What happened to Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch after 'Leaving Neverland'?
Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch was big news in 2019.
First, the California ranch that the late Michael Jackson once famously filled with animals, children and an amusement park aura returned to the real estate market after more than a year on March 1. The explosive, two-part documentary Leaving Neverland premiered on HBO just two days later. In it, two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, accused Jackson of having sexually abused them at the extravagant home when they were children. (Jackson, who died in 2009, denied all accusations of child abuse when he was alive, and his estate filed a lawsuit against HBO before the high-profile documentary even aired.)
Today, Neverland remains for sale with the $31 million price it was listed at in the spring. The staggering amount is far less than the $100 million sellers were seeking when it went on the market in 2015, but it’s considerably cheaper than the $67 million price to which it had once been reduced.
Real estate expert Michael Corbett, the host of Extra’s Mansions and Millionaires and author of several real estate books, told Yahoo Entertainment that the current price is more about the property itself, rather than the association with the late King of Pop.
“It was priced where it was in the beginning to capture a celebrity trophy buyer, someone that was willing to pay the extra money because it was Michael Jackson’s,” Corbett said. “Unfortunately now, since there’s been a lot of negative press, someone is probably not going to purchase it for that reason... Now someone’s going to buy it because it’s an amazing piece of real estate.”
The gated manor, which Jackson purchased in 1987, sits on almost 2,700 acres, five miles north of Los Olivos, Calif., in Santa Barbara County, and contains multiple structures. As described on TopTenRealEstateDeals.com, the main house covers 12,600 square feet, including six bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and two half bathrooms. The ranch offers a pool and pool house, tennis courts, three guest houses — Elizabeth Taylor reportedly frequented one — a barn and that recognizable train station. While the amusement park rides are no more, Neverland still offers amenities including a movie theater, a dance studio and a barn. Sweeping views of the mountains are part of the package, too.
Corbett, who’s visited Neverland twice, described it as both “spectacular” and “a magnificent piece of real estate.”
“Because everyone knows this as Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch — they know a llama farm and they know the train station and things like that — but what they don’t realize is that it’s really this massive acreage, and it’s almost like its own secluded valley,” Corbett said. “It encompasses an entire valley, with an entrance there in Los Olivos that’s just really pretty remarkable.”
He attributed the estate remaining on the market for so long to its unique features. It requires someone who wants to own a huge chunk of land in Southern California but away from Los Angeles.
“It’s not gonna have hundreds and hundreds of buyers,” Corbett said. “It’s gotta find that right person, and I think now where it’s being priced, it’s probably going to be more accessible for more people that might really be interested in what that property has to offer.”
It won’t necessarily be someone who’s a Jackson fan.
Related: Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch Gets Huge Price Reduction
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