Westside Estate Agency founder gets $750K a month for Malibu rental

Kurt Rappaport, co-founder of the Westside Estate Agency, has found a tenant to pay $750,000 a month to rent his Malibu estate for the summer, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The deal is evidence of the increasing appetite for high-end Malibu rentals, thanks in part to an uptick in demand from the wealthy international visitors, the paper said. The typical two- or three-bedroom Malibu rental goes for around $20,000 a month in July or August.

“It’s a new market that’s emerging,” said Johnny Steindorff, a partner at 4 Malibu Real Estate.

As for Rappaport, he said the price of his 22,000-square-foot Malibu pad was entirely justified and a bargain when compared with renting a five star hotel suite or chartering a yacht for a month.

“Presidential suites don’t have screening rooms, your own gym, or a 168-foot-long pool. It’s kind of a no-brainer,” he said. [WSJ] — Katherine Clarke