Friday Diversion: Stephanopoulos Buys in the Hamptons, Anderson Cooper’s New Firehouse

Renting could become housing’s “new normal,” but here is a look at luxury homes being bought and sold this week:

George Stephanopoulos, co-host of ABC’s “Good Morning America” show and a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, buys a home in East Hampton, N.Y., for $3.5 million, about 7% less than its asking price. The 4,500-square-foot shingled home was built in the 1890s and expanded in 1993. It has five bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms, three fireplaces, a pool, an outdoor shower and a separate guest cottage. Photos. (WSJ)

Interior designer Cindy Rinfret, whose clients include fashion mogul Tommy Hilfiger and television personality Regis Philbin, lists her Greenwich, Conn., home for $14.5 million. Located on more than five acres, the Tuscan-style home measures roughly 14,000 square feet and has six bedrooms and six bathrooms. Built and designed by Ms. Rinfret in 2005, the home features French limestone fireplaces, a home theater, herb and perennial gardens, a bocce court and outdoor kitchen, dining and living rooms. Photos. (WSJ)

Daria Zhukova, editor of the British fashion magazine Pop and girlfriend of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, pays $19.5 million for a Tuscan-style home in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills. She paid 11% less than the $21.9 million listing price. The newly built home is about 9,700 square feet and has six bedrooms and eight-and-a-half bathrooms, as well as a pool, a billiards room, a movie theater and a wine cellar. Photos. (WSJ)

CNN’s Anderson Cooper plans to move into a former firehouse in New York City’s Greenwich Village. The New York Board of Fire Underwriters sold the four-story building in September for $4.3 million. Mr. Cooper has hired architect Cary Tamarkin to convert it into a home, but plans for the construction have not yet been filed. The Beaux Arts-style building measures 8,240 square feet and has its original spiral staircases and brass fire poles. (New York Post)

A penthouse on the 76th floor of the Time Warner Center in Manhattan, once rented by Jay-Z for $40,000 a month, hits the market for $38 million. Jay-Z rented it from real-estate investor Michael Hirtenstein, who paid $15.7 million for the home. Mr. Hirtenstein later sold the four-bedroom unit for $27 million in early 2007. (Curbed)

A Las Vegas mansion that Michael Jackson rented sells for $3.1 million in cash. Mr. Jackson paid $1 million to rent the 15,000-square-foot home for six months in 2006 and 2007. The property includes seven bedrooms, a tennis court, a basketball court and a 20-seat theater. (Bloomberg)

Performer Ashlee Simpson-Wentz lists her 7,100 square-foot home in Los Angeles’ Beverly Hills area for $4 million. The Mediterranean-style villa is walled and gated and has hillside and canyon views. It also has five bedrooms, six-and-a-half bathrooms, cathedral-beamed ceilings, an eat-in kitchen, a fitness room, a media room, a swimming pool, a spa and a meditation garden with a fountain and fire pit. The property also includes a two-story guesthouse. (Los Angeles Times)

Katie Lee, Billy Joel’s ex-wife, lists her Manhattan townhouse for $12.9 million. The 4,000-square-foot home has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, four fireplaces, an elevator and a pool. The home was previously owned by Johnson & Johnson heir Seward Johnson. (New York Post)

No Comments