This home had nowhere left to stand — literally.

A multimillion-dollar Cape Cod estate that was teetering on the edge of a crumbling bluff has been torn down — just in time to prevent it from plunging into the bay and wreaking havoc on a prime oyster farming area. 

The 5,100-square-foot residence, which once boasted sweeping waterfront views, had become an environmental ticking time bomb as erosion relentlessly ate away at the land beneath it. 

For months, the house stood precariously close to the edge, while a drawn-out battle over its fate left it in limbo.

But on Monday, the wrecking crews finally arrived, according to the Insurance Journal.

Piece by piece, the luxury home was dismantled, with trucks hauling away the remains. 

By Tuesday, all that was left was a concrete slab, a chimney and a lone generator. 

“On one side, it is sad because it was a beautiful house that became a landmark in that place,” John Cobler of the Wellfleet Environmental Commission told the Associated Press. “On the other, I am happy that it is gone. It is a great relief for our town and for our environment.” 

The dwelling, built in 2010, had been fighting a losing battle with nature for years. 

In 2018, its original owners tried to install a seawall to slow the erosion, but the plan was shot down over concerns that it would disrupt the beach and the bay’s nutrient flow. 

John Bonomi, a New York attorney, bought the home in 2019 for $5.5 million. 

But as the years passed, the land beneath the house continued to disappear. A town report last year warned that the structure could collapse within three years, sending a dangerous pile of debris straight into Wellfleet Harbor, a key shellfish farming area. (Wellfleet alone has long been known for its prime East Coast oysters.)

A week before the demolition, Mother Nature delivered another warning — three days of punishing winds that stripped away even more of the bluff and left the home’s concrete supports dangerously exposed. 

Bonomi’s legal team had previously claimed the house had been sold to a salvage company, which allegedly wouldn’t cover the cost of demolition.

But town officials found no record of a deed transfer, raising questions about the true status of the property. 

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Leaks abound at Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous home, the Wall Street Journal reported, and repairs are costing 40 times what it cost to construct it.

The gravity-defying Fallingwater is looking forlorn in recent months with a thick barrier of scaffolding. The efforts of its steward, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, to fix dozens of leaks at the Mill Run, Pennsylvania property is adding up to $7 million — a far cry from the $148,000 required to build it in the 1930s. 

The home-turned-museum is a seminal example of Wright’s organic architecture, but its ambitious design and position over a waterfall have left it in a somewhat precarious state as it approaches the 100-year mark.

Now, preservationists are hard at work shoring up the property for generations to come. 

The last time the conservancy took on a restoration of this scale was in the early 2000s, Justin Gunther, Fallingwater’s director, told The Post. This current project is a part of the next 20-year preservation plan for Fallingwater, which received a UNESCO World Heritage site designation in 2019.

It’s one of just two Pennsylvania sites on the list — the other being Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

The conservancy is now at the midway point of its three-year project, Gunther said, which includes pumping liquid grout into the home’s leaky walls, replacing roofing assemblies on the home’s flat roofs, addressing deteriorated reinforced concrete, and conserving the window and doorframe steel — the latter of which requires special care given the humidity from the waterfall.

“Water is always the main natural force that you’re trying to combat with a house,” Gunther said.

The project is due to finish up by the end of winter 2026. All of this time and work, of course, comes at a steep cost.

“Like with any construction project, they always cost more than you anticipate,” Gunther said.

Original estimates for the project in 2019 have more than doubled, thanks in large part to pandemic-era supply shortages and subsequent inflation. 

A state grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is covering a large chunk of the big-dollar restoration, and the remaining funds are being raised through private foundations and individuals, Gunther said.

Another $1 million will be required to complete the fundraising.

The site received 143,000 visitors in 2024, according to the Journal.

“Frank Lloyd Wright said that Fallingwater was designed to the music of the stream,” Gunther said. “He meant it to be this kind of sculptural expression of the stream itself, of rushing water. It’s this sculptural expression of nature’s forms and principles. Because of that direct inspiration from nature, no matter who you are, when you come to see Fallingwater, you find some connection to it.”

