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Blog Details for "Luxury Home Digest"
Luxury Home DigestLuxury Home DigestBlogging buzz, gossip and news about luxury real estate and homes with occasional off-the-menu commentary. Articles
A Novel Green Mansion
2008-03-04 15:09:00 by Roberta Murphy Any verbiage I add to this photo would probably be superfluous, since this chatty picture already exceeds the expected thousand words. Hats off to someone’s clever recycling of mobile homes. Not sure if the intent was green construction, but the designer certainly managed to minimize the footprint of this little mobile home park. I also ... More About: Green , Quality of Life , Mansion
The Luxury Shower (and 5 Tips on How to Create One)
2008-03-01 05:59:00 by Roberta Murphy Once upon a time, the lowly shower offered faint competition for the jetted bathtub. The bathtub was where one went to luxuriate, while the shower was a functional cleanser. Not any more. These days the lowly shower is one of the hottest home luxuries in demand. The shower stall might contain a steam shower, a multi-headed ... More About: Luxury , Tips , Shower , Create
The Luxury Shower (and 5 Tips on How to Create One)
2008-03-01 02:21:00 by Roberta Murphy Once upon a time, the lowly shower offered faint competition for the jetted bathtub. The bathtub was where one went to luxuriate, while the shower was a functional cleanser. Not any more. These days the lowly shower is one of the hottest home luxuries in demand. The shower stall might contain a steam shower, a multi-headed ... More About: Luxury , Tips , Shower , Create
The Luxury Shower (and 5 Tips on How to Create One)
2008-03-01 02:21:00 by Roberta Murphy Once upon a time, the lowly shower offered faint competition for the jetted bathtub. The bathtub was where one went to luxuriate, while the shower was a functional cleanser. Not any more. These days the lowly shower is one of the hottest home luxuries in demand. The shower stall might contain a steam shower, a multi-headed ... More About: Luxury , Tips , Shower , Create
Kinko?s: The Ultimate Business Luxury
2008-02-15 06:52:00 by Roberta Murphy This past week, I have been attending Mike Ferry’s Real Estate Productivity School–but played hooky today to meet with Pat Kitano, who thinks outside a totally different real estate box. But that is a blog for another time. Pat Kitano has just reported some juicy news that should cause luxury readers to jump with bridled ... More About: Business , Luxury , Ultimate
Kinkos: The Ultimate Business Luxury
2008-02-15 02:17:00 This past week, I have been attending Mike Ferrys Real Estate Productivity School in San Diego but played hooky today to meet with Pat Kitano, who thinks outside a totally different real estate box. But that is a blog for another time. Pat Kitano has just reported some juicy news that should cause luxury readers to jump ... More About: Business , Luxury , Ultimate
Kinko?s: The Ultimate Business Luxury
2008-02-15 02:17:00 This past week, I have been attending Mike Ferry?s Real Estate Productivity School?but played hooky today to meet with Pat Kitano, who thinks outside a totally different real estate box. But that is a blog for another time. Pat Kitano has just reported some juicy news that should cause luxury readers to jump with bridled glee: It is ... More About: Business , Luxury , Ultimate
Kinko?s: The Ultimate Business Luxury
2008-02-15 02:17:00 This past week, I have been attending Mike Ferry?s Real Estate Productivity School in San Diego?but played hooky today to meet with Pat Kitano, who thinks outside a totally different real estate box. But that is a blog for another time. Pat Kitano has just reported some juicy news that should cause luxury readers to jump with ... More About: Business , Luxury , Ultimate
Help Tornado Victims
2008-02-08 04:40:00 by Roberta Murphy Recent devastating tornadoes in the United States have left children parentless–and families without homes. Beyond our prayers and good wishes, perhaps we can make donations that might help ease the pain of these people who were so ruthlessly uprooted from their lives. I know the integrity of Lani Anglin and the folks at ... More About: Quality of Life , Tornado , Victims
Azulera: Costa Rica Luxury
2008-01-29 20:32:00 Azulera Resort Village on Costa Rica ’s breathtaking Guanacaste coast promises to be the luxury resort destination within the next two years. By then, it is projected, Greg Norman’s challenging beach-to-mountain golf course will be completed–as will the five- star Hyatt Regency Hotel and the 64 ultra-luxury condos that will be contained within this gated Brasilito complex. The ... More About: Luxury
2008 Home Design Trends
2008-01-20 17:31:00 by Roberta Murphy This piece is for those of us unable to make the biannual trek to Paris for the biannual Maison & Objet trade show that features the hottest home decor designs produced by the smartest and most influential names in the industry. Those in the luxury home business are always on the prowl, trying to spot the latest trends that might help update, inspire and improve the luxury home decor. Patty Bouley was fortunate enough to attend the Maison & Objet show–and was able to sort through around 3000 new products and note the hot new home trends for 2008 : Purple and grey are THE new color companions.The combination is classy and elegant and I am rethinking my bedroom colors. Nature gets glitzy. Floral patterns are now accented with metallics: Think bronze, platinum and silver. Aspen is hot. Look for nubby wools and furs, bare wood and hunting themes to create the cozy ski chalet feel. Morocco is in. Think perforated metal, hand-tooled leather, intricate ... More About: Design , Home Design , Trends , Home
