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Scarlett Johansson Lists Her House At A Loss

It might be tempting to think that Scarlett Johansson has it all. She's gorgeous, has a big career, a funny and handsome Hollywood husband in Ryan Reynolds and the world is at her feet. One thing our heroine won't have it seems is a profit on her Los Angeles home. The Real Estalker reveals that while Miss Scarlett bought her home in the Outpost Estates area of Los Angeles for an even $7 million in 2007 she seems willing to take a deep loss on the home. The home is now listed at just $4.995 million with Brett Lawyer of Sotheby's.

The home is a Spanish style estate built in 1931. The gated home has been restored and updated with upgrades that include solar electric. The first floor has rooms that open to a giant center atrium with a glass ceiling and tiled floor. The home's charms include a chef's kitchen with a colorful "period-style" kitchen featuring retro-styled appliances. The home also includes a media room, gym or maids room with full bath, extensive basement areas. It's a gorgeous colorful home with Southern California details like arched windows, beamed ceilings and wood floors. It also has the requisite lap pool and spa with a tranquil hillside view. Hard to say why she's moving on and willing to take such a big price hit but someone should be willing to snap up the home in this celeb-friendly neighborhood, which has been home to Charlize Theron, Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy, Orlando Bloom, Ben Stiller and director David Lynch.

Katey Sagal In The Hollywood Hills, Estate of the Day

The former Mrs. Bundy lives quite well indeed. The Wall Street Journal's Private Properties column led me to the lovely Hollywood Hills home of actress Katey Sagal and her husband writer-actor Kurt Sutter. Sagal is best known as the Peggy Bundy on the sitcom "Married With Children" although a whole new group of people have fallen in love with her for her turn on "Sons of Anarchy."

The couple bought this home in 2005 and spent $1 million renovating and adding the basketball court. The property includes an infinity pool with a view and a guest house with a studio, office and gym. The main four-bedroom home was built in 1937 and has a charming country style enlivened with some very colorful art. The blue and white tiled kitchen complete with fireplace is particularly cute and adds to the home's casual appeal. This home is listed at $4.975 million.

Sunday Real Estate Round-Up, 02/07/10


From Cityfile's Buyers and Sellers:
--via Curbed, actress/TV producer Polly Draper and her husband Michael Wolff, a jazz pianist and composer who served as the bandleader on the Arsenio Hall Show, have listed their apartment at 43 Fifth Avenue on the market for $25 million.
--via the NY Observer, Texas-based restaurant kingpin Bradley Blum, CEO of Romano's Macaroni Grill, has bought a a pied-à-terre at 141 Fifth Avenue for $3.7 million.
--James P. Marden, the son of pharmacy mogul Bernard Marden, has picked up a townhouse in the West Village for $4.125 million. Bernard Marden father sold his home in Wainscott for $11.2 million last year. And his former wife just recently sold her own penthouse for $11.5 million.
-- Jennifer Scully-Lerner, a Goldman Sachs executive and top Obama fundraiser, and her husband, fellow financial exec Richard, have picked up a new apartment on Fifth Avenue for$3.575 million.
--New York Times reporter Steven Greenhouse and his wife, Miriam Reinharth, have paid $1.1 million for a condo at 134 West 93rd Street.
--via the NY Observer, opera star Catherine Malfitano has sold her duplex loft at 79 Laight Street for $2.6 million.
--via Curbed, Courtney Love has been spotted checking out a West Village townhouse at 56 Bank Street that is listed at $5.998 million.
--Carol McFadden has closed on the sale of her penthouse at The Metropolitan on East 90th Street for $6.925 million.
Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner has given up his share in the Upper West Side townhouse that he shared with his ex-wife Jane. Property records show that Jane paid Jann $4 million for his share of the five-story townhouse at 37 West 70th Street.
--Guy Metcalfe, the co-head of Morgan Stanley's real estate investment banking group, and his wife, Lisa paid $6.125 million for a four-bedroom apartment at 90 Riverside Drive.
--via the New York Daily News, photographer Annie Leibovitz is trying to sell her 220-acre compound in Rhinebeck for $11 million. David Bowie and his wife, Iman recently toured the property.
--via the NY Observer, Vicki Rosen-Solomon, the widow of private equity executive Adam Solomon, has closed on the sale of her co-op at 956 Fifth Avenue for $12.5 million to David Herro, a Chicago-based investor.
--Marc Brown, the author and illustrator who created the Arthur series of books as well as the animated PBS show, and his wife Laura have dropped the price of their Tribeca townhouse to $9.995 million. It was once listed as high as $15.85 million.

