Cher's $45 Million Malibu Home For Sale

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(LOS ANGELES, CA) - Thank heaven for the celebrity factor. Otherwise, L.A. real estate as a beat wouldn't be nearly as much fun to cover, whether it's about a sale, a lease or a listing.

And let's face it: A mug shot of Cher gets a reader's attention quicker than a house shot, even though the house is bigger, pricier and, certainly, more historic.

Such is the case with an estate built in the nation's capital, then just a few years old. The house is on the market at $49 million, the most expensive listing in the city. A house Cher built a few years ago is listed at $45 million, and it's on a 1.7-acre bluff overlooking the Pacific in Malibu.

Cher's home has six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a theater, a gym, many verandas, a tennis court, a pool, a spa and a detached guesthouse.

The 14,000-square-foot villa was built to resemble an Italian Renaissance mansion, hidden by numerous palm trees, some along the driveway, others elsewhere on the property, which sits alongside Pacific Coast Highway.

Cher didn't have an ocean view from an earlier house she built in the Point Dume area of Malibu with designer Ron Wilson, and so she made up for that when she built this home.

The earlier home was Santa Fe in style, but that didn't stop the adventuresome actress-singer from turning the interiors into a fascinating Gothic mix. Then two years ago, she held an auction and sold her furniture.

No wonder she doesn't spend as much time in Malibu anymore. Cher is busy, performing in various places.

And who likes coming home to an empty house, even with its many amenities and people on staff?