From Chip and Joanna Gaines selling a beloved property to designer-branded residences, there is always something new happening in the world of real estate. In this roundup, AD PRO has everything you need to know.
On the Market
Chip and Joanna Gaines put Magnolia House on the market
Are you a fan of Chip and Joanna Gaines? One of the Fixer Upper couple’s remodeled properties has hit the market in McGregor, Texas.
The Magnolia House, which appeared on the show’s third season in 2015, has been listed for $995,000 with Amanda Nesbitt of Magnolia Realty. Dating to 1880, the property includes five bedrooms, two baths, a detached garage, and a gazebo. A carriage house brought over from Grapevine, Texas, in 1980 adds three additional bedrooms.
Since appearing on the HGTV show, both houses have served as rentals and, on Airbnb, have listed for close to $1,000 a night. The Gaineses are letting them go to focus on their boutique inn, Hotel 1928, which is slated to open in nearby Waco in November.
“Magnolia has been honored to host guests from all around the world in these special homes, and has loved being a part of the McGregor community,” the company told Good Morning America.
Mary Tyler Moore’s captivating Connecticut estate lists for nearly $22 million
Beloved TV icon Mary Tyler Moore passed away in 2017. Now her widower, cardiologist Robert Levine, is listing their Georgian Colonial in Greenwich, Connecticut, for $21.9 million. Letting go of the 7.37-acre property, which the couple picked up for about $10 million in 2006, was “massively difficult,” Levine told the Wall Street Journal. But, he added, “It’s Mary’s house. If I’m going to step into my ‘What next?’ [era], I decided I have to step away from the house.”
Rather than just a showpiece or an investment property, Levine said Moore, who won multiple Emmys for her work on The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, wanted a home that reflected her personal aesthetic.
The original structure is believed to date to the late 1800s. Moore and Levine spent three years remodeling it with architect Stephen Wang. The fieldstone house was torn down to its bones and nearly doubled in size to about 14,000 square feet. Elements from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate in Virginia were incorporated, according to the listing with Joseph Barbieri of Sotheby's International Realty–Greenwich Brokerage, including round windows and rails.
There are five bedrooms and nine bathrooms in all, as well as a 65-foot outdoor pool, a gym with a spa and ballet barre, and a billiards room inspired by one in Moore’s grandfather’s house. A double-height solarium became Moore’s retreat in her later years, with stained-glass windows salvaged from old churches and synagogues. On the ground floor you’ll find built-in bookcases, beamed ceilings, a marble fireplace, and a dramatic curved staircase. Up one level, the 2,000-plus-square-foot primary suite is secluded in its own wing. It features a tray-ceilinged bedroom with dual dressing rooms, walk-in closets, and marble bathrooms. Outside, the gated driveway follows a meandering stream to Oakley Pond, with 7.37 acres of sweeping grounds buffeted by five more acres of conservation land. Less than an hour from Manhattan, the home still offers abundant privacy.
Moore was a vocal diabetes advocate, and a portion of the proceeds from the home’s sale will support the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative, which works to restore vision in people with diabetes.
Andie MacDowell is letting go of her storybook home in Silver Lake
After barely two years, Andie MacDowell is selling her 1928 Tudor home in Los Angeles’s Silver Lake neighborhood. The recently remodeled two-story property has been listed for $3.999 million with Compass’s Natalie Stern Trabin. Describing the five-bedroom residence as a “classic storybook home,” Trabin tells AD PRO she expects to field offers above the asking price, “especially with low inventory in the area and the incredible desirability of the neighborhood.”
MacDowell, best known for Four Weddings and a Funeral, purchased the Moreno Drive abode for about $4.1 million in 2021, paying $200,000 over the asking price after an intense bidding war. It includes formal living and dining rooms as well as a kitchen with a La Cornue range and discreetly integrated Miele appliances.
Take the grand staircase upstairs to find a family room with panoramic views of the Silver Lake Reservoir. The romantic bedroom suite has 15-foot pitched ceilings that overlook the backyard pool and native California landscaping designed by AD100 firm Terremoto. There’s also a two-car garage outside with a loft space open to a variety of uses.
Last year, MacDowell, who retains a vacation home in Montana, unloaded her two-house compound in L.A.’s Highland Park for $2.7 million.
George Clooney says “ciao” to Lake Como bachelor paradise
After nine years of wedded bliss, Academy Award winner George Clooney is finally ditching his mansion in Lake Como. The Ocean’s Eleven star has put Villa Oleandra, located in Laglio, Italy, near the Swiss border, on the market for about $107 million, Page Six reported.
There’s been talk of Clooney selling the 18th-century estate for years. He reportedly purchased the 25-room mansion from the Heinz family in 2002 for $10 million. It has a full gym, tennis courts, an outdoor theater, and a garage large enough to house Clooney’s sizable motorcycle collection.
