$35 Million Philadelphia Mansion Sells For Just $9.26 Million

For a quick check-in on the housing market, lets move to the affluent suburbs of Philadelphia, where a mansion on the ritzy “Main Line” that cost $35 million to build has just sold for a measly $9.26 million. 

In the town of Gladwyne, a 32-acre estate at 100 Maplehill Road just sold for $25.7 million less than what it cost to build, according to the Philly Voice. The mansion was “developed by Andrew Barroway, the managing partner of hedge fund Merion Investment Management and a minority owner of the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes,” the report says. 

The land cost him $12 million in 2006 and the home cost $23 million over the next several years to buy. The home is a 13,000 square foot mansion that is built in the Gothic Revival style, the report says. 

It was recently purchased by “a trust tied to the family of Thaddeus Bartkowski, the CEO of Delaware County-based digital advertising company Catalyst Experiential,” Philly Voice wrote. Bartkowsi told the Wall Street Journal that the purchase involved “multiple real estate agents” and other assets on the property. 

Among the amenities at the 13,000 square foot monstrosity are a gym, an indoor swimming pool, a movie theater, a wine cellar, a “man cave”, vintage pinball machines and antiques that include a jukebox. Outside the home, it sports a tennis court, a seven-car garage, two hot tubs and a trail for riding ATVs.

The home was first listed in 2016 with a price of $28 million, but the buyers it drew couldn’t meet the price Barroway wanted, the report says. He then tried to auction the home in 2019 with a reserve of $14.9 million and failed to consummate a sale.

Then, he tried to rent the property for $40,000 per month, which he did successfully to Bartkowski. 

Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather commented: “High-end-house hunters are getting sticker shock when they see the impact of rising mortgage rates on paper. For a luxury buyer, a higher interest rate can equate to a monthly housing bill that’s thousands of dollars more expensive.”

He continued:  “Someone who was in the market for a $1.5 million home last year may now have a maximum budget of $800,000 thanks to higher mortgage rates. Luxury goods are often the first thing to get cut when uncertain times force people to reexamine their finances.”