Joyce Rey stands in the soaring marble entryway of a palatial Bel-Air estate, ticking off its selling points.
Master suites? There are five of them, along with three living rooms, a gymnasium and a library. The dining chamber is "embassy-size," and the pool and gurgling fountains are on par with those at the finest hotels.
"There are six bedrooms under the tennis courts, and nine more above the 10-car garage," Rey tells a cluster of fellow sales agents scouting the place on behalf of clients. "And don't forget to see the kitchen downstairs. It's a commercial kitchen, and big enough to feed an army."
At $40 million, it's not for everyone. Yet Rey knows business has never been better in what's known as the Platinum Triangle of Beverly Hills, Bel-Air and Holmby Hills.
Soccer star David Beckham, Amazon.com founder and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos and actor Tom Cruise all bought here this spring, paying $22 million to $35 million for their own grand estates.
"Homes like this will always have buyers because this is where the rich want to live," says Rey, a trim platinum blond who looks at home amid the elegant surroundings in her sleek designer suit and peep-toe heels.
When Rey started selling real estate in the area three decades ago, it was known merely as the Golden Triangle.
Maybe it's time for another upgrade.
While much of the nation -- and the region -- suffers through a real estate slump, sales in the Platinum Triangle are stronger than ever.
In the first four months of the year, 23 estates selling for at least $10 million closed escrow in the area, according to records kept by local real estate agents, up from 10 last year.
By contrast, home sales in Los Angeles County fell 19.1% through May, according to research firm DataQuick Information Systems.
Property values in the Platinum Triangle area are also outpacing the county overall, climbing 9% from Jan. 1 through May 30, compared with a 3.9% rise countywide. Indeed, the continued strength at the high end of the market has helped mask flat or declining prices elsewhere, such as in the Antelope Valley.
Super-rich get richer
Before the recent cooling trend, of course, most Southern California homeowners saw their properties escalate sharply in value. Still, the numbers sound a bit more dramatic at the upper registers.
"Twenty million dollars is the new $10 [million]," says Cecelia Kennelly-Waeschle, a Beverly Hills sales agent who tallies "the list," the unofficial log of the Westside's high-end sales.
