For some celebrities, the fame and fortune isn’t enough. So they flip houses, too.
Stars have been flipping homes as a side hustle for generations, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Between Ellen DeGeneres, Diane Keaton, Jeremy Renner and Sofia Richie, the pool of celebrity flippers is active and seemingly growing.
DeGeneres is a well-known flipper in Hollywood. The comic and television host has renovated and flipped more than 20 homes in the past two decades, Los Angeles Magazine reported. Keaton has also been flipping since the early 2000s, with a particular penchant for Spanish Colonial-style homes, according to Architectural Digest.
Marvel actor Jeremy Renner, who was recently hospitalized following a snow plowing accident in Lake Tahoe, has also been in the flipping game for many years, Bloomberg reported. The “Avengers” star has bought and renovated more than 20 homes, according to the publication.
Sofia Richie and her fiancé Elliot Grainge flipped a Beverly Hills mansion for $21.8 million in June, less than a year after they bought it for $17 million, the Dirt reported.
Celebrities benefit from the caché of their names, which can help with everything from attracting buyers to getting in with top interior designers and architects.
“Once the designer puts in ‘x’ amount of money, it exponentially increases the value of the homes,” Tomer Fridman of Compass told the Reporter. Fridman is the longtime real estate agent to the Kardashian family, also known for their home flipping projects. Kendall Jenner, the supermodel and second-youngest sister in the famous family, jumped into the house flipping game in the latest season of Hulu’s “The Kardashians.”
“As a model, I still don’t have much say in anything creative really. That has brought me to wanting to start this journey of house flipping,” Jenner said in the October episode, according to Yahoo.
As media has evolved away from the over-the-top tabloid coverage of the early aughts, publications have turned to focus on celebrities’ real estate dealings –– in effect, free advertising for star flippers.
“[Look at] Dirt.com, those guys are like TMZ,” Stuart Vetterick, an agent with Hilton & Hyland told the outlet.
The growing prevalence of real estate on social media and in mainstream publications is also boosting the profile of celebrity flipping endeavors, brokers told the outlet. Fridman noted an Architectural Digest feature frequently precedes a listing.
“The minute I see a celebrity on the cover of Architectural Digest [speaking] of what an extraordinary job they did with their home, it’s getting listed within the month,” he said. “It’s so funny. It’s literally the precursor to it getting listed.”
–– Kate Hinsche