Real Estate Newsletter: Delayed Auction for LA’s Largest Home
Welcome to the real estate newsletter. If you’re still scrounging up a few hundred million to bid on The One, the 105,000-square-foot home heading to the auction block, I’ve got good news: there’s still time.
The saga of Southern California’s messiest mega-mansion continued this week when a bankruptcy judge pushed back the auction date to Feb. 28. those things that could only happen in LA, and you can catch up on the dirty details here.
On the celebrity side, it was the week of the power couple.
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis kicked things off, unloading an East Coast-inspired spot in Hidden Valley for $10.35 million. The actors have since moved a few blocks away, where they’ve built a sustainable compound during the pandemic called KuKu Farms, complete with barn and cornfield in the mountains above Beverly Hills. Let me know if I’m wrong, but for now I consider them the biggest corn producer in 90210.
Baseball star Justin Verlander and model Kate Upton are hoping for the same success in Benedict Canyon, where they shop their hillside estate for $11.75 million. The 1970s storefront has a long line of famous owners, including film producer Jon Peters, tennis star Pete Sampras and saxophone legend Kenny G.
On a more macro scale, 2022 is shaping up to be a critical year for housing laws. A new state law is changing zoning regulations to allow homeowners to build a duplex just about anywhere they want, and in the coming months we’ll hear more about other zoning changes and the Gavin Newsom’s $2 billion homelessness prevention plan. Liam Dillon has you covered, and the latest episode of his “Gimme Shelter” podcast explains what to expect.
If you have anything to do with construction or development, your ears have probably woken up to read about the onslaught of duplexes coming to California this year. So, just for you, the Times has compiled a list of where to find home improvement jobs to take advantage of the home improvement craze.
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The bid for “The One” is postponed
The bankruptcy auction for one of the largest mansions in the United States has been pushed back three weeks to allow more time to attract potential buyers to the house, which has an asking price of $295 million, writes Erin Hudson.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Deborah J. Saltzman granted an auction extension for the Los Angeles home known as ‘The One’ last week after a number of potential buyers were in need of more time to view the property, according to court documents filed Friday and attorney David Golubchik of Levene, Neale, Bender, Yoo & Golubchik, who represents the property developer.
The online bankruptcy auction is now scheduled for February 28 to March 3, and the closing of the transaction, which is subject to court approval, is set for March 21.
Kutcher and Kunis move
In the guarded enclave of Hidden Valley, married actors Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have sold their East Coast-inspired home for $10.35 million.
That’s a hair more than the price they paid in 2014, when they bought the place from former Viacom chief executive Tom Freston for $10.215 million. Kutcher and Kunis had been buying it since 2020, originally asking for $14 million.
They still live in the post office area of Beverly Hills. During the pandemic, the couple built a sustainable six-acre resort called KuKu Farms, with a cornfield and a barn.
The Hidden Valley House is a bit more traditional, spanning half an acre and focusing on a two-story home built in 1999. Stonework and shutters adorn the exterior, and inside, living spaces living are dressed in oak flooring and custom moldings.
Power couple try to double their money
After half a decade at Benedict Canyon, baseball star Justin Verlander and model Kate Upton are asking $11.75 million for their traditional style estate. That’s more than double the $5.25 million they paid in 2016, records show.
The property comes with plenty of celebrity pedigree; Verlander and Upton bought it from film producer Jon Peters, who bought it from tennis star Pete Sampras in 2004. Before Sampras, it was owned by saxophone legend Kenny G.
Built in the 1970s but since updated, the resort occupies over 1.5 acres of sloping hillside grounds. An L-shaped house and a swimming pool are at the top of the property, and at the bottom there is a tennis court.
The podcast breaks down a big year for housing
Californians started this year with a major shift in housing development. On Jan. 1, a new state law began allowing homeowners to build at least duplexes on almost any residential lot, ending the dominance of single-family home zoning that has shaped construction patterns in the city. State, writes Liam Dillon.
What will happen in housing this year? At “Gimme Shelter: California Housing Crisis PodcastDillon and his co-host, Manuela Tobias of CalMatters, discuss Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plans to inject an additional $2 billion into homelessness prevention efforts, why lawmakers might shy away from further zoning changes, and how the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect tenants and landlords in Los Angeles and elsewhere.
How to Profit from the Home Improvement Revolution
When the pandemic sent the world back to work, Americans looked around and came to an almost universal conclusion: their residences needed improvement, writes Kathy Kristof.
This represents an opportunity for people who can do anything from plumbing to home decorating. But how do you land those jobs?
In this first of two reports on how to find home improvement jobs, we look at options for construction tradespeople: electricians, plumbers, painters, builders, and handymen. Next week we’ll look at where you can find work in interior design and landscaping. (And, by the way, if you’re not looking for work but looking for workers, these sites are also great places to find contractors.)
What we read
Good news if you’re a homeowner: the typical American home gained $50,000 in value last year, according to NPR. And judging by the Southern California market, that number is probably double or triple, if not more.
In the latest story “Italy’s housing market is going through tough times and you can live there for really, really cheap,” Airbnb is offering the chance to spend a year in a restored three-story house in Sicily rent-free. The deadline is February 18 and House Beautiful has the details.
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