Former Google Exec Buys Luxury Estate in Austin

Former Facebook and Google executive Rob Leathern bought a mansion in Austin, last listed at $5 million, from Kenneth French, an economist and finance professor at Dartmouth College.

Leathern, a Dartmouth alum and tech insider, left Google last year after leading a team in charge of privacy and security products. He founded Trust2 Consulting in Austin last year, a firm advising startups and “several large publicly traded tech companies” on artificial intelligence, product management and privacy, according to Leathern’s LinkedIn profile.

The 6,100-square-foot home on Chalk Knoll Drive first listed at about $815 per square foot in March after French took on an “extensive remodel,” the listing stated. It was asking $3.3 million in 2015.

Cord Shiflet of Moreland Properties had the listing. It comes with five bedrooms, multiple dining areas and a wet bar, and the backyard overlooks a par-3 hole of Fazio Canyons Golf Course at Omni Barton Creek Resort.

Homes in the Barton Creek neighborhood in West Austin, one of the largest and oldest neighborhoods in the city, are on the higher end of the capital city’s residential market, with listings ranging from $1.75 to $8.75 million, according to Trulia.

Moreland Properties’ Eric Moreland handled the listing for another home in Barton Creek, which sold in August as the priciest in the city this year, last listed at $10 million.

Luxury in Austin has faced its challenges, but high earners, especially in tech, have kept some luxury deals flowing. Houston and Dallas far outpaced Austin in ultra-luxury home sales, priced north of $10 million, this year; sales for such homes rose in Houston and Dallas last year but declined in Austin.

Still, last week, 12 new signed contracts over $2 million hit the Austin market at nearly $40 million in total volume, up nearly $11 million from the previous week, according to the Eklund Gomes Luxury Report.