Rory McIlroy sells South Florida mansion for $11.5 million

The real estate market apparently isn’t what it used to be, even when the home in question belongs to one of golf’s biggest stars.

Rory McIlroy has sold his waterfront mansion in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., according to the South Florida Business Journal. The 16,123-square-foot home at 2380 Old Gate Lane, which was initially listed for $12.9 million in January, ended up fetching $11.5 million, which is less than McIlroy paid for the property when he bought it six years ago. The sale closed on Nov. 1.

In 2012, McIlroy purchased the six-bedroom pad, and the adjacent 0.82 acre lot, for a combined $12 million.

We’re pretty sure the 29-year-old four-time major winner can absorb the blow, though. According to a Forbes report in August, five of the 100 highest-paid athletes in the world this year were golfers, with McIlroy coming in at No. 26 on the list. All in, according to the magazine, he earned nearly $40 million on and off the course, which included $4.5 million from a PGA Tour season in which he won once and finished in the top 10 six other times.

It has been a busy year for McIlroy when it comes to real estate. In January, he also bought the former home of Ernie Els a few minutes down the road at the Bear’s Club.