Reese Witherspoon may be one of America’s most beloved actresses, but she’s not feeling the love in the real estate game. After a year on the market and numerous price reductions, she just reduced the price of her rustic-style Ojai, CA retreat by another $1.3 million, bringing the new asking price to $5.9 million. The new price is much, much lower than the $10 million she was originally asking for the estate.
While pregnant with her third child, the retreat made headlines when Witherspoon and this Ojai home appeared on the cover and in a full length spread in the September 2012 issue of Elle Décor. That month, it officially came on the market with a $10 million dollar price tag and a splashy feature story in The Hollywood Reporter.
The home first made headlines in March 2011, when Witherspoon married second husband Jim Toth in front of a group of A-list guests on the grounds of the estate. Months later, rumors swirled that Witherspoon offered the Ojai home to her Water For Elephants co-star Robert Pattinson as an escape from the media during his ex-girlfriend Kristin Stewart’s affair scandal.
While this country retreat has gotten all the media exposure one would think it would need to sell, Witherspoon is still struggling to find a buyer. After numerous price chops, Reese is now asking just $100,000 more than the $5.8 million she paid when she purchased the property from prominent interior designer Kathryn Ireland in 2008.
Since then, Witherspoon has renovated the space, clearly adding tremendous value, but she won’t get much more than she originally paid and will likely lose money on the deal.
Built in 1923 and hidden away in the Ojai Valley hills, the vacation retreat was originally designed by architect Wallace Neff as a barn, later turned to an actual home in the 1940’s by architect Austen Pierpoint. The Spanish architecture gives the home tons of personality and allows for a true getaway. The rustic, century-old designs comes alive with the stone-lined hallways and wood beamed ceilings. A cool and relaxing ambiance surrounds the space as natural light graces each room and views of the hills can be seen throughout. In the recent issue of Elle Decor, Witherspoon nicknamed the home “Libbey Ranch” and describes it as “meditative and restorative,” like “having a little bit of Tennessee in California.”
With four bedrooms and three and a half baths, the 5,000 square foot main home seems minuscule on the seven-acre property, yet horse stables, three guest cottages, a carriage house and swimming pool take up the remainder of the land – perfect for a large family to relax and escape to a quiet, country vacation.
Gregg Leach of Village Properties now has the listing.
