When It Comes to Selling a Home, Is ‘Celebrity’ a Bad Word?

What’s bigger news than a celebrity wedding? A celebrity divorce, of course—especially if there’s a juicy scandal to go along with it. This year, some huge stars had major splits: Jen and Ben, Blake and Miranda, Gwyneth and Chris (their “conscious uncoupling” was finalized in April).

It’s sad news for them, of course, but, as Los Angeles Confidential points out, it’s “good business for Realtors®.” Every time there’s a Hollywood divorce, it writes, “there’s a lawyer and a real estate agent on speed dial.”

The reason for the rush: Many celebrities want to sell fast once they extricate themselves from a marriage. That doesn’t mean the property—or properties, most likely—will actually sell fast. We’ve noticed a number of celebrity homes linger on the market and even get their price slashed or sell for below asking price.

That’s partly because of buyers who may be wary of the very public emotional baggage of a celebrity split, or of being a destination on a movie star homes tour. But there’s the seller’s side, too. As with all divorcing couples, there may be one spouse who digs in, making it harder for prospective buyers to even view the home, or complicated legal issues in the way of the final sale.

Or, says Gary Gold, executive vice president with Hilton & Hyland, “You can have one person who’s incredibly unrealistic about what they think the house is worth.” That old celebrity ego. There are all the normal problems associated with selling a house after or during a divorce, he says, “but with celebrities it’s on steroids.”

Terrell Owens and his estranged wife hope not. They’re still waiting for their “Nantucket-style” house in Sherman Oaks, CA, to get snatched up for $2,193,500. In this case, maybe it’s the buyer who’ll be happy; the house was listed for $2.35 million back in June.

Perhaps another sports star bargain? Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton listed his mansion in Newport Coast, CA, for $16.5 million in April. The price has since gone down to $15,888,000.

In 2013, when Drew Barrymore split from her husband of one year, they listed their home for $7.5 million; it sold for $6.35 million.

Occasionally, some divorced celebs do hit the real estate jackpot. Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith recently split up after 18 years and sold their Hancock Park property for almost $16 million, just shy of the $16.1 million they were asking and well above the $4.2 million they paid for it in 1999. Of course, that more likely has to do with the fact that they sat on the property for nearly two decades.

We’re still waiting for Jen Garner and Ben Affleck’s real estate announcement, but leave it to Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin to consciously uncouple on real estate. They purchased this Malibu home, designed by John Lautner, in February 2014, and announced their split one month later.

Perhaps conscious uncoupling makes celebrity spouses less aggressive about unloading their real estate?

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