Hot Properties

Top Listings of 2015

By Cutright Elizabeth on Dec 15, 2015 in News

Though seven-figure listings may have dominated this year’s luxury real estate, some mega-homes were forced to downgrade their expectations and their list price. At the same time, other properties and projects still in development held out high hopes for wealthy buyers willing to pay any price for their very own slice of paradise. Palaces, manors and landmarks – they were all up for grabs this year!

Say Hello to El Fueridis

In Brian De Palma’s 1983 film, Scarface, gangster Tony Montana builds a cocaine-fueled empire that soon lands him in a Miami mansion littered with the flotsam and jetsam of his lavish life of crime. With a beautiful wife, a pet tiger, and more illicit drugs than he can apparently handle, Tony eventually become a victim of his own hubris, uttering his famous last words before tumbling off his ornate balcony into a fountain inscribed with the words, “The World Is Yours.”

Though the film was set in Florida, the house is actually located on the opposite coast. The 100-year old haunt, known as El Fueridis to friends and neighbors, was designed by LA Public Library architect Bertram Goodhue and has always been hip to the Hollywood scene. Its “Persian-style” gardens and 24-carat gold ceilings once hosted the wedding of Charlie Chaplin and Oona O’Neil.

More recently, the 10,000-square-foot mansion has languished on the market for over a year, its ten acres and innumerable fountains unable to coax potential buyers to fulfill the $35 million asking price. A thirty-percent discount seems to have done the trick: the property finally sold for $12.26 million earlier this year.

The Largest Log Cabin on Earth

Beyond Abe Lincoln’s wildest dreams, this expansive – and expensive – Granot Loma is technically a “log cabin,” but it’s aspirations are completely Millionaire Mile. A National Landmark, this farm/log mansion sits on 8 square miles of prime real estate hugging Lake Superior, and with a listing price of $40 million, Granot Loma is the most expensive home in Michigan.

With a history as rich as its price tag, the residence was originally envisioned as a “wilderness escape” for Louis G. Kaufman, financier and one of the founders of General Motors. Kaufman’s domicile cost over $5 million to build back in 1923, and the grounds include orchards, barns and 13 buildings strewn across almost four miles of shoreline.

The Most Beautiful Home in Hollywood

Floating above the sparkling lights of the Hollywood skyline sits Artemesia, the largest Craftsman style homestead in the U.S. Dubbed “the most beautiful home in the Hollywood Hills” by Yahoo Real Estate, this 13,290 square foot residence sits on a 2-acre lot resplendently populated by native plants and wildlife. After a painstaking 30-year restoration, Artemesia’s current owner is finally ready to part with this Southern California jewel for any offer in the ballpark of $10 million.

Built in 1913 by Frederick Engstrum, the building has been refurbished and renovated with special attention paid to retaining preserving beautiful, era-specific interiors and architectural embellishments. Glamourous and evocative, Artemesia combines modern amenities with period piece treasures perfectly designed for star-studded galas and glamorous get-togethers.

Feeling Lucky?

Only high rollers will be able to contemplate purchasing the Nile Niami House. At more than double the cost of the world’s most expensive listing (a $221 million London penthouse snatched up in 2011), this record-setting Bel Air dwelling is currently priced at $500 million.

For half a billion dollars, buyers expect extravagance and the Nile Niami House delivers in spades, boasting a 5000 square foot master bedroom, a 30-car garage and a “Monaco-style” casino. With 360-degree views of the Pacific Ocean, Beverly Hills and downtown Los Angeles, the lucky owner of this 74,000 square feet roost will most certainly feel like they’ve just won a jackpot.

Straddling over a 4-acre hilltop lot, the artist rendition of this not yet completed mansion features the usual luxury accouterments, including lots of concrete, steel and glass and endless pools set in moat-like precision in front of floor-to-ceiling windows. Though still under construction, the 2017 move-in date mean you’ll have less than two years’ wait before being popping on over to neighbor Elon Musk for a cup of sugar.

Undercover Hideaway

Perhaps you have certain espionage-based needs that cannot be fulfilled by any U.S. based crash pad. If your life revolves around shaken martinis and undercover activities, perhaps the Dar Bianca in Marrakech can be your home-sweet-home.

Featured in the new James Bond film Spectre and designed by Phillipe Starck protégé Imaad Rahmouni in 2006, this smallish mansion comes with a guesthouse, a swimming pool and a spectacular view of the Atlas Mountains. Surrounded by an artificial stream, the three-bedroom residence seems to float above five acres of palm tree dotted parkland. Listed for €4 million via French estate agent Emile Garcin, it’s a steal

Your Own Private Palace

Have you imagined eating cake with Marie Antoinette and dodging the guillotine? Well, now you don’t have to travel all the way to France to fulfill your destiny. For a mere $159 million, you could be the proud order of Le Palais Royal.

Based on the Palace of Versailles, Le Palais Royal sits atop a subterranean entertainment complex and includes two guesthouses, an ice-skating rink, a go-kart track, and the ubiquitous millionaire-style bowling alley and nightclub. The outsized chateau is also decked out in $3 million worth of gold leaf and accented with six waterfalls, a marble staircase and an 18-seat IMAX theater. With a wine cellar able to hold 3000 bottles and a 4,500 square foot infinity pool with swim-up bar and water slide, Le Palais Royal is certainly a worthy successor to the extravagant castles and luxurious sanctuaries of Europe’s kings and queens.

Start Your Legend

If you’ve got an extra $14,855,000 to spare, then here’s your chance to live like an NBA superstar. Michael Jordan’s Highland Park headquarters sits on 7.39 acres just north of Chicago. For the asking price (those numbers add up 23, Jordan’s Chicago Bulls jersey number), you’ll get 9 bedrooms, 18 bathrooms and one regulation-size NBA-quality basketball court.

Concierge Auctions describes Jordan’s sprawling residence is described as “cozy” and “intimate” – quite a hat trick for a house that boasts 56,000 square feet! Potential buyers are exhorted to “welcome guests to expansive, light-filled rooms” and “display large works of art with ease, each piece highlighted with museum-quality lighting.”

If it’s Jordan’s celebrity that piques your interest, then you’ll love the six, “Hollywood-style” promotional videos narrated by Jordan himself. Starstruck buyers will not only get the chance to not only live in Jordan’s shadow but walk a mile in his shoes – the final sales comes with “a pair of every edition of signature Air Jordans” with purchase.

The Palace of Love

Surrounded by 25 acres of vineyards, the Palazzo di Amore (“Palace of Love”) is not your average mansion. Less dwelling and more “massive entertainment complex”, the Palazzo di Amore includes a 27-car garage, a ballroom, movie theater and bowling alley.

After hitting a high of $195 million, this “most expensive home in the country” is currently off the market. After dropping the price tag to a more reasonable $139 million, owner and real estate mogul, Jeff Green chose to deliver a stay of execution on any potential sales in favor of transforming the all that acreage into an organic farm.

The World’s Most Expensive Estate

Spanning 800 square miles, the W.T Waggoner Ranch is bigger than Manhattan and billed as “the largest estate in the world” by Sotheby’s. With an asking price of $725 million, the ranch is also one of the most expensive properties in the world.

Sprawling over 6 north Texas counties, the ranch hosts 7,500 heads of cattle, 500 horses and 20 cowboy camps. Owned by the Waggoner family since 1849, a current family feud has prompted the sale as part of an asset liquidation agreement between the Waggoner heirs. Buyers hoping to capitalize on this rare opportunity would not only be purchasing a home worthy of the Ewing’s, but the chance to lord over lakes, streams and almost 30,000 acres of farmland.