Gary Gold’s client Michael Beaudry has recently redone an incredibly gorgeous $10 million estate, which he wants to flip ASAP. If Gary can get people out to the estate and make a sale, he will earn a massive 6-figure commission. But if not, he will not only lose out on this deal, but might drop out of the running for Michael’s next big flip.

http://realestatemarketingsummit.com/2011/12/02/gary-gold-paves-the-way-to-luxury-real-estate-marketing/

Trulia Luxe Living:  http://luxe.truliablog.com/2011/12/selling-la-property-beverly-hills/

2300 Kimridge Road Video: http://vimeo.com/user2792633/review/27888109/6ff7cc23e1

Aaron Spelling’s mansion recently sold for $85 mil, well below the $150 million asking price but still indicating a robust high-end market.

Traditionally, real estate has been a hedge against the vagaries of the stock market and other sometimes volatile investments, but that hasn’t always been the case during what has come to be known as the Great Recession that began in 2008.

Yet, despite dropping housing prices across most regions, savvy investors have found blue chip properties that have resisted the downward pressure and even managed to rise in value. And the showbiz elite in Los Angeles has taken advantages of some rock-solid opportunities in its own backyard.

“Generally speaking, the world is thinking that the United States is on sale right now,” says Billy Rose, prexy of the Agency, a Los Angeles-based real-estate brokerage firm. But his own experience belies that belief.

The former agent is in expansion mode as his appropriately named company opens offices worldwide in order to reach international buyers seeking security. “Most everyone wants to invest in North America; both the U.S. and Canada are perceived as stable,” he adds.

Much of that worldwide interest is focused on Los Angeles and in particular, Beverly Hills, one of the world’s strongest markets.

BevHills arose as a bedroom community for industryites in the 1920s, and remains embedded in Hollywood’s homeowner and real estate investor psyche. “We’re seeing a lot of second, third, fourth and fifth home buyers,” says Rose pointing, to five $13 million home sales in the past two months to buyers who won’t be living in the properties full time.

Gary Gold, exec VP of Beverly Hills luxury real estate firm Hilton & Hyland, echoes that assessment. “A trophy (Beverly Hills) property, beautifully done, is selling more than it’s ever sold for,” he says. “Beverly Hills real estate is a flight to quality.” He notes that some of residential real estate’s current marquee properties are found in the flats of Beverly Hills, Trousdale Estates and the bird-named streets above the Sunset Strip. He recommends either buying “an ultra premium property or buy the best site and re-do it,” which not for everybody.

Los Angeles’ high-end properties are not the world’s most expensive. Comparatively, London, Hong Kong and Gotham per-square-foot rates exceed those of BevHills — which only increases its attractiveness to investors.

International buyers are driving the high-end market, Gold says. L.A.’s (and Hilton & Hyland’s) priciest home sale in 2010 — $85 million for the mansion that belonged to the late TV tycoon Aaron Spelling — went to an international buyer.

Adding to Beverly Hills’ desirability for investors, as opposed to even Malibu or Hawaii, is its access to commerce, per Gold.

“Any major metropolitan city is always attractive to investment,” says Rose, who recently analyzed the real estate market in Toronto, a boom town in part due to the Canadian government’s conservative fiscal policy.

However, Toronto’s 138 condominium tower projects under construction might raise concerns for investors, as too much of the same kind of product often results in a glut. (Miami’s condo towers or Las Vegas’ housing developments are two examples of too much of the same kind of inventory outstripping demand.)

“Property in L.A. is valuable because there is not a lot of copy-and-paste,” Rose says. “There’s not wide-scale development; every property is different from the next.” To investors, that’s a major positive on a potential investment property’s balance sheet.

http://vimeo.com/user2792633/review/27888109/6ff7cc23e1

For one, each of them has worked with Beverly Hills diamond cutter and jewelry designer Michael Beaudry.

“We have enjoyed a long list of celebrities and distinguished entrepreneurs that we have designed pieces for,” says Beaudry.

While the name Beaudry is primarily associated with one-of-a-kind diamond pieces, he’s also making a name for himself in home design with the launch of his home collection. The collection is featured at the Beaudry Flagship Salon at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills.

