Frank Sinatra’s Former Los Angeles Home Finds a Buyer for $5 Million
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Frank Sinatra’s former Los Angeles mid-century home, now a prime Hollywood filming spot, sold for $5 million on Tuesday.
The boxy, glass home on a promontory in Chatswood was rented by Sinatra in the 1960s and was an industry party spot and “playground” for the elite during Hollywood’s Golden Age, according to the listing. It’s since become a popular filming location, more recently setting the backdrop for multiple music videos from Miley Cyrus’s album “Endless Summer Vacation.”
Sinatra’s former address, which includes the main home on a 4-acre parcel and a 9-acre plot with a guest house, was built by mid-century master William Pereira for Chase Bank heiress Dora Hutchinson.
Besides music videos, it was featured in the long-running TV show “Mad Men” and the 2006 movie “Dreamgirls,” and hosted a Hermés launch party in 2022.
According to its listing, “every studio, every production designer and every location manager knows about this fabled property,” that generates between $750,000 and $1,200,000 annually in rentals.
The main 4-acre property listed for $12.75 million in 2022, Mansion Global previously reported .
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Last year, Rock Asset Management Trust took over the estate in a foreclosure sale for $2.1 million. “Between reliance on a single revenue stream, Covid and the [2023 Hollywood] writers’ strike, the owners were unable to service the mortgage obligations,” said the sellers’ agent, Craig Knizek at the Agency.
Rick Wolfen, president of Rock Asset Management, did not immediately respond to requests for a comment.
Previously, the main property and its neighboring parcel with the guest house—which once housed Marilyn Monroe and was reportedly a rendezvous location during her affair with John F. Kennedy—were listed together for $21.5 million.
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“While this listing has been over-priced for the past 13 years, under new ownership, it finally is ready to sell, for the right fair market value,” the most recent listing read.
Tuesday’s buyer also paid $3 million for the larger guest-house parcel that is now primed for new development, separated into 11 single-family lots.
The L-shaped Midcentury Modern house faces a classic California valley panorama. The main living space on one end connects to a stretch of outdoor lounges under a trellis lined with succulents. The trellis extends past the 50-foot pool into an indoor gym and massage room.
Knizek said that he thinks the modernist masterpiece had still been “underutilized” and that the space has even more potential. Think corporate retreats, restaurant collaborations and weddings, he said.
The buyer, who could not be identified, is “someone who appreciates the history and the architecture and appreciates the investment income opportunities,” Knizek said.
The home, with modernist accents like white tile floors, a dais in the bedroom, and wood panel walls, has four bedrooms and six bathrooms.
“I anticipate that the house gets spit and polished, to take it to a whole elevated level,” Knizek added.
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The 2026 McGrath Report warns that without urgent reforms to planning, infrastructure and construction, housing affordability will continue to slip beyond reach for most Australians.
3 min
Australia’s housing market has reached a critical juncture, with home ownership and rental affordability deteriorating to their worst levels in decades, according to the McGrath Report 2026.
The annual analysis from real estate entrepreneur John McGrath paints a sobering picture of a nation where even the “lucky country” has run out of luck — or at least, out of homes.
New borrowers are now spending half their household income servicing loans, while renters are devoting one-third of their earnings to rent.
The time needed to save a 20 per cent deposit has stretched beyond ten years, and the home price-to-income ratio has climbed to eight times. “These aren’t just statistics,” McGrath writes. “They represent real people and real pain.”
McGrath argues that the root cause of Australia’s housing crisis is not a shortage of land, but a shortage of accessibility and deliverable stock.
“Over half our population has squeezed into just three cities, creating price pressure and rising density in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane while vast developable land sits disconnected from essential infrastructure,” he says.
The report identifies three faltering pillars — supply, affordability and construction viability — as the drivers of instability in the current market.
Developers across the country, McGrath notes, are “unable to make the numbers work” due to labour shortages and soaring construction costs.
In many trades, shortages have doubled or tripled, and build costs have surged by more than 30 per cent, stalling thousands of projects.
Need for systemic reform
McGrath’s prescription is clear: the only real solution lies in increasing supply through systemic reform. “We need to streamline development processes, reduce approval timeframes and provide better infrastructure to free up the options and provide more choice for everyone on where they live,” he says.
The 2026 edition of the report also points to promising trends in policy and innovation. Across several states, governments are prioritising higher-density development near transport hubs and repurposing government-owned land with existing infrastructure.
Build-to-rent models are expanding, and planning reforms are gaining traction. McGrath notes that while these steps are encouraging, they must be accelerated and supported by new construction methods if Australia is to meet demand.
One of the report’s key opportunities lies in prefabrication and modular design. “Prefabricated homes can be completed in 10–12 weeks compared to 18 months for a traditional house, saving time and money for everyone involved,” McGrath says.
The report suggests that modular and 3D-printed housing could play a significant role in addressing shortages while setting a new global benchmark for speed, cost and quality in residential construction.
Intelligent homes
In a section titled Weathering the Future: The Power of Smart Design, the report emphasises that sustainable and intelligent home design is no longer aspirational but essential.
It highlights new technologies that reduce energy use, improve thermal efficiency, and make homes more resilient to climate risks.
“There’s no reason why Australia shouldn’t be a world leader in innovative design and construction — and many reasons why we should be,” McGrath writes.
Despite the challenges, the tone of the 2026 McGrath Report is one of cautious optimism. Demand is expected to stabilise at around 175,000 households per year from 2026, and construction cost growth is finally slowing. Governments are also showing a greater willingness to reform outdated planning frameworks.
McGrath concludes that the path forward requires bold decisions and collaboration between all levels of government and industry.
“Australia has the land, demand and capability,” he says. “What we need now is the will to implement supply-focused solutions that address root causes rather than symptoms.”
“Only then,” he adds, “can we turn the dream of home ownership back into something more than a dream.”
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