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    Formula 1 Star Lewis Hamilton Gets $50 Million for One of His Two NYC Apartments

    Almost as soon as he bought the Manhattan triplex penthouse in early 2017, for a scorching $44 million, front-of-the-pack Formula One racecar driver Lewis Hamilton, one of the wealthiest sportsmen in the world, with an annual haul estimated at close to $50 million, caught a classic case of the Real Estate Fickle.

    The recently knighted 36-year-old Brit, who won the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last week and will start this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the coveted pole position as the odds-on favorite, never even moved into the 8,900-square-foot Tribeca aerie before he splashed out with the purchase of another insanely expensive penthouse just a block away and flipped the unwanted triplex back on the market just over two years ago for $57 million.

    With no takers at the sky-high price, the ask was chopped to $52 million before some Richie Rich came along and paid $49.5 million for the six-bedroom and six-full-and-two-half-bath spread, to date the highest price paid this year for a downtown condo. As noted by the New York Post, the buyer’s identity is shielded behind an LLC with a Seattle address and there’s plenty of unsubstantiated speculation racing around the celebrity gossip grapevine the new owner is a big tech heavy hitter like Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos. (If you know, let us know!)

    Inside the light-filled triplex with excessive space. 

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    An elevator opens directly into the foyer and a separate elevator services the penthouse’s three floors, while the double-height corner living room showcases exposed wood support beams and a 20-foot ceiling. Configured around a huge island with two dishwashers, the separate kitchen sports high-end finishes and all the culinary bells and whistles $50 million can buy.
    Floor plans show there are three and potentially four guest bedrooms on the second level, along with a primary suite that consists of a private study, a morning bar and a walk-in closet. The main bedroom’s clean-lined bathroom is lavish though windowless. A den just off the main floor living room has an attached bath that makes it easily convertible to a sixth bedroom.
    The top floor is devoted to a spacious lounge complete with wet bar and powder room. The lounge spills out through walls of accordion-fold glass doors to a pair of terraces, the larger a massive wrap around affair with sweeping city and river views. Marketing materials indicate there’s a plunge pool, though it’s not clear it’s been installed, and the unit transfers with two deeded parking spaces in the secured, on-site garage.

    A view of the skyline and neighborhood from the home’s interior. 

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    It’s unlikely the mystery buyer took out a standard mortgage but had they, the monthly costs for the penthouse (mortgage, taxes and building fees) would tally up to more than a quarter million bucks. Nick Gavin at Compass represented both Hamilton and the buyer.
    Converted from a 19th-century book binding factory, the handsome, low-rise red-brick building has had massive appeal to high-profile people looking to come and go without being peeped by the public or snapped by paparazzi. The building has an enclosed motor court that allows that. There’s also a courtyard garden, a gym and a spectacular indoor swimming pool. A short list of the many celebs who own (or have owned) units in the building include Mike Myers, Rebel Wilson, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, Meg Ryan, Jake Gylenhaal and Harry Styles.
    The Formula One star’s other Tribeca penthouse was acquired in late 2018 for just over $40.7 million, and online records indicate it sprawls across more than 6,500 square feet with four bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms. Lewis, whose primary residence is in Monaco, is reported to also maintain homes in Geneva and London.
    Check out more images of the property below.

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    Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers Just Bought This $14 Million Beverly Hills Compound

    Michael “Flea” Balzary already owns two enviable homes in the Los Angeles area, a $7.5 million cottage in the Malibu Colony gated community and a funky $4.25 million compound in the La Crescenta foothills. The Red Hot Chili Pepper has always done well in real estate—last year, he sold a spicy oceanfront Malibu estate for $20 million to hedge fund manager Ross Laser, more than double what Balzary originally paid for the place—so he’s bolstering his real estate portfolio yet again, this time doling out an impressive $14 million for a 1.38-acre Mulholland Drive spread.

    Though the house has a coveted 90210 zip code, it’s technically located in the steep mountains above LA’s Studio City neighborhood. Built way back in 1948, but completely renovated in the early 2000s by LA architect Aleks Istanbullu, the three-story architectural estate sold to Flea and his fashion designer wife Melody Ehsani for a nearly $2 million discount off the original $16.9 million ask. The sellers were former Paramount chief Adam Goodman and his wife Jessica, who acquired the formerly ranch-style estate in 2010 for $4.2 million from Emmy-winning animator Gábor Csupó of “Rugrats” fame. Before that, the property had been owned in the ’90s by Blue Note Records president Don Was.

