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Luxury Real Estate
VILLA SPLENDIDO: A Luxurious Haven Overlooking Billionaire's Beach
Fri Mar 08 2024
Welcome to the epitome of opulence in Malibu – VILLA SPLENDIDO. This architectural masterpiece, recently featured in the prestigious Wall Street Journal, stands as a testament to the marriage of sophistication and contemporary flair. Perched high on the hillside, with breathtaking 180-degree ocean views, this fully-furnished estate is a sanctuary of luxury living in one of California's most coveted locales. Location 5046 Carbon Beach Ter, Malibu, CA, 90265
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Luxury Real Estate
Johnny Cat Kitty Litter Heiress Lists Spectacular $88 Million Santa Barbara Mansion with Ocean Views
Fri Feb 23 2024
In the picturesque enclave of Hope Ranch, Santa Barbara, a property steeped in feline history has hit the market, capturing the attention of luxury real estate enthusiasts and curious onlookers alike. Nestled on 11 acres with breathtaking views of mountains and the ocean, this $88 million estate was the cherished residence of John Stephens, the visionary founder behind the renowned Johnny Cat kitty litter brand, and his wife Betty Stephens, who served as the CEO of Jonny Cat. The Legacy Lives On The legacy of the Johnny Cat kitty litter fortune lives on in this remarkable 20,000-square-foot main residence, now listed for sale by their daughter, Joi Stephens. Growing up amidst the elegance of this estate, Joi fondly recalls her parents hosting charity events and gatherings attended by notable figures, including U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
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Luxury Real Estate
Mallorca becomes hit destination for US Tourists
Thu Jan 12 2023
The Germans love putting a towel down in Mallorca. Of the roughly 5.7 million tourists from around the globe that made the trip to the sunny Balearic island in 2021, a whopping 2.12 million of them came from Germany. That means Germans accounted for almost 40 per cent of all tourism on the island in 2021 - more than double the number of Spaniards and more than triple the number of Brits. But now Germany's dominance of Mallorca's tourism market is reportedly under threat from a new party - the Americans - and the Germans are none too happy about it. German tabloid Bild this morning published an article entitled 'Are the Americans stealing our sun loungers on Mallorca?'. It complained that last year, America's United Airlines offered thrice weekly flights from Newark airport to Palma during the summer to gauge US demand for what is for Americans a far-flung destination. Almost every 214-seat flight was fully booked. 'Not Miami (Florida), not Cancun (Mexico), not Honolulu (Hawaii). Any self-respecting American will fly to Mallorca this summer!' Bild quipped. 'After the British, are Americans now stealing our deckchairs?' After the success of 2022, United Airlines is planning to increase the number of flights and will extend the season by two months. The airline's website now offers flights to Palma from New York, Chicago, Denver, Houston and San Francisco. Perhaps the Germans feel somewhat betrayed. Even after years of commitment to making Mallorca a de-facto tourist colony, their fidelity has not stopped the island's tourism bosses from expanding their own horizons. Last year Mallorca Magazin, a German-language outlet for the island, reported that tourism foundations and hotel leaders had devised targeted marketing campaigns designed to reel in Americans tempted to explore new European shores. 'Demand in the US has exceeded all of our expectations,' a spokesman for tourism promoter Palma 365 told the publication. He added that the organisation plans to boost advertising efforts moving forward 'in order to attract and consolidate this new foreign market, which has great growth potential.' Meanwhile Javier Vich, the head of hotel association Asphama, said his properties were full of reservations made by American holidaymakers well into September 2022. Now in 2023, Germany's beloved Balearic island graced the top of acclaimed travel journalist Larry Olmsted's list of Top 5 Hot Travel Destinations for Forbes, which is sure to send sun-seeking Americans into a tizzy. 'Mallorca has long been uber-popular with Europeans... yet for some reason, the island paradise in the Mediterranean has stubbornly remained off the radar of Americans until recently,' Olmsted wrote. 'Mallorca is hot, hot, hot, and deservedly so.' With such a ringing endorsement, many a German holidaymaker may well arrive in Mallorca later this year to find their name has been chiselled off their favourite sun lounger.
