Celebrity Homes
As a realtor in the Los Angeles area, I deal with a lot of celebrity homes. In many cases, a celebrity home isn't all that much different from the homes that other people own. Some celebrities like ranch, split level, or single family 2-floor homes that looked the same as any other house. Some celebrities own mansions that have multiple rooms, but people with a high net worth can have homes that look pretty much the exact same.
What separates a celebrity home from all other homes is that a celebrity either lives there or has lived there. That means that their home at some point is going to be seen in some fashion by the public, either in a magazine article or by having some bus company have drive-by tours of the home. Therefore, celebrities have to deal with things such as security and privacy issues that may go a bit farther than even those people that have more money than they have.
Some celebrity homes are absolutely spectacular. There's very few homes in the country that can match Aaron Spelling's old home, the one his widowed wife is trying to sell for close to $100 million. That's probably the ultimate in celebrity homes as it comes to price. But many homes, such as the Mary Pickford home, might not cost as much money, but our steeped in tradition and history that makes it a sightseers dream.
A funny thing about celebrity homes is that they're bought and sold more often than the homes of other people. In the Los Angeles/Beverly Hills area, it's not surprising to hear that a celebrity is selling a home and buying a new home that they've only been in a little more than a year. The reasons may sometimes be unclear, but the fact remains that some celebrities just can't seem to sit still in the house for all that long. Very few celebrities will ever come close to reaching a 30 year mortgage, unless they own homes in other areas around the country that almost nobody knows about.
This means that there are always celebrity homes that are available for consumers if they act fast, and of course if they have the money to afford those homes. One reality is that once a celebrity has lived in the home, the value of that home increases even if the celebrity does nothing else to the house to help increase the value. So, a home that Cher might have lived in for only a year and then decides to sell will be worth a lot more to some people if they know that Cher lived there. That's the reason why some celebrities aren't hesitant and allowing their name to be used when they're selling a property as opposed to when they're buying one.
There are some fantastic celebrity homes, whether they're for sale or not. Celebrity homes will often have amenities that other houses might not have. For instance, many homes have swimming pools, but not all homes have stables, tennis courts, or 10 car garages. Celebrity homes often have a lot of acreage around them to try to give them some privacy. There is no one style of celebrity home, therefore there's always a lot of variety. If you'd like to see how some of the celebrities live, check out the search engines for the Spelling home, then check out the homes of Eddie Murphy, Leo DiCaprio, Brian Austin Green and Paris Hilton to be amazed at just what kind of homes are out there.