The Strip gets a bit less sexy
Matthew McConaughey is looking to sell his romantic Sunset Strip hideaway, behind gates, for nearly $3.3 million.
The place he’s selling is pretty hard to top, and that’s probably why it’s already in escrow even though it was just listed in early November.
The hacienda, built in the late ‘70s, has a two-story entry, an eat-in kitchen and a large master-bedroom suite on the second floor with a wood-burning fireplace, a walk-in closet and a steam shower.
The master suite and two separate en suite bedrooms open to a balcony. The yard has a pool, lounge-eating area, koi pond, fire pit, shower and sauna. Within 4,300 square feet are four bedrooms and five bathrooms.
An adjacent property, which the actor also owns, is available at $1.6 million.
The 37-year-old actor recently split with actress Penelope Cruz.
What apparently went wrong between McConaughey and Cruz, 32, is that old Hollywood story -- the one about not spending enough time together because of shoots in far-off places.
But don’t worry too much about McConaughey. Last year, he was crowned People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. He stars in “We Are Marshall,” which is scheduled to open Friday.
Lynne Binder of Prudential California, John Aaroe division, has the listing, according to the MLS.
Flea finds higher ground in Malibu
Bassist Michael Balzary, better known as Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, has purchased a Malibu beach home listed at close to $10.5 million.
The one-story house, built in 1980, has four bedrooms and three bathrooms in 2,700 square feet. It’s on slightly more than two acres on a bluff.
There are soaring ceilings, huge expanses of lawn with a staircase to the beach, a two-bedroom guesthouse and a guest apartment.
Balzary has delayed moving in while the house is being renovated, neighbors said.
A member of the funk-rock band since its founding in 1983, Flea, 44, and the band have produced nine studio albums and sold about 50 million copies of their albums worldwide.
Christopher Cortazzo at Coldwell Banker, Malibu West, had the listing, and Matt Rapf of Pritchett-Rapf & Associates, Malibu, represented the buyer, according to the MLS.
Solid as a Rock in Hollywood Hills
Movie star Rock Hudson bought this Hollywood Hills home as a newlywed in 1954, and after he was divorced in 1958, his ex-wife, Phyllis Gates, assumed ownership until 1962.
It’s on the market at slightly under $2 million. On a street named Warbler, it’s described as “the best in the Birds,” the bird-named streets above Sunset Strip.
The gated home has a den, an eat-in kitchen, hardwood floors, French doors and city views. The nearly 2,000-square-foot, one-story house has two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Vince Russo of Prudential California, John Aaroe division, has the listing.
He’ll add pop to 1,400 square feet
Dago Gonzalez, a video director who has worked with Madonna, Russell Simmons and other pop stars, has purchased a West Hollywood home from internationally known interior designer James Magni.
The two-bedroom, 1,400plus-square-foot house, built in 1925, sold for $1.3 million. It had been on the market at close to $1.4 million.
Magni remodeled the walled and gated home on a corner lot with frontage on two streets. He installed glass double doors in its entry; a new, stainless steel and granite kitchen; and two new marble bathrooms.
The one-story home also has a living room with high ceilings and wood floors; an enlarged master bedroom, opening to a stone patio; a finished garage; and lush landscaping.
Joe Babajian and Ed Solorzano of Prudential California Realty, John Aaroe division, Beverly Hills, had the listing.
To see previous columns on celebrity realty transactions, go to latimes.com/hotproperty.
