PSY brngs Gangnam Style to Beverly Hills

TMZ reports that PSY, real name Park Jae-Sang, completed the transaction for the luxury condominium late last month. According to the original report, the five-star premises features valets, concierge services, a pool, a spa, a gym, a sauna and several tennis courts.

As for the abode itself, PSY has just afforded himself the ultimate in Beverly Hills luxury, with the 2,700 sq. ft home said to feature three bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms and spectacular views.

PSY’s stylish new Beverly Hills condo

Given the awesome success of Gangnam Style, it’s no surprise that the K-pop star didn’t need to bother with financing. TMZ reports that the condo was paid for in full with cash wired directly from South Korean. It’s believed that PSY has so far earned $8.1 million this year, from sales, endorsements, ad revenue and performances.

Its unclear how much time PSY plans to spend in his new luxury condo, especially given his apparent ‘dislike’ for Americans. A big controversy erupted recently when it was revealed that the star had previously produced a song in 2004 containing violently anti-American lyrics, something which PSY has since apologized for.

Amenities include this luxury swimming pool

On the other hand, PSY has reportedly only just signed a deal with US music producer Scooter Braun, who counts Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen among his other clients – something that suggests PSY could well be spending a fair amount of his time in the US as he looks to further his popularity in the US, where he already has a massive fan base within the Korean community.

Main image via KOREA.NET – Official page of the Republic of Korea – Flickr.com

Condo images via Jane Siegal, Wilshire Corridor Real Estate.

Image courtesy of trekandshoot @ Istockphoto.com

The Numbers

The median sales price for a Beverly Hills home in the last quarter was at $1,193,750, representing a decline of 0.5%, or $6,250 from last quarter, and a decrease of 20.4% from last year.  Over the last 5 years, sales prices have depreciated at a rate of 6.4% – a trend which doesn’t seem to be disappearing.

Mansions – those owned by celebrities or otherwise, are slow in selling in the current market, however properties on the Westside are more affordable, thus they are moving more quickly than their pricier counterparts. Properties which are not moving, are either overpriced are very “unique”.

As of November 1st, foreclosures in Beverly Hills are non existent, which means sellers are not impacted by anything other than what the market will bear. Despite this positive sign, Beverly Hills home prices and their values have declined by 10.2% from the same time last year.

The City

The City proper has a small population of only 34,000 individuals, however there is a lot of entertainment companies and the entertainment industry is pretty much synonymous with the city of Beverly Hills. The daytime population soars to approximately 200,000, providing major revenue for the city and the businesses who inhabit it. It will continue to remain a very popular place for tourism and an influx of “Hollywood Hopefuls”.

Visitors can take in world class restaurants, entertainment venues and shopping within walking distance of luxurious hotel suites, and residents have access to a choice of quality public schools for their children. Public transportation and public parking is fantastic as well.

Beverly Hills is close to beaches as well as downtown Los Angeles, the L.A. Airport, Hollywood, UCLA, Century City and the Getty Museum. Disneyland, Universal Studios and other attractions are also about an hour away.

The market in Beverly Hills, it seems to me, is all about perspective. When you look the market by itself, then yes there are some declines, but in my humble opinion, it’s about the market correcting itself. The markets are also vastly different between not only regions, but in some cases large differences can be seen even from neighborhood to neighborhood. Right now I don’t believe you could call Beverly Hills “down and out” – not by a long shot.

Rupert Murdoch sells mansion for $9.1 million - World Economic Forum @ Flickr.com

The mansion was originally priced at $14.8 million, but sold for $9.1 million. However there is no need to shed any tears on Murdoch’s account, as he apparently bought the home for a mere $7.8 million in 2003. One of the listing agents for the sale was Rupert Murdoch’s sister-in-law, Huailing Deng, and according to the report in MSN Money, her commission is likely to be something well over a quarter of a million dollars.

Since the home was originally put up for sale four years ago, it has been taken on and off the market several times, and was rented out to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in 2008 who apparently paid $100,000 a month to rent the property while Jolie was filming nearby.

The mansion has 11 bedrooms, 7 1/2 bathrooms and seven fireplaces. Other amenities include an eight car garage, 50 foot pool and 260 feet of beachfront. The 10,000 ft.², 19 room home was built in 1885 on 4.56 acres in Oyster Bay, near the Long Island village of Centre Island. Murdoch still has several other homes to choose from in the US including a secluded estate in Beverly Hills and a fifth Avenue triplex which he purchased in 2005 for $44 million.

Rihanna files lawsuit against realtors. Image courtesy of Bob Xu - Flickr

Pop star and sex symbol Rihanna has launched a lawsuit against the real estate company which sold her Beverly Hills mansion to her, claiming the property has been left uninhabitable due to a number of serious structural defects.

Rihanna accuses the agency, Prudential California Realty, of not disclosing the property’s defects before she agreed to purchase it. She says that heavy rain caused water to leak into the 10,000 sq. foot mansion from a second floor balcony that doesn’t have suitable drainage, before seeping into a number of rooms in the house.

The lawsuit charges the seller with failing to properly disclose defects in the mansion before the sale was agreed. She’s also accusing Prudential California Realty of failing to perform due diligence on the property, and says that it should have provided her with sales information regarding similar properties in the area. The agency should have known about the property’s “extensive construction defects”, says Rihanna.

The pop star is also suing Landmark Design Group, the firm she hired to remodel the home, saying it failed to carry out repairs to the defects.

Had she known of the defects in the home, Rihanna claims she wouldn’t have agreed to pay the $6.9 million asking price for the home back in 2009.

So far, both Prudential and Landmark have declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Have a spare 100K a month to rent this beauty? Image courtesy of Zillow/Coldwell Banker

While rental rates are up in many parts of the country, some of them are way up. One case in point is a property in Beverly Hills, California that is available for rent for a cool $100,000 per month.

The property as shown on Zillow, boasts 9 bedrooms and 10 baths, with a total of 9,987 square feet of living space.

It comes fully furnished, right down to the linens, and features interiors by Ralph Lauren in a style characterized as a “Connecticut / Hamptons” look.

Built in 1941, the property features the requisite swimming pool, tennis court, spa, bowling alley (recently added), and games room. There is a main house and also a smaller guest house.

Interestingly, the Zillow “zestimate” calculator has the rent value pegged at only $44,609 per month. It is not clear whether this will help a potential tenant negotiate a lower rent rate than the current listed price of $100K per month.

If you are interested, the property is offered by Coldwell- Banker Residential Brokerage – Beverly Hills South. The MLS number is 11-543105

Oh and don’t forget, like most rental houses, there may be a security deposit equal to one month’s rent.