Flamboyant fashion designer Betsey Johnson is trading her Hamptons house for a mobile home in Malibu.
Ms. Johnson, who relocated to Malibu a year ago from New York City, is selling her four-bedroom Hamptons house for $1.5 million, just in time to spend about $2 million for a roughly 1,400-square-foot mobile home in the remarkably upscale Paradise Cove trailer park. Her New York City apartment is still on the market for $2.25 million. Ms. Johnson said she’s also redecorating her villa in Mexico with plans to start renting it out.
Measuring about 2,900-square-feet, the Hamptons house was purchased by Ms. Johnson in 1999 for $695,000.
PHOTO: JAIME LOPEZ“I have changed my life completely,” said Ms. Johnson, 73 and known for her brightly colored, whimsical clothes. “I’m tired of taking care of homes,” she added. “I’m really happy to have one little dollhouse and that’s it.”
Ms. Johnson said she moved to Malibu to be closer to her daughter and grandchildren, for whom she said she is in the process of building a Malibu house. For her own home, she chose Paradise Cove because she was charmed by its “amazing community of surfer dudes.” Located on a bluff above the Pacific Ocean, Paradise Cove mobile homes can sell for up to $5 million, said Eytan Levin of 4 Malibu Real Estate, the listing agent for Ms. Johnson’s new abode.
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Ms. Johnson said her new three-bedroom Malibu home, which she plans to move into in several weeks, is “incredibly cute.” “I’m going to paint it yellow. I really like yellow now. A beautiful, happy yellow with white trim,” she added. The single-story home went on the market in February for $2.375 million, but was last listed at $1.949 million, Mr. Levin said.
Ms. Johnson’s Hamptons home, meanwhile, is slated to close for $1.5 million after going on the market in March of 2015 for $2.2 million. Located in East Hampton’s Northwest Woods area, the roughly 1.65-acre property was subsequently reduced to $1.75 million, said Lawrence Ingolia of Sotheby’s International Realty, who listed the home with colleague Marilyn Clark.
Measuring about 2,900 square feet, the house was purchased by Ms. Johnson in 1999 for $695,000, according to property records. After listing the Hamptons home, Ms. Johnson held yard sales—which she announced on Twitter—to get rid of racks of clothing stored in her two-car garage and basement. And when Mr. Ingolia was showing the house to prospective buyers, Ms. Johnson would often appear to lead the tour herself.
Ms. Johnson is buying this roughly 1,400-square-foot mobile home in Malibu’s Paradise Cove trailer park. The kitchen is shown.
PHOTO: SCOTT GAHRETWhile agents normally discourage sellers from hanging around during showings, “I always enjoyed having her there because she’s just so much fun,” said Mr. Ingolia.
The purchasers are represented by Michael Schultz of the Corcoran Group, who declined to identify the buyers but said they plan to use the house as a vacation home.
Ms. Johnson’s one-bedroom New York City apartment is listed with Beth Benalloul and Salomon Benalloul of the Corcoran Group.
Write to Candace Taylor at Candace.Taylor@wsj.com