Celebrity real estate that sold in 2011

Editor’s note: This article is reposted with permission of Zillow. View the original item: "From Ashton to Ellen: 2011?s Celebrity Real Estate Roundup"

By Erika Riggs

By many accounts, 2011 was a rough year for real estate – unless you happened to be a celebrity. For the rich and famous stars of screens large and small, 2011 was just another year of megahouse hunting, renting, selling and swapping.

Like those beloved holiday calendars that highlight the year’s eye candy, we’ve strung together a series of bright-light celebrity real estate deals from the past year’s high-stakes, high-profile ventures.

January: Charlize Theron

Sometimes, even celebrities have to dip their toes in before taking the plunge. That’s the route Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron took when she opted to be a landlord before listing her property. After her split with Stuart Townsend in 2010, the couple listed their Malibu home as a $50,000-a-month rental. A year later, Theron dove in and listed the property for $7.5 million. Not bad, considering that in 2003 she and Townsend paid $3.5 million. The beachfront home, pictured, is described as the "oldest home on La Costa Beach." It sold in May for $6.56 million.

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February: Ashton Kutcher

In February 2011, Ashton Kutcher was a happily married man and no longer needed his customized bachelor pad (pictured above). So, he listed the home on the Beverly Glen real estate market for $2.6 million and it sold in June for $2.35 million. Now, freshly split from his wife Demi Moore, Kutcher is searching for a new piece of real estate. Granted, the new star of "Two and a Half Men" can afford a bigger spread for himself these days, but perhaps he has regrets about selling the bachelor pad he and his dad built.

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March: Christina Aguilera

When listing one house isn’t enough, some celebs try for a daily double. Take Christina Aguilera, for instance. Aguilera is a high-income earner who can eschew standard real estate advice.

In March, Aguilera listed her Beverly Hills home for $13 million while her Hollywood Hills home continued to linger on the market. While the Hollywood Hills mansion has since sold, Aguilera’s Beverly Hills pad — previously owned by the Osbournes — hasn’t wooed a buyer yet.

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April: Jennifer Aniston

The real queen of real estate listed her extravagant Los Angeles estate, Ohana, in March for $42 million and she immediately made the move to New York, picking up not one, but two apartments a month later in a prewar West Village building (pictured above). Although she’s only owned the home for a few short months, rumors are flying that she’s looking for a new place — this time with beau Justin Theroux.

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May: Charlie Sheen

In early 2011, Charlie Sheen was blowing up Twitter and news channels after his walk on the wild side. As if the former "Two and a Half Men" star’s interesting comments weren’t enough drama, leading to being fired from the show, Sheen also got busy hitting the real estate market by listing his Sherman Oaks, Calif., home, above, for $7.2 million. In March, he picked up a home in the gated community of Mulholland Estates, a few blocks away, for $7 million. He wasn’t selling because he’s hard up on money: Sheen racked up about $40 million in the previous season of "Two and a Half Men."

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June: Katharine Hepburn

Although this house isn’t located in Hollywood or New York, the caliber of this Connecticut home — and its previous, Hollywood legend owner — sets it apart. Katharine Hepburn’s family estate (pictured above), hit the Fenwick real estate market for $18 million in June. Along with its private beach and dock, as well as 8,300-square-foot home, Hepburn’s property comes with a storied history, including the tale of Hepburn vowing to rebuild the home after it suffered damage in the 1938 Great New England Hurricane.

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July: Elizabeth Taylor

Regal beauty Elizabeth Taylor passed away in March and her hideaway estate hit the market as a pocket listing in May for $8.6 million. It didn’t take long for the luxurious ranch to sell. By July, the estate was picked up not by another A-Lister, but by an anonymous buyer rumored to be in the manufacturing business. Although previous reports claimed the final sale price was undisclosed, property records now show the sale price to have been $8 million.

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August: Matthew Perry

Matthew Perry’s real estate transactions are being featured for the month of August, but the former "Friends" star could the king of October, too. In August, Perry picked up a new home on the Sunset Strip in California and listed his West Hollywood apartment (pictured above). Then, in early October, he listed his beachfront home on the Malibu real estate market. Later that month, Perry finally wrapped up his real estate moves by listing his main Los Angeles residence. Whew!

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September: Ryan Reynolds

Before dating Blake Lively, and before his short marriage to Scarlett Johansson, Ryan Reynolds lived in a relatively modest home in the Hollywood Hills that he purchased for $1.18 million. After marrying Johansson in 2009, Reynolds tried to sell the home on the Hollywood Hills real estate market, but had little luck. In September, however, he relisted the two-bedroom, 2.5-bath home with a lowered price of $1.6 million. Currently, the home is off the market. 

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October: Donald Trump

Donald Trump may be a real estate mogul, but that doesn’t mean he’s immune to real estate trials. In October, Trump’s custom home in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., sold for a significant price cut. The 11,000-square-foot home was first listed for $12 million and a buyer snagged it for $7.15 million.

Trump originally purchased the house in the small community as a party of a real estate development plan in the mid-’90s. However, "The Donald’s" style was a bit aggressive for Rancho Palos Verdes, and by selling his home there he appears to be formally cutting ties to the city.

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November: Bruce Willis

In the heyday of the 1990s, Bruce Willis and then-wife Demi Moore were the "king and queen" of Sun Valley, Idaho. The pair owned a nightclub and two bars, as well as a few properties where they entertained other A-listers who came to visit the luxury ski area. That era is well over. Willis is now selling his custom mansion on the Sun Valley real estate market for $15 million. Willis’ home has 8,400 square feet of living space, a pool with spa and water swings, and a separate guesthouse and gym.

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December: Ellen DeGeneres

In the world of celebrity real estate, the prize properties often go to other celebrities. Who else is going to need the high-end security systems or have the money to drop on a home with a custom closet? The most recent celeb-to-celeb real estate transaction went down in early December when fickle real estate holder Ellen DeGeneres bought Brad Pitt’s midcentury modern home in Malibu. DeGeneres and wife Portia De Rossi are currently listing their enormous, custom home for $49 million, making their purchase of Pitt’s home an apparent attempt at downsizing.

More eye candy:

• Rent a Piece of Rudy Valentino’s Former Beverly Hills Estate
• Elin Nordegren Razes $12 Million Home
• ‘Twas the Season for Celebrity Home Sales
• House of the Week: Sitka Compound Comes With Tiny Island
• Jenny Craig Scales Back With Estate Sale to Daughter

Copyright Zillow 2011