--Rory Tahari, the wife of fashion mogul Elie Tahari, has sold two-bedroom loft at 72 Mercer Street for $3.2 million.
--David Bizer, a former Lehman Brothers exec, has relisted his 24th-floor apartment at 15 Central Park West for $7.495 million.



From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Media mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg has paid $35 million for a house in Beverly Hills, California.
--The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Ennis house in Los Angeles has had a price cut to $10.5 million. It was originally put on the market last June for $15 million.


From the Real Estalker:
--Actress/rapper Eve has listed her Los Angeles home for $2.295 million. The listing is here.

--Celebrity photographer Timothy White has dropped the price on his light-filled loft at 448 West 37th Street. It is now listed for $4.495 million.


From Move Trends:
--Actor Eddie Cibrian has listed his home in Calabasas, California. He is asking $2.349 million but he and soon-to-be ex-wife Brandi Glanville paid $2.5 million in 2008. Check out the listing pictures below, the master bedroom includes a stripper pole.

--John Goodman's former 6 bedroom Los Angeles, CA home is listed for $1,998,000.

From ShelterPop:
Jennifer Aniston is showing off her new home in the pages of Architectural Digest.

James Franco Sells Hollywood Hills Home

James Franco seems to have been everywhere lately, Sundance, a soap opera, Saturday Night Live. One place we won't be seeing the popular actor is in his Sunset-Strip area home. Franco has sold the home which was listed last October for $3.695 million. The Spanish-style villa located very near eternal Hollywood hotspot Chateau Marmont was built in 1923 and has three bedrooms. The home, which has vaulted and beamed ceilings and an open floor plan, has had a major renovation. The home was bought through a trust in 2006 for $2.325 million. The MLS shows that the home sold for $3.3 million.

Sinbad's Home Listed In Bankruptcy Fallout

The comedian Sinbad, who has been in the news for his financial failings recently, is giving up his luxury home. In December, we picked up on a story our sister blog Walletpop wrote about the comedian Sinbad who had filed for bankruptcy after the IRS filed $8.15 million in tax liens. His Chapter 7 bankruptcy claim listed $10 million and $50 million in liabilities but less than $50,000 in assets even though he had a $1.5 million home in the celebrity-friendly enclave of Hidden Hills. The home was reporedly owned by his brother, Michael Adkins. But court documents seeking seizure of the house alleged that the arrangement was a sham pointing out that Michael Adkins works for his brother's production company and that the expenses for the property including mortgage payments were paid from the production company account.

Now the LA Times Hot Property column reports that the home has hit the market for $3 million. The home was bought in 2007 for $1.5 million. The five-bedroom home sits on 2.4 acres that include a guest house, recording studio, pool and a barn. Listing pictures show a home with plenty of space but the look of a place that has not been happily inhabited for a while. The property website from Teles Properties is here.

Kim Kardashian Sells West Hollywood Apartment

The upcoming Super Bowl had me curious about the real estate doings of New Orleans Saints star Reggie Bush and his main squeeze Kim Kardashian. Last time we checked in with the on-again, off-again couple both had their homes on the market. Perhaps it is time they move into together because they may have both sold their homes. Bush's Hollywood Hills home, which was listed for $5.099 million has disappeared off the MLS. Property records don't indicate a sale however so I'm not sure if maybe he didn't just change his mind.

Kardashian on the other hand, has managed to unload her three-bedroom apartment in West Hollywood. The reality star's glamour girl inspired beige apartment was once listed at $1.099 million but appears to have sold for just $885,000, a number that she said was more than she bought it for. The main Kardashian clan home in Hidden Hills which has lingered on the market for over a year is still listed at $2.995 million.




Austrian Billionaire Pays $150,000 for a Date with Lindsay Lohan

Austrian billionaire Richard Lugner is continuing his 19 year old tradition of buying a celebrity date to one of Austria's premier social events, the Vienna Opera Ball, and this year the lucky lady will be none other than Lindsay Lohan. Lugner is a 77 year old divorced father of three that apparently gets a kick out of paying for bombshell celebrity escorts -- in years past he's had the likes of Paris Hilton, Pamela Anderson, and Sophia Loren on his arm for the event. This year Lohan was his second choice, after British actress Katie Price became unavailable, and rumors suggest she's turning out to be a high-maintenance date as she's refusing to choose a gown ahead of time and Lugner is going to be partly responsible for making sure she doesn't drink during the event (including having all the liquor removed from the mini-bar in her hotel room).

Tracey Ullman in Pacific Palisades, Estate of the Day

The always hilarious Tracey Ullman and her husband Allan McKeown might be downsizing. The pair have listed their classic 1920s Mediterranean home in the Pacific Palisades area of Southern California. The Real Estalker reveals that they bought the home for a pricey $1.8 million way back in 1988. The home has five bedrooms and is located in the Riviera section of Pacific Palisades which is home to the Riviera Country Club, a very nice part of town to be in.

