Gov.-elect is used to a bit of room

Sacramento watchers and real estate agents eager to find suitable housing in the capital for Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger and his family can get inspiration and a reality check right here in Southern California.

A far cry from the humble Austria home of his youth -- a two-story structure with no plumbing and, for much of his childhood, no refrigerator -- Schwarzenegger’s current Brentwood Country Estates home sits atop a 6-acre knoll with ocean views.

The 11,000-square-foot Mission Spanish-style home, purchased in 2002 for $11.9 million, has five bedrooms and 11 bathrooms.

The governor-to-be and his wife, Maria Shriver, also own a Pacific Palisades compound with three large houses, listed for sale for about $17 million, according to Edie Kirschner, a Coldwell Banker agent in Brentwood. The compound encompasses slightly more than 5 wooded acres with a stream and has three swimming pools and three tennis courts. It is zoned to allow horses for personal use.

The couple is willing to sell the compound’s homes separately. One, listed for $8.5 million, has seven bedrooms and seven baths; another, listed at $4.9 million, has four bedrooms and six baths; and the third is a $3.4-million home with five bedrooms and six baths.

Sacramento agents say that homes with the grandeur and acreage the Schwarzeneggers are accustomed to are hard to come by near the state’s Capitol. The largest estates are an hour’s commute away in El Dorado Hills, Granite Bay or Los Lagos.

However, a 12,000-square-foot mansion, “perfect for the governor,” is available in the upscale Arden Oaks area, near the Capitol, said Lyons Realty agent Marge Reid. Owned by construction magnate C.C. Myers, it comes with an elevator, barbershop, gym, tennis courts and a pool. It is listed at $10.4 million.

Or, for a mere $5.9 million, Schwarzenegger could buy the 12,000-square-foot mansion in a Sacramento suburb built under the Ronald Reagan administration but never occupied by a governor. It overlooks the American River, sits on five acres and has a cabana, pool and ballroom.

-- Diane Wedner