The recent attention Fallingwater has received, however, is due to the scaffolding that has encased the 9,300-square-foot home since December. Gunther said the scaffolding should come down by the beginning of April for the regular tour season. That means that early bird visitors have a special opportunity.

“Preservation-in-Action” tours planned for the start of Fallingwater’s tour season next month will take visitors on a deep dive into the complexities of the preservation projects, Gunther said. 

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You’ll simply be swept off your feet by this Upper East Side residence, which is now on the market for $1.19 million.

The pre-war abode, at 4 E. 70th St., off of Fifth Avenue, is available from the estate of Helen Fisher.

A noted biological anthropologist, the late Fisher famously used the brain scans of 17 college students to conduct a pioneering 2005-published study on the chemical nature of love. She, along with her collaborators, confirmed for the first time that love is hard-wired in the brain — and it was the first to pinpoint regions in the brain tied to the early, infatuation, stages of romantic love. 

Fisher, who died of cancer last August at age 79, is also credited with finding the science behind the phenomena of being brokenhearted. As Match.com’s chief science advisor, her research “informs everything we do,” a spokesperson once said.

The roomy one-bedroom residence comes with a renovated bath and a stylish kitchen. It opens with a foyer and leads to a large living room. Details include herringbone hardwood floors, nine windows and lots of light. Maintenance fees are $2,713 a month.

Fisher split her time between this unit and that of her widower, John Tierney, in The Bronx.

She bought the Manhattan apartment for $250,000 in 1994, according to her family.

In a series of bestselling books, TED Talks and more, Fisher outlined how she believes, through her research, that people are divided into four types of personalities and how they fall in love. For Match.com, she came up with a questionnaire, the Fisher Temperament Inventory Test, to help people understand their type.

The listing brokers for her unit are Mark D. Friedman and Richard Rosenthal of Brown Harris Stevens. 

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Renée Zellweger’s former Los Angeles estate is back on the market.

The sprawling 10-acre property in Topanga Hills, once owned by the two-time Oscar winner, is now listed for $7.995 million. 

Zellweger, 55, originally purchased the Spanish-style retreat in 2015 for $3.35 million. 

She later sold it in 2021 for $6.4 million, reportedly to be closer to her longtime boyfriend, British TV personality and automotive expert Ant Anstead. 

The estate boasts four bedrooms and five bathrooms across 4,414 square feet of living space. 

The home includes a spacious great room, a media lounge, a formal dining area and a chef’s kitchen outfitted with premium appliances and rustic wood-beamed ceilings. 

Venetian-plastered archways, handcrafted Spanish tiles and European-style fireplaces add to its charm. 

Beyond the home’s interior, the property is a nature lover’s dream.

A gated entrance leads to a winding, oak-shaded driveway that cuts through scenic meadows and natural rock formations. 

With sweeping canyon and mountain views, the grounds feature expansive lawns, private hiking trails and outdoor patios. 

The estate offers seclusion while remaining just a short drive from Calabasas, Malibu and the Westside. 

Zellweger, who rose to fame in the late ‘90s with “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” is currently promoting her latest role in “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy,” which hit theaters on February 13. 

Carl Gambino of the Gambino Group at Compass holds the listing.

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A scorched plot of land in LA’s fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades neighborhood has sold for $1.18 million— nearly $200,000 over asking —despite being reduced to ashes by a devastating wildfire just weeks ago. 

The sale will likely be the first of many, with at least a dozen charred properties currently on the market — some with price tags soaring up to nearly $4 million.

The unloaded lot, once home to a four-bedroom house destroyed in January’s Palisades Fire, was originally listed for $999,000.

But as interest flooded in, the price climbed, with a buyer snapping it up in just 34 days, according to Realtor.com. 

Realtor Richard Schulman, who represented the seller, confirmed to Realtor.com that the deal was sealed by a “local investor.” 

