Most of us live vicariously through celebrities and what they spend their money on, as most of us can’t afford to just drop several million on properties left and right. So when celebrities, specifically people we like and look up to, suddenly spend $24 million on an extravagant property, we would like to know. Another reason why celebrity real estate purchases are of interest is if they’ve bought properties in your neighborhood, as this can help increase the price of available properties nearby by making the area more attractive for new homeowners.
So how can you monitor who has recently bought properties in your area? That’s where RealtyHop comes in. We built a user-friendly tool for those interested in accessing public property records to learn more about their building, neighborhood, and surrounding area which also helps potential buyers make a more informed buying decision.
The Property Records Search helps you search publicly-available property records by individual, organizations, or building addresses. RealtyHop collates, cleans, and merges data from multiple public sources in order to provide the most comprehensive, timely, and user-friendly search experience. We currently have created a property records search for the following counties/cities:
- Clark County, NV
- Fulton County, GA
- Hillsborough County, FL
- Kings County, WA
- Los Angeles County, CA
- New York, NY
- Philadelphia, PA
Finding out where celebrities live is not an easy task unless the media does the digging for you. Since home purchases are public, and celebrities usually are of the private sort, most public figures establish an LLC or purchase under a trust so the purchase isn’t directly in their name and the address of the property remains private, at least for a while. However, with a little help from the Property Records Search, we were able to track down some transactions by celebrities in their past, where transactions were recorded under their real names and under LLC’s.
Below we listed some the cities we have created a property records search feature for, with some statistics for each city alongside some past celebrity transactions.
Navigation: Atlanta | Tampa | Los Angeles | Seattle | Las Vegas | New York City
Atlanta
Atlanta is the capital, and the most populous city, of Georgia and as a metro, Atlanta ranks 9th in the U.S. when looking at the population numbers. When we look at some statistics in terms of real estate, Atlanta has a median household income of $51,701 and the median home price is currently $335,700. Which means homeowners need to spend 38.63% of their median income to pay for a home in Atlanta.
Celebrity Real Estate Purchase
While the median home price for the average homeowner purchasing homes in Atlanta might be $335,700, let’s take a look at some of the past celebrity transactions in Atlanta and what their homes went for.
★Housewives of Atlanta star, Kandi Burruss (now Kandi Burruss-Tucker) sold her property at 3499 Price George St, East Point GA on September 22, 2017 for a total of $230,000.
★ Another Real Housewife of Atlanta star that we were able to track down was Cynthia Bailey, who bought the property at 1601 Huntingdon Trl Ne, Sandy Springs GA on August 30, 2016 for $940,000.
★ Former American football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Hines Ward, bought the lot at 6215 Riverside Dr Nw, Sandy Springs, GA for $1,025,000 back in 2006. He then built a custom home and is now asking for $5 million
★ The American singer and rapper Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffrey Lamar Williams, purchased a property at 3511 Roxboro Rd Ne, Atlanta, GA for $2.75 million back in 2016 under his company YSL Enterprises. The real estate developer Heritage Select Homes, later on, sued the company for not making the payment after signing a promissory note.
★ Kenya Moore, yet another Real Housewife of Atlanta, bought her well known Moore Manor at 70 Burdette Rd, Sandy Springs, GA for $515,000 back in 2015.
Try out the Atlanta, GA Property Records Search yourself!
Tampa
Tampa a city in Florida, known for being a business center and having a lot to offer tourists and its residents. In terms of population, the city has a population of around 385,000 residents. The median household income is currently, as of April, listed at $48,245 while the median home price is listed at $289,000. Homeowners in Tampa, Florida need to spend 35.01% of their median income to pay for a home in Tampa.
Celebrity Real Estate Purchases
It requires a homeowner to spend 35.01% of their median income to pay for a home in Tampa, as the median home price for Tampa is currently listed at $289,000. So what is celebrity real estate purchases go for?
★ The former mayor of the City of Tampa, Pamela Lorio, bought 501 Knights Run, Tampa, FL back in 2012 for $123,000.
★ Matt Joyce, MLB player, bought 18122 Longwater Run Dr, Tampa, FL in 2018 for $1.4 million, a shockingly pricey transaction for the Tampa standards. The original owner actually purchased the property for $1.6 million. (This could be a great flip transaction, $300k in 2003 and then $1.5m in 2012.)
Try out the Tampa, FL Property Records Search yourself!
Los Angeles
According to April’s installment of the RealtyHop Housing Affordability Index, Los Angeles is the most cost-burdened city in America for homeowners. While many chose Los Angeles to call home, both renters and homebuyers, the median home price in LA is currently listed at $875,000. And with the median household income being $54,501 that means it requires homeowners to spend 88.96% of their income on a home.
