Candy Spelling, widow of television giant Aaron, has listed the Manor, Los Angeles’ largest, and arguably most opulent, house up for sale at US$150-million, out-pricing every other listed home in the country. Just down the street the owner of a sprawling classical style marble mansion is asking for US$125-million, making it the second most-expensive home in America. Yet another home for sale is in the triple-digit millions, a massive but secluded US$100-million Lake Tahoe ranch.
You’d never know the country was in a recession based on the cost of these homes. In fact, pricing for this small group of properties is even stronger than last year’s list, which was riddled with markdowns. This year’s top 10 ranges in asking price from US$650-million to US$150-million, with an average price of US$88.5-million. That’s nearly US$10-million higher than last year’s average. A handful of incredibly expensive homes have been on the market for several years at prices that have not budged through the housing crisis.
Photos: America’s most expensive homes
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But the cost of these estates doesn’t serve as much of an economic bellwether — fluctuations of price in this stratosphere have almost no relationship to supply and demand in the broader market. At this price point, the sale of even one home can be a game changer.
To find the country’s most expensive homes, we studied real estate listings and news reports, contacted brokers of prominent luxury homes and spoke to those that follow the luxury real estate market. We limited our list to homes on the public market — some high-priced sales are closed-door transactions —but we included ones we could verify. Sales of land alone were also excluded. We included properties with a commercial element if they were anchored by a significant residence, like ranches, or townhouses that include retail space.
The Priciest Get Pricier
Five of the homes on our list have been added since we compiled last year’s list, at prices high enough to bump two US$60-million homes off. One of them is the Manor, which didn’t make the list last year because its listing couldn’t be verified. The Kaiser Estate, on the coast of Oahu, is on the market for US$80-million and comes with landscaped grounds and some history; it originally belonged to the industrialist Henry J. Kaiser.
The other newcomers are a US$75-million California estate outside of Palm Springs that features a world-class golf course, a stately grey historic mansion on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue for US$72-million, and a sprawling estate in Bridgehampton, N.Y., with waterfront views and acres of rolling farmland. It is at the low end of our list, at US$68-million.
Movement at the highest end of the market
Two of last year’s homes have been sold — no small feat in a down economy. But neither commanded anything near their sky-high asking prices. The massive Bel Air mansion Le Belvedere, which went on the market in early 2009, was quickly reduced from US$85-million to US$72-million. The discount worked: It is currently in the escrow stage of a sale for an undisclosed price.
The sellers of Colorado’s Bootjack Ranch, a rambling property replete with natural beauty, were sensitive to a changing market. The home was once listed for US$88-million, but in 2008, US$20-million was shaved off the price to lure buyers. Last week Bootjack was sold for US$47-million. In spite of a 47% price cut, US$47-million hardly smells like defeat to Bootjack’s broker Bill Fandel, of Peaks Real Estate Sotheby’s International Realty, who echoes luxury brokers that have newfound hope for the market.
“News of its sale may stimulate additional activity among the nation’s top-tier properties,â€� says Fandel.
One example: the US$75-million Portabello Estate, in Newport Beach, Calif., which was pulled from the market late last year. The McMonigle Group realtors are negotiating with the owners to re-market the home, and interested buyers are welcome to tour it.
Several of last year’s most expensive properties are still for sale. This is because it often takes far longer than a conventional listing for trophy homes to find a buyer, since the universe of people with the assets to purchase them is so small. It’s worth noting that those four homes, the US$125-million Fleur de Lys, US$100-million Tranquility estate, US$75-million former Julius Forstmann home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and US$65-million Robert Taylor ranch in Brentwood, Calif., have held firm on price since their appearance on last year’s list, suggesting buoyed seller confidence.
What’s missing from this list are the luxury auctions, dramatic price reductions and fire sale prices that became de rigueur among multimillion-dollar homes in the past year. The owners of these homes seem to have the patience, and the means, to wait for the right buyer.
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