Today's estate is one of the prettiest I've seen in a while. Astor Courts in Rhinebeck, New York was designed by architect Stanford White for John Jacob Astor IV. The beautiful Beaux-Arts style mansion was completed in 1904 and is on 50 acres. The expansive main living area has five bedrooms and spans over 15,000 square feet. The truly stunning details include the indoor clay tennis court topped with a glass ceiling and framed by Gothic arches and a white marble pool surrounded by arches and graced with a pale sky blue ceiling.

In 1964 Brooke Astor gave the home to the Catholic Church. The Wall Street Journal's Private Properties reports that the current owners, real-estate developer Arthur Seelbinder and his wife, Kathleen Hammer, a former producer for Oxygen Media, ought the home in 2005 for $3.2 million and spent a fortune restoring it. Stanford White's great-grandson, Sam White led the restoration. Clearly he did a fine job, it's a stunner (even if some of the decor seems a little too Crate and Barrel prefab for a home of this pedigree). The home is listed at $12 million.

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I've written about this property before but new pictures and a lower price make it worth a second look especially because I think it is due for another price cut. The Italian Renaissance mansion in Upper Brookville, New York was built for investor Henry Sanderson in 1915. It's a classic American example of the exuberance of wealth. The 40-room villa on 24 acres was used by the Roman Catholic Church as the St. Francis Retreat House.The estate is owned by Sylvia Kumar, wife of imprisoned former Computer Associates chief Sanjay Kumar. Sanjay Kumar was ordered by a federal judge to pay back $798 million to shareholders after he pleaded guilty to securities fraud. The home was bought by Sylvia Kumar from St. Francis Monastery for $6.75 million in 2001.

The home has a domed rotunda, a loggia, a winding staircase, a library, two dining rooms, seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms. The home has stone columns and arches, wrought iron doors and delicate Renaissance style paintings. There is a possibility that the land could be subdivided into five acre plots and the property does have a renovated three-bedroom cottage and a walled carriage house with heated garage, five indoor stables, six bedrooms, workshop and two bathrooms. It was listed at $17 million, it was chopped to $14.5 million last December but given that the home itself likely requires significant updating, I am guessing that it may take another deep price cut to sell this home.

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Today's estate in the town of Irvington, New York has a bit of history on its nearly 11 acres. The property contains a barn and carriage house, built in the 19th century, as well as the Odell Tavern, a stone farmhouse which became a tavern in 1746. This tavern, constructed of fieldstone, with walls that are four feet thick once hosted the "Convention of the Representatives of the State of New York" in April 1776 on their way out of New York City when the British occupied it. Wikipedia led me to a NY Times article that shows that in 1989, the Village of Irvington had the opportunity to buy this property for less than the $5.5 million it was offered for on the open market but did not. In 2006 the tavern was restored.

The main home is a 23-room Bedford Stone house built in l938. There's a lot of history in the house too. Many of the rooms have marble fireplaces and carved wooden details. This house was designed by Aymar Embry 2d, who also designed the George Washington Bridge. The home does have more modern touches such as the recently renovated kitchen but the lure here is the charm of living with history. It is listed at $8.8 million.
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Today's home in the Riverdale area of the Bronx, New York is located on the highest topography in the area. The large stone home was built in 1928. The eight-bedroom home has over 14,000 square feet of space. The home drips with rococo details like gilded mirrors and ornately carved marble fireplaces. Handsome wood details include a sweeping staircase and columns and a highly polished bar perfecting for mixing up a Manhattan. The kitchen features industrial-looking stainless steel refrigerators and a large pot rack. A huge conservatory offers a place to enjoy the sun in winter months. The green marble bathroom which looks to be the master bath looks more like an office, save the giant hot tub. The estate includes 2.3 acres of land and is offered as a lease-hold sale for approximately 200 years. It is listed at $15 million.

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Christopher Buckley, the son of famed conservative William F. Buckley has been in the news recently for endorsing Barack Obama and resigning from his late father's National Review but the New York Observer's Max Abelson reports that Buckley might also be in trouble with some real estate agents. He recently called the $24.5 million price for his late parents home at 778 Park Avenue to be absurdly inflated.

