A Chrysler heir just sold his late mother's Everglades Island home for $28.8 million, a house she bought for $1.9 million back in 1997.
Key Takeaways
- Jack F. Chrysler III sold his late mother's Everglades Island home at 593 Island Drive for $28.8 million, its first sale in nearly 30 years.
- The home last traded at $1.9 million in 1997, so the land and address carried most of the gain.
- It is the latest in a run of eight-figure Everglades Island sales, including a $93.3 million deal in May 2026.
To understand a sale like this, you have to start with the street, not the house. A piece of Palm Beach that had not changed hands in nearly 30 years just traded, and it belonged to the Chrysler family. Jack F. Chrysler III, a descendant of the auto dynasty, sold his late mother's waterfront home on exclusive Everglades Island for $28.8 million. His mother, Judith Knudsen, had bought it for $1.9 million in 1997, and the property passed to him after her death in 2024. On the island's one road, that is how it works right now: a decades-held house comes to market and re-prices as an eight-figure trophy.
What Did the Chrysler Heir Actually Sell?
The home at 593 Island Drive sold for $28.8 million in an off-market deal, which pencils out to roughly $5,850 per square foot. Douglas Elliman worked both sides, with Jack Rooney for the seller and Spencer Schlager for the buyer. It was the property's first sale in nearly three decades.
One detail signals the buyer plans to live in it, not treat it as an investment. The purchase, made through an undisclosed LLC tied to a West Palm Beach attorney, was financed with a $19.5 million, 15-year Bank of America mortgage that includes what is called a "second-home rider." That is a clause a lender adds when the loan is meant for a home the owner will use personally as a second residence, and it blocks them from running the property as a full-time rental or income property. In other words, the paperwork itself says this is a house someone intends to use and enjoy, not flip or lease out, which is what you would expect from a buyer paying a premium for this specific stretch of water.
Why Did a 5,000-Square-Foot House Fetch $28.8 Million?
Here is the part worth sitting with. This is not a brand-new, oversized mega-mansion. It is about 5,000 square feet, five bedrooms, built in 1999 on roughly a third of an acre, and it was never torn down and replaced. When a house that age and size sells for $5,850 a square foot, the price cannot really be about the building. It is about the dirt, the water frontage, and the Everglades Island address, a man-made strip off the main island where very few homes exist and even fewer trade.
As Larry Mastropieri worked out on the Discover South Florida Podcast: "It's an annual growth rate of about 9.49 percent. And I'm actually cool with this one, because I don't think they built a house on it. It's the same house." That is the whole lesson. The owners did not pour millions into a rebuild, so the appreciation came from the land and the scarcity around it. It is the same story we keep seeing when a North Palm Beach estate sells just to be torn down, or when a $1.5 million lot becomes a $100 million waterfront deal. On the best water, you are buying the ground.
Wondering what your waterfront lot is actually worth versus the house on it? Talk to a real estate agent in Palm Beach who can separate land value from upgrades before you list or buy. Reach out to The Mastropieri Group or call (561) 556-9853.
What Is Happening on Everglades Island?
This sale is not an outlier, it is a pattern. Everglades Island is a thin, bridge-connected enclave, essentially a single road lined with waterfront homes, and over the past year it has traded at a pace that reprices the whole street. In roughly the last ten months, the island saw 757 Island Drive sell for $93.3 million, 608 Island Drive go for $40 million to philanthropist Kimberly Bluhm, 690 Island Drive trade at $39.2 million, 631 Island Drive at $31.75 million, and 751 Island Drive at $30 million, before this $28.8 million Chrysler deal.
When so many long-held homes finally hit the market in a place with so few parcels, each sale resets the comps for the next. That is the scarcity engine driving the same record land pricing we saw in Manalapan. There is almost no new supply here, so demand has nowhere to go but up.
Is This Just an Everglades Island Story?
No, the wider Palm Beach trophy market is running hot too. Developer Todd Michael Glaser is asking $59 million for his own home, and fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer's former Palm Beach house found a buyer at its $42.5 million ask. We have watched the same forces push a Palm Beach mansion to triple in value and sell for $43 million and a 1923 Mizner estate trade for $77 million on the oceanfront.
For a buyer or a seller, the takeaway is practical. On scarce Palm Beach water, the land and the location are the asset, and an older house on the right lot can be worth far more than its size or condition suggests. If you own one of these, the number in your head may be low. If you are buying, you are competing for ground, not square footage.
Watch More on This Topic: Watch this segment | Full Episode | Watch last week's recap
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did the Chrysler heir sell the Palm Beach home for?
$28.8 million in an off-market deal, or about $5,850 per square foot. The home last sold for $1.9 million in 1997, making this its first trade in nearly 30 years and a roughly 15-times increase over the hold.
Who sold the Everglades Island home?
Jack F. Chrysler III, a descendant of auto pioneer Walter P. Chrysler. The home belonged to his late mother, Judith Knudsen, who bought it in 1997 and died in 2024, with the property passing to him.
Where is the home located?
At 593 Island Drive on Everglades Island, a man-made, bridge-connected strip of waterfront just off the main Palm Beach island. It is essentially one road of waterfront homes, prized for privacy, water frontage, and scarcity.
Why is Everglades Island so expensive?
Low supply for high demand. The enclave has very few homes and they rarely trade, so each sale resets the market higher. In the past ten months alone, homes there have sold for as much as $93.3 million, with several more in the $30 million to $40 million range.
Is the Chrysler family still connected to the carmaker?
Not in an ownership sense. The founding family's stake faded generations ago through mergers and sales, and Stellantis, the multinational formed in 2021, now owns Chrysler. Jack F. Chrysler III is a descendant of the founder, not an owner of the company.
Local Help for Buyers and Investors in Palm Beach
If you are buying, selling, or investing in Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, or Manalapan, work with a team that knows how to price scarce waterfront land, not just the house that sits on it. Reach out to The Mastropieri Group, Realtors®. For practical, hands-on support across Palm Beach County, call (561) 556-9853. You can also browse current homes for sale in Palm Beach.
Enjoy this blog post? Click here to subscribe for updates
Leave A Comment