Until a major celebrity paid about $9 million for his Point Dume bluff estate in the mid-eighties, Malibu lagged well behind other famous environs in high-priced-tag home sales. Places such as Beverly Hills, Greenwich, Connecticut and Palm Beach, Florida set the pace for mega-dollar deals.
At the beginning of the month, however, 10 properties in Malibu were listed at or above the staggering $10 million level. Indeed, the day has come that Malibu boasts a collection of listed estate properties competitive with any place in the world.
No home off the beach had sold for more than $3 million locally until 1988 and only the biggest and brightest beach homes caught the attention of the most elite home purchasers worldwide. Paying top dollar for real estate did not make sense, given Malibu’s distance from the city.
Much has changed in recent years. Malibu has rapidly elevated among the most expensive environs in the country, according to most studies, keyed by the standout upper-end properties. The booming economy of the past 15 years, combined with technological advances allowing for work from home and car, have reduced the disadvantage of Malibu’s distance from business and entertainment centers.
Only four homes have sold above $10 million, led by the $27 million sale of a six-acre beach and bluff compound last year that ranked among the nation’s all-time highest. Two properties without beach access are Malibu’s highest-priced listings currently, each of them asking $25 million or more.
Malibu’s most elite listing is a Mediterranean mansion on a private knoll directly overlooking the pier and lagoon. It sits on about 16 acres and features a home of about 15,000 square feet. It could be yours for $32 million.
The property has a small golf course and two guest houses, including one at the massive gated entrance. There are seven bedrooms, 10 baths in the home as well as a state-of-the-art media room. The garage holds 10 cars.
About three miles up Kanan, in the adjacent canyon, is an estate of about 240 acres and several homes, all with acres of manicured grounds. The property is made up of several parcels that may allow for additional estate sites. Asking price: $25,000,000.
The French Normandy main residence of more than 8,000 square feet is surrounded by other guest homes and pools along a maze of private roads within the compound.
It wasn’t until 1997 that Malibu saw its first $10 million-plus transaction: a six-acre Encinal Bluffs estate that was in the $14 million range. The estate, with nearly 400 feet of beach near Broad Beach, topped $12 million in ’98, as did a Pt. Dume bluff home on one acre later in the year. Previously, in 1995, three separate bluff homes were purchased for a total of about $12 million, since combined into one large estate.
All of Malibu’s eight-figure deals to date have been beach-adjacent properties.
Gulls Way, the 12-acre compound near Latigo Canyon owned for decades by the Ulrich family and now Pepperdine University, is for sale at $15 million. The property has been used hundreds of times for social functions as well as film shoots. Besides a traditional-style 6,000 square foot main home, originally built in 1947, there are a variety of caretaker quarters.
Among a stretch of condos along Carbon Beach is an estate known as the Shell House because of the large white shell design on its outer wall along PCH. It is currently listed at $17 million.
On Cliffside Road, near the headlands of Point Dume, sits a new listing for $17,700,000 for a home just finished, featuring a view of the entire Santa Monica Bay and coastline. Surrounding the home of more than 11,000 plus square feet is a forest of thousands of tropical palms, plants and flowers. The property is over an acre and has a 60-foot pool.
Another Encinal Bluffs estate is also new on the market, listed at $21 million. The property includes three lots and three homes, sitting on nearly 200 feet of beach. One of the homes is a four-bedroom beach house on a small bluff. The property owns an entire sandy cove to itself. The main house is French Normandy style, originally built in 1968 and surrounded by gardens.
It may be that only a couple of these listings will sell in 2000. The higher the price, the tougher the sell, obviously. Still, the price-tags are indicative of our entry into the world’s most elite neighborhoods and home values throughout Malibu are only helped by such listings.
If it is simply a nice beach house you desire, consider a home on Carbon Beach listed for $11 million on approximately 137 feet of sand. Despite its beachfront location, the property has a north/south tennis court and large ocean front pool. There is a guest house also, with two bedrooms. The main house is entered via a large flower-filled courtyard.
Another Cliffside estate, listed at just over $10 million, features curved walls of glass that take in the ocean view. Not only does the home have extraordinary craftsmanship in a very private, gated location, the bluff property features a direct beach access, rare among Pt. Dume bluff properties.
Some of Malibu’s most impressive properties are along Paradise Cove. One current listing, with views of city lights to the east and the Malibu Riviera to the west, is over two acres with four homes on the property including a beach cottage on the sand. There are a total of eight bedrooms on the estate, listed at $10 million, as well as a pool and tennis court.
An Encinal Bluffs property with five acres and 300 feet of beach was designed by the son-in-law of Frank Lloyd Wright, and is on the market at $12,500,000.