Reality show judge closes a strange sale

Chalk this sale up as a headscratcher. In August, singer Leona Lewis sold her equestrian estate in the celebrity hot spot of Hidden Hills for $ 3.9 million to a trust tied to Simon Cowell, whom she had met while competing on “The X Factor” and to whose record label she later signed.

Ten days after buying the home, records show, Cowell put it

back on the market for $ 3.7 million — or $ 200,000 less than the price he had just paid. In October, the property sold for $ 3.6 million.

Spread across more than an acre, the compound includes a single- story main home, spacious guesthouse, swimming pool and stable with a riding arena. In between the structures, rolling lawns and brick walkways wind through the tree- covered grounds.

Vast open spaces fill out the main house, complete with three bedrooms and five bathrooms across 4,900 square feet. Skylights punctuate dramatic vaulted ceilings in the great room, and the kitchen tacks on a purple- painted beam.

Other highlights include a wood- paneled theater with a wet bar and a covered patio with an

outdoor kitchen that sidles up to the swimming pool. In the 1,000square- foot guesthouse, there’s a bedroom suite and a pair of bathrooms.

Cowell, the TV personality who has served as a judge for “American Idol” and “America’s Got Talent” in addition to “The X Factor,” is a regular among real estate headlines. Three years ago, the 61- year- old shelled out $ 24 million for a Malibu compound, and over the summer, he sold his Beverly Hills mansion for $ 25 million.

Mark John Williams of Marquis Realty held the listing. Marc Shevin of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties represented the buyer.