The U.S. Embassy has put the ambassador to Israel’s official residence in Herzliya on sale for the record price of $87 million, the Israeli business daily Globes reported on Monday. If sold at the asking price, it would be the most expensive house in Israel.

The sale of the villa is the final step of the US embassy’s move to Jerusalem, since according to the US State Department, most of Ambassador David Friedman’s day-to-day activities are based at the embassy in Jerusalem.

“Following the decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem it made sense to sell the residence in Herzliya,” the State Department said. “Much of the embassy’s operations have shifted to Jerusalem and the ambassador has established an official residence there.”

The 11,000-square-foot villa in Hertzliya Pituach, an affluent beachfront suburb of Tel Aviv, is located on what is considered Israel’s most expensive street, Galei Tchelet, home to several other ambassadors as well as Israeli billionaires.

The home, built by the US in the 1960s, is on a 1.2-acre plot of land and has a pool, a hot tub, and a 2,000-square-meter garden with a stunning view of the Mediterranean Sea.

The Trump administration moved the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018, shortly after recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Friedman currently lives in Jerusalem, in the former residence of the Jerusalem Consulate, which was merged into the Embassy.

If it sells for $87 million, it will top Israel’s currently most expensive property,  the home of  Russian-Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich, also located in Herziliya, which he purchased earlier this year for $65 million.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)