Inside Beyonce and JAY Z’s Struggle to Buy a Home: What’s Taking So Long?

Jul 31, 2017

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Beyoncé and JAY Z might soon be homeowners—that is, if the latest rumors are true. According to anonymous real estate sources in the Los Angeles Times, the couple have put forward a bid to buy a mansion in Bel Air, CA, for $90 million.

While nothing’s official quite yet, the Times goes on to say that the mansion was “never publicly listed for sale, but carried an asking price of $135 million.” In other words: The sellers were perhaps hoping to sell without the hassle of fielding hordes of potential buyers … for the right price, of course.

And we can see why this 30,000-square-foot estate—with its eight bedrooms, four pools, 15-car garage, recording studio, basketball court, and expansive views of downtown Los Angeles—caught the superstar couple’s fancy.

Still, Jay and Bey’s $90 million offer is substantially shy of $135 million, so we aren’t counting this real estate chick before it’s hatched. Especially since the couple seem somewhat cursed by bad luck when it comes to purchasing property, as numerous homes they’ve been rumored to have their eye on in the past have slipped through their fingers.

Why is that? Clearly, they aren’t hurting for cash. So what’s been foiling their house-hunting efforts so far?

What’s taking Beyoncé and JAY Z so long to buy a home?

Let’s rewind to three years ago, when rumors circulated that Jay and Bey made an offer to buy a Holmby Hills home that they were renting for $200,000 a month. Only that deal fell through. Word is that the pair decided the pad’s 16,000 square feet of space wasn’t enough room.

After that, it was reported that the couple made an offer on a 23,000-square-foot house in Trousdale, another Beverly Hills neighborhood, but lost the bidding war to Minecraft creator Markus Persson, who paid $70 million for the place. Then, the couple supposedly bid $49 million on a 14,000-square-foot home in Beverly Hills, but were outbid by designer Tom Ford, who offered $50 million.

Rumor also has it that JAY Z and Beyoncé were eyeing a place on nearby Carolwood Drive, but Detroit Pistons owners Tom Gores beat them to the punch with $200 million.

So you have to wonder why Jay and Bey always seem to end up on the losing end of a real estate deal. Are they merely high-profile examples of the difficulties Americans are having in the red-hot seller’s market that characterizes many areas of the U.S. today?

“There are frustrated home buyers all over the country that are finding the limited inventory of homes available for sale to be a real challenge, as available homes are quickly snapped up or sparking bidding wars in high-demand, low-supply markets,” says Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate.com.

Some real estate experts theorize that the couple might be acting too picky or indecisive in a market that demands you act fast.

“They may not know what they want and are not prepared to act immediately,” says Bruce Ailion, a Realtor® and attorney in Atlanta. “A delay of two to three days can mean losing the property. Having an offer in within hours of a home coming on the market is often necessary.”

How they can keep their new deal from falling through

So will this star couple nail the deal this time around?

Some experts worry that $90 million might not be enough to see things through.

“I’d suggest not lowballing multimillion-dollar custom-built homes in the hottest market in the nation,” says Los Angeles–based real estate broker and investor Tyler Drew.

“When I am working with purchasers who really want a home, I always say ‘put in your best and highest’ bid,” agrees Denise Supplee at SparkRental.com. “Trying to get a ‘deal’ can be the very thing that breaks a deal.”

Beyoncé and JAY Z should also be willing to make their offer, whatever it is, as irresistible as possible.

“They’re in a position to make a cash offer, which is always compelling,” says Brian Davis, a real estate education expert at SnapLandlord.com.