”
Expensive
”
is a relative term. Just ask the developers who recently paid
$9.83 million to purchase
”
Ranchomai
”
– a 22,000-square-foot home on San Juan Canyon Road.
Hollister – “Expensive” is a relative term. Just ask the developers who recently paid $9.83 million to purchase “Ranchomai” – a 22,000-square-foot home on San Juan Canyon Road.
That sale is the most expensive San Benito County purchase listed in the REInfoLink real estate database, which goes back 10 years.
Anne O’Callahan, marketing communications director for REInfoLink, warned that the database doesn’t include prices for all transactions, so it’s difficult to make any “absolute statements.” But Ranchomai isn’t just a little bit more expensive than other homes – it sold for more than three times as much as the previous record-holder, a North San Benito County house that netted its owner $2.75 million in 2006.
Real estate agent Stefan Walker of Alain Pinel in Los Gatos worked as Mairose’s Realtor in the deal, and he called Ranchomai “the most spectacular house in San Benito County.” But it wasn’t the house that attracted the buyer, Walker said.
“The house certainly has value, but what made the deal for them was the land,” he said.
The developers won’t be available to talk about their plans until Monday, Walker said.
The house sits on 740 acres and includes a 12-stall corral, caretakers’ quarters and a full gymnasium. It was built in 1991 by Roger Mairose, CEO of the San Jose-based construction firm MAI Industries. When Mairose decided to sell the house in 2004, he told the Free Lance that he and his wife Wendy were ready to move on.
Mairose said Friday that he and his wife moved out of the home “a little while ago.” The Mairoses also have homes in Los Gatos and Saratoga.
Mairose has been a generous county resident, said County Supervisor Anthony Botelho, who recalled attending several fundraisers hosted at Mairose’s home.
“Mr. Mairose has been a very good contributor to the community,” Botelho said. “It’s too bad he’s moving somewhere else.”
Botelho added that he was impressed by the Mairose property.
“It’s a terrific house,” he said. “It’s too big for me, but it’s the type of architecture we want to promote in the community, as far as protecting hillsides and ridges.”
Despite its substantial price, Ranchomai was sold in 100 days, according to REInfoLink.
It took more than a year to close escrow. Walker said complications in the deal caused the delay.
“It was a very large, complex transaction, and it got a bit squirrely at times,” he said.
For his part, Mairose said he’s going to miss the people of San Juan Bautista. Asked if he plans to return to visit, he said, “Oh, I have no idea. We just moved out.”
