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Swimming pools and movie stars, indeed.
A Beverly Hills mansion that was the most expensive home to ever hit the auction block at $160 million has sold for an undisclosed sum. When the sale closes, the transaction will make history as the most expensive home ever sold at auction, the organizer says.
Bidding opened up in December for the ultra-exclusive Villa Firenze, which finally sold on Feb. 2 through an online auction, Concierge Auctions announced earlier this week. After the deal goes through, it will mark "the highest price ever achieved at auction for a single-family home," according to the world’s largest luxury real estate auction firm.
In the 53 days before the sale, the compound's auction listing drew 33,000 views from interested parties in 170 countries, chiefly the U.S., Canada, U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland Spain, Belgium, Austria and Germany. From there, over 1,800 "prospects" expressed interest, and a total of 31 showings were held. Bidders from the U.S. and China ultimately made offers.
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Before the property was auctioned, the estate had sat on the market for two years, Realtor reports. Billionaire owner Steven Udvar-Hazy even slashed $5 million off the asking price in June 2020.
Rolling the dice, the owner risked selling the megamansion for less than its astronomical asking price, listing the villa with no minimum price threshold in the no-reserve auction. However, the price was apparently right for one deep-pocketed buyer, and the home’s sale will make history.
"To the most affluent sellers, time is the ultimate resource," Chad Roffers, Concierge Auctions chairman, said in a news release. "In only 53 days we secured a strong field of bidders — which ultimately resulted in breaking our own previous world record — and brought reach, speed, and certainty to our client. Not every seller has the risk tolerance to let the market speak, and it paid off in folds for our client."
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The megamansion is represented by Jeff Hyland of Hilton and Hyland.
A truly opulent oasis, Villa Firenze is a 20-bed, 23-bath megamansion on nine acres in North Beverly Park, which the auction house touts as "the most exclusive guard-gated community in Los Angeles." Designed to evoke the feeling of an Italian village, the 20,000-square-foot home took seven years to build and was completed in 1998, according to its listing page.
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With manicured grounds, a private street for entry and plenty of 40-foot palm trees, the home was designed as a secluded, elegant escape for its homeowners. Amenities include a gym, home theater, wine cellar, pool house, tennis court and adjacent trail. For buyers interested in throwing legendary parties, Villa Firenze also boasts three guest homes and a 30-car courtyard, too.
An aerial shot of 67 Beverly Park Court in Beverly Hills, Calif., known as Villa Firenze. (Google Maps)
Home to the largest assemblage of land in the North Beverly Park enclave, the villa’s new owner has a unique opportunity to develop a separate lot of the compound, if they so choose.
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Concierge Auctions, meanwhile, is using part of its cut to pay it forward when the buyer of Villa Firenze eventually closes. The firm is planning to build a new home for a family in need through its philanthropic Key for Key program, in partnership with Giveback Homes.