Hilton Hyland

Call it A-List Los Angeles. L.A. County has plenty of high-end neighborhoods, from Palos Verdes Estates to Pasadena. But when it comes to finding the best mansions in town, there's still nothing quite like the golden corridor from Beverly Hills to Malibu. This Westside area boasts one of the world's great concentrations of premier residential estates. The highest-price home transaction ever in California took place in this territory: the 2000 sale of an 8-acre Bellagio Road estate in Bel-Air by Dole Food Co.'s billionaire owner, David Murdock, to financial executive Gary Winnick in a $95-million deal.

Elvis slept here. A Midcentury Modern home in Palm Springs that was once leased to the "King of Rock 'n' Roll" Elvis Presley is up for sale at $9.5 million. Billed as his “honeymoon retreat,” the 1960 house is also notable for its unusual shape. The residence  consists of four circle-shaped living spaces on three levels. Curved walls of stone, a round kitchen island and a circular fireplace in the center of the living room echo the structural shape. Expanses of glass take in views of the Santa Rosa Mountains and Coachella Valley.

The biggest home in Los Angeles County is ready for a new nickname: The 56,500-square-foot Manor, dubbed Candyland after owner Candy Spelling, has been sold to another wealthy socialite, British heiress Petra Ecclestone, in an all-cash deal for $85 million. As steep as that price is, it's not a record or even close to what Spelling was asking. The priciest Southland home transaction was the 2000 sale of an 8-acre estate in Bel-Air to financial executive Gary Winnick in a deal that included the trade of other land, for a total value of about $94 million.

This 1920s Spanish-style house had its beginnings in old Hollywood. The villa, which features a rotunda entry, stenciled ceilings and a tower room, was built for early film producer William Sistrom and designed by art director Harry McAfee. Location: 7475 Hillside Ave., Los Angeles 90046 Asking price: $4.995 million Year built: 1926 House size: Seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, 5,500 square feet Lot size: 17,432 square feet Features: Courtyard with fountain, inlaid wood floors, stone fireplace, French doors, den, two-room staff wing, guest apartment, swimming pool, terrace with pergola About the area: Last year, 290 single-family homes sold in the 90046 ZIP Code at a median price of $1.025 million, according to DataQuick.

Producer-director Bud Yorkin and his wife, actress Cynthia Sikes, have sold their estate in the Beverly Crest area for $19.5 million. The gated traditional home, built in 1938, has five bedrooms, 7.5 bathrooms and about 10,528 square feet of living space. Features include a main hall with a sweeping staircase, a 60-foot-long living room with a sunken bar, a wood-paneled study and a projection room. The nearly 2 acres of grounds include a tennis court, a swimming pool, lawn, fountains and rose gardens.

Real estate agent: In the Feb. 28 Home section, Hot Property's reference to Fleur de Lys, the most expensive property in Los Angeles in the Multiple Listing Service, omitted Robert Kass as the co-lister of the property with Joyce Rey. Kass is with Hilton & Hyland, and Rey with Coldwell Banker, both of Beverly Hills.

Consultant Shary Nassimi and his wife, Esther , have listed their 6-acre Malibu estate at $15 million. Shary Nassimi, with Nassimi Consulting and Gjenius Productions, envisioned the home for his family. Features include a 28-foot-tall foyer, a wine cellar, a gym and a swimming pool. A heated central loggia connects living spaces for large-scale entertaining. The subterranean garage has room for up to a dozen cars and extra storage. A 300-square-foot pantry and walk-in refrigerator sit near the elevator.

It doesn't take much scratching beneath the surface to find a celebrity name in a home's title history or the public record in L.A. County. Among recent listings with celebrity pedigrees are: -- An Italian-style villa in La Canada Flintridge built in 1989 by actor Kevin Costner with his then-wife, Cindy. The walled compound has 6,754 square feet of living space in the main house, 2,400 square feet of loggias and a detached 840-square-foot structure with a 1,000-bottle wine cellar, tasting room, office and bathroom.

Update: Norm Zada, the former Stanford professor and money manager who created Perfect 10 magazine, has sold his compound in gated Beverly Park for $16.5 million. The Richard Landry-designed main house has 12,000 square feet of living space. A glass-and-steel bridge connects it to the 8,000-square-foot guesthouse. The 6.89-acre estate includes two pavilions, a paddle tennis court, a waterfall and a swimming pool. The property includes 10 bedrooms plus a maid's room; 18 bathrooms; and a gym. The property came on the market last year at $24.5 million.

Palatial compound Location: 10425 W. Revuelta Way, Bel-Air 90077 Asking price: $37,995,000 Size: There are 15 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms and three half-baths in approximately 23,000 square feet in two residences. Additional features : Koi pond; fountain; five kitchens; surround sound in all rooms; landscaped grounds with palm trees; security system. Around the neighborhood: Through the third quarter, 59 single-family homes sold in the 90077 ZIP Code, according to MDA DataQuick, at a median price of $1,719,000.

