Makeover on Kanye West’s Former Malibu Home Lands Buyer

Kanye West’s previous pad in Malibu made headlines again this past week when it appeared in the No. 1 spot among signed contracts in L.A. County, with a $39 million asking price.

The weekly contracts list from Douglas Elliman’s Eklund Gomes team placed the beachfront property at 24844 Malibu Road at the top of its list, which is based on asking dollar volume.

West, who now goes by Ye, had famously stripped the property of its finishes and electrical wiring that left a shell of the home sitting like a concrete bunker on the sand. Belwood Investments later swooped in to buy the property in September for $21 million, reworked the property and it is now in contract to sell it to Montana developer Mazella Ventures LLC.

Hilton & Hyland exodus paves way for new LA stars

The trickle of agents from Hilton & Hyland over the years after the passing of co-founder Jeff Hyland has set the stage for a new era in L.A.’s high-end brokerage world.

The peeling off of top talent from Hilton & Hyland has led to a new battle for market dominance in the boutique brokerage world. That has led to the emergence of new names that now define the high end, including Carolwood Estates, Beverly Hills Estates and Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California among others.

James Packer makes another big LA real estate play

Australian billionaire James Packer made waves yet again in L.A. real estate when he landed a buyer for his Beverly Hills property.

The mystery buyer paid $60 million for the 12-bedroom, 18-bathroom home at 1028 Ridgedale Drive. It was famously owned by Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman before Packer, and it also counted Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez among its more recent renters.

Packer in March agreed to pay $110 million for 630 Nimes Road in Bel-Air, telling Australian media outlet news.com.au he planned to move into the 10-bed, 15-bath mansion mid-year. Records of a closing have not yet been filed.

Westside Estate Agency’s Kurt Rappaport and Carolwood Estates’ Drew Fenton represented Packer in both instances. Rappaport also represented the buyer in the Ridgedale Drive property, but declined to provide details citing a non-disclosure agreement.

Lawmakers save rent control bill for later

This past week was a wrap — for now, anyway — on the contentious Assembly Bill 1157, which aimed to bolster tenant protections across California.

Assemblymember Ash Kalra, a Democrat representing San Jose, said he withdrew the bill from consideration on Tuesday because “more time is needed” to hash out the details.

The proposed bill aimed to lower the ceiling on rent increases across the state, while also providing protections to single-family home renters.

Budget shortfall clobbers LA’s bond rating

Los Angeles’ $1 billion budget shortfall, aside from clouding last week’s State of the City, has now translated into a lower bond rating.

S&P Global Ratings lowered the long-term rating on the city’s general obligation bonds to AA- from AA. The city’s lease revenue bonds were adjusted down from AA- to A+.

The ratings agency called out the “city’s weakening financial position and an emerging structural imbalance” in a statement explaining the downgrades.

Signs of retail coming to Great Park — finally

San Juan Capistrano developer Almquist landed Asian grocer T&T for The Canopy project at the Great Park.

It’s the first Southern California location for T&T and will finally bring much-needed retail to Great Park residents in Irvine.

Almquist founder Dan Almquist let slip to The Real Deal back in March there are also plans to bring a “big hamburger chain in California” to The Canopy. Time will tell, but TRD’s bet is on In-N-Out.