Curse of $30m ‘Netflix mansion’ where Meghan and Harry declared war on the Royal Family… as owner takes drastic action to sell it

It’s the property Harry and Meghan chose as they prepared to unload a barrage of explosive ‘truth bombs’ on the Royal Family. But now, with the Montecito mansion remaining unsold after years on the market – even after an asking price cut of more than $3 million – property watchers are starting to wonder: have the Sussexes cursed the ‘Netflix House’ where they took a chainsaw to the Windsors?

When the Sussexes filmed their tell-all documentary series titled Harry & Meghan in 2022, the couple did not use their own house as a set. Instead, they decamped to another 13,000sq ft residence on two acres with a huge swimming pool in front, which is owned by another Montecitan.

It was from a sofa there that the Duke delivered a slew of allegations, insisting that his decision to marry Meghan set him apart from his family because it was ‘from his heart’ and not because she ‘would fit the mold.’

Meghan talked about the formality of the royals, saying: ‘I was a hugger. I’ve always been a hugger, I didn’t realize that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.

‘I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside.’

She went on to recall her own efforts at following royal protocol as she recounted the ‘surreal’ moment she first met the Queen – performing a deeply exaggerated curtsy in front of an awkward looking Prince Harry that many viewers felt was deeply disrespectful to the monarch.

The documentary series was a ratings smash for Netflix, but the property where it was filmed is still up for sale.

The house first went on the market in August 2021 for $33.5 million but was removed a month later. It was relisted for the same asking price in March 2022.

In December 2022, ‘Harry & Meghan’ was released and, six months after that, it was taken off the market again after failing to sell.

It returned in April 2024 with a cut of $3.5 million, more than ten percent, and still remains listed at that price of $29,995,000.

‘We’ve come close on several occasions to selling it,’ broker Ryan Malmsten recently told the San Francisco Chronicle. ‘For whatever reason, that particular buyer chose something else.

‘Buyers today are wanting way less square footage. They’ll pay the same amount, but they want a smaller home. That’s a big challenge.’

While some speculate that the connection to the Sussexes may have given the house a certain infamy, it’s undoubtedly the case that the prices being asked for some other mansions in Montecito are also stalling.

Not far away, another property recently sold for half its initial price.

The century-old residence – described as ‘quintessential Montecito’ – has a square swimming pool, seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms and even a four-story tower.

It was first listed for $33 million in October 2023, experienced four price cuts over the past two years, and ultimately sold for $17.25 million last month.

According to one local report the interiors were ‘ready for a new chapter.’

But the sale was one of several signals that the area’s red hot property market – once turbocharged by the so-called Meghan Effect – could be running out of steam.

Harry and Meghan took out a mortgage to purchase their nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom mega-mansion in 2020 for $14.65 million.

They have since benefited from one of the most intense localized property booms in America. The value of their home has doubled, now estimated at $29 million by property sites.

However, according to local realtors, ‘buyers are adjusting their budgets’ and sellers are being told to ‘price at today’s reality, not last spring’s wish.’

In October, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine unloaded his nearby behemoth estate – built for the actor Rob Lowe in 2009 – for $5 million less than the asking price.

Still, Levine made an $8 million profit after three years of ownership.

Another property not far from the Sussexes, styled after an English manor house, was originally on the market for $36.5 million in February. It was taken off in August and then relisted with a $1.6 million cut.

Overall, the property market in Montecito is a complicated picture.

It surged in the wake of the pandemic and is currently 80 percent higher than when the Sussexes bought in mid-2020.

However, average home values have been relatively flat for the last three years.

According to Zillow, that number sits at $5.2 million, which is up from $2.8 million in 2020.

The average values are only up 2.3 percent in the last year, although that is still higher than the national average.

The median selling price was $7.8 million in October, up 42.7 percent since last year, according to Redfin. But the average listing was spending 183 days on the market compared to 66 days in 2024.

In January, realtors were jubilant amid a spike in sales with an ‘unheard of’ 25 properties changing hands that month.

‘Top prices for what was on offer were paid across the board… and a whopping six homes sold over $10 million, with four of those going at or over $20 million,’ real estate agent Mark Ashton Hunt wrote in the Montecito Journal.

He said those sales were not related to the devasting wildfires about 100 miles down the coast from Montecito in January.

At the time, the Duke and Duchess opened the doors to their mansion to friends and loved ones who were forced to evacuate.

Since January, the market has tempered and there are longer-term challenges.

According to one local realtor, the period between 2020 and 2022 was probably the best there will ever be, with multiple offers for every sale and bidding wars over asking price.

Whether that was due to the pandemic, the Meghan Effect or both remains unclear.

Still, celebrities will always be attracted to the privacy offered by the eight-square-mile community of 9,000 people north of Los Angeles.

Residents can even look forward to the upcoming arrival of a new Nobu restaurant.

But, according to one realtor in the area, ‘price growth has moderated compared to previous years,’ and ‘while demand remains, buyers are more cautious, influenced by economic conditions and interest rates.

‘Buyers are adjusting their budgets and many are looking for homes under $5 million, which impacts the high-end market differently than mid-range homes.’

Another is advising sellers to ‘be ready for reasonable concessions that keep a qualified buyer at the table.’

Of the 27 local properties listed in September, 16 sellers adjusted their asking price to meet current comparable options.

There is no indication that Harry and Meghan intend to sell their home and leave Montecito. But, if they decide they want to, now might not be the best time if they’re hoping to maximize profit. That said, given that Harry’s feud with his brother shows no sign of abating, and even his father King Charles is keeping him at arm’s length, it doesn’t seem likely the couple will be planning a permanent return to the UK any time soon.