Michael Jackson's old Neverland Ranch is set for sale in Los Olivos, Calif.
Forbes reported that billionaire Tom Barrack's Colony Capital would likely put the 2,700-acre property on the market soon.
Jackson lived in the house from 1988 to 2005. For many years, the property was a zoo/amusement park hybrid that Jackson used to entertain fans, but the pop star discontinued his stay after accusations of child molestation in the mid-2000s.
Jackson was tried and acquitted in 2005, and passed away from cardiac arrest four years later before he could begin his farewell tour.
Thomas LePley, a broker associate with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, told Bloomberg that he thinks the property could fetch above Santa Barbara's assessed price ($30.3 million).
"I'd say it's worth $35 million to $50 million, depending on what they do with it," he said in a telephone interview. "Barrack has cleaned it up and returned it to perfect condition. It had been neglected."
Barrack's Colony Capital took control of the estate for $23.5 million in November 2008.
"We've really just been custodians of an irreplaceable estate and are proud to say we've restored it to the original elegance Michael first envisioned," Barrack said in an e-mail to Bloomberg. "We are now considering putting it up for sale."
Those hoping the estate is turned into a tourist attraction -- a la Elvis Presley's Graceland home in Memphis – will likely be disappointed, as the Neverland property is currently zoned for agriculture, and would require state approval to be turned into Graceland, Part 2.
"It's not a development opportunity," Barrack said in an interview last week at Bloomberg's Los Angeles office, adding that it would be "very, very difficult" to rezone Neverland. "It's not Graceland. It's not a subdivision."
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