The estate of movie producer Sidney Kimmel reportedly sold for list price—a whopping $81.5 million. The sale would be a Florida record.

Paulette Koch of The Corcoran Group described the property just a few weeks ago for Ultimate Homes. On South Ocean Boulevard, the 5-acre oceanfront property features a driveway composed of more than 500,000 small stones from the Pacific coast in Mexico, hand-selected on the basis of size, shape and color. Throughout the grounds, orchids stud the trees. Inside, a perfect symmetry of material, space and light elevates the rooms to a higher aesthetic. “Wherever you look in this house, there are view corridors that are really vignettes. Everything is so carefully crafted and thoughtfully placed, it’s truly an inspiration,” says Koch.

Kimmel, 80 years old, is the billionaire founder and chairman of Jones Apparel. He reportedly paid $5.5 million for the estate in 1993.

The home spent just 24 days on the market. Ultimate Homes magazine, due out next month, ranked it as the 10th most expensive home for sale in the U.S.

Montana newspapers report that Tim Blixseth, founder of the Yellowstone Club, recently sold the 160-acre parcel that was to be the site for The Pinnacle, a luxurious compound of four 4,000-square-foot guest houses and a 32,000-square-foot main house in a setting reminiscent of a European village. When plans for the property were unveiled in January 2007, the $155 million price made the home one of the most expensive in the world and the most expensive in the U. S. at the time. Uber amenities were to include a retractable helipad (naturally, the helicopter was also part of the deal) and a private gondola to whisk occupants to Yellowstone’s lifts. In an interview for Ultimate Homes magazine last year, Beau Blixseth, Tom Blixseth’s son and project director for The Pinnacle, said the land, a lush forest of pines, aspens and firs offering 360-degree views of the Rockies, was one of the property’s most extraordinary features. (Pictured is a rendering of what The Pinnacle was to look like).

According to a report in the Missoulian, the land on which The Pinnacle was to be built was purchased by Big Sky resident Loen Bough.

The Yellowstone Club was put up for sale earlier this year and will fetch $455 million, according to Bloomberg News and a report in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

—Camilla McLaughlin

As if you needed another good reason to think about buying a ski getaway, Vail Resorts is offering a new season pass they’re calling the Epic Season Pass good for their resorts in Colorado and Lake Tahoe. The pass, which is being offered online for $579, offers unlimited access to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly and Arapahoe Basin. With season passes running well over four figures,  this seems like a rollback to the  old days of skiing and riding. Not only is access unlimited but there are also no blackout days. However, like most season passes this deal seems to only last until the snow flies next fall. Check it out at www.epicpass.com. Thanks to Vail broker Susan Rychel at Slifer Smith and Frampton Real Estate in Vail for tipping us off to what might be one of the best deals in skiing.

—Camilla McLaughlin
 

For the fourth straight year, John McMonigle and his team at the McMonigle Group of Coldwell Banker Newport Beach has been recognized as the No. 1 Coldwell Banker team, earning nearly $10 million in gross commissions, more than 119,000 associates in the Colwell Banker System and NRT.  They also made history by selling properties totaling more than $1 billion within the last five years.

A member of the Coldwell Banker Previews International team, McMonigle has been recognized as the top-selling agent in the nation for having sold more than $505 million in residential real estate in 2007 and more than $430 million in residential real estate in 2006.

McMonigle was recognized for his achievement at the Coldwell Banker International Business Conference, held February 21-24 in Florida at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center. The annual event brought more than 6,000 Coldwell Banker sales associates, brokers, managers and employees.

—Camilla McLaughlin