Yolanda has now received a couple reader queries asking why we haven’t yet covered Adam Levine’s recent major real estate moves. Frankly, y’all, it is because his purchases have already been splashed around on every news site known to mankind. We really didn’t have anything to add.
But given that Mr. Levine has now spent in excess of $65 million within a year, Yolanda figures we can no longer – in good faith – ignore these deals. So let’s take a quick peek.
In the final days of 2018, as was first reported by TMZ, Mr. Levine forked out $31,950,000 for the Pacific Palisades estate of estranged Hollywood couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner. The deal was totally off-market, and oh dear — looks like we will need to update our 2018 list of LA’s biggest residential sales. This would’ve slotted in at #17.
We unfortunately don’t have any recent photographs of Mr. Levine’s new estate. But we do know that the sprawling ranch-style home was originally designed by venerated architect Cliff May and sits on a multi-acre hillside lot in the Riviera neighborhood, the priciest pocket of posh Pacific Palisades.
Records show that Mr. Affleck and Ms. Garner picked up the property back in 2009 – at the height of our last economic recession – for “just” $17,550,000. While we imagine the A-list couple made some customizations to the compound during their near-decade of ownership, at the time of their purchase the property included a main structure with 5 beds and 8 baths in 8,800-square-feet of living space. Then there are several accessory structures with an additional 7,000-square-feet or so — including a 2-bed, 3-bath subterranean guesthouse tucked under the lawn.
So Mr. Levine has a big new estate. But the funny thing is that he’s already got an equally lavish place just a few miles away – over yonder in Beverly Hills. And he just bought it back in April (2018) for $33,901,000.
The Tudor-style pile sits on 1+ acre of land with a tennis court and an Old Hollywood oval pool.
Huh? How odd. Why would Mr. Levine need two high-maintenance $30+ million estates within a few miles of each other?
Yolanda doesn’t know the truth, of course. But if someone held a bowling pin over our heads and forced us to guess, we’d wager that Mr. Levine plans to renovate and customize the old Garner/Affleck pad over the next couple years to meet his exacting standards. In the meantime, he shall “make do” by bunkin’ up in Beverly Hills. Eventually, once the Riviera estate is ready for move-in, he’ll flip out in 90210.
Mr. Levine has a well-documented habit of fickleness with regards to real estate. Back in 2017, he paid $18,000,000 for a large Holmby Hills mansion, gutted it and began renovations. But then he lost interest in the project – or whatever – and sold the empty shell for $18 million – the exact same amount he paid one year prior.
Incidentally, the new Holmby Hills owners – businessman Jonathan Orszag and his journalist/socialite wife Mary Kitchen – appear to be demolishing the old thing, or at least rebuilding it from scratch.
Mr. Levine also owned a large estate way high up in the Beverly Hills Post Office area that he bought in 2012 for just under $5 million and spent millions expanding with help from designer Mark Haddawy.
Last year, the BHPO property was sold to fellow pop music crooner John Mayer for $13,400,000.
Listing agent: David Offer, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices
Adam Levine’s agent: Kurt Rappaport, Westside Estate Agency