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Letter to the editor

Ultramansions are moving ... even in this market

The flip side of the real estate slump is quite, quite stunning.

By Scott Barancik, Times Staff Writer
Published January 13, 2008

Belleair Shore town commissioner John Hayes' 10,000-square-foot home has an elevator and a three-story marble entryway. Gallery: For sale ... bring a thick checkbook
	[Special to the Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Times file photo] Former NBA star Matt Geiger's "Big Daddy Ranch" may be heavenly, but county officials recently nixed Geiger's bid to install a helipad. [Special to the Times (2003)] MarineMax CEO William McGill Jr.'s property is two doors north of Hulk Hogan's home in Belleair and available for lease as a corporate retreat. [Handout] Michael Kretzinger's property in Land O'Lakes rests on 20 acres along a lake. [Special to the Times] Kevin Cappock's home at 2187 Oceanview Drive in Tierra Verde includes a circular driveway and porte cochere for arriving vehicles. [Handout] Catherine Sharoky's home on Pointe of Harbour Island in Tampa has a heated saltwater pool, darkroom, two laundry rooms and three fireplaces.

In much of the Tampa Bay area, real estate is on life support.

More than 40,000 properties are for sale across Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties, thanks to risky loans, overbuilding and all manner of irrational exuberance.

But a tiny subset of the real estate market remains vibrant: multimillion-dollar homes.

We're not talking McMansions shoehorned into quarter-acre lots. We're talking palatial waterfront estates, jaw-dropping homes with three-story marble entrances, elegant game parlors, aquarium-sized pools and servants' quarters bigger than the average Colonial. They are a market within a market, sort of like Baghdad's "Green Zone" protected from the ravages outside.

For insight into the ultra-high-end housing market, the St. Petersburg Times identified 10 of the most expensive houses for sale in the bay area and talked to the real estate agents selling them. Most said the high-end market is largely unchanged from a year or two ago.

A key reason: The wealthy tend to be insulated from broader market forces.

These captains of industry are not suffering from wage stagnation as is the average worker. And because those buyers typically pay cash, the tightening mortgage market has no effect on their home buying.

Nor is there a serious glut of high-end homes. During the recent housing boom, developers seeking to cash in built condo towers and reams of less expensive homes. But the spigot cannot be turned on and off so easily with palaces. Constructing a 10,000-square-foot waterfront fortress to the exacting tastes of multimillionaires is not something one does hastily.

Still, there are more high-end homes for sale than meet the eye.

Some sellers decline to be included in the public Multiple Listing Service, opting instead for a private listing marketed by word of mouth among the bay area's elite.

Tampa agent Toni Everett said she expects to land two such private listings soon, each priced above $7-million.

Everett said a third set of clients, health insurance entrepreneurs John and Brandie Puls of Tampa, recently pulled their $8.9-million home off the public market to avoid being featured in this article.

High-end homes are not immune to pricing pressures. One of the 10 properties described here, 424 Park St. N in St. Petersburg, is listed at $8.5-million, down from its original price of nearly $10-million.

Meanwhile, real estate agents in this niche are increasingly promoting their listings in foreign markets.

Given the weak U.S. dollar, high-end agents here are advertising on international Web sites like the Wall Street Journal's RealEstateJournal.com, in luxury magazines like International Homes and in newspapers like the Times of London.

"You can listen to NPR and cruise the Internet and pick up any paper today and read those doomsday articles," said Ray Alexander, a Sarasota agent who was hired to sell 144 Willadel Drive, a Belleair property listed at $16-million. But "this is a niche that is somewhat separate and distinct from your normal real estate transaction."

Scott Barancik can be reached at barancik@sptimes.com or 727 893-8751.

$16-million

Address: 144 Willadel Drive, Belleair.

Owner: William McGill Jr., 64, chairman and CEO of Clearwater boat retailer MarineMax

Special features: Interior includes six miles of wood trim; home is on a natural bluff,so flood insurance is not required; back yard includes tennis court, koi pond and 220,000-gallon lagoon pool fed by well water.

