The photos of Peter Lik’s six-and-a-half acre home on Maui could conceivably be for sale at one of the artist’s 15 galleries: a lush, green property perched on a hill, with manicured grounds dotted with zen gardens overlooking the vibrantly blue waters of Honolua Bay.
However, these images aren’t for sale under Lik’s sketchy, ever-increasing pricing structure, but are instead advertisements for the property itself, which has been listed for a whopping $19.6 million.
By comparison, the notorious $6.5 million photo, Phantom, and the amount that Lik makes in sales of his photos per month (purportedly $1.6 million), starts to look like chump change. The photographer has a lucrative side business in real estate, focused on luxury homes.
Lik purchased the three-building Maui property in 2013 for $9.7 million. Although he has only spent $3 million on renovations, he is asking for more than double what he paid for the 2009 home less than two years ago.
Peter Lik’s Maui home is for sale. Photo courtesy of Peter Lik.
Astonishingly, the $19.8 million sticker price is actually far less than what Lik originally hoped for: the home was initially listed on Zillow, from September through mid-January, for $28 million.
It seems the artist’s questionable sales practices may have bled over from his photography business into his property transactions. Lik drives up the market for his pretty, uncomplicated landscapes by charging more for his limited edition prints as each series begins to sell out, the price gradually rising from $4,000 to $200,000 or more.
Peter Lik’s Maui home is for sale. Photo courtesy of Peter Lik.
The artist’s secondary market, however, is almost non-existent. Data from the artnet Price Database shows that only one work by Lik has ever sold in excess of $3,000.
Hopefully, the Maui house, which boasts proximity to surfing hot spots and golf courses, will prove a better investment. Among the improvement to the Olson Kundig Architects–designed property are a new sound system, sliding cedar walls, and cedar ceilings.
Peter Lik’s Maui home is for sale. Photo courtesy of Peter Lik.
Secluded and private, with hybrid indoor/outdoor living spaces, it’s the type of place, Lik told the Wall Street Journal, that makes you “want to have a glass of wine with your mate.”
As an added bonus, the three-bedroom home comes partially decorated: Lik is throwing in several of his landscape photographs, including some of Maui, for free. He swears they are worth $70,000.