“I’m a frustrated architect,” Beaudry explained. “If I wasn’t a diamond cutter, I would have been an architect.”

Nowhere is this more apparent than Beaudry’s home overlooking Los Angeles, just listed on the Beverly Hills real estate market for $10,995,000.

It’s the third house that Beaudry and his wife Laura, also a jewelry designer, (who recently worked with Halle Berry), have lived in and renovated before selling.

“When we transform a property our goal is to show people how to live in it, by handcrafting or acquiring the right furniture and fixtures and spending a lot of time getting to know the bones of each home.” said Beaudry. “Our idea here was to bring in an authentic European sensibility and validate the architecture of the home so that it feels like an original early era Los Angeles estate.”

The two of them plastered the walls, added historic elements — like the 17th-century mantle in the great room and reclaimed stone from Greece in the motor court — as well as designed textiles, tile, and the landscape, turning the 2001 home into a Old World Mediterranean villa.

Listing agent Gary Gold of Hilton & Hyland describes the home as a piece of jewelry.

“The home…is beyond belief, from the lighting to the custom wall treatments. [It] has the same sensibility as his jewelry does,” said Gold.”He sells it like he sells his jewelry.”

The home is situated on a premium bluff location — something that Gold says is rare in Beverly Hills real estate, especially for a newer construction.

“Most of it [Beverly Hills] was built up in the ’20s,” Gold said. “If you want a new home you are mostly likely tearing an old home down.”

The bluff location gives the house unobstructed views of the city skyline and Pacific Ocean beyond.

Beyond prime views on a very private lot, the 6-bedroom home, 9-bath home features a media room, gym, 1,500-bottle wine cellar and tasting room, library and master bedroom with his-and-her bathrooms, a study and multiple terraces. The home also has a pool with entertaining area and comes complete with an outdoor theater, fireplace, commercial bar, grill and putting green.

After renovating this house, Beaudry says he and Laura already have ideas for another home project.

“We currently have our eye on other properties, but this one will always be special,” he said.

Tags: California real estate, celebrity, celebrity homes, celebrity real estate, Gary Gold, Michael Beaudry, notable homes

| By Sheree R. Curry | Posted Feb 17th 2011 10:11AM

Some real estate agents are looking to transform the industry by turning virtual video house tours into online mini-movies, complete with actors — or just starring themselves.

Video house tours are said to help peak a buyer’s interest in a property. In fact, the 2010 National Assocation of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers shows that 61 percent of homebuyers say virtual tours are very useful, right after photos and detailed information about the property.

However, the tours we know are mostly just moving versions of a slide show montage and some agents seek to spice things up.

The videos from those agents delving into this medium tend to be walkthroughs of the property. They range from the professionally produced with music to homemade with a handheld camera.

“Video can be a wonderful marketing tool, but it’s only as good as the quality of the presentation,” says Tom Postilio, a cast member on the current season of Selling New York, and the managing director and associate broker at full service real estate agency Core Group NYC. “Sometimes photographs are better at capturing the very essence of a thing than video.”

AOL Real Estate asked Postilio and three other well known luxury real estateagents to critique three home tour videos by their colleagues to see if they make the cut. Take a peek to see if you agree with the experts.

Cigar Distraction
New York, New YorkMax Dobens, senior vice president of Prudential Douglas Elliman in New York, creates broker-generated video with a handheld camera and posts the videos to his Facebook site and to his YouTube channel. His representative said he’s had luck with them (if not, why do them, right?), and one couple even saw one of the videos and wanted him to handle the sale of their apartment.

Glad to hear it appeals to sellers. But does it appeal to buyers? In one of his videos for a $1.195 million condo on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, he walks through the 1,133-square-foot unit, cigar in hand, telling viewers about this home on the 22nd floor of the Dunhill.

Although cigars are often associated with luxury, for me, to see the agent talking to me, waving a tobacco wrap in what could be my new home just does not appeal. Even though Dobens cigar did not appear to be lit, it was just a big turnoff. When I moved into my current place it took me two weeks to fumigate the cigarette smell that had penetrated the walls and carpet (my trick, fabric softener sheets and baking soda). I wouldn’t wish that experience on others.

