Billy Joel Is Movin’ Out of His $49 Million Long Island Mansion
The Grammy winner wants to sell the roughly 26-acre waterfront estate now that he and his wife are spending more time in Florida
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Billy Joel’s roughly 26-acre, waterfront estate on the North Shore of Long Island is coming on the market for $49 million.
The Grammy winner paid $22.5 million for the first roughly 14 acres of the Oyster Bay, N.Y., estate in 2002, public records show. More recently, he acquired several adjacent parcels of land, restoring much of an original estate that was broken up in the 1950s, according to listing agent Bonnie Williamson of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty.
Known as Middlesea, the property was briefly listed for sale in 2006 asking $37.5 million, but was taken off the market soon after, Ms. Williamson said. She said the Piano Man is looking to sell now because he and his wife, Alexis Roderick, with whom he shares two young children, are spending more time in Florida. A spokesperson for Mr. Joel couldn’t be reached for comment.
Located on Centre Island, a small island roughly 40 miles east of Midtown Manhattan, the estate is close to Mr. Joel’s hometown of Hicksville, a hamlet also located in the town of Oyster Bay. The centerpiece of the estate is a roughly 20,000-square-foot mansion. The property also has a floating dock, a beach house with guest rooms, a gate house, two outdoor pools and a helipad, Ms. Williamson said.
Currently under renovation, the five-bedroom main house has covered porches, brick columns and archways, and a two-story entry hall with black-and-white marble tiled floors. Other amenities at the estate include an under-construction playroom, a room designed to be a spa and hair salon, a bowling alley and a wine cellar. Mr. Joel covered up an indoor pool so he could use the space, which has excellent acoustics, as a music room, Ms. Williamson said.
The renovation of the house is expected to be complete by the late summer or fall, she said. Mr. Joel decided to put the house on the market in the midst of the renovation, Ms. Williamson said, because “whoever buys will want to do their own selections of how to paint and decorate and perhaps style the kitchen.”
Mr. Joel, known for songs like “Piano Man,” “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and “Uptown Girl,” is in the midst of residency at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Records show a company tied to Mr. Joel purchased an estate in the Lantana, Fla., area, for about $22 million in 2015. Another company tied to Mr. Joel also owns property in Sag Harbor, N.Y., records show.
Middlesea will be the most expensive home for sale in Oyster Bay, where the next priciest listing is asking $8.5 million, according to Zillow. In the first quarter, Long Island luxury sales were down by about 34% from the same period of last year, according to a recent report by Douglas Elliman.
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Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual
Philip Lowe’s comments come amid property industry concerns about pressures on mortgage holders and rising rents
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Leaders in Australia’s property industry are calling on the RBA to hit the pause button on further interest rate rises following yesterday’s announcement to raise the cash rate to 4.1 percent.
CEO of the REINSW, Tim McKibbin, said it was time to let the 12 interest rate rises since May last year take effect.
“The REINSW would like to see the RBA hit pause and allow the 12 rate rises to date work their way through the economy. Property prices have rebounded because of supply and demand. I think that will continue with the rate rise,” said Mr McKibbin.
The Real Estate Institute of Australia today released its Housing Affordability Report for the March 2023 quarter which showed that in NSW, the proportion of family income required to meet the average loan repayments has risen to 55 percent, up from 44.5 percent a year ago.
Chief economist at Ray White, Nerida Conisbee, said while this latest increase would probably not push Australia into a recession, it had major implications for the housing market and the needs of ordinary Australians.
“As more countries head into recession, at this point, it does look like the RBA’s “narrow path” will get us through while taming inflation,” she said.
“In the meantime however, it is creating a headache for renters, buyers and new housing supply that is going to take many years to resolve.
“And every interest rate rise is extending that pain.”
In a speech to guests at Morgan Stanley’s Australia Summit released today, Governor Philip Lowe addressed the RBA board’s ‘narrow path’ approach, navigating continued economic growth while pushing inflation from its current level of 6.8 percent down to a more acceptable level of 2 to 3 percent.
“It is still possible to navigate this path and our ambition is to do so,” Mr Lowe said. “But it is a narrow path and likely to be a bumpy one, with risks on both sides.”
However, he said the alternative is persistent high inflation, which would do the national economy more damage in the longer term.
“If inflation stays high for too long, it will become ingrained in people’s expectations and high inflation will then be self-perpetuating,” he said. “As the historical experiences shows, the inevitable result of this would be even higher interest rates and, at some point, a larger increase in unemployment to get rid of the ingrained inflation.
“The Board’s priority is to do what it can to avoid this.”
While acknowledging that another rate rise would adversely affect many households, Mr Lowe said it was unavoidable if inflation was to be tamed.
“It is certainly true that if the Board had not lifted interest rates as it has done, some households would have avoided, for a short period, the financial pressures that come with higher mortgage rates,” he said.
“But this short-term gain would have been at a much higher medium-term cost. If we had not tightened monetary policy, the cost of living would be higher for longer. This would hurt all Australians and the functioning of our economy and would ultimately require even higher interest rates to bring inflation back down.
“So, as difficult as it is, the rise in interest rates is necessary to bring inflation back to target in a reasonable timeframe.”
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual
