Friday, December 20, 2013

Tidbits and Morsels: Michael Jordan

Seemingly undeterred by its failure to sell earlier this week at an auction of international réclame with a $13 million reserve, His Airness Michael Jordan jumped right back in the real estate game and, as first reported by the Chicago Tribune, audaciously re-listed his Highland Park mega-mansion with a nearly 25% higher $16 million price tag.*

Probably some of you children fell right off your asses wondering, "What is the world is this fool thinking raising the damn price of that house?" It's a logical question, for sure, but there is, as we've told the children 49,000 times before, an accepted if infrequently utilized school of real estate thought that reads (and we paraphrase liberally): If a highly-customized, multi-million dollar house isn't selling—even after several substantial price chops—raise the price, preferably significantly. Certainly it's somewhat radical and counter-intuitive to conventional real estate wisdom and practice but, believe it or not, puppies, this upping-the-price maneuver works often enough that, regardless of what any of us who don't work or swim in the sometimes illogical miasma of the real estate industry, it remains a viable option for upper-market real estate professionals and high end sellers.

The 7.39 acre estate, ringed by a towering wall of 150 mature evergreens that ensure privacy, has a total of nine bedrooms, 19 toilets—15 full and 4 half bathrooms, a Euro-style kitchen and numerous entertainment and recreation lounges that include formal living and dining rooms, a cigar lounge with walk-in humidor, and a second floor games room. There's also a professional-grade indoor basketball court—of course, a unique circular swimming pool, a putting green, a private fish-stocked pond and enough parking for a small army of friends, family, and domestic workers.

While Your Mama recognizes and appreciates the quality of the materials and expertise of the workmanship that went into the sparely done but super-luxe interiors on the convention center-sized residence but this property gossip still think the damn thing looks, on the outside, like an upscale medical research facility.

*The property, dubbed Legend Point, was originally listed in 2012 for $29 million and later reduced to $21 million before the unsuccessful $13 million reserve auction attempt.

listing photo: Baird and Warner

7 comments:

lil' gay boy said...

"...this property gossip still think the damn thing looks, on the outside, like an upscale medical research facility."

What, exactly, could they be researching -- elephantiasis?

From the air, the surrounding, relatively modest houses appear as tiny, timid supplicants -- one can almost hear them whisper across the lawns, "...he has the ring; he has the ring!"

Anonymous said...

Madame Helena Rubinstein, New York real estate queen, cosmetic empress, and business goddess, raised prices on newly introduced slow-selling beauty products, creating greater desirability and immediate increases in sales volume!

Rabbi Hedda LaCasa

Anonymous said...

The location of this house isn't very good - backs up to the railroad tracks. And Highland Park is not the most desirable suburb along Chicago's North Shore. All in all, it's just overpriced.

Anonymous said...

The price isn't really "Upped" The reserve isn't really a price and on top of that should somewhat have bid the reserve they would be looking at a pretty hefty auction fee too. Plus if $13m is his bottom line he needs negotiation room

Sandpiper said...

Huh? It's me that's confused. What's he got into it? In what year's dollars? Too lazy to look back at Mama's math. Mansion or mid-America ranch ... list at the fantasy price; wait see where the market value caps.

Let this tango begin.

Anonymous said...

Where does Ms. Helena Rubinstein live?

stolidog said...

the land better be amazing, because that house is just a tear-down.