Former Miami Heat player sells Miami Beach mansion to Royal Caribbean executive

Former Miami Heat basketball player Victor Oladipo sold his house in the exclusive Hibiscus Island community in Miami Beach for $9 million to an executive with the Royal Caribbean cruise line.

Oladipo, who the Heat traded last year to the Oklahoma City Thunder after signing him in 2021, closed the sale last week on his mansion at 65 S. Hibiscus Drive, said Liz Hogan, a real estate agent with the brokerage firm Compass, who represented Oladipo. He had paid $7.75 million for the house in 2021, and now is looking for another house in South Florida.

The buyers are Dana Ritzcovan, executive vice president and chief people and outreach officer for Royal Caribbean Group, and her husband, Alex Ritzcovan. The cruise line executive did not immediately respond Wednesday to an interview request made through a Royal Caribbean spokesman.

The two-story, modern-style house has seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms. Sitting on a 14,375-square-foot lot, the house also has a pool and single-story guest house. The lot stands out, Hogan said, since it’s larger than the typical properties found on Hibiscus Island. The Miami Beach community has attracted more billionaires and millionaires in recent years, providing some competition to nearby Star Island.

Following the trend seen during the pandemic, Hogan said, she sees more wealthy buyers continuing to flock from across the country to purchase a home in South Florida.

Hogan said she’s helping Oladipo, who sustained an injury earlier this year, search for a new single-family home in the established Miami-Dade neighborhood Pinecrest, as well as in Davie and Southwest Ranches in Broward County. The basketball player wants to find a new home with more land for his child to play outside.

Demand remains high for single-family homes priced above $1 million. According to the latest luxury housing reports published by Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel real estate consultancy, Miami-Dade recorded 158 sales of houses priced over $1 million in August 2023, up from 137 a year ago. That demand, Hogan said, is why Oladipo managed to sell his pad for 16% more than what he bought the house for two years ago.

Should the basketball player decide to buy in Broward, he’ll be rubbing elbows with plenty of other wealthy owners. Broward County saw more luxury deals — in places like Southwest Ranches — last year than Miami-Dade.