A 4,700-square-foot penthouse at Watch Hill’s Ocean House hotel in Westerly, Rhode Island, sold this month for $18.5 million, making it the most expensive condominium sale in state history, according to the brokerage Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. The sale also ranks as Rhode Island’s priciest residential transaction of 2026 so far, surpassing a $16 million Newport mansion that changed hands in January and the $17.75 million Taylor Swift paid for her nearby estate years ago.
The property sits three doors down from Swift’s 12,000-square-foot compound on a rocky peninsula overlooking Little Narragansett Bay. Ocean House itself is a lemon-yellow Victorian-style hotel, razed and rebuilt in 2010 after structural concerns made the original 1868 landmark untenable. Its rebuilt footprint houses 49 guest rooms alongside 23 residential condominiums.
What the Penthouse Includes
The three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath residence was assembled from two combined units, as ELLE Decor reported. It listed in February at $20 million and spent several months on the market before closing. Owners get nearly 2,200 square feet of private terrace space, four parking spots, and full access to hotel amenities including a private beach, spa, fitness center, and club room.
The price held firm. Agent Bill Hecker of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties represented both the buyer and seller.
The New Rhode Island ‘Taylor Swift Tax’
The record sale lands against a changed tax backdrop. Rhode Island’s Non-Owner-Occupied Property Tax Act took effect July 1, levying a quarterly state surcharge on non-owner-occupied residential properties assessed above $1 million. The rate works out to $2.50 for every $500 of value beyond that threshold. Proceeds are directed toward affordable housing programs for full-time residents…