It seems hardly a week goes by when Ellen DeGeneres and her actress wife Portia de Rossi aren't making all the real estate gossip columns for buying, listing or selling a high-priced residence.
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The property-mad pair are easily the busiest real estate whales in Tinseltown, going through fancy homes like ordinary folks go through toilet paper.
For the last couple months, the couple have been stuck in sell mode. Back in July, they sold their $US23 million ($A33.7 million) Carpinteria, California oceanfront retreat to cosmetics mogul Jamie Kern Lima; just last week, they offloaded a $US15.5 million Regency-style midcentury Beverly Hills mansion to fashion designer Rea Laccone.
And now, the couple have stealthily sold a semi-remote farmlette in the outskirts of Santa Barbara County, just a wee jaunt north of sandy Carpinteria. The 4.2-hectare, decidedly pastoral spread was sold for $US6.98 million and acquired, records reveal, by longtime Hollywood hotshot and current Nickelodeon president Brian Robbins.
The nearly $US7 million sale price is a great deal of money, of course, but it's also over $US2 million less than the $US8.995 million originally requested by DeGeneres and just $US282,000 more than the $US6.7 million she paid for the property back in August 2018, a relatively slim profit that quickly evaporates once renovation costs, hefty taxes and fat realtor fees are considered.
Speaking of renovations, DeGeneres did -- as is her custom -- give the entire property a remarkably quick yet extensive overhaul that transformed the undeniably charming if somewhat bedraggled ranch into a "hip Santa Barbara hideaway" with "an esoteric farmhouse and century-old barn" that together fuse "old world sensibility with the best in modern design."
An electronic driveway gate plays bouncer for the sprawling compound, while vibrantly-coloured wildflowers bloom along the pea gravel drive that winds up to the irregularly-shaped main house.
A screened porch has views of the sprawling property, and the home's front door opens into a lounge-like living and dining area with crisp white walls and a fireplace. There are three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms in the main residence, each bath done up in a decidedly mod getup of white-and-black tile accents. The all-black kitchen contains a full suite of high-end designer appliances, plus granite countertops.
Australian Associated Press
