Filed under: Estates

Like me, the Real Estalker Mama has a weakness for gawking at truly outlandish homes. And he unearthed a doozy. La Reve, the home of Hubert and Norma Humphrey in Cumming Georgia has just about everything you could think of. Private bowling alley? Check. Golf course? Yup. How about a big move theater, a complete gym, massage room and a toy train room. The movie is a replica of Atlanta’s Fox Theatre and the train room is a replica of the old Central Georgia Railroad from Atlanta to Macon to Savannah that Hubert Humphrey worked on for 17 years as a train conductor.

This home is another in the long line of what I call Xanadu homes, the ones where someone spends a great deal of cash constructing a home of epic proportions and then finds it a little unlivable. This one is approximately 47,000 square feet on 90 acres and is a stunning monument to excess. There are 82 rooms, two elevators and 62 TVs. The grounds include a heated swimming pool, pool house, spa, private playground, stables, tennis court, formal gardens and a guest house. At $45 million this is easily the most high-priced estate in Georgia. As the Atlanta Constitution noted, it might be a while before this one is sold, homes of this magnitude often sit on the market for a while and although the home might well be worth the price, finding someone willing to pay it will be a challenge.

%Gallery-18891%

Continue reading La Reve, Estate of the Day

Read

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
–Eddie Van Halen and his brother, Alex Van Halen, have sold a home in the gated Summit neighborhood (where Britney Spears lives) in Beverly Hills for an undisclosed price expected to be in the $2 million and $3 million range (it had been on the market for $2,200,000). The house was the home of their mom who died in 2005.
–A vacant, 2.08-acre lot in Pacific Palisades area that was once was owned by Michael Keaton sold for $7.8 million.
–Actor Jesse Metcalfe has sold his home in the Hollywood Hills which was listed at $1.495 million for an undisclosed price.
–via the NY Times, Musician Duncan Sheik’s Tribeca loft, shown above, is on the market for $2,850,000, down from $2,925,000 (he bought in 1999 for a tiny over $850,000). The loft is currently configured as a one-bedroom, one and a half bath unit with a soundproof recording studio. He’s selling the unit, because he would like his home to be solely his home, and not also the place where he also works. The listing is here.
–Purchase price revealed, Tobey Maguire paid an even $10 million for nearly an acre in Brentwood.

From the Wall Street Journal’s Private Properties:
–Julio Iglesias, who recently tore down his home in Indian Creek Village, Florida to build a new Spanish-style hacienda has picked up a place to hole up while he’s waiting for his new home to be completed. He purchased a four-bedroom home for $7 million in the same community.
–A Greenwich, Connecticut house that once belonged to cosmetics queen Helena Rubenstein and was most recently renovated by Sheryl Leach, the creator of Barney the purple dinosaur, has been sold. It was most recently listed at $4 million.
–A private island compound in the Florida Keys built by late Alcoa Chairman Arthur Vining Davis is for sale for $20 million. The estate is 63 acres, has a helicopter pad and runs partly on solar power.

From the International Herald Tribune’s Raising the Roof blog:
–via the Palm Beach Post, Donald Trump has lowered the price of his 6.5-acre Palm Beach estate from $125 million to $100 million.
–via the Telegraph, David and Victoria Beckham put their home in Madrid’s La Moraleja neighborhood on the market last year for

Share This

Share This

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 States, up this day, 10012. This zip code is in the SoHo area of New York City, New York. This zip code has a median price of $2,460,000 and a big appreciation rate of 508% since 1990!

We’ve spent a lot of time in this code for estate of the day features in the past because it is a celebrity magnet and home to some of New York’s most attractive real estate. Recently we covered one of the most expensive condos in the area, an apartment at 76 Crosby, a building that is home to Kelly Ripa and Mark Conseulos.

