chief executive Rupert Murdoch may have a new neighbor to carpool to work with. that conservative talk show host and Murdoch employee Sean Hannity was trying to buy has officially closed, real estate sources says. The 16-room mansion on closed Wednesday. Hannity paid $8.5 million. The Hampton-style mansion was purchased from a trust set up after a transfer of the property from Deborah Dolan, ex-wife of James Dolan.
The home was listed with Peggy McCormack of . Regina Rogers of represented Hannity in the deal. Neither agent would comment.
The sale of this home proves that despite a real estate slowdown, homes will sell if the price is right, and Centre Island is no exception. The Hannity house had originally been listed at $13.5 million in 2006, then earlier this year was reduced to $10.5 million. Patricia Altschul’s Centre Island manse went into contract last year soon after a price reduction from $18.5 million to $15.8 million. It closed in March 2008 for $12.5 million to Londoner Colin Buffin. Murdoch also recently dropped the asking price for his nearby mansion from $14.8 million to $12.8 million.
One holdout in the pricing game is Billy Joel, whose has been on the market since 2006. It was originally listed at $37.5 million in 2006, with a price drop to $32.5 million in early 2007, but Joel has not reduced his asking price in more than a year now and the home remains unsold.
