The Best Celebrity Real Estate of 2012

Photo Courtesy of Hilton Hyland

With a new year upon us it can be fun to look back on everything we experienced and learned over the last year. 2012 meant a lot of things to a lot of people but to many celebrities, it was the year they put their luxury real estate properties on the market – or maybe even sold them. It can take years to sell these sprawling homes – mainly due to the steep price tags – so it’s no surprise that some of them have been available for quite some time now. Maybe 2013 will be a little kinder to the real estate market but regardless, here are some of the best celebrity real estate of 2012!

Mark Wahlberg’s career just keeps soaring higher and higher, taking him farther from his rapping origins. With two big movies last year (Ted and Contraband) and four new flicks planned for release in 2013, one finished and the others in post-production, he doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon. Unfortunately, his career isn’t helping him sell his Beverly Hills estate. Listed at $12.9 million, this gated home sits on two acres of land and features a beautiful waterfall pool and grotto. Also included is a gym, theater room, patios and terraces with canyon views, a guest house, and high ceilings.

Photo Courtesy of Hilton Hyland

The New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez is still hoping to sell his home in South Beach, Miami for $38 million (he bought it in 2010 for $24 million). With nine bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, and almost 20,000 square feet of room, this property would be great for anyone appreciative of minimalist interior design. Not to mention, the waterfront view looks pretty relaxing.

Photo Courtesy of Sotheby’s International Realty

Actor Ryan Phillippe is selling his modern home in Los Angeles, which features great views of surrounding canyons and city lights. At 7,447 square feet and with five bedrooms, this home was decorated with comfort in mind, which sets it apart from other celebrity homes. The living areas are accented with comfortable-looking home furnishings, like rugs and leather couches, while the 60-foot-long swimmer’s pool has underwater speakers. The listing price is set at $6.99 million.

Photo Courtesy of The Agency

If you were hoping to snatch the last home that late Pop King Michael Jackson lived in, you’re too late because the luxury French Chateau already sold for $23.9 million. Built in 2002, this Los Angeles estate is found in Holmby Hills, is 17,171 square feet, and sits on 1.26 acres of land. Aside from the previous owner, it’s no surprise that this home sold when you consider the design’s representation of Parisian architecture blended with some 18th-centure Rococo extravagance (especially noticeable in the whimsical landscaping). The residence features seven bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, an elevator to carry you up the three floors, wood-paneled library, spa and gym, game room, and 12 fireplaces. One of our favorite rooms is the theater, which looks fit for a presidential film screening with its sky mural on the ceiling, chandelier, and lovely wood work throughout.

Photo Courtesy of The Agency

Listed at $8.9 million (a drop from the previous $10), Reese Witherspoon is still hoping to sell her California Ranch just outside of Ojai. The décor seemingly reflects her laidback style, infusing simple designs with playful pops of color. With rustic wooden ceilings, iron wrought stairwells, a stone fireplace, and fun Spanish tiles, this home was built in 1923 by Wallace Neff and has appeared in numerous publications, like Elle Décor and Vogue.

Photo Courtesy of Don Lewis

Fashion icon Coco Chanel used this 10,000-square-foot villa – known as La Pausa – as her summer home from 1929 to 1953, and was put on the market for a hefty $50 million. With seven bedrooms and bathrooms, and interior décor choices made by Coco herself, this mansion sits on nearly nine acres of land and features views of the Mediterranean. Famous names that have stayed here include Igor Stravinsky, Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, Winston Churchill, Greta Garbo, and Princess Grace.

Photo Credit: Burger/Sotheby’s/Curbed.com

Oprah’s New York City home was sold for $7.75 million this past year, which is a slight raise from the $7.1 million it was purchased for back in 2008. Much speculation surrounded who actually bought the home, Oprah or her best friend Gayle King, and even more questions surrounded who really lived there, but that didn’t stop the 2,500-square-foot penthouse from selling. Found on the 36th floor, the home features three bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, walk-in closets, a Jacuzzi tub, floor-to-ceiling windows and nearly 800 square feet of terrace space.