The original homeowner wasted no time listing the property after her home burned to the ground. 

“For her, it’s an easy decision, and this made the most sense for her,” Schulman told Realtor.com, adding, “She was absolutely clear she was not going to rebuild. She’s staying nearby.” 

Of the other burned-out plots, seven are listed above $2 million, with the highest currently asking $3.95 million.

One seller is pitching their 0.4 acre lot, listed at $3.25 million, as an opportunity to “be part of the rebuild.”

Meanwhile, only one listing — priced at $749,000 — has dipped below the million-dollar mark. 

A similar exodus is unfolding in Altadena, another fire-ravaged area, where residents are dumping their properties rather than enduring the years-long headache of rebuilding. 

Local real estate agent Brock Harris has seen it firsthand. 

“At least one-third to half of the owners in Altadena are unwilling or unable to rebuild a house,” he revealed to the outlet.

Many, he said, are opting to cash out and move on, leaving the construction to developers who can get new homes up much faster. 

“We’ve spoken to people with very small children,” Harris explained. “We spoke to people who are senior citizens. These are not people who are able to rebuild a home, or able to rent in the three to five years it takes to build a new home, so they’re mostly happy to leave it to someone else and to take the money and move on.” 

But the mass sell-off is sparking debate over what these communities will look like in the future. 

Celebrity real estate agent Josh Altman predicted up to 70% of Pacific Palisades residents before the fires will never return. His argument: The financial and emotional toll — coupled with the challenge of securing insurance in fire-prone areas — will be too much for most. 

Real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran is far more bullish, however, saying that “100% [of Palisades residents] are coming back.” 

The numbers paint a grim picture. The Palisades and Eaton fires, on opposite sides of Los Angeles, torched over 37,000 acres, killing 29 people and obliterating more than 16,240 homes and businesses. 

A UCLA Anderson Forecast estimates total losses between $95 billion and $164 billion, with insured damages possibly hitting a staggering $75 billion.

But the report’s authors warn that insurance won’t cover everything, and many homeowners may be left on the hook for costs far beyond their coverage. 

To help homeowners facing financial ruin, Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing a $125 million mortgage relief package. 

“As survivors heal from the trauma of recent disasters, the threat of foreclosure should be the last thing on their minds,” Newsom said, announcing that $100 million will go directly to homeowners at risk of losing their properties, while another $25 million will support FEMA disaster assistance programs. 

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Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco are taking their love — and their lifestyle — to the next level with a jaw-dropping home purchase. 

The power couple in December shelled out a cool $35 million for a sprawling Spanish-style estate in Beverly Hills, making it one of the priciest deals in the city that year, TMZ first reported. News of the deal only emerged this week.

The lavish property, which was on the market for just over a month, had previously belonged to “Joker” and “The Hangover” director Todd Phillips, The Post has learned. 

Phillips offloaded the estate in 2021 for $31 million after purchasing it from Paradigm Talent Agency Chairman Sam Gores for $17.25 million in 2012. Between Phillips and the couple, the home had one owner whose identity could not immediately be confirmed.

Boasting anywhere between 7,000 and 9,000 square feet, according to various listings, the dwelling is packed with luxury amenities. 

Gomez, 32, and Blanco, 36, announced their engagement a few days after purchasing the property in early December.

The spread features seven bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a pool, a spa and a home theater. A grand spiral staircase, a wood-paneled library, a fitness center, a greenhouse and a fairytale-style playroom add to its opulence. 

Described in previous listings as a “rare double lot” spanning nearly an acre, the gated property sits on one of the most coveted streets in the Beverly Hills Flats.

The listing praised its “flawlessly restored & expanded” design, calling it “a true masterwork” that blends historic charm with modern convenience. 

The purchase comes just as Gomez and Blanco prepare to release their first joint album, “I Said I Love You First,” on March 21. 

The project was recorded in Blanco’s Los Angeles home, a quirky 1930s-style residence he’s owned since 2019. 