Is that price a bit excessive for a four-bedroom home? The New York Observer article indicates that the price may drop soon. Certainly the duplex maisonette has its charms though. The home has been given a makeover with new paint, carpet, decor and electrical upgrades. The main level includes a double entry hall that leads to a 50 ft gallery over and a winding staircase to the second private floor where there are four bedrooms. There is a large living room, adjacent to the library. The lower floor includes the formal dining room and a large kitchen as well as a second staff kitchen and staff changing room and staff quarters. The listing stresses the fact that the home can be reconfigured for today's more casual lifestyle. Currently it is still at $24.5 million through Barak Realty.

If you want to sell a this house attractive, why not also make a little money using it in film shoots? Today's home in Upper Brookville,NY was recently used in two episodes of the trendy television show "Gossip Girl" but has a scandalous past all its own. It will be showcased in the upcoming season which will include scenes from a "white party." The home has also been used in a Kohl's commercial and Ludacris filmed an AT &T commercial in June. The home is certainly party ready with a foyer with dual wraparound staircases perfect for dramatic descents, a 65-foot ballroom, a gym and a saltwater swimming pool that sits in a greenhouse-like glass enclosure. The five-bedroom home is on five acres which back up to an arboretum.

This estate may also be familiar to long-time readers of this column, in fact it was an estate of the day in 2007. That's when the home was seized as part of "Operation VIN City," an 18-month investigation that busted up the largest stolen car ring on the East Coast. It was the home of ringleader Michael Pescatore and was sold at auction by the Treasury Department on March 22. Real estate agent Kim Greenberg and her fiancé, real estate developer, Fred Rudd picked up the home for $8.3 million which is pretty close to what two sharp commenters guessed it would go for in my 2007 post.. Now it's all prettied up and on the market for $12.9 million.

[via Real LI]

It's hard not to envy Mariah Carey's Hamptons adventures. Last summer she made herself cozy in Tommy Hilfiger's tribute to the tasteful use of orange and this summer Braden Keil of the NY Post reports that Mariah is renting Stone Meadow Farm in East Hampton for on week for $125,000 (less than half of the reported $350,000 she spent on Hilfiger's pad but that was for a month).

Like Hilfiger's place was, this one is also up for sale. Stone Meadow Farm is on eight acres and has a 18,000 square foot house with 10 bedrooms and 12.5 bathrooms done up in white and dark brown with white walls and furnishings and dark wood floors and wood tables. The shingled expanse includes a 3500 sq ft finished lower level with a spa and media room.

The grounds include two separate cottages to house guests or staff as well as stone courtyards, large patios, a heated Gunite pool and a tennis court. The barn can stable five horses and there are ample riding fields. This home is listed for $19.95 million.

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Chad Pennington and Vinny Testaverde share more than just their NFL quarterback careers in common, they also have the same real estate agency to help them sell their New York homes. We saw Pennington's home on Sunday today Testaverde's mansion. Testaverde's home is also a brick Colonial but on a more lavish scale than Pennington's. Testaverde's Oyster Bay Cove home is a six-bedroom on over four acres. The home includes a master suite with private balcony,sitting room, steam shower and Jacuzzi. It's a little more recognizable as a sports home than Pennington's was especially since Testaverde's got his footballs and jerseys on display in the theater room. Of course the home also has a huge fitness area with a suana and steam room and there is also a video game room, billiards room and a trophy room, fabulous kitchen and a nice wine nook. The property includes a Gunite pool with a waterfall, kiddie pool, Jacuzzi and a basketball court. It is listed at $6.495 million.

UPDATE: This home is now listed at $5.9 million.

For more prime properties and lush locations, see Luxury Homes and Mansions.

[via Newsday]

Another tremendously expensive property has gone on the market in the Hamptons. Braden Keil's Gimme Shelter column in the NY Post reported on today's estate, a 12-bedroom home that is nearly 18,000 square feet. The property is owned by Juergen Friedrich, who ran the European division of Esprit sportswear and has spent a great deal of money updating the home, which was built in 1902 and designed by Grosvenor Atterbury. The country home sits on 9.11 acres that include old trees, flowering shrubs, evergreen perimeters, rose gardens. indoor pool, outdoor pool with pavilion, tennis court, paddle court, gymnasium, carriage house and a four-car garage. At nearly 3,000 square feet, the master bedroom suite is larger than many homes. What may hurt it on the real estate market is that it is not on the water. But if you can live without that, it's a pretty impressive property. It is listed at $67.5 million.

