Adam Levine Quietly Flips Montecito Estate For Hefty Profit

Though the transaction was kept mostly on the down-low, records show Adam Levine and his wife Behati Prinsloo flipped their Montecito estate to an as-yet-unidentified buyer back in June for a cool $28.5 million. That’s a hefty $5.8 million more than they had paid just three months earlier for the century-old estate, which spans nearly 5.2 ocean-view acres. Siteline Santa Barbara first reported the off-market deal. (Somewhat bizarrely, it appears the house was flipped a second time in August — to another unnamed buyer — for $28 million, or a $500,000 loss for the seller.)

Designed way back in 1923 by fine artist-turned-architect George Washington Smith and landscape architect Lockwood de Forest Jr., the stately mansion was originally built for attorney John A. Jameson, one of Montecito’s founding “godfathers.” The place subsequently passed through numerous owners, none of them particularly famous, and more recently had been on and off the market for years, initially with a $29.5 million ask, before eventually selling to Levine at a huge discount.

Tucked away behind tall gates, down a lengthy driveway laced with mature oaks and manicured lawns, the compound includes at least four separate structures on two parcels of land. Among them: the Spanish Revival-style main house, plus a detached five-car garage topped by a three-room apartment, two-bedroom board-and-batten guesthouse and a one-bedroom cottage — for a total of nine bedrooms and 11 baths in 12,653 square feet of living space.

As for the main house, the structure includes 12,000 square feet of elegant yet rustic interiors punctuated throughout by arched windows and doorways, soaring wood-beam ceilings and terracotta tile floors. Highlights include a formal living room boasting two sets of French doors flanked by a baronial fireplace; wood-clad gourmet kitchen with high-end stainless appliances and a spacious center island; and an upstairs master retreat offering up views of the grounds and ocean via a private terrace.

Other amenities include a movie theater and wine cellar. But the undeniable star of the show is the picturesque grounds, complete with a tennis court and viewing pavilion, putting green and pool — all surrounded by meandering pathways, stone fountains, a manmade pond/creek, and plentiful loggias and patios ideal for al fresco dining and entertaining.

Just in case you’re wondering, Levine and Prinsloo — who launched the Calirosa Tequila brand together earlier this year — are far from homeless. Back in 2018, they paid now-divorced couple Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck $32 million for a luxe mansion in the Los Angeles community of Pacific Palisades, in the uber-coveted Riviera neighborhood pocket.