Filed under: Estates

For the next couple of weeks we will be checking out some homes in the most costly zip codes in the United Says, up today, 11545. The Glen Head/Old Brookville area of New York is a wealthy village in Nassau County located between Jericho to the south and Oyster Bay to the north. In the early 1900s wealthy millionaires moved into the area building large homes. That type of building for the wealthy is still going on with many larger new homes on the market. This is the same zip code that Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony have their New York home in. The median home price in the 11545 zip code is $2,532,000 with an appreciation of 344% since 1990.

We previously covered the most pricey home in this zip code. Lion’s Gate, a six-bedroom newer home has been on the market for a couple of years. It was $11.5 million when I made it an estate of the day in March of 2006. It is now listed at $11.9 million.

One of the most lavish homes in the area is so new you can practically see wet paint through the listing. La Bijou is a big new home with seven bedrooms and approximately 11,250 square feet of living space. The amazing 21-foot ceilings have handmade plaster crown molding painted with gold leaf detail throughout, There are his and hers master bedrooms, and the home has over 6,000 sq.ft. of 24″ marble tile flooring with not only radiant heat, but also central heat and air conditioning. Other over-the-top details include European imported crystal chandeliers, Swarovski light fixtures, a 6′x10′ hand carved solid mahogany entrance door, hand carved marble fireplace mantle and a marble entrance foyer staircase with hand forged iron and brass railings. The home has the latest in modern conveniences including the newest appliances and central vacuum/audio/intercom/internet. The fully gated property has a core security system including surveillance cameras and an alarm with radio back up. it is on almost three acres and has a heated in-ground pool and a cabana. This home is listed at $11.5 million.

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Filed under: Estates

For the next couple of weeks we’ll be checking out some homes in the most expensive zip codes in the United States, up this day, 20008. This zip code in Washington, D.C. has a $2,820,000 median price and an appreciation rate of a whopping 393% since 1990. This zip code features many larger homes and its location makes it popular with ambassadors, elected officials and many others in Washington D.C.’s political scene.

The most costly listing I found in the zip code is this expansive Mediterranean style villa. It was built in 1927 and has ten bedrooms. The home is on a little over half an acre so you aren’t getting a lot of land here but enough for an attractive pool in a sylvan setting. The home was rebuilt and remodeled in 2001 and has lost some of its charm (the big master bathrooms with their glass box showers and granite countertops are particularly distressing). More charming details include the windowed tower sunroom, rec room with a wet bar, exercise room and the bookshelf-lined library. There’s an in-law suite and a separate catering kitchen. Located in Rock Creek Park near Embassy Row this home is one of the showcase homes in all of Washington D.C. This home is listed at $18.5 million.

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

At the begin of the month, the NY Post’s legendary real estate columnist Braden Keil reported on a $65 million sale of an estate in the Hamptons. Now he has said that the exclusive six-acre estate on the enviable Gin Lane has been purchased by Tiger Woods and his wife Elin. The property is anchored by a 3,200-square-foot Colonial Revival main residence, a 7,500-square-foot guesthouse and a four-car garage with staff quarters. We covered the property as an estate of the day in January.

But did Tiger really buy this home? The agent for the property, Beate Moore of Sotheby’s International Realty tells Newsday’s Laura Mann that Tiger did not purchase the property and Radar says they have talked to Tiger Woods’s reps who also confirm that Tiger has not bought this property. It’s no longer listed so someone did purchase, we’ll just have to wait for property records to solve this mystery.

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Filed under: Estates

Perhaps because I recently spent time in Southern Arizona. my first thoughts on seeing this Paradise Valley estate was wow, that’s a lot of water they are using. The large 16,237 square foot, seven-bedroom home is a surrounded by lush green grass, a large 90-foot pool and a lake which is fed by the property’s private well. The home itself is the high-end iteration of the usual faux Mediterranean that’s seen in the area. What sets it apart, besides the high pricetag, is the expansive outdoor space that includes an interior courtyard, lanai, rose gardens and that tranquil columned pool. It is listed at $12.95 million making it one of the most expensive homes on the market in Arizona. %Gallery-17069%

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

I’ve been hearing rumors about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie looking at property in the South of France for at least a year now but this week the gossip seems to have hit critical mass and it looks like this globe-trotting family might really be picking up a French chateau. The property in question ins located in the village of Eygalieres in Provence, France and has the romantic name of Mas de la Chapelle St. Sixte. US Weekly has reported that the Jolie-Pitts had been looking at the property last year but then decided not to buy because the locals wouldn’t let Brad Pitt but in a motorbike track on the over six-acre property. Now that the couple has gotten approval for the track it looks like the deal is back on.

