Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
A mansion used as the backdrop for the popular 1960s TV show “The Beverly Hillbillies” has just been sold for $150 million, setting a new record for California and becoming the second-most expensive piece of real estate in the country.
The home, located in Los Angeles’ ritzy Beverly Hills district, was originally listed privately at a staggering $350 million, but a buyer was only found after the listing went public and a series of price drops.
The transaction value smashes California’s previous sales record of $120 million, which was spent on the Manor in Holmby Hills earlier this year. On a national basis, the Hillbillies mansion sale is second only to the $238 million New York penthouse that was sold to hedge fund operator Ken Griffin in January.
The Beverly Hillbillies mansion was built in the 1930s and is a French neoclassical style estate encompassing a massive 25,000 square feet of space. The building houses 26 rooms and sits on a 10 acre site. The home shot to national fame as its exterior became a fixture of what was one of America’s most popular TV shows for years, though the interior of the home was never filmed.
The Los Angeles Times identified the buyer as one Lachlan Murdoch, son of the media magnate Rupert Murdoch and co-chairman of News Corp. The estate is said to have one of the city’s highest annual tax bills at $1.3 million.
The listing agents for the home were Drew and Susan Gitlin of Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices California Properties; Drew Fenton, Gary Gold, and Jeff Hyland of Hilton & Hyland; and Joyce Rey, Jade Mills, and Alexandra Allen of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury. Fenton also represented Murdoch in the deal, the Times said.
Luxury real estate sales continue to be strong in California: Los Angeles alone has seen seven mega-sales since 2016, each worth at least $100 million.