UPDATE: This home is now listed at $49.5 million.

Rentals in the Hamptons are already getting scarce but those with the money can buy this historic waterfront estate on Quantuck Bay and offer the perfect summer vacation for family and friends.

Henry Bacon, once with McKim, Mead & White, and best known for his design of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.,was commissioned to design this historic shingle-style manor. In an extensive three-year renovation in the mid 1990s, the architectural details, floors and fixtures were carefully restored and all the luxuries of modern-day living were added.

The 10.37 acre estate is completely private, bordered on the front by 64 century-old European pruned Catalpa trees. The back border stretches across more than 1,000 feet of waterfront, complete with deep-water dock.

The main residence is around 16,000 square feet on three floors with nine bedrooms, nine full and two half baths, six original fireplaces and 5,000 square feet of hand-pegged mahogany decks and brick & bluestone terraces. There are water views from 22 of the 24 rooms.

The grand entry foyer has a three-story hand carved staircase that leads through the reception gallery to a formal living room with a fireplace as well as a banquet-sized dining room with a fireplace and murals recreated from the works of William Merritt Chase and Childe Hassam, who painted in the area more than a hundred years ago.

Other living areas include a billiards room, a sunroom and a chef's kitchen with a large dining area surrounded on three sides by water views. The ground floor also has a pantry with espresso bar, an office, two powder rooms and a large laundry room. The downstairs cantina has a temperature & humidity controlled wine cellar.

In addition to the sprawling 1,000 square foot master suite, which has two large mahogany decks plus his & her baths and dressing rooms; the second floor has a center hall with adjacent office with covered mahogany deck, a living room and three bedrooms with baths.

The third floor has an oversized living room with a mahogany deck and vaulted ceiling, five bedrooms and four baths, an exercise room, a walk-in cedar closet and a laundry room.

There is also an original 2,000 square foot poolside carriage house covered in century-old grape vines that has been updated to include his & her baths and dressing rooms and a full service kitchen. Other buildings include an oak paneled guest cottage, oversized four car garage and a two-story three-bedroom and bath gardener's house with a separate driveway. The grounds include recreation and meditation areas, a Lord & Burnham greenhouse, a Har-Tru tennis court and a heated gunite pool with waterfall spa all set amidst acres of expansive lawns and gardens . It is listed with Mark Roter (631 288 5233) and Marcia Altman (631 288 5004) Co-Exclusive Brokers Brown Harris Stevens, Westhampton Beach for $39 million.

Today's estate is classic upstate New York. The Wiccopee House in East Fishkill was built in 1894 and redesigned in 1929 by Aymar Embury II who was best known for designing the Brooklyn Bridge and Central Park Zoo. Th three story colonial has a traditional white clapboard exterior with black shutters with a wooden elliptical fan over the front door and a widow's walk. There are over 7,000 square feet of space including a beautiful formal library with built-in book shelves and fireplace, a study with hand painted tiles surrounding the fireplace and half round book shelves, and a drawing room with French doors to the side terrace. The formal dining room fills out the window-ringed half round and the kitchen has obviously had a redesign with state of the art appliances. Upstairs there are four bedrooms and a large master suite in the process of being renovated. The third floor is home to a game room, bedroom, bath (in progress), and a storage area. The land is nearly 18 acres with lawns, gardens, an in-ground pool with a cabana, clay tennis court, paddocks and a carriage house with two bedrooms. It is listed at $2.495 million.

