Hot Property newsletter: At least someone’s in the kitchen
Home sales may be cooling on the rack for most of the market, but the upper crust continues to cook. Since the beginning of March, L.A. County has seen more than 80 sales of $5 million or more, including more than a dozen sales north of $10 million. This week’s hopeful entry is a $100-million newly built mega-mansion in Bel-Air. Also coming on the market recently were homes owned by several actors of note and a local chef.
Our Home of the Week in Pasadena is a terrific example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style. Built in 1928, the renovated and restored two-story retains such period details as colorful tile risers, beamed ceilings and a terracotta entry floor. The antique fixtures and updated hardware are in keeping with the period. Yours for $4.25 million.
Once you’re done reading about these deals, visit and like our Facebook page, where you can find Hot Property stories and updates throughout the week.
— Neal Leitereg, Jack Flemming and Lauren Beale
Big new kid on the block
If homes can sell for $30 million or $40 million during a pandemic, why not $100 million?
That’s the multimillion-dollar question in Bel-Air, where a newly built mega-mansion has entered the market at the nine-figure price.
Designed to evoke a Spanish villa, the modern compound includes such amenities as an indoor basketball court, a 1,200-bottle wine cellar and a state-of-the-art recording studio.
The 41,000-square-foot residence sits on more than an acre with indoor and outdoor swimming pools and an outdoor kitchen. There are eight wet bars, multiple kitchens, eight bedrooms and 21 bathrooms.
From one crisis to the next?
Veteran actor Gary Sinise, who received an Oscar nomination for his role in “Forrest Gump,” has his stylish farmhouse on the market in Calabasas for $3.795 million. That’s slightly more than the $3.55 million he paid for it during the housing crisis in 2008.
The half-acre property contains a 5,300-square-foot home, a guest suite, a swimming pool and a bridge over a koi pond. There’s also a flagstone courtyard, a trellis-topped patio and an outdoor living room with a fireplace and grill.
Built in 2006, the two-story home has five bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms, including a master suite with a sitting room and balcony.
Sinise, 65, won a Golden Globe for his role in 1995’s “Truman” and an Emmy for his role in the miniseries “George Wallace.” His other credits include “Of Mice and Men,” “Apollo 13” and “CSI: NY.”
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And for his next act …
Stunt performer and actor Chris Pontius of “Jackass” fame has listed his longtime home in the Hollywood Hills for sale at $1.245 million. He bought the property in 2002 for $535,000.
The Midcentury Modern-style residence, built in 1959 and since updated, features hardwood floors, clerestory windows and a copper living room fireplace. Windows frame leafy views and a stream that cuts through the grounds.
There are two bedrooms and two bathrooms within more than 1,100 square feet of interior space.
The 45-year-old gained fame as a cast member on the MTV show “Jackass” and the franchise’s feature films. He previously hosted the “Jackass” follow-up show “Wildboyz” and also appeared on the hidden camera show “Totally Busted.”
‘Broke Girl’ wants to sell
Actress-writer Beth Behrs, known for her sitcom roles on “The Neighborhood” and “2 Broke Girls,” has put her home in Hollywood Hills up for sale at $1.995 million.
Walled and gated from the street, the updated 1920 home has three bedrooms and three bathrooms in about 2,600 square feet of bright and airy living space. A guest wing with a second kitchen and sitting room lies on the lower level.
Behrs, 34, purchased the property through a trust in 2014 for $1.488 million.
In addition to her television work, she has appeared in such films as “American Pie Presents: The Book of Love” and “Hello, My Name Is Doris.”
His latest menu item
Zach Pollack, chef and owner of the Los Angeles eateries Alimento and Cosa Buona, has put his Silver Lake home on the market for $1.455 million. And it appears he’s already gotten at least one bite; the updated two-story is listed as “accepting backup offers.”
Designed for indoor-outdoor entertaining, the charcoal-colored house features nine-foot pocketing doors that open the living room to a front terrace. A motorized awning covers the space.
The 1,740-square-foot floor plan has a dining room, a family room/den, three bedrooms and three bathrooms. It looks like the man must take his work home as the kitchen is equipped with high-end appliances.
A hillside garden, an outdoor fireplace with a Tuscan grill, decking and landscaping fill out the grounds.
Her favorite room
Color — and lots of it — was the goal for actress Sarayu Blue when she converted a guest room in her 1,800-square-foot Studio City town house into a personal retreat. She painted the walls a deep turquoise, anchored one corner with a burnished orange lounge chair, laid down a floral teal rug and set out vases that she keeps filled with fresh bouquets. “I want a place to feel welcoming and warm,” said Blue, who recently appeared on the CBS comedy “The Unicorn” and on “Medical Police” on Netflix.
From the archives
Ten years ago, “Private Practice” doctor Kate Walsh apparently knew good bones when she saw them. The actress had listed her 1929 Spanish-style gated estate in Los Feliz at $4.295 million. An intricately tiled main hall and staircase, arched windows and passageways, and stenciled beamed ceilings were among original details.
Twenty years ago, Emilio Estevez of “Young Guns” and “The Mighty Ducks” fame bought a newly built home on more than an acre in Malibu for about $2 million. Our headline: “A Mighty Duck Stays Near Water.”
Thirty years ago, Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep bought a house in Los Angeles. “We bought here because I got a job here. I never made a movie in Hollywood before,” she said in a telephone interview from the Burbank set of “Defending Your Life,” a romantic comedy co-starring Albert Brooks. “We were renting [in Santa Monica] and found it hard to live among other people’s things, so we decided to get a place of our own.”
And finally ...
ICYMI: We were saddened to learn of the passing of Deasy Penner Podley realtor Boyd Smith last month. Boyd was a true “friend of the section” for decades, always calling with a tip, a story idea or a tantalizing bit of gossip. We offer our remembrances:
Neal Leitereg: “Nobody kept you on your toes like Boyd, and few were as generous and kind. As a young reporter earning my chops, Boyd was one of the best things to ever happen to me. I’ll miss his insight, his stories (oh, the stories!) and his ability to both command attention and make you feel like the center of attention at the same time.”
Jack Flemming: “My time with him was full of laughter, and he had a knack for turning strangers into friends very quickly and easily.”
Lauren Beale: “Boyd had the most fully developed joie de vivre of anyone I have ever met. And he was always reaching out in unexpected ways. Once he sent me a pie. Another time, a raspberry Kringle.”
Smith made his first appearance in Ruth Ryon’s Hot Property column in 1997. He is greatly missed by the Hot Property staff.
