It's one thing to be extraordinarily rich and own a $10+ million home—people may wonder who lives in your gorgeous mansion, but most wouldn't recognize a CEO of a Fortune 500 company if a hardworking exec was right in front of them. It's another thing to have a home like that, and be famous, where your face is constantly on the silver screen, on TV during a big game, or on a stage serenading 50,000+ fans. Celebrities may try to live private lives, but it makes it hard when cities provide bus tours escorting curious lookers to catch a glimpse of a celebrity home (and maybe even the celebrity). Perhaps the lack of privacy is why these celebrities are selling their gorgeous estates...

Owners: Goldie Hawn & Kurt Russell

Location: Broad Bench Road, Malibu, California

List Price: $9.95 million

See the listing here.

Owner: Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson

Location: Farmington, Connecticut

List Price: $10 million

See the listing here.

Former Owner: Frank Sinatra (rented in the 1950s)

Location: Farralone, Chatsworth, California

List Price: $12 million

Owner: Mark Wahlberg

Location: Oak Pass, Beverly Hills, California

List Price: $13 million

Former Owner: Elvis Presley (lived here in the late 1960s)

Location: North Hillcrest Road, Beverly Hills, California

List Price: $13 million

Owner: Christina Aguilera

Location: Doheny Road, Beverly Hills, California

List Price: $13.5 million

Owner: Anjelica Huston

Location: Windward Avenue, Venice Beach, California

List Price: $13.9 million

Owner: Jim Carrey

Location: Malibu Colony Road, Malibu, California

List Price: $13.95 million

Owner: Zsa Zsa Gabor

Location: Bel Air Road, Los Angeles, California

List Price: $14.9 million

Owner: Wayne Gretzky

Location: Newbern Court, Thousand Oaks, California

List Price: $15 million

Owners: Jack Nicholson and director Lou Adler

Location: West End, Aspen, Colorado

List Price: $15 million

Owner: Sheryl Crow

Location: North Vista Street, Los Angeles, California

List Price: $15.95 million

Owner: Pharrell Williams

Location: Bristol Tower Penthouse, Miami Beach, Florida

List Price: $16.8 million

Owners: Kelsey and Camille Grammer

Location: Serra Retreat, Malibu, California

List Price: $16.9 million

See the listing here.

Owners: Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz

Location: Crosby Street Penthouse, New York, New York

List Price: $17.95 million

Owner: Vidal Sassoon

Location: Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles, California

List Price: $18 million

Owner: Rosie O'Donnell

Location: Star Island Drive, Miami Beach, Florida

List Price: $19.5 million

Owner: Pete Sampras

Location: West Stafford Road, Thousand Oaks, California

List Price: $19.95 million

See the listing here.

Owner: Leonardo DiCaprio

Location: Malibu Colony Road, Malibu, California

List Price: $23 million

Owner: Madonna

Location: Harperley Hall (apartment), New York, New York

List Price: $23.5 million

Owner: Michael Jordan

Location: Point Lane, Highland Park, Illinois

List Price: $29 million

Owner: Celine Dion

Location: Ile Gagnon, Laval, Quebec, Canada

List Price: $29.7 million

Owner: Robin Williams

Location: Villa Sorriso, Napa, California

List Price: $29.9 million

Former Owner: Katharine Hepburn (owned in the 1930s and 1940s)

Location: Hepburn Compound, Old Saybrook, Connecticut

List Price: $30 million

Owner: Annie Leibovitz

Location: Greenwich Street, New York, New York

List Price: $33 million

Owner: Joe Montana

Location: Villa Montana, Calistoga, California

List Price: $35 million

See the listing here.

Owner: Alex Rodriguez

Location: North Bay Road, Miami Beach, Florida

List Price: $38 million

Former Owner: Gianni Versace

Location: Casa Casuarina, Miami Beach, California

List Price: $100 million

See the listing here.

[All photos and information via Forbes]

