The luxury real estate market changes with the calendar

There’s a whole lot of price cutting going on in the multimillion-dollar home market. It’s typical for this time of year by sellers hoping to wrap up a deal before year’s end. Among notable price choppers we recently spotted are a singing show creator and an NBA head coach.

Those who don’t sell now will likely be taking their places off the market soon so they can start the New Year as a “fresh” offering. Watch for it.

Our Home of the Week is a wood-clad contemporary in Venice, listed at $4.5 million. A rooftop deck with a fireplace and 360-degree views is the crowning feature of the modern three-story.

Once you’re done reading about these properties, visit and like our Facebook page, where you can find Hot Property stories and updates throughout the week.

– Neal Leitereg, Jack Flemming and Lauren Beale

Not yet a fan favorite

“American Idol” creator Simon Fuller has trimmed the price of his lavish Bel-Air estate to $32.5 million, down $2.5 million from his original asking price. Fuller shelled out $24 million for the 1.6-acre property five years ago.

The 11,200-square-foot mansion was built 92 years ago by Gordon Kaufmann, the noted architect behind the Hoover Dam. Stately public rooms, towering columns, paneled walls and crystal chandeliers give the interiors a traditional vibe.

The main house contains a dramatic entry with a spiral staircase, formal living and dining rooms, a marble lounge, a rounded library, seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms.

A mosaic swimming pool and spa, a guesthouse and a greenhouse also occupy the site.

Fuller, 59, has managed the Spice Girls, Annie Lennox, Amy Winehouse, Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson, among others. In addition to creating “American Idol” in 2002, he has produced “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Q’Viva.”

Coach clips his price

Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers has put his home in the Hollywood Hills back in play at $11.25 million, down from about $12 million earlier this year.

The Hamptons-inspired traditional house has a fireplace in the living room, a skylight-topped dining room, three bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms on a single story.

Outside, grounds designed for year-round entertaining feature a swimming pool, a separate spa, mounted TVs, multiple fire features and a wraparound barbecue/bar. A separate guest suite and a sauna are tucked beneath the patio and reached by way of a floating glass staircase.

Rivers, 58, is now in his seventh season with the Clippers. He earned NBA coach of the year honors in 2000 while with the Orlando Magic and won a championship in 2008 as head coach of the Boston Celtics.

P is for price cut

The Montecito home of late author Sue Grafton is back on the market for $6.999 million. It’s the two-acre property’s second price cut after listing for $8.5 million at the beginning of the year.

Two structures fill out the gated grounds: a 5,800-square-foot home and an 800-square-foot guesthouse atop a three-car garage. There are five bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms.

Covered patios access landscaped grounds filled with manicured oak and fruit trees. Water features include a spa and small pond.

Grafton, who died in 2017 at 77, is best known for her “alphabet mystery” novels. The series included books such as “‘A’ Is for Alibi,” “‘B’ Is for Burglar” and “‘C’ is for Corpse.”

Soap star’s outdoor bathtub

A Hollywood Hills house owned by a trust connected to soap star Jason Thompson is for sale at $1.275 million.

The Midcentury Modern one-story has a hip retro vibe along with modern updates. One of them is a 70-inch white soaking tub set on a sheltered wooden deck off the master suite.

The nearly 1,500-square-foot home features an open-plan design, wood-beam ceilings, two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a den. A detached studio sits a few steps down the hill at the rear of the house.

Thompson, 42, has been a regular on “The Young and the Restless” since 2016. Before that, he had a long stint on “General Hospital,” starting in 2005.

‘Baretta’ home locks up a buyer

The onetime Studio City home of actor Robert Blake has sold for more than $4 million.

The “Baretta” star owned the ranch-style house at the time his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, was fatally shot in 2001 outside a local restaurant. The actor was charged and acquitted in criminal court. He was, however, found liable for wrongful death in a California civil court.

The updated house, built in 1937, has more than 5,000 square feet of living space on its single story. There are seven bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms. A guesthouse and a swimming pool sit out back.

As a child, Blake, 86, appeared in the “Our Gang” comedy short film series and the “Red Ryder” films. He starred in the 1967 movie “In Cold Blood.”

Her favorite room

Actress Landry Bender makes good use of the built-in bookcase in the bedroom of her 1,300-square-foot townhouse in Playa Vista. The 19-year-old, who stars in Hulu’s “Looking for Alaska,” has filled it with coffee table books and knickknacks, including Audrey Hepburn mementos, her magazine collection and Broadway-related items such as a replica of Mary Poppins’ peacock umbrella and a binder of Playbills from all the shows she’s seen.

From the archives

Ten years ago, former-USC-tailback-turned-New-Orleans-Saint Reggie Bush listed his Hollywood Hills home at $5.099 million. The tri-level contemporary had a red plush-lined elevator bearing the monogram RB, making the digs move-in ready for actress Roseanne Barr, actor Robby Benson or Milwaukee Brewer Ryan Braun.

Twenty years ago, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson purchased a home in the Marina del Rey area for $1.8 million. He had just joined the NBA team in June. The house had four bedrooms and five bathrooms within its 5,000 square feet and one not-so-common feature for the time: an elevator.

Thirty years ago, actor Dennis Weaver was building an eco-friendly house on 20 acres in Ridgeway, Colo. Among construction materials: some 3,000 used tires filled with dirt and 40,000 cans packed into the walls with mortar. A main house of 8,000 square feet and a pyramid-shaped greenhouse where the “McCloud” star could grow vegetables were planned. “This won’t be a little cabin in the woods,” his spokesman said.

What we’re reading

You’ve heard of spite fences or walls constructed to annoy a neighbor? Well, AtlasObscura.com, found a spite house in Alameda. The 20-foot-high, 54-foot-long, 10-foot-wide home, snug up against the house next door, was built 100 years ago as the result of disputes with the city and a neighbor. The Victorian-inspired two-story is still in use and actually quite cute.

Either you love Midcentury Modern or you don’t. A cool specimen for sale in Plymouth, Mich., was recently spotted by Dwell.com. Designed by an architect as his personal residence in 1958, the glass-and-wood Cube — as it is known — has several living areas, two bedrooms and a National Register of Historic Places pedigree. The asking price is $750,000, but don’t forget to budget in the bills to heat that 1,911 square feet of living space

Source: LAUREN BEALE, LA TIMES

Filed under: Headlines by Alec Reimon
No Comments »