Hot Property: Dylan McDermott sells Brentwood home for $6.5 million

 

Actor Dylan McDermott ("Dark Blue," "The Practice") and his former wife, actress Shiva Rose, have sold their 1920 Brentwood hacienda for $6.5 million, the Multiple Listing Service shows.

The walled and gated four-bedroom, three-bathroom residence has been home to other entertainment-industry couples, including Michelle Pfeiffer and television show creator David E. Kelley, and actress Melanie Griffith and actor Antonio Banderas. A 250-year-old oak tree sits in the frontyard as the centerpiece of the Spanish-style home.

The home’s two-story great room with beamed, cathedral ceilings opens to the dining area. The bedroom wing has three suites off a glass-walled galleria showcasing the gardens and fountains.

McDermott and Rose bought the 4,000-square-foot house in 1999 for nearly $4 million, public records show.

There are more photos of the house at latimes.com. 

-- Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: The bedroom wing has three suites off a glass-walled galleria showcasing the gardens and fountains. Mary Lu Tuthill and Kathleen Tuthill, both of Coldwell Banker, Brentwood Court, had the listing. Credit: Nick Springett

 

Hot Property: Maloof Cos. president sells Brentwood home at a loss

Maloof Cos. President Joe Maloof has sold his Brentwood house for $4 million. Public records show he purchased the newly built home in 2004 for $4.75 million, so the sales price is nearly 16% less than he bought for five years ago.

The 6,100-square-foot gated home has five bedrooms, 5 1/2 bathrooms and a saltwater swimming pool.

There were 99 existing single-family home sales in Maloof's 90049 ZIP Code during the first six months of the year at a median price of $1,725,000, according to MDA DataQuick. That was a price drop of 19.8% from the first six months of 2008.

In case the Maloof Cos. is off your radar screen, the family run business empire owns the Sacramento Kings and Monarchs basketball teams, the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas and other enterprises.

-- Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Hot Property: Dramatic price drop or overpriced to start with?

Of the houses I posted this week to Hot Property, this sale by two-time Emmy-winning producer and writer Gary David Goldberg  for $15.15 million caught my eye because it was the largest dollar value by far. But that's not the reason it might have captured my attention.

In Brentwood, the Paul Williams-designed 1942 traditional has eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms in 6,908 square feet. The two-story house, on about 3 acres with a swimming pool and pool house, is reached by a long driveway leading to a motor court and a three-car garage with chauffeur’s quarters, etc., etc. You get the idea.

An initial search of records showed the property had been listed in January at $19,995,000 -- a pretty quick sale in this price range. But some further sleuthing revealed that it originally came on the market at $23.9 million in July 2007.

Now that $15.15 million seems like a far tumble even in this market and reminded me of my own experience selling in 2002. I priced my home too high in late spring, it sat on the market until nearly the holidays and I ended up taking much less than I might have had I priced it more competitively from the get-go when the market was hotter.

I have no idea if that's what happened in this case, but I bet others can relate to my mistake. I know we frequently say in the comments here that asking price means nothing in relation to the final sales price -- that people can ask anything. But asking price does, sometimes, mean a lot.

Just a few additional photos. Hope you enjoy them Jake.

--Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: There are greenbelt views, seven fireplaces, a media room, sun room, library, wine cellar and a two-bedroom staff wing. Credit: Everett Fenton Gidley

 

Hot Property: Rhino Records founder lists Brentwood home

 

Former Rhino Records head Richard Foos and his wife, Shari, have listed their Brentwood estate at $19.9 million.

The 10,000-square-foot Mediterranean has seven bedrooms and 13 bathrooms, a pool, views of the Santa Monica mountains and pretty much all the trimmings. Susan Smith of Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, has the listing.

The 90049 ZIP Code has five homes on the market that cost more, including two priced at $65 million. 

--Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo credit: Everett Fenton Gidley

Hot Property: 'The View' producer reduces asking price for Brentwood home

 

Bill Geddie, executive producer of ABC’s Emmy-winning talk show "The View," has reduced the price on his Brentwood home to $3,595,000.

It had been listed in March at $3,995,000 and in January at $4,295,000. The Spanish-style house has four bedrooms, five bathrooms and 4,480 square feet of living space.

The home had been purchased in March 2007 for $4.1 million, according to PropertyShark.com.

-- Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: VHT Studios

Hot Property: Brentwood home has had a string of celebrity owners

 

A Brentwood Spanish-style hacienda built in a 1920 has come back on the market at $6.9 million.

It's something of a who's who in Hollywood, with present and past owners including actor Dylan McDermott and actress Shiva Rose, actress Melanie Griffith and actor Antonio Banderas, and actress Michelle Pfeiffer and TV show creator David E. Kelley.

The McDermotts, who were divorced at the beginning of this year, bought the 4,000-square-foot gated house in 1999 for nearly $4 million, public records show. They had originally listed the home for sale last summer -- for $11 million at one point.

