Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s luxury California mansion DOUBLES in value in two years -earning them £12 million
Prince Harry and Meghan have earned a staggering £12 million in the past two years - by doing nothing more than staying at home.
Their luxury Montecito mansion, which they bought for £11.93 million ($14.6 million) in June 2020, has more than doubled in value in only 23 months.
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The 18,671 sq ft home in oceanside Montecito, which boasts nine bedrooms and 19 bathrooms, is now valued at £23,960,720 ($29,350,320) million by property website Redfin - meaning Meghan and Harry would make £12 million if they sold today.
Rival website Zillow puts the value of Harry and Meghan’s home at £21.6 million ($26,485,500), but claim it could fetch as much as £30 million ($36.81m)
Sitting on 7.4 acres with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, their home in the exclusive celebrity enclave boasts a private cinema, gym, spa and wine cellar.
It has a pub games room, swimming pool and separate guesthouse where Meghan’s mother Doria stays when she visits from her home in Los Angeles, 90 miles to the south of Montecito.
"Property prices have soared in the past 18 months, and show no sign of stopping," a local luxury estate agent told The Sun.
"Harry and Meghan only had to sit back and watch their home’s value sky-rocket."
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CASH BOOST
The massive hike in their home’s value, soaring way above the average increase in California’s super-heated housing market, could be contributing to whispers that the royal couple is considering selling up and moving.
It could also be a fast way for Harry and Meghan to address any immediate cash flow problems they might face.
Their £100 million Netflix deal is looking shaky, after the streaming service lost 200,000 subscribers in the last quarter and axed Harry and Meghan’s planned animated series Pearl.
The couple were also accused of pitching "boring shows" and being "naive" about how TV deals work.
Their £16 million Spotify podcast deal is also under scrutiny, after they produced only one episode more than a year after signing their lucrative contract.
The couple also set Netflix executives’ noses out of joint by sitting down for exclusive talks last year with Oprah Winfrey for CBS TV, and this year with NBC TV, rather than for Netflix.
HOUSE HUNTING?
Harry, aged 37, and Meghan, aged 40, are reportedly "not over the moon" about their California home, however, and may plan to sell it, according The Mirror.
Insiders claim that the couple are looking for another property in Southern California.
Locals speculate that the couple might want to be closer to Los Angeles as they develop film and TV projects if their Netflix deal survives the company’s cut-backs.
If they stay in Montecito the runaway royals may also be looking for a less remote home than their secluded hilltop estate, making it easier to arrange playdates for their children Archie, aged two, and Lilibet, who celebrates her first birthday next month.
The duo purchased the Montecito estate in June 2020, after fleeing Britain initially for Canada, where they spent four months at a rented ocean-front mansion on Vancouver Island.
They then moved into movie mogul Tyler Perry’s Los Angeles estate, before finding a home of their own in Montecito, close to celebrity friends including Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres.
RENOVATION
Harry and Meghan have added state-of-the-art security features including CCTV cameras, and renovated much of the home.
They also added a chicken coop in the garden, bearing a hand-painted sign ‘Archie’s Chick Inn. Established 2021,’ though neighbours last year warned of a wild bear in the vicinity that was killing backyard chickens.
But local estate agents are reluctant to reveal what moves the royal duo may be considering.
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Frank Abatemarco of Sotheby’s International says: "I, and all the realtors I do business with, are fiercely protective of the privacy Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan came to Montecito to enjoy."
