Tucson's biggest and most expensive home has also been one
of the most watched items on eBay, where a real estate agent
is trying to find a buyer for the $17.5 million estate.
Lots of people are buying homes these days, but the market
for a home like Campbell Cliffs, which took nearly 10 years
to build, is tight. As homes go, there is nothing close in
size that compares. The house has 24 rooms and 31,000 square
feet, 25,000 of them air-conditioned. It has a home theater,
a gymnasium, an office wing, two elevators and an indoor gun
and archery range.
Nothing compares in price, either. The price tag includes 20
acres of prime land in the Catalina Foothills near East
Skyline Drive and North Orange Grove Road. The owner, former
apartment developer Cary Marmis, is willing to split off 10
acres of untouched land and sell the home for just $13.5
million. That's still millions more than the highest-priced
home that sold in Pima County last year. That one went for
$7 million.
The people in town who could afford to buy such luxury are
few, said Anjelina Belakovskaia, a Realtor who placed an ad
for the home on eBay. To be able to afford the taxes,
electric bill and other operating costs associated with the
house, she said a buyer would probably have to have a net
worth of somewhere starting at $50 million. The 2004 tax
bill alone for the estate was $43,626.38, according to the
Pima County treasurer's Web site.
The home has been on the market since 2001. It's been
featured and praised by publications such as Unique Homes
magazine and recognized for its design. Marmis collaborated
with architect Les Wallach and interior designer Elizabeth
Rosensteel of Scottsdale. But still, no buyers.
Belakovskaia, who has had her real estate license for less
than a year, heard about the property and thought she might
be able to help in its sale. She said the home's official
listing agent, Martha Briggs, has done a good job of
marketing the property to a national market but felt like
she could help do more.
Belakovskaia, from Ukraine, is a three-time women's U.S.
chess champion. She earned a master's degree in finance from
New York University and worked for a company in Tulsa,
Okla., where she traded weather derivatives, among other
things. Having worked in finance and hailing from another
country, she figured she could tap into well-to-do
associates and into the international market.
But inspiration for the eBay post came from her and her
husband. Just for kicks, the couple enjoy seeing what people
are selling on eBay. She decided to put up information about
the home, dubbing it a "22nd Century" Tucson estate, and
linked to the home's own Web site, www.campbellcliffs.com.
Over the last few weeks, the home has been on and off eBay
Pulse, a list of the Web site's most watched items, perhaps
a dubious distinction for such a lavish property.
Last week, for example, other items on the list included a
"mystery envelope" in which people bid on an envelope with
unrevealed contents, and a drive-through strip club in
Pennsylvania.
This week, watched items include a pretzel that purportedly
depicts the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus.
Although the house may be unique, Belakovskaia's idea of
advertising on eBay was not. On Tuesday, the most watched
items included a 7,800-square-foot "church house" in Kansas
and a 3,000-square-foot home in Ohio. Other high-dollar
estates have graced the list before.
Response has varied. One man asked if the home's owner would
simply give him the home.
"I get a lot of e-mails. I get e-mails from people who just
admire the house. I get a lot of people who try to solicit
business - you know, 'If the owner's in distress, we'd like
to buy it for whole cash, 30 cents to 70 cents on the
dollar,'" Belakovskaia said. "But I actually get quite a few
serious requests."
One potential buyer, a president of a "big corporation" flew
in to town and considered buying the home either for himself
or as a corporate retreat. It turned out to be "too big,"
she said.
"You're going to get a lot of different extremes. People who
advertise on eBay . . . you should be ready for it,"
Belakovskaia advised.
In 2004, there were 19 new and 74 existing homes that sold
for $1 million or more in Pima County, said John Strobeck, a
housing analyst. The most expensive home sold last year cost
about $7 million, he said.
And despite Campbell Cliffs' asking price, it's still far
from the highest one might pay for a place to hang a hat.
Ultimate Homes magazine has compiled a list of the 850 most
expensive residential properties for sale in the country.
The No. 10 homes - a tie between a French-style chateau near
Denton, Texas and an estate in Montauk, N.Y. - cost $45
million.