Behind the scenes:Property has been on market several years; it's two doors north of Hulk Hogan's home and available for lease as a corporate retreat.

MLS#: T2250396

$19.9-million

Address: 3385 Old Keystone Road, Tarpon Springs.

Owner:Real estate developer and ex-pro basketball player Matt Geiger, 38.

Special features:28,000-square-foot main house; 9,000-square-foot entertainment area includes cigar room, gym, theater, TV room, gaming center and bar; 10-foot entry doors offer ample clearance for Geiger, who stands 7 feet 1; 32-acre lot includes tennis courts, 4,000-square-foot guesthouse, stocked lake.

Behind the scenes: "Big Daddy Ranch" may be heavenly, but county officials recently nixed Geiger's bid to install a helipad.

MLS#: T2249070

$10.5-million

Address:220 Gulf Blvd., Belleair Shore.

Owner:John Hayes Jr., 70, retired chairman and CEO of Topeka, Kan., utility Westar Energy; Shirley Hayes, 68.

Special features: 10,000-square-foot home has an elevator and a three-story marble entryway; wood floors have inlays and herringbone accents; all eight bedrooms have their own bath.

Behind the scenes: John Hayes is a town commissioner of tiny Belleair Shore; he and his wife want to buy a home closer to their family in Kansas City.

MLS#: 7311176

$8.5-million

Address: 424 Park St. N, St. Petersburg

Owner: Kent Rawson, 68, founder of Largo-based Environmental Technologies, which was acquired in 2006 by Johnson Controls

Special features: 2.5-acre property is across the street from Admiral Farragut Academy; main house includes "gentlemen's" game room and bar; owners spent three years restoring home after buying it in 1986

Behind the scenes: Originally listed at $10-million; home was built in early 20th century by St. Petersburg developer and historian Walter Fuller; Rawson is moving to property that requires less maintenance

MLS#: 7286705

$8.75-million

Address: 950 Park St. N, St. Petersburg

Owner: Ethel Buns, 48

Special features: Deepwater dock can accommodate 80-foot yacht; new commercial-sized kitchen and butler's pantry includes dumbwaiter and wine refrigerators; nanny quarters

Behind the scenes: Owner bought property two years ago for $3.7-million; home was built by late St. Petersburg philanthropists Gene and Celma Mastry

MLS#: 7318061

$7-million

Address: 22511 Hale Road, Land O'Lakes

Owner: Michael Kretzinger, 56, president of MRK Concrete in Lutz

Special features: Rests on 20 acres along a lake; A/C has six zones; separate 2,000-square-foot poolhouse/gym; reverse-osmosis water filtration throughout house

Behind the scenes: Adjacent properties include a 160-acre undeveloped lot owned by Beazer Homes

MLS#: T2275409

$8.5-million

Address: 2187 Oceanview Drive, Tierra Verde

Owner: Kevin Cappock, 39, CEO of Pinpoint Recovery Solutions Corp. in Tampa, Michelle Cappock, 45

Special features: Built in 2006,home includes a circular driveway and porte cochere for arriving vehicles; all four balconies have water views

Behind the scenes: At 8,000 square feet, home is dwarfed by 14,000-square-foot mansion two doors away

MLS#: 7306886

$7-million

Address: 1997 Oceanview Drive, Tierra Verde

Owner: David Duquette, 53; Pamela Duquette, 51

Special features: Two-story living room with floor-to-ceiling windows; five-car garage; full outdoor kitchen

Behind the scenes: Owners recently bought a home in Tennessee to be closer to family

MLS#: 7236467

$6.2-million

Address: 1617 Renaissance Way, Tampa

Owner: Catherine Sharoky, 51

Special features: Marble and bamboo flooring; heated saltwater pool; darkroom; two laundry rooms, three fireplaces; all five bedrooms have private balcony

Behind the scenes: Located at Pointe of Harbour Island, an exclusive enclave of 10 homes; next-door neighbor is Tampa Bay Buccaneers executive vice president Bryan Glazer

MLS#: T2222464

[Last modified January 11, 2008, 21:43:40]