Hot Property: Whisper listings and covert sales
Pocket listings and off-market deals add a bit of mystery and intrigue to the celebrity news cycle.
While most sales become public almost instantaneously, transactions that play out away from the public eye and outside of the Multiple Listing Service often take weeks to show up in the county record.
This week, we look at one under-the-radar sale involving one of the biggest names in Hollywood.
Directing a sale in Malibu
You won’t catch Steven Spielberg’s latest blockbuster on the big screen. The legendary filmmaker recently completed a covert sale of his compound in Malibu -- a $26-million deal that only came to light when it hit the public record.
Fronting 144 feet on Broad Beach, the Craftsman-inspired estate is A-list all the way. The 7,237-square-foot main house has seven bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, a massage room and a home theater. A guesthouse, a swimming pool and meandering paths are within grounds of more than an acre.
Spielberg bought the house in separate transactions in 1989 and 2000 for about $6.575 million. In recent years, it was offered as a six-figure summer rental.
Back to the Future
As detailed in Hot Property ten years ago this week, the longtime Beverly Hills home of Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, producer of early James Bond 007 films who died in 1996, sold for about $28 million.
Now Broccoli’s son, Tony, also an accomplished producer, has a trophy home of his own on the market.
Listed at $15 million, the Hollywood Hills West estate draws inspiration from European style and features sweeping terraces, a marbled foyer and a tennis court on more than half an acre.
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Two decades ago this month and recently detached from supermodel Cindy Crawford, Richard Gere bought a Malibu compound for $5 million.
The home on 2.2 acres has 90 feet of beach frontage, a 2,400-square-foot main house, two guest houses, a cottage, a swimming pool and a tennis court.
Gere doubled his investment in 2000, selling the property to television producer Marcy Carsey for about $10 million.
But it was Carsey who ultimately cashed out big-time: In January, she sold the compound to Interscope Records founder Jimmy Iovine for $60 million.
Ducks find new ponds
With the NHL season having come to a close last month, current and former members of the Anaheim Ducks have begun their off-season migration.
Moving on to a colder climate is defenseman Francois Beauchemin, who inked a three-year, $13.5-million contract with the Colorado Avalanche in July.
The 35-year-old put his home in Tustin on the market last week for $3.499 million. Set on half an acre, the 5,400-square-foot home features two master suites, a double-height entry and a saltwater swimming pool.
Ducks defenseman Clayton Stoner, who joined the team as a free agent last summer, has settled into his surroundings in style. The 30-year-old recently paid $2.025 million for a renovated four-bedroom home in Newport Beach.
Some 2,700 square feet of living space is highlighted by stone and wood accents, formal living and dining rooms and a step-down family room. A center-island kitchen opens to a 500-square-foot outdoor living room by way of bifolding doors.
Retired right wing Rob Niedermayer, who won a Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007, came out on the losing end of a recent transaction, selling his home in the Crystal Cove area of Newport Coast for $3.6 million.
Niedermayer bought the house, which backs the sixth hole at the Pelican Ridge Golf Course, in 2004 for $3.95 million.
What we’re reading
The West Coast’s tallest skyscraper will be getting an improved view. Commercial real estate reporter Roger Vincent details a planned $50-million makeover of the U.S. Bank Tower in downtown Los Angeles. It will be outfitted with a top-floor observation deck, bar and restaurant over the next year.
And finally, the Calleguas Municipal Water District in Ventura County looks to close the books on a water controversy that snared Tom Selleck.
The “Magnum, P.I.” actor has agreed to pay north of $21,000 to settle a complaint that accused him of having water from a fire hydrant in Thousand Oaks delivered to his sprawling ranch in nearby Hidden Valley.
