Bing Crosby’s French chateau-style estate in Northern California has sold for $25 million, according to the buyer’s agents.

The transaction marks one of the top five priciest home sales in the history of Hillsborough, an ultra-affluent enclave in Silicon Valley, according to the Compass agents, Alex and Pierre Buljan.

Still, the deal, which closed on Thursday, was a major discount from the original $40 million asking price.

The relatively fast sale for one of the priciest homes in the region underscores the strong market for properties above $15 million, said Jennifer Gilson of Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty.

“If the product that a buyer is looking for is there, it is going fast,” Gilson said of the trophy-home market. “Hence that is what happened with the Crosby estate.”

The manor house had been in the Crosby family since the 1960s, when the famed singer fled the scene in Hollywood to raise his family in a more bucolic setting, The Wall Street Journal reported when the home first hit the market in February.

The palatial home spans 14,000 square feet, including 11 bedrooms and a library. There’s also a 17th-century staircase and antique paneling that the original owners bought from news baron William Randolph Hearst, according to the listing.

The buyer, whose identity was not yet in public records, was a Hillsborough local “with an appreciation for classic properties,” said the buyer’s agent Alex Buljan. He added that the buyer is “adamant about maintaining the character and history into the next generation.”

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The sale is the biggest in Hillsborough since the so-called Western White House, inspired by the presidential residence, sold for $23 million last year. Other major sales in town include Elon Musk’s former 47-acre estate—another French chateau-style home—that he sold in 2021 for $30 million and which sold again a year later for $35 million, records show.

Crosby, whose voice is immortalized in the holiday classic “White Christmas,” lived at the Hillsborough home until his death in 1977. His heirs put the home up for sale after the passing of his second wife, Kathryn Grant, in 2024.

A glass modernist mansion in Atherton, California—the U.S.’s most expensive ZIP Code—has sold for $31.8 million.

The sale is a more than $10 million profit for the seller, a limited liability company that bought the property in 2019 for $21 million, according to records on PropertyShark.

In addition to glass, the home, which was listed in January, was built in 2017 with concrete and steel, and its living spaces are lined with floor-to-ceiling windows. Two L-shaped structures comprise the home, with one cantilevered on top of the other.

The home has nearly 14,000 square feet across three levels, and two separate buildings add about 2,000 square feet to the property, according to the listing. There are six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, and amenities include a putting green with a bunker, a golf simulator and a theater.

Atherton, which is about 30 miles south of San Francisco, has ranked as the priciest ZIP Code in the U.S. for the past eight years, according to data from PropertyShark, with the median sale price coming in at $7.9 million last year. A $51.5 million deal that closed in March in Atherton is the priciest home sale for the Bay Area so far this year.

Mary and Brent Gullixson of Compass represented the seller, while Michael Dreyfus of Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty represented the buyer, whose information wasn’t yet available in records. None of the agents were immediately available for comment.

A five-bedroom Colonial-style mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut, has sold for $10.75 million—more than 10% above the asking price.

Built in 1953, the single-story residence is located on a 2.2-acre property in Greenwich’s “Golden Triangle,” one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the U.S. The home, which was asking $9.75 million, spans over 12,000 square feet and includes a double-height wood-paneled library, a primary suite with a private office, plus a game room, a home cinema and a wine cellar.

The grounds include a large pool deck attached to the home, a pool house with a bar and lounge, and a full-size tennis court. The home itself has multiple terraces and a screened-in porch for cooler temperatures.

Behind the white facade and red-painted door, the interiors have a distinctly New England flavor with a grand curved stairway in the entrance, detailed woodwork and paneling, built-in bookcases and elaborate fireplace mantels.

The sellers purchased the home for $6.9 million in 2015, according to the town assessor’s office. They declined to comment.

The home on Wynnwood Road is located in country club Greenwich—it’s literally surrounded by three country clubs and golf courses—in a pastoral area about 20 minutes outside the city’s downtown. It was once crowned the country’s wealthiest neighborhood, and the cheapest listing currently is $3.25 million, followed by a $6 million option.

That might explain why it’s in such high demand. The Wynnwood home went into contract after less than 10 days on the market and closed this week with a 10% premium over the asking price. The identity of the buyer was not yet available in public records.

The listing agents were Ellen Mosher and Julie Church of Houlihan Lawrence, who declined to comment.

A time capsule of Baroque opulence in Prague’s historic Lesser Town neighborhood that was on the market for US$7.1 million has sold, according to the listing agent.

The nearly 500-year-old building was constructed in the late Renaissance period and still has its classical vaults in the basement, arches and a unique coffered ceiling on the second floor. But the townhouse got its maximalist ornamentation during a Baroque reconstruction around the turn of the 18th century, when it received a new facade and an additional floor, roof trusses, painted wooden ceilings and parquet floors, said listing agent Nikolas Peknik of Philip & Frank, an affiliate of Luxury Portfolio International.

