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In 1993, Shaquille O'Neal paid $3.95 million for an Orlando mansion; 28 years later, it sold for $11 million
Shaquille O'Neal paid $3.95 million for his Windermere mansion in 1993, listed it at $28 million in 2018, and sold it for $11 million in 2021.
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Even famous houses can sometimes be hard to sell. Shaquille O'Neal's Florida mansion shows how. The NBA legend’s Windermere home finally sold in October 2021 for $11 million, FOX 35 Orlando reported. Stockworth Realty, which represented the buyer, says that is the highest price ever recorded for a single-family home inside the gates of the Isleworth Golf & Country Club, and in all of Windermere and Orange County. Shaq had purchased the property years ago for much less money, but it took a long time to move from listing to sale.
A mansion built for a basketball star
O'Neal bought the property for $3.95 million in 1993 when he was with the Orlando Magic. That home was custom-built and tailored to his needs. It is located on Giffin Court on the shores of Lake Butler in the Butler Chain of Lakes, and has 12 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms in over 35,000 square feet on nearly four acres. The amenities go well beyond the basics: the pool alone is 95 feet long and 15 feet deep with rock walls and multiple waterfalls, and the home also includes several car show garages, a custom movie theater, and a full-size indoor basketball court called "The Shaq Center."
A price that dropped by over fifty percent
The home was first put on the market in spring 2018 for $28 million. That initial asking price appears to have been well above what the local market could support, a high listing that set up the dramatic drop to come. Its list price was reduced to $16.5 million in November 2020. It finally sold for $11 million, about 61% below the original asking price. That is a $17 million drop from the original asking price. The sale was reported more than 3 years after it was first listed. The buyer's name was not revealed due to confidentiality. Stockworth broker-associate Rob Rahter confirmed that the new owners were a local family. They intended to renovate and expand it before it became their main home. It's a big bill to have a place this big. The Orange County Property Appraiser's estimate of proposed taxes for 2021 was about $137,000.
What Zillow's research says about long waits
Zillow’s research offers a simple way to think about long waiting times. A 2016 analysis by Zillow looked at homes listed for one year. It found that U.S. homes that hit the market for seven days usually sold at list price. In the weeks after that first week, the sale price of a home tended to drift further and further below list price. Homes that were listed for around two months sold for about 5% under list price. Homes that were on the market for 11 months sold for 12% less than the asking price. That research is about typical U.S. homes and doesn't explain this particular sale. A mansion like this is far from a typical home. However, the pattern is still easy to figure out. As a house sits, buyers may expect another price reduction.
What Shaq's sale may suggest for sellers
Shaq's story also offers a lesson for anyone in sales. Whatever it is, a house, a car, or a used phone, the first price you choose matters. Going too high can cost you time, and time can cost you money. The market decides what an item is worth, not its backstory. A fancy address and a well-known name are no guarantee of a quick sale. The sale was not all bad news for O'Neal either. He bought the home in 1993 for $3.95 million, and it sold for $11 million. But the house was added to and modified over the years, so we can’t really tell how much he actually made. What we do know is that the sale set a local price record, according to Stockworth.