The pair recently gave Interview magazine a glimpse into their recording process, which often took place in the most relaxed settings.

“So many times it was so hodgepodge. It was like two hours here, two hours there,” Blanco said, explaining their unconventional approach. 

“I’d never worked that way with someone. Usually, I work that way if I’m by myself, but it was so cool to be able to do that with her.” 

Gomez echoed the sentiment, revealing that she recorded much of the album while lounging around. 

“Normally I’m on this little chair and I have a thousand blankets on me,” she said. “I loved it. It felt very easy.”

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A Louisiana woman is fighting to reclaim the title to a property that’s been in her family for centuries.

The victim, DaNita Batiste, is battling to reestablish a clear title on the property, months after fraudsters impersonated her using a phony ID and sold the land for cash to unsuspecting investors.

It’s a form of real estate fraud that is becoming increasingly common, and investigators believe this case in Louisiana could be linked to an international crime ring.

Batiste, a health care administrator in her 50s who lives in Texas, inherited the residential lot in Lake Charles, LA, from her mother in 2020 shortly before she died. 

“That land’s been in our family for generation after generation, 200 years and maybe further back,” Batiste, who is of French Creole descent, tells Realtor.com®.

The house on the property was destroyed in Hurricane Laura, and she planned to rebuild a home there and find rental tenants as a future source of side income.

Until then, Batiste had little involvement with the lot, aside from hiring someone to cut the grass twice a month and paying the property taxes each year. But despite receiving offers, she vowed never to sell, viewing the property as an inheritance to be passed down to her own children someday.

So, when she went online to pay taxes on the lot in December, she was shocked to learn that the property had been sold for $45,000 cash the prior month and had a new corporate owner, Louisiana-based Live Oak Insurance Co.

Stunned, Batiste called Live Oak CEO Andrew David Hankins, who had signed the deed for the property transfer, and learned that he had no idea that the person who sold him the lot was not the real Batiste.  

“I’m the real DaNita Batiste,” she recalls telling Hankins. “And he goes, ‘What?’ And I said, ‘I own that property. I did not sell it to you. I don’t know who did, but I didn’t.’”

Batiste and Hankins reported the matter to the police. An official with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office confirmed the case was under investigation but declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.

Fortunately, due to Batiste quickly flagging the fraud, the $45,000 that Live Oak paid for the parcel was quickly frozen and the charges reversed, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Yet the title for the property has yet to be returned to Batsite’s name, despite her repeated appeals for assistance to the Lake Charles law firm that filed a deed recording the fraudulent sale. The firm, Stutes & Lavergne, did not respond to an email seeking comment from Realtor.com. 

Hankins also did not respond to a phone message seeking an interview, which was left with a receptionist at the Lake Charles funeral home where he is also a funeral director and CEO.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of any of the parties in the fraudulent sale, aside from the as-yet unidentified criminals who impersonated Batiste.

Still, Batiste is frustrated that her forged signature, which was accompanied by a stolen Texas notary stamp and two bogus witness signatures, passed the vetting process that is supposed to weed out fraud in real estate transactions.

Making the case particularly outrageous, the fraudsters didn’t even sign the deed using her correct name. Instead, they signed it “Danita Leday,” the maiden name she has not used for decades.

Batiste hopes that sharing her story will alert others to the identity theft scam and raise awareness for both property owners and real estate professionals.

“What if I was in the process of building a house on that land?” she says. “I would be all held up, because I no longer appear to own it.”

Investigators suspect Louisiana case is tied to international scammer ring

A person familiar with the investigation told Realtor.com that the fraudulent sale of Batiste’s land fits a pattern of scams occurring nationwide, and might have ties to an international crime ring.

The proceeds from the phony sale in Lake Charles were traced to a bank account tied to an address in the Bronx, NY.

That account had been opened with a passport issued by the African nation of Sierra Leone, although investigators believe the passport was forged under a false identity.

