Beverly Hills price chop: Mogul sells spec mansion at 40% discount

The asking price on the home was $55M

Doug Barnes and home on Oxford Way (Credit: Realtor)
Doug Barnes and home on Oxford Way (Credit: Realtor)

The founder of a chain of eyewear stores sold his Beverly Hills spec mansion at a sharp discount from its original asking price.

Doug Barnes, who founded Eyemart Express, sold the estate for $35 million, according to Variety. That was nearly 40% less than the $55 million original offer.

The buyer of the 14,280-square-foot home was an entity tied to Hristo Yordanov Hristov, according to the report. He is CEO of a Bulgarian freight company. The purchase could be a sign that foreign buyers may still have an appetite for high-end residential real estate in Los Angeles.

Despite the steep price drop, the sale marks Beverly Hills’ most expensive residential deal in 2019.

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The residence boasts seven bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. The two-story modern home also features a saltwater pool, movie theater, billiards room and expansive backyard.

Barnes and his wife, Molly, tapped spec home developer Gala Asher to build it about eight years ago. They paid $8.3 million to acquire the land in 2011, and later listed the completed spec home for $55 million in March 2015.

Ginger Glass of Coldwell Banker had the listing. Jimmy Heckenberg of Rodeo Realty represented the buyer.

The Barnes’ — who live in a 23,000-square-foot estate in Dallas where the eyewear company is headquartered — weren’t the only ones having trouble offloading a Beverly Hills mansion. The billionaire founder of Rockstar Energy Drink recently chopped the price of his 12,000-square-foot estate to $36 million. It first hit the market at $49 million nearly two years ago. [Variety]Natalie Hoberman