This July, the former Maine home of Oscar-winning, Old Hollywood actress Bette Davis and her fellow-actor husband, Gary Merrill, hit the market for $15 million. Less than two months later, the pricey property is already in contract—and if it closes anywhere near the asking price, it may just set a state record.
Time will tell if this seven-acre, Cape Elizabeth property will steal the title. Currently, Maine’s most expensive residential real estate transaction is a Kennebunkport home close to the Bush compound, which sold for $12 million earlier this year, Mansion Global reports. As far as Maine’s coastal New England neighbors go, a $15 million price tag might be considered a steal for an oceanfront estate when comparing it to a $19.8 million listing on Cape Cod (next to the notorious Kennedy compound) or to Dave Portnoy’s record-breaking acquisition on Nantucket.
The new owner will gain a 7,600-square-foot main house, dubbed “Witch Way” by the famous Hollywood couple, as well as a two-bedroom carriage house, thoughtful landscaping, and 1,184 feet of ocean frontage. The All About Eve and Jezebel star lived here with her husband in the 1950s. “Gary lobstered off the backyard,” a representative for the listing agency shared when it went up for sale this summer. “He said the best times in his life had been spent with Bette and their children at Witch Way.”
According to Mansion Global, the sellers are a Massachusetts-based family who bought the home for $3,750,000 in 2016. Bill Gaynor and Sam Michaud of Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty represent the listing.