The bank account in question has been frozen, and investigators are attempting to determine whether it was used in other similar real estate scams that have occurred across the country.

“It’s going nationwide,” the source tells Realtor.com. “I think they gain access to the online clerk of courts, and they’re looking for individuals who own property but don’t live at the property, or who are not in the same city.”

As an out-of-state owner of a vacant property with no outstanding mortgage, Batiste unfortunately fit the profile favored by the scam ring.

How homeowners can protect against similar scams

Marx David Sterbcow, a real estate fraud attorney and managing partner of New Orleans law firm Sterbcow Law Group, tells Realtor.com that he has seen similar fraud cases proliferate in recent years.

“It’s an industry problem, and there needs to be something done to help manage that,” he says. “When we started shifting to remote closings and digital signatures, that absolutely put this on a rocket course for problems, for people across the United States.”

Sterbcow says the No. 1 thing property owners can do to protect themselves from fraudulent sales is to buy a homeowner’s policy of title insurance, which covers legal fees to defend the title.

Property owners at high risk of being targeted, including the elderly and owners who live in a different state, might also consider a commercial “title lock” product, which can help alert the property owner if someone tries to make unauthorized changes to the property’s title.

Many counties also offer free title monitoring, and homeowners can sign up for automatic alerts from the county clerk if there is any update to the records on their property.

Sterbcow notes that, in many cases, title fraud or fraudulent deeds can go undetected by an absentee homeowner for years, making the problem even more difficult to correct.

“She’s very, very fortunate that she found this so quickly,” he says of Batiste’s case. “I’ve seen a lot of people over the years that have gotten absolutely, positively destroyed by some of these scams, including some that are very sophisticated.”

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Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli have re-listed their Los Angeles mansion for $16.5 million, a million less than the home’s asking price when it first hit the market last year.

The 60-year-old actress and the 61-year-old fashion designer bought the contemporary farmhouse-style house for $9.5 million in August 2020, the same month when both received prison sentences for their roles in the infamous Varsity Blues college admissions scandal.

The 11,808-square-foot property, which sits on 1.57 acres, is tucked away in the ritzy Ashley Hills neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley’s exclusive gated Hidden Hills community.

Hidden Hills is home to a number of celebrities, including Kim Kardashian, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Lil Wayne and Kevin Durant. Past residents include Madonna, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Antony and Miley Cyrus, among others.

The listing is held by Tomer Fridman of Christie’s International Real Estate and Marc Shevin of Douglas Elliman.

The house was originally built in 2018, but it underwent renovations during Loughlin and Giannulli’s time living there. The two-story home boasts six bedrooms and nine bathrooms. 

The residence is entered through a set of black-painted double French doors that open to a spacious foyer. The neutral-toned interior of the house features an open-concept design with high ceilings and maple wood floors.

The living room offers a striking gray marble fireplace that extends to the ceiling, which includes a number of skylights.

Another highlight is the chef’s kitchen, which includes custom white oak cabinets, marble countertops and high-end appliances, per the listing.

The primary suite boasts a fireplace, dual bathrooms and views of the nearby Santa Monica Mountains. Other amenities include a movie theater, a home gym and a climate-controlled wine cellar. Sliding doors throughout the home’s first level open to manicured grounds with olive trees, a swimming pool, spa, fire pit, bocce ball court, barbecue and several seating areas.

Loughlin and Giannulli first listed the house in April 2024 but took it off the market last October. Fridman told Mansion Global, “The sellers were uncertain that they wanted to make the move. They are now committed to their next chapter.”

In 2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigations charged Loughlin and Giannulli along with 51 other individuals with paying scam mastermind William Rick Singer to have their children admitted to prestigious colleges through inflated entrance test scores, bribes and other fraudulent claims.

Loughlin and Giannulli initially pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from $500,000 payments to scam-mastermind Singer with the goal of getting their daughters, Isabella and Olivia Jade, recruited onto University of Southern California’s crew team though the two had never participated in the sport.

