Paris Hilton’s $63 million mansion sale helps power LA real estate market

• Los Angeles real estate dominated the list of the top 10 most expensive homes sold in June, according to Redfin.
• Paris Hilton and her husband, Carter Reum, led the way, buying a $63 million mansion that once belonged to Mark Wahlberg in Beverly Hills.
• Buyers displaced by the fires remain the big drivers of luxury real estate sales in LA, but foreign buyers, especially from China, are also coming back.

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.

When actor and entrepreneur Mark Wahlberg sold his Beverly Hills mansion in 2023 for $55 million, many brokers said the price was low.

Wahlberg had listed the 30,500-square-foot home for $87.5 million but slashed the price in order to close before Los Angeles’ looming mansion tax took effect.

Perhaps he should have waited.

Wahlberg’s home was the most expensive sale in June, flipped for $63 million, giving the sellers a profit even after accounting for LA’s mansion tax. The buyers this time around: Paris Hilton and her husband, Carter Reum, whose Malibu home was destroyed in the wildfires.

Los Angeles real estate dominated the charts of the top 10 most expensive homes sold in June, according to Redfin. Five of the 10 top sellers were in California, with three in Beverly Hills, one in Bel Air and one in Atherton.

Nicole Plaxen, an agent with The Beverly Hills Estates, said buyers displaced by the fires remain the big drivers of luxury real estate sales in LA. But she said rising demand from foreign buyers, especially from China, is also fueling deals in Beverly Hills and Bel Air.

“I see this strength continuing based on the activity I’m seeing right now,” she said. “We’ve been showing every single day nonstop.” She said her $118 million listing on Bel Air Road and $68 million one on Flicker Way have both seen strong interest.

Plaxen was a listing agent on the sale of a $32 million LA spec home to Richard Saghian, the CEO of Fashion Nova. Saghian will use the property as a temporary home while he finishes improvements on his Bel Air megamansion known as The One. Saghian bought The One, which spans over 100,000 square feet, at auction for $126 million in 2022 — $141 million with fees and commissions. 

Plaxen said another LA property recently sold off market for around $60 million and other high-end listings are rapidly coming onto the market.

“People are not just looking, they’re putting pen to paper,” she said.

Florida, which typically dominates the top 10 lists, had three top 10 sales in June, including the $38.8 million sale of a Palm Beach spec house.

Here are the other top 10 listings in the U.S. in June, according to Redfin:

1. 71 Beverly Park, Beverly Hills, CA 90210: Sold for $63.1 million
2. 55 E. San Marino Dr., Miami Beach, FL 33139: Sold for $46 million
3. 1742 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach, FL 33480: Sold for $38.8 million
4. 9 W. 54th St., New York, NY 10019: Sold for $38.2 million
5. 1806 US Highway 50, Unit 2, Glenbrook, NV 89413: Sold for $37.5 million
6. 690 Island Dr., Palm Beach, FL 33480: Sold for $33 million
7. 1120 Wallace Ridge, Beverly Hills, CA 90210: Sold for $32 million
8. 750 Lausanne Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90077: Sold for $32 million
9. 1414 Donhill Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210: Sold for $32 million
10. 96 Ridge View Dr., Atherton, CA 94027: Sold for $31.8 million