One of Bel Air’s most prominent family compounds has come to market. 

Villa Cresta, the longtime home of late financier John Hotchkis and arts patron Joan Hartley Hotchkis, has been listed for $65 million. The more than 4-acre estate is being marketed by Compass’ David Kramer and Andrew Buss and is being sold through the Hotchkis family trust overseen by Sarah Ketterer, founder and CEO of Causeway Capital Management.

If sold anywhere near its asking price, the home could set the mark for priciest trade of the year. Currently, a home located at 1111 Calle Vista Drive in Beverly Hills, which sold for $47 million in March, holds that title.

The six-bedroom, 12-bathroom estate at 10939 Chalon Road was designed by architect Marc Appleton, who also designed the Sullivan Canyon estate of cosmetics mogul Dean Factor. That home hit the market last month for $48.5 million. 

The main house’s primary suite features dual bathrooms, a private study and its own garden. The home boasts old-world touches like Venetian plaster walls, imported stone mantel fireplaces dating back centuries and a custom-paneled library. The outdoor area has an infinity-edge pool, a motor court with space for more than 25 cars and views of the Pacific Ocean. A detached guest house is designed for long-term visitors. The property also has a private hillside vineyard planted with Sangiovese grapes. 

John Hotchkis co-founded Trust Company of the West and investment firm Hotchkis & Wiley, while Joan Hotchkis served as a former Sotheby’s vice president and trustee of the Kennedy Center. John Hotchkis died in 2017 at age 86, and his wife Joan died in September at 88. 

The Hotchkis family has been downsizing their real estate holdings over the past year. Last April, months before Joan’s death, another Southern California home owned by the couple hit the market. A cottage-like home in Oceanside, north of San Diego, came to market last spring for $11 million, Mansion Global reported. That property was designed after the coastal French town of St. Malo, where the Hotchkis family had another home. 

“Sadly, our family is scattered now,” Joan Hotchkis said at the time of the decision to downsize. 

— Chris Malone Méndez

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A Bel Air developer who spent seven years building a sprawling mansion overlooking the Bel-Air Country Club is betting the Los Angeles ultra-luxury market has room for another trophy listing.

The roughly 18,000-square-foot estate at 10830 Chalon Road is hitting the market for $65 million, Mansion Global reported. The unnamed seller originally intended the home as a personal residence, not a speculative flip, despite being a real estate developer himself, according to listing agents Aaron Kirman of Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California and Carolwood Estates’ David Parnes. 

The distinction is notable in a city flooded with supersized spec homes chasing a dwindling pool of well-positioned buyers. The seller bought the site in 2012 for $3.4 million and replaced an older home with a contemporary build that leans heavily into warm natural materials instead of the stark white interiors common in many newer L.A. luxury projects. He reportedly spent years and significant capital to build the home for himself and his family, but a drawn-out construction process and changing life circumstances led him to opt to sell instead.

“No one would build to this level of quality, detail and design and spend that much time — and, frankly, money — if it was purely on spec,” Parnes said. “He did build it for himself, and when you build something for yourself, you see it through a different lens.”

The estate sits on the 12th fairway of the Bel-Air Country Club, directly across from a $400 million megamansion that currently holds the crown as the most expensive home for sale in the country. The seven-bedroom home includes dual primary suites, separate staff quarters and extensive wellness amenities including an indoor lap pool, cold plunge, sauna, steam room and gym connected to outdoor entertaining areas and an overflow pool. 

The Chalon Road manse is the latest big-ticket home in Bel Air to hit the market. Bidding is underway for a seven-home property owned by Kuwaiti billionaire Bassam Alghanim after listing it for $105 million last month. 

— Chris Malone Méndez

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A Bel Air spec mansion that once sought a $50 million price tag is heading to the auction block after failing to find a buyer. 

The 19,348-square-foot home at 677 Nimes Road will be sold at auction with a $30 million reserve, Mansion Global reported, citing Paramount Realty U.S.A., which is handling the sale. 

The auction for the home comes after years of languishing on the open market. The property, completed in 2023, sits on a 0.7-acre hillside lot and contains parking for up to 50 cars. Developer and entrepreneur Edward Ehsan, founder of Golden Palm Properties, assembled the property over the course of nearly a decade. He bought the site in 2015 for nearly $5.3 million when it hosted an 1,800-square-foot home that was teardown, Ehsan told Mansion Global. 

Initially, Ehsan planned a quick flip, listing the land for $15.9 million in September 2016, then pitching it with development plans at nearly $22 million when it didn’t sell. When buyers didn’t bite, Ehsan pivoted to building the largest home the city would allow. The spec project hit the market in 2021 at just shy of $50 million before a series of cuts brought it below $40 million, still without a deal.

“I wanted to maximize the potential of the land,” Ehsan said. “I don’t have a formula about how I live; I basically go with the flow.” Ehsan has been living in the home, which he says is “more like a little boutique hotel in lower Bel Air than anything else,” since it was completed.

