Why did this prime Palm Beach condo sell for $11.93M, about $3M less than 2022 sale?

Real estate watchers have taken note of a pricey Palm Beach deal in which a Dallas-based couple sold their condominium facing Midtown Beach for a recorded $11.93 million — or about $3 million less than they paid for it in 2022.

But Bennie and Stephanie Bray’s real estate agent says their willingness to take a loss on Unit 3A was directly related to their purchase last fall of a larger Palm Beach townhouse not far from the Kirkland House condo at 101 Worth Ave.

“The Brays were looking for more space and made a business decision” to sell, agent Dana Koch of the Corcoran Group told the Palm Beach Daily News, declining to comment further.

The deed recorded March 27 identifies the condo buyers as Evelyn Jerassy and her husband, Richard Mashaal. A hedge-fund manager by that name founded and is CEO and co-chief investments officer at New York-headquartered Senvest Management, which is affiliated with Montreal-based Senvest Capital. The latter specializes in public-equity securities and private investments, according to its website.

Mashaal and the Senvest hedge fund made global headlines in 2021 after earning $700 million by betting on meme stock GameStop.

Online sources show an attorney named Evelyn Jerassy founded Montreal-based Koukla Delights, a manufacturer of organic cookies.

The Brays used a trust to buy the newly renovated, three-bedroom condo at the end of June 2022 for a recorded $15 million— and they used the same trust to sell it. The 2022 transaction at the time marked the third priciest beachfront condo ever sold in Palm Beach after being listed in the multiple listing service.

Capturing sweeping views of the ocean across South Ocean Boulevard, the condo slices through the building from east to west on the north side of the third floor.

The apartment has 4,130 square feet of living space, inside and on its five balconies, the local multiple listing service shows.

In the 2022 sale, the buyer paid $3,632 per square foot for the apartment, while in the sale that just closed, the price paid per square foot was $2,888.

Bennie Bray founded CraftMark Bakery and Select Product Corp., a manufacturer and converter of paper products for use in restaurants, according to published reports. He also has been involved in the venture-capital and private-equity industries.

Built in 1974, the Kirkland House is a boutique building with 20 units on the northwest corner of South Ocean Boulevard. Condos in the building rarely hit the market, and when they do, they tend to fetch premium prices, the MLS shows.

The Brays had bought the apartment from the woman who renovated it, health-information technology entrepreneur Y. Michele Kang.

Kang had owned the apartment since September 2020, when she paid a recorded $5.5 million for it. She later carried out an extensive renovation with high-end materials.

Koch and his mother, Corcoran agent Paulette Koch, had the latest listing for the condo, pricing it at $16.5 million when it entered the market in April 2023. The asking price was reduced in three increments before it settled in January at $13.75 million.

The sales listing for the condo said it “boasts terrific light throughout” with direct ocean and town views, thanks to its east, north and west exposures.

Agent Antoinette Vigilante of William Raveis South Florida represented the buyers in the sale that closed March 22, the MLS shows. Vigilante said she and her clients had no comment about the transaction.

The Brays upsized to their newly built, four-bedroom townhouse at 218 Brazilian Ave. in Midtown after buying it last October for a recorded $13.86 million. The townhome had never been occupied when they bought it.

The townhome is on the east side of a duplex near South County Road. Like its neighbor next door, the townhouse has 5,335 square feet of living space, inside and out, with a private pool, an outdoor loggia and a summer kitchen, the MLS shows.

The Brays bought the townhouse from technology executive Wendy D. Tirollo, who had owned it for about nine months when she sold it. Agent Tom Shaw of Sotheby’s International Realty represented both sides in the townhouse sale last fall.

Among the townhouse's interior features were a well-equipped kitchen, a “floating” staircase, an elevator, wide-plank white-oak floors and an LED lighting system.

When the Brays bought the Kirkland House condo, they were represented by Corcoran agent Allison Wren. Seller Kang was represented by agents Ann Summers and Caldwell Colt Robinson of Brown Harris Stevens.

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This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call 561-820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach condo sells at discount to Senvest hedge-funder Mashaal