Michael Jackson's famed Neverland Ranch has been pulled off the market after almost five years and multiple price cuts.
Originally listed for US$100 million in 2015 under a new identity as Sycamore Valley Ranch, the property was discounted to US$67 million two years later, and then relisted again for US$31 million in 2019.
The 2,700-acre property in Los Olivos, California – where Jackson lived for more than 15 years – includes a French-Normandy style main residence, two guest houses, a lake, a 50-seat cinema, a 14-foot lagoon-style pool, a dance studio, barns, staff facilities and a Disney-themed railway station.
Kyle Forsyth of Compass, one of the former listing agents for the ranch, said the agents representing the ranch found interested potential buyers, but no deal could be reached with the seller, Colony Capital.
Colony Capital, the private investment firm that manages the ranch “has not re-listed and recent inquiries for showings have declined or gone unanswered”, according to Forsyth. Jackson, who bought the in 1987, defaulted on a loan after financial hardship and entered Neverland into an ownership agreement with Colony Capital in 2008 for US$23 million.
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Here's what Sycamore Valley Ranch has to offer.
Jackson originally bought the property for US$19.5 million in 1987.
The ranch was last on the market in 2019 for US$31 million – a nearly 70 per cent discount from its original asking price.
Jackson famously threw parties and held events at the ranch, including a 14th birthday party for Kim Kardashian, who called the ranch “the most magical place on earth”. But in 1993, Jackson and his home made headlines when child sexual abuse allegations were brought against him. He would go on to defend himself against more lawsuits over the next decade, which contributed to his mounting debt. By 2008, he faced foreclosure on Neverland Ranch.
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Neverland Ranch was rebranded Sycamore Valley Ranch and put on the market for US$100 million in 2015. It was renamed Sycamore Valley Ranch for the rolling hills, majestic sycamore trees, magnificent oaks, and manicured grounds that the Santa Ynez Valley is known for.
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There are several possible reasons why Sycamore Valley Ranch had trouble selling.
Most obvious, of course, is the property's well-publicised connection with Jackson.
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“It was priced where it was in the beginning to capture a celebrity trophy buyer, someone that was willing to pay the extra money because it was Michael Jackson's,” real estate expert Michael Corbett, the host of Extra's Mansions and Millionaires, told Yahoo Entertainment. “Unfortunately now, since there's been a lot of negative press, someone is probably not going to purchase it for that reason … Now someone's going to buy it because it's an amazing piece of real estate.”
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This article originally appeared on Business Insider
