A 29,000 square foot estate at Tampa Bay is going for as low as $17.5 million. It is definitely a bargain at that price point and has been scaled down to that level only because the economic conditions are not conducive for transactions of large expensive estates. Market conditions are such that you have buyers in the range of 3 to $5 million homes and those homes find a buyer quickly. But this is a big ticket mansion modeled after a 17th century British Royal Palace.
Yaffe who headed the National Gold Exchange built the ornate villa on a 6 acre plot over seven years. Yaffe had to file for bankruptcy as he fell behind on a $36 million debt. He agreed to sell the home as part of the bankruptcy agreement in 2009 and was originally listed for $25 million. There were a lot of showings initially but the deal could not be closed. Now Smith & Associates, a seller of luxury homes is marketing it worldwide to high end buyers.
The Jacobean-style manor home has ten bedrooms and ten baths. The estate has another 15,500 square feet of open and covered terraces. Bob Glaser who heads Smith & Associates believes that Yaffe’s house can be sold. The market conditions are improving slowly. The buyers are coming back to the Bay area looking to buy opulent homes at a discount. Matt Geiger, a former NBA player climbed down from $20 million to sell his large home for $8 million.
