Pitt skirts ‘mansion tax’ with sale in March

Brad Pitt beat the buzzer in Hollywood Hills, selling his longtime compound for $39 million just before Measure ULA went into effect, The Times has confirmed.

By closing the deal in the waning days of March, Pitt avoided the “mansion tax,” which took effect April 1, imposing a 5.5% transfer tax on all L.A. property sales over $10 million. With the timing of his deal, the star avoided a $2.145-million tax bill.

Pitt paid just $1.7 million for the property in 1994. He bought it from Cassandra Peterson, the actress best known for her character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Peterson told Pitt that the home was haunted by ghosts, which added to his interest, according to People magazine.

Pitt expanded the estate during his two-decade stay, buying four surrounding properties from 1998 to 2009. In total, the compound spans roughly two acres.

Perched on a private knoll near the border of Hollywood Hills and Los Feliz, the property centers on a 6,700-square-foot Craftsman-style house built in 1915. The home is surrounded by gardens, with multiple swimming pools, a skate park and a koi pond.

Photos of the property are scarce, since the house never officially hit the market. Instead, Pitt quietly shopped it around for $40 million as a pocket listing, meaning it was privately offered to qualified buyers in luxury real estate circles. The buyer remains unknown.

The deal, which was first reported by “Entertainment Tonight,” is one of Southern California’s priciest sales so far this year and one of the biggest ever in Hollywood Hills. The neighborhood’s price record was set last year, when Michael Rubin dropped $70 million on a property once owned by Ronald Reagan.

Pitt lived in the home with his family for years but has since moved north to Carmel Highlands, where last summer he bought a $40-million clifftop castle known as the D.L. James House.