Benson K. Buffham and his wife, Christine, sold a condo at 3900 N. Ocean Dr. in Lauderdale-by-the-sea to James J. Harrison for $520,000 on Jan. 3.

Mrs. Buffham paid $200,000 for Unit #16E in the Fountainhead on Sept. 1999.

Mr. Buffham was the deputy director of the National Security Agency (NSA) from 1974 to 1978.

The retired lieutenant of the U.S. Army started working for the NSA in 1942 as a cryptologist for the Signal Intelligence Service and eventually headed the Commercial Unit in the Code Recovery Section of the agency's Cryptanalytic Branch in 1944.

Before he retired in 1980, Mr. Buffham spent time in London with the Government Code and Cypher School, England's equivalent to NSA's Signal Intelligence Service, as part of a U.S.-U.K. agreement to share cryptology techniques.

He graduated from Wesleyan University in Connecticut in 1941.

The Bensons also owned a condo at 3750 Galt Ocean Dr. in Fort Lauderdale, which they sold in 1999.

Mr. Harrison has served as the managing director of Windymains Sawmill, Ltd. in East Lothian, Scotland.

Condo sales in Lauderdale-by-the-sea decreased three percent in 2007 compared to 2006. The median sales price dropped from $366,000 to $325,000.

The Fountainhead, built in 1964 and said to be one of the first three condominium buildings in the country, has 125 units in its 17 floors.

BlockShopper Metrics began tracking condo sales in South Florida in 2001.

Address: 3900 N. Ocean Drive, Unit: 16E
Buyer(s): James J Harrison
Seller(s): Benson K Buffham and Christine M Buffham
Sale date: Jan. 3, 2008