    The interior of the light-filled mansion. 

    Realtor.com

    Out of sight from the street and resting beyond a long gated driveway, the private residence is secluded amid resort-like grounds and surrounded by famous neighbors — directly across the street is Jack Nicholson’s longtime main residence; also nearby are Warren Beatty’s massive mansion and Lana Del Rey’s multimillion-dollar compound.
    Trimmed in green steel and redwood, the heavily modified architectural structure includes seven bedrooms and eight baths in over 7,300 square feet of living space. There are skylights and hardwood floors throughout, and glitzy amenities include a state-of-the-art Bel Air Circuit movie theater with a 15-foot screen and soda machine, plus an underground wine room — climate-controlled, naturally.

    The home’s movie theater with a 15-foot screen. 

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    The front door opens into a double-height living room ideal for entertaining, complete with walls of glass spilling out to an al fresco dining deck. Back inside, a set of steps leads past a library and up to a dining room, which in turn abuts a sleekly contemporary kitchen outfitted with luxe stainless appliances. Overlooking the living room is a mezzanine level holding a family room with its own cantilevered balcony; the home’s entire third level encompasses a sumptuous master suite with a sitting room, copper-faced fireplace, gym, steam shower, sauna and two rooftop decks offering up mountain views. A spa-like bath is equipped with a concrete soaking tub set beneath a big window.

    Outside are lush, ultra-private grounds laden with custom amenities. A kitchen and wood-burning fireplace are great for outdoor catering, a firepit lounge area is perfect for s’mores, and a hepatica leaf-shaped pool boasts an “underwater viewing room.” Kids will love the trio of whimsical treehouses, which are connected by a suspension bridge. Adults may favor the putting green and the detached four-car garage. There are also guest quarters and an “art cabin,” per the listing.

    The outdoor bar next to the hepatica leaf-shaped pool. 

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    Born in Australia but bred in New York, Flea remains best known as a founding member and bassist of L.A.-based rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose recordings have garnered them six Grammy awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The 59-year-old has also dabbled in acting, with roles in more than 20 films and TV shows including “Suburbia,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “The Big Lebowski.” Flea cofounded the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, a nonprofit music education organization for underprivileged children; in 2019, he published “Acid for the Children,” a memoir of his early life.
    Josh Altman and Matt Altman of the Altman Brothers Team at Douglas Elliman were the listing agents; Sherri Rogers and Anthony Stellini of Compass repped the buyer.
    Check out more images of the property below.

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    Inside Penn Badgley’s New $1.8 Million Brooklyn Apartment

    Not only is Penn Badgley’s serial killer character Joe making a change on the home front in season three of the Netflix thriller series “You,” moving from Los Angeles to an upscale Bay Area suburb with his wife Love and their newborn son Forty, but the actor’s also got himself a new house in real life. Per records, Badgley and his doula/musician wife Domino Kirke have doled out just above $1.8 million—exactly $100,000 over the asking price—for an apartment in Brooklyn’s family-friendly, albeit pricey, Park Slope neighborhood.

    Tucked away on the fifth floor of a circa-1936 building designed by architect Martyn N. Weinstein and often referred to as the “Art-Deco Building”—just a short jaunt away from the 526-acre Prospect Park, and popular 7th Avenue shopping and dining district—Badgley’s new flat is described in marketing materials as a “gracefully proportioned gem,” and includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms. There are attractive parquet floors throughout, plus numerous windows offering up treetop views from different vantage points.

    The living room inside the home. 

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    A spacious foyer flows under an archway and into a combo dining/living room flooded with natural light. Other features include a windowed gallery-style kitchen sporting updated stainless appliances and quartzite stone countertops, plus a modestly sized primary bedroom outfitted with a duo of closets and a modernized ensuite bath. There also are two additional bedrooms, including one with a built-in wall unit that’s currently used as an office/study.
    The star’s rare corner unit also comes with $2,364 in monthly maintenance fees, which allows for amenities like a 24-hour doorman, an elevator attendant, a couple of landscaped courtyards and a children’s playroom that can also be reserved for special events.

    The modestly sized bedroom. 

