Hot Property
By Ruth Ryon
The Los Angeles Times - March 17, 2002

Rock star Tom Petty has purchased a home in Malibu for close to its asking price of $2.5 million.

The house, on a sandy beach, has three bedrooms, two of which face the ocean. Built in 1974, the house also has three bathrooms, three fireplaces, Malibu tiles, an open floor plan and a courtyard with a fountain.

Petty's band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, has been together for nearly 30 years and sold more than 30 million albums. The foundation of the band's music has been classic rock, blues and soul of the '50s and '60s.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers--known for such songs as "American Girl," "Free Fallin'" and "Don't Back Down," as well as songs from the group's 1999 album "Echo"--will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday. Petty, a guitarist and vocalist, also won a 1989 Grammy for a performance with the Traveling Wilburys.

Petty, 51, was married last July at another home he owns in Malibu. Another rock 'n' roller, Little Richard, performed the ceremony.