Newsletter: Hot Property: Bringing it to a boil
The heat is on, and we’re not just talking about rising temperatures across the Southland. Celebrities and sports figures continue to cut a swath through the luxury real estate scene, including big-time listings and sales in some of L.A.’s most coveted pockets. Here’s a look at the hot homes and transactions that caught our eye this week.
A model sale
Tyra Banks didn’t quite get her price, but she still came out of a recent home sale lookin’ pretty good.
Listed for as much as $7.75 million, the supermodel and television personality’s Beverly Hills house sold last week for $6.33 million — more than twice what Banks paid for the property years ago.
The Spanish Colonial-style residence, built in the 1920s and restored during Banks’ ownership, has both model and film pedigree. Silver screen star Marion Davies is among the former owners of the 5,740-square-foot home.
Banks sold her estate in Beverly Hills for $6.33 million. (Teague Hunziker | Inset: Getty Images)
Davies’ desert mirage
Speaking of Davies, a desert estate built for the film actress recently came to market in Rancho Mirage for about $3.4 million.
Davies acquired the roughly three-acre property in the 1950s from Hyatt Robert von Dehn, founder of Hyatt Hotels, and commissioned the sprawling estate. Subsequent owners later expanded the property, but made sure to retain the original structure built by Davies.
The pink-hued compound is amped up with outdoor amenities. There’s a sunken tennis court pavilion, a swimming pool and plenty of outdoor spaces for entertaining. A private pond, complete with a cascading waterfall and a boat dock, sits near the entrance.
The compound-estate on about three acres in Rancho Mirage was built for Davies in the 1950s. (Mark Karlstrom / Real Estate Glide Tours)
A new chapter in Beverly Hills
One story ended and a new chapter has begun in the 90210. Late author Jackie Collins’ longtime home of 22,000 square feet sold this week to real estate investor Ben Nehmadi for $21 million.
Designed for small- and large-scale entertaining, the contemporary mansion features a grand foyer, Art Deco details and a chef’s kitchen with three center islands. A 100-foot corridor lined with gallery walls connects the main house and a separate wing with guest quarters, a gym and a screening room.
Nehmadi also picked up the house next door, also owned by Collins’ estate and currently occupied by actor Al Pacino, in a separate deal.
The longtime Beverly Hills estate of Collins sold to Nehmadi for $21 million. (Berlyn Photography | Los Angeles Times)
Old Hollywood connections on Sunset
Groucho Marx once made his home in Hollywood Hills West at a traditional now up for sale.
The 1930s home with vintage curb appeal was purchased by the film comic in 1946. Decades later, horror film producer Irwin Yablans of the “Halloween” films owned the property for a decade-long spell.
Now listed for $4.549 million, the gated two-story has a comfortable 3,700 square feet of living space with formal living and dining rooms, a den/library and a wet bar. A broad front porch, dormers and a red front door keep things “Leave It to Beaver” out front.
The 1930s Traditional in Hollywood Hills West was once owned by Marx and, after him, Yablans. (Linda Kasian Photography | MGM)
Polo estate seeks a match
A polo field is one of the many lavish features found at this Montecito estate, new to the market at $65 million, but it’s not the only detail that caught our eye.
The grand Mediterranean estate, owned by Windsor Capital Group chief and polo enthusiast Patrick Nesbitt, features a habitat for monarch butterflies on its 20-acre grounds.
Toss in a resplendent 12,000-square-foot house, a 128-foot swimming pool and ocean views for days and the property more than lives up to the asking price.
Listed for $65 million, the 20-acre estate in Montecito, Calif., features a polo field, a 128-foot swimming pool and a habitat for monarch butterflies. (Adrian Anz)
Woodland Hills with hardwood
Former Clipper and Laker Caron Butler has found a home in a familiar place. Currently a free agent, the NBA veteran recently paid $2.13 million for a gated estate with a basketball half-court in Woodland Hills.
A home court isn’t Butler’s only perk. The grounds also include a putting green, a saltwater pool and a large outdoor pavilion. Add in the 900-foot guesthouse and it’s game on for large family gatherings.
Butler paid $2.13 million for the amenity-filled home in Woodland Hills. (Realtor.com | Los Angeles Times)
Mediterranean rap game
Rapper Big Sean is looking to hit the right note with a buyer in Hollywood Hills West. The artist whose album “Dark Sky Paradise” topped Billboard charts last year is asking $2.295 million for his multi-level home with canyon views.
Built in 2006, the house has room to move with open-plan living areas, a media room and five bedrooms in about 4,200 square feet. Multiple terraces and balconies overlooking the scenery bring the party outdoors.
Big Sean put his home in Hollywood Hills West up for sale at $2.295 million. (Realtor.com | Getty Images)
What’s in your magazine?
Flipping through the pages of Robb Report, you wouldn’t be surprised to see this oceanfront home on Malibu’s Broad Beach displayed front and center. The multistory contemporary, listed for sale at $15 million, is owned by Bill Curtis, former chief executive of the luxury lifestyle authority.
Details of note include bi-folding doors, multiple ocean-facing terraces and a private swimming pool and spa — something of a rarity for oceanfront property in the area. A massive wine cellar, clad in stone walls and wine barrel floors, impresses with a separate tasting room and temperature-controlled storage for more than 3,000 bottles.
Curtis is asking $15 million for his oceanfront home in Malibu's Broad Beach area. (Jeff Elson)
From the archives
Twenty years ago this week, Hugh Hefner completed a deal for the house next door to the Playboy Mansion for about $7 million and put two properties up for sale.
Hef and his ex-wife, Kimberley, used the mansion-adjacent property as their personal residence for more than a decade before selling it in 2009 for $18 million. The buyer? That would be one Daren Metropoulos, the son of billionaire investor C. Dean Metropoulos who is now set to buy the Playboy Mansion for $105 million.
What we’re reading
— Hip-shaking Latin pop star Marc Anthony, who has a home in Tarzana up for sale, is also shaking things up on the opposite coast. Newsday reporter Valerie Kellogg brings word that Anthony has dropped the price on his Brookville, N.Y., home by more than $2 million. Originally listed for as much as $12 million, the gated compound on 8.5 acres can now be had for just $6.888 million.
— A San Antonio real estate agent has found himself in hot water as a result of a Photoshopped photo. Retired basketball star Tim Duncan has filed suit against Robert Elder of Keller Williams after a doctored photo of Duncan appeared on Elder’s Facebook page holding a sign with the agent’s logo. Duncan is now suing the real estate company, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
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