“The property has been further renovated in recent years, and while it retains its period atmosphere throughout, it is in really good condition,” Peknik said. “The design matches the history of Prague and is really tasteful, thanks to its painted ceilings and its handicraft elements.”

The home enjoys several voluminous reception rooms and a central courtyard with a tree.

During the early 20th century, the townhouse was home to journalist Milena Jasenská, a friend of novelist Franz Kafka, Peknik added.

“In the historical part of Prague, important houses had a name, and sometimes a house sign, to distinguish them from the others,” Peknik said. This one takes its name from its original house sign and is known as the “House of the Golden Cross” or the “Picture of the Virgin Mary.”

Stats

The 8,500-square-foot home has four to six bedrooms, depending on how the rooms are used,  and five bathrooms spread over five floors.

Amenities  

A central courtyard features a tree and wraparound balconies on two levels, providing outdoor access for most of the levels of the home. “The courtyard is my favorite place because it is quiet, peaceful and you have the great privilege of having it to yourself,” Peknik said.

The home also features a spacious atrium and a wine cellar, ideal for entertaining large gatherings.

Neighborhood Notes 

The property’s facade stands prominent on the picturesque Maltese Square in Prague’s historic Malá Strana, or Lesser Town—“one of Prague’s most enchanting districts,” according to Peknik.

Known for its Baroque architecture, cobblestone streets and historic ambiance, Malá Strana is nestled beneath Prague Castle along the banks of the Vltava River.

“One of the things I love most about Malá Strana is its peaceful yet vibrant atmosphere—despite being in the heart of Prague, it retains a timeless, almost village-like feel,” Peknik said. “It’s full of boutique shops, charming cafés and fine-dining restaurants, making it a perfect place for a leisurely afternoon.”

The home is located near many galleries and historic landmarks, including St. Nicholas Church and the Wallenstein Palace Gardens. Families are drawn to Malá Strana for its excellent international schools, such as the Lycée Français de Prague and the Riverside School, Peknik said.

“Overall, Malá Strana is a unique blend of history, elegance and livability—offering a refined yet cozy retreat in the center of one of Europe’s most beautiful cities,” Peknik said.

Agent: Nicolas Peknik, Philip & Frank/Luxury Portfolio International

A Paul R. Williams-designed home in California’s San Gabriel Valley with its own ballroom sold in a matter of weeks for $8.125 million.

The four-bedroom home is located on Alta Canyada Road in La Cañada Flintridge, a city in Los Angeles County at the base of the Angeles National Forest.

Built in 1927 in Spanish Colonial style, the home spans close to 8,000 square feet, with a statement foyer, arched entryways, tiled loggia and bas relief detailing. The 1.2-acre property includes an additional one-bedroom guest house and casita, which has its own observatory, and the ample grounds feature decorative statues and tiled fountains, shaded catwalks leading to a large pool deck, a faux bois grotto and an adjacent tea house.

The foyer of the Alta Canyada home leads to a ballroom-sized open space with 20-foot ceilings and a mezzanine overlooking its black-and-white tiled floor. The ballroom leads to a so-called lady’s lounge with three arched French doors that open to the rear garden, as well as a wood-paneled library. Other rooms feature wood-beamed vaulted ceilings, casement windows and elaborate fireplaces. The dining room, for one, is framed by a wall of stained-glass, while an intricate mosaic window reflects colored light inside and out.

The house was built for James Degnan, an attorney with an office in Downtown Los Angeles, according to Pacific Coast Architecture Database. Degnan and his wife, Dorothy, commissioned the young architect Williams, who would become known as the architect to Hollywood’s early stars, to design a home in what was then rural Los Angeles.

The Hollywood connections continued when the home passed to actor and singer Dennis Morgan in the 1940s, who would entertain many of his famous friends. After Morgan, the house traded several times before it sold in 1999 for $2 million to the sellers, a couple that raised their three daughters there, according to a Los Angeles Magazine interview with the family in 2016.

While the sellers renovated the house when they bought, some of the rooms may need a further refresh. George Penner of Compass listed the home in early May asking $8.5 million, and it sold by the end of the month. Penner declined to comment and the buyer’s information was not yet in records.

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The prolific Williams designed over 2,000 homes in the Los Angeles area, many of which are celebrated and preserved today as historical gems. Williams, the first Black architect to be a member of and honored by the American Association of Architects, designed 32 homes in the La Cañada Flintridge area, some of which were spec homes for real estate developer and Flintridge founder Frank Putnam Flint, according to the LA Conservancy.

In another Hollywood connection, actress Diane Keaton included the house in a book she wrote about the Spanish-style architecture of Los Angeles called “California Romantica.”