Tiger now expanding island lair

by Linda Rawls

08/21/06

Tiger Woods has obviously set his sights on another green jacket.

When the four-time Masters champion paid $38 million for a Jupiter Island home last year, the joke making the rounds was that he now had a home for every Masters jacket he owned (four).

The golfing superstar also owns property in a country club development near Orlando, in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and in Sweden, the native land of his wife, Elin.

Now Woods, 30, has paid $6.5 million for a two-bedroom, four-bath home on an oceanfront parcel neighboring his home, says Martin County Property Appraiser Laurel Kelly.

That would leave Woods one green jacket short.

Actually, rather than buying a multimillion-dollar display case for present or future trophies, wearable and otherwise, word is that Woods intends to tear down the 50-year-old house that sits on the 1.7-acre property.

The home is small by island standards — 2,681 square feet of living space. The seller was Bank of America as trustee.

Looking at a map of the two parcels, Woods' most recent purchase squares off his property, creating nearly 12 acres of prime land on the tiny island with the impressive ZIP code.

Woods' newest island home is assessed at $2.7 million, well below the purchase price. There's a reason for that.

"Woods paid a premium to combine the properties and assemble them," Kelly said. "I can't say it's a trend yet, but it's what we're beginning to see — purchases like this to form estates or compounds."

A Jupiter Island neighbor of Woods suggests another reason product endorsement's favorite son paid dearly for this property.

"I bet he finally met with the building department and realized he needs more land for his plans," said the neighbor, who, like everyone else in Jupiter Island, wants to remain anonymous.

"The island is trying to keep the huge mansions away," the neighbor said, "but people keep buying bigger tracts."

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When the going gets tough, the tough get going — and few people are working harder than Realtors these days. To get a sense of just how tough the market is today, browse through our real estate blog at PalmBeachPost.com/realdeal. (Our Web Wonder, a.k.a., Online Editorial Director Jon Glass, says that's the Web address set up to get Post readers to our blog more easily, so you don't even have to type "http://www.")

But we digress.

When the going gets tough, everyone has to work smarter, not just harder. Realtor Barbara Heilman, one of Illustrated Properties' top agents for 23 years, has devised a surefire way to sell her properties.

She gives away a five-day, four-night Caribbean cruise to every agent who sells one of her listings.

Heilman wasn't available on deadline to tell us how many cruises she's given away so far, but she has posted her offer on all her MLS listings.

It gives other agents an incentive to show Heilman's homes, said an Illustrated spokesman, who called the response "incredible."

"Other agents are tickled to death with the offer," the spokesman said.

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