Malibu Home Sales Cater to Rich; Ice House Trades Hands for Cool Amount

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Troubled times in the Los Angeles housing market have even impacted owners you would never expect to sell. Malibu, for instance, has seen a dramatic drop in prices during 2011, even compared to 2010, when prices stood 22.6 percent higher than they do now. But you’d never think Malibu homeowners would be desperate to shed their properties due to a need for capital.

Think again. A new style of sale is emerging, the likes of which only well-off buyers and sellers could come up with. Auctions–the kind Sotheby’s organizes, not those that take place on the steps of a courtroom–cater to the rich. It only makes sense that these events have sprung up, considering the target audience for luxury properties up for sale in areas such as Billionaires’ Beach. Sure, owners probably won’t get what they initially listed them for, but considering the economy, they probably won’t be that disappointed.

Another high-end area of Los Angeles is also in the news. In Beverly Hills, the Ice House just traded hands. A New York-based investor paid $20 million for the headquarters for Live Nation, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The building gets its name from its original designation. Built as an ice and cold storage plant in the 1920s, the facility was converted into offices in the mid-’90s. The huge concert promoter will stay on as the main tenant of the building until at least 2020.