Stratego
08-28-2007, 10:20 AM
Article (http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/markettrends/20070827-casselman.html)
Five Houses Vie to Become
Most Expensive Home Sale
By Ben Casselman and Christina S.N. Lewis
From The Wall Street Journal Online
It might seem foolish given the recent news from Wall Street, but a group of homeowners is holding firm on an ambitious goal -- to break the record for the most expensive home sale in American history.
The price to beat is $103 million.
Two years ago, at the peak of the real-estate boom, only a handful of homes in the U.S. had ever been listed for $75 million, let alone $100 million. Even the highest residential sale to date -- investor Ron Baron's $103 million purchase earlier this year of a 40-acre compound in East Hampton, N.Y. -- was never publicly listed. The deal was so secret that the brokers weren't named.
There are five contenders for the current prize, including a Beverly Hills compound once owned by William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies that's listed for $165 million; the Aspen home of Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, which has been visited by the past three U.S. presidents ($135 million); and an estate overlooking Lake Tahoe with a staircase modeled after the one aboard the Titanic (a dark horse at $100 million). All have come on the market since summer 2006.
To drum up interest, brokers for these properties are working like political operatives -- issuing press releases, leaking news about potential buyers and making personal appeals to billionaires. They admit to looking through SEC filings to vet interested parties. Robert Kass, who is co-listing the fourth contender -- a Los Angeles chateau for $125 million -- recently spent a month traveling to London, Moscow, Istanbul, Dubai and the Côte d'Azur, meeting with potential customers. "There are buyers that could be in Pakistan," says Shari Chase, who is handling the Tahoe estate.
Brokers and owners say they aren't involved in a footrace but they do admit to keeping tabs on the competition. Donald Trump, whose Palm Beach estate rounds out the list at $125 million, dismisses Prince Bandar's $135 million asking price as a case of "some character putting on a price just to try to top Trump." (Prince Bandar declined to comment. ) As for the $165 million Beverly Hills listing, Mr. Trump calls it "a joke." ("If Donald Trump owned it, it would be the best house in the world," says the property's broker, Stephen Shapiro.)
While the top of the real-estate market has been thriving, fueled by Wall Street bonuses and foreign cash, buyers at this level aren't immune to wobbly markets. Pat McPherron, a housing analyst at Moody's Economy.com, says banks may want to see more cash on hand, even from billionaire borrowers.
Historic grand homes
Then there's the question of whether anyone will pay these prices. "One hundred million is an insane amount to pay for a house," says Jim Clark, the billionaire co-founder of Netscape. Joan Waitt, the wife of Gateway co-founder Ted Waitt and the owner of multiple homes including a San Francisco mansion on the market for $25.9 million, says she has no plans to write a check in excess of $100 million for a house. "It's kind of a ludicrous number," she says, "unless you're buying an island."
Record asking prices haven't always guaranteed record sales -- or sales at all. Executors of the estate of oil- and film-industry billionaire Marvin Davis originally listed his Beverly Hills home for $70 million, but people familiar with the deal say it sold in 2005 for roughly $45 million. Manhattan's most expensive listing, Martin Zweig's $70 million penthouse atop the Pierre Hotel, has been on the market for more than two years. (Listing agent Elizabeth Lee Sample says that she's had offers at the asking price but didn't think the prospective buyers could get past the building's rigorous co-op board.)
Nonetheless, Suzanne Saperstein, owner of the $125 million Los Angeles chateau, says she has no plans to cut her price. "I'm in no rush," she says. And more contenders are on the way. Developer Frank McKinney is building a house in Manalapan, Fla., that he plans to list for "at least" $135 million, while land baron Tim Blixseth is asking $155 million for a yet-to-be-built Montana estate. Entertainment billionaire David Geffen has quietly shopped his historic 9.4-acre Los Angeles estate for $100 million, according to a broker who has shown the property. Mr. Geffen says his home in Los Angeles is not for sale.
The U.S. doesn't have a monopoly on extreme listings -- or extreme sales. The international home sale record is thought to be held by a London property that sold in 2004 for £70 million (about $128 million at the time). A Paris home is on the market for €100 million, or roughly $135 million.
As for the current domestic contenders, the jury is out. Mr. Trump's property includes valuable Palm Beach ocean frontage, but some agents call the house a "teardown." Los Angeles brokers are unanimous in their opinion that the Hearst estate is overpriced -- by some accounts by as much as $100 million. And while Ms. Chase says she believes the Tahoe property is "underpriced" at $100 million, others point out that it isn't even on the lake.
So which one, if any, will break the $103 million U.S. record?