When most people think of Nevada, they might think of  the desert, cactuses, or maybe even a constant party, 24/7 and the flashing lights of the Vegas strip. Susan Lowe, Senior Vice President and Corporate Broker of Chase International in Nevada, couldn’t have proved us more wrong.
            Buyers looking for property in the Western United States should be cautious before looking past Nevada. The Silver State offers residents access to unlimited outdoor recreation in every season. “Summer here is absolutely magical,” says Lowe. “The temperature averages 75-degrees during the day and 50-degrees at night. We have a very dry climate, so even during the winter when it’s snowing, everyone goes outside because the cold isn’t biting.” With over 300 days of annual sunshine, you can be outdoors year round.. Residents indulge in biking, hiking, world class snow and waterskiing, mountain biking, backpacking and boating. Northern Nevada also hosts Art Town every year, a festival showcasing fantastic artwork, as well as the renown Shakespeare Festival on Lake Tahoe.
            In addition its astounding natural beauty, Nevada is also within close proximity to many major cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Salt Lake, making it a very convenient location on the West Coast.
            As an ideal buyer in Nevada, you would love outdoor recreational activities; enjoy the smaller, more intimate “town” atmosphere; and be friendly, relaxed and carefree. Potential home buyers who are financially savvy often flock to Nevada for its financial advantages of being a tax-friendly state.
            Without a doubt, Nevada lives up to its reputation of being a less expensive place to live without having to sacrifice a high quality of life. Nevadans are known for being hearty, authentic, steadfast and rugged individuals with an entrepreneurial mindset. And hey, we don’t think that’s such a bad thing.

Susan Lowe CRB CRS CLHMS ABR
Senior Vice President/Corporate Broker
Chase International
slowe@chaseinternational.com
(775) 588-1444

 Create a legacy for generations to come. This nearly 400-acre property features endless development possibilities for polo, family recreation, and resort-style residences. Develop a Millionaire’s Playground in the scenic Lake Hughes area of Los Angeles. The 395-acre property is comprised of an 18 hole golf course, 113 space full hook-up RV park, onsite restaurant, Pro Shop, tennis & basketball courts, children’s playground and swimming pools. 

The property backs up to Angeles National Forest land on the south border and provides access to 10,000+ acres of public National Forest Land, with direct access to the Grass Mountain summit trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and trails for ATVs, horseback riding, mountain biking and hiking. This bank owned recreation area is the perfect legacy property to enjoy with friends and family.

Listed at $8,500,000

To learn more about this property visit their website at www.LosAngeleshideaway.com.

We had an early morning meeting in Beverly Hills today.  After grabbing a warm just out of the oven bagel from St Urbain, we had a few minutes to meander and look around at the newest retail. Whenever a store is remodeled in Beverly Hills, the business creates a beautiful structure to camouflage the constructing inside.  Here is the Bulgari version on Rodeo Drive which is one of the famous luxury retail streets in the Beverly Hills triangle.

The brilliance of erecting an aethetically pleasing camouflage is that it creates visibility and anticipation for the new store.  At the same time it markets the Bulgari brand in a way that is harmonious to its luxury brand strategy!

This blog posting has been provided by Ron and Alexandra Seigel, the Language of Luxury Community Founders and managing partners of Napa Consultants, International, the leading luxury real estate strategic marketing firm. They specialize in personal and company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing. Photos courtesy of Ron and Alexandra via the agents/brokers interviewed.

Looks like it's time to update the Celebrity Real Estate Heat Map: A-lister of A-listers Jennifer Aniston has reportedly scooped up new mansion for herself in Bel-Air, Calif.

The pristine 8,500-square-foot four-bedroom was designed in 1965 by noted Los Angeles modernist architect A. Quincy Jones; after first hitting the market for $29 million in 2008, the house was reduced to some $24 million, at which point Aniston swooped in and scored it for even less: $21 million.

And as if this lucky lady didn't already have enough of them, here are yet some more perks: more than three acres of land, views of the city and ocean, a pool, a guesthouse, a wine cellar, and—last but certainly not least—a vineyard. Let's not forget to look inside: those distinctly midcentury-feeling interiors boasts gleaming wood floors, full-wall expanses of glass, and some pretty stunningfireplace detail.

Aniston's had quite an impressive year in terms of real estate. The actress listed and then sold her spectacular Ohana estate, a Beverly Hills beaut that was once featured on the cover of Architectural Digest. She swiftly found another Beverly Hills estate in which to shack up with new beau Justin Theroux.

Below is a list compiled of our country's richest towns, take a look... Palm Beach, Florida took the trophy home, but California made its presence known by grabbing half of the top ten honors!

No. 1 Richest Zip Code: 33480
Location: Palm Beach, Florida 

Number of households: 5,505*
Percent change in number of households since 2000: 13.76*
Average household income: $370,136
Average household net worth: $1,486,123

No. 2 Richest Zip Code: 11568
Location: Old Westbury, New York  

Number of households: 1,047
Percent change in number of households since 2000: 8.61
Average household income: $282,981
Average household net worth: $1,547,866

No. 3 Richest Zip Code: 60043
Location: Kenilworth, Illinois 

Number of households: 810
Percent change in number of households since 2000: 1.00
Average household income: $323,588
Average household net worth: $1,558,833

No. 4 Richest Zip Code: 90210
Location: Beverly Hills, California 

No. households: 9,245
Percent change in number of households since 2000: 3.71
Average household income: $278,757
Average household net worth: $1,504,166

