The bar has been raised. A $210 million real estate deal in Malibu, CA, recently shattered the record for the most expensive home sale in the coveted coastal town.
The impact of the megadeal wasn’t just a local story, because the sale price also set a new record for the entire state of California.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Oakley founder James Jannard sold his oceanfront estate for the stratospheric, nine-digit price. The sale price tops the former record set by Jay-Z and Beyonce‘s purchase of a concrete compound—also in Malibu—for $200 million in 2023.
Last May, the A-list couple snapped up a 40,000-square-foot, beachfront masterpiece by revered Japanese architect Tadao Ando, who also designed the Malibu home owned by Kanye West. That place is currently on the market at a discounted price of $39 million, after the rapper stripped the minimalist space of its windows, electrical, and even plumbing.
(Getty Images)
The record-setting spread
Aside from landing a historic sum, Jannard also pocketed quite a profit from the deal. The sunglasses and apparel mogul purchased the coastal property in 2001 for a mere $31 million.
The home’s new owner is hidden behind a LLC, so their identity has yet to be revealed. What we do know is that the transaction was done quietly off-market, so details—and photos—of the home are scant.
From what we do know, the oceanside estate is quite a score.
Set on a majestic 9.5 acres, the cliffside spread includes a 19,340-square-foot mansion with eight bedrooms, 13 baths, a gourmet kitchen, formal dining room, a den and library, an elevator, and a screening room.
Inside, a limestone stairway leads to a vast primary suite with a sitting room, an office, exercise room, and three giant closets. Five more bedrooms, including two guest suites, are downstairs.
The rare offering also includes an enviable 300 feet of shoreline. The grounds feature a formal rose garden, tennis court, guesthouse, staff quarters, putting green, and a covered pavilion.
(Google Maps)
What does it all mean?
Aside from the attention-getting price tag, what does the sky-high price mean for the ultra-luxury Malibu market?
“It’s great for the market,” says Malibu-based listing agent Jack Turturici Jr., of Douglas Elliman. “I think sales like this lift the entire market of Malibu up.”
He notes the record-breaking price for the “bluff-top property” likely represents a combination of driving factors: a lot of land, a lot of privacy, and beach access.
Outside of Malibu, the price tag could also make waves in other high-end markets.
(Realtor.com)
“This record-breaking sale certainly opens the door to reset Malibu real estate and potentially a lot of the Southern California uber-luxury market,” says Cara Ameer, bicoastal agent with Coldwell Banker, licensed in California and Florida. “The ‘ceiling’ has been lifted, so to speak, which will likely pave the way for more of these kinds of transactions. The luxury buyer is not affected by interest rates or inflation, so it is a matter of finding the right property in the right location that allows them to live out their life they way they envisioned.”
And for that matter, it makes sense that a buyer would gravitate toward a quiet deal that can be done without much notice.
“Many of these record-breaking transactions come together off-market without the spotlight of the MLS or public marketing, for privacy and confidentiality reasons,” Ameer says.
(Realtor.com)