Diane Saatchi, a senior vice president of Saunders & Associates in Bridgehampton, N.Y., agrees with me. In her email critique she wrote: “OMG, the cigar was the first turn off. I would not want to be in an elevator, taxi or apartment with someone likely to smell of cigar smoke.”

Former Apprentice Wade Hanson, who sells luxury real estate for Re/Max Results in the Twin Cities, exclaimed, “Really, a cigar! Is that really necessary? Is a buyer going to purchase this home because the Realtor is holding a cigar?”

Hanson, who knows a thing or two about appearing on-air after his stint on NBC, also thinks Dobens could’ve benefited from having a script, while the second turnoff about the home for Saatchi was the noisy street, which she says was apparent when Dobens struggled to open the terrace door.

But taken from someone who knows Dobens personally as a “great guy and a great broker,” Postilio says Dobens presentation is personable, informative, and professional. “I only wish the quality of the video were more refined. Also, I believe that some of the rooms might show better in person than they do in the video.”

Postilio says that he feels the video, however, “does its job because if I were looking for an apartment that fits this description, [it] would entice me to call the broker for a showing.”

You Sexy Thing
Manhattan Beach, Calif.

In this piece, conceived by Sotheby’s International agent Gerard Bisignano, not only is a brief tour of the $12.5 million listing shown, but so is the beachfront and street life as the prospective homebuyer, portrayed by an actress, speaks on the phone to a friend describing that she has just found the perfect home.

“The ad is clever in that it does not rely on an agent yakking about the obvious,” says Saatchi. “It has appeal to a young, wealthy buyer and if that were me, I would be interested enough to want to see the house.”

And that’s the goal, to get people to want to see the home. Listing agent Bisignano tells AOL Real Estate that when he first received the listing he started to think about a unique marketing strategy for this Ray Kappe-designed home.

“Almost all real estate videos are the same; the agent brings you for a tour pointing out the kitchen, master bathroom, et cetera,” says Bisignano. “Though I’ve seen some well produced videos, I felt this house was the perfect canvas to do something creative and totally ‘out-of-

See photos of homes for sale in your area and across the country on AOL Real Estate

the-box.’ It is my job to make my listings stand out above all the clamor and this was a natural result of trying to achieve that goal.”

The piece definitely stands out. The actress portraying the homebuyer sounds as if she works for a sex phone line. Although there are no intimate bedroom shots, and she is dressed in business casual, the sound of her voice just makes you think you were watching something x-rated. When the camera cut to the bath faucet, I just knew it would show water gush out (it didn’t though). One blogger put it this way: “Vaguely adult themes… it’s probably best to be sure the kids aren’t watching.”

As for Postilio, his reaction when he saw the video was “Wow.” He added, “In the business, we frequently refer to the term ‘real estate porn’ to describe photos of exceptionally beautiful properties, but this takes the cake. Apparently, the broker is confident that the ultimate purchaser of this property will be a man who frequents gentlemen’s clubs.”

Gary Gold, a top producer and executive vice president at Hilton & Hyland, a Beverly Hills’ preeminent luxury real estate firm with over $1 billion in annual sales, says that “Buyers have images in their head of what they are looking for and they are scouring the Internet looking for those images, whether it is a perfect kitchen or large yard or city view.” (And in this case, perhaps it’s a home on the beach.)

He says the Manhattan Beach house video seems to be “well thought-out” and “effective,” as “it told a story of the house and of the Manhattan Beach lifestyle.” But overall, Gold, who believes in the power of Internet marketing and has featured hundreds of virtual tours such as the one for this $1.3 million gated country estate, says ultimately, “it does not matter if it is a video or virtual tour as long as the photography is superb, the photos or video is assembled in a logical sequence and it is short and to the point.”

Postilio adds, “What fuels our home-buying dreams is our ability to imagine ourselves living in the home of our dreams. The human imagination is capable of creating its own storyline; there’s no need to impose a prefabricated lifestyle on buyers.”

Classic Style
Paradise Valley, Ariz.

Video production company, VisitMyLuxuryHome.com, produces online video walk-through of the home using a professional presenter. The style is classy, and focused on the home. It has the feel of a Sunday morning home showcase infomercial. The website says: “Obviously, nothing is as good as walking through the house yourself, but our online video is the next best thing.” Our expert agents agree.

