Luxe Living

Katherine Heigl and Josh Kelley are shutting the door on their family home in Los Feliz. The duo purchased the four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom Southern Colonial home on September 21, 2007 for $2,550,000, just three months before their beautiful Christmastime wedding in Deer Valley, Utah.

Listed in November 2012, the actress and musician just sold their home on March 1, 2013 for $2,622,000, according to property records. Now parents to two adopted daughters, the famous pair are likely seeking more security and space in their next home. There was also that incident in 2010 with a nasty neighbor who had an issue with their loud hot tub that may have driven the family to seek shelter elsewhere.

Katherine and Josh’s just-sold home is warm and elegant, with stunning hardwood floors throughout. The home has really special details, like vaulted ceilings, arched doorways and recessed lighting.  It’s perfect for a family, but still possesses celebrity-worthy details, like a gourmet cooks kitchen with center island and the absolute best appliances. It’s also ideal for outdoor living, with a lanai, verandas, an outdoor fireplace and well-manicured gardens.

Bryce Dallas Howard, the Golden Globe Award-nominated, crimson-haired actress, is selling her Hollywood Hills villa at a loss. Howard, the daughter of legendary director Ron Howard, paid $2,900,000 for the home in December of 2006, just months after she married fellow actor Seth Gabel. That’s $545K more than the property’s current market price!

An incredible, discounted deal, Howard and Gabel’s home is a ‘romantic Hollywood Hills home in desirable Outpost Estates,’ according to the listing. The 1931 Mediterranean villa, which is completely private and gated, features a formal dining room, den/media room, office, sauna, and wine cellar. The property has a walled courtyard entry on a large lot, featuring spectacular city and canyon views. A dramatic, two-story entryway welcomes guests into the home’s spacious living and dining rooms, which are adjoined to a cozy kitchen and breakfast room. The gorgeous master suite comes complete with a sitting room and luxurious bathroom, offering both a stand alone shower and a tub. French doors open to landscaped patios, courtyards, a large grassy yard, and a loggia with fireplace. 

Steve Sawaii of Coldwell Banker holds the listing.

Tennis ace Serena Williams is serving up her luxurious LA condo to a new buyer. According to property records and The Real Estalker, Williams’ Wilshire Boulevard home is in escrow for $1,850,000. By the looks of the listing photos, Williams used the condo as a West Coast pied-à-terre for a couple years when she spent time in the City of Angels. She purchased the soon-to-be-sold condo in September 2002 for $1,275,000. Four years later — after more success and lucrative endorsement deals — she spent $6,612,000 on massive, seven-bedroom mansion in Bel Air. She and sister Venus also share a champion-worthy Florida mansion.

Whomever is plunking down the dough to take Serena’s small-ish condo off her hands is buying into the luxury Los Angeles building, The Remington. The 15th floor condo is spacious, with two bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, and a den/office that comes complete with the most amazing city views. Light and bright, the condo has an open floorplan and a direct access elevator. The gourmet kitchen features high-end appliances. And throughout, you’ll find hardwood floors, balconies, walls of windows. The master suite comes with dual marble baths, limestone floors, and walk-in closets, while The Remington — a full-service building — offers a concierge, valet, pool/spa, gym, rec room, wine storage, and additional storage rooms.

Love him or hate him – there’s no in between – Barry Bonds is one of the biggest sports characters of the last two decades. Rocketing to superstardom in Pittsburgh and helping make a forlorn franchise a regular in the playoffs while winning his first league MVP award, Bonds made it clear he had all the tools to become one of the greats. He took his talents back to Northern California in 1993, where he was born and raised, to play for the San Francisco Giants and resurrected that franchise while winning 6 additional MVP awards (4 in a row at one point), leading the team to the World Series in 2002, and cementing his place in baseball history. Of course, this was before the BALCO scandal and perjury investigation which has cast a shadow over Bonds’ mountain of accomplishments to the chagrin of some and the delight of others. So where does a sultan of swat live?

What can possibly be a large enough space for a larger than life character such as Bonds? Well, how about a 17,100 square foot palace of a home in Beverly Hills?

Word on the street is that Barry is putting his expansive, fully furnished property on the market for a cool $25 million. So what does the home of a baseball superstar offer? Well to start, 7 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, and a two-story guest house, all situated on a manicured property modeled after a fine Italian Villa, from the olive tree-lined private drive to the Tuscan-style architecture.

