
It was a year of new price heights for Los Angeles’ red-hot luxury housing market. But for all the $100-million spec homes and billion-dollar mountaintops debuted last year, off-market deals registered the biggest surprises.
Coastal communities such as Malibu and Pacific Palisades saw price records, while ZIP Codes in the Santa Monica and Beverly Hills areas remain among the most coveted, according to median sales data.
Of the top home sales, more than a dozen surpassed the $30- million mark in 2018. One even eclipsed nine figures. Here’s a closer look at L.A. County’s biggest sales of the year.
$110 million — Malibu Hard Rock Cafe co-founder Peter Morton in April sold his oceanfront home on Pacific Coast Highway to natural-gas billionaire Michael S. Smith and his wife, Iris Smith, for $110 million. The price was not only the high for the year but also a new L.A. County record for single-family home sales.
The Malibu compound comprises two parcels totaling a halfacre with two structures and more than 100 feet of frontage on tycoonstudded Billionaires’ Beach.
Designed by architect Richard Meier, the main house and guesthouse feature teak wood siding, automated shutters and windows and wraparound balconies that face the ocean. The two homes combine for about 8,000 square feet of living space with seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms.
The grounds include a swimming pool and courtyard.
$85 million — Malibu Daryl Katz, the
billionaire owner of the Edmonton Oilers franchise, in February
concluded an off-market deal to buy the Malibu estate of Westside real
estate agent Kurt Rappaport for $85 million.
Set
on a five-acre bluff on Pacific Coast Highway, the monolithic-vibe
house maintains a clean aesthetic and maximizes the ocean view.
Horizontal lines, black granite tile and board-formed concrete walls are
among features of the 9,000-square-foot house.
The
home, completed in 2012, has six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, tax
records show. There are two guest suites, plus an infinity-edge swimming
pool. A large swath of lawn and minimalist landscaping complete the
coastal setting.
$68.822 million — Holmby Hills
In May, the North Carolwood Drive estate of late Paramount Pictures Chairman and Chief Executive Brad Grey sold for about $8.7 million less than the asking price. The buyer was a limited liability company tied to billionaire investor Bruce Karsh.
The
wood-clad residence, which draws inspiration from modern- and
farmhouse-style architecture, features 12,800 square feet of living
space, a barninspired great room, a home theater and five bedrooms.
Araised bridge connects the main house to a two-story recreation
facility, which has two gyms and a blue-bottomed swimming pool.
Adining courtyard, olive trees, an organic orchard and vegetable and herb gardens complete the setting.
$66.25 million — Beverly Hills
Hitting
the market in May for $85 million, an updated and expanded version of
Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman’s former home sold three months later for
$18.75 million less. The buyer was James Packer, the Australian businessman and son of media mogul Kerry Packer.
Set
on more than an acre on Ridgedale Drive, the compound includes a
massive main house, two guesthouses and an entertainment building. The
structures combine for about 29,000 square feet of living space.
The
main house, designed in French country style by Robert DeYoung,
features a projection room, an art studio, a bar, a den and a wine
cellar.
Outside, a covered pavilion sits adjacent to a swimming pool.
$56 million — Bel-Air AFrench
chateau-inspired mega-mansion built by controversial real estate
developer Mohamed Hadid sold in May for $29 million less than its
original asking price. The buyer of the property was a corporate entity
tied to investor and entrepreneur Max Fowles-Pazdro.
Hadid,
who in 2017 pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges related to his
construction of another mansion in Bel-Air, built the 35,000-square-foot
home in 2007.
He sold the 2.2-acre estate three years later to Turkish businessman Sarp Turanligil for $50 million.
Known as Le Belvedere, the sprawling residence on
Nimes Road boasts such amenities as a ballroom, a Moroccan-themed
entertaining room and a 5,000- bottle wine cellar. A spa room was
designed after a Turkish bath. There are10 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms on
two levels.
$45 million — Malibu July saw another high-dollar sale in Malibu with Cindy Crawford and husband Rande Gerber selling a renovated compound on Pacific Coast Highway.
The sale price was $15 million less than what Crawford and Gerber originally sought for the property — $60 million.
The
supermodel and her businessman husband bought the three-plus-acre
estate and an adjacent parcel in 2015 for a total of $50.5 million. The
neighboring property, which encompasses about 2.75 acres, was not
included in the sale.
