Luxury real estate agent Kurt Rappaport has a history of brokering record-setting deals—will he soon sell the most expensive home in America? The specialist has been behind a number of high-profile Malibu home deals in recent years, including the sale of a $177 million mansion in 2021 to Silicon Valley tycoons Marc Andreessen and Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, Beyonce and Jay-Z’s $200 million estate purchased in 2023, and a $210 million oceanfront home that sold this past June. Each successive sale set a new record for the priciest home sold in California, but his latest deal could claim a title that extends beyond the Golden State.
As Bloomberg reports, he will soon bring a $300 million home to market as a private listing, which, if sold for its asking price, would be the most expensive home ever sold in the United States. Currently, a penthouse on Billionaire’s Row in Manhattan purchased by financier Ken Griffin for $240 million in 2019 holds the record.
Images of the property haven’t been shared, but it’s likely the residence is located in a highly desirable setting, perhaps with private ocean frontage. As the Bloomberg report points out, though Malibu is particularly susceptible to risks related to climate change, many high-income individuals are still willing to buy in the area because the land can be more valuable than the homes. “These prices aren’t reflecting the structure as much as the land itself,” Jonathan Miller, a real estate appraiser at Miller Samuel Inc, said.
Nonetheless, becoming the most expensive home in America is a title many properties in recent years have tried to claim. So far, none have been successful; a recent example is a nine-acre compound in Naples, Florida, listed in February 2024 for $295 million and still available for that same price. Others that have come to market with potentially record-setting asks have had to cut prices below the title-clinching threshold, such as Casa Encantada in Bel Air. Originally listed for $250 million in June 2023, it was reduced to $195 million in February 2024. (Rappaport also holds this listing through Drew Fenton of Carolwood Estates).
Still, as CNBC reported in April of this year, the luxury real estate market has recently performed better that overall real estate sales. And as Rappaport told Bloomberg, there will always be demand for homes in the best locations. “There are only so many seats in the front row,” he said.