The features of the home, like Barry’s 73 home runs in a single season, boggle the mind. With high ceilings up to 30 feet high throughout the grand living and family rooms and special details such as Italian floors and hand-painted murals, it’s a dazzling home. The gourmet kitchen (of course, this is a Tuscan-style home right?), feeds into a roomy dining room that is perfect for entertaining.

Should we stop there? Well, Barry didn’t stop playing until he was 43 and still a dominating hitter, so we’ll keep going. The rest of the home includes a walnut-paneled office and custom home movie theater with seating for 12. If you’re feeling tense the home also features a full service spa, including steam room, jacuzzi and body therapy rooms.

It wouldn’t be California living without some outdoor fun and this home delivers. There’s a full outdoor kitchen with pizza oven and wet bar, manicured lawn, swimming pool, cabana, and multi-use sport court.

In short, this home should be in the hall of fame. Maybe Barry too?

Check out the full listing from The Agency here.

Nicky Hilton, the younger sister of Paris Hilton and fellow heiress to the Hilton hotel fortune, just price-chopped her home in the Hollywood Hills by $255,000. Formerly listed for $2,950,000 in July of 2012, Hilton has had a hard time finding a buyer to take the Sunset Strip crib off her hands and just dropped the price to $2,695,000. Property records show that the younger Hilton bought the 2-story residence in June 2007 for $2,800,000. Her new asking price puts her well below the price she paid for the pad, making a loss a likely outcome for this home.

Listing information calls the home an “elegant Traditional located in a prime Sunset Strip location.” From first glance, the unassuming home is actually oddly plain for a Hilton. Like older sister Paris, Nicky had faux-lebrity family friend Faye Resnick decorate parts of the home in her signature style that includes oodles of black, mirrors, and patent leather. Aside from the questionable decor and some cringe-worthy kitchen wallpaper, the Hilton home does have a great floor plan with spacious living room, formal dining room, eat-in kitchen with large island, four ovens, a roomy pantry, and built-in refrigerator. The dramatic master suite includes two huge closets and two bathrooms. All rooms lead to a rather small outdoor area with a pool, waterfall, and fireplace. Additionally, Hilton’s home has a family room/den, gym, and sauna. It’s a nice Los Angeles home, but it’s no penthouse at the Hilton. 

Buzz Aldrin, half of the famous American astronaut duo that first walked on the moon, has just listed his Los Angeles condominium for $3.3 million.

Listed for the first time ever, Aldrin’s highly-coveted southeast corner unit resides in the La Tour, Wilshire Corridor’s finest full-service condo building. The three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom property has a large open floor plan with floor-to-ceiling walls of glass, offering unobstructed panoramic views of Century City, Beverly Hills, and Los Angeles. Two secondary bedrooms have been reconfigured into a large den with separate office spaces where items from Aldrin’s astronaut past are on full display. The condo has custom built-ins throughout and two large balconies–perfect for entertaining. If closet ‘space’ is your thing, then take a ‘small step’ into the master bedroom’s huge walk-in closet, complete with two large exterior storage rooms.  Beyond the unit itself, Aldrin’s building, the La Tour, provides 24-hour front desk personnel, valet parking, a fitness center, pool, and recreation room.  Guess that’s why the homeowners association fees for this unit are an out-of-this-world $2,949 per month.

Cassandra Peterson, the actress most famous for playing Elvira, The Mistress of the Dark, has purchased herself a light and bright new home in Los Angeles. According to property records, Peterson purchased the sweet retreat on July 30, 2012 for $925,000. For a woman famous for playing a dark character, her new home is surprisingly cheery and warm.

The three-bedroom, three-bathroom, 1,605-square-foot home is prime for entertaining, having gone through a complete restoration in 2009. Aside from the bedrooms, the house features a separate 400-square-foot bonus room that has a ¾ bath and private garden. In total, the home contains 2,000 square feet of beautiful, finished space. It also has a large living room, fireplace, formal dining room, and spacious eat-in kitchen. All rooms have tall windows for light and charm. The large brick patio entertaining area and barbeque opens to a stunning sitting area with fountain.

Peterson has a history of living in homes that are the antithesis of her on-screen persona. Almost a decade ago, she owned the home on Valley Oak Drive that Giovanni Ribisi bought earlier this year. She’d previously lived next door to Ribisi’s current digs, but sold that house to Brad Pitt and moved into the home next door!