Celebrity Real Estate Purchases
With it being so expensive to purchase a home in Los Angeles, does that then impact the prices of homes celebrities buy and sell?
★ Kristen Wiig sold her Silver Lake home for $5.2 million in 2018. The home, according to Variety, sold for more than twice the amount of any single-family home in that zip code.
★ Rapper Wiz Khalifa spent $3.4 million for a modern smart home in the neighborhood of Encino.
★ Leonardo DiCaprio sold his Spanish home for $1.5 million back in 2018. The home was also located in Silver Lake, just like Kristin Wiig’s property. The home was purchased for $755,000 back in 1998.
★ Singer Lana Del Rey also bought property in Los Angeles, more specifically in Echo Park, in the past year. The singer ended up buying a cabin in Echo Park, previously owned by HGTV’s Leanne Ford, for $1.2 million.
Try out the Los Angeles, CA Property Records Search yourself!
Seattle
Seattle as a city is known for many things. The Space Needle, the home of Starbucks, and is a great place to settle down as over 730,000 residents can probably testify. Looking at the numbers for Seattle, however, the median home price jumps a bit in price compared to Tampa and Atlanta, with a median home price of $540,000.
Celebrity Real Estate Purchases
While the median home price for a home in Seattle might be $540,000, most celebrities end up spending more than that for their homes, and celebrities in Seattle is not the exception.
★ Everyone’s favorite talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, bought an estate on Orcas Island back in May, 2018 for just a little over the median home price. Not really, she purchased property for $8.28 million, which is far over the median home price of $540,000.
★ One of the most impressive real estate properties own by a celebrity in Seattle, is Bill Gates’ “Xanadu 2.0”’ property. Why? Because of the sheer size of it, how long it took to build (7 years!) and the cost of building it. Bill Gates purchased the lot for $2 million in 1988.
★ Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Ciara bought a mansion in Bellevue, Seattle for $6.7 million back in 2015.
★ Pearl Jam lead guitarist, Stone Gossard, sold his very charming home in 2017, for $885,000.
Try out the Kings County, WA Property Records Search yourself!
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada is the number one city for gambling, entertainment and night life. It is also the 28th most populous city in the U.S. The increase in home price, compared to Philadelphia, is about $100,099. While it’s an increase in price, it’s still not the worst of the cities in terms of affordability when purchasing a home.
Celebrity Real Estate Purchases
While it might cost the average homeowner $299,999 for a home in Las Vegas, we see that celebrities spend a significant amount more money on property in the city.
★ The powerhouse of a singer, Celine Dion, purchased property on 17 and 10 Rue Mediterra, Hend, NV back on 12/1/2002 and 08/01/2003 for the total price of $6,231,260.
★ Mike Tyson sold his home back in 2016 for over 4 million.
★ Andre Agassi’s childhood home is on the market for $698,888.
★ Floyd Mayweather bought another property in Las Vegas for $10 million back in October 2018.
Try out the Las Vegas, NV Property Records Search yourself!
New York City
New York City is one of the biggest cities in terms of population, with over 8.5 million residents. With that high of a population, you would think real estate is bound to be expensive. And looking at the median home price, that statement is completely true, as the median home price in April is $890,000.
Celebrity Real Estate Purchases
With it requiring the average resident to send 84.36% of their median household income to purchase a home in New York City, the price tag on homes bought by celebrities in NYC increases significantly as well. See below for some of the past transactions made by celebrities:
★ Chris Noth, Mr. Big from Sex and the City, purchased a property for $1,850,000 on 7/13/17.
★ Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda purchased two units in the same building on 4/19/17. One for $1,250,000 and the other for $1,290,000.
★ Full Frontal Samantha Bee purchased property in Manhattan on 8/18/16 for $3,700,000.
★ Jared Kushner, Trump’s senior advisor and Ivanka Trump’s husband, purchased real estate for $1,905,000 back in 1/7/16.
★ 2013 was the year The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus invested in property for $3,800,000 in Manhattan on 4/18/2013.
★ New York City’s very own Sex and the City lady Cynthia Nixon purchased a unit for $3,250,000 in Manhattan in 2012 (why did you leave Brooklyn, Miranda?).
★ Powerhouse actress Uma Thurman made a big investment, with a property worth $10,000,000 on 11/19/13.
★ Harry Potter, or Daniel Radcliffe for those who go by that name, purchased an apartment in Manhattan on 2/20/08 for $4,900,000.
Try out the New York, NY Property Records Search yourself!
Methodology
City-specific numbers, such as the median home price, the median household income, and the share of income for homeownership is taken from RealtyHop’s latest monthly Affordability Housing Price Index for April.
