Owner of Austin FC MLS team sells Hillsborough estate for $17M 

Anthony Precourt, owner of a Major League Soccer team and head of an eponymous private investment firm, and his wife Agatha, an early stage investor, have sold their Hillsborough estate for $17 million, according to public records. 

The sale of the couple’s 2.3-acre French Country-inspired estate this month is the most-expensive trade in the Peninsula enclave since the $30 million sale of Elon Musk’s former home in December 2021. 

Listing agent Alex Buljan of Compass said the sellers listed the home at 869 Culebra Road in February at $20 million because they have moved full-time to Austin, where Precourt founded the Austin FC MLS team in 2018. He previously owned the Columbus Crew soccer team as well, and tried to move it to Austin, but sold it instead when the league allowed the expansion. 

The home’s listing price dropped to $18 million in April in part because there are very few lots of its size in Hillsborough, which makes comps “very few and far between,” said Buljan, who listed the property with his father, Pierre. 

“Right off the bat you’re in very exclusive territory,” he said. “In all of Hillsborough there are only about 75 properties that are about 2 acres plus, out of 4,100-ish homes.” 

The Precourts had already moved out by the time they put the property on the market, so when the first offer came in shortly after the price cut they decided to take it, he said. The Culebra Road Trust, represented by San Francisco-based estate lawyer Yulissa Zulaica, was the buyer, according to public records. Heather Hansen of Compass, who specializes in Mid-Peninsula sales, represented the buyers and could not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The Precourts bought the property through 869 Culebra LLC for $13.5 million in 2016 from Warren and Elizabeth Jenson, according to public records. Warren Jenson was the former CFO for Amazon and Electronic Arts, among other corporations, and is the current CFO for Nielsen.

The Jensons were behind the years-long down-to-the-studs renovation of the nearly 9,000-square-foot six-bedroom, six-bath1930s-era home in the early 2000s, according to Buljan. The Precourts made only a few cosmetic changes such as updating the kitchen and family room and refinishing the tennis court during their time in the property. 

The relatively updated home with hill views but on a large, flat “usable” lot were all big selling points to the Precourts, Buljan said, especially since that is a hard combination to find in hilly Hillsborough. 

The terrain is one thing keeping Hillsborough from reaching the upper-echelon pricing attained in nearby Atherton, where empty lots on similar acreage are selling for more than this one on Culebra, even with its updated main home, three-level 2,600-square-foot guest house, pool and tennis court. 

“What you get for your dollar a lot of times in Hillsborough looks really good compared to Atherton or Woodside,” he said, adding that the $6- to $8-million range has been the most active of late. “A house that may cost $15 million in Atherton could be $10 million or $12 million in Hillsborough.” 

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