In May 2020, the couple agreed to plead guilty, like a fellow celebrity in the scandal, Felicity Huffman. The “Desperate Housewives” actress served 11 days of a planned two-week sentence for similar crimes.

“The Full House” alum and the Mossimo founder were both sentenced on Aug. 21, 2020. Loughlin served two months in prison and paid a $150,000 fine, while Giannulli was sentenced to five months in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Both were placed on supervisory release for two years. Loughlin was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and Giannulli was sentenced to complete 250 hours of community service.

Loughlin is currently starring as a police officer in the Amazon Prime show “On Call,” which marks her first major acting role since the scandal.

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At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, wealthy New Yorkers eager to escape the confines of the Big Apple fled south toward the tony, sun-soaked island of Palm Beach, FL—sparking a migration trend that has continued ever since, sending local home prices skyrocketing in the process.

As demand for homes on the barrier island surged, it caused not only a significant surge in the median property price but also prompted a notable drop in available inventory.

“Palm Beach saw a massive uptick in housing demand during the pandemic, which drove home prices higher and inventory levels lower,” says Realtor.com® senior data analyst Hannah Jones.

The median home price in the luxury town, which has a population of fewer than 10,000, peaked at an eye-watering $4.15 million in April 2022 after years of growth, according to Jones.

Although the median asking price has since slipped, it remains well above 2019 levels.

“Despite improvement, home prices remain well above pre-pandemic levels in Palm Beach as the effects of pandemic-era demand persist,” adds Jones.

And the deep-pocketed residents of the Empire State are largely responsible for Palm Beach’s stratospheric home prices, according to experts.

“It’s a wealth migration from New York City,” Ana Bozovic, a Miami-based real estate agent and founder of Analytics Miami, tells Realtor.com, addressing the unprecedented changes in Palm Beach.

A ‘supercharged’ southern migration begins

In 2019, months before the first-known cases of COVID-19 started showing up in U.S. cities, a scant 6.5% of listing views in Palm Beach County came from New York, according to a data analysis by Realtor.com.

However, by 2021, the pandemic had tightened its grip on New York City, overwhelming its hospitals and leaving residents inside the often-limited confines of their homes. So, the high net-worth individuals who were able to do so began casting covetous glances toward Palm Beach, pushing up that share of listing views to 8.1%.

Evidently, New Yorkers liked what the saw down South because the interest in Palm Beach’s real estate continued to grow in the ensuing years, even as the pandemic slowly receded into the past.

“What COVID did was it supercharged migration to South Florida, so it accelerated trends that were already in place,” explains Bozovic.

In 2023, the share of listing views from New York reached an all-time high of 19.6%, meaning that 1 in 5 potential homebuyers were from the Empire State.

“New York State contributed the most out-of-state demand to listings in Palm Beach County each year, from 2019 through 2024,” according to Jones.

A study of driver’s license data carried out by The Palm Beach Post in 2023 showed that New Yorkers led the way for the most newcomers to Palm Beach County who were turning in their non-Florida licenses, with that figure standing at 8,059 in 2022 alone.

Bozovic cited another data set that came out in in 2021, which indicated 41% of the transplants to Palm Beach County that year came from New York City.

And, when the IRS parsed the data that year, it emerged that the Manhattan residents who relocated to Palm Beach County on the heels of COVID-19 all had one thing in common: wealth, with an average annual income of $728,000.

Reshaping the South Florida real estate market

“Entrepreneurship always flows to some new place, and New York was the capital of the 20th century, post-World War II, pre-Internet era,” Bozovic says. “Now, there’s a new era coming, and COVID broke habits long enough to allow the formation of new ones; and it’s sort of supercharged these migration patterns.”

Bozovic points out that what’s been happening in Palm Beach is part of a wider trend that has been reshaping the real estate market of South Florida since the pandemic.

