The North Shore Milwaukee suburb of Fox Point, Wisconsin, could see its priciest sale if 8100 N. Beach Drive sells for its asking price of $5.7 million.
The single-family home hit the market on Wednesday and last became Fox Point’s priciest sale when it closed at $4 million in 2022, according to listing agent Shar Borg of Compass, who represented the buyer in that previous transaction.
Public records show the sale closed at $3.6 million due to a separate $400,000 bill of sale, according to Borg.
The seller at the time was Mike Budenholzer, the recently fired coach of the Phoenix Suns basketball team, and former coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks and San Antonio Spurs.
The 7,945-square-foot home has four bedrooms and five bathrooms. Its new listing price is nearly $2 million more than what it previously sold for, a result of $1.25 million worth of remodeling work and high demand for what Borg calls the “Malibu of the Midwest.”
“The location is really in high demand. What we’re seeing is people spend anywhere from $1.5 million to $3.5 million for dirt on this street, then spending anywhere from $800 to $1,000 a square foot to build,” Borg said in an interview with Homes.com. “You could not build this property for the $5.7 million that we’re listed at.”
Borg is referencing what she says is a trend of buyers scooping up smaller properties, demolishing them and constructing a new home in their place to gain access to the lakefront.
In 2015, a local developer purchased a $3.55 million home on Beach Drive with plans to demolish it and rebuild a new personal home, according to public records filed with the municipality. In 2022, a home built in 1945 sold for $1.42 million, and a new home replaced it.
The home at 8100 N. Beach Drive has direct access to the lake, unlike many other lakefront properties on the same road.
“It’s a unicorn. You literally have a mile and a half of residential real estate on Lake Michigan where you can walk out your back door to the lake, otherwise, you’re on a bluff and you’re hiking down a mountain, essentially,” said Borg.
The sellers updated landscaping and turned the lower level into an entertainment floor with a home theater, built-in bar and gym. The property also includes a detached guest cottage with one bedroom, a lofted flex space, bathroom and kitchen, an amenity grandfathered in, said Borg. The home includes deeded access to a boat launch on Lake Michigan.