I first heard about Sand Dollar Development's plans to turn the Warner LeRoy estate in Amagansett, NY around this time last year. This Southwood Court home was the Hamptons Cottage & Gardens "idea house" which was on display this summer. The 6,500-square-foot house has six bedrooms and was inspired by an affluent young hedge fund manager with a wife and child. The interiors are the work of 20 designers and the editors of Hamptons Cottage & Gardens. Unfortunately we only have five pictures but the highly designed home reminds me a bit of Kelsey Grammer's Bridgehampton home. This one is listed at $6.75 million.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Naomi Campbell has finally sold her Park Avenue apartment for below last asking price of $4.95 million. Campbell has bought a one-bedroom in the Cipriani Residences and is about to go to contract on a large two-bedroom in the high $2 million range.
-- J. Christopher Flowers, a former Goldman Sachs executive, has spent $89 million on multiple Upper East Side residences in just the past two months. First he paid a record New York price of $53 million for a 25-room townhouse, then he spent $19 million last month for a duplex co-op and finally he closed on a 21-room townhouse at 12 E. 73rd St.
--A $65 million state is listed for sale in Sagaponack in the Hamptons. The15-acre oceanfront/pond-front estate consists of six contiguous parcels, with more than 500 feet of direct oceanfront. The property has a public road going through it which makes it better for a developer than for someone looking for a single estate. The property also includes a five-bedroom house with a pool. The listing is here.
--In South Florida, the residents of Briny Breezes Mobile Home Park will be become millionaires if they agree to sell a 43-acre tract of oceanfront land where their trailer homes are parked. The board of the park has approved the sale pending ratification by the residents. The buyers, Boca Raton-based Ocean Land Investments, Inc. are offering $510 million for the property which will be split among the 488 owners.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Matthew McConaughey has put his Sunset Strip hideaway, behind gates, for nearly $3.3 million. The five-bedroom home which was built in the 1970s is already in escrow. An adjacent property that the actor owns is for sale for t $1.6 million.
--Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, has purchased a four-bedroom Malibu home listed at close to $10.5 million. The property also has a two-bedroom guesthouse and guest apartment.
--A Hollywood Hills home that once belonged to Rock Hudson is on the market for $1.989 million. The two-bedroom home was built in 1949. It's our estate of the day this afternoon.
--Dago Gonzalez, a video director who has worked with Madonna has purchased a West Hollywood home from interior designer James Magni for $1.3 million.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
-- All-Star third baseman David Wright has gone to contract for a 4,109-square-foot penthouse at Infinity Flats, a condo development on 21st Street. The full-floor apartment was listed for $6.5 million but Wright apparently paid less. Tom Brady has also been spotted checking out the building.
-- Lawyer Marc Bern paid $8.75 million for an eight-room setup at 944 Park.
--Ad man Martin Puris sold his 79th Street duplex to billionaire Christopher Flowers for a reported $19 million. Puris paid $5.8 million for a two-bedroom apartment at the 160 East 72nd Street co-op.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Fiber-optics pioneer David Huber has paid $14.9 million for a home in Naples, Fla. and has put his house in Glenwood, Maryland for $1.3 million.The listing for the five-bedroom brick Maryland home is here.
--Seattle Seahawk Deion Branch has purchased a four-bedroom home in Kirkland, Washington for $1.7 million.
--The founder of the defunct online retailer Cyberian Outpost, Darryl Peck, has sold his Connecticut home for $3.125 million, which is nearly $2 million less than its 2003 asking price. Peck and his wife, Anne, bought the property in 1993 for $625,000 and added on to it. expanded the existing 3,000-square-foot house.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--Painter Buffie Johnson's estate has sold a three-story loft building at 102 Greene Street for over $9 million.
--Filmmaker and son of Roy Licthtenstein, Mitchell Lichtenstein paid $2.65 million for an 1848 Greek Revival brownstone at 120 West 12th Street in 2003 has sold it for $7.25 million to hedge-fund man Oskar Lewnowski.

