Don’t expect a White Christmas at this one-time homestead of Bing Crosby — even if you drop $13.5 million for the mix of luxury and history that stretches back to the crooner’s ownership in the mid-20th century.
The former Crosby pad in Palm Desert — a refuge from winter among the well-heeled — has nonetheless hit the market with a price tag of $13.5 million just in time to become a mega-stocking stuffer, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Sellers Julia and Randall Burt — a lawyer and retired healthcare executive, respectively — paid $3 million for the 2.5-acre spread near Palm Springs 12 years ago. The deal includes the 6,100-square-foot hacienda-style manse with two bedrooms in the main house and three one-bedroom casitas, a tennis court, bocce court and pool.
It also carries history that goes beyond Crosby; it’s cited in literature and lore as the location of a tryst between President John Kennedy and starlet Marilyn Monroe.
“Unfortunately, there is no ghost of Marilyn living in the house,” Julia told the Journal. “My husband keeps looking for it.”
The Burts gave the place a significant rehabilitation and renovation — a job that took about eight years and cost more than the price of the property, according to the Journal. The couple said they want to sell the property as part of their personal downsizing program.
A sale at the asking price would be among the priciest in the Palm Springs market in recent years, slightly ahead of the $13.1 million fetched by a Palm Springs home designed by Richard Neutra.
The house also has revenue potential — the Burts have occasionally rented it out for commercial shoots, which can command big bucks for short-term uses. And the Palm Springs market has a history as a popular short-term vacation rental destination.
Crosby, a popular singer and comedian from the 1920s to the 1970s, recorded more than 1,600 songs, including the hits “Swinging on a Star” and “White Christmas.”