A major piece of Hawaiian real estate has hit the market. The owners of Hana Ranch, a 4,500-acre property on Maui have listed it for $65 million. The Honolulu Star Bulletin recently reported that Hana Ranch Partners LLC, the majority shareholder of which is a part of the Getty Trust, has been looking for foreign buyers from Asia, Europe and Canada. The partners, which also include San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, have been searching for a buyer for more than a year. Hana Ranch Partners purchased the property as an investment in 2001 for about $25 million and wants to find conservationists to preserve the rural nature of Hana. A conservation easement agreement with the Maui Coastal Land Trust saves 41 oceanfront acres from development and designates 100 acres of the land for affordable housing. So far the property hasn't been marketed for residential development. The listing is here.

When I began writing for Luxist back in 2004 one of the first things I did was pick up a copy of the Robb Report, the magazine for the ultra-rich is one of the standard sources for information on the luxury market. Now the magazine has its own stock index, the Claymore /Robb Report Global Luxury Index ROB. CNN Money reports that Claymore Securities launched an exchange-traded fund on Monday based on an index created by CurtCo Robb Media, publisher of the Robb Report.

The financial reasoning behind this is that companies catering to the luxury market may be a safer bet because spending by the rich is less affected by gas prices or mortgage rates, things that may throw off other consumers. And with luxury spending on the rise in countries like Russia, China and India many of these companies are looking at continue growth. The 42-stock portfolio includes many brands you might expect such as Porsche, BMW, and LVMH.

This follows the news that came out last month that Dominion Group had launched the Chic investment fund which cover 61 designer names and 2,300 brands such as Stella McCartney and Ralph Lauren. After all, if you are going to buy the luxury brands, why not also invest in the companies that make them?

There are entire books written on the subject of what makes real estate a good investment, so we won't go into that here. Instead, we will simply give you an example of exactly how good it can be.

Seven years ago, 10 large, but run-down and abandoned, homes on Hampstead Road, North Benwell, Newcastle were put on the market for 50p. The area was a bit on the unsavory side (to say the least) at the time, but with a deal sweetened by a £26,000 grant, young families were moved in in no time at all. Today, the homes are all valued at over £145,000 ($280,000) - a 290,000% increase! With three stories, large and spacious rooms and up to five bedrooms per unit, it only seems like the value in the properties will be going up for the families who are staying, but you have to admit that those who are selling up now have done pretty well!

The US Mint is aiming to target both collectors and investors with their newest release: a 24-karat gold coin. It contains one ounce of 99.99% pure gold and is cast as a tribute to the popular buffalo-head nickel that was in circulation during the 1930s. The coin will be minted as a $50 piece, though it will be worth, and sold, for more. Two versions of the coin will be available: a bullion coin for investors, which will be sold to authorized buyers for coin shops, banks and other financial institutions, and a proof coin, aimed at collections. The proof coin has a higher quality strike and finer finish, both of which will add to the physical appeal of the coin over simply the gold it is made of. 300,000 proof coins will be made and sold at an initial price of $875 per coin.

Interested buyers can purchase the proof coins beginning Thursday by going to the US Mint's website.