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The Weeknd has once again added to his property portfolio, snagging a Bel-Air mansion for almost $70 million in an off-market deal, the Wall Street Journal reported.
While it’s not the first time the Canadian musician, whose given name is Abel Tesfaye, has picked up a splashy trophy home in a high-flying deal, it was definitely his most expensive transaction, by many millions. According to WSJ, the sale is one of the most expensive in Los Angeles this year.
The award-winning performer has sold 75 million records. He also founded the record label XO, and has launched a fashion line. So apparently, he has the means for an ultraluxe lair. But did he pay the right price for the place?
We asked some Southern California real estate agents for their take on the property, and the price.
Rock-star appeal
First, let’s take a look at what he’s moving into. The hush-hush deal meant the owners hadn’t even put the home on the open market.
According to the Journal, Rayni and Branden Williams of the Beverly Hills Estates persuaded the home’s owners to let the superstar have a peek. What The Weeknd saw clearly sealed the deal. Although initially the owners “resisted,” apparently $70 million was the magic number to get them to move out.
The space is quite a jaw-dropper. Built in 2002, the home last sold in 2015 for $21,440,000. The owners then embarked on a three-year renovation, expanding the footprint and creating an ultramodern, luxury compound for themselves. Now, the Grammy winner will reap the benefits of that makeover, swooping in to nab the pad post-renovation.
There’s a lot packed into the massive mansion, which now spans 33,000 square feet on 1.58 acres overlooking the Bel Air Country Club golf course. Highlights include a gym, indoor pool, home theater, and recording studio, Architectural Digest reports.
Outside is just as impressive, with an infinity pool, sport court, and split staircase leading down to a lawn.
Property portfolio
Perhaps the real estate wheeler-dealer had been in need of another compound after selling his Hidden Hills mansion to the pop star Madonna for $19.3 million in April.
The Weeknd, 31, had picked that property up in the celeb-stuffed enclave for $19.2 million in 2018. While the sale may not have returned much of a profit, he had moved on. To remain closer to the L.A. action, he also reportedly owns a swanky penthouse in an exclusive tower in Westwood, which he purchased for $21 million last year.
The right price?
The leap from dropping $20 million to shelling out $70 million on a home is mammoth. So did the chart-topper pay too much—or just the right amount—for his Bel-Air estate?
“It’s a big number,” says the listing agent, Anthony Marguleas of Amalfi Estates. “The question is: Has the market appreciated that much?” He added the home’s footprint expanded in the renovation, which is likely to have added to its value.
Either way, the transaction still sits within rare air. Speaking to the price point in the high eight-digits, Marguleas says, “People think it happens all the time, but it really is a rare occurrence.”
But if The Weeknd fell hard for the home—and it sounds like he did—he’d be forced to make an offer the home owners just couldn’t refuse.
“When a property is sold off-market, the buyer has to pay a premium high enough to entice the current owner to sell,” says Connie Blankenship of Douglas Elliman.
As an artist with a well-defined aesthetic, The Weeknd knows beauty when he sees it. “More specifically, the ultra-high net worth clientele tends to view properties much like they do art—they look for something that is not only rare, but also has value. And there are a finite amount of such of properties in Los Angeles,” said Blankenship.
A limited stock of high-end homes certainly worked in the owner’s favor.
“I know the house,” says Myra Nourmand, principal and luxury real estate agent with Nourmand & Associates. “There are not a lot of luxury houses for sale right now, and the market is very, very hot. Everybody wants the same things: land, view, and great quality.”
Nourmand says this home ticked all of those boxes and added of this kind of high-end home, “There’s not enough right now to fit the demand, and it’s very competitive.”
The price seems to suggest great things ahead for those who own a bespoke home.
“While no one can predict the future,” Blankenship says, “I think this sale speaks to the continued strength of the high-end market in California.”
