Michael Jordan finally finds buyer for his Chicago mansion

BASKETBALL legend Michael Jordan has found a buyer for his ultra custom mansion in suburban Chicago and is on track to end his years-long saga to sell one of the most iconic homes in the area.

The home in the affluent suburb of Highland Park went into contract on Sunday (Sep 16), according to Katherine Malkin of Compass, the listing agent, who declined to provide further information about the deal.

Built in 1995, during the height of Jordan’s time on the National Basketball Association’s Chicago Bulls, the home is on a seven-acre lot and has nine bedrooms and 19 bathrooms, according to a public listing. The 32,000-square-foot (sq ft) property boasts a full size indoor basketball court, cigar room and home gym. His jersey number during his time on the team, 23, is adorned on the gate.

The property was originally listed in 2012 with a price tag of US$29 million, or US$887 a sq ft. A series of price cuts brought the listing to US$14.9 million in 2015, where it’s remained since. Crain’s Chicago Business first reported news of the sale.

Chicago’s luxury real estate market has seen movement in recent months, despite a nationwide slowdown in home buying, though some properties have closed at steep discounts. Last month, a custom mansion on eight city lots in the affluent neighbourhood of Lincoln Park, closed for US$15 million after an original listing price of US$50 million eight years ago.

Jordan, 61, left the Bulls in 1999 and became a part owner of the Washington Wizards. He then was majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets before agreeing to sell his stake last year for US$3 billion. The Wall Street Journal reported in April that Jordan bought a US$16.5 million mansion in a gated community in Jupiter, Florida, where he already has a 28,000- sq ft mansion built in 2013. BLOOMBERG