From the NY TImes Big Deal:
--We've heard about the troubles with the Stanhope before, looks like it is an ongoing situation with only a few buyers plunking down over $10 million for apartments. The latest plan is to create some sexy model apartments to attract new buyers.
--Manhattan House, a luxury apartment complex, is the site of the most expensive condo conversion ($1.1 billion) in New York and may have contributed to the death by pneumonia of one of its residents, Martin Burwick, who was in his 90s. The remaining residents are still fighting eviction.
--Deals involving two Harlem town houses were stopped earlier this month when Edward Myers Jr., a longtime Harlem real estate investor, refused to sell his properties to buyers represented by the Corcoran Group because of recent complaints of fair-housing law violations in Corcoran's Brooklyn Heights office.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Documentary filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, has spent $1.425 million for a two-bedroom apartment at 108 Fifth Ave.
--Music composers Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman have listed their three-bedroom apartment for $5.7 million.
--Hamptons broker Tara Newman has sold the same Sag Harbor mansion for the third time - this time bringing in $6,850,000 for the Hannibal French House, built in 1875 and designed by Stanford White's mentor, Minard Lefevre.
--Developer Stephen Ross, chairman of the Related Companies is selling his prewar apartment at 956 Fifth Ave. to Bruce Beal, a Related executive vice president, for $10 million.
--Coscan, a company that is building townhouses in Pompano, Florida, has introduced the College Tuition Incentive Program. When you buy a home, you receive a free four-year college education for one child or grandchild at any Florida state school or community college.
--Vince Vaughn has just paid $12 million for a 7,880-square-foot duplex penthouse in Chicago. The new apartment was originally listed for $10.6 million.

From The Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Boxer Oscar De La Hoya is looking to sell his retreat and training facility in Big Bear Lake, Calif. for $2.5 million. The listing is here for the property which includes a 3,900-square-foot main house and a 3,262-square-foot three-bedroom guest house. The four-car garage, which De La Hoya used as a gym, has a steam room, office and murals that depict significant moments in the boxer's career.
--Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is looking to sell an oceanfront home in Florida for $10.9 million. Lewis bought the 6,788-square-foot home in March 2004 for $5.2 million. The listing is here.
--Sports-team executive Joel Glazer and his wife, Angela, have sold their house in Palm Beach for just under $13 million.

From Forbes Movers and Shakers:
--Television writer/producer Frank Lupo has put his Pacific Palisades home on the market for $3.25 million. The home, shown above, has five bedrooms, a pool and an outdoor entertaining area. The listing is here.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Singer Michelle Branch has listed her Calabasas home at close to $3.3 million.
--Author Nancy Taylor Rosenberg has put her Marina del Rey home on the market at $2.1 million.
--Norm Pattiz, the founder and chairman of Westwood One, and his wife, DJ Mary Pattiz, have sold their Beverly Hills-area home for $20 million.
--A Lake View Terrace ranch once owned by movie mogul Cecil B. DeMille is for sale at $14.8 million. The listing is here.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--A Manhattan Supreme Court judge has prohibited the sale of Dr. Nicholas Bartha's townhouse at 34 E. 62nd St. due to pending lawsuts.
--THe MTV VMA Style Villa at the Bryant Park Hotel included model for Trump's newest project, the Trump Grande Ocean Resort & Residences in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla.,
--The potential owner of the former Fifth Avenue co-op apartment of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis still hasn't been approved by the board yet so no deal so far.
--Eve Weinstein has dropped the price on her duplex at 88 Central Park West to $23 million, not a surprise since she has already bought new digs.
--The Park Avenue apartment of the late Evelyn Annenberg Jaffe Hall is being sold. The full-floor Park Avenue apartment had a a last asking price of $23.75 million,

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Priscilla Presley has sold her Arrowhead house for close to its $2.5-million asking price.
--Yet another sports celeb moves to Manhattan Beach. Jeff Garcia, the backup quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, and his girlfriend, Carmella DeCesare have purchased a three-level house for about $2.8 million.
--Tom Joyner has bought a home in Beverly Hills for close to its $5.4-million listing price.
--"American Idol" music director-bandleader Rickey Minor and his wife, Karen have bought a condominium in Hancock Park for $910,000.

From The Real Estate Journal:
--The MGM Mirage is asking $28 million for a Las Vegas home once owned by casino magnate Steve Wynn. The MGM Mirage bought the house as part of its purchase of the Mirage Resorts. Peek inside later, it's our estate of the day.
--The Hawaii home of Sidney Frank, who created the successful Grey Goose vodka brand, was recently sold for $10.5 million to a group of investors who then re-sold it for an undisclosed sum.
--Susan Sontag's Manhattan penthouse, shown above, has sold. It had an asking price of $3.75 million.