Bidding to Begin on the Most Expensive House for Sale in the U.S.

The multimillion-dollar Los Angeles megamansion known as The One, is live at auction at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Monday, marking the start of a four-day affair that will see an ultra-exclusive audience bidding for the $405 million goliath with no reserve.

The hammer will drop on the Bel Air hilltop estate just weeks after it officially hit the market in mid-January with that nine-figure price tag, though the developer of the 9755-sqm spread has previously estimated the value to be as high as $688 million.

The online auction, which runs through Thursday, is being handled by Concierge Auctions, in collaboration with real estate agents Aaron Kirman of Compass and Branden and Rayni Williams of The Beverly Hills Estates.

“The time has come for this legendary property, The One, to sell and make history,” Ms. Williams said in a statement. “And may the best bidder win.”

Developed by film producer-turned-developer Nile Niami nearly 10 years ago, The One sits on close to 4 acres surrounded by a moat on three sides and with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Mountains.

Festooned with high-end features, the 21-bedroom palace boasts five pools, a massive nightclub, a full-service beauty salon, a 10,000-square-foot sky deck, a home theatre seating more than 40 people and a 400-foot private outdoor running track with a glass-walled view of the city.

There’s also a cigar lounge, a four-lane bowling alley, putting green, a juice bar, a philanthropy pavilion, a tennis court, a 10,000-bottle wine cellar and a 30-plus car garage with two car display turntables.

In fact, its lengthy list of amenities may only be surpassed by the column inches that have been dedicated to the embattled home.

The home was engulfed in a legal battle between the lenders, including Hankey Capital and Lanes Management, and Niami-related limited liability company, Crestlloyd.

Crestlloyd LLC, which lenders accused of defaulting on loans, filed for bankruptcy in October to keep the property from foreclosing. And a Los Angeles court appointed Ted Lanes of Lanes Management as receiver, who is authorised to prepare the property for the sale, Mansion Global previously reported.

“The One is created for today’s billionaire seeking a truly unrepeatable asset, and when it sells, it will be the most significant purchase in the world,” Mr. Kirman said in a statement. “While in 2021, digital properties like NFTs grabbed headlines for monumental one-of-kind-sales, 2022 brings us back to the physical world with The One—a real estate property unmatched in size, scale, safety and triumphant design.”

If it sells for close to its listing price, it would set a record, not only for Los Angeles but for the U.S., surpassing the approx. $327 million billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin paid for a New York City condo in early 2019.

A 110-year-old Colorado estate that has hosted Frank Sinatra and Lyndon B. Johnson just slashed $10 million off its price tag.

The 12,000-square-foot manor house—with 25 rooms—and its five accessory dwelling in the alpines of Evergreen was relisted on Friday asking $16.8 million, down from its initial $26.8 million price in 2023.

The sellers, Richard and Pamela Bard, who paid $1.3 million for the “legacy property” named Greystone Estate in 1992, have shopped it around on and off for the past 20 years, according to agent Jessica Northrop at Compass Real Estate.

Richard Bard, CEO of his own private equity firm, has “hosted many corporate events and retreats where important business is discussed but they are also able to relax,” Northrop said. “Greystone has a special way of making people feel at ease.”

Bard said “it’s not a casual effort” to sell. He said it’s difficult to find a buyer with the facilities to “take care of it.”

The Bards intend to move closer to their children in Denver.

Before the Bards, Greystone Estate had several eras—as a summer house, a guest ranch and a business base—since it was built in 1915 by Genevieve Phipps, an industrialist’s daughter.

Phipps, who spent her inheritance on the land, built the 54-acre summer escape with the “elegance and feel of a fine Adirondack mansion combined with a mountain rustic style,” according to an online record of the estate’s history.

Its heyday, arguably in the 1940s to 1980s, saw Sinatra, Johnson and Groucho Marx come through its doors, when its owner William Sandifer, a socialite and one the Empire State Building’s architects, operated a guest ranch out of the place.

The Bards, who used a carriage house on the property as their company headquarters, completed Greystone’s full modernization in 1997. They also opened up the living and dining areas to receive more light, raised the ceiling on the upper level and combined several rooms to create a primary suite.

They replaced an outdoor pavilion and its helipad with something more suitable for their daughter’s wedding in 2001, according to Northrop.

The main 25-room manor includes a wine cellar, bar, gym and library.

The additional structures, which include a cottage, a log cabin, a pool house, a carriage house and a pavilion and guest house, surround the pool area and overlook acres of aspen groves and mountains.

Bidding to Begin on the Most Expensive House for Sale in the U.S.

Marking the start of a four-day affair that will see an ultra-exclusive audience bid for the home.

The 25-room mansion was built for an heiress and later belonged to a socialite and architect on the Empire State Building.