A Washington, D.C. mansion boasting of approximately 20,000 square feet has just sold for $18 million. As it turns out, the sale of the Forest Hills home marks the district's most expensive home sale in 2015, as confirmed by its listing agents and real estate records.
The mansion boasts several amenities that would make you feel as though you're living in a similar home as Queen Clarisse Renaldi (portrayed by Julie Andrews) in "Princess Diaries." The Wall Street Journal reports:
"Located in the affluent Forest Hills neighborhood, the brick-and-limestone home has seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, and five half baths; there is also an elevator and a temperature-controlled wine cellar. The nearly 1-acre property, comprised of three lots, includes formal and informal English gardens, a pool, a basketball court and fountains."
Apparently, the buyer - from overseas - paid in cash, according to listing agent Nancy Itteilag of Long & Foster Real Estate, which is also an affiliate of Christie's International Real Estate.
The Washington, D.C. home was originally listed for $22 million back in April, with co-listing agent Kathleen Coumou.
The mansion was sold by Samuel Lehrman, the founder of Lechro, a retail development company. Lehrman's company was also responsible for co-founding the supermarket chain, Giant Food.
According to data from Realtor.com, the next most expensive residential sale in 2015 (among publicly listed properties) was a 12,700 square foot mansion, which was sold for $12.25 million in October.
The most expensive sale on record, as per MRIS multiple listing service, was in 2007 when a home was sold for $24.46 million.
According to Itteilag, the end of the year is actually an "active period for luxury real estate," even though several homes saw a sales slowdown in December 2015. Itteilag was apparently close to a significant number of high-end sales before the New Year came in.
The real estate agent further claims that many home buyers tend to purchase residential real estate during the latter months of the year for tax planning reasons, in addition to job relocation before the first quarter of the next year.