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    Badgley, 34, first achieved recognition for playing Phillip Chancellor IV on the soap opera “The Young and the Restless” in the early 2000s. He went on to appear in the comedy films “John Tucker Must Die” and “Drive-Thru,” but his breakout role was as Dan Humphrey in The CW teen drama “Gossip Girl,” for which he received six Teen Choice Award nominations. In addition to acting, Badgley performs as lead singer for the Brooklyn-based indie pop band Mothxr.

    The listing was held by Michael Petrosino and Janice Cimberg of Brown Harris Stevens. Check out more images below. 

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    The Creator of ‘Bob’s Burgers’ Just Snapped Up This Historic $5 Million Pasadena Estate

    After decades in the same family, this 110-year-old Pasadena home hit the block this summer, asking just under $5 million. A bidding war pushed the final sale price up to $5.3 million—a lot of money, but still arguably a decent deal for a 1.6-acre estate in a prestigious area of Pasadena. And this house has a very special architectural pedigree courtesy of Myron Hunt, who also designed the Rose Bowl and Pasadena’s Langham Huntington hotel.

    The estate’s new owner is veteran Hollywood producer Loren Bouchard, creator and/or executive producer of many animated sitcoms (Bob’s Burgers, Central Park and The Great North, to name a few). Presumably Bouchard and his longtime wife Holly Kretschmar will put their own personal design stamp on the property, though whatever changes they plan to make remain a mystery—for now. But “the possibilities are endless and exciting,” says the listing, which notes that one could remodel the home, add a pool or build an additional home on the property.

    Still, the place is great just as is. Set privately at the very end of a hidden lane and directly overlooking Pasadena’s park-like Arroyo Seco, it’s essentially neighbor-free. A long blacktopped driveway winds up to the main house, which has seven bedrooms and five bathrooms in 4,800 square feet. Also on the premises are a three-car garage and separate carriage house/guesthouse with one bedroom, one bathroom and a kitchenette.

    David Davidson of Compass jointly held the listing with Rita Whitney of The Agency; David Lao of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties repped the buyer.

    The front of the property with a winding driveway. 

    Redfin

    The estate is sell well above the street, behind a winding driveway. A double-trunk sycamore tree shades the main house, offering relief from the occasionally blistering San Gabriel Valley heat.

    The front yard of home featuring a beautiful garden. 

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    With grounds reminiscent of an English garden, the place feels rather like a countryside escape than just another mansion in suburban Los Angeles.

    Front door to the Pasadena estate. 

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    The front door opens into a long corridor featuring a wooden staircase—original to the house—and hardwood floors.

    The entrance corridor showcasing hardwood floors and fixtures. 

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    The various rooms are wallpapered, many of them with a floral theme. The grand formal dining room overlooks the gardens and boasts a brass chandelier.

    The dining room inside the home. 

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    There’s also a wood-paneled library, plus a fireplace-equipped living room with charmingly dated decor.

    The wood-paneled library. 

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    Both vintage and modern, the wallpapered kitchen has stainless appliances and an antique range.

    The eye-catching kitchen. 

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    Upstairs, the master suite includes an oversized fireplace, sitting area and separate window seat with leafy tree views.

    The spacious bedroom. 

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    Ultra-dated but almost shockingly well maintained, the retro master bath includes a built-in soaking tub and dual vanities.

    The maintained bathroom. 

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    While the property does not currently have a swimming pool, there are vast patios, balconies and loggia with ample space for large-scale al fresco entertaining.

    The spacious backyard patio. 

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    Grassy lawns and mature oak trees surround the gorgeous estate.

    The backyard lawn of the Pasadena home. 

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    Born in New York but raised in Massachusetts, Bouchard worked as a bartender before striking it rich in Tinseltown. The 52-year-old now lives primarily in Los Angeles but still owns his longtime Victorian-style San Francisco condo, which served as inspiration for the juggernaut that is now Bob’s Burgers.
    Check out more images of the property below.

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    Kanye West’s Massive Wyoming Ranch Just Hit the Market for $11 Million

    Kanye West has placed his business properties and ranch in Cody, Wyo., up for sale.

    The Yeezy designer has listed his ranch, formerly named Monster Lake Ranch, for $11 million as of this week. According to the DBW Realty listing, the six square miles of property include a lodge, horse facility, corrals, go-kart track and lakes. The rapper bought the ranch in 2019; though it’s unknown how much he paid for it, per Wyoming law, the property was originally listed for $13.3 million.