Rihanna, one of the today’s hottest pop stars, recently snagged an exquisite $12 million dollar estate in coveted Pacific Palisades, according to X17 Online. The Barbados native cashed in on the massive 11,000-square-foot, seven bedroom, nine bath home in the midst promoting her seventh studio album, ”Unapologetic,” which features the hot number one single “Diamonds” and “Nobody’s Business,” a collaboration with her famous ex-boyfriend-slash-rumored-current-boyfriend, Chris Brown. After putting in such hard work releasing a new album, Rihanna can now relax poolside at her new resort-inspired home.

Built in 2010, the freshly constructed estate is nestled in the Los Angeles hills and features a neutral-to-warm color scheme throughout, with sandy walls and dark wood and tile flooring from head to toe. The home exudes a strong modern-Caribbean influence, offering simple architecture and sleek finishes, with a slight twist. Reminiscent of a tropical villa, almost every room comes complete with walls opening to the backyard allowing for plenty of natural light and easy access to the pool and spa. A super-modern kitchen offers 14-foot ceilings, stainless steel appliances,  and a full bar. In addition to the pool and spa, the outdoor entertaining area offers a 6,000-square-foot garden area with outdoor BBQ, bar, and sundeck.

The historic, one-of-a-kind W.C. Fields estate is back on the market with a bump in its asking price! Last listed for $11 million in 2009, the estate made its return to the market in September 2012 with an asking price of $7.195 million. With no takers, it came off the market but returned this week with $300k tacked onto the asking price! Perhaps the current owners are hoping someone gets into the holiday spirit and buys the estate.

According to the Curbed archives, the home was owned by studio executive Dennis Rice and was last sold in 2004 for $4.437 million. It also once belonged to Lily Tomlin, who famously painted it pink, inside and out.

Completely private and secure, the home is nestled in the exclusive Laughlin Park gated community on nearly an acre. It sits on De Mille street, named for the famed director Cecil B. De Mille, who once lived in a massive estate just up the street.

While the home is a historic gem, it has been completely restored to it’s original glory and has all the luxuries of today’s technology. While the current interior decor may cause some people to immediately scream “makeover!,” the elegant home is perfect for formal entertaining, as well as informal family living. Scalloped ceilings, original woodwork, and a copper sun room make this home a very special property that rarely comes on the market.

In Los Angeles, the residential real estate is one-of-a-kind, so it’s no surprise that Josh Altman, one of the best real estate agents in the area, is exactly that: a shining star in a land of glamorous Hollywood celebrities and big time business moguls.

You likely recognize Josh Altman as one of the stars of Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing: Los Angeles.” On TV, he wheels and deals and closes big time real estate transactions. Off camera, he’s passionate about giving back to his community, and in his free time, you’ll find him spending time with his family and two rescue dogs, Diego and Lucky.

Fascinated by the man you see on TV? Let’s learn a little more about Josh Altman:

How did you get your start in real estate?
My brother and I bought our first condo together in 2002. We had bought it to live in and got such a good deal that once we moved in and fixed it up a little (just cosmetic things–small touch-ups, nicer furniture), as kind of a joke, we put it on the market. We bought for $400k and sold it for $600k. After that I quit my job and never looked back.

What sale or career milestone are you most proud of?
There have been a lot of milestones and every year is different. The one I’m most proud of is the one I just did. I closed a sale for $20,100,000 in South Beverly Park, a gated community in Beverly Hills. It was the biggest sale of my career (so far) and the biggest sale ever in South Beverly Park.

What is your dream home location?
A beautiful home in the mountains of Aspen, Colorado.

What kind of car do you drive?
I’m currently driving a Fisker Karma. I collect cars, so I also love my 1964 Shelby Cobra and my 1967 Chevelle.

iPhone, Android, or BlackBerry?
iPhone and Blackberry.

What site/app do you check first when you wake up?
The first thing I check every morning is the MLS. Then I love the Real Estalker and Curbed.

What was the last book you read?
“The Wolf of Wall Street” by Jordan Belfort. It’s basically the true story of the movie “Boiler Room.”

Name your favorite guilty pleasure?
Skiing and hanging out with my dogs.

What’s one thing someone would never guess just by looking at you?
I’m a lot nicer than people think.

We had a blast talking with Josh, so we can vouch for that!

Take a peek at some of Josh Altman’s Listings!

• $15,995,000 – Potrero Road, Thousand Oaks, CA
• $9,350,000 –  Caminito Pacifica Trail, San Diego, CA 
• $2,399,000 – North Knoll Drive, Los Angeles, CA