Hot Property Newsletter: Changes on the set
There’s a whole lot of real estate action going on in Hollywood these days. Among the names of note in this week’s collection are an Academy Award-winning actor-director, a girl-group standout and a 29-year-old actress who is sticking close to her workplace.
Our Home of the Week is a penthouse in a West Hollywood high-rise. Priced at $1.75 million, the remodeled corner unit combines polished surfaces and sparkling fixtures to create a contemporary vibe.
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
Trimming his portfolio?
Oscar-winning actor and director Mel Gibson, who stars in the upcoming crime thriller “Dragged Across Concrete,” has put his remote estate in Malibu on the market for $14.495 million.
Tucked away in a canyon on five-plus acres is a two-story house with exposed wood beams, hardwood floors and massive fireplaces befitting a scene from “Braveheart,” the 1995 film for which Gibson won two Academy Awards.
The main house has five bedrooms, four bathrooms and nearly 6,600 square feet of living space.
Eucalyptus trees and native plantings surround the property, which has two ocean-view swimming pools, a gym/pool house and a two-bedroom guesthouse.
Gibson, 63, has decades of film credits, including the “Mad Max” and “Lethal Weapons” franchises, “Signs” (2002) and “The Patriot” (2000). He paid $11.5 million for the retreat more than a decade ago and owns other property in Malibu.
Mel B style at a discount
It’s another year and another price point for the marital home of Spice Girls singer Melanie Brown and her ex-husband, producer Stephen Belafonte. The Hollywood Hills West house has come back on the market at $5.9 million after having first listed two years ago for $8.995 million.
Spanning four stories, the 1920s home was redesigned three years ago into glitzy living space including a recording studio, a bar, a theater, a game room and a gym. The 5,226 square feet of open-plan space also includes four bedrooms and six bathrooms.
The backyard swimming pool and spa area is adjoined by an outdoor dining area, a built-in barbecue, a beer tap and a flat-screen TV.
Brown, 43, gained fame in the 1990s as a member of the all-female group Spice Girls and later released the solo albums “Hot” and “L.A. State of Mind.” She is a judge “America’s Got Talent: The Champions” and appears on “The Talk,” “Extra” and “Entertainment Tonight.”
Belafonte, 43, produced “Mel B: It’s a Scary World” (2010) for television. His film work includes “The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call — New Orleans” (2009) and “Mutant Chronicles” (2008).
It’s pretty, no lie
Lucy Hale of “Pretty Little Liars” fame has bought a Spanish-style studio-close home in Studio City through a trust for $2.95 million.
The two-story 2,750-square-foot home contains four bedrooms and 3.25 bathrooms. A claw-foot bathtub, artistic tile and a cedar-lined walk-in closet highlight the master suite.
The house, built in the 1940s, sits on about an acre of grounds and has a saltwater swimming pool.
Hale, 29, appeared on the shows “Bionic Woman” and “Privileged” before landing her most widely known role as Aria Montgomery on “Pretty Little Liars.” She is set to star in the upcoming romantic comedy “A Nice Girl Like You.”
Buyer says “yes” to the house
“Say Yes: Wedding SOS” host George Kotsiopoulos has sold his home in Hollywood Hills West for $2.198 million.
The turnkey Mediterranean centers on a vaulted-ceiling living room with a fireplace. Built-in bookshelves fill two walls in the den.
Wide-plank wood flooring and warm gray tones unify the 1,930 square feet of living space, which also includes an updated kitchen, a dining nook, three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Kotsiopoulos, 50, co-hosted “Fashion Police” from 2010-2015. Last year he appeared in the TLC special “Royal Wedding Revealed.” The fashion consultant and TV personality bought the property in 2013 for $1.185 million.
Where he found his muse
A sale is pending on the Hollywood Hills home of the late film composer Arthur Rubinstein. The asking price is $1.75 million.
Rubinstein, who died last year at 80, bought the property more than three decades ago and scored numerous films in the attached music studio. Among his credits is the 1983 thriller “WarGames.” He won an Emmy for his work on the CBS show “Scarecrow and Mrs. King.”
Set on a third of an acre, the multilevel house has more than 3,500 square feet of interiors with a step-down living room, a formal dining room, a sun room and three bedrooms.
A half-moon-shaped swimming pool, patios and mature landscaping complete the grounds.
Her favorite room
French actress Judith Godrèche spent three months producing the recently released film “Under the Eiffel Tower” from the living room of her West L.A. home. Now her children have transformed the space from a stressful home office to a lively jam room. Four guitars rest along a white brick wall in the sunny room, which also contains an upright piano, a djembe drum and a ukulele.
“Under the Eiffel Tower” star Judith Godrèche’, left, with daughter Tess Barthelemy in their living room.
From the archives
Ten years ago, Natasha Henstridge, who played lawyer Taylor Wethersby on the quirky comedy-drama “Eli Stone,” listed her Sherman Oaks Traditional home for $1.75 million. The 3,825-square-foot house, which sat on half an acre with a swimming pool, had high-beamed ceilings, five bedrooms, five bathrooms and an entertainment deck.
Twenty years ago, Tiger Woods, then the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world, purchased a newly built town house in Manhattan Beach for just under $1 million for use when he was in the Los Angeles area. The contemporary-style ocean-view town house had three bedrooms within its 2,200 square feet of living space.
Also 20 years ago, Matt LeBlanc, who played Joey on “Friends,” bought a two-acre hilltop home, including furnishings, in Encino for close to its $3.5-million asking price. The estate had a 7,000-square-foot main house, two guest houses and a wine-tasting area with storage for 2,000 bottles of wine. A railway wound through the rock garden, and there was a tunnel under the tennis court.
Thirty years ago, Michael J. Fox of “Back to the Future” fame quietly picked up a house in the Bel-Air area for $2.6 million. He did not take title in his name due to stalker issues.
What we’re reading
A buyer ready to go out on a limb will need about $970,000 for this ocean-view treehouse rising among the redwoods in Aptos, Calif. Set on an acre, the wood-accented retreat contains floor-to-ceiling windows, three bedrooms and one bathroom, according to the listing.
What do a school bus, an ambulance, a truck, a shuttle bus and a cargo trailer have in common? They’ve all been transformed into homes on wheels. Curbed.com curated this collection of unusual DIY conversions.
