Newsletter: Hot Property: The cup runneth over
The holidays often bring a year-end lull to the real estate cycle, particularly among celebrity movers and shakers. But this home-buying season has proved to be an aberration of sorts, with the market showing no signs of slowing down.
So with that, we dive into another overflowing week’s worth of Hot Property action. We hope you can keep up.
– Lauren Beale and Neal J. Leitereg
Off-court moves
Taking time away from his busy NBA schedule, local basketball product and Phoenix Suns player Tyson Chandler put his home in guard-gated Hidden Hills on the market for $9.995 million.
Among its features, the single-level house boasts a custom man cave/theater room that the center added during his ownership. A detached gym, horse facilities and designer furnishings round out this all-star offering.
Tyson Chandler bought the 1.34-acre estate in Hidden Hills in 2010 for $5.45 million. (Jeff Elson | Inset: Getty Images)
A Westside connection
Evan Handler, known for his role as Charlie Runkle on the series “Californication,” is taking his acting chops to the Westside. He recently bought a house in Westchester for $1.8 million.
The renovated ranch-style home, designed for indoor-outdoor entertaining, has walls of glass doors that open to a patio with a saltwater swimming pool. A great room, a modern kitchen and a living room with a wall fireplace highlight the interior spaces.
Evan Handler paid $1.8 million for a remodeled ranch-style home in Westchester. (Realtor.com | Getty Images)
Futuristic flair
Sharp lines, geometric patterns and walls of glass are sure to draw the eye at the San Diego-area estate of Qualcomm co-founder Andrew Viterbi. Also commanding attention: the $60 million price tag for the ultramodern home.
Set on 33 acres in Rancho Santa Fe, the home includes a guest house, staff quarters and a main house for a combined 26,000 square feet of space. A tennis court, basketball court, formal gardens and a massive swimming pool make up the grounds.
Andrew Viterbi is asking for $60 million for his futuristic estate on 33 acres in Rancho Santa Fe. (Barry Estates | Los Angeles Times)
Tour de force
Kathleen Kennedy, producer of the upcoming “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” and her husband, film producer Frank Marshall, have followed up their purchase of the Brentwood home of late “Golden Girls” star Bea Arthur’s home with a sale in the area.
The Hollywood power couple got $8.6 million for their gated compound on more than half an acre in Brentwood. That’s $1.1 million more than what they paid for the house, which has five bedrooms and seven bathrooms in about 6,000 square feet of space, two years ago.
The walled and gated compound in Brentwood contains a main home and a guesthouse that has been in use as a gym. (Realtor.com | Getty Images)
Picture perfect
A French castle for sale near Uzes in Provence includes a trove of pricey artwork in its $9.6 million sticker price.
Known as Chateau de Castille, the castle includes five engraved-concrete murals by 20th century artist Pablo Picasso. The pieces are worth millions, but there’s a catch for interested parties looking to cash in: The artwork cannot be removed because of the castle’s historic monument status.
A chateau with five engraved murals by Pablo Picasso is for sale near Uzes in the south of France. (Sotheby's International Realty)
Bounce pass
Add one L.A. luxury home to Russell Westbrook’s box score. The NBA superstar bought a sleek contemporary in Beverly Crest from reality TV star Scott Disick in a deal that closed outside the Multiple Listing Service.
Set on a third of an acre, the two-story house is prime for entertaining with open-plan living areas, an outdoor lounge area and a saltwater swimming pool and spa. Five bedrooms and six bathrooms are within 4,095 square feet of space. Price: $4.65 million.
Russell Westbrook bought the Beverly Crest-area home from TV personality Scott Disick for $4.65 million. (Everett Fenton Gidley | Getty Images)
Charming a buyer
Joe Jonas of Jonas Brothers fame had little trouble attracting interest in his Hollywood Hills home. The two-story Traditional sold this week for $2.88 million — nearly $300,000 more than what the actor-singer paid for it last year.
A steep-gabled roofline topped with slate tiles lends a charming look to the two-story home of 2,900 square feet. Tall hedges provide cover for a swimming pool and spa, outdoor dining area and a large expanse of grass.
The updated Traditional-style home in Hollywood Hills was built in the 1920s. (Realtor.com | Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images)
From the archives
Twenty years ago this week, “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek put his bachelor pad on Mulholland Drive on the market and into the “Homes for $1 million” category. The modern-style house, which Trebek designed and had built for himself, featured 19-foot-high ceilings, gallery walls and terraces with views of the San Fernando Valley.
A decade ago, with a new baby in tow, Ben Affleck sold his Brentwood home for about $5 million and moved into wife Jennifer Garner’s Westside home. The couple, who are now in the process of divorcing, would decamp to Pacific Palisades four years later, buying the onetime home of Gregory Peck for $17.55 million.
What we’re reading
— A historic Punta Gorda, Fla., home said to be haunted by the ghost of a girl who died there a century ago changed hands this week for $1.075 million, according to the Herald Tribune. While the buyers were unaware of the home’s paranormal activity prior to making an offer, they consider the lore to be “an added benefit.”
— The most expensive home in Los Angeles tips the scales at well over $100 million, but in San Francisco, the priciest property is listed at a trimmer $28 million. As Patch details, the current most expensive digs by the bay is a Beaux Arts mansion in Pacific Heights designed by James Francis Dunn in 1901. Views from the property span the cityscape and Golden Gate Bridge.
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