The Telegraph had a great piece in January that covered the story of Mas de la Chapelle St Sixte and provides a sharp little photo gallery of the home in question. The main stone house was built in 1150 by monks and it was where was where Pope Clement VI stayed during the wine harvest in the 14th century. More recently it played host to Vanity Fair editor in chief, Graydon Carter at the high price of

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Filed under: Estates

Today’s estate is classic upstate New York. The Wiccopee House in East Fishkill was built in 1894 and redesigned in 1929 by Aymar Embury II who was ideal known for designing the Brooklyn Bridge and Central Park Zoo. Th three story colonial has a traditional white clapboard exterior with black shutters with a wooden elliptical fan over the front door and a widow’s walk. There are over 7,000 square feet of space including a beautiful formal library with built-in book shelves and fireplace, a study with hand painted tiles surrounding the fireplace and half round book shelves, and a drawing room with French doors to the side terrace. The formal dining room fills out the window-ringed half round and the kitchen has obviously had a redesign with state of the art appliances. Upstairs there are four bedrooms and a big master suite in the process of being renovated. The third floor is home to a game room, bedroom, bath (in progress), and a storage area. The land is almost 18 acres with lawns, gardens, an in-ground pool with a cabana, clay tennis court, paddocks and a carriage home with two bedrooms. It is listed at $2.495 million.

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Being a celebrity ex-wife often nets you some lovely real estate. Research god Bob Goldsborough of Berg Properties Huge Time Listings unearthed the listing for the Encino, California home of Kelly Van Halen. Kelly Van Halen is the second ex-wife of Alex Van Halen the drummer in Van Halen and Eddie Van Halen’s older brother. After their divorce, Kelly Van Halen paid $1,565,000 in November 2002 for this home. The home was built in 1951 and has five bedrooms.

The property is quite nice. The home is on a tiny over an acre and has a wonderful pool area and a pergola with a lovely stone outdoor fireplace. There is also an outdoor kitchen with a barbecue area. The back of the house has great veranda space that looks out over the hilly property. The home has many lovely features including a formal dining room, a study and a master bedroom with a fireplace.The interior with its foofy design style reminds me of the Suzanne Somers home, all bright colors and chandeliers and zebra print rugs. The listing states that’s was redesigned by Kelly Baron Design and a quick search led me to the Kelly Baron website which is under construction but features two photos of this home. The name is curious, it makes me wonder if the ex-Mrs. Van Halen planning a career as a designer? She has listed this home for $4.495 million.

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

From the NY Observer’s Manhattan Transfers:
–The official listings for Julian Schnabel’s Palazzo Chupi have hit the market. We covered these listings as our estate of the day recently but the listings have a few more photos. The $32 million listing is here and the $27 million listing is here.
–Springsteen guitarist and Sopranos star Steven Van Zandt and wife Maureen have closed on a three-bedroom penthouse in a converted Methodist church at 135 West Fourth Street for $6 million.
–A townhouse at expensive Beekman Place that belonged to the late William Rupp is now listed at $25 million. It sounds like Rupp was a bit of a grump, he built a huge wall on top of his home which he refused to remove. Now the wall is being torn down. The townhouse is one of only nine on the river side from 50-51st Street. The 12-room townhouse also has plans for a three-story addition on top of the existing two-story extension which have been approved by the city and would add another 1403 sq. ft. The listing is here.
–Yankees player Bobby Abreu has listed two-bedroom condo at One Beacon for $7.9 million. The spare and bare apartment, shown above, is listed here.

From the NY Post’s Gimme Shelter:
–Cameron Diaz has picked up a five-room renovated residence in a prewar doorman building, with an asking price just under $3 million.
–Brooke Shields has been spotted looking at homes in New York City. She and husband Chris Hency have been seen checking out a four-bedroom townhouse on West 20th Street with close to a $7 million asking price.
–Holly Speyer Lipton, the daughter of Rockefeller Center owner Jerry Speyer, has bought a 12-room Park Avenue co-op for $12 million.
–Alain Levy, the former head of EMI Music, has paid $6.274 million for a two-bedroom, two-plus-bath apartment with Fifth Avenue views from the 18th floor.

