Hot Property Newsletter: Seasonal slowdown ahead
Halloween is soon upon us, then Thanksgiving and December’s myriad holidays. Some sellers will simply take their homes off the market during this traditional housing market stall out, while others will lower their asking prices in the hope of closing a sale before the year’s over. This week’s roundup includes a TV and film superstar on his third price chop, or is it more like two and a half?
For our Home of the Week we’ve teed up a golf-course-facing penthouse listed at $5.5 million in Newport Beach. For those who like some surf with their turf, the more than 3,300 square feet of open-plan living space also takes in ocean views.
Once you’re done reading about these deals, visit and like our Facebook page, where you can find Hot Property stories and updates throughout the week.
— Neal J. Leitereg and Lauren Beale
Third time a charm?
Charlie Sheen of “Two and a Half Men” fame has lowered the price on his home in Sherman Oaks’ guard-gated Mulholland Estates to $8,499,999, down from $8,999,999. That’s the third price chop the Mediterranean-style house has seen since listing for sale in February for about $10 million.
Poised on nearly half an acre of grounds, the 1992-built house is set up for the sports-oriented with a basketball hoop, a pitcher’s mound and two swimming pools. A pavilion is outfitted with an outdoor kitchen and a flat-screen television.
Inside, the nearly 9,000-square-foot floor plan is entered through a two-story foyer with a winding staircase. There are seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms including a master suite with its own living room, a screening room and a wet bar.
Sheen, 53, has been in such films as “Red Dawn,” “Wall Street,” “Major League” and “The Three Musketeers.” His sitcom work also includes “Anger Management” and “Spin City.”
Craftsman captures a Beastie Boy
Adam Horovitz, the rapper and musician better known as Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys, has bought a home in South Pasadena for $1.73 million.
The Craftsman house, which dates to 1912, is a classic example of the architectural style with a low-pitched roof, overhanging eaves and a wide front porch.
The roughly 2,400 square feet of interior space includes a living room with a fireplace, an eat-in kitchen, three bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms.
Horovitz, 51, joined the Beastie Boys in 1982, replacing the original guitarist. The alternative hip-hop band has had such hits as “Brass Monkey,” “Sabotage” and “Intergalactic.”
Actor’s own “Animal House”?
The Benedict Canyon home of actor and prolific sitcom director James Widdoes is for sale at $3.25 million.
Set on about an acre of grounds, the two-story home has blue trim and shutters that pop against the white clapboard siding.
The 4,356-square-foot interior contains a living room with a fireplace, a formal dining room, six bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms, including a vaulted master suite with a private balcony.
Widdoes, 64, is known for his role as fraternity president Robert Hoover in the 1978 film comedy “National Lampoon’s Animal House” and subsequent appearances in the spinoff series “Delta House.” As a director, he has accumulated scores of credits for the sitcoms “8 Simple Rules,” “Two and a Half Men” and “Mom.”
Where he spent time alone
A Malibu ranch-style house that was once owned by “Home Alone” actor Daniel Stern is for lease at $10,850 a month long-term.
The newly refurbished home is on about an acre of property dotted with mature trees. The landscaping includes sections of xeriscape.
The 1,702 square feet of interior contains a new kitchen, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. A detached two-car garage, raised planting beds, a chicken coop and a storage building complete the package.
Stern, 61, is also known for his work on the film “City Slickers” (1991), the series “Danny” (2001) and “Manhattan” (2014-15).
Keyboardist rocked out here
A Sherman Oaks house once owned by Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro is for sale at $1.449 million.
The traditional-style home, built in 1937, retains such features as vaulted ceilings, beams, archways and built-ins. There is 2,286 square feet of living space on the main level and 600 square feet of bonus space on the second floor for a total of three bedrooms and four bathrooms.
The yard features patio areas designed for entertaining. Views from multi-level terraces take in the surrounding canyon.
Porcaro, 61, is a songwriter, a three-time Grammy winner and an original member of the rock band Toto, known for such hits as “Africa,” “Roseanne” and “Hold the Line.”
NBA journeyman travels
Pro basketball player Lou Amundson, a power forward/center for Japan’s Kawasaki Brave Thunders, has sold his home in Manhattan Beach for $2.1 million.
The Midcentury Modern-inspired house, built in 1981, features a wooden walkway leading through bamboo and mature trees to the front porch, where a beamed portico shields frosted double doors.
The open floor plan of more than 2,500 square feet has a living room with a fireplace, a dining room, a kitchen with a center island, three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Amundson, 35, has played for such NBA teams as the Golden State Warriors, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks.
From the archives
Ten years ago, Melissa Joan Hart of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” fame, listed her Sherman Oaks house for sale at $3.25 million. The Spanish-style one-story had five bedrooms and five bathrooms in 4,911 square feet.
Twenty years ago, “Helter Skelter” author Vincent Bugliosi bought a 1905 Queen Anne-style Victorian in Pasadena. The 2,700-square-foot house, plus a guest cottage, cost just under $800,000.
Thirty years ago, “Is That All There Is?” singer Peggy Lee put her Bel-Air home on the market at $3.95 million. The French Regency-style villa had a circular staircase, a music salon and a drawing room with a marble fireplace.
What we’re reading
Several Waco, Texas, homes featured on the HGTV show “Fixer Upper” are available as vacation rentals, reports SecondShelters.Com. These “monuments to shiplap” run from about $200 to $350 a night.
Why do so many modern luxury homes look alike? Well, developers seem to be working from the same playbook. According to the RobbReport.Com, they try to balance what buyers today expect (open layouts, understated colors, high-end appliances) with what developers believe they will want in years to come.
