A couple of months ago I wrote about Calgary's expanding condo market and since then it has continued to grow. A new record has been set with the listing of a two-story 4,400-square-foot luxury penthouse condo for $10 million at the Astoria on Tenth tower. The penthouse will be available in either a classic or contemporary style. It will have 1,200 square feet of outdoor space spread out over five balconies. The apartment will have top-of-the-line finishes, limestone fireplaces and crystal chandeliers. The apartment will include a large private wine vault, media room, billiards room, built-in cappuccino machine and a library. An interior finishing package will be sold for $1 million with $500,000 for home automation and a high-end audio-visual system.
The Astoria will have 225 suites more than half of which have already been sold. The 35-story tower will also have commercial space, with retail space on the main level and mezzanine. Occupancy is planned for 2010.
Just how much is the Trump name worth? The plaintiffs in a lawsuit by buyers of luxury condominiums say that condos in buildings that carry the Trump name are worth 36 percent more than units in similar building without the name. The lawsuit was brought by around 80 condo buyers who are suing the developers of the Trump Towers complex in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. for using the Trump name to attract buyers. As Law.com reveals, the suit says that Trump's name can only be used temporarily and could be changed once the buildings are completed. Based on this information and a fear that the condos will be worth less without the Trump brand, buyers are asking to cancel sales contracts worth over $100 million and to have around $20 million in deposits returned. The name Trump appeared on the promotional material but not on any of the condo documents or purchase contracts. Donald Trump, who is not named in the suit, has been quoted as saying that he was "honored" by the lawsuit doubtlessly because it backs up his own decades-long campaign to turn his last name into a valuable brand.
Here's foreclosure? That's what Ed McMahon, the man famous for being Johnny Carson's sidekick on "The Tonight Show" and hosting "Star Search" might be saying soon. McMahon, who is 85, has been trying to sell his Beverly Hills home since 2006 when we first saw it listed for $7.699 million. He fell $644,000 behind on payments on $4.8 million in mortgage loans and a unit of Countrywide Financial Corp. filed a default notice Feb. 28 with the Los Angeles County Recorder's Office. His spokesman said that McMahon broke his neck 18 months ago and has been unable to work since then. McMahon has been working with the lender to try and resolve the situation but it is uncertain if he and his wife will be able to stay in the home which is located in the celeb-friendly community known as The Summit. Real estate agent Alex Davis has the listing (pictures are shown below) which now sits at $6.25 million.
Forget the winery fantasy for a moment, let's return to the bed and breakfast fantasy. Imagine owning this piece of real estate and being the owner of a small inn in Key West, Florida. The Southernmost Point Guest House is located on Duval Street in the heart of Key West's tourist area near the official southernmost point of the Continental United States. The historic mansion is on a corner lot with gardens leading to the pool, parking, trellised patio and a wide porch that wraps around the building. There are 10 bedrooms and eight bathrooms and seven spacious apartment units in two buildings. According to the Southernmost Point Guest House website, some of the apartment condos are for sale for $650.000. This beautiful spot is listed at $4.25 million.
Madonna recently bought some more space in her New York City co-op building and now it looks like she's set to divest herself of some real estate. The Sun reports that Madonna is looking to sell Ashcombe, her English country house in Wiltshire. She and Guy Ritchie bought the home in 2001 for £9 million and are now hoping to put it on the market for £12 million. The eight-bedroom home is listed as a Grade II structure by English Heritage. It was originally part of a larger building and was restored in the 1930s and 1940s by the photographer Cecil Beaton. Madonna and Guy are reportedly selling because they do not spend enough time at the estate especially since Madonna has been recording and touring again. We wish them luck, this is certainly not the best time to be selling England's housing slump is starting to rival the problem we have had in the States.
A large chunk of land in California's Santa Ynez valley has been carved into large ranch property. The Ranches at Figueroa Canyon are five ranches being being offered for sale. Four architects are designing conceptual main house and ranch site plans, each tailored to specific ranch properties: Howard Backen of Backen Gillam Architects based in Sausalito and St. Helena, California; Barry Berkus of B3 Architects and Berkus Design Studio in Santa Barbara, California and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jonathan Foote, Architect in Tucson, Arizona and Livingston, Montana; and David Leavengood of Leavengood Architects in Seattle, Washington.
Each architect will provide a conceptual design for one of the ranch properties, covering the main ranch house and a site plan for ancillary buildings such as a ranch manager's residence, guest house, barns, entry or pool. Buyers may opt to work with the architect who provided the conceptual plans for their ranch, choose one of the other Preferred Architects or select an architect outside of the Preferred Architects Program.
The Ranches at Figueroa Canyon range from 187 to 1,176 acres and each has one or more legal parcels served by water and utilities. The areas were traditionally used for cattle ranching but could now be home to vineyards and equestrian facilities, as well as a private residence. The five ranches – College Ranch, Ranger Peak Ranch, Vista Largo Ranch, Corrales Creek Ranch and Lost Trail Ranch – range from $6 million to $24.5 million.
Louis Kahn only designed 3 major architectural homes in his career and one of them, the Escherick House (named after the woman for whom it was built, Margaret Escherick) is up for auction. Its address is in Philadelphia and according to some it's his best residential creation and has "mature style" and a "warm and human quality" to the interior (and I tend to agree).
So the house will be sold, but unlike most houses its price will not only reflect the local regular real estate market but also the art market. Valued at $2 million only about half of that is unbiased structural and land values -- the rest is all artistic and historical sentiment.
