Winter-2022

The outer walls of the D.L. James house appear to be growing out of the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean. Actor Brad Pitt, a longtime guest of the home, has said that his heart is in the home. with Chaplin that led to him serving as assistant director on the 1940 film “The Great Dictator.” During the same era, Daniel and his wife were also friendly with John Steinbeck. The property has some notable neighbors as well, it’s just a stone’s throw from the house made famous in the film “Basic Instinct” and seen again in the HBO series “Big Little Lies,” as well as the house inhabited by Clint Eastwood’s character Dave Garver in his 1971 directorial debut film, “Play Misty for Me.” The late Betty White’s Highlands home is nearby as well. In the late ’90s, the house was purchased by Joe Ritchie, a financier from Chicago, who intro- duced Pitt to the property, welcoming him as a guest. Ritchie died earlier this year. Shelly Mitchell Lynch is a fourth-generation real estate broker in Carmel with Carmel Realty Company and an expert in the luxury real estate market, recognized by The Wall Street Journal as one of the top 100 agents in the U.S. She has a special focus on coastal luxury prop- erties and has sold over a dozen iconic homes in the Carmel Highlands and Big Sur area. “Carmel and the Monterey Peninsula are truly some of the most beautiful places in the world with a near perfect year-round climate,” Lynch says.“This area has long been sought after due to the lifestyle available to those living here. From the rocky cliffs of the coastline, to the pris- tine and dog-friendly white sand beaches of Carmel, to the lush verdant golf courses of Pebble Beach, there is something for everyone.” Lynch points to activities like wine tasting, perusing art galleries, attending car shows, visit- ing the Laguna Seca racetrack, dining at award- winning restaurants, shopping and surfing as being a draw to the local area. “All of these amenities combined with the small-town charm, security and absence of big- town problems, has made the demand for homes on the peninsula multiply in recent years,” she says.“Across the Monterey Peninsula, there were 11 homes that sold over $20M since April of 2020. Demand on the luxury end of the market remains very strong.” Location and views are generally very impor- tant criteria for luxury home buyers, whether 102 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 2 The 3,793 square foot main residence has three bedrooms and four bathrooms. A caretaker’s cottage was built in 1940 and features one bedroom and one bathroom.