Kanye West wants to sell his beachfront Malibu property for $4 million less than he paid in 2021. But buyer beware: Even though the price tag is $53 million, the home is still missing doors, windows, plumbing, and electric.
The house—one of the few” U.S. homes designed by the renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando, according to its listing—had its price slashed largely because West began a “gut renovation” that he appears to have never came close to finishing. Photos show the 4,000-square-foot manse appears to be a shell of its previous self.
Realtor Jason Oppenheim, of the Oppenheim Group, told The Wall Street Journal it will need “several million dollars” to be completed with HVAC, interior finishes, doors, windows, and utilities.
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Oppenheim is spinning the house’s condition as a “blank canvas” for a prospective buyer, noting that the exterior remains unchanged. “Much of the architectural integrity and the architectural value of the house exists,” he told the Journal.
Ando’s trademark “smooth-as-silk” concrete gives the home a unique look, along with 200 tons of steel and 12 pylons that were driven 60 feet into the Malibu sand, its listing says. The house has three stories, four bedrooms, giant window openings that face the Pacific Ocean, and a 1,500 square feet of deck space.
“An exceedingly rare architectural achievement that should be seen as a masterful work of art, rather than just a residence,” the listing says.
Ando, who rose to fame for iconic museum structures built on the Japanese island of Naoshima, has designed some of the most expensive homes ever sold the U.S. One was purchased this year by the art collectors Bill and Maria Bell, who shelled out $200 million for the mansion, previously owned by Jay-Z and Beyoncé.
West had his fair share of drama with the home prior to its listing. He was sued by a contractor in September who alleged that he was forced to work 16 hours a day and sleep on the floor near open insulation.
The contractor claimed that he was fired for refusing to rip out the home’s electrical system and replace the wiring with large generators, which he feared would be a fire hazard. West—whose personal life has been buffetted by a series of controversies, including a recent tirade against Jewish people—denies the allegations.
