Discover the Largest House in New York And Just How Big 110,000 Square Feet Really Is

New York State contains a myriad of beautiful homes, from mountain oases to breathtaking beachfront mansions. There’s no shortage of luxury real estate, so it may not surprise you that the largest house in New York is also one of the biggest houses in all of the United States.

The Largest House in New York

The largest estate in New York is Fair Field in the Hamptons town of Sagaponack. Millionaire Ira Rennert, 89, owns the massive property. Rennert is the CEO of Renco Group, “an industrial empire with estimated annual revenues of $5 billion,” per Forbes.

Fair Field sits on 63 acres and is comprised of five different buildings per a 1998 New York Times profile, with the main building measuring 66,000 square feet. The estate contains 29 bedrooms, 39 bathrooms, a 164-seat theater, and a restaurant-sized kitchen. It also includes a sports pavilion, a basketball court, and an underground maze of walkways. At the time, it was recognized as the largest residential compound in New York, per Vanity Fair.

Altogether, the total floor area of Fair Field is 110,000 square feet — larger than the White House and just under the size of two football fields combined.

The Cost of Creating The Largest House In New York

All the perks and features of Fair Field came with a hefty price tag. Rennert paid $11 million for the land to build Fair Field in 1998, per The New York Times. In 2015, Business Insider claimed Rennert paid around $110 million to construct the robust compound. Two years prior, Forbes estimated the value of Fair Field to be about $248 million.

Controversy Around Fair Field

Building such a massive estate wasn’t a particularly popular idea with residents of Sagaponack. Many believed that because of the size of the estate, Rennert would rent it out or turn it into a hotel or religious retreat space. In fact, a local newspaper apologized to Rennert for speculation about a decade after he first purchased the land, determining that he was a “good neighbor” who did actually call Fair Field home.

That wasn’t the only controversy around the home, however, as the funding for the enormous property came into question. In 2019, Rennert was ultimately found liable for a $213.2-million judgment after losing an appeal process. The judgment, which came after 18 years of litigation, claimed that Rennert diverted funds from Magnesium Corp of America to build his lavish home, per Reuters.

Average House Prices in New York

The average home price in New York is nowhere near what Rennert spent, but it’s still pretty high. The average sales price of a home in New York is currently $405,000, per Forbes. That number is a 1.8% decrease from last year and 2.7% lower than the national median home price of $416,100.

Other Large Houses in New York

Oheka Castle

Oheka Castle was formerly home to philanthropist Otto Hermann Kahn. The French-style chateau measures 109,000 square feet and sits on a 443-acre plot on Long Island’s North Shore. It cost $11 million to build in 1919. Today, it serves as a hotel and event space.

Arden House

The Arden House is a 97,188-square-foot home outside of Harriman, NY. The town is named after the railroad magnate who owned the home, Edward Henry Harriman. Today, a non-profit owns and operates the historic estate as a conference center.