Producer-director Bud Yorkin and his wife, actress Cynthia Sikes, have sold their estate in the Beverly Crest area for $19.5 million. The gated traditional home, built in 1938, has five bedrooms, 7.5 bathrooms and about 10,528 square feet of living space. Features include a main hall with a sweeping staircase, a 60-foot-long living room with a sunken bar, a wood-paneled study and a projection room. The nearly 2 acres of grounds include a tennis court, a swimming pool, lawn, fountains and rose gardens.

Actor  Sacha Baron Cohen and his wife, actress Isla Fisher, have listed a Hollywood Hills West house at $2.595 million. The Midcentury-style home, built in 1959 and recently renovated, had been leased out at $10,995 a month. The single-story house features canyon and mountain views, beamed ceilings that rise to 22 feet, a river-rock fireplace, a media room/den, four bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and 2,806 square feet of living space. The lot, less than a third of an acre, includes a lagoon-style swimming pool, a spa and an outdoor gym. Baron Cohen, 41, is known for his portrayal of offbeat characters in such films as "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" (2006)

If you've been scouring the Web for photos of "Twilight" actress Kristen Stewart's new digs in Los Feliz, you may have passed over the one of a square of lawn. But that's the image a real estate agent has inserted online and is visible through the guest sign-on at theMLS.com . The listing, which was withdrawn from the Multiple Listing Service, didn't show that it had closed in late August at $2.195 million and that the property was purchased in the name of a trust. Here are three great examples of the ways agents try to keep supposedly secret home sales out of the public eye. Set in gated Laughlin Park, which will afford the actress one barrier of security, the 3,361-square-foot house features a carved wood front door, an open floor plan, a veranda, a den, an office, two fireplaces, four bedrooms and 41/2 bathrooms.

Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores and his wife, Holly, have listed their house in gated Mulholland Estates at $10.75 million. Although the Multiple Listing Service considers the community in the 90210 ZIP Code to be the Beverly Hills Post Office area, The Times' Mapping L.A. database shows the mansion sits within Sherman Oaks. The Mediterranean, custom built in 1992, features a family room with exposed beams, a paneled library, two bars, five fireplaces, a screening room, six bedrooms and eight bathrooms in 11,107 square feet.

The graceful arch of the front door is repeated in the windows and openings of this classic '20s-era Italian-style villa north of Sunset Boulevard. A staircase in the entry hall leads upstairs to bedrooms including two master suites, one with a terrace and sitting room looking out on the swimming pool. Location: 1010 N. Roxbury Drive, Beverly Hills 90210 Asking price: $14.9 million Year built: 1926 House size: Seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, about 7,500 square feet Lot size: 0.64 acres Features: Step-down living room, formal dining room, hardwood and tile floors, eat-in kitchen, breakfast room, dining terrace, swimming pool, pool house, outdoor fireplace, separate exercise studio, mature trees, gardens, expansive lawn About the area: In the first half of this year, 175 single-family homes sold in the 90210 ZIP Code at a median price of $2.7 million, according to DataQuick.

Former Yahoo Inc. chief executive Terry Semel and his wife, Jane, have put their Malibu beach home up for sale at $50 million. Sitting on a three-quarter-acre lot along Billionaire's Beach, named for its wealthy homeowners, the main house is entered through a three-story rotunda topped by a skylight. A copper-roofed screening pavilion doubles as the family den. There is also a two-story guesthouse for a total of nine bedrooms, 13 bathrooms and 10,317 square feet of living space.

Real estate developer George Santo Pietro has sold a Beverly Hills Post Office-area mansion he built on spec for $23.5 million, the Multiple Listing Service shows. The 24,595-square-foot Italian-style villa sits on more than 2 acres in gated Beverly Park. The nine-bedroom, 15-bathroom house features a two-story-high living room, a wine room and a theater. The master bedroom suite has two sitting rooms. The grounds include parking for 40 cars and a swimming pool. Built in 2007, the sprawling mansion was originally listed at $50 million.

Broadcast syndication company head Byron Allen seems to be doing his part to help the Westside real estate market. The stand-up comic and TV show host bought an estate in Beverly Hills for $17 million and is now listing a place in the Hollywood Hills West area for $8.995 million. The contemporary mansion he bought sits behind gates on more than an acre. A two-story entry leads to a living room with retractable floor-to-ceiling glass doors that open to an infinity pool and a terrace.

"Two and a Half Men" star Ashton Kutcher has bought a home in the heart of the Hollywood Hills for an undisclosed amount. The house had most recently been listed at $10.8 million. The modern-style house, completed in 2007, has views of the Hollywood Reservoir and the Hollywood sign. Kutcher had been leasing the property when reports surfaced that Justin Bieber had toured the house and might be an interested buyer. It can be weeks or months before the sale price appears in public records.