Late last week came the news that Villa Maria, the lovely house and beautiful property with the lousy location, was in contract. Represented by Bespoke, Villa Maria’s last asking price was $72 million. Today comes news via the Wall Street Journal that two individual buyers paid a total of about $49 million–which is about half what the former owners, shoe magnate Vince Camuto and his wife, were asking back in 2008, and $23 million under the last ask.
One buyer purchased the house and 11 acres for $36 million, and another purchased the remaining four acres for about $13 million. Harald Grant of Sotheby’s represented the main buyer.
A little background: The beautiful c. 1919 estate includes a 20,000 square foot principal residence; there’s also a gatehouse, guest house, carriage house, tennis and pool. The house, which used to be a retreat for nuns, was purchased back in 2005 by Nine West founder Vince Camuto and wife for $35 million. Then the Camutos put the house and the 15-acre spread through six years of total renovation.
So what we’re wondering is: how much did the Camutos spend over those six years? As much as $15 million? Did they lose money on the deal? (Mr. Camuto died in 2015 but wife Louise is alive.) From the pictures we’ve seen over the years, no money was spared on the renovations, and of course the entire estate is quite large.
It was a tough sale, so kudos to everyone involved, and congratulations to the new owners.
For more, click here. 615 Montauk Highway, Water Mill
