This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sports agent Dwight Manley, who purchased Karl Malone's house high in the Avenues at auction last year, has flipped the property for what could be thousands - even millions - more.
The sales price of the property, purchased for $2.75 million by Manley in June 2005, has not been made public, and under the state's nondisclosure laws may never be. But the property at 930 Northvale Way was assessed by Salt Lake County for just over $5 million for the 2006 tax year, county officials said this week.
Realtor Fred Law of RE/MAX Associates said he wouldn't be surprised if the property sold for around the assessed amount. Francis and Robin Dunleavy of New York bought the home in July.
"The market, especially in that area, has improved dramatically over the last year," Law said. "Had [Malone] waited just one more year, he would have made more money."
Malone undoubtedly took a bit hit last year when he sold the home at auction for what real estate professionals estimate was less than half of what he probably spent to build the 17,230-square-foot trophy home.
But the basketball superstar had been trying to sell the home for two years in a particularly sluggish market, especially for high-end homes. By the time he decided to auction off the property, Salt Lake City's real estate market had only just begun to show any significant signs of improvement. Only in the past year has the market really started to boom, with sales of multimillion dollar homes taking off.
By any measures, Manley's purchase could be considered a "steal."
The 2-acre parcel on which that house was built alone was worth about $600,000. By various estimates, it could cost at least $4 million to build Malone's eight-bedroom, 11-bathroom home, not even counting costly amenities such as a pool and water slide, indoor shooting range, basketball courts, home gym, five-car heated garage, five fireplaces, a home theater and extensive landscaping.
The Dunleavys did not immediately return calls seeking comment. Dwight Manley also did not return calls made to him at his United Sports Agency offices in Newport Beach, Calif.
The Mailman first tried to sell the property in August 2003, after committing to leave the Jazz for the Los Angeles Lakers and shortly before dropping more than $5 million on a new home in Newport Beach, Calif.
But the real estate market was not doing well at the time, and Malone later cut the listing price to $5.8 million from $6.1 million. Still no buyer.
Eager to unload the property, with its huge utility bills and property tax obligations of about $28,000 a year, Malone eventually decided to take it off the market and sell it at auction. He opted for an absolute auction, which means he declined to set a published or unpublished minimum price.
That decision undoubtedly cost him plenty.
Bidding, none too brisk, started to stall around $2 million and stopped short of $3 million after Manley made the $2.75 million winning bid.
Manley, who owns a number of businesses, including those specializing in real estate and rare coins, called in the winning bid from California.