Josh Duhamel Finds a Buyer Fast After Listing His LA Home and Heading to His Minnesota Cabin
The house is beautiful. Panoramic jetliner views, a private sauna, a renovated primary suite, a pool with a hot tub. By any measure, it is a home worth keeping.
Josh Duhamel listed it on June 25, 2026, for $2.99 million. By July 8, it was already under a contingent offer. Less than two weeks on the market.
The sale itself is clean and fast. But the reason he is selling tells a more interesting story.
The Home He Is Walking Away From
Duhamel picked up this Encino ranch in 2017 for $2.65 million, around the time his marriage to Fergie ended. For years, it served as his primary West Coast residence.
The property sits on just over a third of an acre in San Fernando Valley. 3,310 square feet. 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms. Built in 1962, with a Philippe Starck-inspired aesthetic and a full 2023 renovation behind it.
The outdoor setup is serious: a pool, a spa, a fire pit, a private sauna, a built-in BBQ area, and multiple entertaining spaces. Inside, the glass walls slide open to blur the line between the living room and the backyard entirely.
Listed, Rented, Then Gone: The Full Timeline
Bought in 2017 for $2.65 million. Renovated in 2023. Listed as a long-term rental at $15,000 a month shortly after. Then listed for sale on June 25, 2026, at $2.99 million. Under contingent offer by July 8.
Thomas Atamian of Coldwell Banker Realty held the listing. The buyer’s identity has not been disclosed.
If the sale closes at asking price, Duhamel walks away with roughly $340,000 more than he paid. Per Realtor.com, the quick turnaround makes sense for a renovated property priced right at the current market.
Why a $3 Million Encino Home Sold This Fast
Encino is not a hot seller’s market right now. Per Redfin, homes here average about 56 days on market as of mid-2026. Nearly half of listed Encino properties have seen price reductions.
Duhamel’s home moved in under 14 days. The 2023 renovation made it feel current rather than dated. The price landed just under the $3 million threshold.
Listing agent Atamian described it as “rare to find a property that flawlessly combines dramatic architecture, modern updates and total privacy.”
That is what a well-priced, prepared home does even in a slowing market. It still moves. Compare that to Michael B. Jordan, who has been sitting on his Encino property through multiple price cuts and is still staring at a $2 million loss.
The difference is not the neighborhood. It is the pricing discipline.
If you follow celebrity real estate closely, there is a WhatsApp channel that tracks stories like this before the full news cycle catches up. Worth checking if you want to stay ahead of these moves.
The Cabin That Made Him Let Go
About 18 years ago, Duhamel’s father brought him to a remote half-parcel of land roughly an hour and a half from Fargo. No plumbing. No electricity. The closest store was 40 miles away.
He bought it. Then spent nearly two decades building it into something real.
For the first 12 years, there was no running water. He told Country Living in April 2025: “We were basically homesteading the first 12 years. We were using outhouses and washing dishes in the lake.”
Today the property spans 50 acres. Three private wells. Food plots planted with clover and chicory to attract game. A full new family dwelling he built himself, replacing the two tiny original cabins that could not fit everyone.
In October 2023, he took YouTube host Graham Bensinger on a full tour and called it a “paradise.”
He says he was inspired by the Patriots survival guide and has thought seriously about what it would take to provide for his family if society’s systems broke down. “We lose our cellphones, and we all lose our gd* minds,” he said.
But he pushed back on the doomsday label when talking to People: “I’m really more of a guy who wants to stay true to my roots, get back to the basics.”
On the Fly on the Wall podcast, he put it simply: “I just get out there and my heart rate drops about 25%. My priorities change too. I feel like I have a purpose.”
He and wife Audra Mari welcomed daughter Rocca de Leon in May 2026, their third child total. He also shares 12-year-old son Axl with ex-wife Fergie, and 2-year-old Shepherd with Mari.
“I didn’t just buy the place,” he said. “I shaped this place.”
That line explains the sale more than any price figure does. Not every celebrity story lands this quietly. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce kept an entire family member living in their home for over a year, and nobody noticed until a single photo from their wedding told the whole story.
Sometimes a home holds more than just the people you know about.
Why This Matters
Josh Duhamel is not alone in walking away from California. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, nearly 10 million people left the state between 2010 and 2024, with more leaving than arriving every single year since 2001.
Most of them cite cost of living, taxes, or traffic. Duhamel is not citing any of that. He is choosing 50 acres and an outhouse-turned-family compound over a renovated Encino ranch with jetliner views. That is a different kind of leaving.
And it is not just about where you go. It is about what you build when you get there. The Vanity Fair photographer who listed his Sag Harbor mansion for $9.3 million after buying it for $3 million understood the same thing.
The property you choose to pour yourself into tends to be the one worth keeping. Duhamel already made that choice. The Encino sale is just the paperwork.
Key Takeaways
- Duhamel listed his Encino home June 25, 2026 for $2.99 million and had a buyer by July 8
- He bought the property in 2017 for $2.65 million and fully renovated it in 2023
- The 3,310 sq ft home has 4 beds, 3.5 baths, panoramic views, a pool, spa, hot tub, and private sauna
- Potential $340,000 gain if the sale closes at full asking price
- His Minnesota cabin started at 12 acres with no plumbing and now spans 50 acres
- He and wife Audra Mari consider Fargo, North Dakota their primary residence
- They welcomed daughter Rocca de Leon in May 2026, his third child total
- The buyer’s identity remains undisclosed
Would you trade a renovated $3 million LA home for 50 acres of off-grid Minnesota woods? Drop your take in the comments. Curious whether people see this as a win or a step back.
Wrapping Up
The sale makes financial sense on paper. But that is not really the point here.
Duhamel spent 18 years building something with his hands in the woods while maintaining a polished life in LA. At some point, one of those lives started pulling harder. The Encino home sold fast because it was priced right and prepared well. That part is a real estate story.
The part where he chose a 50-acre cabin with no running water for over a decade over everything California had to offer, that part is something else entirely.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. All details are based on publicly available reports at the time of publication. The sale is currently listed as contingent and may not yet be finalized.
