A historic cottage where the late, great Jimmy Buffett resided and recorded music near the ocean in Palm Beach was recently sold for $6.11 million. More than 20 years after the “Margaritaville” singer and businessman bought the property through an ownership company, the home has now exchanged hands.
The sold price for the just-closed sale of 138 Root Trail was included on Nov. 6 with the updated listing in the multiple listing service. Buffett had a music studio in a separate building next to the two-bedroom cottage, which stands on a historic Palm Beach street where the singer’s family still owns two houses, both listed for sale.
Buffett’s limited liability company, Sadeca Realty LLC, paid $802,000 for the one-story bungalow in 2002—his first house on Root Trail. Town records show that the wood-frame cottage was built sometime between 1900 and 1915. In 2018, the town designated the house a landmark, protecting its exterior walls from significant alteration without the permission of the local landmarks board.
Surrounded by a picket fence, the bungalow has a separate one-bedroom building Buffett used as a music studio. According to the sales listing, the buildings have 1,673 square feet of living space, inside and out. Among the main house’s features is a window-lined porch that runs nearly the width of the street-side facade. There’s also a rear patio with two outdoor showers where a guesthouse once stood.
New Buyers Seek the Charm of Root Trail
Real estate agent Jim McCann of Premier Estate Properties handled the buyer’s side of the sale on Root Trail. McCann would not identify his clients by name but said die-hard Buffett fans did not purchase the house.
McCann said, “I think they know of Jimmy Buffett, but I can’t say they are, in the true sense of the word, ‘Parrotheads.’”
“Parrotheads” is the term for Buffett’s most devoted fans; however, McCann clarified that the new owners were drawn to the house and the area rather than being “Parrotheads” themselves.
McCann stated that “what attracted them was the charm of Root Trail, the 100-year-old house, the proximity to the beach and the (convenience) of amenities in the Royal Poinciana Way commercial district—the restaurants and shops and so forth.”
The Late, Great Singer’s Real Estate
The Palm Beach cottage, which is asking $7.25 million, was listed for sale in July along with the two other Buffett houses on the narrow North End Street. The Palm Beach Daily News broke the news of the listings and was the first media outlet to report that 138 Root Trail had landed under contract in mid-October.
While often associated with Key West, Jimmy Buffett and his widow, Jane, bought and sold other houses in Palm Beach. The singer’s ownership company bought the Root Trail cottage while the Buffetts still owned an oceanfront mansion across town at 540 S. Ocean Blvd., which they sold for over $18 million about 14 years ago. With many period details intact, the house sold at No. 138 has Dade County pine plank floors, ceilings with exposed beams, and a skylight in the well-equipped kitchen.
The Artistic History of the Cottage
Once an artist’s colony, Root Trail is lined with historic buildings, including beach cottages, apartments, and restored houses. In 2013, Buffett added to his Root Trail holdings by buying two side-by-side, two-story houses across the street. Their architecture resembles homes in Key West.
Courthouse records show that Buffett bought the houses at No. 135 in separate transactions using his ownership company. In March 2013, he paid $950,000 for Unit B, which had finished interiors at the time. In May of the same year, he paid $1.3 million for the easternmost home, Unit A, when its interiors were still unfinished.
State business records show that Buffett owned all of his Palm Beach real estate through Sadeca Realty LLC, for which he served as manager.