Set
on a bluff with panoramic ocean views, the renovated home has 5,300
square feet of living space, four bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms.
Features include custom builtins, natural materials and white walls that make for a casual beach aesthetic.
The walled and gated estate also holds a tennis court and a swimming pool.
At the edge of the property, a pathway leads to the beach below.
$38 million — Malibu Tech billionaire Larry Ellison, who owns about two dozen properties in Malibu, continued to expand his foothold in the beach community.
In March, an entity connected to the Oracle co-founder paid $38 million for the oceanfront home of Hollywood film producer Joel Silver.
Originally listed for $57 million, the beachfront house was built in the 1930s and has since been updated.
The
two-story sits on a lot of about three-quarters of an acre and features
137 feet of beach frontage, a swimming pool and a tennis court.
Living spaces include a twostory great room, a formal dining room and a lofted office space.
There
are five bedrooms and six bathrooms, plus a detached guesthouse. The
master suite takes in views of the ocean and Carbon Beach through walls
of glass.
$33.9 million — Beverly Hills
Among the biggest real estate movers and shakers in 2018 was singer Adam Levine, who bought two homes north of $30 million while divesting himself of two other properties.
Of
his two purchases, the priciest came in March when the Maroon 5
frontman paid $33.901 million for the home of “Will & Grace” creator
Max Mutchnick.
The
English Tudor-style house was previously owned by tennis star Pete
Sampras, who sold to Mutchnick about a decade ago for $16.98 million.
The
roughly 10,400-square-foot house has five bedrooms and eight full
bathrooms. There is a detached guesthouse and a separate gym. The main
house includes a home theater and an office-library.
In
December, Levine and wife Behati Prinsloo bought the Pacific Palisades
home of actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner in an off-market deal for
$31.95 million.
$33.85 million — Pacific Palisades
The San Remo Drive estate of late television syndication mogul Michael King changed hands in May in a deal that set a new price record in the Westside community. The buyer was an entity tied to Bui Simon, a former Miss Universe and wife of Indiana Pacers owner Herbert Simon.
The
sale price, although down from its original $42 million, eclipsed the
previous high-water mark for a residential transaction in Pacific
Palisades by about $1.35 million.
The Georgian-style estate, designed and built in 2005, sits on aone-plus-acre lot with city and ocean views.
The
15,000-square-foot house features interior design work by former White
House decorator Michael S. Smith and grounds by landscape designer
Deborah Nivens.
Among
details of note are hand-painted walls, inlaid motherof-pearl, a
wood-paneled office and a game room. The two-story floor plan includes
seven bedrooms and 10 bathrooms.
$33.1 million — Beverly Hills
Retired soccer star David Beckham and his wife, singermodel Victoria Beckham, quietly
said goodbye to their Beverly Hills home of about a decade, selling the
property off market in September for $33.1 million.
Tucked
behind massive iron gates and at the end of a private drive, the
Italian villa-style mansion was built in 2007 on speculation.
The
H-shaped home, painted a classic white and topped with clay roof tiles,
has more than 13,000 square feet of living space that includes formal
living and dining rooms, an elevator, a library and a media/music room.
There are six bedrooms and nine bathrooms plus a powder room.
Outside, covered and uncovered patios flank a large, grassy field. A swimming pool and pool deck sit across the lawn.
$33 million — Hollywood Hills West
Also
closing in May was a deal for a newly built showplace featuring
interiors by Lenny Kravitz and his design firm. The property sold for $5
million less than the asking price.
Perched
above the Sunset Strip, the three-story, 10,700- square-foot house is
visually dramatic, with offset rooflines, marble walls and retractable
expanses of glass that center on 270-degree city and ocean views.
The home also includes a lower-level nightclub, indooroutdoor terraces and a circular 70-foot swimming pool.
A12,000-pound granite boulder incorporates an outdoor fire feature.
$32 million — Beverly Park
ABeverly Park mansion designed by architect Richard Landry sold to timepiece entrepreneur John Simonian, founder and owner of luxury watch company Westime, for $32 million.
The 22,905-square-foot house, built in 2009, evokes a French chateau.
Amenities include a ballroom, a wood-paneled office and a library with a glass-bottom floor that looks into a brick wine vault.
The
gated estate sits on more than two acres of grounds with formal
gardens, water features, a motor court and a tennis court. There are
indoor and outdoor swimming pools. Sauna and steam rooms adjoin the
indoor pool.