In 2010 he told reporters he originally thought of just spending a few weeks vacationing at the villa. “But then I realized how beautiful life was in Italy and how it really helped calm me and not feel so pressured.”
The Clooneys haven’t completely given up on Europe’s charms: In 2021, they bought the Domaine du Canadel estate in Provence for $8.3 million.
A Gilded Age mansion in Brooklyn comes to market for $14 million
A five-story Renaissance Revival mansion in Park Slope, Brooklyn, could be yours for a touch under $14 million. Completed in 1898, 18 Prospect Park West was built by Montrose Morris, architect of some of New York’s first multiunit apartment buildings, including The Alhambra and The Imperial. While old-world details abound in this limestone town house, state-of-the-art mechanicals discreetly bring it into the 21st century. (If the residence stirs a memory, you may have seen it in the 1898 film classic Prizzi’s Honor.)
The townhouse looks onto Prospect Park, the iconic green space designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. The actual plot was purchased by wealthy lumber baron Sylvester Ross, who intended to use Number 18 for his family and sell Number 19 next door as an investment property. Sadly, Ross’s wife, Georgianna, died before Number 18 was completed, so he sold it and took Number 19 for himself. As the owner of a large lumber company, Ross provided Morris with the exquisite wood used throughout the building, according to architectural historian Suzanne Spellen, including on the coffered ceilings, patterned parquet floors, and medieval-style fireplace mantles. Morris wasn’t afraid of over-the-top flourishes, as evidenced by the two lions at the base of the stairs.
There’s a large media room and combination bedroom/games room on the garden level, while the parlor floor is home to two living rooms with oversized windows that drench the house with light. The lower level also features a grand formal dining room and a renovated kitchen. A stained glass skylight overlooks the carved stairway leading to the third floor, where you’ll find the primary suite with enormous walk-in closets and the original built-ins, as well as a spacious study that could serve as another bedroom. Three additional bedrooms are located on the fourth floor, and two more on the dormer level, which also has an ample storage space that could easily be reconfigured into a gym or child’s playroom.
Amy Mendizabel and Leslie Frishberg Wolfowitz of Compass are managing the listing, with staging by Jason Saft.
Tribeca penthouse with views of One World Trade lists for $24.7 million
A mega-duplex created from two existing penthouses is on the market in Tribeca for $24,770,000. AD100 designer Richard Mishaan crafted the sprawling seven-bedroom residence atop 101 Warren Street, taking up 6,373 square feet across half of the building’s 32nd and 33rd floors.
Perhaps the most notable features are the two wraparound loggia terraces, offering enviable views of One World Trade Center and the Hudson River. But the duplex also includes a 65-foot living room illuminated by Artemide Skydro lighting, a dining room with space for 20 guests, and an open kitchen with with Sub-Zero, Miele, and Wolf appliances, as well as a built-in fryer and a traditional Teppanyaki grill. The corner primary suite sports a spa-like bathroom with Bisazza mosaic tiles and a Duravit Starck freestanding oval tub. Four of the six other bedrooms also have ensuite bathrooms and electrically powered shades for privacy.
Taxi cab mogul Simon Garber purchased this luxury abode penthouse for a little over $8 million in 2010, then listed it four years later for $27 million. Garber has slashed the asking price several times since then and rented it out for up to $50,000 a month.
Completed in 2008, 101 Warren Street was designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill, with 227 condominiums and 163 rental units.
Notable Sales
432 Park floor-through goes into contract as the priciest apartment in New York City
One of the most famous residential buildings in New York City, the Rafael Viñoly–designed supertall at 432 Park rises a staggering 1,396 feet along Billionaires’ Row, housing 104 condominiums on 96 floors.
Now a five-bedroom condo on the 79th floor has gone into contract for $92 million, which would make it the most expensive residential sale in the city this year to date. The price is a notable reduction from the $135 million cited when the property was first listed in September 2021. But it’s still enough to bump an $80-million duplex at 220 Central Park South from the top spot.
The full-floor condo at 432 Park includes five bedrooms and five and a half baths across 8,055 square feet. Designed by artist and architect Hiroshi Sugimoto, it includes many nods to Japanese culture, including a traditional tea house, Shikkui lime plaster walls, stone slabs imported from Tokyo, and shutters carved from 1,000-year-old cedar wood.
The centerpiece of the apartment is a floating inner garden, which features two century-old bonsai trees planted between rectangular stones from Komatsu.
“Just as Central Park, which the windows overlook to the north, is one model of nature, I have further miniaturized that model to make a bonsai garden,” Sugimoto said in a release. “Some day in the future, when we have lost all connection with nature, the bonsai garden in this space will remain as an image of nature as it once existed.”
