Inside the $500 Million "Giga-Mansion" Boom
In L.A. a growing number of developers are banking on home buyers wanting amenities like $250,000 Champagne cellars, jellyfish rooms, moats, IMAX theaters, and 30-car galleries. Here's why.
Post–Great Recession, the spec-home market in Los Angeles didn’t simply recover, it exploded into one of the world’s true real-estate juggernauts. Today teardowns routinely fetch $30 million and above, while completed mega-compounds with nine-figure price tags are no longer real-estate one-offs. The explosion of mega-mansions has spawned a one-of-a-kind residential race to the top, where developers, architects, and designers continue to push the boundaries of opulence to new extremes, in terms of size, amenities, and price.
Currently, the most expensive home for sale in the U.S. is a 38,000-square-foot Bel Air spec spread developed by QVC handbag tycoon Bruce Makowsky. The $250 million, 21-bath, three-kitchen compound comes loaded with a helipad, $30 million worth of cars, and a seven-person staff for two years.
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Far from an overpriced developer’s pipe dream, however, these types of over-the-top mega-estates typically sell for asking price, says real-estate agent David Parnes. “There is unprecedented action in this market. There’s a lot of money chasing very few products, and the special properties command these premium prices.
They sell quickly,” says the Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles star, whose current projects include a 14,000-square-foot Bel Air spec estate poised to hit the market this summer. Designed by South Africa–based SAOTA Architecture, the home will include multiple master suites, a solarium, a cigar bar, a full spa, and a screening room. It will be listed at nearly $50 million.
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/inside-the-dollar500-million-giga-mansion-boom