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Despite Cage's Luck, Market Hot For Sales Worth Multimillions

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By RUTH RYON, Los Angeles Times

Published: January 5, 2008

LOS ANGELES - When lean times come to the housing market, even the rich and famous can feel the pinch.

Consider Nicolas Cage. The Oscar-winning actor paid $7 million for his mansion in Los Angeles' Bel-Air section in 1998. Then, in autumn 2006, he listed it at $35 million. Local Realtors termed the house overpriced, but Cage, a savvy investor, held tight. Finally, in December, he took the property off the market.

He can wait for things to heat back up. In the meantime, a book about Gerard Colcord, designer of Cage's landmark home, is in the works, with publication expected this year. The house, built in 1940, is an English-style manor on slightly more than an acre with nine bedrooms and nine bathrooms in nearly 12,000 square feet. It has a 35-seat theater, wine cellar, game room, pool and circular driveway with a fountain.

And the house has a pedigree when it comes to owners. Besides Cage, whose "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" is in theaters, it was owned by Welsh singer and entertainer Tom Jones and actor-singer Dean Martin. Jones owned the home for 20 years.

Cage's case of home-seller blues is somewhat unusual. Despite a general housing slump, celebs fared well during 2007 in buying and selling homes on Los Angeles' Westside and in Malibu, according to Cecelia Kennelly-Waeschle of Sotheby's International Realty in Malibu.

Tom Cruise bought in Beverly Hills at about $35 million; Courteney Cox and her husband, David Arquette, sold in Malibu at nearly $33.5 million (and then bought another house there for $17 million), and St. Louis Rams owner Georgia Frontiere sold in Bel-Air at nearly $30 million.

Madonna's former home in Beverly Hills, the one redone by Diane Keaton, just closed at almost $17 million. Add to that Johnny Carson's Malibu home, which sold for about $38 million.

A look at the closings shows 63 home sales topping $10 million for the area in 2007 compared with 55 in 2006. There were 12 at more than $20 million in 2007 in contrast with 10 at more than $20 million in 2006.

"So the rest of the market may be feeling the sting from the subprime, but it has not affected the upper price ranges," Kennelly-Waeschle said.

Town Home With Lake View

Bill Richmond, the comedy writer and producer who wrote eight movies for Jerry Lewis including the original "The Nutty Professor," has purchased a town house overlooking the lake in Calabasas Park for nearly its asking price of $1.3 million.

Richmond wanted to live closer to family in the area, north of Los Angeles.

His 1974 town home has three bedrooms and three bathrooms in 2,000-plus square feet. The unit was recently remodeled. It has a courtyard and a corner fireplace plus a master bedroom suite with a balcony.

Richmond started in show business as a jazz drummer with bandleaders Harry James and Les Brown.

He also wrote for "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," "The Carol Burnett Show" and "The Diahann Carroll Show."

Muscle In On Malibu

Gregory Joujon-Roche, a personal trainer to many A-list celebs, has listed his Malibu condo at just less than $2.7 million.

The two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit is on Carbon Beach, where DreamWorks co-founder David Geffen just purchased and reopened the Malibu Beach Inn.

Celebrity decorator Jeff Andrews, who recently completed a $10 million renovation for TV host Ryan Seacrest, designed the interiors.

The 1,200-square-foot condominium has a one-touch lighting system, glazed concrete floors and an outdoor living area overlooking the Pacific. The area also has a steam shower and a soaking tub.

Joujon-Roche's company, Holistic Fitness, was responsible for getting Tobey Maguire in shape for his starring role in "Spider-Man" and helping Brad Pitt add extra muscle for "Troy."

Fit For A Family Guy

Peter Shin, supervising director of the TV show "Family Guy," bought a contemporary-style house for $1.3-plus million in the Hollywood Hills. He had been living in the Burbank area.

His new home has four bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms in 2,100 square feet. The house, built in 1966, has an open living room, remodeled kitchen and master bathroom with a soaking tub and steam shower.

Shin listed his 1948 Burbank home at $799,000. It has four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a pool.

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