Hot Property newsletter: Real estate action during the stay-at-home-athon
So it’s not the level of sales activity one would usually expect for this time of year. For-sale signs are few. Open houses are on hiatus. But that doesn’t mean real estate transactions have ground to a halt. This week sees athletes, actors and musicians joining the physically distanced ranks of home buyers and sellers.
Crisp white siding, black trim and a covered front porch are among the timeless details on our newly built Home of the Week in Santa Monica. The East Coast-inspired traditional of more than 7,900 square feet is priced at just under $8.9 million.
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— Neal Leitereg, Jack Flemming and Lauren Beale
The new home is on ice
NHL star P.K. Subban and former Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn have bought a contemporary villa in the Beverly Hills Post Office area for $6.75 million through a limited liability company.
Set on more than half an acre, the gated home of more than 5,500 square feet has a single-story floor plan featuring high ceilings, a wet bar and four bedrooms. Tall palms frame a swimming pool with a spa. A built-in barbecue sits nearby.
Subban, 30, is a three-time all-star defenseman who currently plays for the New Jersey Devils.
Vonn, 35, is a former alpine skiing champion who retired in 2019. She was the overall World Cup champ from 2008 to 2010 and again in 2012. During her career, she won two Olympic medals, including a gold in the downhill competition at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
Changing his tune in Topanga
OneRepublic bassist and cellist Brent Kutzle has put his four-acre mountain retreat in Topanga up for sale at $2.195 million. That’s $95,000 more than he paid for it last May, real estate records show.
The modern farmhouse, set at the end of a private road, takes in 360-degree views.
On the main level, there’s a living room, dining area and center-island kitchen lined with sliding glass doors. The second story has a bonus room, an office and three bedrooms.
Kutzle, 34, has recorded four albums with the pop rock band including 2016’s “Oh My My.” Their latest effort, “Human,” is set to release later this year.
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A spot to keep the lamp
Actor Mena Massoud, star of Disney’s live-action “Aladdin” movie, recently paid $2.2 million for a newly built modern farmhouse in Encino.
The gated and landscaped property comes with a two-story home, a detached guesthouse and an amenity-packed backyard with a swimming pool, spa and gardens.
The four-bedroom house spans 3,850 square feet and includes a marble kitchen, a dining area and a living room with a drop-down movie screen. Wine storage is tucked under the staircase.
Massoud, 28, had brief roles in the shows “Nikita” and “Combat Hospital” before starring in last year’s “Aladdin.”
Duo shows their flip side
Tucker Halpern and Sophie Hawley-Weld, the electronic-house music duo who perform as Sofi Tukker, have sold a renovated home in the Rancho Park neighborhood of Los Angeles for $1.83 million. They bought the place two years ago for $1.7 million.
The 1946 bungalow has been updated and reimagined as a breezy beach retreat. Tall palms frame the entrance to the 2,200-square-foot home, which has a new kitchen, four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
A newly built accessory dwelling unit sits across from the house and adds an additional 400 square feet of living space.
Halpern and Hawley-Weld, as Sofi Tukker, have received Grammy nominations for the single “Drinkee” (2017) and their debut studio album, “Treehouse” (2018).
My favorite room
Separated from his wife in New York because of work and then the coronavirus outbreak, actor Brian Michael Smith of “9-1-1: Lone Star” has managed to make the guest room of a friend’s house his home away from home for the last six months. The book-filled space doubles as his gym and is literally a place to hang his hats — a collection of baseball caps.
From the archives
Ten years ago, Oscar-winning actress and avid historical home restorer Diane Keaton listed her latest project in Pacific Palisades at $8.5 million. She had spent more than two years renovating the Lloyd Wright-designed Midcentury house, which sat on an acre with two detached bedroom suites and a swimming pool.
Twenty years ago, boxer Oscar De La Hoya put his Bel-Air mansion on the market at $5.5 million. He had just completed a major redesign of the 10,000-square-foot home, which included six bedrooms plus maid’s quarters, a gym with a sauna, a temperature-controlled wine room and an office with a humidor.
Thirty years ago, rock star Bruce Springsteen paid nearly $14 million for a secluded property on the Westside. The 4.5-acre estate, dotted with mature redwood trees and 200-foot tall eucalyptus trees, contained two houses: a 10,000-square-foot Mediterranean and a 7,500-square-foot secondary residence.
What we’re reading
Limestone, bronze and exotic woods combine with fine craftsmanship in the remarkable Toronto home of mega recording artist Drake. “Measuring 50,000 square feet, with amenities such as an NBA regulation-size indoor basketball court crowned by a 21-square-foot pyramidal skylight, Drake’s astonishing domicile certainly qualifies as extravagant,” reports Architectural Digest.
ICYMI: Remember the hot-pink house painted with emojis that roiled a Manhattan Beach neighborhood last year? The two-bedroom, two-bathroom property has sold for $1.55 million. The house was the center of a short-term rental controversy, which some believe prompted the eye-catching paint job.