    Before the ranch was for sale, West previously listed seven of his Cody commercial properties as well. The Cody Enterprise reported this week that altogether, the properties were worth over $3.2 million.

    In 2019, West moved to Cody from California to continue operations for some business for his fashion and shoe label, Yeezy. It’s unknown if the new property listings mean that the rapper is permanently leaving Wyoming, or relocating his business in the state.
    The musician has kept busy this year with his “Donda” album release, plus numerous drops for Yeezy — specifically, the brand’s shoe line with Adidas and new collaboration with Gap. In fact, his Yeezy Adidas collection has launched a range of footwear in 2021, including new colorways of the Yeezy 500 High, Foam Runner, Quantum and 450 shoes. His new Yeezy Knit Runners also debuted in late September, reselling at nearly four times their original price the following day. More

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    ‘Daily Show’ Host Trevor Noah’s Sleek and Stylish Bel-Air Mansion Could Be Yours for $30 Million

    Less than a year ago, Trevor Noah dropped $27.5 million on an extravagant Bel Air mansion—just months after selling another nearby Bel Air home to Bird founder Travis VanderZanden for a little over $21 million. Now the South African comedian and Emmy-winning host of “The Daily Show”—who also owns a $10 million penthouse in the New York City borough of Manhattan—has decided to clean house in California, flipping his recently purchased digs back onto the market.

    Views of the outdoor landscape from the interior of the home. 

    Redfin

    Noah is asking $29.75 million for the modern Bel Air structure, which was designed by architect Mark Rios as a personal residence for himself and his fertility doctor husband Guy Ringler. Composed of three white and windowless cubes out front, the rear of the six-bedroom, 9.5-bath home has floor-to-ceiling walls of glass with ocean and mountain views. Over-the-top amenities run rampant—a Japanese-style spa underneath the pool boasts a wooden tub, sauna, and massage and changing rooms, while a wine room has a hidden door that opens to a glass-encased elevator that travels to a gourmet kitchen sporting dark wood cabinetry. There’s also a stylish timber-clad library, plus a gym, club room and rooftop terrace that doubles as a screening room.

    One of the property’s six bedrooms. 

    Redfin

    Other highlights of the three-level residence include a living room adorned in wide-plank oak floors from Germany, which opens to an outdoor bar and kitchen topped by a terrace; and a formal dining room abutting a den. A swank master retreat is spotlighted by dual baths and walk-in wardrobes, and four additional ensuite guest bedrooms can be found elsewhere in the house. Then there are the lush manicured grounds, replete with a 15-by-60-foot infinity-edge pool, fireside conversation pit and the aforementioned outdoor kitchen.

    The backyard of the home featuring an infinity-edge pool. 

    Redfin

    Noah, 37, has helmed Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” since 2015. In 2017, he inked a contract extension that will keep him in the host’s chair through the end of 2022. He also recently embarked upon a “Back to Abnormal” world tour and relays on Instagram that he snagged a role in the upcoming “The Matrix 4: Resurrections” film, slated for release in December; according to the New York Post, Noah has rented another NYC penthouse, this one in Tribeca’s luxe 70 Vestry building at a rate of $52,000 a month.

    Jonah Wilson of Hilton & Hyland holds the listing.
    Check out more images of the mansion below.

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    Rihanna’s Neo-Mediterranean LA Compound Just Hit the Market for $7.8 Million

    Barbadian pop megastar and consummate style icon turned newly minted billionaire cosmetics and intimate wear entrepreneur Robyn Fenty, otherwise known around the world as Rihanna, dropped $6.8 million back in the summer of 2017 on a then newly and glamorously refurbished neo-Mediterranean mini-compound near the base of Nichols Canyon in the foothills above the western end of L.A.’s famed Hollywood Boulevard.

    It wasn’t long before an intruder not only breached the property’s perimeter walls but managed to break into and spend the night inside the house before he was tased and arrested by police in the morning. Fortunately, no one was home at the time. There was a second break-in attempt a few months later and the Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty founder lickety-split packed whatever designer things remained in the house and, so the scuttlebutt goes, retreated to the $5.5 million condo in Century City she’s owned since the fall of 2014.

