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Married Developers Buy $21.8 Million Malibu Fixer

Even during a pandemic, Malibu home prices remain high enough to shock mere financial mortals. A blufftop estate on the city’s exclusive Point Dume sold this week for about $21.8 million, and though the property includes all the amenities expected at that lofty price level — a swimming pool, full-size tennis court, and walls of glass that drink in the spectacular ocean views — it’s probably best described as a high-end fixer upper.

Built in 1980 and later renovated by the seller, video game pioneer David Rosen, the nearly 6,000 sq. ft. mansion offers an oddball mix of modern and Mediterranean design inside and out. But whatever its proper architectural heritage, the place is decidedly dated, in need of a multimillion-dollar renovation, though the materials — marble floors, polished wood trim — are all custom and expensive.

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Some of the residence’s glitzier features include a resort-style entry graced by a waterfall and bridge, plus a stone courtyard and tropical landscaping. The formal dining room is surrounded with etched glass panels, an enormous great room holds a massive fireplace, and the den is equipped with a wet bar for boozy convenience. The tennis court is lighted, and the property remains fully gated, naturally, and equipped with a sophisticated surveillance system.

The savvy buyers, powerhouse attorney Stuart Liner and his wife Stephanie Hershey Liner, are assuredly well aware of the property’s design shortcomings and have likely devised a remodel-focused plan of attack; the couple have more than two dozen home renovations under their belt and plenty of name-brand credibility.

In 2014, the Liners paid $28 million for the longtime Beverly Hills estate of actors Danny Devito and Rhea Pearlman, after which they quickly subdivided the property and spent several years building two mansions on the estate, the larger of which was sold to Australian billionaire James Packer in 2018 for about $64 million, according to records.

In 2014, the couple offloaded a spec-built Holmby Hills estate for $30 million to members of the Juffali family, the multibillionaire clan of Saudi industrialists. And way back in 2005, they sold a brand-new mansion on a particularly posh Brentwood street to Endeavor’s Ari Emanuel and his then-wife Sarah Addington.

Despite their new Malibu project’s $21.8 million pricetag, the place isn’t even close to being the priciest Point Dume home ever sold. The larger estate immediately next door, long owned by the late Johnny Carson, was sold for exactly $40 million last summer to an entity associated with Riaz Valani, the first investor in e-cigarette juggernaut Juul. And this June, fashion designer James Perse inked a $34.7 million deal to sell his blufftop Point Dume estate to tech billionaire Ted Waitt.

Chris Cortazzo of Compass and Steve Levine of Hilton & Hyland held the listing; Drew Fenton of Hilton & Hyland repped the Liners.

Launch Gallery: Inside a $21.8 Million Malibu Fixer Upper

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