The article has pictures and a breakdown of the five homes. I like my house better. Sigh.
Five Houses Vie to Become
Most Expensive Home Sale
By Ben Casselman and Christina S.N. Lewis
From The Wall Street Journal Online
It might seem foolish given the recent news from Wall Street, but a group of homeowners is holding firm on an ambitious goal -- to break the record for the most expensive home sale in American history.
The price to beat is $103 million.
Two years ago, at the peak of the real-estate boom, only a handful of homes in the U.S. had ever been listed for $75 million, let alone $100 million. Even the highest residential sale to date -- investor Ron Baron's $103 million purchase earlier this year of a 40-acre compound in East Hampton, N.Y. -- was never publicly listed. The deal was so secret that the brokers weren't named.
There are five contenders for the current prize, including a Beverly Hills compound once owned by William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies that's listed for $165 million; the Aspen home of Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, which has been visited by the past three U.S. presidents ($135 million); and an estate overlooking Lake Tahoe with a staircase modeled after the one aboard the Titanic (a dark horse at $100 million). All have come on the market since summer 2006.
To drum up interest, brokers for these properties are working like political operatives -- issuing press releases, leaking news about potential buyers and making personal appeals to billionaires. They admit to looking through SEC filings to vet interested parties. Robert Kass, who is co-listing the fourth contender -- a Los Angeles chateau for $125 million -- recently spent a month traveling to London, Moscow, Istanbul, Dubai and the Côte d'Azur, meeting with potential customers. "There are buyers that could be in Pakistan," says Shari Chase, who is handling the Tahoe estate.
Brokers and owners say they aren't involved in a footrace but they do admit to keeping tabs on the competition. Donald Trump, whose Palm Beach estate rounds out the list at $125 million, dismisses Prince Bandar's $135 million asking price as a case of "some character putting on a price just to try to top Trump." (Prince Bandar declined to comment. ) As for the $165 million Beverly Hills listing, Mr. Trump calls it "a joke." ("If Donald Trump owned it, it would be the best house in the world," says the property's broker, Stephen Shapiro.)
While the top of the real-estate market has been thriving, fueled by Wall Street bonuses and foreign cash, buyers at this level aren't immune to wobbly markets. Pat McPherron, a housing analyst at Moody's Economy.com, says banks may want to see more cash on hand, even from billionaire borrowers.
Historic grand homes
Then there's the question of whether anyone will pay these prices. "One hundred million is an insane amount to pay for a house," says Jim Clark, the billionaire co-founder of Netscape. Joan Waitt, the wife of Gateway co-founder Ted Waitt and the owner of multiple homes including a San Francisco mansion on the market for $25.9 million, says she has no plans to write a check in excess of $100 million for a house. "It's kind of a ludicrous number," she says, "unless you're buying an island."
Record asking prices haven't always guaranteed record sales -- or sales at all. Executors of the estate of oil- and film-industry billionaire Marvin Davis originally listed his Beverly Hills home for $70 million, but people familiar with the deal say it sold in 2005 for roughly $45 million. Manhattan's most expensive listing, Martin Zweig's $70 million penthouse atop the Pierre Hotel, has been on the market for more than two years. (Listing agent Elizabeth Lee Sample says that she's had offers at the asking price but didn't think the prospective buyers could get past the building's rigorous co-op board.)
Nonetheless, Suzanne Saperstein, owner of the $125 million Los Angeles chateau, says she has no plans to cut her price. "I'm in no rush," she says. And more contenders are on the way. Developer Frank McKinney is building a house in Manalapan, Fla., that he plans to list for "at least" $135 million, while land baron Tim Blixseth is asking $155 million for a yet-to-be-built Montana estate. Entertainment billionaire David Geffen has quietly shopped his historic 9.4-acre Los Angeles estate for $100 million, according to a broker who has shown the property. Mr. Geffen says his home in Los Angeles is not for sale.
The U.S. doesn't have a monopoly on extreme listings -- or extreme sales. The international home sale record is thought to be held by a London property that sold in 2004 for £70 million (about $128 million at the time). A Paris home is on the market for €100 million, or roughly $135 million.
As for the current domestic contenders, the jury is out. Mr. Trump's property includes valuable Palm Beach ocean frontage, but some agents call the house a "teardown." Los Angeles brokers are unanimous in their opinion that the Hearst estate is overpriced -- by some accounts by as much as $100 million. And while Ms. Chase says she believes the Tahoe property is "underpriced" at $100 million, others point out that it isn't even on the lake.
So which one, if any, will break the $103 million U.S. record?
The article has pictures and a breakdown of the five homes. I like my house better. Sigh.