Sources: Sean Hannity closes on Centre Island estate

chief executive Rupert Murdoch may have a new neighbor to carpool to work with. that conservative talk show host and Murdoch employee Sean Hannity was trying to buy has officially closed, real estate sources says. The 16-room mansion on closed Wednesday. Hannity paid $8.5 million.

The Hampton-style mansion was purchased from a trust set up after a transfer of the property from Deborah Dolan, ex-wife of James Dolan.

The home was listed with Peggy McCormack of . Regina Rogers of represented Hannity in the deal. Neither agent would comment.

The sale of this home proves that despite a real estate slowdown, homes will sell if the price is right, and Centre Island is no exception. The Hannity house had originally been listed at $13.5 million in 2006, then earlier this year was reduced to $10.5 million. Patricia Altschul’s Centre Island manse went into contract last year soon after a price reduction from $18.5 million to $15.8 million. It closed in March 2008 for $12.5 million to Londoner Colin Buffin. Murdoch also recently dropped the asking price for his nearby mansion from $14.8 million to $12.8 million.

One holdout in the pricing game is Billy Joel, whose has been on the market since 2006. It was originally listed at $37.5 million in 2006, with a price drop to $32.5 million in early 2007, but Joel has not reduced his asking price in more than a year now and the home remains unsold.

Kathleen Turner again lowers price of Amagansett home

Actress Kathleen Turner has once again lowered the price of her home on Bluff Road in Amagansett, listed with Rachel Thompson of

In 2005, after splitting with her husband Jay Weiss, Turner put the home on the market for a reported $8 million, later taking it off the market and renovating it. Last year Turner again listed the six-bedroom home for $6.9 million. In January, REAL LI reported another price drop to $6.25 million.

The Prudential Elliman Web site now shows that Turner has lowered her price yet again to $5.9 million. Records show that the Oscar-nominated actress paid $488,500 for the home in 1990.

The 5,000-square-foot home was built in 1903 and overlooks a 25-acre preserve.

Dan's Papers recently reported that the house will be sold during the divorce proceedings.

Thompson could not be reached for comment.

Bumble Bee Manor price lowered to $21.9 million

The new buzz on Shelter Island's is a drastic price reduction from $35 million to $21.9 million.

The 3.25-acre estate is a co-exclusive between Andrea Ackerman of and Harald Grant and Ingrid Brownyard of . Built in 2005, the gated estate overlooks Coecles Harbor with 325 feet of open, expansive waterfront. The 10,000-square-foot cedar-shingle style main house has 16 rooms, a banquet-sized dining room and an elevator, office, fitness room and media room.

Ackerman says that in addition to the estate’s own deepwater dock that will accomodate a yacht, there is also a nearby association dock that can hold any overflow of boats when guests come to party. There’s a three-bedroom guest house, a Caribbean-style poolhouse with a glass cupola and an infinity pool that looks as if it disappears into the harbor.

Bumble Bee Manor first went on the market in 2006. Shelter Island's Shorewood Manor after a drastic price reduction from $33 million to $22.4 million.

Price drop for Quogue mansion in Martha Stewart book

There’s been a price drop on Belle Meade, the Greek Revival mansion in Quogue once owned by founders Eileen and Jerry Ford.

The 11-bedroom home originally went on the market with last year for $10.5 million. It is now listed with Michael Shaheen of for $8.999 million.

Belle Meade was built in 1906 and is attributed to architect Stanford White. The home is being sold by the heirs of the latest owners, Dr. Robert and Robin Cushing, whose daughter Hilary married at Belle Meade in 1985. The wedding, catered by , was featured in Stewart’s 1987 book, “Weddings”.

Belle Meade sits on 3.5 acres enclosed by privet hedges. Amenities include a heated Gunite pool and a Har-Tru tennis court.

Price drop for Quogue mansion in Martha Stewart book

There’s been a price drop on Belle Meade, the Greek Revival mansion in Quogue once owned by founders Eileen and Jerry Ford.

The 11-bedroom home originally went on the market with last year for $10.5 million. It is now listed with Michael Shaheen of for $8.999 million.

Belle Meade was built in 1906 and is attributed to architect Stanford White. The home is being sold by the heirs of the latest owners, Dr. Robert and Robin Cushing, whose daughter Hilary married at Belle Meade in 1985. The wedding, catered by, was featured in Stewart’s 1987 book, “Weddings”.

Belle Meade sits on 3.5 acres enclosed by privet hedges. Amenities include a heated Gunite pool and a Har-Tru tennis court.

R. Donahue Peebles buys second Hamptons home

Real estate developer and author , who purchased a 10.1-acre compound last year for $5.39 million, has just added another East End home to his collection.

Florida-based Peebles will close next week on a $1.91 million, three-bedroom waterfront home in , just minutes away from his current property. He acquired the house in an estate trust auction. Peebles plans to keep both homes, using the Sag Harbor place as a cabana and guest house, says of , who represented Peebles in the purchase of both his Long Island homes. He also owns homes in Coral Gables, Fla., and Washington, D.C.

Of the new property, Barbaria says, “It’s very hard to get a house in that location … They rarely hit the market.” Barbaria says that the house is perched high, affording panoramic views across to Shelter Island and Connecticut. “It’s on the only Sag Harbor waterfront that has a real beach in front of it.”

Peebles is the chairman and chief executive of the, a Miami real estate development firm. He is currently developing a $2 billion, 13-acre property near the Las Vegas Strip.

Peebles recently raised more than $300,000 in Miami for . A source tells REAL LI that there has been talk of a possibility that Peebles will host another Obama fundraiser at his Bridgehampton home.

