Talk about being “in the know.”
When Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s $60 million Beverly Hills mansion was listed on Zillow earlier this month, it sparked widespread speculation about the state of their marriage — and it didn’t take long for those on social media to declare the couple practically divorced.
To add fuel to the fire, Lopez and Affleck have been attending high-profile events separately, and Lopez recently canceled her summer tour. The real estate listing seemed to confirm suspicions of trouble in paradise.
But it turns out, listing brokers are the first to spot a celebrity breakup miles away before the rest of the world catches on, several confessed to Curbed.
Agents told the outlet that shared real estate is often the first asset addressed when couples decide to part ways.
“We are often the first people to know,” Lisa Lippman, an associate broker at Brown Harris Stevens, told Curbed.
The initial step in these situations is typically securing a rental property.
Affleck has already rented a home in Brentwood — a suburb in Los Angeles where his ex Jennifer Garner lives with their two children. Usually during the separation, a rental provides a temporary solution and allows for flexibility.
“They’re in the process of telling their children, figuring out how to tell the world, if they can salvage it, what they’re going to do with the home,” Lippman explained.
Sometimes, couples even consult brokers before making any final decisions, Holly Parker, an associate broker with Douglas Elliman, told the outlet.
“It can go back and forth several times, where they are and then they aren’t and then they are,” she said. “They really need to understand, ‘How are we going to live? Do we have enough money to go into two homes? How much is this person bugging me? What is my living space going to look like?’”
Couples frequently contact the broker who originally sold them their current home. They prefer working with someone they trust. However, this can become complicated when trust between the couple has eroded.
“They want you to take sides, but you can’t,” Marisol Banuelos, an agent at Keller Williams, told the outlet.
“You have to keep everything professional,” Lippman said, describing it as a balancing act. “I once worked with a couple where both were trying to befriend me. I kind of ended up in the middle of things, but I was able to stay fine with both of them. One of them often said to me, ‘The only thing we do agree upon is you.’”
However, it doesn’t always go smoothly.
Lippman recounted an instance where a couple chose her as their broker, which itself can be contentious. At one point, the spouse remaining in the apartment felt she was more aligned with the other spouse and attempted to sabotage the sale.
“I asked if some things that were out before a showing could be put away and the person got very upset, didn’t want to show the apartment and made it look bad,” she said. “You try to explain that it behooves everyone to make the apartment look good and get the most money you can get, but there can be tense moments.”
Discretion is crucial when selling a property amid a divorce. “You don’t want to advertise it’s a divorce,” Lippman advised. “Buyers assume sellers are desperate. It’s not always true, but there is often a timeline imposed by the court, like two years.”
She ensured that if one partner moves out, they leave enough behind to maintain the appearance of occupancy, particularly in the closets. Buyers might notice the absence of the wife’s clothes in the apartment. Lippman admitted she also checks closets when representing buyers. At a minimum, a divorce indicates the owners are serious about selling and are not just testing the market.
On the other hand, many couples opt not to list their properties at all, and brokers often recommend this, especially if children are involved.
Additionally, the timing of divorces does not always align with optimal market conditions. Currently, for instance, it might not be ideal. The Los Angeles market hasn’t exactly been the best for luxury buyers.
However, this is less relevant for Affleck and Lopez’s high-end property. The market for $60 million Beverly Hills mansions is less affected by interest rates. “I don’t know; she’s known to love buying real estate,” one broker commented to Curbed, indicating that the listing might not be significant. Lopez reportedly found the house too large — it spans 43,000 square feet with parking for 80 cars—and Affleck disliked being far from his children.
More telling than the Zillow listing is Affleck’s Brentwood rental and the couple’s separate property viewings.
Rumors suggest Affleck has been house hunting alone, and in May, Lopez was photographed looking at properties in Beverly Hills with her longtime producing partner, without Affleck.
A source later told Page Six she was “merely searching for an investment property.”