“In Palm Beach County in 2024, the median single-family home price was $665,000. In 2019, it was $370,000. That is an increase of 89%,” Bozovic says, adding that it closely mirrors what she has been seeing in Miami, where the availability of any single-family home below $500,000 has plummeted since 2019.

The scarcity of affordable homes in Palm Beach County and Miami comes down to two closely related factors, according to Bozovic.

“It is not possible to build new product at that price point due to land cost and construction cost, so nothing new at prime locations will be delivered to replace things that have been [there] but have appreciated,” she explains.

The history of the median home listing prices in Palm Beach closely follows the trajectory of New Yorkers’ frenzied interest in the island’s luxe properties and, according to Bozovic, that is no coincidence.

Between September 2019 and January 2025, the median listing price in Palm Beach nearly doubled, increasing from $1.5 million to $2.9 million.

During the same period, the inventory of Palm Beach homes with an asking price of more than $1 million dropped by half, from 313 to 137.

Bozovic says when she looked at the figures, what struck her was the explosion of sales of luxury homes at $2,000 per square foot in Palm Beach County. Those transactions soared by 640% from 2019 to 2024. 

During the same period, sales of ultraluxe properties valued at a minimum of $20 million surged 500%. 

In January 2025 alone, Bozovic says six homes had sold for more than $20 million. For comparison, there were just five sales at that price point for the entire year of 2019.  

While Bozovic concedes that moneyed New Yorkers are not solely to blame for the staggering price increases on Palm Beach real estate, she says they are are unquestionably “an important piece of the puzzle” because, she argues, they “created an appetite for product price points that basically didn’t exist before.” 

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Little River is one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods. Due to its location along the pint-sized waterway that flows into nearby Biscayne Bay, it was one of the first places in Florida settled by indigenous tribes. From a bird’s-eye view, it looks like a 1.25-square-mile industrial eyesore. But on the ground? It’s starting to look like it could be the next Wynwood. 

“With easy access to the city’s main arteries, it’s a neighborhood that blends the best of Miami’s eclectic culture,” said Dan Schor, a partner at AJ Capital Partners, a Nashville-based real estate investment firm that is the area’s primary developer. “Over the next several years, we plan to develop a variety of multi-family apartment projects, all designed to bring a human scale to Little River while preserving the neighborhood’s character.”

Expect, he said, garden-style residences and townhouses, as well as low- and mid-rise apartment buildings.

Currently, most Little River listings are fixer-uppers. They range from a 500-square-foot condo — listed for $148,000 — cocooned in a chain-link fence with razor wire at the top to a 6,534 square-foot riverfront vacant lot — asking $1.6 million — in desperate need of a date with a landscaper. Still, Ramona Bautista, a local realtor with the Keyes Company, recently sold two listings in Little River.

“The neighborhood is evolving quickly, providing both buyers and investors with the opportunity to be part of its transformation,” she said.

Nickel M. Goeseke, a local agent representing a $12.9 million waterfront mansion in neighboring Belle Meade, is optimistic. “Little River is just getting started,” he said, “and will continue to improve as more and more people move and visit the area.” 

So far, Little River’s biggest draw is dinner.

“The hardest reservation in Miami to get is now Sunny’s Steakhouse,” Goeseke said.

Just across the railroad tracks, foodies find Michelin-rated Ogawa, a 10-seat sushi bar boasting the highest ratings of all one-star Michelin restaurants in the US. More destination eateries are on their way including a 9,000-square-foot Fooq’s.

“I thought this was a real opportunity to create an amazing destination dining venue with a great nightlife component in a neighborhood that was desperately needing it,” Fooq’s owner David Foulquir said.

Still, even he isn’t quite sold on living in the area quite yet — he’s shopping in El Portal, Little River’s neighbor to the north. Steve Santana, chef and partner of Off Site nano-brewery and kitchen, agreed.

“I would actually be surprised if you found someone who lives here because it’s still very up and coming,” Santana said. “A lot of growth and development on the way, but currently, it’s still a bit rough around the edges, if you know what I mean.”

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