set during the height of the second-home buying frenzy in 2022, Aloha Lodge did manage to fetch a considerably higher price per acre than that property, reflecting the fit and finish of the home and the grounds’ meticulous landscaping.

9 West Walton, PH, Chicago, Illinois

Sold Price: $19,000,000

Listed By: Emily Sachs Wong, @properties Christie’s International Real Estate; Nancy Tassone, Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty

Sold By: Katherine Malkin, Compass

The Story: Billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin sold two of the four units he owned at the top of No. 9 Walton, a luxury condo tower in downtown Chicago, to Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker this past fall. Griffin has been known to collect trophy properties, often at premium prices to the market, and he originally purchased these units, along with two others in the building, for $58.75 million, intending to build a massive penthouse. But when he relocated his company to Miami in 2022, he started offloading his significant Chicago real estate holdings, giving Pritzker and others the opportunity to buy at a significant discount. Despite struggles in the downtown mid-luxury condo market, the high end has been moving, albeit at below-peak pricing. Meanwhile, the single-family market in both the city and suburbs has seen a wave of uber-high-end listings and sales in recent months.

For more trends and insights, read the 2025 Global Luxury Real Estate Forecast here.