‘This property is no longer available’: Ellen DeGeneres quietly cuts £4.5m from flood-hit Cotswolds farmhouse
Ellen DeGeneres’ troubled Cotswolds farmhouse appears to be edging closer to a sale after the US talk show host quietly reduced the asking price by a dramatic £4.5 million.
The seven-bedroom Kitesbridge Farm near Burford, which has been repeatedly hit by flooding, was originally listed for £22.5 million last summer. It is now understood to have been marketed discreetly at closer to £18 million.
When the property first went on the market in July, local estate agents were openly sceptical. One described the price as “absolutely crazy”, noting it was around 50 per cent higher than the £15 million DeGeneres and her wife, actress Portia De Rossi, had paid just a year earlier.
Concerns were also growing about the home’s vulnerability to flooding, with the River Windrush frequently breaking its banks across the 43-acre estate. Since then, the couple have purchased another home in the Cotswolds for around £15 million, this time on higher ground near Chipping Norton.
The move was widely seen as a response to the ongoing problems at Kitesbridge Farm. Reports before Christmas also suggested the pair were considering spending more time back in Montecito, California, after struggling with British winters.
The sale has faced further complications. Rachel Reeves’ late November budget announcement, introducing a £7,500 annual tax on homes in this price bracket, is thought to have cooled buyer interest. According to sources, activity slowed significantly towards the end of the year.
Sotheby’s International, which is handling the sale, is said to have quietly informed interested parties of the price reduction. One source told the Daily Mail: “There is firm interest at the moment in Kitesbridge which is why it has vanished from the website for the moment.”
They added that “We have an American buyer lined up and are going through the motions,” explaining that its temporary removal from listings was part of ongoing negotiations. The same source defended the original asking price, pointing out that DeGeneres and De Rossi invested heavily in renovations and furnishings.
“They then spent £7.5million on re-doing it both externally and internally,” the source said, adding that the furniture was curated with a designer and included in the sale. The strategy to reduce the price quietly was described as “unusual” but necessary, given the level of publicity around the property.
Today, anyone enquiring through Sotheby’s website is met with the message: “This property is no longer available,” fuelling speculation that a deal may soon be completed.
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