What $175 million buys in real estate: East Coast vs. West Coast

In Los Angeles’ hotbed of high-end real estate, $175 million can buy part of a grand estate with 50,000 square feet and a pedigree that includes legendary business magnates and iconic films. But across the country, a mint’s worth of money makes a different kind of splash.

In Darien, Conn., on a private enclave on Long Island Sound, an island estate has come on the market for $175 million. The nine-figure price tag puts the waterfront property up there with some of the most expensive homes for sale in the country, including the storied Beverly House, which recently returned to market in Beverly Hills.

Set on 63 acres, the New England estate known as Great Island is approached by a half-mile drive bordered by sprawling lawns, meadows and mature trees. Further acreage of conservation space provides an additional layer of seclusion around the property.

The main house, an Italian stone manor, dates back more than a century and is distinguished by its stone exterior and a tiled roof trimmed with copper. Equestrian facilities, a beach, two guest houses and a polo field also lie within the grounds. A boathouse sits on a private harbor overlooking a deep-water dock.

In all, the property has 10 bedrooms and nine bathrooms in more than 13,000 square feet of living space.

David Ogilvy of David Ogilvy & Associates/Christie’s International Real Estate holds the listing.

By comparison, the most expensive home publicly listed for sale in the U.S. is a roughly 16-acre oceanfront estate in Manalapan, Fla. The 62,873-square-foot home, with a combined 2,500 square feet of ocean and waterway frontage, is offered for $195 million.

At $195 million, the Beverly House currently tops the charts in Los Angeles, although it is not on the Multiple Listing Service. A smaller section of the property, which once was owned by publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst and actress Marion Davies, can be purchased without an additional seven-bedroom house for $175 million.

The honor of priciest publicly listed house in greater L.A. goes to a two-acre estate on Carolwood Drive that lists for $150 million.

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