Hidden Valley: Southern California’s Secret Celebrity Enclave

Interview and post by : Deidre Woollard & Candice Cerro, REALTOR.com

Reality television shows may have given people the impression that celebrities in Los Angeles spend all their time in Beverly Hills or lunching at The Ivy but some of the biggest celebs actually make their home in quieter places far from the throngs of paparazzi.

We enlisted two local real estate experts, Nicki LaPorta and Karen Crystal, who have each been selling real estate in the area for over a decade, to give us the inside scoop of the world of Hidden Valley. Hidden Valley is a small community located north of Los Angeles in the mountains outside Thousand Oaks, California. Here you’ll find only around 40 homes each with at least 20 acres of property. The area has attracted celebs including Jamie Foxx, Tom Selleck and Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi. Hidden Valley is no trendy newcomer either; for years Sophia Loren owned a ranch with the tranquil name of La Concordia, Robert Wagner ruled the roost at the more prosaically titled RJ Farms and actor William Powell also had a ranch here. The area’s roots actually stretch back further still, into the reaches of old Hollywood when Lake Sherwood was used for the filming of the first Robin Hood movie in the early 1920s.

The area is also attractive to billionaires, none more famously than David H. Murdock, the chairman of Dole Foods, who first began buying land in the area back in the 1980s. Nicki and Karen tell us that they’ve taken some very big spenders on tours through the area. The same things that appeal to their famous clients also appeal to those without name recognition: good schools, private space, scenic beauty and lovely weather. The local private high school Oaks Christian has been attended by children of Wayne Gretzky, Will Smith and Joe Montana and has earned the nickname “Celebrity High.”

(image of Oaks Christian via Oaks Christian Facebook Page)

Those who worry about spending hours in L.A. traffic can also choose to fly in to the nearby Camarillo airport, a perk for those who count this as one of several homes in a luxury portfolio. Some properties are working farms with stables and extensive equestrian facilities while others feature just a few pampered family steeds. Homes tend to be customized to the specific owner’s wants and needs and therefore can stay on the market for a while until the right purchaser is found. Prices start in the $5-to-$6 million range, a price point that weeds out many potential buyers. But as Nicki and Karen tell their clients, you aren’t just buying a home but a lifestyle.

A trip to see a home in Hidden Valley is not a casual in-and-out jaunt. There are no open houses. Nicki and Karen scrupulously screen clients before doors are ever opened and protect the privacy of both buyers and sellers. The pair usually opt to show a home together, giving the potential buyer not just a look at the home and grounds but also at the Hidden Valley lifestyle, a place where the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles doesn’t seem like it exists only an hour away. Nicki and Karen are protective of this part of town, instructing clients that “you can’t get this anywhere else in L.A.” They say that being in Hidden Valley is an emotional connection and that nearly everyone they have helped buy a home here has chosen to stay in the area.

Should you want to make Hidden Valley your home, you might want to take a page from Meryl Streep’s book. If you sighed over Streep’s lovely camera-ready home in “It’s Complicated” you can make the manse your own. The 56-acre ranch is listed for $12 million. The classic Spanish hacienda has a pool house, patio with a terracotta fountain, six-stall horse barn, greenhouse and more.

Magical Malibu tour

Malibu is a city on the Southeastern coast of Los Angeles, California. The Chumash Indians, the city’s earliest settlers gave the city its nomenclature. Originally, “humaliwo,” translated to “the surf sounds loudly.” For most, Malibu conjures images of the über-wealthy and über-luxury real estate—rightly so—but, it’s also a place of divine beauty and natural beauty. It is home to the stars because of this beauty as well as its proximity to Los Angeles. This, along with many other things (read on…), makes the town home to some of the most sought after beachfront property in the world.

Location, location location. Isn’t that what has always been said about real estate? Not as much for luxury real estate, but Malibu Beach is a one of the Earth’s most extraordinary locations. It’s only about a half an hour from Hollywood and just another 5 minutes down the road to the heart of Los Angeles. So the commute to work is pretty close. Isn’t that much the same as living in the suburbs of…say… Omaha, right?

Andrea Bullo's Moonshadows

Malibu has to be created divinely. The landscape is literally mind-blowing. The cliffs, the surf, the blue Pacific, the sand, the bungalows, the mansions… All make up part of Malibu’s charm and eclecticism. There really is no other place on earth like it, except maybe Santorini. But, then again, you can’t very well hop in your Lamborghini, or have the limo take you to LAX for a flight to LaGuardia for a scene to shoot in Jamaica, Queens for the next blockbuster film.

Malibu is a beach paradise. Much as the French Riviera or the idyllic Greek Isles. Most alluring is its location and its natural beauty.

Ephemeral Malibu moments

Not to be forgotten are these fascinating celebrity movie and popular music tidbits.

