What is the Inman Golden I (pronounced “eye”) Club? It’s nothing less than the highest honor in luxury real estate. We’ll be awarding Golden I awards in nine categories:
Top Luxury Agent 2019
Top Luxury Team 2019
Top Luxury Brokerage 2019
Best City Sale 2019
Best Mountain Sale 2019
Best Beach Sale 2019
Best Sales and Marketing Campaign for a Luxury Property 2019
Best Sales and Marketing Campaign by a Luxury Development 2019
Golden I Hall of Fame
The following are the finalists in the best mountain and beach sales categories. Best sales and marketing campaign finalists have been announced. Finalists in the other categories will be announced soon.
Best Mountain Sale 2019
Awarded for the most blockbuster sale of a property in a mountain town in the U.S. in the past year.
424 Forest Road, Vail, Colorado (The Stockton Group Sotheby’s)
Tye Stockton and Pat Barrett are on the same team, The Stockton Group. However, Tye represented the seller, and Pat represented the buyer at 424 Forest Road in Vail, Colorado. The property stands out even in Vail, offering the only private ski-in/ski-out dining chalet and warming hut. In the summer months, it boasts outdoor spaces with gardens, patios and an extraordinary water feature. And the sale was completed in only eight days.
Shelter Island Estate, Montana (Engel & Völkers)
Dawn Maddux successfully brokered both buyer and seller in the sale of Montana’s Shelter Island Estate, listed at $13.95 million. This iconic Montana property, located on a private 22-acre island in the middle of Flathead Lake, was the largest residential sale in the state for 2018 and the largest sale on Flathead Lake in over a decade.
Holy Cow Ranch, Wyoming (Concierge Auctions)
Holy Cow Ranch, a 3,900-acre property located halfway between Yellowstone Park and Mount Rushmore in Sheridan, Wyoming — previously offered for $23.5 million — created a bidding war among seven buyers and successfully sold at auction in July through Concierge Auctions in cooperation with Bruce Garber, Joe Steger and Roger St. Clair of Century 21 BHJ Realty, Inc. When closed, the transaction will represent the second highest sale ever in Sheridan County.
Riverbend Ranch, Oakley, Utah (Engel & Völkers)
Riverbend Ranch is a 2,670-acre riverfront estate on the Weber River in Utah, about half an hour from Park City. The 16,800-square-foot house features floor-to-ceiling walnut bookcases, hand-planed hickory flooring and hand-forged custom ironwork, mostly created on an Amish Farm with an Idaho schoolhouse supplying the reclaimed wood. The living space flows outside with pocket doors opening to the river on a stone patio with fireplace, fire pit, dining area, lounge area and spa, all along the riverfront. The property, asking $34 million, sold in April 2019 by Paul Benson of Engel & Völkers.
Linville, North Carolina (Premier Sotheby’s International Realty)
This 29-acre estate in Grandfather Golf and Country Club, situated in Linville, North Carolina, sold in February 2019 for a record $5.1 million, the highest-priced sale ever recorded in the High Country Multiple Listing Service. The 11,000-square-foot wood and stone home features four bedrooms, six full baths and two half baths, as well as separate guest cottage. Rob Garrett and Gwen Steele, of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty’s Blowing Rock office, represented the seller.
Best Beach Sale 2019
Awarded for the most notable sale of a property in a beachy community in the U.S. in the past year. The award is not for the most expensive property sold but rather for the stand-out-ness of the transaction relative to the local market.
571 Sand Point Road, Santa Barbara, California (Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California)
Listed at $26.5 million and sold for $24.25 million, the sale of 571 Sand Point Road set a new record for Santa Barbara County coastal living. This Cape Cod-style property features a sizable home and comfortable, private guesthouse on nearly 2 acres in the gated Sand Point beach colony in Carpinteria. Cristal Clarke of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties, with the Montecito Midtown office, represented the seller in the sale.
6 East Lake Drive, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware (Long & Foster)
Located on a peninsula flanked by the ocean and Silver Lake, this home with a private beach sold in June 2019 for $8.75 million. Tom Desper of Long & Foster | Christie’s Rehoboth office exclusively listed the property. Built in 2008 and just one block from the boardwalk, the home offered one of the last deeded gazebos on Silver Lake.
2619 Bayonne Street, Sullivans Island, South Carolina (Sotheby’s International Realty)
Daniel Ravenel Sotheby’s International Realty celebrated a record-breaking sale for 2019 on Sullivans Island, South Carolina. The oceanfront property, located at 2619 Bayonne Street, traded hands for $7.35 million. Ruthie Ravenel and Chasen McCall of Daniel Ravenel Sotheby’s International Realty represented the seller in this transaction, which sets a record for the highest price ever paid for an MLS sale on Sullivans Island.
Las Varas Ranch, California (Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California)
Kerry Mormann, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties, double-sided the $70 million sale of the Las Varas Ranch on the Gaviota Coast to UC Santa Barbara through a donation by Charles Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. The 1,800-acre property includes two miles of oceanfront and a 19-acre lake.
116 Premium Point, Westchester, New York (Halstead)
In November 2018, Halstead Real Estate’s Louise Phillips Forbes sold 116 Premium Point (known as “All View”), one of the most spectacular waterfront beach properties in Westchester County, New York, for $16 million. Her innovative approach to marketing the property was testament to the appeal of this historic estate.
17 Montage Way, Laguna Beach, California (Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Property)
Orange County’s 17 Montage Way — just down the street from Mark Cuban — sold for $19 million in August 2019 in a deal brokered by Tim Smith, Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Property Specialist.
