Real Estate Industry News

Spencer Rascoff, one of the founders of the real estate search site Zillow, has listed his six-bed, nine-bath home in Brentwood Park, California. Rascoff stepped down as CEO of Zillow last year when fellow co-founder Rich Barton took over to take the company in the direction of buying homes directly from sellers and listing them for sale. Forbes estimates Zillow has an estimated market cap of $10.5 billion.

Rascoff purchased the home for $19.716 million in 2016, a shave under its $19.995 million asking price at the time. The prior owners had bought the home for $9.3 million in 2012 and after a substantial remodel listed it for sale in 2014 and then again in 2016, when Rascoff purchased the property. The listing is with Josh and Matt Altman of Douglas Elliman who both star in the reality television show Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles.

Brentwood Park where the median list price is about $9 million and homes tend to sell for just under their asking price is a neighborhood known for having many celebrity residents over the years such as Elon Musk, Jennifer Garner, John Travolta, Gwyneth Paltrow, Bruce Willis and Kristin Davis. One major appeal is the large lots with plenty of privacy features. This home has a gated entrance and is surrounded by towering trees and hedges on a half-acre lot so there isn’t a risk of paparazzi getting up close to your daily life.

“When you buy houses in the Sunset Hills you’re seeing houses in every direction,” says Matthew Altman who spoke by phone from Los Angeles. “When you’re coming to a place like Brentwood Park you don’t see anything but a large gate and a 20-foot hedge. In Beverly Hills you’re paying the same price for half the size of the land.”

“It’s a very sought after neighborhood,” continues Altman. “Not a lot comes on [the market]. When it does, they’re not beautiful remodels. They’re older homes that people have to spend years redoing.”

The remodel overhauled the layout of the interior so that amenities such as the movie theater are on the main floor instead of the basement and the kitchen/living room/eating area is one long continuous space. With typical smart home features that control everything via a smartphone and modern recessed lighting the indoors is more contemporary than its traditional exterior would suggest. Here’s a look inside.

The kitchen has several islands arranged for both meal prep and seating area. Pendant fixtures hang out with recessed lighting to make the space much brighter.

A casual living room is adjacent to the kitchen, with double doors that open to the backyard.

The more formal dining room shows off the length of the house and the wainscoting panels that define the design aesthetic of the home.

Another living room away from the kitchen has a fireplace and built-in shelving at one end.

The master bedroom has two master bathrooms and walk-in closets. A set of three double doors open out to the private balcony which looks over the backyard.

One of the kids bedrooms shows an ombre paint scheme. All the bedrooms in the house have an attached bathroom.

Here’s the view of the backyard from the outdoor seating area.

And from the other perspective, here’s the back of the house where you can see it still has the brick exterior.

For more information contact The Altman Brothers brokerage.