The Real Estate Blog

Best known for playing boxer Rocky Balboa and John Rambo, Sylvester Stallone has recently purchased two lakefront houses and will soon be met walking, or even running around Lake Sherwood in Thousand Oaks.

The two parcels he has bought still need some construction. The first one has a house standing on it, with 500 feet of lake frontage, the second is an adjacent lot, which was listed at about $1.7 million.

As Los Angeles Times reports, Stallone is not a stranger at the neighborhood. He once owned a large equestrian home in nearby Hidden Valley.

Lake Sherwood is home to many celebrities.The community is gated and affords a high degree of privacy. The lake itself is used for boating, fishing and swimming. So one can only envy the fairy palace of Stallone.

According to Big Time Listings, the main parcel is a three-bedroom, quite an old house built in 1946. Stallone is expected to eventually raze the house, which has two fireplaces and a pool room and which measures either 1,987 square feet, according to public records or 3,600 square feet, according to listing information. That main property had been listed for $5,499,000.

Despite this new parcel bought, the actor’s main residence “reportedly” is in Beverly Hills, a 15,121-square-foot mansion on 4.173 acres at 30 Beverly Park Terrace in Beverly Hills, which Stallone owns through his Lion’s Castle Trust.

Photo:© pechisbeque

Oscar-winning actor and real-estate mogul Nicolas Cage, who owns houses all over the U.S., has recently made up his mind to sell his new custom-designed mansion in Las Vegas, which he bought for $8.5 million in 2006, through his Hancock Park Real Estate Trust. As The Wall Street Journal reports,

[Cage] has in recent years bought houses not only in Las Vegas, but also bought and sold a great deal of them all over the world including San Francisco, New Orleans, Middletown, R.I., and Bath, England. Last year, Mr. Cage found an intruder in his main residence in Newport Beach, Calif. In January, he sold the house for $35 million, an area record.

We also know that the actor owned another house in the neighborhood, on the same street, which he quietly sold last year. It’s unclear whether Cage bought either home for investment purposes, for family members or for himself, but one thing remains clear–his other 7 -bedroom house has also been put on the market. According to Big Times Listings:

Features in the house include eight baths, a commercial elevator to all three floors, a game room, a workout room, three fireplaces, Crema Marfil slab marble floors, a great room with surround sound, a gourmet kitchen with professional appliances and a 16-car garage, according to listing information. The mansion was built in 2003 and sits on a 0.36-acre lot that has views of the strip…

Photo: © rattanakorn_l

Singer Julio Iglesias has paid $7,000,000 for a 6,256-square-foot, Mediterranean-style house in the Indian Creek Village area of Miami. He is planning to move there with his large family, while his new Spanish-style estate on his existing four-acre property is being built. Even though the fixed price for this very Indian Creek house was later reduced, there didn’t seem to be any potential buyers. Not finding a match, the 64-year-old singer decided to reconstruct the mansion. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Iglesias’s latest house, built in 1976, has four bedrooms and staff quarters on a 1.2-acre landscaped lot with 145 feet on the water. It was listed in August for $8.75 million.

Mr. Iglesias is now rebuilding his house, making it look like a real Spanish-style hacienda, which will be the home for the large family of the couple and their five kids born between 1997-2007, and, of course, the older kids, including singer Iglesias Junior.

As Big Time Listings reports, this property, which was supposed to be Iglesias’ only U.S. residence, is owned by his Somerville Corporation NV according to public records. Iglesias also has homes in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and in southern Spain.

Photo: © de momento

On June 13, 2008, the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest was the first hotel in Hungary to receive the “Seven Stars and Stripes” Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the luxury hospitality category, a Global Award, that is based in New York, USA.

Budapest many impressive five star hotels (including an Italian restaurant ) located in the city center close to major sights and the Danube. According to the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest:

The award’s panel of judges evaluate and rank the world’s leading hotels, airlines and restaurants. The panel is made up of renowned tourism experts, professionally recognized journalists and industry trend setters. Any of the panel’s members can initiate the redefining of the terms of services evaluation, which guarantees that the requirements to receive the Award are consistently updated and maintained at the highest level.

The evaluation is carried out by visiting the candidate’s location of operation, where the judges compare notes and their previous experiences, and rank the candidate based on their evaluation system.

According to Budapest Spa Hotels & Thermal Baths, among the hotels that received the award are Oberoi Mauritius, the Ritz Carlton Philadelphia, Town House Galleria Milan, Le Mirador in Geneva, Baltschug in Moscow and the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

This list of winners, which are worldwide famous hotels, proves that the Kempinski is really worth it.

Photo: © cadfael1979