13 October  2010

The Wall Street Journal

A Los Angeles mansion that originally listed for $85 million has sold for $50 million. It’s believed to be one of the highest-priced residential real-estate sales in the U.S. so far this year.

The home, which was owned by real-estate developer Mohamed Hadid, first listed for $85 million in 2009 but most recently asked $72 million. Public records list the buyer as Sarp Turanligil, owner of a Turkey-based yacht and furniture production company. A representative for Mr. Turanligil says he never owned the home, but was managing some business for a company that bought the home and is no longer affiliated with the property. The home has changed titles twice since it was purchased in June, to two different limited-liability companies, according to public records.

The 48,000-square-foot home, known as Le Belvedere, has 11 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms as well as a ballroom that can seat 250. The home has 19 fireplaces, a 5,000-bottle wine cellar, a Turkish hammam, a swan pond and a 70-foot long infinity pool. The estate, on 2.2 acres in Los Angeles’s Bel Air neighborhood, requires a staff of about 15, says Mr. Hadid. “It has to be managed like a hotel,” he says.

Former Daly Estate Sells in Malibu

The Malibu, Calif. home of the late philanthropist Nancy M. Daly, the ex-wife of former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, has sold for more than $40 million. It was first listed for $57 million and most recently asked $47 million.

The buyer, listed as a Delaware limited-liability company in public records, intends to lease the 13,000-square-foot mansion on Carbon Beach, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. Neighbors on “Billionaire’s Beach” include Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg. The home, on 0.75 acre with 180 feet of beach frontage, has eight bedrooms, nine fireplaces and a double-height living room with glass doors which slide into a wall. There’s also a pool and a sports court. Ms. Daly built the mansion in 2002 after buying the three lots comprising the estate in the 1990s.

NFL’s Buoniconti Cuts Asking Price on Florida Home

NFL Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti has trimmed the asking price for his Coral Gables, Fla. home by 18% to $3.48 million.

The former Miami Dolphins linebacker who helped host HBO’s “Inside the NFL” in 2005 bought the French-style villa with guest house—the total square footage is 4,600—for $1.98 million. He says his wife Lynn renovated the home anticipating they would move from their Key Biscayne home but “we couldn’t leave the water.”