Hot Property Newsletter: That’s not a mirage
In honor of the Midcentury architecture celebration known as Modernism Week, which runs through Feb. 24, this collection is heavily weighted to homes in and around the desert mecca of Palm Springs. But while we’re on the road trip, we’ll also take in a few other hot spots in California including the state capital and Lake Arrowhead.
Our Home of the Week is a Midcentury Modern residence in Rancho Mirage that embraces the casual desert lifestyle of the Coachella Valley. Rooms set in a U-shaped design look in on a swimming pool, underscoring the resort-like vibe. The asking price for the roughly 4,400-square-foot single-story is $2.195 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 J. Leitereg and Lauren Beale
Gov. Newsom is ready to sign
Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife, documentarian Jennifer Siebel Newsom, have listed their home in Kentfield, Calif., for sale at $5.995 million.
Walls of glass bring views of San Francisco Bay, Mt. Tamalpais and the swimming pool into the two-story wood-clad house, which contains about 4,000 square feet of living space. The cool contemporary features a kitchen with an island open to a family room, five bedrooms, two offices and five bathrooms.
Lawn, mature trees, a gazebo and a fire pit complete the 1.38 acres of grounds.
The Newsoms have been temporarily living in the three-story Italianate Victorian governor’s mansion in Sacramento.
In December, they bought a 12,000-square-foot, six-bedroom house in the Fair Oaks neighborhood for $3.7 million through a limited liability company, reported the Sacramento Bee.
The governor’s spokesman said in a statement that their new residence is currently being renovated and is “more kid-friendly” than the governor’s mansion.
Actress hopes to graduate
“High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens has listed her home in the foothills of Studio City for sale at $3.895 million. A trust with which she is associated bought the property in 2008 for $2.75 million.
The Mediterranean showplace centers on a sweeping staircase with wrought-iron railing. Doorways in rounded horseshoe and ogee-arch shapes adorn the 5,200 square feet of interiors. The kitchen overlooks a swimming pool in the backyard.
An upstairs open-concept office and family room could be converted into an additional bedroom. Including the master suite, with vaulted ceilings, a sitting area, a double-sided fireplace and a balcony, there are six bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
Hudgens, 30, appeared in “Thirteen” (2003), “Machete Kills” (2013) and “The Princess Switch” (2018), among many other films and television shows. She has released two studio albums.
A pied-à-terre perhaps?
Actress-entrepreneur Suzanne Somers and her husband, producer Alan Hamel, have bought a home in Palm Springs through a trust for $2.35 million.
Built in 1978, the single-story house features high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows. A mirrored ceiling tops a conversation pit in the great room, which has a two-way fireplace. The nearly 4,900 square feet of living space includes four bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms.
The grounds of more than an acre contain a separate casita, a spa and a swimming pool.
Somers, 72, is known for the 1973 film “American Graffiti” and, later, the sitcoms “Three’s Company” and “Step by Step.” Hamel, 82, hosted such 1960s television game shows as “Wedding Party” and “Anniversary Game.”
Tee times in La Quinta
Universal Music Group Chairman and Chief Executive Lucian Grainge has paid $6.3 million for a modern home in the golf course community of La Quinta.
Built in 2016, the single-story home has four wings that surround an interior courtyard. Within about 6,025 square feet of interior space are a living room with a fireplace, a media room, six bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
A covered patio with a fireplace creates space for al fresco dining and entertaining. An oversize spa, fire pits and an infinity-edge swimming pool fill out the landscaped grounds.
Grainge, 58, was elevated to his position as chief executive at Universal Music nearly a decade ago. As CEO, he led the $1.9-billion acquisition in 2011 of EMI’s record music business.
A true designer showplace
Interior designer to the stars Donna Livingston has put a remodeled home in the Beverly Hills Post Office area on the market for $3.075 million.
The two-story California ranch house, previously owned by “The Mummy” actor Oded Fehr, was both a project and a personal residence for the designer. Surrounded by lush landscaping and trees, the 3,246-square-foot home features pitched ceilings, two fireplaces, an updated kitchen, three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
The house, built in 1956, sits on two-thirds of an acre with a fire pit, a swimming pool and a spa.
The Los Angeles-based designer’s clients have included singer-songwriter Lionel Richie, film producer Sidney Kimmel and famed hairstylist Vidal Sassoon.
King of the hilltop
Hilltop, the Lake Arrowhead estate once owned by MCA co-founder Jules Stein, has come on the market at $14.25 million.
The 3.85-acre compound, which dates to the 1930s, was a getaway for such Hollywood stars Cary Grant, Rock Hudson and Marilyn Monroe. At the heart of the Alpine Normandy-style mansion is a great room with 30-foot tall ceilings, a stone fireplace and views of the lake. A glass ceiling tops the all-season family room. Among the seven bedrooms in the main house is a sail-boat themed bunk room that sleeps six.
A tennis court and pavilion, an event building and a four-bedroom detached guesthouse complete the grounds. The living space totals 11,081 square feet. Two boat docks with four slips sit off the beach.
Jules Stein, the ophthalmologist-turned-band-booking-businessman who died in 1981 at 85, helped create the Music Corp. of America. He also founded the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA.
From the archives
Ten years ago, rocker Courtney Love rented a sprawling Mediterranean in the Hollywood Hills for about $20,000 a month. The five-bedroom, five-bathroom home with views had about 5,500 square feet of living space.
Twenty years ago, singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell put a Hollywood Hills home on the market at $829,000. She had purchased the 1970s house two years previously as an investment. She gutted and remodeled the 2,500-square-foot home, but never lived in it herself.
Also 20 years ago, SNL actor-comedian David Spade purchased a Beverly Hills home for slightly more than $3 million. The 1960s house had several fireplaces, six bedrooms and eight bathrooms within about 6,000 square feet.
What we’re reading
Veteran model Christie Brinkley found a buyer for her estate in Sag Harbor, N.Y., reports the New York Post. Listed at $17.5 million, the 4.44-acre Long Island property includes 327 feet of beach frontage, a bayside pool and a wood-shingled 5,500-square-foot house.
An early Chicago home of notorious gangster Al Capone is for sale at $109,000, reports SecondShelters.com. These days it’s divided into a two-apartment house containing six bedrooms. The 2,820 square feet of interiors offer plenty of space for storing bootleg liquor.
