And, even though the 21-room, 11,200-square-foot house is only half-renovated, real-estate scion Andrew Farkas paid the full $23 million price. (Listing broker Sami Hassoumi, a managing director of Brown Harris Stevens, said he received two other full-price offers.)

Mr. Flowers forked over only $17 million for the house in November, after being tied up in litigation with his seller, Dominion Management, since early 2004. That $17 million may seem paltry to Mr. Flowers, who last year shelled out a New York City–record $53 million for the Harkness Mansion on East 75th Street.