The biggest deal on the books this week was “Law & Order” executive producer Dick Wolf’s $14.8 million purchase of a spec home in Hope Ranch, just outside Santa Barbara. Wolf bought the home for his wife, Noelle Lippman. Lippman and Wolf, who lives in nearby Montecito, are reportedly in the process of separating. The 11,200-square-foot spec home sits on 2.3 acres and has a long backyard pool and a cactus garden. Hope Ranch saw a surge in activity last year after Montecito was hit by mudslides caused by the Thomas Fire.
The biggest new listing of the week is for a 12,000-square-foot Beverly Hills estate once owned by Hollywood super-couple Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. The current owner, hedge fund manager Jonathan Brooks, has listed the house for $56 million. Pitt and Aniston bought the 1930s-era estate in 2001 for $13.5 million, and spent three years renovating it before selling in 2005 following their divorce.
Not far away in Holmby Hills, Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone has again chopped the price on her 56,500-square-foot estate. Ecclestone is now asking $160 million for Spelling Manor, named for its original owner, the late television producer Aaron Spelling. The 123-room French chateau-style estate first hit the market for $200 million in 2016, but with no bites, Ecclestone cut it to $175 million last summer.
Not to be forgotten in the sea of larger listings and deals was “Big Bang Theory” actor Jim Parsons’ sale of a Spanish Colonial-style home in Los Feliz. Parsons closed for just under $7 million, just a few hundred thousand dollars more than what “Twilight” star Robert Pattinson paid for the home in 2014, the Los Angeles Times reported. The 4,000-square-foot home has three bedrooms, and 3.5 bathrooms. The sloping backyard is centered around a lagoon-style backyard pool fed by waterfalls.
Parsons and Pattinson aren’t the only celebrities that have owned the home. Los Angeles Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, actor Tim Curry, and cinematographer Robert Richardson have all owned the home at one point.