Paul McCartney may have to pay $48.6 million in a divorce settlement to Heather Mills but he's in no danger of going broke anytime soon. The divorce settlement reveals the extensive of McCartney's massive fortune, which is over $750 million. McCartney has invested well in both art and real estate. The Daily Mail reports that McCartney's real estate holdings include a townhouse in St John's Wood, London, a Manhattan apartment, a Long Island, New York estate, a Beverly Hills home, a 1,500 acre estate, a country retreat in the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland and other homes sprinkled throughout the English countryside. The bulk of his wealth comes from his business assets including shares in Beatles songs and his investments and he has a cool £15 million in the bank.
At the start of the month, the NY Post's legendary real estate columnist Braden Keil reported on a $65 million sale of an estate in the Hamptons. Now he has said that the exclusive six-acre estate on the enviable Gin Lane has been purchased by Tiger Woods and his wife Elin. The property is anchored by a 3,200-square-foot Colonial Revival main residence, a 7,500-square-foot guesthouse and a four-car garage with staff quarters. We covered the property as an estate of the day in January.
But did Tiger really buy this home? The agent for the property, Beate Moore of Sotheby's International Realty tells Newsday's Laura Mann that Tiger did not buy the property and Radar says they have talked to Tiger Woods's reps who also confirm that Tiger has not bought this property. It's no longer listed so someone did buy, we'll just have to wait for property records to solve this mystery.
For a while it seemed that Miami might be one part of Florida that was if not immune from the real estate slowdown, protected a bit by its size and cachet. But now prices have started to plummet and putting many real estate speculators in trouble. The Miami skyline is dotted with cranes as buildings continue to go up but thousands of condo units are waiting either unsold or in foreclosure.
The numbers in Miami are startling, According to a report in Canada's Globe and Mail, prices citywide were 17.5 per cent lower in December than a year earlier with the value of some condos down by as much as half. And as more condo projects in progress are finished up the numbers could even go lower. Condos with sexy names and alluring promotions such as Jade and Vue are now facing millions of dollars in mortgage defaults and foreclosures. It's been a disaster for both investors and developers. In fact, two prominent Miami condo developers who were facing condo problems have died of heart attacks.
The problem in Miami is just part of Florida's boom and bust cycle. Whole towns sprung up over the last few years and many have gone bust just as quickly often leaving half-built homes abandoned (for a great photo series on this check out this piece on Rotunda Sands in Mental Floss). At this point, practically the entire state of Florida is in some sort of foreclosure crisis making it easy pickings for those from across the country and around the world looking for a real estate deal. Both homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth and developers forced to sell condos at cost or in some cases for even less than it cost to build them are ready to accept all sorts of offers.
For now, the temporary bandage seems to be real estate auctions. The other day I mentioned that two prominent real estate firms in Florida are working with a major real estate auction company. And just about every day I learn of a new auction of a condo complex in Florida. Many of the auctions are absolute, meaning that bidders will take whatever they can get. The good news is that this slump cannot last forever and for those who have the means to pick up a warm weather getaway there are major bargains to be had. Maybe this is the time for Miami developers to reach out to Russian investors looking for a place to wait out the winter chill.
Need more proof that Florida's real estate market is in deep trouble? Here it is, both Sotheby's Realty and Coldwell Banker are making moves on the real estate auction front. Sol Sotheby's International Realty and Nestler Poletto Sotheby's International Realty have announced they will hold their first luxury property auction for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties on March 28 in Fort Lauderdale, putting more than $200 million in high-end properties on the block. Most of the properties will be sold to the highest qualified bidder with no limiting conditions or amounts.
The same company that is working with Sotheby's, Daniel DeCaro Real Estate Auctions, is also helping Coldwell Banker Real Estate Florida with auctions. They now offer clients the option of auctioning off their homes in Central Florida rather than selling in the traditional manner.
One of the advantages of being a homeowner is the fact that you can change and upgrade things to however you want them. Whether you're upgrading things for your own personal pleasure, looking to increase the price tag when you sell someday, or you're just dreaming and drooling, these home improvements are something to take a look at. From luxury custom-made garage doors to smart door locks that can be changed everyday to custom wall wine racks, you're neighbors will definitely be jealous.
Think about it....who really has a second kitchen? A full second kitchen? They're rare indeed, but the new trend in luxury housing is to start changing that.
People with money to spend want kitchens for both themselves and for their personal chefs and caterers, and they don't want to be bumping around together in the same space. But it's not just about whether or not you can afford it, as the building has to be approved and depending on the rules and regulations in the area an additional full kitchen may or may not be allowed. But in the areas where it does work houses generally run in the $5 million range and higher when they include 2 kitchens.
I am too young to have been a part of Woodstock, but for the 400,000 or so who did attend the 1969 music festival, Max Yasgur's farm in upstate New York is a special place. Roy Howard currently owns the property and after years of wrangling with local officials over reunion permits, he's ready to sell. The asking price is $8 million, but who can put a price on owning such an iconic piece of American history?
The alfalfa field where the actual concert took place is not for sale, but Yasgur's 2,000 square foot house is, along with a larger farmhouse and barn as well as 103 acres of land. The house, located 80 miles north of New York City, comes with a gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances, double convection ovens, Viking stove, antique soapstone sink, 22-foot vaulted ceiling and beautiful views of the Pocono Mountains. Also included is a double whirlpool tub, steam shower and a bidet.
Just how much is the Trump name worth? The plaintiffs in a lawsuit by buyers of luxury condominiums say that condos in buildings that carry the Trump name are worth 36 percent more than units in similar building without the name. The lawsuit was brought by around 80 condo buyers who are suing the developers of the Trump Towers complex in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. for using the Trump name to attract buyers. 