The six-bedroom home spans three floors with multiple kitchens and kitchenettes and amenities including a cocktail bar, wine gallery, theater, sauna, a hair salon and an infinity-edge pool and hot tub facing the city. A subterranean garage beneath the pool deck fits 22 vehicles, with additional outdoor parking for nearly 30 more. 

After years of testing the traditional listing route, Ehsan is opting for auction amid a slowing Los Angeles ultra-luxury market segment. Online bidding for the property will run through June 11.

— Chris Malone Méndez

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The Washington Wizards’ Anthony Davis found a buyer for the Bel Air mansion he placed on the market last year at a nearly $40 million asking price.

The listing price is a big mark up for the former Los Angeles Lakers star, who paid $31 million for 2100 Stratford Circle in 2021. He made the pricey purchase just a few months after selling his 16,000-square-foot Westlake Village home for $6.6 million, taking a loss on the pad after spending $7.5 million for it in 2018. He originally sought $8 million for the North Ranch Country Club Estates home when it hit the market in 2020.

The Stratford Circle residence, which is over 17,000 square feet and counts eight bedrooms and a dozen bathrooms, marked last week’s top Los Angeles County home to go into contract based on asking price, according to the Eklund Weekly Luxury Report Los Angeles.

Marcy Roth of Douglas Elliman’s Eklund Gomes team compiles the weekly roundup of signed single-family and condominium deals, which counts listings of $4 million or more in the Multiple Listing Service.

The Stratford Circle mansion, which comes out to an asking price of $2,313 per square foot, touts an entry anchored by a 35-foot glass dome ceiling. Other amenities include a theater, massage room, hair salon, batting cage, cold plunge, elevator, tennis court and enough parking for over 30 cars.

Re/Max One’s Jordan Cohen holds the listing.

Last week’s second highest priced home to go into contract was 831 Georgina Avenue in Santa Monica.

The five-bedroom, six-bathroom home spans over 7,000 square feet, and is listed for just under $13 million, or $1,775 per square foot.

The home first went on the market in 2024 for $14.9 million, or $2,035 per square foot. It then saw several price reductions, with the most recent taken in January.

A trust tied to Dave Wirtschafter, president of the former William Morris Agency, is the seller, according to PropertyShark records.

Sotheby’s International Realty’s Susan Montgomery is the listing agent.

A total of 25 homes and condos went into contract last week and amounted to $181.3 million in asking volume, according to the Eklund Gomes report. That’s up over 65 percent in volume and six more contracts compared to the same time a year ago. 

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A Bel Air property consisting of seven houses is heading to auction, but not before asking nine figures for the entire package. 

The roughly 15.9-acre property, spanning nine parcels and seven homes across Lower Bel Air, will be marketed for $105 million ahead of a no-reserve auction next month, Mansion Global reported.  

Kuwaiti billionaire Bassam Alghanim owns the property and has been piecing together the assemblage since 1979. After the death of his father, Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim, in 1992, Bassam Alghanim inherited a stake in his family’s company, Alghanim Industries, though he is not involved in its running. The Kuwait-based firm is one of the largest privately owned companies in the Persian Gulf, operating more than 30 business units, including selling General Motors vehicles. Bassam Alghanim had an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion in 2018, according to Mansion Global. 

Dubbed “The Crown Bel Air” by Concierge Auctions, the property ranks as the second-largest residential offering on the market in Bel Air behind a larger 263-acre site being marketed for development. The property is anchored by two landmark estates on a cul-de-sac and has addresses at 991, 1000, 1005, 1031, 1037, 1111 and 1401 Bel Air Court. The properties surround the home of late music icon Quincy Jones at 1101 Bel Air Place, currently on the market for roughly $40 million. 

Among the seven total properties is a 1960 Mediterranean-style mansion with botanical gardens, a guest house and an 11,000-square-foot main house, which was listed along with two of the other parcels in October for nearly $50 million. The other homes in the package include a midcentury home designed by architect Gus Duffy, another Mediterranean-style house dating back to the 1970s, a 2002-built home with a lagoon-style pool, a 1950s Cape Cod-style house and another 1950s home, which was the first of the bunch that Alghanim acquired.

Bidding on the property opens May 1 and closes May 13. The assets will first be offered individually, then as a full portfolio only if the top bid exceeds the sum of the individual parcel sales.— Chris Malone Méndez

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A Bel Air megamansion owned by late music icon Quincy Jones has taken yet another price cut. 

The domed home at 1101 Bel Air Place has seen a $6 million haircut with a new listing price of just under $40 million, Mansion Global reported. 

It’s the latest slashing at the Lower Bel Air property since it hit the market last May for almost $60 million. The home first took a hit to $55 million, and last month, the price dropped again to $46 million. This latest list price represents a loss of roughly 33 percent from its original ask. 

Jones purchased the vacant 2.3-acre lot in 1972 for $200,000, or nearly $87,000 per acre. The music producer tapped late luxury hospitality architect Gerald “Jerry” Allison to build a home at the site. Jones moved into the manse in 2002 and lived there until his death in November 2024.