Price cut on Elaine de Kooning's East Hampton studio

The price has been lowered on Elaine de Kooning’s former studio in . The 1.2-acre property went on the market early last year for $2 million. The asking price is now $1.6 million. The home has been used by a succession of creative types including de Kooning, abstract expressionist and scrap-metal sculptor John Chamberlain, and the current owner, abstract artist Richmond Burton.

The 2,500-square-foot studio is located in the Northwest Woods, has 20-foot ceilings and an additional 2,900 square feet of living quarters. It is listed with Josiane Fleming and Robin Kaplan of .

De Kooning was married to abstract expressionist icon Willem de Kooning in 1943. The couple separated in 1957 but never divorced. Elaine moved into this home in the late 1970s and designed and added the studio. Her husband maintained a separate residence in nearby Springs.

Elaine, who died in 1989 (Willem died in 1997), was known for her portraits, including a commissioned painting of President John F. Kennedy, and her "Bacchus" paintings, which Kaplan says were created in the studio.

Sagaponack hosts two design showhouses this summer

Hamptons Designer Showcase home, for sale for $12.5 million.

Sagaponack will be a hotbed of design ideas this summer when two world-class designer showhouses open, just minutes from one another.

is the real estate sponsor of this year’s Hamptons Designer Showcase, which kicks off with a gala preview on July 19 at 59 Farm Ct. in Sagaponack. The gala’s honorary chair is the “Prince of Chintz” . The showcase runs through Aug. 31, with proceeds to benefit Southampton Hospital. The house itself is for sale for $12.5 million, co-listed by and Janette Goodstein of Prudential Douglas Elliman and Andrew Saunders of Saunders & Associates. The six-bedroom, 7 ½-bath home has many green features, including geo-thermal heat and solar panels.

At nearby 151 Sagg Main, the 2008 opens with a gala July 25. The 150-year old house, the former home of "From Here to Eternity" author James Jones, has been given a “green” makeover by developer and a retinue of architects and designers. Proceeds of the Idea House will benefit five East End charities, including the Peconic Land Trust, the Child Development Center of the Hamptons, Fighting Chance, The Nature Conservancy and The Retreat. The Idea House runs through Aug. 24

Designer lowers price of East Hampton mansion

Interior designer Lorraine Kirke has lowered the price of her East Hampton mansion to $11.5 million, according to the Web site. The home has been on the market with Sotheby’s since early this year, and had been priced at $12.95 million. It had been listed last year with for $14.5 million.

The 7,000-square-foot, 11-bedroom home sits on 1.14 acres, has three fireplaces, a heated pool and a guest cottage.

Kirke owns the West Village Boutique . Her clients have included celebrities like Salma Hayek, Nicole Kidman and Sarah Jesisca Parker.

She is married to Simon Kirke, drummer for the rock band Bad Company

Home for sale on Sag Harbor's Captain's Row

An Art & Crafts home on 's historic Main Street is listed with Gioia DiPaolo of for $3.995 million. The five-bedroom, four-bath home was built circa 1920, and sits on .63 acres on a stretch that locals calls “Captain’s Row.” It is said to be one of a handful of village homes that have a "candlestick" fence.

The 3,000-square-foot house has a fireplace, a two-car garage, a heated gunite pool and a cabana. The home was completely renovated in 2004 by , and featured later in a spread in magazine. Tortora also worked on late actor Roy Scheider's Sag Harbor house, which Scheider moved into after .

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony get new neighbors

Looks like Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony will be putting out the welcome mat for new neighbors soon. The house next door to the couple's home went on the market earlier this year for $2.299 million, listed with Regina Rogers of . It is now listed as “in contract” on the Prudential Web site.

The five-bedroom, 4 ½-bath white Colonial, built in 1972, sits on 2.24 acres. It is accessed through estate entry gates shared by the Lopez/Anthony compound. It’s been reported that prior to the birth of twins Max and Emme, the expectant couple spent millions to fortify the gates and improve security at their mansion next door.

In the meantime, it looks like Lopez and Anthony may be spotted on the North Shore more often, now that their Bel Air, Calif., mansion was just listed for sale. According to the celebrity real estate blog Real Estalker, there for $8.5 million. The couple’s home in Brookville is a 10,000-square-foot home on Country Lane. Public records show that Anthony purchased the home in 2000 for $3.7 million.

Auction's marked-down Hamptons houses may sell

The Kennedys had their family compound, and now you can too.

An 18.64-acre property in Jericho, once part of the Underhill estate, is listed with Barbara Brundige and John Martin of for $8.44 million. The price was reduced earlier this week from $9.799 million.

Brundige says that several large families have already looked at the estate, which includes a seven-room guest cottage with a gym, a housekeeper's cottage, two barns (one with a half-court basketball court on the second floor) and a home office over a three-car garage with heated floors. The main house, Brundige says, has undergone a $1 million renovation. There's also a heated pool and a tennis court.

Brundige says the estate is "like an arboretum" with many plantings and a waterfall near the tennis court. The property was once part of a 100-plus acre estate owned by the Underhill family since the 1700s, when Jericho was still a Quaker farming village. In the late 1970s, 81 acres adjacent to this property were purchased by the Tilles Investment Company, which later sold 50 acres to the state, county and town for preservation.

The current owners purchased these 18 acres from the Underhill family. The property consists of one 14-acre parcel and one 4-acre parcel, development rights included, Brundige says.

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the best real estate markets mexico

The Best Real Estate Markets en Mexico?

Real estate investment in Mexico. mexico.vg considered each region based on affordability, cultural and natural attractions, infrastructure, economy, proximity to U.S. and a number of other factors contributing to overall appeal to tourists, retirees and, therefore, investors.

The Best Mexican Real Estate Markets are:

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2. Merida, Yucatan
3. Guadalajara, Jalisco
4. Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
5. Oaxaca, Oaxaca

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