WSJ: Home Sales Over $100 Million Exploded in 2021
The priciest residential deals of 2021 included Montana ranches, L.A. estates and Manhattan condos as affluent buyers splurged on home purchases
By all measures, 2021 was a banner year for the country’s luxury residential market, despite the economic uncertainty caused by the continuing global pandemic.
At least 40 properties in the United States sold for $50 million or more last year, a 35% increase from 2020, and at least eight sold for at least $100 million, a 300% jump from the prior year, according to data compiled by appraisal firm Miller Samuel and The Wall Street Journal. Real-estate experts attributed the increase in activity to low interest rates, as well as a surge in wealth created through gains in the stock market and alternative assets like cryptocurrencies. While deals in the ultraluxury sector don’t always speak to a broader surge in real-estate values, in 2021 they did coincide with a general uptick in the overall housing market. As of November 2021, existing-home sales were on track for their strongest year since 2006, thanks to low mortgage-interest rates and a robust job market, The Wall Street Journal reported.
After a tough 2020 marked by pandemic-related lockdowns, the New York City luxury market rebounded dramatically in 2021, posting record levels of activity. The market also continued to rise in luxury markets such as Los Angeles and high-end rural ranch areas. The priciest residential transactions to close last year included deals in Montana, South Florida, L.A., Manhattan and the Hamptons.
Read on for a closer look at some of the year’s biggest deals.
2. Malibu, Calif.
Sale price: $177 million
Buyer: Marc Andreessen and Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen
Seller: Serge Azria
Details: The second-largest deal of the year was the $177 million sale of an oceanfront, Malibu, Calif., estate owned by the fashion mogul Serge Azria and his wife, Florence Azria. The property, located in the Paradise Cove section of Malibu, included a main house spanning roughly 10,000 square feet as well as two guesthouses. The buyers were venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and his wife, Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen. The October sale set a record for the most expensive home ever sold in California, besting Amazon founder Jeff Bezos‘ 2020 purchase of a Beverly Hills estate.
Agent: Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency
