Many celebrity real estate sales take place underneath a veneer of secrecy -- a limited liability company is used to shield the famous owner from appearing on any public real estate records while everyone from the interior designer and photographer to the agents finding buyers signs multiple confidentiality agreements.
Most transactions also take place off-market in back-room discussions and do not became known until the deal is complete -- in 2021, new broke that Alibaba (BABAF) co-founder Joe Tsai was the "mystery buyer" behind the $157.5 million sale of two connected condo apartments in New York's 220 Central Park South tower.
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And at other times, a celebrity's house may be placed on Zillow (ZG) or Trulia for anyone with enough funds to buy -- frequent home-flipper Ellen DeGeneres currently has a $5.6 million Montecito cottage listed on Zillow.
James Corden Is Unloading Real Estate Before Heading Back To The U.K.
Another celebrity that has recently chosen to listen publicly is late night talk show host James Corden. As first reported by real estate website Dirt.com, the host of the CBS "Late Late Show" has initially tried to sell his Los Angeles estate privately last fall but, after failing to find a buyer, put it on the market for $22 million.
Now listed on Zillow, the 8,600-square-foot mansion has seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms and a long front tree-lined front lawn that shields the property from prying eyes. It was built in 1997 in the "New England transitional" style and has aquamarine-colored cabinets, multiple fireplaces and walk-in closets as well as an indoor-outdoor style that leads from the dining room onto a spacious patio.
Corden and his wife Julia Carey bought it for just $9.77 million in 2017 and so would make a steep profit if they receive the asking price. Corden has been hosting the "Late Late Show" since 2014; while the format has been around since the 1990s, CBS recently made the decision to end the program in the spring of 2023.
With an end date looming, is is unsurprising that Corden and Carey have been trying to unload their real estate in the LA area. Corden's downfall began when, last October, he had to apologize after the owner of upscale New York restaurant Balthazar publicly detailed how the talk show host had a habit of berating staff.
Celebrity Real Estate Is In A Market Of Its Own
Even in an economic downturn, it has been a strong market for celebrity real estate and ultra-luxury properties. In January, DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi sold another Montecito home to Bumble (BMBL) founder Whitney Wolfe for $21 million.
They bought it in 2017 for $7.2 million and, after an extensive renovation, flipped it to Match Group (MTCH)'s Tinder co-founder Sean Rad for $11 million. Rad resold it to DeGeneres and de Rossi yet again for $14.3 million in May 2021 only to be sold to Rad's dating app founder competitor in 2023.
Not long after her high-profile marriage to Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez also recently listed the 12,800-square-foot Bel Air complex that she's owned since 2016 for $42.5 million. Lopez, too, is confident in her ability to attract a high net-worth buyer because the price tag is a significant markup from the $28 million she paid for it back then.
