Despite woes, interest in California real estate is not waning

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California home prices sank big time last year and sales numbers were made up largely of foreclosures. But the escapism of cruising around the Internet to check out the creme de la creme of the Golden State’s listings remained popular — if the data from Realtor.com on ‘most searched for’ properties is an indication.

Last year California took spots 1, 7 and 8 of the top 10 most searched for active listings nationwide. Among the 10 were these listings:

1. 2901 Broadway St., San Francisco. The seven-bedroom, 7 1/2-bathroom ‘Italian-inspired’ hilltop mansion is listed for $48 million.

7. 40 Beverly Park Circle, Beverly Hills, a $35-million listing with 10 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms in 27,000 square feet.

8. 1143 Summit Drive, Beverly Hills. Priced at $60 million, the residence has 17 bedrooms and 30 bathrooms in 25,243 square feet.

Looking at the most popular searches within the state yields Beverly Hill’s Pickfair (ranked second), listed at $60 million. Although it still bears the name given it by Hollywood couple Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks Sr., the 17-bedroom home has been rebuilt. Also making the most viewed for California was an 11,000-square-foot ocean-view home in La Jolla (ranked 10th) with four bedrooms and six bathrooms, and now listed at $32 million.

There’s just no accounting for what grabs people’s imaginations. Now if we can just figure out how to make interest in California erase that budget deficit.

— Lauren Beale

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