Leonardo DiCaprio Expands His LA Home, New York City’s Biggest Sale of 2022 Is Revealed, and More Real Estate News

Here’s what you need to know

From the latest real estate deals by stars like Leonardo DiCaprio to high-profile home reveals, there is always something new happening in the world of real estate.

In this roundup, AD PRO has everything you need to know.

For sale

Leonardo DiCaprio expands his footprint in the Hollywood Hills

Being a big star has its perks—look no further than the homes of Hollywood. Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio’s ranks among them, and recently the celeb expanded his home base after purchasing the property next door to his 4,500-square-foot hilltop mansion in LA’s ultra-private Birds Street enclave. DiCaprio paid $10.5 million for the four-bedroom midcentury-modern build in a private off-market deal, according to property records uncovered by real estate site Dirt.

The house belonged to his longtime neighbors Ron and Joan Linclau, who actually sued DiCaprio in May 2007, claiming his new basketball court caused serious structural damage to their property. The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star countered that the damage came from an unapproved retaining wall built by the Linclaus. The suit was settled in 2009 and things remained quiet until Joan’s death early last year.

This isn’t the first time DiCaprio has snagged one of his neighbor’s properties. His 5.14-acre complex includes four other houses and four swimming pools.

A Disney family home in Hidden Hills goes on offer for $18.5 million

It’s not the Happiest Place on Earth, but an LA compound built for Disney executive Roy E. Disney (Walt’s nephew) could be yours for a drop under $18.5 million. Constructed in 1997, 4733 Long Valley Road includes a five-bedroom Georgian-style mansion, a 1,100-square-foot guest house, a six-car garage, and a large barn reportedly scouted on the East Coast and reassembled by Disney on the 2.5-acre lot.

The current owners added a massive entertainment area beneath the tennis court, incorporating a fitness center, a racquetball court, a dance studio, a batting cage, and a 150-person nightclub. “It’s almost like another whole house underneath the tennis court,” Marc Shevin of Douglas Elliman, who has the listing, told Mansion Global. The Hidden Hills property has other unique features as well, including a billiards room, a 350-bottle refrigerated wine cellar, and its own gift-wrapping room.

Now listed for $18.499 million, it’s been on and off the market since late 2020, when it was offered for $27.5 million. The current owners purchased the property in 1999 for $5.5 million.

Looking for something bigger? Another property with a Disney connection is on the market in Wyoming for a cool $61 million. Listed with Hall and Hall realtor James H. Taylor, the Diamond G Ranch is about 20 miles from Yellowstone National Park. It was owned by executives from the Morton Salt Company before being purchased by the Disney clan in the 1960s.

A 19th-century luxury loft in SoHo hits the market

Have you always wanted to live in a New York City SoHo loft? Good news: A rare converted three-bedroom on Wooster Street is available for $10.9 million. Completed by architect Jarvis Morgan Slade in 1883, the cast-iron building at 42 Wooster was extensively renovated in the 1990s by Larry Bogdanow and joined with 50 Wooster to create luxury condos in a unique partnership with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Although the condos were updated with modern electrical, plumbing, and air conditioning systems, vestiges of the 19th century remain, including the eye-catching original columns.

With 12-foot ceilings, oversized windows, and direct elevator access, “it’s classic SoHo-loft perfection without compromise,” says Sotheby’s International realtor Mark Mistovich, who shares the listing with Daniela Sassoun. Other features include French doors that open onto a Juliet balcony, an office with windows facing Wooster Street, and a primary bath with a marble tub and heated floor. Outfitted with furniture from Liaigre and appliances from Wolf and Miele, unit 3-SO is also available as a furnished turnkey property.

First look

A model residence opens at 393 West End Avenue

New York City designer Crystal Sinclair has unveiled a model residence at 393 West End Avenue, a 1920s building on the Upper West Side updated for 21st-century living by CetraRuddy. On the market for $6.13 million, the apartment at 14A is styled in geometric shapes, warm tones, and vintage furnishings that Sinclair says “invoke the carefree spirit of the 1970s.”

Much of the furniture is vintage and sourced from Europe and Brazil to create an inviting and relaxed atmosphere. Those pieces are complemented by wood-veneer Phillip Jeffries wallpaper and furnishings by Vladimir Kagan and Raymond Loewy. A triangular Moroccan wool rug from Sinclair’s personal collection contrasts with the living room’s curves and cylinders and enhances the disco-era vibe. Sinclar describes the four-bedroom apartment’s color palette of rich browns, creamy whites, and soft pinks as a “sunset on a plateau desert.”

According to the buildings’ developers, Rabina, the building is one of the last condo conversions in the West End–Collegiate Historic District due to the neighborhood’s landmark status.

Sales for 393 West End Avenue launched last April, with Louise Phillips Forbes of The Louise Phillips Forbes Team at Brown Harris Stevens leading sales. Move-ins are expected to commence in the spring.

News

New York governor Kathy Hochul vetoes bill closing condo loophole

New York governor Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill last week that would have ended a loophole giving tax breaks to suburban real estate developers.

New York housing law allows single-family homes on large lots to be designated as condominiums and assessed at a lower tax rate than traditional single-family properties. That workaround allows more than 100,000 homeowners to avoid paying at least $330 million in taxes, according to Syracuse.com.

A measure passed by the legislature in June would have let municipalities apply higher tax rates to those homes. But Hochel vetoed the bill on December 29, concerned it would deter new construction. “At a time when New York state is in the midst of a statewide housing crisis, this would be an unacceptable outcome,” the governor said in her veto statement.

Manhattan real estate ends the year on slow note

New York real estate softened in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to a new report from real estate firm Serhant. There were 28.2% fewer sales than in the fourth quarter of 2021, although the median sales price dipped just 1%, to $1,125,000. (The average sales price actually increased 5.6%, to $2,097,969.) The luxury market saw a bit of an upswing, with 2.3% of deals inked at $10 million or above. That’s up from both the third quarter of 2022 and the end of 2021, when super-prime deals represented just 1.8% of the market.

New developments also saw a slowdown at year’s end, with a total of 297 sales, down more than 16% from the third quarter. Contracts for condos with two or more bedrooms decreased, while those for smaller studio and one-bedroom units improved. “This is a marked shift from the COVID era, when larger, more spacious homes became the size of choice,” Garrett Derderian, Serhant’s director of market intelligence, said in the report.

Studio and one-bedroom buyers made up 40% of all new development contracts, up from 29% in 2021. Derderian said the change indicates a return to “a more typical pattern” for New York real estate. Looking ahead into 2023, he added that a tight inventory across all markets should keep prices stable, “although discounts appear to be climbing as developers look to recalibrate to present and future conditions.”

The biggest deal in New York City for 2022, revealed

The largest closing contract in New York last year was for a four-bedroom penthouse atop Aman New York on Billionaire’s Row, which closed at just under $79 million in July.

The four-bedroom and five-bath residence, known as the Jala Penthouse, occupies the entire 20th floor of the building, offering a wraparound terrace with a saltwater pool and breathtaking views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline.

Even though it set a record, the penthouse still went for less than the $83.5-million asking price, according to Marketproof’s latest report. And, technically, it was also outclassed by the combined sale of two apartments owned by late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen that sold for $101 million in July.

If considered one property, Allen’s units at 4 East 66th Street set a record for New York co-ops, The Wall Street Journal reported, beating the $77.5 million netted for New York Jets owner Woody Johnson’s Fifth Avenue duplex in 2015.

Via Architectural Digest