Photo Courtesy of Zillow.com

If you’ve ever been watching The Flintstones and found yourself wishing you could live in a home carved out of a huge stone, Dick Clark’s Malibu, California house is for you. With over 22 acres of land at your disposal, this residence is listed for $3.5 million and has a pretty unique design, with the overall use of stone giving it a prehistoric (or post-apocalyptic) look. The structure features 360-degree views of Los Angeles, Channel Islands, Pacific Ocean, Boney Mountains, and Serrano Valley.

Photo Courtesy of Trulia.com

Casa Casuarina, the once-owned mansion of Gianni Versace in Miami Beach, has spent quite of bit of time on the market. Listed by The Jills, the property was listed at $125 million early in 2012 but the price has since been dropped to $100 million. Versace bought the home in 1992 and reportedly invested $33 million on refurbishing and enhancing the décor and when businessman Peter Loftin bought it in 2000, he apparently kept all of Versace’s designs intact. The 19,000-square-foot estate has 10 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, hand painted walls and ceiling frescoes, and a 54-foot-long mosaic tiled 24K gold lined pool in the courtyard.

Photo Courtesy of Coldwell Banker

For anyone who grew up on the heartwarming tales of Winnie the Pooh, this charming English cottage is the birthplace of A.A. Milne’s timeless tales. Cotchford Farm was the childhood home of the real Christopher Robin, who was Milne’s son and is who the stories were written for, and is listed for £2,000,000 (around $3.22 million). Found on the edge of Hartfield, East Sussex, the Garden II country estate is surrounded by landmarks that can be found in the stories, like the 100 Acre Wood, Poohsticks Bridge, Pooh Corner, and Galleons Lap, which makes it a great vacation home for any literary aficionado. The home itself features exposed wood beams, oak framed windows, wooden drop latch doors, flagstone brick flooring, and a split-level drawing room that has a fireplace and stove. It sits on 9.5 acres of land and has many gardens, an apple orchard, kitchen garden, and a fish pond. One of the neatest draws is that throughout the lovely gardens there are many stone statues of Christopher Robin, Owl, Pooh, and many other characters from the stories.

Photo Courtesy of Savills

Singer Christina Aguilera is trying to unload this 11,000-square-foot mansion, which was once owned by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, as seen in their MTV realty show The Osbournes. Listed for $13.5 million, the mansion has six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a gym, game room, gift wrapping room, salon, theater, guest house, recording studio, pool and grotto, and a BBQ. If you’re an Ozzy fan, don’t expect much of the décor to reflect his style because with dramatic chandeliers and zebra prints, this place has Christina written all over it.

Photo Courtesy of Curbed.com

French actor and filmmaker Gérard Depardieu listed his 19th century villa in Paris for $65 million, which was a choice apparently made due to Socialist French President Francois Hollande’s 75 percent top tax rate that will kick in soon. With plans to set up shop in Belgium, the actor is trying to get rid of this 20,000-square-foot home, which features 20 rooms, 10 of which are bedrooms. Split between two structures (the historic 1820 Hôtel de Chambon being one of them) with a private garden connecting the two sides. The wealthy actor originally intended the home to be offices of his production company, as well as some apartments for his loved ones, but then shifted his plans into turning the space into a luxury boutique hotel that was set to open in 2013.

Photo Courtesy of Daniel Féau

Hilary Swank’s 6,700-square-foot Pacific Palisades home is still on the market for $9.4 million. The actress originally bought the home in 2007, right around the time she began dating talent agent John Campisisi, and she reportedly decided to sell the property after the couple split up. With an ocean view, this Mediterranean-inspired home was built in 1928 and restored by the Santa Monica and Santa Barbara-based architects Mark Appleton & Associates, alongside NYC designer Mark Zeff. The home features six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, a saltwater swimming pool, private spa, poolside cabana, an outdoor kitchen and dining area, as well as an open-air terrace on the top floor that gives excellent views of the Pacific Ocean.

Photo Courtesy of Realtor