A roughly 237-acre estate known as Rancho San Carlos, one of the largest properties in moneyed, celeb-studded Montecito, has been put on the market for $125M, reports the Wall Street Journal. Though the likes of Ellen Degeneres, Oprah, and Jeff Bridges count homes there, Montecito has yet to see a sale break $100M, so even after a few hefty price cuts, the estate could set a record for the area. Regarding the price, which pays for a 30,000-square-foot main house, a smattering of outbuildings, and 100 acres of citrus and avocado orchards, the Sotheby's agents representing the property point out that Bellosguardo, the 23-acre Santa Barbara estate of the late Huguette Clark, is said to be worth about that much. So why not shoot for higher?
Surely, they were also looking to the recent sales of places like the Hamptons' Further Lane estate ($147M), Cooper Beach Farm ($120M), and Fleur de Lys ($88.3M), or any of such instance where an absurd price finds an equally absurd buyer. There's also, as displayed earlier this week with the new priciest listing in the country ($139M), and the announcement of an apartment with a ludicrous price of $475M, a good deal of oneupmanship going around, and the sense that if you list your home for a headline-grabbing, seemingly prestigious figure, you can probably rake in a still exceedingly profitable portion of that after a few price reductions. Of course, all of this says nothing about how beautiful the home is (very).
The property has been owned by the same family for nearly a century, according to Jim Jackson, whose grandparents, Charles H. Jackson, Jr. and his wife Ann, acquired the land in the late '20s and then built the Monterey Colonial-style house on it, which was designed by architect Reginald Johnson. Since Ann's death in 1990, the property has been maintained, but the main house hasn't been lived in full-time. Notably, the Prohibition-era home has a English-style pub reached through a secret door, an underground badminton court with an observation gallery below that, and a "tower office" accessible only by an external staircase connecting to the master suite. According to the listing, the home is "infused with an atmosphere of sophistication and refinement" and "astutely sited on two natural terraces," which affords "privacy, calm and exceptional views," due to the fact that the living rooms are situated around a central courtyard, and the bedrooms on the upper terrace.
"It's almost like a small city," listing agent Harry Kolb tells the Journal, referring to the 10 cottages that were once used to house employees, a 11,250-square-foot covered riding arena, an outdoor training track, and a "small office building." Speaking for his family, Jackson explains that "everyone would like to have somebody buy it and keep it together."
· A Large Montecito Estate Lists For $125 Million [WSJ]
· Mapping the 11 Most Expensive Houses Ever Sold in America [Curbed National]
· All Blockbusters posts [Curbed National]
· All Montecito coverage [Curbed National]
Loading comments...