Hot Property: Wait for it
The big real estate news out of Los Angeles is that rapper-magnate Jay-Z and superstar wife Beyoncé are in escrow to buy a mansion for $90 million. Their pick of Westside neighborhoods after years of house-hunting? Bel-Air. We’ll be sure to let you know as soon as they have the keys to the newly built 30,000-square-foot home.
Southern California’s pricey real estate market continues to rack up noteworthy sales — particularly in the sought-after enclave of Malibu. Prices in the beach city are up 17% from last year, according to the latest data from CoreLogic. But not everyone is seeing a profit. Among recent sellers there to take a loss is billionaire David Geffen.
Meanwhile, in the San Fernando Valley, actresses Missi Pyle and Katie Wagner are seeking buyers.
Once you’re done checking out these star-studded transactions, visit and like our Facebook page, where you can find Hot Property stories and updates throughout the week. That’s also a fine place to leave a tip about a celebrity home deal.
– Neal J. Leitereg and Lauren Beale
Beachfront bargain?
Music and movie mogul David Geffen, fresh off the $85-million sale of his Malibu compound, just sold another home in the beach community. The Multiple Listing Service shows that the property, which he bought a decade ago for $9.8 million, went for just $8 million.
Geffen, creator of Geffen Records and co-founder of DreamWorks Studios, has an estimated net worth of $7.7 billion, according to Forbes. So we’re thinking the discrepancy between his buy and sell prices don’t amount to much overall.
The 1956 oceanfront home sits on “Billionaires’ Beach,” a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway known for its ultra-wealthy homeowners.
Entered through a gated courtyard, the 1,473-square-foot house includes a living room with a fireplace, a kitchen, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Glass doors in the dining area open to a surf-facing deck that overlooks 45 feet of beach frontage.
The high price of sand
International entrepreneur Ed Fishman, who co-founded the Access Records label with Dick Clark, has listed his home in Malibu’s Escondido Beach area for sale at $19.995 million.
Set on 80 feet of beachfront, the contemporary-style residence has walls of windows, an ocean-view wet bar and a spa. Wrap-around decking is lined with transparent guardrails for views of the surf and coastline.
The 6,100 square feet of living space holds a two-story living room, a separate dining room, an eat-in kitchen, a wine cellar, five bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. The media room is equipped with an overhead projector.
Fishman is known for his production of gaming events in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, N.J., and Monte Carlo, among others. As a producer of television and film, his credits include the game shows “Diamond Head” and “Dealer’s Choice.”
The contemporary estate on Escondido Beach takes in unobstructed ocean views from its more than one-third-acre lot.
He hammered out a deal
Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails has officially beat it out of the Beverly Hills Post Office area, selling his home for $5.3 million.
The musician, producer and film composer bought the modern estate a decade ago for $4.2 million.
Set behind large metal gates, the 4,320-square-foot house has five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a vaulted-ceiling living room and a formal dining room.
An infinity-edge pool, lawns and an outdoor fireplace lie within more than half an acre of grounds. Views take in the cityscape and canyon areas.
Reznor, 52, founded the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails in 1988. Among the group’s hits are “Head Like a Hole, “The Perfect Drug” and “Closer.”
Loads of charm
Actress Missi Pyle has put a white-picket-fence home in Sherman Oaks on the market for $899,000.
Set up from the street, the crisp traditional was built in 1949 and has canyon, city and mountain views.
Hardwood and ceramic tile floors, arched doorways and plantation shutters are among features of the two-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom house, which has fireplaces in the living room and den.
Pyle, 44, has appeared in “As Good as It Gets” (1997), “Big Fish” (2003), “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2005) and “Gone Girl” (2014). This year she will be in the action-adventure flick “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” and the thriller “Traffik.”
Scene change for actress
Hollywood royal Katie Wagner has put her Valley Village home of more than a decade on the market for $1.199 million.
Tucked behind hedges and gates, the 1948 ranch house has classic curb appeal with crisp white siding, exposed brickwork and a red front door. Mature trees and palms provide shade for a sitting area in the frontyard.
Inside, the 2,018 square feet of living space has been updated with wide-plank oak floors. A sunroom, which adjoins the updated kitchen, takes in views of the swimming pool and three-quarter-acre yard.
Wagner, the daughter of actors Marion Marshall and Robert Wagner, got her start in show business in 1987 when she appeared alongside her father in the show “Born Famous.” The TV personality and entertainment reporter previously served as host of “Live From the House of Blues” and co-host of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.”
His favorite room
When Devon Sawa wants a bit of quiet in his Calabasas home, the “Somewhere Between” actor and busy father retreats to his “chill room” — a coffee bar stocked with espresso machines and lounge furniture.
“This is where I go to read scripts and learn lines,” Sawa says. A baby gate keeps the kids out.
From the archives
Ten years ago, actor-director-producer Mel Gibson sold his home on the beach in Malibu for nearly $30 million. He had bought the 7,000-square-foot, Mediterranean-style estate two years previously for $24 million.
Twenty years ago, veteran comedian and actor Don Rickles and his wife, Barbara, sold their Beverly Hills home of 26 years for close to its $3.8-million asking price. They moved to a nearby gated community.
What we’re reading
Actor Dustin Hoffman won a legal fight over a $3-million investment he made with real estate developer Jeffrey Yohai, the son-in-law of Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort. “The Graduate” star and his actor son Jacob Hoffman invested in a Hollywood Hills home site where Yohai planned to build a modern mansion. But a Yohai-controlled company that owns the property filed for bankruptcy protection in December, imperiling the venture.
Pushed out by high rental prices in Hong Kong, more people are living in tiny illegally subdivided apartments. Nationalgeographic.com takes a look at these “coffin cubicles,” which range in size from 15 to 100 square feet.
