What Panther National's $191 Million Sale Could Mean for Your Lot

"The acquisition of Panther National reflects Ohana's disciplined strategy of investing in exceptional assets with enduring competitive advantages."

That's Franco Famularo, president and chief investment officer of Ohana Real Estate Investors, the day his firm's purchase of the Palm Beach Gardens golf community became public in late July 2026. Five weeks later, the same firm went back to JPMorgan Chase for another $50 million on top of its original loan.

That gap, confident language in the acquisition release, then a fast return trip to the lender, isn't a red flag. It's how institutional real estate financing works. But if you're one of the buyers weighing a lot at Panther National right now, it's worth sitting with. The sale didn't just swap the name on the deed. For the first time, the transaction offers a reference point for the combined golf, clubhouse-shell, and remaining-lot package, separate from the cost of building a house.

A Per-Lot Estimate from the Sale

Panther National's Custom Estate homes have started at $4.5 million since the community launched sales in 2022, with Signature Estates priced slightly higher and the largest houses reaching past $20 million. Those figures are public and haven't moved. What changed in July is the reference point for what's actually bundled into that entry price before a wall goes up.

Ohana paid $191.2 million for the 392-acre site at 10391 Panther National Boulevard, a figure that works out to $488,000 per acre according to property records reported by The Real Deal. That number covered the 18-hole Jack Nicklaus and Justin Thomas golf course, the nine-hole par-three practice course, and roughly 150 unsold lots inside the community's 218-lot plan. It did not include a finished clubhouse. That's still under construction.

Dividing the $191.2 million purchase price by the 150 remaining lots gives roughly $1.27 million per lot as a simple allocation of the bundled purchase price, not a standalone valuation of the golf infrastructure. That figure is separate from the costs of grading, a foundation, and the house itself. This isn't an appraisal, and Ohana didn't buy lot by lot. The transaction offers a reference point for the combined golf, clubhouse-shell, and remaining-lot package, not a separate price for access to a Nicklaus-and-Thomas course and the club built around it.

The broader golf-community market also shows a premium. Douglas Elliman's Michael Merrill told The Real Deal that buyers pay 25 to 30 percent more for homes inside golf communities than for comparable homes without one. Panther National's pricing has always carried that premium. The sale provides a reference point, but it does not isolate the golf-community premium.

Same Fall Target, New Lender at the Table

The clubhouse timeline hasn't actually shifted on paper. Panther National's developers said at the November 2024 groundbreaking that the roughly 58,000-square-foot building would open in fall 2026. Verdex Construction, the West Palm Beach general contractor that broke ground on the project, confirmed a fourth-quarter 2026 target when vertical construction started in May 2025. Ohana's own materials following the July purchase still point to a fall opening. When Verdex signed on, its president and CEO, Rex Kirby, said the firm was "honored to work with Panther National on one of the most ambitious and distinctive private club facilities in the country."

What changed is who's financing the finish. The $50 million upsize and the new revolving credit facility mean the remaining construction, along with the next release of private homes and homesites that Ohana says is coming this fall, will now proceed under Ohana's ownership and financing. If you have a lot under contract, or are looking at one, that's worth asking about directly: what happens to your delivery date if the terms on this loan change.

Membership Terms to Confirm

There's a second number the acquisition hasn't touched publicly. When Panther National launched its golf membership program in 2024, the initiation fee was set at $500,000, discounted to $400,000 for anyone who owns a home in the community, with annual dues in the low $30,000s. Golf Digest reported that fee structure when the club first opened for membership. That structure was set by Centaur Holdings and founder Dominik Senn. Neither Ohana's acquisition announcement nor its subsequent loan filings say whether that fee schedule carries forward as is, changes, or gets renegotiated under the new ownership.

Sales at Panther National have been handled by a national luxury brokerage since 2024, brought on specifically to manage the community's launch. Whether that arrangement continues under Ohana hasn't been addressed publicly either.

Neither of these is a reason to walk away from a lot you're seriously considering. Both are reasons to get the current terms confirmed in writing before you sign anything, rather than assuming the numbers marketed under the previous ownership are the numbers you'll actually close under.

What This Actually Means If You're Looking at a Lot

None of this changes what Panther National is on the ground. The course opened in November 2023, and the 68 homes built under the original developer are already occupied. The roughly 150 lots still available sit across three tiers, from a third of an acre up to a full acre, with architecture from Max Strang's environmental modernism running through every plan.

What the sale changes is the counterparty. You're buying real estate next to a golf and clubhouse asset now owned by an institutional investor and financed with construction-linked debt. That isn't inherently worse, but it is a different arrangement from the one behind the first 68 homes, and it comes with a different set of questions worth asking before you commit.

If you're comparing Panther National against waterfront alternatives in West Palm Beach or Palm Beach Island, the $191.2 million transaction gives you something you didn't have this summer: a reference point for the combined golf, clubhouse-shell, and remaining-lot package, separate from the cost of building a house. That's useful information whether you're pricing a lot here or weighing it against a different kind of Palm Beach address entirely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the sale change pricing on lots already under contract? Nothing in the public transaction records or press releases addresses existing purchase contracts directly. If you're under contract, the terms in your agreement remain the terms, but it's worth confirming with your closing attorney whether the change in seller entity from Centaur to an Ohana affiliate requires any updated documentation.

Is the clubhouse timeline affected by the ownership change? Public materials from both the outgoing and incoming ownership point to the same fall 2026 target that's been in place since the November 2024 groundbreaking. No delay has been announced as of this writing.

Who handles new lot reservations now? That hasn't been addressed publicly since the sale closed. If you're interested in one of the remaining lots, confirm current representation and terms directly rather than relying on marketing materials that predate the ownership change.

Panther National is one piece of a broader Palm Beach luxury picture, and how it compares to waterfront condominiums, island estates, or other club communities depends on what you actually want out of the next property you own. If you'd like a straight read on where it fits against the rest of the market, Samantha Curry is available to talk through it. Request a Confidential Market Consultation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.