In 1994, Mel Rosenthal bought the home at 22040 Pacific Coast Highway on Malibu’s Carbon Beach for $1 million.
In the following decades, Larry Ellison invested in the neighborhood, and Carbon Beach became an enclave for some of the wealthiest people in the world, earning it the moniker “Billionaires’ Beach.” On Sept. 2, Rosenthal’s family listed the 5,619-square-foot home with an asking price that shot up 3,900 percent from the previous purchase price to $40 million.
Christopher Cortazzo and Gregory Sharpe of Compass hold the listing. The price represents $7,119 per square foot.
The five-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bathroom home features an elevator that goes up to three suites, each with a balcony with views of the coast ranging from the Malibu Pier to Point Dume.
There’s a good chance that the Rosenthal family will get something around the asking price by virtue of the house’s location, said Susan Monus, a Malibu-headquartered agent with Coldwell Banker Realty.
Earlier this year, real estate reality TV star Grant Cardone paid $40 million for a 9,508-square-foot mansion located down the beach at 21808 Pacific Coast Highway. Another neighbor, based at 22446 Pacific Coast Highway, had the house listed at $69 million.
“It’s going to get some good action,” Monus said. “It has 80 feet of beach frontage, which makes it very desirable. But every beach has price swings on it. They range from $15 million to $70 million. There are many different variables to the price. It depends on the beachfront footage, the square-foot of the property and whether it has been remodeled recently.”
Also, the season is right for home buying in Malibu. The summer market is focused on rentals in the beach city. In spring and fall, the focus shifts to buying homes, Monus said. More listings traditionally go on the market after Labor Day.
However, inventory continues to be low in Malibu. Monus said on Sept. 6, there were only 36 active listings on the beach in Malibu.