Why Is L.A.’s Most Expensive House Still on the Market?

“If I had not gone inside myself, I would not have believed such a residence existed in the world,” MGM boss Louis B. Mayer once said of Casa Encantada, considered by many to be the finest residence in the United States. Currently on the market for an eye-watering $195 million, the storied estate, lording over the Bel-Air Country Club on a stunning 8.4 acres, features a 7 bed/20 bath main house described by its Russian-born architect James Dolena as a “modern Georgian with Grecian influences.” The longtime residence of hotelier Conrad Hilton, it has been called “The House Where Dreams Come True.”

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But since 2019, Casa Encantada has repeatedly been listed only to be pulled back off the market, its price slashed from $250 million to $195 million. Now a trio of super-agents — Westside Estate Agency’s Kurt Rappaport, Drew Fenton of Carolwood Estates, and Million Dollar Listing’s Josh Flagg of Compass — are dreaming of the large commission that will come their way if they are able to finally sell the mega-estate, even as the luxury market sags.

“Casa Encantada is one of the most iconic homes in Los Angeles due to its architectural significance, designed by James Dolena in 1937, and its Georgian-style elegance,” Flagg says. “The mansion has hosted high-profile events and been owned by notable figures like Conrad Hilton, enhancing its cultural and social legacy. Its vast size, opulence, and prime location in Bel-Air, combined with its historical importance, make it one of the most sought-after and expensive estates in the city.”

For Flagg, Casa Encantada — or enchanted house — couldn’t be more aptly named. “It’s always a pleasure to show Casa Encantada because you see something new every time that you never noticed before,” Flagg says. “My favorite feature of the home is the motorcourt. When you pull through the gates of the estate you travel down a long winding driveway to a motorcourt with an exquisite fountain highlighted by magnificent bronze sculptures.”

The estate, at 10644 Bellagio Road, has broken records as the most expensive home sold in the United State twice before. It was built for Hilda Boldt Weber, a former nurse turned fabulously wealthy widow of a glass bottle mogul, who had scandalized society by marrying her butler. Kindly, frumpy, yet fatally extravagant, Weber was desperate to break into Los Angeles high society when she bought the lot in 1936. She hired Dolena, landscape designer Benjamin Purdy, and T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings to construct her Art Deco neoclassical dream for more than $2 million, or about $45 million in today’s money.

No expense was spared. Weber insisted on a building tunnel straight to the Bel-Air Country Club golf course. She even kitted out the servants’ bedrooms with lush fixtures — including marble floors. “One new employee spent his first night awake, worrying he’d accidentally been placed in a guest room,” Michael Gross writes in Unreal Estate: Money, Ambition, and the Lust for Land in Los Angeles .

Weber’s profligacy would bleed her dry. So expensive was the upkeep, she put it on the market for $1.5 million in 1948. With no takers, desperate for cash, and shunned by the snobs of Bel-Air, she sold it in 1950 to hotelier Conrad Hilton for only $225,000 ($3 million in 2024 dollars). Broke and disenchanted, Weber died by suicide shortly after the sale.

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“It was love at first sight,” Hilton noted of the home, which he named “Casa Encantada.” He lived in his castle on the hill until his death in 1978. In 1980, billionaire David Murdock of Dole Foods purchased the home from the Hilton family and renamed it “Bellagio House.” He sold it to businessman and philanthropist Gary Winnick for a record breaking $94 million in 2000.

The Winnicks invested tens of millions in restoring the property, which was overseen by legendary architect and Warhol collaborator Peter Marino. In 2019, the Winnicks put Casa Encantada on the market for $225 million, with Hilton & Hyland repping the sellers. But no takers could be found. After Gary Winnick’s death in 2023, his widow, Karen, reportedly relisted the home for $250 million, but again no firm offer came through.

There could be a number of reasons the property has not sold in the past. The costs of yearly property taxes, maintenance and staff to run a historic estate of this size are in proportion with the stratospheric asking price. In addition, the confusion that the COVID era caused in the real estate market, and the competition with newer, less demanding homes at the highest end of the housing stock have made it more difficult to sell Casa Encantada than it may once have been.

But Flagg believes that the time is finally right for the property to sell. “The market has been in a very strange place for the last couple of years,” he says. “If this was 2017 or even during the height of COVID the house would be sold by now. Someone is going to get an incredible deal since it is now appropriately priced at $195 million.”

Numerous qualified buyers have toured the property. “Interest has been terrific,” Flagg says. “I think people see the value and the opportunity to acquire such an iconic estate.”

Whether these high rollers have just come to sneak a peak at a prominent part of American architectural history, or actually intend to fork over $195 million — plus untold millions in expenses — is yet to be seen. Through it all, Casa Encantada remains the stuff that dreams are made of. But dreams can be elusive, and sometimes, a bit too pricey.

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