Owner of Gehry’s Schnabel House cuts price to $9.75M

The house collector who’s been trying for two years to flip Schnabel House, one of the last single-family homes designed by starchitect Frank Gehry, for a hefty 60 percent profit may have to settle for just a bump over breaking even.

Film producer Michael LaFetra nabbed the Brentwood property for $9.5 million in 2013, only to relist it for $15 million a year later. But the market hasn’t been kind to his efforts.

After several price cuts, LaFetra has now lowered the asking price by an additional $250,000 to $9.75 million, according to the listing, which is represented by Cory Weiss of Douglas Elliman.If the property sells for that price, LaFetra would make a profit of just 2.6 percent over three years.

The price cut comes amid what some brokers have described as a “reality check” at the top end of the luxury housing market in L.A.

The property has been on the market for nearly two years

“We do have some instances where the buyers have not stepped up to the plate to meet seller’s expectations,” brokerage chief Jeff Hyland previously told The Real Deal. “We’re working with sellers now to get more attune to where the market really is.”

Weiss said the price cut is a symptom of an adjustment in the overall market and not a reflection on the home.

“This is not a fire sale or anything,” he said. “Everyone is sensitive to activity with the current market conditions.”

The property, at 526 N. Carmelina Avenue, has six bedrooms, five bathrooms, a guesthouse, a sauna, a garage, a swimming pool, an olive orchard and a separate gym building. The home office has a dome inspired by the Griffith Observatory.

LaFetra owns another home in Brentwood. He bought a Modernist pad in the area from Thomas Schulman for $10.5 million in 2014.