No more bluffing for Brad, Angelina

The Life: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are selling their beachfront home in Malibu for $13.75m.

Q&A: $30m? Better not tell Pitt

Are Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie the highest paid actors in Hollywood? Individually they are not the highest paid actors, by far. Forbes lists Pitt as 14th among male actors, earning about US$20 million (Dh73.4m) a year. Jolie earned about $30m last year, according to the magazine.

The price for the Malibu house sounds too high. Maybe. But California beach properties are a rare commodity. And this property has several elements coveted by the Malibu crowd, including privacy and direct access to the beach.

What's been happening with California property? California was one of the markets hardest hit by the financial downturn. Many neighbourhoods saw prices drop by as much as 30 to 40 per cent. But that doesn't tell the whole story. California also produced one of the largest run-ups in prices in the country before the crash.

Actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, arguably the most picturesque couple in the world, are selling their house in Malibu, on the California coast.

The four-bedroom house on a half-hectare on a bluff overlooking a sandy beach is priced at US$13.75 million (Dh50.5m), which is considered reasonable in Malibu, the coastal enclave outside Los Angeles known for its celebrity residents.

The gated, tree-lined property includes a tennis court and a lap pool, as well as a private path to the beach, where it is not hard to picture Pitt and Jolie frolicking in the surf.

Pitt reportedly bought the house for $8.4m in 2005, around the time he was breaking up with actress Jennifer Aniston and hooking up with Jolie, according to RealEstalker, a blog that diligently tracks celebrity real estate.

The 380-square-metre house was built in 1962 and features a one-storey, flat-roof design with floor-to-ceiling windows described in the listing as "architectural mid-century" style. It is set off from both the Pacific Coast Highway and the beach, offering a level of privacy coveted in the neighbourhood. The house was completely renovated a few years ago and now includes dark bamboo flooring, modern stainless steel kitchen appliances, a walk-in refrigerator and a "spectacular master-bedroom suite".

It also features three fireplaces and two of the bedrooms have been converted into offices. The house already has approval for a second storey, a big deal in Malibu, where any construction is carefully scrutinised by local authorities.

Celebrity property watchers closely follow Pitt and Jolie, who are renowned globetrotters and are believed to own several homes.

They reportedly own two more homes in California, as well as properties in New Orleans, Italy and a 356-hectare estate in the south of France.

Forbes magazine recently ranked Jolie 11th on its list of the world's most powerful celebrities, while Pitt was placed at number 45.

Top 5: Celebrity homes for sale

1 Robert De Niro, New York townhouse, $14m

1 Elijah Wood, Santa Monica house, $1.85m

1 Slash, Beverly Hills estate, $9.5m

1 Tony Danza, Malibu house, $9.1m

1 Sean Combs, New Jersey estate, $13.5m

Source: Realestalker

The Quote: California is like an artificial limb the rest of the country doesn't really need. Saul Bellow, author