Los Angeles Mega-Mansion Sells for $141 Million at Auction

(Bloomberg) -- A Los Angeles mega-mansion that was the biggest U.S. home to ever go up for auction sold for $141 million, including commissions, when bidding closed Thursday.

The 21-bedroom, 49-bath hilltop estate -- dubbed “The One” -- had a list price of $295 million. Developer Nile Niami said in 2015 that he would ask $500 million for the Bel Air property, which also has five swimming pools and a 30-car garage.

The highest offer was $126 million, according to a spokesperson for Concierge Auctions, which ran the sale. A 12% commission for the auction house boosted the total price to $141 million -- more than double the previous record for a U.S. home auction, the company said in a statement.

Other auctions of luxury properties have fallen short of asking prices. The Villa Firenze in Beverly Hills, California, fetched $51 million last year after Concierge Auctions conducted a sale with a $160 million asking price.

The identity of the top bidder, who was required to sign a non-disclosure agreement, wasn't immediately available. The sale requires approval by a bankruptcy court judge, with a closing scheduled by March 21, according to a court filing.

“I think the court should approve the amount,” Don Hankey, who court records show is owed $124 million for loans and advances to the project, said in an email. Hankey said he wasn't the high bidder, but declined to say whether he entered the auction.

Niami, a former film producer, spent almost a decade developing The One before lenders moved to foreclose on the project. That led his firm, Crestlloyd LLC, to file for bankruptcy last year, setting up the auction. The project has $196.4 million in secured debt and $59.3 million in unsecured debt, according to a March 2 filing by David Golubchik, the bankruptcy attorney representing Crestlloyd.

More than 40 potential buyers toured the property, including representatives of Middle Eastern royalty, Asian high-net-worth families and U.S. tech titans. Bidders were required to deposit $250,000, show ability to pay and agree to accept the home, which still doesn't have a certificate of occupancy, as is.

“There's still a lot of work to do and now it's in the hands of the bankruptcy courts to move the sale forward,” said Aaron Kirman, a real estate agent who shared the listing with Branden and Rayni Williams.