Why Did Elin Nordegren Sell Her North Palm Beach Home at a Big Discount?

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Elin Nordegren has finally sold her North Palm Beach estate, according to multiple news reports.

The former wife of the golfer Tiger Woods let the custom-built mansion go for $29 million. According to the Real Deal, the buyer is Russell Weiner, the founder of Rockstar Energy Drink.

While undoubtedly a large sum, the sale price is a steep 41% drop from the initial asking price of $49.5 million in 2018. Last winter, Nordegren dropped the price just a bit, to $44.5 million, before accepting the much lower offer.

So why the nearly half-off sale? It might be all about unfulfilled aspiration.

First, some history on the home

Nordegren purchased the property in 2011 for $12.25 million, after her divorce from Woods.

She proceeded to demolish the existing home and built a mansion whose construction was completed in 2014. And while she undoubtedly poured millions into it, it’s possible that she strolled away with a modest profit or broke even.

“Consider building at $500 a square foot, multiplied by 23,000 living square feet, and that equals $11.5 million,” estimates Jeff Lichtenstein, owner and broker of Echo Fine Properties, a luxury real estate brokerage that sells real estate in Palm Beach County.

Don’t forget to include her initial outlay, which Lichtenstein believes was a million or two more than it was worth. A rough estimate puts her total costs in the $23 million to $24 million range, which means that a $29 million sale isn’t an awful outcome.

Lichtenstein loves what Nordegren built and calls the mansion gorgeous.

He adds, “The sale price might be a bit off, considering the fixtures and cost/time to build, but it isn’t a fire sale.”

Perk-filled property

The sprawling spread offers 11 bedrooms and 15 full bathrooms, plus three half-bathrooms. The Caribbean-inspired, gated estate “takes full advantage of its oceanfront location, blurring the lines between indoors and out, and allowing for the most pleasurable resortlike lifestyle,” the listing details noted.

The light-filled interiors flow out to breezy outdoor spaces and allow for seamless living in the temperate climate, as well as easy entertaining.

The home’s highlights include a great room with living and dining spaces that open outside, a huge kitchen with two islands, and an office with water views.

The master suite includes a sitting area, fireplace, and enormous bathroom. An entire section of the residence is given over to recreation, with a gym, wine cellar, plush home theater, and catering kitchen.

The fun extends outside, with a covered outdoor game room, built-in grill, and lounge area. The 1.4-acre spread includes ocean frontage, a pool with a water slide, and a sundeck. The spread also boasts a large grassy lawn, with views of the water.

Elin Nordegren’s mansion in North Palm Beach, FL

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The living and dining space opens outside.

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Dual island kitchen

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Bedroom

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Roof deck

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Aspirational pricing, anyone?

“Although Elin Nordegren’s home was truly spectacular, and had every possible feature and amenity one could want, both inside and out, properties of this caliber are typically priced in with an aspirational approach, to test the waters and see what an offer might bring,” says Cara Ameer, a licensed real estate agent in California and Florida. 

Lichtenstein concurs, and tells us that the North Palm Beach location also factored into the lower sale price.

“I think they tried for a Palm Beach—or Star Island—type of number and settled on moving it,”  he says.

He says North Palm Beach doesn’t usually command the sky-high prices of Florida’s more prestigious locales.

Ameer notes that putting an ultra-luxury property on the market during the pandemic added other challenges to the sale.

“By the time the pandemic hit, the home had already been on the market for quite a while. The long days on market, combined with initial uncertainty as to where the world was headed, may have contributed to her willingness to consider offers and negotiate off her $44 million asking price.”

She adds, “A serious buyer like Russell Weiner isn’t afraid to make an offer. After all, aspirational pricing is just that—an aspiration. Whether you’re talking $100 million or $10 million, a property is only worth what a buyer wants to pay, and what a seller agrees to sell it for.”

Weiner is a billionaire who loves to dabble in real estate. He’s invested in multiple high-end properties on both coasts. Last year, he made headlines placing multiple homes on the market in South Florida and Los Angeles.

As for Nordegren, she’s reportedly moved to West Palm Beach.

The buyer and seller were represented by Todd Peter with Sotheby’s International Realty-Palm Beach Brokerage.

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