The home opens with a grand foyer and a small rotunda but the large arched window is unfortunately blocked by the huge split staircase. The large white eat-in kitchen includes a center island with chairs. The bedrooms are relatively small but charming and the master bedroom has many windows and lots of wide open space. Like the Real Estalker Mama, I'm charmed by the vintage bathroom tiles in the bathrooms. Outside there is a swimming pool with a guesthouse and and indoor spa room with a lounger and window-surrounded spa. The property is walled and gated for added security. This home is listed at $5.35 million. See more at the property website.


Wayne Newton's Plane Left To Gather Dust In A Michigan Airport

He may be Mr. Las Vegas but that's not where his plane is located. Wayne Newton's private plane has been sitting at an airport in Michigan for the past three years and according to local reports he hasn't been paying his storage bills. The president of Oakland Air in Oakland County, Michigan says that he is owed $61,360 in storage fees. The plane has been for sale for several years. Oakland Air president Joe Borgesen told MLive.com that a potential buyer came to check out the plane a while ago but that found that the unmaintained plane was full of black mold. The Fokker F28-1000 which was built in 1969 was once valued at over $2 million but is now said to be only good for scrap.

UPDATE: TMZ spoke with Wayne Newton's representative who said that that Newton has spent more than $700,000 in repairs to repair the plane and it still doesn't work.

Lenny Dykstra's Home Back On The Market


If at first you don't succeed, list, list again. The former Thousand Oaks, California estate of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, the same one he sold to Lenny Dykstra, has popped onto the market again at a new low price. The lavish, Richard Landry-designed home has over 6.5 acres of space that includes three guest houses, formal gardens, tennis courts, pool, spa and gym. The neo-Georgian main house has six bedroom done up in lavish style. The listing pictures appear to be similar to the ones used the when Dykstra put the home on the market for $24.5 million. He had bought the home from Gretsky, for $18.5 million in 2007.

A year later Dykstra's financial empire began to unravel. The home later had a price cut to $16.5 million (and was listed for rent for $55,000 a month). Dykstra's financial worries deepened. At one point we heard the home might be up for auction. Meanwhile Dykstra, in the serious weeds over the disintegration of his Players Club magazine has been fighting with the courts to have control over his Chapter 11 reorganization. Last we heard, an outside trustee was going to handle the financial management. Dykstra has sold off a variety of sports memorabilia and other valuable possessions to help satisfy his debts. The listing agents Nicki LaPorta and Karen Crystal of Ewing Sotheby's Realty say that the listing is a Trustee Bankruptcy court approval sale. The home has a new low price, $14.9 million, which might finally help it attract a buyer.

Kevin Griffin In Silver Lake, Estate of the Day


Much of the time when we talk about celebrity homes in Los Angeles we are looking at homes in Beverly Hills or Hollywood but today's home brings us to my part of town, Silver Lake. Silver Lake is full of interesting modern homes perched in the hills around the reservoir and this one is inhabited by singer Kevin Griffin of the band Better Than Ezra. Griffin and his wife bought the home in 2006 for $1.595 million, moving to Los Angeles after hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The three bedroom home is a 1950s post and beam house which went through a major renovation to turn it into a 2,900 square foot home. Large porches offer views from the hillside perch. The LA Times Hot Property column quotes Griffin as saying that he now that he and his wife have twins they need a bit more space but that they will miss the house and the area. This home is listed at $1.65 million.

Sunday Real Estate Round-Up, 1/31/10


From the LA Times Hot Properties:
--The Bel-Air home of director and artist Stephen Verona is for sale $4.395 million. The red tile-roofed villa, shown above, includes gardens and a gazebo. The property website is here.
--Television writer Daniel Freudenberger has listed his historic Cheviot Hills home for $3.695 million. The listing is with Ben Lee Properties.


From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has paid $19.5 million for a Tuscan-style home in the Hollywood Hills.
--George Stephanopoulos, co-host of ABC's "Good Morning America" show and a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, has bought a home in East Hampton, N.Y., for $3.5 million.
--Interior designer Cindy Rinfret, whose clients other local residents Tommy Hilfiger and television personality Regis Philbin, has put her Greenwich, Connecticut home on the market for $14.5 million.