From the Wall Street Journal’s Private Properties:
–As previously reported by the Real Estalker back in November, Vera Wang has listed her family’s Palm Beach oceanfront mansion for $19 million. In November, the estate, which belonged to her father Cheng Ching Wang, was listed for $23 million.
–Jason Brand, president of Merrill Lynch Pacific Rim, has bought a Hawaii oceanfront house for $15.9 million, which is a full 39% below its original listing price.
–As we mentioned in January, the former Atlanta estate of the late Robert Woodruff, longtime chairman of Coca-Cola Co., is for sale for $13.9 million. Check out photos at the estate of the day post here.

From Berg Properties Celebrity Huge Time Listings:
–It’s official, Richie Sambora has paid $4 million to purchase a Calabasas home from San Diego Padres starting pitcher Randy Wolf.
–Model and actress Kelly Van Halen (formerly married to Alex Van Halen) has listed her five-bedroom home in Encino. It is our estate of the day later today.
-TV speak show host and entertainment mogul Byron Allen has gone into escrow on the Hollywood Hills home that he had listed for $6.995 million.
–An Encino mansion that Macy Gray sold in December 2006 for $4,750,000 was listed at $11.7 million after a major rehab. It is now down to $9.96 million. The listing is here.
–Movie producer Gilbert Adler has listed his home in Beverly Hills for $7.9 million. The listing is here.

From the Real Estalker:
–Home makeover TV host Ty Pennington has picked up a two-bedroom condo in the West Chelsea neighborhood in New York City. It had a $2.495 million asking price.
–Rumor has it that the almost one-million-dollar two-bedroom apartment in New York that Nicole Richie and Joel Madden recently bought might be back on the market soon.
–via Page Six, Jon Bon Jovi has sold his Upper West Side condo for $5.484 million.
–via Newsday, the home next to Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony’s estate in Brookville, New York has been listed at $2.229 million. To get to the five-bedroom home you have to pass through the same “million-dollar gates” that Lopez and Anthony installed for protection. The listing is here.
–Also the nine-bedroom home next to Lopez and Anthony in Bel Air is also for sale for $6.995 million. The virtual tour is here.
–Jude Law has reportedly purchased the London house he’s been leasing in the Maida Vale neighborhood for around

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Filed under: Estates

For a while it seemed that Miami might be one part of Florida that was if not immune from the real estate slowdown, protected a bit by its size and cachet. But now prices have started to plummet and putting many real estate speculators in trouble. The Miami skyline is dotted with cranes as buildings continue to go up but thousands of condo units are waiting either unsold or in foreclosure.

The numbers in Miami are startling, According to a report in Canada’s Globe and Mail, prices citywide were 17.5 per cent lower in December than a year earlier with the value of some condos down by as much as half. And as more condo projects in progress are finished up the numbers could even go lower. Condos with sexy names and alluring promotions such as Jade and Vue are now facing millions of dollars in mortgage defaults and foreclosures. It’s been a disaster for both investors and developers. In fact, two prominent Miami condo developers who were facing condo problems have died of heart attacks.

The problem in Miami is just part of Florida’s boom and bust cycle. Whole towns sprung up over the last few years and many have gone bust just as quickly often leaving half-built homes abandoned (for a great pic series on this check out this piece on Rotunda Sands in Mental Floss). At this point, practically the entire state of Florida is in some sort of foreclosure crisis making it easy pickings for those from across the country and around the world looking for a real estate deal. Both homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth and developers forced to sell condos at cost or in some cases for even less than it cost to build them are ready to accept all sorts of offers.

For now, the temporary bandage seems to be real estate auctions. The other day I mentioned that two prominent real estate firms in Florida are working with a major real estate auction company. And just about each day I learn of a new auction of a condo complex in Florida. Many of the auctions are absolute, meaning that bidders will take whatever they can get. The good news is that this slump can’t last forever and for those who have the means to pick up a warm weather getaway there are major bargains to be had. Maybe this is the time for Miami developers to reach out to Russian investors looking for a place to wait out the winter chill.

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Filed under: Estates

Usually I don’t write up pieces of land without homes on them but this one is pretty impressive, a huge 1,507-acre spread (1,374 deeded along with 133-acre BLM lease) in Montana on the Yellowstone River. This area was named Black Bluffs by Capt. William Clark of Thomas Jefferson’s Corps of Discovery and has been basically untouched for over 200 years. The property is bordered on the north by 2.5 miles of private Yellowstone River frontage and has dramatic upriver views framed by the Beartooth Mountains, Montana’s tallest peaks. The river is full of wild brown and rainbow trout and the area is rich with wildlife including sage grouse, wild turkey, elk, moose, black bear, antelope, eagle and osprey. The property is located about 30 minutes away from Billings, Montana. Hopefully whoever purchases this land will preserve this beautiful open space. It is listed at $5,750,000.

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