Crazy Real Estate Stories
River Oaks mansion listed at $15.5 million: bought to tear it down for a garden
Houston trial lawyer Tony Buzbee and his wife Frances bought 1708 River Oaks Blvd., listed at about $15.5 million, and the plan is to tear the house down. The land is set to become an English garden and a pool house next to 1722 River Oaks Blvd., which they already own.
By Michael O'Neal, Broker and REALTOR®, Keller Williams Realty Northeast
Published November 6, 2026
What they bought
Tony Buzbee and his wife Frances bought the mansion at 1708 River Oaks Blvd. in River Oaks. It had been listed at about $15.5 million. Reporting puts the house at roughly 15,000 square feet on about an acre, built in 1994, with six bedrooms, an indoor pool, and ornate interiors that include stained glass.
They already own the neighboring home at 1722 River Oaks Blvd., and they have wanted 1708 for years. That is what makes the buy make sense to me. This was the house next door, not a listing they stumbled into.
The plan is the land
The plan is to demolish 1708 and turn that land into an English garden and a pool house. Combined with 1722, the parcels come to roughly a two-acre compound. The mansion is what was on the market. The garden is what they intend to keep.
On a street like River Oaks Boulevard, an acre beside a house you already own is a different product than the same acre with someone else's floor plan on it. Some buyers are purchasing the building. Some are purchasing the dirt, and the building is what they are willing to take off it.
Salvage before the demolition
Habitat for Humanity is involved in the salvage before demolition. Buzbee said they will pull approximately $4 million worth of high-end materials, appliances, air units and similar items for Habitat's mission. On a house this size, that is a lot of high-end materials, appliances and air units that can still be used.
If the house is not staying, the materials do not have to leave with it. Salvage first, then take down what is left.
The sale price was not published
The purchase closed around July 2026. The exact sale price was not publicly disclosed in the reports I used here. About $15.5 million is the price it had been listed at. That is the asking number, not a closed sale, and I am not going to fill in the difference with a guess.
If you are treating a story like this as a comparable, wait for a price that actually closed. A list price will not tell you what the buyer paid.
What I would tell a Houston or Kingwood reader
You do not have to be shopping in River Oaks to use this. Sometimes the land is the product. A buyer who has wanted the lot next door for years is shopping for how the parcels fit, not for a bedroom count. The house can be the thing they subtract.
Reuse is the other piece, and it shows up on teardowns in Kingwood and the rest of Houston, not only on River Oaks Boulevard. When a house is coming down, the materials, appliances and air units can still go somewhere. Habitat's part in this purchase is a plain example of that.
If you are buying or selling in River Oaks, or you are weighing a lot against the house on it in Kingwood or anywhere else around Houston, start with closed sales and the land. I can go through that with you. See my River Oaks guide, or call me about a specific property.
Sources: KHOU, a free read of this story; original reporting by Jeff Jeffrey, Houston Business Journal, August 24, 2026. This home is not listed by The Michael O'Neal Group. The sale price was not disclosed in those reports.
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