Gallery: Laurel Hill




From the NY Post:
--Katie Lee, the cookbook author and ex-wife of Billy Joel is said to be selling her 23 Perry Street that she and Joel once shared and that she bought from Joel for $3 million after their split last year. It is expected to be listed with Dolly Lenz for $12.9 million.
--Jeffrey Loria, the art-dealing owner of the Florida Marlins, has picked up part of the Howard Gittis' Southampton estate on Ox Pasture Lane. The estate was divided into three portions and sold for a combined $38.5 million to Loria and designer Tory Burch.
--Someone wants in at the Trump International Hotel and Tower. A Russian family walked away from a deal to buy an $18.5 million, 5,500-square-foot penthouse at the tower but it was auctioned off for more than $31 million. It is reportedly gutted and a renovation could cost $10 million.
--Julianne Moore was spotted checking out the Soho Mews development looking at two townhouse units priced around $5 million to $5.5 million. Her townhouse remains on the market for $11.995 million.


From the Real Estalker:
--Billionaire Jerry Perenchio has added to his huge Bel Air estate by picking up a $9.2 million property across the street from his home.
--The seven-bedroom home that Michael Jackson rented in las Vegas for around six months has sold for $3.1 million. The home in Las Vegas he was interested in buying remains on the market at $16.5 million.


From Zillow Blog:
--Sean Penn and Robin Wright have sold their Marin County home. The price was not revealed but the home was first listed their home for sale in August 2008 for $15 million.

From the Chicago Tribune's Elite Street:
--Charlotte Bobcats and former Chicago Bulls center Tyson Chandler has listed his six-bedroom mansion for $3.395 million. He bought the home for $4 million and in the past he tried to sell it for as much as $4.9 million. The listing is here.

--Former Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman has sold his 36th-floor condominium in Chicago's Trump International Hotel & Tower for $2 million.
--Chicago sportscaster Steve Kashul has sold his three-bedroom, ranch-style house in Naperville, complete with a basement bowling alley, for $475,000.

Billionaire Larry Ellison Wants to Buy the Warriors


The Golden State Warriors are for sale and billionaire Larry Ellison wants to buy, so what's the problem? It seems current team owner Chris Cohan is asking for too much money. He wants $400 million for the team today when he paid only $120 million when he bought it back in 1995. I'm no expert in valuing sports teams but that does seem like quite a jump, especially when the team has hardly been doing amazing things over the last 15 years.

Ellison seems determined, however, having been in talks with Cohan since last summer. He also seems a little frustrated, though, saying "I'm trying, I'm trying," and "Unfortunately you can't have a hostile takeover of a basketball team."

If Ellison does become owner of the Warriors his net worth of $22 billion will make him the richest NBA team owner in history.

A Fight Over Princess Diana's Dresses


Controversy and drama continue to surround Princess Diana, even so many years after her death, as a fight has broken out over ownership of a collection of her beautiful and historical dresses.

Maureen Rorech Dunkel bought 13 of Princess Diana's dresses for $700,000 just a few weeks before her unexpected death back in 1997, and now the fate of 5 of those dresses is in dispute. It's all very tangled and twisted but apparently Dunkel had some financial difficulties and took out a series of loans -- to the tune of $1.5 million -- from HRH Ventures LLC and used the dress collection as security. Dunkel has since defaulted on payment and recently filed for bankruptcy, but Patricia C. Sullivan (manager for HRH Ventures) is seeking ownership of 5 of the 13 dresses claiming Dunkel doesn't have the resources to properly care for and maintain such irreplaceable valuables. Among the 5 is a blue velvet dress valued at over $1 million that the Princess wore to a White House dinner and was photographed in dancing with John Travolta. Dunkel, who is also known for founding The People's Princess Charitable Foundation, is claiming the loans aren't supposed to mature until 2012.

As of right now all the dresses are on loan to Kensington Palace in London.

40 Years of Fred Segal Feet

Fred Segal Feet Shoes
Fred Segal Feet will be celebrating its 40th year in business this year and the tiny LA boutique is as big now as ever, continuing to serve celebrities and the fashion elite as the go-to place for the latest and greatest in men's and women's shoes and accessories.

Located on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, every piece for sale in the 610 sq ft store is hand-picked by the husband and wife team that started it so many years ago, Stanley and Patti Silver. Credited with many 'firsts' including being among the first to bring European shoes to the West Coast, being the first to sell Mui Mui in Los Angeles, and being one of the earliest to fall in love with Uggs, the Silvers make time to travel to Milan and Paris every year (usually twice) and have a knack for scoping out the latest and greatest in fashion and design. Brand names include the likes of Prada, Roberto Cavalli, Christian Louboutin, and Giuseppe Zanotti and they have hundreds of offerings for both men and women. The Beatles, Desperate Housewives, and countless other celebrities are common in the store although the Silvers like their goods to be accessible to everyone, and so stock a variety of offerings starting as low as $60 and ranging well up into sky-high thousands. Congratulations on such a long and successful history, with no end in sight!


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