While we missed it at the time, as correctly noted by a plugged-in reader last week, the Marina District mansion that PayPal co-founder turned iconic Silicon Valley venture capitalist and hedge manager, Peter Thiel, purchased for $6.5 million in 2010 and then spent a pretty penny to reconfigure and redecorate, has quietly traded hands for $7.4 million having been priced at $9.25 million in 2016 and last officially listed for $8 million over two years ago.
The official buyer was the Caldera Properties LLC.
you didn’t like my moat comment? it was a snarky reminder of the fleetness of buy/sell decisions of the uber-rich, whose real estate transactions should not be taken as an indicator of market health/lack thereof
I’ll be less subtle next time…
To quote Thiel, who has earned a reputation as a fairly sophisticated, versus frivolous, investor, back in 2016: “Startup tech stocks may be overvalued, but so are public equities, [and] houses…”
How much is a “pretty penny” to renovate? I’m not a realtor so don’t fully understand these complex terms.
Only pennies made out of 95% copper count as being pretty.
probably would’ve sold quicker/higher without the notable ownership.
so, what? he’ll buy one less Andy Warhol this year? i doubt he’s worried.
So the lesson to be gleaned is you can’t control the winds of the economy or politics, or the location of your house. But, you can control the costs of a renovation. Renovate wisely.
Peter Thiel moved his offices from Silicon Valley to Los Angeles and maintains a number of homes. Notably, he has secured NZ citizenship.
Agreed, but I would add, it’s VERY difficult to control the costs of a renovation in SF. If you are a wealthy tech individual, I would NOT renovate your home unless you plan to stay there for 10-20 years and don’t care about throwing aways millions. Buy something done. Also, star decorators are horribly expensive.
If you are as wealthy as Peter Thiel, I would suggest spending your money however you please—you don’t need to recoup your cost of renovations.
Homes are meant to be lived in, and unless you are buying properties to rent or plunging into the risky venture of flipping properties, you generally should not look at a home as an investment. It is a personal asset you use. Purchase what you can afford, decorate as you please, and enjoy it.
When it is time to sell, move your furniture out, paint the interior beige, then call it a day and list it.
Let’s assume that the $9.25 million asking price in 2016 represented a “break even” price at which the cost of the renovations, redecoration, holding costs and transaction costs would have been covered (hah!). Thus the $7.4 million selling price implies a loss of (probably substantially more than) $1.9 million (you have to take into account holding costs since 2016 as well as inflation).
I wouldn’t say he doesn’t “care about throwing aways millions”, but that amount is probably less than he spent in 2016 running Gawker Media into bankruptcy. I also doubt that he’s worried about this loss.
House was purchased in 2010, during the recession, at a $2M discount from the asking price. Apparently, it was two homes merged into one and Thiel brought in his crew (whom he worked with extensively before on other homes) to complete renovation and design within a short period of time.
The $9.25M represents a reasonable profit on top of costs. Holding costs could be written off as business expenses. $7.4M is a good deal for the new buyer, and who knows, maybe a business associate for Thiel.
The Gawker/Hulk Hogan matter was pure poetic justice in motion, a brilliant move which should be studied for years.
That house is in a horrible location sandwiched between a very busy road and countless tourists 24/7 peering into the windows
And yet people keep paying millions and millions of dollars to live there…
I suspect the home was mainly a showpiece so he could throw parties, receptions, whatnot there with a nice view of the Palace of Fine Arts. I don’t think the usual rules of “how comfortable is this house and how does it fit in my day to day life like cooking and commuting” in any way affects the previous owner. He has plenty of real estate elsewhere for each of his needs.
I know that this house is probably massively staged, but it is SO BEIGE. And the generally quality of design/materials/finishes doesn’t say “captain of industry” as much as it says “McMansion”. I’m so bored……