A titanic sale in Malibu for Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio has sold his beach house compound in Malibu for $17.35 million.
The leading man had leased out the oceanfront Cape Cod-inspired property in the summer of 2012 at $150,000 a month. Then about a year ago he put it up for sale at $23 million.
The compound contains three recently remodeled homes on less than half an acre. There are a total of seven bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms in an undisclosed number of square feet.
Outdoor features include a beach-facing deck with a transparent guardrail, a spa, a fire pit, gardens and lawn.
DiCaprio, 39, starred this year in “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “The Great Gatsby.” Among his other films are “Titanic” (1997), “Inception” (2010) and “J. Edgar” (2011). He was nominated for Oscars for his work in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” (1994), “The Aviator” (2005) and “Blood Diamond” (2006).
The property changed hands in 2002 for $6 million, public records show.
Kathryn Bentzen of Arete Estates and Christopher Cortazzo of Coldwell Banker were the listing agents. Susan Monus of Coldwell Banker represented the buyer.
A juicy listing from Dole chief
Dole Food Co. Chairman and Chief Executive David H. Murdock has put his mansion in Bel-Air on the market for $30 million.
Built in 1927 and designed by Gordon B. Kaufmann, the American Colonial Revival classic is entered through a gallery with a 14-foot-tall arched ceiling and parquet and walnut plank floors. Kaufmann’s notable works include the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills and the Moderne-style Los Angeles Times building at the newspaper’s downtown complex.
The three-level main house features two offices, a sun room, a wet bar and a free-standing spiral staircase.
Also on the 1.5-acre property are terraced gardens, a swimming pool, a pool house, a guesthouse, a detached garage and a greenhouse.
There are six fireplaces, six bedrooms, nine bathrooms and 12,435 square feet of living space.
The 90-year-old billionaire bought the house in 2001 for $10 million, public records show. He owns another property nearby.
His worth was estimated at $2.4 billion, according to Forbes.
Jeffrey Hyland and Rick Hilton of Hilton & Hyland/Christie’s International Real Estate and Karen Crystal and Nicki LaPorta of Ewing Sotheby’s International Realty are the listing agents.
Onetime Rockwell haunt for sale
The home in Alhambra where artist Norman Rockwell and his second wife, Mary Barstow, were wed is on the market at $748,000.
The Craftsman-style house, built in 1910, was the home of her parents. The couple had a garden wedding on the third-of-an-acre site and soon moved to the East Coast, but returned for visits.
A 1941 news account from the Los Angeles Times reported that Rockwell was wintering in Alhambra to rest and to paint.
Features of the two-story house include a front porch, a den, an office, a library/study, a glass-enclosed porch, six bedrooms and two bathrooms in 2,746 square feet of living space. There is a detached two-car garage.
The prolific painter and illustrator, who died in 1978 at 84, captured American life in cover illustrations for the Saturday Evening Post for 47 years.
Jacqueline Tager of Sotheby’s International Realty is the listing agent.
Musician’s house of note
Power pop/alt rock musician Matthew Sweet has sold his home in Hollywood Hills West for $1.68 million.
The Mid-Century single-story house, built in 1958, was designed by prominent local architect Edward H. Fickett to look inward on the quarter-of-an-acre lot. The single-story home features a gym, an office, two fireplaces, four bedrooms and three bathrooms in 2,745 square feet of living space.
Walls of glass open to the irregularly shaped swimming pool in the backyard.
The singer-songwriter used the home as a place to create surrounded by art. Guitars lined his cozy studio, where he often recorded.
Sweet, 49, rose to power-pop prominence after the release of “Girlfriend” in 1991. This year he released the 1980s-inspired “Under the Covers, Vol. 3” with Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles. His movie soundtrack work includes the “Austin Powers” films.
The property previously sold in 1996 for $511,000.
Brian Ades of Sotheby’s International Realty was the buyer and handled the transaction. He is planning to remodel and restore the home.
Morphing into a home seller?
“Transformers” producer Michael Bay has put his estate in Bel-Air on the market at $13.5 million.
The three-story contemporary was designed by the late Jack Warner, whose architectural firm worked on the Bel-Air Country Club. The 7,919-square-foot, museum-like house features high ceilings, a family room with a bar, a home theater, a wine cellar, four fireplaces, four bedrooms and six bathrooms.
The nearly one-acre property includes a swimming pool and mature trees.
Bay, 48, has produced and/or directed a host of action films, including this year’s “Pain & Gain,” “Pearl Harbor” (2001) and “Armageddon” (1998).
He has remade such lucrative fright flicks as “Friday the 13th” (2009), “The Amityville Horror” (2005) and two “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” films (2003 and 2006).
Public records show he bought the house in 1999 for $5.16 million. He has had another house built nearby.
David Offer of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices is the listing agent.
Twitter: @LATHotProperty
