Elon Musk selling California properties listed for US$62.5m

[NEW YORK] Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk has signed a letter of intent to sell properties in Los Angeles to Ardie Tavangarian, the developer said in a statement.

Mr Musk, who tweeted in May that he planned to unload "almost all physical possessions", had listed several homes for sale in California. That includes four properties on Chalon Road in Bel-Air that were listed on Zillow's website for US$62.5 million.

Mr Tavangarian, known for high-end homes, plans to combine the four properties into a single project, according to the statement. A spokesperson for the developer declined to comment on the price.

Mr Musk's fortune has swelled by US$24.40 billion this year to US$51.70 billion as of Tuesday, making him the world's 17th-richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Shares of Mr Musk's company, which have more than doubled since the start of the year, climbed as much as 3.5 per cent in intra day trading, giving it a market capitalisation of $207.20 billion.

LUXURY DEMAND

Demand for Los Angeles luxury housing recovered in June after sales froze because of the pandemic. The average time on the market for homes with price tags higher than US$1.5 million fell to 138 days in the week ended June 25 from 469 days in mid-April, according to housing economist Steven Thomas.

"After grinding to a complete halt, the luxury market is pumping on all cylinders," Mr Thomas wrote in a recent report.

The Bel-Air district of Los Angeles is part of what's called the Platinum Triangle, an area that includes Holmby Hills and Beverly Hills, where some of the world's the priciest homes have sold - often below asking prices.

Lachlan Murdoch, the oldest son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, agreed in December to pay a record US$150 million for Chartwell, the Bel-Air estate featured in the 1960s TV series "The Beverly Hillbillies" originally listed for US$350 million.

Last June, a Holmby Hills estate built by TV producer Aaron Spelling, sold for US$120 million. Another Bel-Air spec home dubbed "Billionaire", developed by handbag designer Bruce Makowsky, sold for US$94 million in November, down from an original US$250 million.

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