A Look Inside the Southlake Estate That Set Records at a Hong Kong Auction
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Southlake just claimed a new record in North Texas luxury real estate. The Reid Gonterman Group with Ebby Halliday Realtors represented the buyer in the $14.224 million sale of 1469 Sunshine Lane at auction — officially the most expensive residential sale ever recorded in both Southlake and Tarrant County, according to NTREIS MLS.
The 31,234-square-foot luxury estate is a tour de force of over-the-top luxury and high-tech entertainment, fitness, and spa-style amenities under one roof. We’ll get to all the home’s features, but trust us when we say it’s got everything.
Why Go to Auction?
The Southlake estate was marketed globally and auctioned live in Hong Kong through New York-based Concierge Auctions, with seller’s agent Michael Hershenberg. The auction took place at The Upper House hotel as part of a Sotheby’s series spanning New York, London, and Hong Kong that showcased exceptional North American properties. (Sotheby’s acquired Concierge Auctions in 2021.)
Among four international bidders, the winning buyer turned out to be a local Southlake resident who preferred to remain unnamed, the buyer’s brokerage tells us. The name was not available in Tarrant County Appraisal District records.
First listed for $24.5 million in 2022, Sunshine Lane would far and away be the most expensive home on the Southlake market, especially when the ultra-luxury market took a downturn after the pandemic. In the years following, the home was listed at prices ranging from $17.995 million to $27.5 million, including one go-round by Million Dollar Listing‘s celeb agents Tracy Tutor and Breah Brown of Douglas Elliman in 2023 for $18 million.
“My clients had admired this property for some time, but felt the previous pricing didn’t align with the market,” Chip Reid, lead agent of The Reid Gonterman Group, said in a release. “Now they’re excited to call it home.”
The home was built in 2016 by Travis Franks and Jody Alumbaugh of Southlake-based Willowtree Custom Homes and interiors were designed by Le Belle Maison Interiors. More recently, staging was done by George Bass Stage and Design.
When we first wrote about it for the Monday Morning Millionaire column in 2022, senior columnist Karen Eubank couldn’t believe the number of amenities. “You may see some of these items in other luxury properties, but I cannot recall seeing so many amenities in a single house,” she wrote. Indeed, this Southlake mansion’s MLS sheet is a mile long.
Basement of Dreams
The auctioned home’s basement is nothing short of a private leisure and entertainment complex.
It includes a full-size basketball court with sound dampeners that resemble Lakers colors (Luka, we miss you), a one-lane bowling alley, a gym larger than you’ll find in most residential buildings or offices, dedicated spaces for batting practice and golf, and a game room.
Add an elevator and a catering kitchen, and it’s clear this is a home designed to keep guests active and entertained for hours.
This layout aligns with one of the luxury-home market’s most consistent trends: dedicated entertainment wings, “fun” basements, and ancillary kitchens placed where guests gather. Analysts note that ultra-luxury homes increasingly integrate catering kitchens or “butler’s kitchens” adjacent to recreation or entertaining spaces — recognizing that high-net-worth buyers expect seamless service and activity flow.
A Producer’s Paradise
A 2024 remodel transformed part of the Southlake estate into a high-end audio and performance hub. The state-of-the-art soundproof music room is designed for Dolby Atmos 3D audio by an award-winning team of acousticians and studio designers. The seller, a Gold Record-certified music producer, mastering engineer, and inventor of the TMT patent (a groundbreaking technology for digital emulation of analog devices), outfitted the space with every tool a serious producer could dream of.
The studio connects digitally to a newly built performing stage, making the estate a fully functional music production and performance center. This isn’t just a home — it’s a private, production-grade entertainment facility.
Ultra-luxury homes are increasingly becoming experiences rather than simply residences; they can be work/life/play spaces with dedicated studios, immersive home theatres, bowling alleys, and golf simulators. They have become part of the checklist for certain high-end buyers who don’t have a typical 9-5 executive office schedule.
More Amenities
What else would you find in a Southlake estate of this caliber? We’re talking a movie theater with Dolby Atmos sound like you’d get at only the top cinemas around town, yoga and beauty rooms, a wine room, an open wet bar with kegerator on tap, and an indoor, glass-enclosed trampoline room — the first we can recall ever seeing in a private home.
The entertainment floor flows directly out to the pool deck, blurring the line between indoor play and outdoor luxury. On deck, a 15-foot deep resort-style pool with a hidden slide that was built to model the Ritz-Carlton.
“It’s almost the same design as the Ritz-Carlton in Maui,” listing agent Hershenberg told CandysDirt.com in 2022. “There are two towers over the pool with a bridge between them. The bridge is lined with a waterfall on one side and fire features on both sides.”
The Realtor notes if the basketball court is not of interest, it could be converted into a custom gun range, a car collector’s garage, or ever-popular pickleball courts. Plus, the estate has plenty of acreage for additions like a tennis court complex, a sand volleyball court, or a helicopter landing pad.
Local Expertise Behind the Sale
Reid, a Southlake resident and veteran top producer with Ebby Halliday Realtors, has represented these clients for seven years. His team — Andrea Gonterman and Logan Reid — guided the buyers through the process with detailed due diligence before the auction.
For Ebby Halliday, the sale underscores both the strength of the Southlake market and the brokerage’s continued growth in the area. The Southlake office, located across from Town Square, consistently ranks No. 1 in both units and volume with properties of this caliber.
While not every Southlake home is such a trophy property, the estate’s auction shows there’s international interest in Texas opulence. And why wouldn’t there be — it’s not every day you see a custom-built jumping pad for adults. If you ever watched the NBC show Parks and Recreation, you’ll know that’s the ultimate luxury in a home.
