Conrad Hilton Estate In Bel Air Hits Market For $225 Million

BEL AIR (CBSLA) — The Conrad Hilton estate in Bel Air has hit the market for $225 million, making it the most expensive real estate listing in the country – but what is most expensive now is down quite a bit from just a couple of years ago.

Casa Encantada, which includes 8 acres and a 40,000-square-foot home with expansive views of the city and ocean, has hit the market for the first time in decades. Its $225 million asking price makes it the most expensive home publicly listed in the United States, according to the Los Angeles Times.

But, that eye-popping asking price looks like a deal compared to what a neighbor just down the street was asking for in 2017.

Just a mile north and two years prior, a 38,000-square-foot home developed by handbag mogul Bruce Makowsky hit the market for a record $250 million. That price was slashed to $150 million before it sold.

It's a trend that is apparently being seen more often across Southern California's wealthiest neighborhoods. Home sales on LA's Westside of $10 million and $20 million or more are down about 20 percent and 25 percent, respectively, according to the Times. Part of the problem, the newspaper noted, is that the Westside is flooded with contemporary mansions built on speculation.

But maybe the estate's storied history will give it a more profitable ending. Now owned by fiber optic pioneer philanthropist Gary Winnick, Casa Encantada was owned by Conrad Hilton for more than two decades and played host to events that included U.S. presidents and Hollywood royalty, according to a Business Wire news release.