By Kerry Barger

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When Ardie Tavangarian lost his Pacific Palisades home to the L.A. wildfires last January, he didn't want to build another one that would burn easily. So the developer refocused his professional life on a new mission: creating an extremely fire-resistant home to serve as a model for rebuilding.

"I realized that it didn't make sense to continue to build these defenseless structures when this could potentially happen again," he says.

He has just finished building a roughly 4,200-square-foot, four-bedroom home for his twin daughters on the grounds of the family's Palisades estate, which is designed to resist an active fire for up to six hours. There is a $325,000 fire-detection system that uses satellites, heat sensors and AI-powered cameras to detect fires nearby, and $400,000 worth of windows that are made from a durable, heat-resistant glass and framed by metal shutters that can be closed remotely.

"What he's done is the model," said fire-protection engineer Nate Wittasek, who has toured the home. Its features exceed the requirements of the new California fire code "by at least a factor of two, and in many cases substantially more," he said.

You may know New Zealand as a place where tech billionaires go to build their "doom-prep" bunkers. But the country is riding a new wave of American buyers, many of them venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and investment advisers drawn to the country's vibrant startup community. Adding fuel to the fire is a recent shift in New Zealand's visa policies, which makes it easier for wealthy foreigners to buy homes in the country.

Kiwi real-estate agents say they are being flooded with calls from Americans. "The draw is lifestyle, political stability and safety," said Mischa Mannix-Opie at Greener Pastures New Zealand, an investment manager and visa-advisory firm. "Being able to buy a home is the icing."

What a $3 Million Fire-Resistant Home Looks Like

After losing his house to the L.A. wildfires, a developer built a new one designed to resist an active fire for around six hours.

New Zealand Rolls Out the Welcome Mat for Wealthy American Home Buyers

The country's budding startup scene and changes to its Active Investor Plus visa program have led to an influx of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and advisers.

What's the Deal

In 2022, billionaire Citadel founder Ken Griffin bought a waterfront estate in Coconut Grove for $106.875 million, setting a record for Miami-Dade County. Now, Griffin's next-door neighbors are listing their home for $110 million.

Former NFL wide receiver Danny Amendola sold his Midcentury-Modern home in the Austin, Texas, area for $3.6 million last month. The two-time Super Bowl champion didn't have to move far. He already owned the house next door.

A penthouse at an under-construction condominium on Manhattan's Upper East Side is in contract to be sold for its asking price of $89.5 million -- a potential sales record for the neighborhood, according to the developer.

Want to see more deals? Sign up for our Mansion Deals email alert to have the biggest and best luxury home sales and listings delivered to your inbox.

The Luxe Life

One couple spent six years and some $7 million painstakingly renovating a Paul Rudolph-designed home in Delray Beach. But a nonprofit tied to the architect claims their extensive rebuilding stripped the property of authenticity.

Before Jeremy Irons turned to acting, he nearly joined the circus. "At one traveling circus, I walked around the caravans and came to the conclusion I was too middle-class for those living conditions."

House of the Week

Will WSJ's House of the Month for February be a Scotland estate with a pub and Pilates studio, a Modernist home tucked into the L.A. hillside, or a Santa Fe compound with space for horses? Vote now.

Your Home

   -- Last year the U.S. experienced something that hasn't definitively 
      occurred since the Great Depression: More people moved out than moved in. 
 
   -- The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.98% this week, the 
      lowest level since September 2022. 
 
   -- Austin's rental market is projected to become more expensive, with rents 
      expected to remain flat or even increase after at least 10 quarters of 
      decreases. 

About Us

Thanks for reading! Send us your comments and questions, and be sure to follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.

Kerry Barger is Mansion's senior platform editor. Say hi at Kerry.Barger@wsj.com or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Candace Taylor is the editor of Mansion. Reach her at Candace.Taylor@wsj.com.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 27, 2026 15:30 ET (20:30 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.