No. 5 Richest Zip Code: 94028
Location: Portola Valley, California 

Number of households: 2,579
Percent change in number of households since 2000: 3.28
Average household income: $270,922
Average household net worth: $1,531,291

No. 6 Richest Zip Code: 90077
Location: Los Angeles, California  

Number of households: 3,553
Percent change in number of households since 2000: 0.11
Average household income: $290,802
Average household net worth: $1,531,147

No. 7 Richest Zip Code: 19035
Location: Gladwyne, Pennsylvania 

Number of households: 1,495
Percent change in number of households since 2000: 2.47
Average household income: $331,840
Average household net worth: $1,483,586

No. 8 Richest Zip Code: 10577
Location: Purchase, New York 

Number of households: 834
Percent change in number of households since 2000: 14.09
Average household income: $268,696
Average household net worth: $1,503,911

No. 9 Richest Zip Code: 94022
Location: Los Altos, California  

Number of households: 7,103
Percent change in number of households since 2000: 3.23
Average household income: $256,476
Average household net worth: $1,563,480

No. 10 Richest Zip Code: 90402
Location: Santa Monica, California 

Number of households: 5,452
Percent change in number of households since 2000: 3.16
Average household income: $266,243
Average household net worth: $1,494,010

 Are there cities missing that you thought were a shoe-in? Which of these zip codes for those with deep pockets would you prefer to live in?

Data courtesy of Yahoo! Real Estate.

The Institute of Luxury Home Marketing released a report on Sunday July 17 regarding luxury home prices around the United States. After surveying 32,744 luxury homes on the market, here are some of the facts they garnered:

• The ILHM Luxury Composite Prive is $1,055,524.
• These homes have been on the market for an average of 113 days.
• The median house size if 3,266 square feet.
• The market action index is 13.

What does all this mean? For one, it's definitely a buyer's market (more choices for you!), but the luxury home prives have stayed relatively stable in recent weeks, based on previous reports from the ILHM.

Another fact that the report points out is the median luxury price of homes in different metro markets. New York and Los Angeles lead the way with median prices of $3,487,260 and $2,239,353, respectively, while Cleveland and Las Vegas have the lowest median price for what's considered a luxury home ($436,839 and $246,780, respectively.)

For the full report, click the link below.

ILHM_National_2011_07_17_1224252860_6492.pdf (434.14 kb)

Grand estates, stunning ocean and mountain views, and a mild sunny climate all come together to make this Pacific coastal community irresistible. Historic elegance, lush countryside, and spectacular ocean vistas contribute to the enormous appeal of Montecito real estate.

Montecito is a small community 90 miles up the coast from Los Angeles, framed by coastal mountains and broad, white beaches. White Mediterranean homes with red tile roofs, bougainvillea covered stone walls, wrought-iron gates, palm lined drives, courtyard cafes, collectable cars and smart boutiques, all mixed with a casual but refined lifestyle, characterize Montecito.

This is the perfect place to raise a family, where the weather is ideal, the air clean and the schools, beaches and parks are healthy, enjoyable environments - a place rich with leisure and recreational pursuits.

Most new residents are first introduced to our community while on holiday, as was the case many years ago when wealthy Eastern families discovered Montecito in the late 1800’s. Huge estates were created as wintering spots, and by the 1920’s there were more millionaires per acre in Montecito than anywhere else in our country. Today these fine homes are being renovated with the care they deserve, and some of our most charming small homes started their lives at the turn of the century as modest gardener’s cottages to these estates.

 Our Montecito real estate is more than enchanting: the magnetism of this quiet coastal community is absolutely intoxicating. Like an island where troubles and worries are left on the mainland, Montecito lulls its inhabitants into a peaceful state of mind, which translates into being purely focused on enjoying some of life’s genuine pleasures: ocean breezes, warm sunshine, good food, and fine wine. Montecito real estate includes an impressive array of estates, many of which were inspired by the stately homes of the south of France, Spain, and Italy – where the similar climate is due to our sharing one of the few east west shorelines in temperate latitudes.

Harry Kolb is one of the foremost experts on luxury residential real estate in the Santa Barbara, California area including Montecito and Hope Ranch. His past professional involvement in international marketing has served him well in managing the sale of estate properties. He was one of the founding members of Sotheby’s International Realty when they opened their first office in Montecito and his real estate career has spanned more than 30 years. During which time he has personally managed several billion-dollars in transactions representing over 200 estate property sales. As an authority on Montecito real estate, architecture and history Harry has frequently been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, Los Angeles Times and Architectural Digest. He assisted in the publication of books on famed architects George Washington Smith and Reginald Johnson and the history and architecture of Montecito.