There's a gallery of more photos. From the complete story at latimes.com: "When I was a struggling actor in New York, I once waited on Michelle Pfeiffer," McDermott recalled. "Years later I ended up buying her house."

--Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo credit: Nick Springett

Double trouble in a Brentwood condo building

First Dutton's Books, now this: a double foreclosure in a Brentwood condo complex right around the corner from the old book shop.

The address is 11959 Dorothy St. One unit, a  two-bedroom, two-bath, is listed for $550,000, and the listing says, "Bank-owned REO foreclosure." (It also says "hip, sleek and stylish," but I'll let you be the judge of that.)

Inside the same building, another two-bedroom, two-bath, also in foreclosure, listed for $499,900. "REO priced to sell!" the listing says.

A third condo in the same building, a one-bedroom, one bath, is listed for $489,000.

A reader who has seen some of the units writes, "I wish I would have taken my camera with because one of the units was completely empty except for a sheriff’s notice to get off the property.  The notice was displayed nicely on top of the mantle over the fireplace!"

Someone better at surfing the Web than yours truly can probably determine peak sales prices and dates on these units, and that someone would win the award of L.A. Land Sleuth of the Day.
Hat tip:  AK via e-mail.
Your thoughts? Comments?
Photo Credit: L.A. Times
 

Westside weakness? One reader sees it

Look carefully at the photo, there is a quiz below.

One of the most popular topics on this blog is the debate over what will happen to prices in higher-cost neighborhoods.  To date, they have generally held their value better than greater Los Angeles, and have not suffered large numbers of foreclosures. That said, reader e-mail from "Someday the Ants Will Eat Grasshoppers":

"Your readers keep asking why the prices are holding up on the high end Westside properties. I’m not sure what they’re looking at, but I have been tracking prices in Westwood, lower Brentwood, Santa Monica (north of the 10), and Pacific Palisades every day for past 3 months. I look at every house for sale under $2M with 3 bedrooms or more, and I look every day. Really.

"Here are the relevant numbers (calculated from my daily Redfin downloads for those neighborhoods and that price range):
"The average number of listed homes dropping their asking price per day: 1.15
"The average size of any one price drop when it occurs: $53,090.90
"The average drop across all 50-60 properties meeting the search criteria per day: $1,017.58
"Ratio of new homes being listed to homes being sold: 3.48.

"So…Westside sellers are constantly dropping asking prices, and often in large amounts (the largest I saw since Feb was $400K). New properties are being listed for sale over three times more often than listed properties are selling. With asking prices for these sub $2M properties dropping about $1K per day, only the very rich would want to buy now. I mean, if you are in that market, that’s like putting $30K per month in your pocket just for waiting.

"People have observed that comps are not lowering. However, the average selling price is about $200K less than the average asking price in these neighborhoods right now. The comps are slow to decline simply because there are very few sales right now. No one (with good reason) seems to be buying. Eventually the transactions will happen, and the comps will adjust. Everyone needs to be patient, although frankly, I wish someone would buy now and then to help accelerate the lowering comps.

"I hope you run this story (or at least selected parts of it), because many of the high earners in your fan club get less attention, and certainly less sympathy, about the difficulty of getting into the market. They deserve to know that their lot will change, too, and their hard work and patience will pay off. Life is fair."

Thanks, Someday.
Now, as promised, the quiz. The house pictured is a 993-square foot, 3-bedroom, 1-bath in the 90405 ZIP code of Santa Monica.The current Zillow Zestimate is:
a) $599,000
b) $714,000
c) $805,000
d) $917,000
e) $1.06 million

Your thoughts? Guesses? Email story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com
Photo Credit: L.A. Times

What $3 Million Buys in Brentwood

What does $3 million buy these days? The Real Estalker blog, one of our favorites, asks that question in Brentwood and comes away disappointed.

In this post, RealEstalker's Your Mama is flummoxed by how little house -- and how little luxury -- $3 million buys in Brentwood.

The house: a renovated five-bedroom traditional, with 3,276 square feet, owned by former "JAG" stars David James Elliott and Nanci Chambers, listed for $3.25 million. No pool.

RealEstalker: "The Elliott/Chambers house is located in a nice, non-descript section of Brentwood that sits in the morning shadow of the Getty Museum. The area is nice, it's Brentwood after all, but seriously people, Your Mama is falling down with flabbergast and shock to learn that home prices top $3 million in this lackluster part of town."

More: "It's not a bad house for a suburbanish family house, and clearly the couple have sunk some dough into renovating the kitchen and baths. Nonetheless, for three and a quarter million clams Your Mama wants electronic security gates and a heated swimming pool. No question about it. For that amount of money we want to feel insulated and protected from the wild and dangerous streets of Brentwood, and have a recreational oasis out back."

Photo Credit: RealEstalker