“These videos seem to put more of a focus on the home,” says Hanson. “They are classy and give a complete tour of the home. These are nicely done and won’t turn buyers off like a few of the others.” However, he says he would like to see more video rather than just still shots.

For Saatchi, who also thinks this is the better of the bunch, but says the four-plus minute video was way too long for her taste. “I lost interest after one minute, would have stayed for two. I find customers view real estate ads at work or while watching TV and keep the sound off. Our customers tend to be impatient, have short attention for details and like to be in control. They do not like to be told the obvious and especially have no interest in being told to ‘lounge at the pool, relax in the over-sized tub or prepare gourmet meals in the professional style kitchen.’ However, once someone has decided on a house, they like to have the videos to show to their friends.

She says, “I have not yet seen any great video ads. Still ads and videos err on giving too much information and generally provide enough information to help the shopper decide not to see the property or use the agent.” She adds, “Real estate is hard to advertise; well-priced products generally sell themselves.”

Sheree R. Curry, who loves trolling the Internet for homes for sale, is a three-time award-winning journalist who has covered real estate for six years. During her 20-year career, her articles have appeared regularly in the Wall Street Journal, TV Week, and Fortune. She’s been writing for AOL Real Estate since 2009 from a Minneapolis-area rental. She seeks a book publisher — or at least a lender who’ll give a reasonable mortgage rate to a self-employed mom.

More on AOL Real Estate:

What Celebrities Want in a Home

Provided by:

Tyler Perry’s home lounge means never having to reserve a table. Photo: Zillow

We have our list of must-haves when looking to buy a home, but what do celebrities want in a home? A pool? Perhaps a home theater, gourmet kitchen and wine cellar?

Yes, all of those, but chances are, if you’re an A-List movie star, sports star, or chart-topping musician/singer, your number one priority is privacy.

Gates and Privacy

Stars such as Billy Dee Williams seek gated privacy Photo: Zillow

“It’s a huge issue,” emphasized Coldwell Banker agent Jade Mills, who has worked with Jennifer Aniston. “They want to be able to come home and get away from the paparazzi and want privacy when they go into their yard. They usually have foliage [and] hedges so that people can’t look in.”

Or, said Beverly Hills real estate agent Gary Gold of Hilton & Hyland, they want gates.

“It’s either got to be a gated, secure area or a gated community,” explained Gold, who currently holds the listing for Ashton Kutcher’s bachelor pad. “If you’re behind gates, no one can follow you home.”

This home, currently owned by Star Wars star Billy Dee Williams, is on the Beverly Hills real estate market for $4,195,000. Although the “Zen-like” mansion has 5,295 square feet of living space, its biggest draw for celebrities is the gate and foliage surrounding the property.

Everything Under One Roof

The celebrity kitchen is for entertaining. Photo: Zillow

Also, celebs require having everything under one roof. Unlike most people, running over to the gym or grabbing a bite to eat at a café isn’t always possible.

“If you’re a big celeb and going out to lunch, to dinner, to the gym can be a hassle and something you don’t want to do,” Gold said. “These are people who don’t go out but entertain at home more than the typical person.”

Rather than the formal dining room, some celebrities love to go the way of a gourmet kitchen with room to entertain there, Mills said.

This gourmet eat-in kitchen, pictured above, is in Mischa Barton’s home in Los Angeles. This piece of Beverly Hills real estate is currently listed at $8,695,000.

Home Theaters

What could be more essential than a proper home theater? Photo: Zillow

For movie stars, home theaters are the next item on the home checklist, said Los Angeles real estate agent Mauricio Umansky of Hilton & Hyland. “They’re in that business and they expect it.”

Burt Reynolds’ former home (above) features a home theater with seating for thirty. The mid-century modern house is listed on the Beverly Hills real estate market for $10.9 million.

Pool, Hair Salon and Guest Homes

Molly Sims’ home office is a great retreat Photo: Zillow

A pool, hair salon, and guest house are additional celebrity must-haves.

Many celebrities today are not just singers or actors, but product spokesmen, designers and producers and thus ask for additional space for a home office.

