Once listed for $200 million, the 20 acres Tucson, Arizona, estate owned by Cary Marmis and his wife, Fern, is being auctioned with a minimum bid of $8.4 million.
The property which includes a 25 000-square-foot home was first listed in 2007 with the $22 million asking price. In 2011, the price was lowered to $15.9 million and, in 2012, it was reduced to $12.95 million, according to the current listing agent, Martha Briggs of Long Realty Co.
The house boasts seven bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a library, a home theater, two elevators, a 2,200-bottle wine cellar and a stainless steel roof. There is also an Olympic-sized shooting and archery range, a pool and a tennis court.
The owners say they are selling because they are ready to downsize. The couple bought the land in multiple transactions in the late 1980s and then spent more than two years designing the house and 7½ years building it. "The minimum bid is about one-sixth of the replacement cost," said Marmis.
Marmis says he will miss the views of the Tucson Valley. He'll also miss details like the wall of old growth Douglas fir and another of Honduran mahogany that a cabinet maker spent two years building. A stone mason created a 45-foot wall of Coconino sandstone.
The property includes four build-able lots, each about 3.3 acres, on which buyers can bid separately. The auction, with bids due May 14, is being handled by Sheldon Good & Co.
Briggs says that overall the real-estate market in Tucson is recovering from the downturn. ""Inventory is down, there's an absolute shortage," she says. "Prices are rising and we're back to seeing multiple offers."
