Before this holiday weekend wraps up, we're going to try to get to a few big-name transactions of late that we have neglected. The first is the news that tennis star Pete Sampras has sold his five-bedroom, walled and gated mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif. for a reported $23,000,000, and reportedly to "Will & Grace" co-creator Max Mutchnick.
Indeed, records recently made public do indeed reveal that Sampras' Golden Gate Trust on May 24 sold the 10,376-square-foot Country English, manor-style (read Tudor-style) mansion, on a 1.04-acre lot at 825 Loma Vista Drive in Beverly Hills to something called the Kugel Trust (with a money manager named Michael Stern). The deal was recorded on June 16. Sampras (shown here with his wife) most recently had had his mansion on the market for $23,000,000. We wrote about Sampras' listing back on January 25, when it had been listed for $25,000,000. However, the house first had come on the market in 2003 for $8,900,000 (the couple had purchased it in 2001 for $8,300,000), and then was taken off the market and expanded and rehabbed. The mansion then came back on the market in January 2008.
In recent weeks, our respected peers have provided great details on the deal, none of which are facts that we would dream of disputing. First off, our pals over at the Real Estalker on June 28 reported that the buyers of Sampras' house were Mutchnick and his partner. Last September, Mutchnick's Chicago Son Trust had sold Ellen DeGeneres her current spread in Beverly Hills. On July 3, the Los Angeles Times' celebrity real estate columnist Ann Brenoff reported in her "Hot Property" blog (item hasn't yet appeared in her weekly "Hot Property" newspaper column) that Los Angeles' multiple listing service says that Sampras' mansion sold for exactly the $23,000,000 asking price. We can't dispute that fact, either; the exact purchase price will clear in a few weeks, and we'll of course provide it here if it ends up being anything other than $23,000,000. Built in 1933 and designed by John Byers, the former Sampras mansion has 12 baths, detailed finishes throughout, a professional theater, an office/library, maid's quarters, a master suite with a sitting room, his and hers baths, and a sundeck, according to listing information. Outside is indeed a north/south tennis court, along with a putting green, play areas and a pool, according to listing information. Check out an online listing sheet for the mansion that Sampras just sold -- complete with photos. Public records show that Sampras continues to own a house at 2552 Via Anita in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., which he purchased in mid-2000 for $785,000. Despite the housing downturn, we're struck by the (admittedly completely statistically insignificant) number of ultra-long-listed celebrity properties that have finally been unloaded in recent months. In addition to Sampras' mansion (first listed in 2003), a few others include: --Actor Dan Aykroyd finally selling his house at 7708 Woodrow Wilson Drive in Los Angeles to actress Beverly D'Angelo, as we first reported on Valentine's Day; that house had been on and off the market since 2000! --Husband-and-wife actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen finally selling their 2,923-square-foot house at 23610 Malibu Colony Road (also 58 Malibu Colony Road) in Malibu, Calif. for an undisclosed amount on April 17 after it had been on the market off and on since 2003! --The renovated former Wilt Chamberlain mansion at 15216 Antelo Drive in Los Angeles' Bel-Air area finally sold on January 28 to an Eastern European couple for $6,555,000 after having been on the market since 2006 (and first listed for $11.5 million!), as we exclusively reported on March 3. Now if only actress Linda Gray's ranch in Santa Clarita, Calif., which has been on the market on and off since 2003, could find a buyer! (that may be too much to ask for) Our nomination for the future endless-celebrity-listing would have to be actress Sharon Stone's current $10 million listing of her 6,640-square-foot (or 9,000-square-foot, according to public records) mansion at 2201 N. Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills. It's already been on the market (off and on) for close to two years, with no end in sight.