Crazy Real Estate Stories
This River Oaks mansion listed for $21.9 million once hosted James Bond
The house at 2115 River Oaks Blvd., Houston, listed for $21.9 million on October 12, 2026. It has about 21,500 square feet and a 12,000-square-foot glass-enclosed indoor pool built for entertaining. The Nan and Company listing later showed it as option pending.
By Michael O'Neal, Broker and REALTOR®, Keller Williams Realty Northeast
Published November 8, 2026
What is listed
The address is 2115 River Oaks Blvd., Houston, TX 77019, in River Oaks. Nancy Almodovar of Nan and Company Properties listed it on October 12, 2026, at $21,900,000. The HAR MLS number is 17231967.
As of HAR data dated November 4, 2026, the Nan and Company listing page showed the status as Pending / Option Pending. On October 14, 2026, KHOU, citing the Houston Business Journal, said it was then the most expensive Houston-area listing on HAR.com.
The house was built in 1968. It has about 21,500 square feet on about 1.01 acres, with six bedrooms, eight full bathrooms and one half bath. The listing summarizes that as 9 baths. It includes a catering kitchen, a private theater, a wine room, and a mahogany paneled study. The primary suite has a sitting area and a private balcony that looks over the indoor pool pavilion. An elevator was added as part of later updates.
The party house
The former owners were the late Baron Ricky di Portanova, an heir to the Cullen oil fortune, and Baroness Alessandra di Portanova, formerly Sandra Hovas, a Houston native. PaperCity reported they bought a more traditional house here in the 1970s and added a 12,000-square-foot glass-enclosed natatorium centered on an indoor saltwater pool.
PaperCity reported they once hosted a James Bond-themed party where Sir Roger Moore rappelled down the exterior of the house in character as Agent 007.
The baron died in 2000. PaperCity says the house has sold twice since then and is now on the market for only the third time in 26 years.
Updates, not a teardown
This is a different River Oaks Boulevard story than the nearby house that was bought to come down for a garden. The reports I used do not name the owners, and I am not going to guess.
PaperCity reported the property was updated with new doors and windows, landscaping, Viking appliances, upgraded chiller systems, Gaggenau wine storage, home theater work, and an elevator.
What I would tell a Houston or Kingwood reader
A house like this does not price against a typical River Oaks comparable by bedroom count. The question is whether a buyer wants a 12,000-square-foot indoor pool pavilion, and whether that feature is an asset or a problem for them.
The same idea applies closer to home. A Kingwood or Lake Houston house with a special-purpose room or an unusual floor plan needs the buyer who will use it. Price it for that buyer, and tell the story of the house without stretching the facts.
If you are buying or selling in River Oaks, or you have a one-of-a-kind home in Kingwood or around Houston, call or text me. See my River Oaks guide, or call me about a specific property.
Sources: KHOU, a free read of the Houston Business Journal story by Olivia Pulsinelli, October 14, 2026; PaperCity reporting by Shelby Hodge, October 14, 2026; Nan and Company Properties listing for 2115 River Oaks Boulevard, HAR data as of November 4, 2026. This home is not listed by The Michael O'Neal Group.
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