Selling Oyster Bay House Can Cause a Heart Attack-Ack-Ack-Ack; So Billy Joel Turns To Dolly Lenz
The Piano Man is good at writing charmingly saccharine and enduring karaoke standards, but isn't as gifted at selling his real estate. Maybe his luck will change now that nearly a year and a half after listing his 14.2-acre waterfront estate in Centre Island for $37.5 million with Daniel Gale/Sotheby's International Realty, Mr. Joel has turned to the omnipotent Elliman broker Dolly Lenz to sell the estate, according to a listing on her Web site.
Mr. Joel spent $15 million on the estate in 2002, but was most recently asking $32.5 million for his shoreline stretch along Oyster Bay Harbor, where his 14,000-square-foot house features five bedrooms, a wine cellar, eight fireplaces, a gym, a bowling alley, tennis courts, three staff quarters, a guest cottage, a beach house, and an outdoor pool. Previous reports have said that his indoor pool room was converted for his grand piano, but Ms. Lenz's listing says "an indoor pool provide for hours of in home entertainment."
The listing also mentions a dock, although Mr. Joel has been publicly frustrated over not being able to build docks on his property for his "$2.5 million commuter yacht, Vendetta; a fishing boat, Alexa; and a pontoon landing craft." Oyster Bay Harbor is a national wildlife refuge.
So what's the current cost? Ms. Lenz's site says, "Price Upon Request" but it's probably around that $32.5 million mark. Ms. Lenz had no comment, and Daniel Gale/Sotheby's, which seems to have lost the listing late last year, did not return a call.
505 Greenwich Street
"Rarely available, this oversized two bedroom, two and a half bathroom home... " More details |
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Joel paid $22.5M in October of 2002 for the 14.59 acre estate. There has been much talk of his selling the house because he couldn't get a deep water dock. While this house does not have a deep water dock, the house next door does and was available for purchase within a very short time after Joel bought his estate. Locals wondered at why Joel never followed up on buying the neighboring property which would have provided him with exactly what he was looking for in dock space. Perhaps the dock coming on the market was several months too late as it happened after his recent marriage. Centre Islanders welcomed Joel but began to speculate that his wife was less than thrilled to be living in such a remote and secluded place; no movie moguls or Oprah living nearby and no trendy parties full of young celebrities. Perhaps Joel is hedging his bet by pricing the house way out of the market? Neighbors chuckled at the $22.5MM price he paid and figured he should have paid nearer to the $15MM the Observer quotes. With Long Island estate prices dropping and a glut of properties - there were over 20 properties for sale on Centre Island alone earlier this year - perhaps a price nearer to the $15MM might attract some interest. After all you could have bought Pat Altschul's neighboring estate, torn it down and built a $20MM home on it for the price Joel is asking.
Hell, i'll buy it...let me get these overdraft charges i acquired at a recent wal-mart outing taken care of...then...let's negotiate Dolly!