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Luxury Real Estate
Ravishing Jazz Age Estate in La Cañada Hits the Auction Block
Thu Sep 22 2022
On October 13, bidding will open for one of the grander properties in the upscale hamlet of La Cañada Flintridge. Known as the Overell Estate, the luxurious residence was constructed in 1929, at a then-astronomical cost of $80,000, for prosperous furniture dealer Walter Overell and his society-maven wife, Beulah. A blend of Spanish Colonial Revival and Art Deco styles, it was designed in a collaborative effort by architects L.G. Scherer and J. Cyril Bennett. Based in Hollywood, Scherer’s other notable designs included a Spanish-style mansion in Little Holmby for Marlene Dietrich, and the Hancock Park Tudor owned in the 80s by Francis Ford Coppola, while Bennett’s projects included Pasadena’s Civic Auditorium and Raymond Theater. Sadly, the Overells’ time in their lavish hilltop home ended up being cut short: in 1947, the couple were on a sailing excursion off the coast of Newport Beach when their yacht was blown to bits in a dynamite explosion. Circumstantial evidence pointed to a murder plot perpetrated by the Overell’s teenage daughter, Beulah-Louise, and her 21-year-old boyfriend, of whom the couple strongly disapproved. After a seven-month-long nationally publicized trial, however, the young couple were acquitted. But with her inheritance drained by legal fees, Beulah-Louise was forced to liquidate her assets, and the family residence made its first trip to the auction block. The winning bid? A mere $56,000. In the late 90s, the property was purchased for $1.8 million by Pasadena mutual funds manager Lauro Guerra, who embarked on a five-year revamp guided by designer John Everage that doubled the home’s footprint. Added in the expansion were a massive bedroom suite, a pub, a gym, a sauna, a deluxe home cinema, and a one-bedroom guest apartment with private entrance. Other updates include a restaurant-grade kitchen, Savant home automation, Lutron lighting, and solar power systems. Even after all the updates, the 13,259-square-foot mansion still boasts a wealth of extravagant period details, including dramatic cast concrete exterior bas-reliefs, stained-magnesite and hardwood flooring, stepped-tray ceilings, hand-stenciled beams, fanciful murals, dazzling Deco and Spanish tile, and elaborate fireplace surrounds, stained glass, and wrought-ironwork. Gracing the rarefied 1.18-acre grounds are an aqueduct, several tiled fountains, a koi pond, an arrow-shaped pool and spa, mature trees, a lanai, and multiple terraced patios. The no-reserve auction is being conducted by Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions from October 13 through 18. Gina Olivares of Deasy Penner Podley is the listing agent.
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Luxury Real Estate
Kim Kardashian Pays $70 Million for Cindy Crawford’s Former Malibu Estate
Tue Sep 20 2022
Summer may be over, but Kim Kardashian is already laying the groundwork for a fancy seaside vacation next year — and many more summers to come, it would seem. Property records show everyone’s favorite reality TV star-turned-billionaire shapewear mogul and aspiring lawyer has paid $70.4 million for an oceanfront estate on the Encinal Bluffs, one of Malibu’s most coveted neighborhood pockets. The off-market deal closed last week. The deal is by far the priciest residential transfer in Malibu this year, and is also 2022’s fourth-priciest California home sale, behind only the $75 million Drake paid for his new home, a $120 million Holmby Hills deal and Bel Air’s infamous “The One” megamansion, which sold at auction for $126 million. Built in 1944 but extensively remodeled in the 1990s and again in 2016, the Mediterranean villa-style house was once the centerpiece of a 6-acre estate long owned by biotech entrepreneur Walter de Logi, who died in 2014. The following year, his widow Lynda sold the big property for more than $50 million to her next-door neighbors, Cindy Crawford and longtime husband Rande Gerber. The 6-acre estate was subsequently split into two parcels: one of them a 2.8-acre, mostly vacant lot and the other a 3.2-acre spread containing the main house. Crawford kept the smaller parcel for herself but sold the 3.2-acre one in 2018 for $45 million to Adam Weiss, a retired hedge fund manager from California’s Silicon