Interesting to note, Cat Stevens almost drowned in the ocean off the coast of Malibu thus leading to his name change and beliefs…

…But in 1975 while swimming off the coast of Malibu, Calif., another brush with death revealed his true destiny.

“I decided to go for a swim. Of course nobody told me that that wasn’t a good time to go swimming,” Islam said. “So there I was, you know, out there, and I’m thinking, ‘Ah, great, hmm, OK, let’s go back now.’ And then I … tried to swim back to shore. And suddenly I felt ‘I can’t do this’ — the tide was going the other way. I wasn’t getting any closer.

“Suddenly I was petrified. I thought: ‘This might be it.’ I said: ‘God, if you save me, I’ll work for you.’ It was without hesitation that I knew that, instinctively, there was a power that could help me. And then a little wave, you know, came behind me — a little wave, it wasn’t very big. But it was that miraculous moment when suddenly the tide was going in my favor. I had my energy, I could swim back. I was on land. I was alive. Wow, what next?”

He wouldn’t touch a guitar again for more than 20 years. [sic]-By Judy Faber

Charlton Heston filmed the famed scene of the end of the cult classic, Planet of the Apes, on the beach there… the prop of the Statue of Liberty sat on the beach for months as they were filming it…

Charlton Heston | Planet of the Apes

from IMDB, (The Internet Movie Database):

The filming location of the classic final scene has been erroneously thought to be Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, but is in fact Malibu, California. For die-hard fans who want to visit the true location, it is a secluded cove on the far eastern end of Westward Beach, between Zuma Beach and Point Dume. Ignore the wide curving beach by the car park and clamber over the rocks to the east until you get to the quiet, often deserted, little beach surrounded by cliffs. (The Statue of Liberty was an optical effect skillfully achieved with a matte painting blended into a still existing rock structure.)

Funny the way it is… the beginning of that epic film starts with George (or Taylor as he’s known throughout the movie… never George… don’t think even once…):

“…And that completes my final report until we reach touchdown. We’re now on full automatic, in the hands of the computers…”

I guess that has virtually nothing to do with luxury real estate… (hmm… pun intended, I guess…) … or does it? How many memorable moments are in the IMDB about Omaha?

Westlake Village, California | Certainly a village… though its beauty might surprise you…

The City of Westlake Village, set between the Simi Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains in Western Los Angeles County, combines the beauty of the Southern California countryside with choice luxury real estate. This master planned ‘City in the Country’ enjoys the distinction of being home to thriving businesses, well executed residential and commercial development, and high quality schools, making it a fantastic place to live, work and raise a family.

malibu canyon

Acclaimed as one of the nation’s most successful suburbs and some the most beautiful luxury real estate Westlake Village (91361) has a population of 8,858, occupying 5.4 square miles in Conejo Valley. Only nine miles from the Pacific, at an elevation of 900 feet above sea level, Westlake Village is only 38 miles from Los Angeles.

Westlake Village is the hub of Ventura Freeway’s (US 101) Technology Corridor, and because of the City’s business friendly environment, it has become a center of growth for technology, research and development in Southern California. Future plans for restaurant, office and commercial development along the corridor, and a high quality work force make Westlake Village the ideal spot to start or expand your business.

The City has many Youth and Senior programs available through Parks & Recreation, as well as five city parks and over 100 miles of hiking trails to explore and enjoy. Restaurants, convenient shopping and a public library are also a vital part of the Westlake Village community.

In addition to its commitment to business development and controlled growth, Westlake Village is also committed to preservation and protection of natural settings and resources.

The City of Westlake Village is working to help keep the natural environment of Southern California pristine for future generations to enjoy for years to come.

Read it…..unless you are afraid of truths….then just don’t read it.

By : Karen Crystal

linchpin

I Just finished reading Seth Godin‘s latest book Linchpin, and one engrained thought keeps popping forward from my past.

KISS (not the band), but the acronym : “keep it simple stupid”.

My USC Business School education was filled with acronyms.  I still remember some of them, and I admit KISS has proven useful at times and still seems to work.

The MOST memorable acromyn though was Radio Station WIIFM.  You know, the station that we were all told to tune it to…What’s In It For Me?

Well, if you haven’t changed the station yet, don’t bother.

WIIFM already altered it’s local programming to include a global satellite feed, and is now airing as WIIFM…What’s In It FROM me?

So here’s my thought for you on Linchpin.

Read it.  Unless you are afraid of truths….then just don’t read it.

One truth is that Linchpins are obvious.  They stand out from the crowd.  In fact a Linchpin gave me this book to read, Alex Beattie from duPont Registry.  Alex is a linchpin.  He is connecting luxury marketers and luxury consumers with the duPont brand on a human level through his “gifts”……and it’s working.

I now utilize duPont as a luxury property marketing vehicle, and my luxury clients are clicking on duPont for the latest and greatest in all things luxury.

Why?  The human connector….the linchpin.