The seller, hedge fund founder and Asian art enthusiast Mitch Julis, purchased the unit in 2016 for about $59.1 million. Noel Berk of the Engel & Völkers Mercedes Berk Team has been managing the sale, which also includes a pair of adjacent studio apartments and two storage units.
First Look
MAD Architects unveils cultural center in Zhejiang, China
Beijing-based MAD Architects is sharing the design for the Anji Culture and Art Center in Zhejiang, about 150 miles southwest of Shanghai.
Under the direction of MAD founder Ma Yansong, the project broke ground in March and construction is expected to finish in 2025. Stretching across about 1.6 million square feet, the complex will encompass six venues. Those include a 1,300-seat theater, a 2,000-person conference center, a sports arena, and an arts education center that will be open at all hours.
MAD has designed the venue as a transition between the built and natural environments: The white tiles on the roof mirror the undulating shape of the surrounding hill, which is filled with Anji white tea bushes. A series of overlapping metal roofs, meanwhile, resemble bamboo leaves and allow natural light to enter the interior.
The main façade is up to 56 feet, the highest self-supporting glass wall in China. The center will also house concert stages, an exhibition area, and multiple courtyards that blur the lines between indoor and outdoor spaces.
New Developments
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Dolce & Gabbana takes up residence in Miami
Dolce & Gabbana has officially announced its first Miami real estate project, a partnership with Michael Stern’s JDS Development Group. The Italian luxury house has set its sights on 888 Brickell, the Studio Sofield–designed high-rise going up on the northwest corner of Brickell and Southeast 10th Street. Major Food Group was previously attached to the project, formerly known as Major, but instead announced Villa, a 58-story condo in Edgewater, as its first residential development. When it’s completed in 2027, the 90-story, 1,049-foot building will be the tallest in Miami, encompassing 259 residences and a luxury hotel.
After D&G launched its Casa housewares line, cofounder Alfonso Dolce said, “it was natural to think of a residential project developed in accordance with the very best in Italian hospitality.” Dolce praised Miami as both a global cultural destination and “a city that has always welcomed us with enthusiasm.”
The turnkey residences at 888 Brickell—which include from one- to four-bedroom units, as well as 10 penthouses—come in three colorways: White with Bianco Striata Marble, black with Nero Marquina Marble, and gold with Giallo Imperiale Marble. All offer furnishings curated by Dolce & Gabbana, as well as Venetian chandeliers, bespoke hardware, rare wood and stone, and accessories from the D&G Casa collection. Amenities include a ground-floor restaurant, an event space with an outdoor terrace, and a 4,000-square-foot pool deck with ocean views. And forget pickleball—888 will have double-height indoor courts for playing padel, a Mexican game that's a cross between tennis and squash.
Prices start at roughly $3.5 million and reach more than $35 million. Sales launched Friday and are being handled exclusively by Official Partners. Dolce & Gabbana joins fellow fashion houses Giorgio Armani and Diesel in launching branded residences in the Magic City. The brand is also working on a residential development in Marbella, Spain, and a hotel in the Maldives.
News
The best time to buy a home? Right about now
If you’re house-hunting, good news: Prime buying season is coming soon, according to Realtor.com’s “Best Time to Buy” report. Looking at the rest of 2023, the first week of October is the most favorable moment to buy property.
That’s when there are up to 17% more active listings than at the start of the year. But demand is expected to be 18.7% lower than peak buying periods, so homes should stay on the market for a week longer than during the summer. That gives buyers some breathing room to make a decision. In addition, closing prices are on track to be over $15,000 less than the summer’s peak price of $445,000.
“Our analysis shows that buying in the fall does give buyers some more predictable advantages that could potentially ease the pain of higher rates and other stressful aspects of the home-buying process, including making fast decisions and bidding wars,” Realtor.com economist Danielle Hale said in a statement.
The timing isn’t too surprising: In 2022, Realtor.com reported the week prior, September 25 through October 1, was the sweet spot for buying.
Apartment boom is in full bloom
What housing crunch? Data from Rentcafe finds that 1.2 million new apartments came to market in the last three years—the most since the 1970s. And another 1.1 million units are forecasted through 2035. By the end of December, a record 460,860 rental units will have been completed in 2023, the company reports, followed by 484,000 next year.
The pace of construction will then slow, as current economic conditions start to impact planned development. Only 408,000 apartments are projected to be built in 2025, a drop of 15%.
“Tightening of bank-lending standards—combined with rising costs of construction materials, labor, and land—has made new projects harder to pencil,” says Doug Ressler, manager of business intelligence at Rentcafe parent company Yardi Matrix.
Not surprisingly, New York City is home to the biggest cluster of new rental units, with at least 33,000 by December 2023. Interestingly, at least a third will be in Brooklyn. The second largest market, the Dallas metro area, should see 23,659 new rentals by the new year, followed by 23,434 in Austin and a smidge under 21,000 in the greater Miami area.
