"Million Dollar Listing" house in Malibu to be Auctioned -- at 65 Percent Off Original listing price

by Ann Brenoff (RSS feed)
Apr 14th 2010 at 9:01AM

Apparently not even a starring role on what is arguably the most-watched real estate "reality" show -- Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing" -- was enough to attract buyers to this 5,634 square foot home in Malibu. The canyon property is headed for a live on-site auction on May 22 with the opening bid set at $1.9 million -- substantially down (65%) from the original listing price of $5,495,000.

Expect the house to sell for just under $3 million, says Malibu Prudential agent and local blogger, Mike Gardner. Gardner lives near the listing himself and actively tracks the local Malibu market on his web site. The auction has a reserve, which if not met, means the house won't be sold.

The four-bedroom architectural home is located in a private, gated canyon with mature oak trees and streams. It is a short walk to the beach through a tunnel and the home has ocean views. It sits on a flat acre and there is a detached one-bedroom, one-bath guest house. The state-of-the-art kitchen includes stainless steel appliances. The flooring is white marble, imported from Greece. The driveway and motor court are constructed of Arizona flagstone. Katie Bentzen of Arete Estates shares the listing with Hilton & Hyland's Chad Rogers, one of the three "Million Dollar Listing" stars.

On the show, as faithful viewers will recall, Chad took the listing at a time when few homes were moving, especially in Malibu. The story line addressed how aggressively he marketed the home despite the sour market. "It's important to take extra good care of my clients especially in this rough economy," Chad wrote on the show's blog about the episode. "I always go to the moon and back to make sure that I am doing everything I can for them. In this episode everyone met my client Jack and saw how serious he was about selling his house." Chad added, "While agents were spending very little money marketing their listings, I stepped it up in a big way. I continued to place magazine cover ads and catered open houses to show my clients how much I believed in their properties."

The home will be auctioned by Premiere Estates Auctions and sold "as is" with no contingencies and no warranties. A $25,000 cashier's check is required to bid but only a 10% deposit is required on auction day.

Tags: luxury home auction, luxury housing real estate, malibu, malibu house auction, malibu real estate, mike gardner, Million Dollar Listing, million dollar listings, real estate auction

Filed under: Estates, Auctions

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Malia L. Meenderman Apr 15th 2010 11:03PM

It is very interesting to see these high end auctions. I wonder if this is becoming a trend or will fade after this crisis resolves itself. There is one going to happen in Honolulu soon...no upset price either. It should be interesting. http://bonnebaker.com/oahu/DiamondHead/home/Aukai-Ave/1004631/