Built to Withstand 200 MPH Winds: ‘Hurricane-Proof’ Florida New Build Lists for $6.85 Million
The Mallorcan-inspired home stands out with its contemporary style in its golf course community
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A newly built home on a golf course in Boca Raton, Florida, that promises to be hurricane-proof hit the market on Tuesday with a $6.85 million price tag.
The house, which was completed this year, is entirely made up of steel supports and poured concrete and was constructed with insulated concrete forms, which allows the home to withstand winds stronger than 200 miles per hour, said the home’s developer Meir Kroll.
“There’s this picture [of the west coast of Florida after Hurricane Michael in 2018] of all these homes on the beach totally decimated, and then there’s this one house that’s standing. That house was an [insulated concrete form] home,” Kroll said.
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Senada Adzem of Douglas Elliman, who brought the home to market on Tuesday with her colleague Brian Ross, said the potential environmental impact on a property has become increasingly important to her clients.
“They want to know that they’re safe. They want to know that if they’re travelling in the summer, … their home is going to be there when they come back,” she said.
Kroll moved to Boca Raton in 2021 from Los Angeles, where he worked as a luxury developer and built homes for sports agent Rich Paul and MLS player Javier Hernandez. Kroll bought the property to build his first Florida project in 2022 for $840,000, according to public records.
With its contemporary-style white exterior and dark wood accents, the nearly 7,000-square-foot home stands out in the country club community of Boca Grove, where many homes were built in the 1980s and ’90s and sport tiled roofs and a Mediterranean-inspired style.
Instead, working with Spanish architect Jorge Bibiloni Studio, this home draws inspiration from the villas of Mallorca, where Bibiloni is based.
“His design aesthetic is warm contemporary but minimalist,” Kroll said. “There are a lot of spec projects in Florida that are eccentric and over-designed. I think there’s beauty sometimes in subtlety.”
The sleek style with wood accents continues inside the two-storey home, which has five bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and one half-bath. The primary suite has two large walk-in closets and a separate formal sitting room.
Sliding-glass doors on the first level lead out to a covered patio with a full summer kitchen, an outdoor dining area, and a heated pool and spa. A sundeck runs along the length of the second level, overlooking the golf course.
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Strong consumer spending and tight supply have driven retail to the top of commercial property, but signs of pressure are starting to emerge.
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Australia’s retail property sector entered 2026 as the strongest performing commercial asset class, but rising geopolitical risks and cost pressures are beginning to test its resilience, according to new research from Knight Frank.
The latest Australian Retail Review shows the sector rode a wave of consumer spending and constrained supply through 2025, delivering total returns of 9.2 per cent and driving transaction volumes up 43 per cent year-on-year to $14.4 billion.
That momentum carried into early 2026, with around $3.6 billion in deals recorded in the first quarter alone.
“Retail clearly emerged as the standout commercial property performer in 2025,” said Knight Frank Senior Economist, Research & Consulting Alistair Read.
“Improving household spending, limited new supply and stronger leasing fundamentals combined to drive better income growth and renewed investor confidence in the sector.”
Spending rebound drives retail strength
A lift in household spending has been central to the sector’s performance. Consumer spending rose 4.6 per cent year-on-year to February 2026, supported by easing inflation and improving real incomes.
That shift flowed directly into retailer performance, with average EBIT margins across major retailers rising to 8.9 per cent in the first half of 2026, their strongest level in several years.
“Stronger consumer spending was critical in restoring momentum to the retail sector,” Mr Read said.
“Retailers have generally been better able to absorb costs, rebuild margins and support sustainable rental outcomes, particularly in higher-quality centres.”
Improved trading conditions also pushed leasing spreads up 4.2 per cent in 2025, reinforcing income growth and supporting capital values.
Geopolitical tensions begin to bite
But the outlook has become more complicated. The report warns that escalating conflict in the Middle East and its impact on fuel prices, supply chains and interest rates could weigh heavily on consumer spending.
“Higher fuel prices, flow-on cost pressures across supply chains, and recent interest rate increases are collectively squeezing household budgets, and early consumer sentiment data suggests confidence is already softening,” Mr Read said.
“While household balance sheets remain generally resilient, heightened uncertainty over future costs is likely to weigh on spending — particularly in discretionary categories — in the months ahead.”
The impact is already being felt in investment activity. While the year began strongly, transaction volumes slowed in March as investors paused amid the uncertainty.
“Early indicators suggest elevated uncertainty has already begun to affect the market. While retail investment enjoyed its strongest start to a year in a decade, with nearly $3 billion transacted by the end of February, activity stalled in March, as investors took a pause amid elevated uncertainty,” Mr Read said.
Solid foundations support medium-term outlook
Despite the near-term headwinds, Knight Frank maintains that the sector’s underlying fundamentals remain strong. Limited new supply, high construction costs and population growth are expected to continue supporting rental growth over the medium term.
“Retail has entered this period of uncertainty from a position of strength,” Mr Read said.
“Supply-side constraints, population growth and improving income fundamentals remain powerful structural supports for the sector.”
The report highlights several trends shaping the year ahead, including steady yields as interest rates rise, mounting pressure on tenant margins, continued outperformance of prime centres, the growing need for logistics integration, and risks linked to underinvestment in capital expenditure.
For now, retail remains a sector with momentum, but one increasingly at the mercy of forces far beyond the shopping centre.
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