The Palm Springs home of comic actor Bob Hope and his wife Dolores has been lusted after since its construction began in 1973. At last it's up for sale − with a $50 million price tag.
Designed by legendary architect John Lautner, the volcano-inspired property features six bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, two swimming pools and is a work of art in its own right.
It’s difficult to find a home with a mixture of celebrity heritage, design pedigree, and desirable locale. And when properties that check these three boxes do hit the market, they tend to inspire a bidding war or a rapid sale.1
So why has the ultraluxe estate originally built for Bob Hope in the late 1970s languished on the market for over a year? John Lautner designed the home in supremely sunny Palm Springs, CA, and its many twists and price cuts have been covered extensively.
In fact, listing brokers Patrick Jordan and Stewart Smith told me the home has received far more press than any other property they’ve ever repped. And yet no buyer has stepped forward with the cash to close the deal.
As with most things in life, it boils down to dollars and cents—$24.99 million, to be specific. But it’s not all about the Benjamins—Jordan said it’s a finely tuned balance of buyer, price, and location.
“Of course, a purchase is predicated on a number of different things. First, being price. Now that we have a new, improved price of $24.99 million”—down from the $50 million it debuted with in February 2013—”it’s more palatable for those people that can afford that price point to begin with.”
“Secondly, the pool of buyers who are spending $25 million on a second or third home in a resort town are limited,” he added. “That said, it’s a really palatable price for the amount of work that went into the construction.”
Yes, about that construction. Lautner’s massive concrete structure—with a roofline that’s been likened to a spaceship—wasn’t an everyday build.