The home spans 24,920 square feet and features five bedrooms, eight full bathrooms and nine half-bathrooms. The mansion’s primary suite has multiple walk-in closets, a gym, a den, a private balcony and a spa-like bathroom. In the same east wing of the house, Jones built a recording studio, complete with its own entrance, reception area, security office and a photo gallery. The east wing also boasts a screening room and several guest suites. 

The central wing houses a library, a bar and a terrace as well as a separate wine bar, wine cellar and tasting room that open out into an indoor garden. Outside, the property has a lighted tennis court, multiple verandas and patios, and an infinity-edge pool with a hot tub. 

“My father loved his home so much,” Jones’ daughter, actress Rashida Jones, said when the property hit the market last year, per the Wall Street Journal. “He created it from the ground up with his boundless imagination.”

Jones won 28 Grammy Awards and was best known for producing Michael Jackson hits like “Thriller,” “Off the Wall” and “Bad.” He also composed the scores for more than 30 films such as “The Wiz” and “The Color Purple.” He died of pancreatic cancer in November 2024 at the age of 91. 

— Chris Malone Méndez

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The listing price for the home of late music icon Quincy Jones has taken another cut. 

The Bel Air megamansion is now listed for just under $46 million, down $9 million from its previous price of $55 million, Mansion Global reported. It’s the second haircut at the property since it went on the market this past May for almost $60 million. 

The manse at 1101 Bel Air Place spans 24,920 square feet. Jones purchased the vacant 2.3-acre lot in 1972 for $200,000, or nearly $87,000 per acre, and recruited late luxury hospitality architect Gerald “Jerry” Allison to build a home at the site. Jones moved into the completed mansion in 2002 and lived there until his death in November 2024 at age 91. “He created it from the ground up with his boundless imagination,” his daughter, actor Rashida Jones, told the Wall Street Journal of the estate last year.   

Quincy Jones’ home features five bedrooms, eight full bathrooms and nine half-bathrooms. The primary suite in the east wing has multiple walk-in closets, a gym, a den, a private balcony and a spa-esque bathroom. The east wing houses the recording studio Jones had built, complete with its own entrance, reception area, security office and a gallery where Jones displayed pictures. There’s also a screening room and several guest suites in the east wing. The house’s central wing includes a library, a bar and terrace, as well as a wine bar, a wine cellar and a tasting room that all open out into an indoor garden. The exterior includes a lighted tennis court as well as multiple verandas and patios and an infinity-edge pool with a hot tub. 

Jones, a 28-time Grammy Award winner, was best known for producing Michael Jackson hits like “Thriller,” “Off the Wall” and “Bad.” He also composed the scores for more than 30 films, including “In Cold Blood,” “The Wiz” and “The Color Purple.” He died of pancreatic cancer in November 2024 at the age of 91. 

— Chris Malone Méndez

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Westside landlord Neil Shekhte has slimmed down his apartment holdings. Now he’s making cuts on the residential side.  

The Bel Air Crest mansion he and his wife Margot Shekhter built traded earlier this month for $15 million. A Delaware-based LLC, managed by Margot, officially sold the estate, according to property and state records.

Herbert Boeckmann III, son of late Galpin Ford owner Bert Boeckmann, and his wife Mary Boeckmann are the buyers, according to property records.

Josh Altman and Matt Altman of Douglas Elliman’s The Altman Brothers Team had the listing. Sotheby’s International Realty’s Brett Kester represented the buyer.

The home, located at 2156 West Stratford Circle, originally hit the market about a year ago with an asking price just under $27 million before a series of price reductions.

The Mediterranean-style home sits within the gated Bel Air Crest community and counts eight beds and 13 baths across 15,578 square feet. It has an elevator, courtyards, library, wine cellar and garage with enough space for 16 cars, according to the listing.

The Shekhters began building the Stratford Circle home in 2005, living in the property they owned next door while the work was done.

The couple in 2008 sued All Powerful Plumbing & Heating and insurance company American International Group with separate complaints filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. The Shekhters alleged the plumbing system’s failure in the home led to water damage. They then alleged in their lawsuit AIG “grossly lowballed” their insurance claim and “unreasonably delayed” resolving the matter, making the home uninhabitable and ultimately delaying their sale of the neighboring Stratford Circle residence. Settlements were ultimately reached in both cases.

Neil Shekhter has made news this year as the once prolific Westside landlord’s apartment holdings have shrunk.

His WS Communities’ portfolio was more than halved in January as he handed the keys to lenders to stave off foreclosures. In May, WS hired JLL to market 11 Santa Monica apartment buildings, representing more than a third of the company’s portfolio at that point.

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Galpin Motors, parent of Galpin Ford, owns 10 dealerships in the San Fernando Valley. The business is run by Herbert Boeckmann III’s younger brother Beau Boeckmann, who appeared on the television shows “Pimp My Ride” and “Jay Leno’s Garage.” Company founder Bert Boeckmann passed away in 2023 at the age of 92.