They paid $105 million for a vacant lot on Indian Creek, the exclusive Miami island home to the world’s wealthiest people. It faces Biscayne Bay and surpasses all previous sales in the area.
The seller was Mikhail Peleg , a German developer and investor living in Switzerland who, according to real estate agent Ilya Reznik, «purchases exclusively top-class real estate at sky-high prices .» Reznik, who represented Peleg in the transaction, declined to provide details about the buyer due to a confidentiality agreement.
«Strategically, it’s the best land in Miami ,» Reznik said. He noted that the plot overlooks Biscayne Bay to the west. «It’s a new opportunity for someone to build a truly beautiful mansion» on what he describes as Miami’s «safest island.»
The price is partly explained by the fact that the land is on an exclusive island. It’s home to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos; Ivanka Trump and her husband , Jared Kushner ; and former NFL player Tom Brady , among other notables. The property is also adjacent to two similar lots that Bezos purchased in 2023 for $68 million and $79 million.
Six months ago, the seller listed the 7,445-square-meter lot for an even higher sum: US$200 million . Although the deal closed for considerably less, the US$105 million price is still sky-high and marks a new record on the island, surpassing the US$87 million Bezos paid in May 2024 for a third property. That purchase allowed him to live there while renovating the other two.
Peleg, the German investor, had bought the land with the idea of building a house, but decided to sell it because he no longer planned to come to the United States, Reznik explained. The sharp rise in prices in Indian Creek also influenced the decision. «My client thought it was the right time to sell the property,» the seller’s attorney, Daniel Rudoy, told Forbes in January. «He’s a shrewd investor.»
On the first day the land went on sale in January, several potential buyers submitted a couple of offers close to $100 million , Reznik said. However, the seller didn’t respond to those proposals because he was hoping for a higher price. As of January 6, six to seven interested parties had visited the property, and new offers were expected «very soon,» Rudoy told Forbes at the time.
As the weeks passed, offers approaching the original eye-catching $200 million price tag failed to appear. «Even if you want more, but no one pays, it’s not going to happen. But I think it’s one of the most expensive lots ever sold in Miami,» Reznik said. For his part, Rudoy described the deal as a «very well-negotiated transaction.»
The $105 million deal —nearly four times the $27.5 million Peleg paid in 2018—was closed in cash, Reznik confirmed. In 2023, Peleg had taken out a $20 million mortgage on the property. That loan was refinanced and expanded in December to $41 million , and transferred to an entity linked to British billionaires David and Simon Reuben. A spokesperson for the Reubens declined to comment. The property and the loans were held by SMM Sunny Holdings, an LLC that counts Mikhail and Marina Peleg as authorized agents and two Belize-based companies as shareholders.
Security and privacy are two of Indian Creek’s main attractions. The island has its own police force and air and sea surveillance. «It’s like a fortress,» Rudoy summarized.
Unlike the national average for luxury properties, where prices have risen nearly 50 percent in the past four years according to Realtor.com, homes in Indian Creek went from selling for single-digit millions in the early 2000s to an average of $30 million in the 2010s. That value skyrocketed with Bezos’ $87 million purchase last year.
According to Reznik and Dina Goldentayer, a Douglas Elliman real estate agent specializing in Indian Creek, the latest sale will likely push prices even higher and set a new ceiling for land values on the island. «Anyone who owns a home will say they want more [money] because their land alone is worth that much,» Goldentayer said.
The agent declined to comment on specific properties or owners, but told Forbes in January that buyers «are calling and saying, ‘I want to get into Indian Creek. How much do I have to pay to get something viable?'»
