he owner of the Agoura Hills, Calif. mansion where TV's "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" are filmed has reduced his asking price from nearly $13 million to $8,750,000.
The Wall Street Journal's 'Private Properties' column on Friday reported on the price cut for the six-bedroom, rustic Italian-style house. Owner Marshall Haraden built the 7,590-square-foot house in 2005 and used materials for the house from Mexico, India, China and Morocco, the Journal reported.
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Why haven't we heard much about this listing before? It hasn't exactly been spread all over the Internet. Our guess is that Haraden first had tried to sell the house quietly (i.e., not reaching out to the land of celebrity real estate gossips), and when that didn't work, he authorized his agent (and their PR people) to contact the Journal, which endeavors mightily to place only scoops in its 'Private Properties' column and which, we assume, demands exclusivity from PR pitches. (We should note that the Journal got thoroughly scooped on another item in Friday's 'Private Properties' column, about New York artist-developer Julian Schnabel cutting the asking price for the triplex penthouse in Schnabel's Palazzo Chupi condominium building in Manhattan's West Village from $32 million to $24 million, which was written about the day before by the New York Post's fine celebrity real estate columnist Braden Keil.)
In any case, the "Bachelor" house is at 2351 Kanan Road in Agoura Hills. We might not otherwise publish the address, but its listing agent previously has flatly referenced the 'Bachelor' and "Bachelorette" in past listing information.
Features in the house include nine baths, hand-carved Cantera stone fireplaces, imported fountains, a state-of-the-art chef's kitchen, electronic skylights and dual pane windows, according to listing information. The living room is where the reality shows' "rose ceremony" takes place (pictured are 2007 "bachelor" Andy Baldwin plus some of the gals at one of the rose ceremonies). Outdoor features include a separate, 4,000-square-foot accessory building, a solar heated, saltwater swimming pool, a swim-up barbecue and bar, arched aqueduct spillways and two spas, according to listing information. The house sits on about 10 acres.
Although the Journal didn't mention this, Haraden calls the property Villa De La Vina, and also rents it out. Take a look at Haraden's website -- with lots of photos.