Newsletter: Hot Property: Former Spider-Man actor lands WeHo home — with a workspace suspended from the ceiling
Passing on house keys in this week’s roundup is a Canadian construction mogul, who hands off to a top pop singer.
And the Googleplex architect delivers his personal residence to a superhero film star. Put your spidey senses to work and you’ll guess who the buyer was.
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 great place to leave us a tip about a celebrity home deal.
— Neal J. Leitereg and Lauren Beale
Beverly Crest hot spot
Cody Leibel, developer and heir to a Canadian construction fortune, has sold his home in Beverly Crest for $17.995 million in a deal completed off-market. The buyer, according to sources not authorized to comment publicly on the deal, is singer-songwriter Katy Perry.
The two-story traditional sits on an acre-plus site with mature trees, lawn and an infinity-edge swimming pool.
The roughly 5,500-square-foot house contains a formal entry, a library/den, five bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms.
Perry, 32, is set to release her fifth studio album, “Witness,” this year. Her previous albums include “One of the Boys” (2008) and “Teenage Dream” (2010), which had five No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 list.
Moving on in Montecito
Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges and his wife, Susan, have sold their estate in the Montecito foothills for $15.925 million.
Called Villa Santa Lucia, the 19.5-acre property centers on a Tuscan-inspired main house. An 1,800-square-foot guesthouse, a guest cottage and a detached theater/recording studio also lie within grounds filled with mature oaks, olive trees and Italian cypress.
Fronted by a stone-lined motor court, the home opens through a hand-carved front door to a formal entry hall lined with thick stone pillars and topped with cascading groin vault ceilings.
Bridges, 67, won an Academy Award in 2010 for the film “Crazy Heart.” His scores of movie credits include “Hell or High Water” (2016), “True Grit” (2010) and “The Big Lebowski” (1998).
Harry Styles’ latest direction
Singer-songwriter Harry Styles of One Direction fame has listed his contemporary home in Hollywood Hills West for sale at $8.495 million.
Secured behind a motorized gate on a quarter-acre lot, the multilevel home has an open floor plan. Walls of glass bring in views from downtown to the ocean.
The 4,100 square feet of subdued living space includes a center-island kitchen, a screening room and a gym. Among the four bedrooms and six bathrooms are a top-floor master suite that opens to a balcony.
Earlier this month, the 23-year-old Styles released the self-titled album “Harry Styles,” his first as a solo artist.
It’s a standout in WeHo
So much for staying under the radar. A limited liability company tied to actor-producer Tobey Maguire was the buyer of architect Clive Wilkinson’s high-profile West Hollywood home, which sold last month for $3.375 million.
Glass doors connect common rooms in the museum-like residence to a 48-foot saltwater swimming pool and patio area. High ceilings and clerestory windows add a sense of volume to the open-concept floor plan.
A staircase with steel cable railings leads up to the second floor, where a Douglas fir-sheathed workspace is suspended from the ceiling using wooden planks. Yes, you read that correctly.
Maguire, 42, has film credits that include “The Great Gatsby” (2013) and “Seabiscuit” (2003) as well as the “Spider-Man” franchise.
Goodbye, Pacific Palisades
Reality star-turned-fashion designer Lauren Conrad is streamlining her collection. No, not her fashion line, her real estate portfolio. She recently let her Pacific Palisades home go for $4.75 million.
The Spanish-style house, built in 2004, features bright Malibu tile, a rustic clay-tile roof, arched doors and a rotunda entry.
The 5,900 square feet of white-walled space include living and dining rooms, an office and five bedrooms.
Park-like grounds are made up of two patios, a built-in barbecue and a broad fireplace. A water slide and spa accompany the swimming pool.
Conrad, 31, is known for her appearances on the MTV shows “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County” and “The Hills.” She has the fashion line LC Lauren Conrad.
Lauren Conrad of “The Hills” fame has sold her renovated Spanish-style home in Pacific Palisades for $4.75 million.
That’s a pretty profit
Actress Jessalyn Gilsig, whose credits include the shows “Nip/Tuck” and “Glee,” has another hit on her hands. She just sold her longtime home in Hollywood Hills for $1.53 million — more than double the $629,000 she paid for the property about 14 years ago.
The secluded bungalow, built in 1924, has walls of French doors that bathe the interior in natural light. Be sure to check out the dining room.
The 2,100 square feet of space includes a step-down living room that centers on a two-way fireplace, three bedrooms and an updated kitchen. A raised deck and a dining patio create more living space outdoors.
Gilsig’s scores of television credits also include “Boston Public,” “Heroes” and “Scandal.”
Her favorite room
Actress Lorraine Toussaint’s favorite room is her bedroom, where she and her 12-year-old daughter, Samara, treat themselves to breakfast in bed every Sunday.
Lorraine Toussaint starts her day with tea service and ends it in luxurious bedding.
From the archives
Ten years ago, Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx paid $10.5-million for a 17,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style villa in the Thousand Oaks community of Hidden Valley. The 10-bedroom house sat on 40 acres.
Twenty years ago, Motown Records Corp. founder Berry Gordy Jr. sold his Malibu home for close to $6 million. Gordy had owned the four-bedroom, 5,000-square-foot house on three acres with a pool almost since the house was built in 1975.
Thirty years ago, Herbalife International founder and Chairman Mark Hughes bought five acres overlooking the ocean in Palos Verdes Estates. He planned to build a 15,000-square-foot house.
What we’re reading
Locally — After five years of steady recovery, Los Angeles County median home prices are back to their previous peak. Prices rose nearly 6% in April from a year earlier, hitting the $550,000 level — exactly where the median plateaued in the summer of 2007. Orange County surpassed its high last year, and in April set a record of $675,000.
In the nation — National Geographic takes a look at what it’s like to live off the grid in North Carolina. A group of people there are surviving on what can be gleaned from their surroundings — natural and man-made. (Yes, they dumpster dive when in town.)
In the world — Italy is giving away more than 100 historic properties for free. Made you look, right? The buildings include castles, farmhouses, schoolhouses, palaces and even monasteries. The hitch: The new owner has to transform the site into a business such as a restaurant, shop or hotel. Hurry! The deadline to apply is June 26.