“Each [celebrity] has their own thing and needs a hobby room, a studio, a dark room, or a computer room,” explained Umansky.

Molly Sims’ home, on the Hollywood Hills real estate market for $2.8 million, has a personal office, redesigned specifically for Sims to work on her jewelry line. The space was featured in InStyle magazine in 2009.

Dog run, night club and other uncommon amenities:

But of course, there are always a few unusual requests.

Mills said she often looks for homes that have plenty of space for a client’s dog.

“Some people won’t buy if there isn’t an appropriate area for a dog to have a little run, or a little area,” she said.

Gold said he’s had to try to find a place that would take a 9-month-old mountain lion.

“Slash (of Guns and Roses) was a client of a mine and he wanted to remodel his house and needed a luxury rental for a year. He needed somewhere that would allow his 160-pound mountain lion named Curtis.”

Umansky said his oddest request was to find a piece of real estate that would allow for a nightclub in the home.

Apparently night clubs aren’t that altogether uncommon. Tyler Perry’s LA home does indeed feature a basement nightclub, as well as gym, screening room, and dine-in wine cellar. His house has been on the Hollywood Hills real estate market for nearly a year and is now listed at $11,595,000.

So far, no one’s asked for a helipad.

“Not here in Los Angeles, but out in Malibu where the ranches or vineyards [are] — that’s a different story,” Umansky said. “That’s more of a billionaire must-have.”

Click here to see more What Do Celebrities Want in a Home?

Zillow reports that the star will not just sell his labor of love, but will also have “an online home listing and designer showcase to benefit the Demi and Ashton Foundation (DNA), a non-profit organization that raises awareness about child sex slavery and helps in the rehabilitation of the victims.” Gilt.com is now selling tours of the home, which has been staged by five LA designers, at $250 per person. All proceeds from the home tour ticket sales–as well as a portion of listing agent Gary Gold’s commission from the home’s sale–will go directly to DNA. To purchase a ticket to see this celebrity pad, visit Gilt City Los Angeles.

Photos courtesy of the official listing with Gary Gold, Hilton & Hyland

From a sales listing for a Brooklyn apartment:

…2BR/2BA Duplex Loft Condo W/Parking!

Be a part of “Hollywood History”! Remember the bank in the 1975 Al Pacino classic movie “Dog Day Afternoon”? Well, be the owner of a lovely 2BR/2BA open layout loft in the very same “bank”!

             Dog Day Afternoon is a about a gay man who robs a bank to pay for his partner’s sex change. It’s dark and gritty. It’s not a “:-)” kind of movie.

But the Realtor who is selling the apartment is highlighting the fact that the movie was filmed in the building, which was turned into condos a few decades back.

Dog Day Afternoon is a about a gay man who robs a bank to pay for his partner’s sex change. It’s dark and gritty. It’s not a “:-)” kind of movie.

But the Realtor who is selling the apartment is highlighting the fact that the movie was filmed in the building, which was turned into condos a few decades back.

Along with routine real-estate photos (fireplace, stairway), the listing includes a picture of cops pointing guns at Al Pacino.

“It’s kind of scary, but it’s Al Pacino,” says Celeste Moses, the Realtor. “It’s an attention getter.”

Does the celebrity connection matter in real estate? For an answer, I called the capital of celebrity real estate — Los Angeles.

“I currently have Ashton Kutcher’s house for sale, and we did get a lot of exposure,” says Gary Gold, who has been selling homes in Southern California for 30 years.

“I probably had at least twice as many showings than I would have normally,” he says. “If you get more exposure and more potential buyers see the property, you have a better opportunity to get more money.”

Los Angeles real estate agent Gary Gold of Hilton & Hyland confirms most of the homes in the million-dollar bracket are selling for a third less than the peak market price — and that many of his clients are taking advantage of the discount.

 

“The [luxury] market is solid; people are buying for sure,” he said. “In general there aren’t too many people that say ‘let’s wait until prices get lower.’ ”

Gold emphasized that not all real estate markets are the same. While average prices are down 30 percent across the U.S., some of the higher-end homes in New York or San Francisco are still selling at strong 2006 prices, and properties elsewhere can be found listed for even lower prices — up to 50 percent off.

