The Most Expensive New Real Estate Listing on the U.S. Market Is This Miami House

Editor's note 5/6/2024: With no small measure of humility, we have corrected the headline and the text of this story to reflect that 428 S. Hibiscus Dr. was at no time "the most expensive house for sale in the U.S." as originally asserted. In fact, at the time of publication, it was the most expensive newly listed house in the U.S., having gone on the market on April 27.

That said, as of Sunday, May 5, Casa Ischia, as it's known in real estate circles, is no longer for sale. For those keeping score at home (and as near as we can determine), the most expensive house for sale in the U.S. right now is [drumroll, please] Gordon Pointe, a nearly 23,000-square-foot compound on the Gulf Coast in Naples (Florida!), which hit the market on February 8, 2024, and is still offered at the original asking price of $295 million. According to the listing, "There is nothing like it, anywhere."

P.S.: We stand by our assertion that the very rich are different from you and me, even though — and this should go without saying — we didn't make it up.

The original story is below:

Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They buy fancy modern houses on tiny manmade islands, and then they get tired of them and sell them to other very rich people.

At least, that's how it works in Miami.

Today's example: 428 S. Hibiscus Dr. in Miami Beach — or, more precisely, just off Miami Beach proper, on Hibiscus Island. Like many fancy modern houses that go on the market in the Magic City, it has a name — Casa Ischia — meant to evoke someplace far, far away from Miami that in hardly any way resembles Miami.
It has eight bedrooms, at least as many bathrooms, not to mention a dock for your yacht, and its 11,000 square feet are nestled (crammed?) into a wedge-shaped, 18,000-square-foot waterfront lot. It was designed by architect Ralph Choeff of Choeff Levy Fischman. And it can now be yours for $70 million or thereabouts.

That's $6,374 per square foot if you're keeping score at home. And according to Realtor.com, it's the most expensive newly listed house on the U.S. market in the past week.
Casa Ischia has a history — if, that is, any house that's only been around for seven years can be said to have a history.

It was commissioned by Formula 1 racecar driver-turned-spec-home-developer Edmund "Eddie" Irvine, who bought the lot for $5.2 million in 2012 and put his creation on the market before he'd even had it built. It finally sold in its completed form to an undisclosed buyer for $27.75 million in 2019, but not before the likes of Drake and Jay-Z slept there (paywalled). Now it's for sale again.
A 2018 Sun Sentinel story (which you can read on the architect's website) described Casa Ischia as featuring "a chef's kitchen, butler's pantry, bar, movie theater, wine cellar, elevator, and a 783-square-foot rooftop terrace. Outside, there's a koi pond, pool, two spas, two outdoor kitchens, outdoor showers, and a beach area with fire pit."
The listing agent is Lino Morejon of Mayfair Real Estate Advisors. His digits are 305-989-1667. We've invited him to share his thoughts about the property and will update this story if and when he does so.