Charlie Lankston – realtor.com Nov 21, 2025

An exclusive community in southern Florida is proving itself to be a rising power player in the luxury housing market, going toe-to-toe against the likes of Palm Beach and Miami in a David vs. Goliath-style battle of wealth and privilege.

For years, Florida’s most moneyed residents have flocked to Miami and its surrounding areas, seeking out a life of luxury rarely found elsewhere in the U.S. Yet that dominance is now being challenged by a little-known neighborhood located in Delray Beach, about 90 minutes north of “the Magic City.”

Just last month, Hollywood A-lister Mark Wahlberg made headlines when he dropped $37 million on a newly constructed megamansion inside the enclave—only to be followed weeks later by Rockstar energy drink founder Russ Weiner, who is in contract on two properties in the community, worth a total of $43 million.

So what is it about this secretive sanctuary that has helped to reel in such high-profile property owners?

On paper, Stone Creek Ranch—a “prestigious” enclave made up of less than 40 luxury homes—is a world away from Miami, Manalapan, and Palm Beach: It offers no beaches, no celebrity-approved nightlife, and no glitzy designer shopping.

Yet it offers one very particular luxury that is proving to be quite the draw among the one percent: total and absolute privacy that is safeguarded by a team of armed professionals who watch over the community 24/7—a majority of whom come from previous jobs in law enforcement or the military.

Prospective residents’ entry into the community is policed just as carefully: Any homebuyers seeking to purchase one of just 37 private residences within Stone Creek are required to go through rigorous criminal background checks before they can even attempt to secure a home there.

For the rich and powerful, that level of security and privacy is far more “valuable” than any beach or boat dock could ever be, according to real estate agent Senada Adzem of Douglas Elliman, whose team has been responsible for the sale of a majority of homes inside Stone Creek.

Adzem tells Realtor.com® that she has seen a significant shift in her wealthy clients’ demands over the last few years. Those who would once never have considered living in a Florida mansion without private beach access or a dock capable of housing their yacht are now turning their backs on those amenities in favor of seclusion away from prying eyes.

“I’m working with a very high-profile couple right now [who] no longer want to live on Star Island in Miami … because [they feel they cannot] enjoy their pool or their yard with people on boats going past and taking pictures,” Adzem revealed.

“They just want to have their peace. And that makes so much sense. [Privacy] is valuable to them. They’d rather have all this privacy where no one is looking at them, they can run around with their kids, they can wear whatever. That’s what’s really valuable.”

In a bid to secure that oh-so sought-after luxury, that couple has turned to Stone Creek, Adzem revealed, noting that she is currently trying to secure them a property in an off-market deal—because none of the community’s mansions are actually on the market.

Although each of the properties in Stone Creek offers water frontage, because they overlook a private lake, there is no risk of strangers sailing past in a boat and gawking at your backyard—a threat that looms over even the most exclusive areas of Miami and Palm Beach, including the infamous Indian Creek Island, where the likes of Tom Brady and Jeff Bezos currently reside.

That privacy is amplified by the fact that the majority of properties in Stone Creek offer very impressive acreage, which keeps a good distance between each home and makes it feel “like you don’t have neighbors at all.”

Another big draw of Stone Creek is one that Adzem says many people “overlook,” but has often been one of the most alluring aspects of the community: its access to five of the top private schools in Palm Beach County.

As for the homes themselves, there is an extraordinary level of extravagance and luxury on offer to discerning homebuyers.

Wahlberg’s new property, for example, spans 18,206 square feet and boasts seven bedrooms, 10 full bathrooms, two powder rooms, a home theater, cigar lounge, wine cellar, gym, sauna, guesthouse, and resort-style pool.

Christened Palazzo di Lago, the mansion was designed by developer Aldo Stark, who drew inspiration from Italian architecture to create an “architectural masterpiece” that was described as offering “the pinnacle of luxury living in South Florida.”

Luxurious finishes and fixtures can be found in every room of the home, including “exquisite crystal chandeliers” that were custom-designed to cast an “ethereal glow” throughout the dwelling.

One of the more unique amenities in the home is its hidden cigar lounge, which boasts an advanced air-purification system.

Just across the lake sits a similarly opulent mansion—currently under offer by Rockstar founder Weiner—which is known as Villa Ananda and sprawls across nearly 11,500 square feet.

It is situated on a 2.5-acre waterfront plot with an “extraordinary” 660 feet of private water frontage and boasts some truly amazing amenities, including an enormous primary suite that occupies an entire wing, a glittering pool, and a “club room” with a 150-inch projection screen.

Additionally, Stark is currently in the process of building an even more impressive Stone Creek property that will be listed “in the $75 million range,” Adzem revealed.

Wahlberg’s purchase of his home also highlighted another lesser-publicized detail about the value of homes in Stone Creek: impressive ROI potential.

As first reported by CNBC, the actor’s new mansion underwent a 118% price increase between January 2020, when it sold for $17 million, and October 2025, when Wahlberg paid $37 million for the dwelling.

While Adzem noted that she cannot guarantee that kind of lucrative return on every property within Stone Creek, she said that the skyrocketing value of Wahlberg’s new home is indicative of trends she is seeing within the community.

“I do see the pattern in terms of rising values within the community,” she revealed. “I started working in this community in 2018 and I saw the potential where you have something that’s really unique.”

Market trends in Delray Beach mirror this impressive increase in home value, with Realtor.com data revealing that the median listing price in the area has shot up from $617,000 in October 2018 to $1.1 million in October 2025, a growth of more than 80%.

Demand for homes has also gone through a very similar surge. When Adzem first began marketing properties in Stone Creek, she admits that the community was a bit of a “steep road” to convince her wealthy clientele of the community’s appeal—particularly because many of them wanted homes that offered golf course access or private clubhouses.

“It was a steep road for me, because many prospects would say, ‘I want to be on the ocean, I want to be on the coast, and I want to have a yacht in front or I want to be able to walk on the beach,'” she explained.

Now, however, instead of having to pitch homebuyers on the “value” of Stone Creek, she says clients are requesting properties within the enclave.

“We have clients who can afford to live anywhere in the world but they choose to live in Stone Creek,” she explained. “We’ve sold 17 properties in the past five years, both homes and lots, and garnered global attention.

“I no longer have to explain what Stone Creek Ranch offers because you have so many big names in business and celebrity who live there.

“The buyers who have appreciated what Stone Creek has to offer understand that they can still go to the ocean, but they can also not worry about their family when they’re traveling and they can have full-time security personnel. They don’t have to think about people walking by their home and seeing into their backyard.”

Stone Creek is also conveniently located at what Adzem describes as a “nexus” between several popular locations, including the “artsy” community of Delray Beach, Miami, and Boca Raton, providing residents with the best of every world.

“Delray is a new hot spot with a really cool vibe: You have fabulous restaurants, you have the art scene. I almost compare it to Soho in New York, it’s a very vibrant, young scene,” Adzem added.

“A lot of our clients really appreciate the fact that they can have their big resort-style mansions in private, then they can go to Palm Beach in 30 minutes, or they can go to downtown Delray and to the beach. Then they can go to Miami, which takes about an hour.

“Boca Raton is also less than half an hour away and features amazing restaurants, and a really beautiful, affluent scene.”

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