Valley. It was Weiss who sold the property to Kardashian, after re-landscaping the premises and living there for a few years. After listing it in March with a $99.5 million price tag, the ask was slashed to about $90 million before Kardashian came calling with a significantly lower offer. Weiss, 55, is moving to the Hawaiian island of Maui, where last year he and wife Barret Swatek paid $45 million for an oceanfront estate not far from Jeff Bezos’ vacation home. Kardashian, 41, continues to mainly reside at her vast estate in Hidden Hills. She also has two “spare” Hidden Hills homes, one of which recently popped up for sale, and still owns a luxury condo in Calabasas and a vacant lot in La Quinta’s prestigious Madison Club. And for those curious, Kardashian’s new estate is about 14 miles up the coast from Kanye West’s $57 million Brutalist spread, so not exactly sugar-borrowing distance. Besides Crawford, some of Kardashian’s nearest new Malibu neighbors include retired TV super-producer Marcy Carsey, Leo DiCaprio, Neil Diamond and Michael Eisner. Article Courtesy of Dirt.com
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Luxury Real Estate
Bel Air mega-mansion ‘The One’ sold for massive $154 million discount
Tue Mar 15 2022
A Los Angeles mega-mansion that was the biggest U.S. home to ever go up for auction sold for $141 million, including commissions, when bidding closed Thursday. Beverly Hills mansion The One—which refers to the one percent that can afford to occupy it—was sold at a bankruptcy auction for $126 million to an anonymous buyer. The One, which boasts 21 bedrooms, 42 bathrooms was originally listed for $295 million. But according to the L.A. Times the new owner of the 100,000 square foot marble-and-glass property (that still lacks an occupancy certificate) is Richard Saghian, owner and CEO of major fast-fashion online women’s store Fashion Nova. So where did 40-year-old Saghian get the scratch to add the biggest house in Los Angeles to the two other homes he already owns? Well, that’s easy its because of Fashion Nova. The brand he founded is exceedingly popular amongst young women. Its recipe for success: Using celebrities and Insta-Influencers to promote its cheaply priced, on-trend clothes. Past names include rapper Cardi B, Lil Nas X, and model Kylie Jenner. The company is privately held and owned by Saghian, who he is also the CEO, and its annual sales exceed a reported $1 billion. But more money can equal more problems, at least that’s the case with Saghian’s $17.5 Hollywood Hills house. In 2018, it was invaded by armed robbers, but all suspects were caught and one killed by an armed guard. More issues: prior to The One’s listing there was also a lack of an occupancy permit, rumors of construction flaws, and ongoing code violations, according to the Times. Many creditors with money in The One will take a loss, as the debt attached to the property has grown to $256 million. It has been speculated that The One is more of a property full of multimedia possibilities and less a home. In this case, the mansion could be used as a backdrop for Fashion Nova shoots and related promotional activities. There is much to choose from, with amenities ranging from a 4,000 foot guesthouse, a sky deck complete with cabanas, a theater, a full-service spa, an actual nightclub, a four-lane bowling alley, multiple swimming pools, and a moat. In a case of synergy, The One was designed by architect Paul McLean, who also designed Saghian’s Hollywood Hills home.
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Luxury Real Estate
A Los Angeles megamansion could sell for $295 million
Thu Jan 06 2022
105,000-square-foot mansion in Bel Air, dubbed "The One," could become the most expensive property to sell in the United States when it hits the auction block next month. The hillside property, which spans over a sprawling 3.8 acres, will be listed on January 7 at an eye-watering $295 million, with an online sale held February 7 to 10 via Concierge Auctions. From its elevated perch, the home boasts 360-degree ocean and alpine views as well as ones of downtown Los Angeles. Few properties in the world have ever sold above that list price, including the Chateau Louis XIV in France, La Belle Epoque penthouse in Monaco and the Pollock's Path Estate in Hong Kong, according to Christie's Real Estate.
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