Canadian Real Estate Market Logged a Cool November
November was a frigid month for Canadian real estate, as prices and sales continued to cool. Nationwide, the average price of a home sale that month was nearly C$633,000 (US$464,011), a 12% decline from a year ago and a whopping 22% below the country’s price peak in February, according to data released from the Canadian Real Estate Association on Thursday. Sales also slowed considerably, with total dealmaking down nearly 39% compared to last November. CBC
Kendrick Lamar Drops $16 Million on Bel Air Mansion
Rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar has just snapped up a $15.9 million mansion in the posh Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel Air. Built in the early 1950s and designed by Edward Fickett, the private estate is tucked away behind walls and gates and comprises a main house and a two-story guesthouse. Features include an atrium-like family room, an updated kitchen, a primary bedroom suite with a fireside sitting area, a library, a movie theater, a wine cellar and a gym. Dirt
L.A.’s Rich Look for Ways to Get Around Impending Mansion Tax
In the November election, Los Angeles voters approved a new mansion tax, and the city’s wealthy are already looking for ways to avoid it. Measure ULA, for “United to House L.A.,” will impose a 4% tax on property sales above $5 million or a 5.5% tax on sales above $10 million, which will be used to fund affordable housing and homelessness prevention. The measure is set to take effect April 1, 2023, and many luxury homeowners and developers are either moving quickly to offload their properties before then or finding creative ways to keep their home sales under the $5 million threshold. Los Angeles Times
Medieval Castle in Serravalle, Italy, Lists for €1.9 Million
A medieval castle in Italy—plus part of the village it’s in—has hit the market for €1.9 million (US$2.02 million). Located in the hamlet of Serravalle, between the cities of Modena and Bologna, in Italy’s northern Emilia Romagna region, the nearly 20,000-square-foot castle is livable and requires minimal fixes, plus the price is negotiable. In addition to the palace, there’s a hunting lodge with a woodshed, a four-story lookout tower, walking trails and a 3-acre park. “It has enormous potential both as a private, silent retreat to unplug in, or as an investment to turn it into a resort,” said Paolo Giacopini of Immobiliare Giacopini, the real estate agency handling the sale. CNN
