SMALL PRINT:DAVID AND Victoria Beckham, who plan to live permanently in Los Angeles, have put their main UK residence, Rowneybury House in Hertfordshire, up for sale – according to Hellomagazine.
But they could have their work cut out shifting “Beckingham Palace”, with its indoor and outdoor swimming pools, petting zoo, recording studio, gym, tennis courts, three gazebos and 52-foot garden pavilion.
They bought the mansion at Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire in 1999 for £2.5 million and famously spent £18 million blinging it up, but it is expected to sell for no more than £18 million. Celebrity properties are not immune to the chill winds of recession. Elle McPherson, model and TV presenter, has had to take a million pounds off the asking price for her Notting Hill house, down to £8.95 million from £9.95 million.
That’s nothing compared to the hit Eddie Murphy took last year when he was forced to halve the asking price of his New Jersey mansion from $30m to $15m.
And, forced by the bank to sell some of his 15 properties, Nicolas Cage lost $1.2m each on two properties in New Orleans, while the co-founder of the Tommy Hilfiger fashion empire has halved the price of his 210-acre property on Lake Tahoe to $50 million, down from $100 million.
Nobody likes to take a hit on a property transaction, but for the supposedly rich and famous, the fear of losing money is only part of the problem in selling a home. The poor pets may also experience anxiety about exposing their lifestyles and addresses to public scrutiny – not to mention stalkers.If forced to sell below cost, this can be interpreted as a lessening in their popularity or earnings, diminishing their power to command high fees in contract negotiations.
However, the Beckhams can take some comfort. With prices being slashed by 20 to 50 per cent in the US on mansions in the $25 million-plus category, they will likely get a good deal buying at the bottom if they decide to expand their property portfolio in the US beyond their $11 million Beverly Hills home. If they can shift Beckingham Palace, that is.
