Desert estate adds to its lineup of sports star homeowners
What do Matt Leinart, Amar’e Stoudemire, Daryn Colledge and Mike Iupati have in common? Similar taste in real estate, apparently.
When Iupati paid $1.365 million for a home in the Ahwatukee area of Phoenix, Ariz., last month, the new Arizona Cardinals guard became the fourth professional athlete to own the nearly half-acre property.
The seller, recently retired offensive lineman Daryn Colledge, purchased the 5,570-square-foot home from NBA forward Amar’e Stoudemire in 2011 for $1.3 million. Stoudemire, in turn, bought the house in cash from former NFL quarterback Matt Leinart in 2007 for $1.7 million. Leinart paid $2.421 million for the estate during the summer prior to his rookie season with the Cardinals in 2006, records show.
The Tuscan-style estate, completed in 2003, includes a vaulted foyer that opens to a living room with floor-to-ceiling glass. A winding wrought iron staircase leads up to a second-level bridge that overlooks the foyer and living room.
Among features is a great room with a wet bar, a game room, a center-island chef’s kitchen and an exercise room. The master retreat, one of six bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms, sports his and her closets, a two-sided fireplace and a spa-like bathroom with a soaking tub and media wall.
Outdoors, the landscaped grounds center on a pool with a raised spa, a water slide and a waterfall feature. Elsewhere is a covered patio with an outdoor kitchen.
Colledge, who retired in April after nine seasons with the Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers, relisted the home in March for $1.499 million. He had asked as much as $1.699 million for the property last year.
David Khalaj of Realty Executives represented both Colledge and Iupati in the sale, according to the Multiple Listing Service.
Iupati, 28, joined the Cardinals as a free agent in March, agreeing to a five-year, $40-million contract with $20 million guaranteed. The former first-round pick spent his first five seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, making three Pro Bowl teams.
Twitter: @NJLeitereg
