Top Sales: January deal is Palos Verdes Estates’ priciest in four years

The onetime Beverly Hills home of an old Hollywood star, a massive hilltop compound in the South Bay and an art collector’s estate in Bel-Air were among the priciest residential real estate sales in Los Angeles County in January. Here’s a closer look.

$29 million — Bel-Air

On Sarbonne Road, real estate investor and private art collector Robert H. Blumenfield sold his longtime home for $6 million less than the original list price of $35 million.

Set behind gates on more than an acre, the estate centers on a French country-style home dating to 1938. A newer two-bedroom guesthouse, a motor court, a swimming pool, lawn and formal gardens make up the grounds.

Within the main residence, a single level of living area holds an updated kitchen, grand formal rooms and a family room with Roman travertine floors. Pine paneling fills the walls in the library, and the master suite features a custom onyx-finished shower.

Including the guesthouse, there are seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms in all.

Kim Pollard of Jenro Realty Co. was the listing agent. Branden Williams of Hilton & Hyland represented the buyer, a corporate entity with a Redwood City tax address tied to real estate developer David Dollinger.

$16.7 million — Beverly Hills

The longtime Benedict Canyon Drive address of Hank and Gloria Caruso, the late parents of developer Rick Caruso, sold to a corporate entity for about $8 million less than the original asking price of $24.75 million.

The French-inspired traditional mansion, built in 1992, has nearly 11,000 square feet of living space, six bedrooms and nine bathrooms. Features of the home include a sweeping wrought-iron staircase, grand public rooms, a card room with a wet bar and a wood-paneled office. Five fireplaces are spread throughout the interior.

A lighted tennis court, a swimming pool and spa, lawns and professional landscaping fill out the hedged and gated lot.

The property previously changed hands in 1975 for $350,000, records show.

Drew Fenton of Hilton & Hyland was the listing agent. Fred Bernstein of Westside Estate Agency represented the buyer.

$16.35 million — Beverly Hills

A onetime home of film actor Wallace Beery, who won an Oscar for his titular role in the 1931 film “The Champ,” sold for about $3.6 million less than the asking price of $19.995 million.

Found on North Alpine Drive, the gated compound includes a main house of more than 7,600 square feet, a guesthouse, a pool house and a lighted tennis court.

The main house, designed in Georgian Traditional style and built 1935, features a grand entry, high ceilings and two fireplaces. A circular breakfast room adjoins the kitchen, which has been updated. A wood-paneled den doubles as a screening room.

Outside, stone decking surrounds a swimming pool with a raised spa. Lawn, mature landscaping and various patios fill out the acre-plus property.

Drew Fenton of Hilton & Hyland held the listing.

$14.6 million — Brentwood

On Walther Way, a newly built home changed hands in a deal completed outside the Multiple Listing Service.

The subdued three-story is designed in the farmhouse style and features gray-painted vertical siding that accentuates the home’s tall, symmetrical front.

Beyond the glass-and-steel front doors, the house opens to a formal entry lined in hardwood floors. The 9,000-square-foot floor plan includes seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms and a powder room. There are fireplaces in the living room and library.

The home sits on more than half an acre and has a swimming pool with a spa. An attached garage sits off the front.

David Berg of Compass was the listing agent. F. Ron Smith, also with Compass, represented the buyer.

$14.1 million — Palos Verdes Estates

A 3.3-acre compound on Via Elvado sold for $4.8 million less than the asking price of $18.9 million. The sale is among the highest in the South Bay community and the most expensive since 2015, when a 2.2-acre property nearby sold for $15.55 million.

Called King of the Hill for its hilltop lot, the property features a Spanish Colonial-inspired home with four bedrooms, six bathrooms and 8,847 square feet of interior space.

A gated and winding drive passes by a stone guardhouse and a bridge to reach the 1936-built house, which features such Old World details as paneled ceilings and stonework. Amenities include a music room, a billiard room and a cellar.

Tropical gardens and other flora create a green backdrop for various patios, a waterfall-fed pond and swimming pool and spa.

Chris Adlam of Vista Sotheby’s International Realty and David Konheim of Hilton & Hyland were the co-listing agents.

neal.leitereg@latimes.com | Twitter: @LATHotProperty