High-profile home buyers will often sacrifice space for being paparazzi proof, recent discussions have shown, a trend becoming truer every day.
Haute Living: What trends or themes have you noticed recently, in terms of the direction real estate has taken, particularly those that may have veered in a slightly different direction of the past several decades in the industry?
Jeff Hyland: Privacy, seclusion, and atmosphere are the key tenets behind the purchase of a home for today’s A-list celebrity. Eye-grabbing street views, which take out-of-town tourists by surprise and which took precedence in the days of Gregory Peck and Harold Lloyd, have morphed into a preference for longer-than-ever gated drives, security systems, and being out of the public eye as much as possible. Gaudy has become subdued.
The day of the iPhone and omnipresent Twitter feed brings with it a need for such privacy, and as real estate brokers, it remains our job to stay abreast of the evolving technology world with respect to security and safety, while also remaining relevant in a world that sees the convergence of these new trends with a passion for the history and depth of Los Angeles’ architectural scene more than ever before.
HL: Do you notice these primarily with high-profile clientele or with clients in general?
JH: According to recent studies and extensive discussions with my colleagues in the industry, there is direct correlation between high-profile clientele and being high in the hills of their respective city of residence.
Our agents Drew Fenton, Gary Gold, and the dynamic duo of Branden Williams and Rayni Romito Williams, among many of our other agents, have sold multiple homes to celebrities and have noted similar trends. Among the Williams teams’ recent sales, in addition to the record-busting $70 million sale of 1181 North Hillcrest, in the last year, this team sold the well regarded home at 539 South Mapleton Drive in Holmby Hills for $22 million, handled both the buying and selling end for the property at 1005 Benedict Canyon–which sold for $18 million–and at 9380 Sierra Mar Drive for $19 million–all of which maintain the highest level of security, discretion, and safety.
Moving forward, an eye on this unique convergence of secured residences, emerging safety technology, and maintaining the history and architecture we know and love is vital as we look to provide best-in-class.