Today’s estate is in the New Museum Building on Broadway. The 4,678-square-foot loft has maple finishes throughout for a cohesive look. The space was designed by architect Alison Spear and uses the hallways as library and children’s play space. There’s a large kitchen and a maple-lined central media room with a wet bar. The master bedroom has massive south-facing windows, a walk-in closet and an all-marble bath with whirlpool, separate shower and heated floors. There are three additional bedrooms and another full bath. The rest of the home includes a powder room and laundry room and the home has central air and an audio system. The historic building has doorman service, a common roof deck and storage. This home is listed at $7.995 million.

%Gallery-18429%

Continue reading Most Expensive Zip Codes, 10012, Estate of the Day

Read

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates

For the next couple of weeks we’ll be checking out some homes in the most costly zip codes in the United Says, up today, 11201. This zip code in Brooklyn, New York has a median price of $2,463,000 with an appreciation rate of 325% since 1990. This area offers simple access to the city and the long history of the area means that there are lots of old brick and stone row houses and many picturesque streets lined with brownstones.

The home I have chosen for this zip code is in the area of Cobble Hill. Cobble Hill is a mix of Brooklyn’s past along with trendy new shops and restaurants. The tree-lined neighborhoods are home to many older homes including this restored 19th Century landmark home. The double property includes an 1833 Greek Revival townhouse and a carriage house with parking. The main residence is located on a block of older townhouses. The carriage home, on the north side of the property is reached through the garden and opens onto a mews, lined with former stables and carriage houses bordering Cobble Hill Park.

The home has a wide double entry hall, huge front and rear parlors with 12-foot ceilings, a butler’s pantry and a sitting room. The home has been absolutely renovated but some of the charming architectural details from the home’s history remain including the marble fireplace mantles. A rear staircase leads to the garden level family rooms and huge cook’s kitchen.The third floor master suite has abedroom and bath overlooking gardens, a study and two huge dressing rooms. The fourth floor is home to another double suite with a a bath and central dressing area, laundry and storage areas, and a smaller bedroom. On the fifth floor there’s a skylit loft-like attic with four rooms. This home is listed at $7.875 million.

%Gallery-18426%

Continue reading Most Pricey Zip Codes: 11201: Estate of the Day

Read

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates

There’s justice, and then there’s poetic justice. Whether or not you blame Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for the current woes of our financial system, it’s good to know that he’s not immune from the plummeting housing market. Not at all. The Fed chief has a four-bedroom townhouse in Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Hill area that he purchased in Might 2004 — near the peak of the real estate market. He paid $839,000.

After enjoying a brief run-up in market value to over $1 million, the recession happened (and a little something with interest rates, remember that, Ben?) and now, according to estimates, the house is worth only… $840,000. Homes in Bernanke’s neighborhood seem to have peaked in value in 2005, and have since fallen — though only a few percentage points this year, down to a median of $545,000 from $550,000 in third quarter 2007.

Read

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates

For the next couple of weeks we will be checking out some homes in the most high-priced 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 massive homes. That type of building for the wealthy is still going on with many more massive 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 massive new home with seven bedrooms and approximately 11,250 square feet of living space. The astonishing 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 nearly three acres and has a heated in-ground pool and a cabana. This home is listed at $11.5 million.

%Gallery-18404%

Continue reading Most High-priced Zip Codes: 11545, Estate of the Day

Read

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates

For the next couple of weeks we will be checking out some homes in the most pricey 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 more massive homes and its location makes it popular with ambassadors, elected officials and many others in Washington D.C.’s political scene.

The most high-priced 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 huge 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.

%Gallery-18400%

Continue reading Most High-priced Zip Codes: 20008, Estate of the Day

Read

Share This

Share This

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 stated that the exclusive six-acre estate on the enviable Gin Lane has been bought 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 didn’t purchase the property and Radar states they have talked to Tiger Woods’s reps who also confirm that Tiger has not purchased this property. It’s no longer listed so someone did buy, we’ll just have to wait for property records to solve this mystery.

%Gallery-12634%

Read

Share This

Share This

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 massive 16,237 square foot, seven-bedroom home is a surrounded by lush green grass, a massive 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 is 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%

Continue reading Paradise Valley, Estate of the Day

Read

Share This

Share This

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 may 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 purchase 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 pic gallery of the home in question. The main stone home 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

Share This

Share This