Interesting article in the Wall Street Journal from August 24, 2007: “Underpriced at $100 Million“. Ben Casselman and Christina S.N. Lewis report that few home owners are trying to set a new record by selling the most expensive house in American history. The current record is Ron Baron’s $103 million purchase of a 40-acre compound in East Hampton, NY. Homes for sale at $100+ million are, inter alia:

Hearst Estate - 6.25-acre compound in Beverly Hills, CA with 72,000 sq.ft. of living space — $165 million
Hala Ranch - 56,000 sq.ft. Aspen, Colo. chalet – $135 million
Fleur de Lys - Mansion in Los Angeles, modeled after the 17th century palace of Louis XIV’s finance minister — $125 million
Maison de l’Amitié - Seven-acre ocean front Palm Beach, Fl. compound — $125 million
Tranquility - 210-acre compound in Zephyr Cove, Nev. near Lake Tahoe — $100 million

There are five contenders for the current prize, including a Beverly Hills compound once owned by William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies that’s listed for $165 million; the Aspen home of Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, which has been visited by the past three U.S. presidents ($135 million); and an estate overlooking Lake Tahoe with a staircase modeled after the one aboard the Titanic (a dark horse at $100 million). All have come on the market since summer 2006.

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Record asking prices haven’t always guaranteed record sales — or sales at all. Executors of the estate of oil- and film-industry billionaire Marvin Davis originally listed his Beverly Hills home for $70 million, but people familiar with the deal say it sold in 2005 for roughly $45 million. Manhattan’s most expensive listing, Martin Zweig’s $70 million penthouse atop the Pierre Hotel, has been on the market for more than two years. (Listing agent Elizabeth Lee Sample says that she’s had offers at the asking price but didn’t think the prospective buyers could get past the building’s rigorous co-op board.)

Nonetheless, Suzanne Saperstein, owner of the $125 million Los Angeles chateau, says she has no plans to cut her price. “I’m in no rush,” she says. And more contenders are on the way. Developer Frank McKinney is building a house in Manalapan, Fla., that he plans to list for “at least” $135 million, while land baron Tim Blixseth is asking $155 million for a yet-to-be-built Montana estate. Entertainment billionaire David Geffen has quietly shopped his historic 9.4-acre Los Angeles estate for $100 million, according to a broker who has shown the property. Mr. Geffen says his home in Los Angeles is not for sale.