    One of the common areas in the home. 

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    The Hollywood Hills property was briefly put up for sale in late 2018, with an asking price pushing up on $7.5 million, before it was taken off the market and set out instead as a high-end rental at $35,000 per month. Since then, the house has several times been available as a rental at the same price. Now, however, with at least four other residential properties across Los Angeles crowding her international property portfolio, Fenty has hoisted the Hollywood Hills home back up for sale at a hair under $7.8 million.
    Listed with “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles” stars James Harris and David Parnes of Bond Street Partners at The Agency, the home features steel-framed windows and doors, high ceilings enhanced by arched doorways, and a combination of stone and wood floors. There are a total of six bedrooms and eight full and two half bathrooms between the main house and detached guest suite that together span about 7,100 square feet.

    One of the bedrooms with a scenic view. 

    Redfin

    Elegant formal living and dining rooms, the former with a rust-colored tile fireplace, are complimented by a den/billiards room, an eat-in kitchen, and a family room. The walls of the home theater are painted a sumptuous royal purple and, on the other side of the swimming pool from main house, a detached garage is topped by a city-view guest suite outfitted as a fitness center with private bath and balcony.

    The backyard with a pool. 

    Redfin

    In addition to the roughly 3,500-square-foot high-floor condo in Century City, Fenty owns another substantially smaller and less expensive condo along the Wilshire Corridor. In late 2020 she upped her real estate game with the $13.8 million purchase of a 1930s era home tucked down a coveted cul-de-sac in the Coldwater Canyon area of Beverly Hills. Then, earlier this year, she dropped another $10 million to snatch up the neighboring property before she put the first house up for rent at a whopping $80,000 per month.
    The nine-time Grammy winner, who for a couple of years rented a London mansion that recently came for sale at $41 million, is also widely reported to own a 10,000-square-foot townhouse-style condo in the swanky One Sandy Lane resort complex in Barbados that she scooped up in 2013 for $21.8 million.
    Check out more images of the home below.

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    LeBron James Just Unloaded One of His 3 LA Mansions for $19.6 Million

    After first bouncing onto the market with a $20.5 million asking price about six months ago, LeBron James has officially sold his Brentwood Park mansion, one of two Brentwood estates he owns. Records reveal the property, which hasn’t been occupied by the NBA superstar for several years, went for $19.6 million in an off-market deal to Hon “Alexander” Shing, founder of the privately-held, LA-based real estate investment firm Cottonwood Management.

    The sale netted King James a lot of money, but it’s also a technical loss—a whopping $1.4 million less than the $21 million he paid for the place nearly six years ago, back in October 2015, when he was still serving it up for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

    Nestled on over a half-acre parcel in the affluent Brentwood Park neighborhood—on the same Rockingham Drive that was made infamous by O.J. Simpson all those years ago—the walled and gated estate was built in 2011, and includes a traditional white brick and stone mansion offering views of the surrounding hills.

    The front yard of the white brick and stone mansion. 

    Realtor.com

    Inside, more than 9,000 square feet of living space on two levels is highlighted by a double-height foyer sporting mustard-hued walls, and a wallpapered formal living room with burnt orange curtains. A family room adorned with fuchsia accent chairs opens via two sets of sliding doors to a loggia ideal for al fresco dining, while the kitchen is outfitted with marble countertops and has an adjacent breakfast room. The main level also holds a formal dining room with a fireplace and a second family room, plus a wood-paneled office.

    One of the room’s in the home with a wood-burning fireplace. 

    Realtor.com

    Upstairs, there’s a master retreat and five additional bedrooms, along with a communal family gathering area/lounge, mudroom and gym. The undeniable star of the show, though, are the picturesque grounds, complete with a grassy lawn that abuts an infinity-edged pool and spa accompanied by a sun deck and cabana. In addition to the Brentwood Park property, James also maintains a spec mansion elsewhere in Brentwood that he bought for $23.5 million in 2017 and a hilltop 90210 compound—a mansion once owned by Hugh Hefner and occupied by Katharine Hepburn—for which he plunked down $36.8 million last year.
    As for Shing, just last month he slammed down another $29.5 million for a 12,000-square-foot home in Beverly Hills, meaning he now has two posh L homes worth a combined $50 million.

    Check out more images of the mansion below.

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