An Austin house with a $50 million asking price
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The Ames property sprawls by Lake Austin. Photo: Legendary Productions via Bridget Ramey
A compound for sale by Lake Austin could set a record for the state — if it fetches its $50 million asking price.
Driving the news: The property, situated on 5.85 acres, with a total living space of 10,505 square feet, went on the market last week.
Details: Including three guesthouses, the property has nine bedrooms and 11 bathrooms — and a private boat dock.
Between the lines: Listing agent Bridget Ramey of Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty tells Axios the property has singular appeal for "uber-luxury" buyers.
- "They might be coming from California to take advantage of our no state income tax and they want to be on the lake because they're coming from the ocean," she says. "Most of the properties on the lake don't come with land. If you're someone looking for uber-luxury, you need staff quarters, you need a security shack, you need guest components."
The intrigue: The property is adjacent to a ranch owned by Michael Dell, per the Wall Street Journal.
The backstory: Owner Brett Ames, a real-estate developer, and his wife, musician Carolann Ames, bought the land in 2014 and built the home for their family, per the Journal.
What they're saying: Brett Ames told the Journal the couple, who have four grown children, are selling because they want to simplify their lives, and because the estate is too large for the two of them.
- "We probably way underuse it," he told the Journal.
What we're watching: Whether the home is sold at list price amid the slowdown in the broader Austin market.
- But we may never know, since Texas is one of about a dozen states in which the sales price of homes isn't required to be publicly disclosed.