“Real estate is very local and every neighborhood is different. Every situation is different. There are certain things that are selling from zero to 50 percent [off] depending on the situation,” said Gold.

Why such a significant drop in prices? According to Gold, these homes may have been overpriced when they sold in 2006, or they are now located in a real estate market that is no longer considered high-end. Below are seven homes currently found on Zillow that were once priced in the million-dollar price bracket when they sold in 2006 but are now listed at prices 48 to 52 percent less. And no — these are not distressed sales (foreclosures or short sales).

Gary tours one of the finest estate properties in Beverly Hills with KTLA”S Gayle Anderson.

Waterfront Mansion located on Harbor Island in Newport Beach where neighbors are Billionaires.

Access Hollywood asked Gary to give a guided Tour of Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Holmby Hills finest and most legendary Estates.

We have completely revamped our online resource just for you. Here, you can easily search for the most exclusive properties in Los Angeles or get the best exposure for your home on one of the web’s most sought after websites in www.soldbygold.net.

You are encouraged to browse around our featured listings, use our simple MLS search tools or just get to know more about me, Gary Gold. And should you have any questions then simply call, email or contact me at any time.

My team and I look forward to the opportunity to possibly work with you in the future. In the meantime, enjoy our new site. We are proud of it and we hope it becomes your best and last destination for any and all information you need to complete your next real estate transaction.

Via Zillow: Ashton Kutcher has listed his old bachelor pad for a modest $2.6 million (by Hollywood standards). Described as a “modern craftsman,” this home features four bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms, a home theater, and a two-story wine cooler that can hold 210 bottles. The indoor/outdoor floorplan allows visitors to flow outside to an infinity-edge spa, pool, and waterfall. The estate sits on just under an acre of landscaped grounds behind a gated drive, allowing for privacy. After purchasing the home in 2004, the actor and his father, Larry, renovated and expanded it from roughly 2,000 square feet to 3,235 square feet.

Zillow reports that the star will not just sell his labor of love, but will also have “an online home listing and designer showcase to benefit the Demi and Ashton Foundation (DNA), a non-profit organization that raises awareness about child sex slavery and helps in the rehabilitation of the victims.” Gilt.com is now selling tours of the home, which has been staged by five LA designers, at $250 per person. All proceeds from the home tour ticket sales–as well as a portion of listing agent Gary Gold’s commission from the home’s sale–will go directly to DNA. To purchase a ticket to see this celebrity pad, visit Gilt City Los Angeles.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Thiller of a Villa: The 10,000 square-foot house has materials and artwork from Europe

Photographs by Everett Fenton Gidley.
By Ruth Ryon
Times Staff Writer
Whoever buys this Palos Verdes bluff estate had better like Flora, because she could be here for the long haul. She weighs 240 pounds and would be a challenge to move.

Flora, a large marble bust carved in France during the 1700s, is among the artwork that’s part and parcel of this 2002 estate. Another is a courtyard statue that the home seller had carved to look like one in a Naples museum.

The Italian-style villa is filled with unusual things from the past, including the 5-inch-thick front door as well as the Tuscan roof tiles, which were handmade int he 1850s. There are solid-bronze French doors, reclaimed farmhouse beams and limestone exterior walls from Vincenza in northern Italy.
Terra-cotta blocks – 300 years old and from the South of France – were used for exterior paving blocks. Some of them bear fingerprints from when they were pressed into molds.

Interior walls are plaster with a Venetian finish, and the wood floors are either American walnut or imported Italian parquet. There are also some stone floors.
About this house: Considerable attention was given to fine finshes, but the most outstanding feature is the head-on ocean view. There is also a sweeping view of the city.

Asking Price: $12 million
Size: There are five bedrooms and nine bathrooms in 10,000 square feet, and the house is on close to an acre.
Features: The home also has verandas, terraces, a pool and a lawn. Other features are a family room, library, breakfast area and elevator.
Where: Palos Verdes Estates
Listing Agent: Gary Gold, Hilton & Hyland, Beverly HIlls, (310) 858-5411.
ruth.ryon@latimes.com To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, please send color interior and a description of the house, including what makes the property unusual, to Ruth Ryon, Real Estate Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012; or e-mail homeoftheweek@latimes.com