San Diego’s most over-the-top mansion is for sale and, if it sells for close to the asking price, it could break all sorts of records.

The Sand Castle mansion in La Jolla has an asking price of $108 million. It sits above the ocean near the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club and has views that rival any mansion’s on the West Coast.

Built by billionaire Darwin Deason, it is his version of the Palace of Versailles in America. There is a private beach, carved stone columns, mosaics, marble floors, antique statues and more. At 13,000 square feet, it’s also one of the biggest oceanside properties in San Diego County.

“It’s an absolute one-of-a-kind,” said co-listing agent Brett Dickinson during a tour of the property Tuesday with The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Deason made his fortune as the founder of Affiliated Computer Services, which was sold to Xerox for more than $6 billion. He lives in Dallas and uses the Sand Castle as a vacation home. Dickinson, and co-listing agent Ross Clark, said Deason is selling because he feels he doesn’t use the property enough.

Listing prices are much different than actual sale prices. San Diego County has been no stranger to eye-popping price tags that never materialized in a sale. There was the 210-acre Del Dios Ranch in Rancho Santa Fe listed for $92 million in 2016, which couldn’t find a buyer and was later split into smaller lots. Or Breezeway Ranch in Jamul, which had an area bigger than Balboa Park for sale for $18.75 million in 2021. It is still unsold.

Dickinson said he is confident they will find a buyer, probably a billionaire, because the property is impossible to replicate. Sand Castle’s sea wall and beach access would not be allowed under current California Coastal Act standards. Also, a massive mansion in any San Diego neighborhood — even La Jolla — could face tough hurdles if built from scratch today as city planners push for more density to increase affordability.

“I think we really have a chance to sell,” he said, “because it is so special and so unique.”

The average time to sell a home priced at more than $6 million in San Diego County is 425 days, said Reports on Housing. That is up from 399 last year.

Nathan Moeder, a San Diego housing analyst with London Moeder Advisors, said the pool of potential billionaire owners is fairly small. He suspected the price would be greatly reduced by the time it actually sells.

“The market is only so deep. They might just get one interested buyer,” he said. “Then, you negotiate down. The number might start at $108 million but could go down to $60 million. It depends on how many people are interested, and how badly (Deason) wants to sell.”

Deason is a major Republican political donor and has homes in Dallas and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, plus a large yacht where he spends much of his time. Moeder said it doesn’t seem like Deason needs the money, so it’s somewhat unlikely he’s desperate to sell the property.

If Sand Castle does sell close to the asking price, it would blast through previous San Diego County records. The biggest sale in the county was 2940 Sandy Lane in Del Mar, which sold for $44.1 million in October 2023. The buyer was private-equity billionaire Egon Durban, said The Wall Street Journal.

The Sand Castle might attract a buyer who wants to do their own thing, much like Deason, who bought the property and a neighboring parcel for $26 million in 2009. He acquired the property from hotel developer and former owner of the Union-Tribune Doug Manchester, then proceeded to build his own European-style mansion. Manchester’s home had a pink hue and looked like a basic beach house.

The roughly four-fifths of an acre property has a lot of fancy touches that might appeal to a certain buyer. Deason took inspiration from France, both from Versailles and the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in the French Riviera.

There are 10 bedrooms, spread across the main house and guesthouse. Some of the features include a dining room with 18- and 24-carat gold detailing on the ceiling and a crystal chandelier, a nautically themed bar with 18th century mermaid statues, a saltwater pool, gym, manicured hedges and custom rugs and furniture. The remodel of the property was led by interior designer Timothy Corrigan and architect Drex Patterson.

Deason wasn’t a fan of California sand so he imported sand from Georgia found at the Augusta National Golf Club for his private beach, one of the biggest selling features. It sits above the sea wall and, when you’re resting in a beach chair, it looks like you have the entire beach to yourself.

Dickinson said he wasn’t aware of any other oceanfront property with a truly private beach in the state.

Next to the beach is a private gate that leads directly to the public beach. There are also two naturally occurring caves, which have been affixed with doors.

If a buyer used a 30-year, fixed-rate loan with 20 percent down, the monthly payment would be around $564,839.

The down payment would be $20.6 million.

The estimated annual property tax would be at least $1.3 million.