Shark Tank star’s warning to celebs. Picture: Instagram/Barbara Corcoran, Kylie Jenner, Ciara
Celebrity real estate guru Barbara Corcoran has issued some words of wisdom for her fellow A-listers who are trying (and failing) to sell their homes.
The 75-year-old, who founded the real estate company The Corcoran Group, offered up some advice to celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Ciara, both of whom have struggled to offload their pricey properties in recent years.
During an interview on the podcast “Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin”, the famed real estate mogul had one clear message for any A-listers hoping to score a huge profit on a property sale: “Get realistic.”
The “Shark Tank” star said that one of the worst things a celebrity—or indeed anyone selling a high-value home—can do is routinely lower the price of their mansion, because it suggests to buyers that they are struggling to sell and encourages interested parties to put in lower offers.
According to Realtor, that is a mistake that many A-listers have made in recent years, particularly those who were hoping to sell megamansions in Los Angeles before the April 2023 implementation of a so-called “mansion tax,” which adds a 4 per cent tax to the total transaction for property sales over $US5 million and a 5.5 per cent rate for sales above $US10 million.
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Celebrity real estate guru Barbara Corcoran. Picture: Mitch Haaseth/Disney General Entertainment Content / Getty Images
The 75-year-old real estate guru shared some very frank advice with stars like Kylie Jenner and Ciara who have struggled to sell their homes in recent years. Picture: Instagram/Kylie Jenner, Ciara
Real talk to celebrities on their property prices
Jenner and Scott are two such celebrities called out by Corcoran after they listed their Beverly Hills house at a super high price of $US21 million ($A33.8 million) in 2022, and then, with no takers, slashed the price several times.
The on-again, off-again couple, who share two children, initially listed the seven-bedroom, 8.5-bathroom home around the same time they split for a second time.
Built in 1971, the mansion has since been extensively remodelled. It has a pool, spa, lounging area, and dining space.
Other perks include a home theatre, wine cellar, smart home technology, and a three-car garage.
The two snapped up the Beverly Hills mansion for $US13.4 million in 2018, and seem to believe they can walk away from the home with quite an upside.
Corcoran noted, “You have to be realistic. I don’t think it’s a good idea to drop prices on expensive or lower priced real estate. It’s always a signal to the buyer there’s a problem and they’re encouraged to make an even lower offer.”
She added, “You’re much better off taking your home off the market, waiting three to six months, listing with a new broker and coming on as a new listing.”
She pointed out that if the listing drops in price, it causes the buyer to wonder, “What’s wrong?” She said, “It puts the emphasis, underlines what’s the new news there, which is the price dropped: why, why, why?”
The couple appear to have taken her advice to heart. They recently removed the listing from the market after two years of trying unsuccessfully to sell the posh property.
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Jenner and Travis Scott recently took their Beverly Hills, California, home off the market. Picture: Realtor
NFL player Russell Wilson and music icon Ciara had faced a similar challenge. They put their Washington state mansion on the market for $US36 million ($A55 million) in 2022—at the time, it was the most expensive listing in the state.
The couple did finally unload the property but only after making a steep price cut. They eventually slashed the ask by $US10 million ($A15 million) and sold the property earlier this year for $US21 million ($A32 million), a huge discount. However, Wilson also reportedly sold a lot next door, bringing the haul to somewhere around $US31 million ($A47 million).
The entire transaction took over two years. Corcoran noted that she would give the couple struggling to sell their spread the exact same advice: Take it off the market for between three and six months, and then list at a new price.
The Bellevue mansion had been on and off the market since April 2022, shortly after Wilson changed jobs and jerseys, from the Seattle Seahawks to join the Denver Broncos.
Wilson and Grammy-winning wife Ciara picked up the compound for $US6.7 million in 2015 while he was still with the Seahawks.
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Russell Wilson and Ciara sold their Bellevue, Washington, estate at a huge reduction. Picture: Realtor
Most celebrities ‘overpay’
For most celebrities, Corcoran stated, the reality of real estate sales is “famous people always pay more for their real estate and almost always overpay.”
She recalled when her colleague was working with comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who splashed out millions more than the listing price for a property in New York City because he was so desperate to secure his dream home.
“I distinctly remember being a young broker and one of my colleagues that worked for me was working with Jerry Seinfeld when he was at his peak, and he bought a magnificent apartment on Central Park West,” she recalled, referring to the primo park-facing street on the Upper West Side.
“And once he saw the apartment, the owner increased the price I think it was by like $2 million on a $6 million home, thereabouts. Seinfeld says, ‘That’s OK’ and closed on it anyway.”
But the funnyman wasn’t done overpaying. Not by a long shot.
“Then he wanted to buy a townhouse building to house his collection of cars, next door, convert it into a multistorey garage; they raised the price on that. He said, ‘No problem, I really want it.’”
Corcoran concluded, “Celebrities are used to being overcharged. When you’re coming in, there’s a lot of hoopla about you, the seller always knows it, they don’t want to leave any money on the table. Typically, a celebrity overpays for their real estate.”
What about the other way around? Would a buyer want to pay a little extra for a celebrity-owned home for the bragging rights?
“Sometimes people will pay a little extra if it’s not overpriced to begin with … it gives you bragging rights,” she said, before warning: But “it’s a premium that isn’t worth all that much. It’s a little more sex appeal. In the end, people would like to pay the least amount for the house anyway.”
Parts of this story first appeared in Realtor and were republished with permission.
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