Muskoka Living Founder in Contract to Sell Brentwood Home

A home designer and his family are getting ready to say good-bye to their custom Brentwood estate with the property now in contract.

The $26.5 million asking price on 127 South Burlingame Avenue equates to $2,944 per square foot and makes it last week’s top home to go into contract, according to the Eklund Weekly Luxury Report Los Angeles.

The report is produced by Marcy Roth of Douglas Elliman’s Eklund Gomes team and counts Multiple Listing Service properties of $4 million or more.

127 South Burlingame Avenue (Mike Kelley)

The home is being sold by Muskoka Living founder Cory DeFrancisco and his wife Catherine DeFrancisco, according to property records.

The Agency’s H. Blair Chang and LeAnne Thrasher hold the listing.

Muskoka Living makes and sells furniture and also provides design services. Started in 1998, the company has showrooms in Gardena, Calif. where it also has its manufacturing facility, and in Muskoka, Canada.

The DeFranciscos snapped up the property in 2020 for $7.4 million, according to records. They then went to work rebuilding and redesigning the home, which was completed in 2022.

Brentwood is part of the city of Los Angeles, making the deal subject to the Measure United to House L.A. (Measure ULA) two-tiered tax. If it sells above $10.6 million, as likely in this instance, the higher tax bracket of 5.5 percent will apply.

The seven-bed, seven-bath home spans 9,000 square feet. Most of the home’s furniture, cabinetry and flooring was created by Muskoka Living. Each bedroom has its own private terrace, while olive and citrus trees dot the backyard. There’s also a pool, spa, detached guest house and sports court.

Last week’s second-priciest home to go into contract was 620 North Bedford Drive in the Beverly Hills Flats neighborhood, with a list price of nearly $22 million, or just under $2,000 per square foot.

That comes on the heels of the closing off market of 722 North Maple Drive, which sold for $22.4 million, or $2,571 per square foot, over the weekend. The Beverly Hills Estates’ Jack Harris and Michael Fahimian represented a local family in its purchase of the property, while Keller Williams’ Gary Gold was the listing agent.

The Bedford Drive home counts seven beds and nine baths across 11,000 square feet. Highlights of the contemporary-designed residence include a motor court, glass-enclosed wine storage, theater, wellness suite and sauna, basketball court and pool.

Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California’s Aaron Kirman and Jordana Leigh have the listing.

Property records indicate the seller is a trust tied to Jessee and Rebecca Sarshar.

Overall, Los Angeles County signed contracts last week tallied up to $227.5 million in listing price volume across 23 properties, according to the Eklund Gomes report. That comes to around $9.9 million per deal, with$2,035 per square foot on average for the bunch.

Compared to the year-ago period, signed contracts last week were off by four deals and up 9.4 percent in asking volume.