Bargains in Luxury Real Estate
2008-01-13 03:29:00 by Roberta Murphy To paraphrase Charles Dickens, these may be the best of times and the worst of times–at least with San Diego real estate. Few are surprised that the real estate bubble popped in the plethora of new home subdivisions that peppered San Diego County in the last few years. Stupid loans and and unwitting buyers created ... More About: Estate , Real Estate , Luxury , Real
OpenHouse.com To Open Doors to All Brokers
2008-01-09 17:07:00 by Roberta Murphy Today, Realogy is announcing that Open House.com will become available to all real estate brokers, which should send up a collective cheer from home sellers around the country. The site will be comprehensive, easy-to-use, and postings will come from an automated feed from each broker’s office. Real estate brokers may also be smiling because this should sooner rather than later do away with the need to advertise open houses in newspapers. Given that at least 78 percent of all real estate shoppers search online, it just makes sense for all open house listings to be posted there as well. Realogy’s President and CEO Anthony Perriello and Mike Good, President and CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliate LLC, issued a joint letter to Sotheby’s Realty owners sharing the news. “In our opinion, consumers’ extensive use of the Internet in the homebuying process is enabling our industry to shift from expensive classified newspaper... More About: Brokers , Doors
San Diego Real Estate Exchange
2008-01-08 20:17:00 by Roberta Murphy Bob Dyson is a real estate legend who recently launched Sotheby’s real estate offices in the San Diego , Palm Springs and Las Vegas markets. He has kindly agreed to share some exciting news with us about a new real estate exchange program that is set to rock the San Diego real estate market mid-January. This program will do much to liberate locked-up equities in homes throughout Southern California. But I’ll not steal his thunder…. by Bob Dyson How I See It: Let’s Liberate Home Equities With all the alarming issues facing us in Real Estate ownership and all the turmoil in Real Estate lending, I have been searching endlessly for fresh solutions to these problems. What if we could create a new and faster way to buy and sell homes in today’s challenging market? What if real estate buyers and sellers could focus on the deal–instead of getting lost in the details of granite surfaces, designer amenities and upgrades? We believe ourÂ... More About: Exchange
WCR to Unveil California Blog Network
2008-01-07 17:20:00 by Roberta Murphy It’s fun to peer into the crystal ball and try to divine what fortunes lie ahead. It also helps when you have a visionary providing some tips and guidance. Pat Kitano and Kevin Boer are two visionaries worth following, and they are convinced that 2008 will be the Year of the (Authoritative) Blog Network . Kitano’s article is a great read that provides good information and understanding of what blogging networks are–and how they can benefit both the consumer and the blogger. An authoritative real estate blog is what the California Chapter of the Women’s Council of Realtors plans to launch at the end of January. They are tapping their membership seeking capable and knowledgeable real estate bloggers whose personal real estate blogs will feed into the California WCR Blog Network. All of the member’s contributed blogs will be indexed and offered as an encyclopedic resource for home buyers and sellers. As with most blogs, consumers will be ...
Luxury Home Digest a Winner (and in good company!)
2008-01-02 05:27:00 by Roberta Murphy Last night?s annual New Year?s Eve bash at the Murphy home was lots of fun for all, and almost everyone was ready to drop kick 2007 out the door and welcome the promise of 2008 with open arms. I thought 2007 had been put to rest (save for income tax drudgery); but when I ... More About: Luxury , Company , Home , In Good Company , Digest
New Years Resolutions and Solutions
2007-12-30 04:35:00 by Roberta Murphy It’s that time of year when I once again sort through resolutions, seek solutions and try to put life into balance for the coming year. Of course, I want to create a greener home and become a better citizen. I repeat my annual vow to become more organized with papers, schedules and priorities. I vow ... More About: Quality of Life , Years , Solutions , New Years , Resolutions
Rooms and More Rooms in Luxury Homes
2007-12-17 15:12:00 by Roberta Murphy What kinds of rooms might go into a luxury home? The possibilities are as varied as lifestyles. I recall a luxurious mansion in Houston’s lovely River Oaks that had, in addition to every other conceivable room, a luggage room. It was a sensible space that accommodated the traveling owner’s large collection of leather suitcases, ... More About: Luxury , Homes
Dreaming of Costa Rica Luxury Real Estate?.
2007-12-13 17:45:00 by Roberta Murphy More and more people from around the world are choosing to spend at least part of their lives in coastal Costa Rica –and more than a few decide there just might be no better place to spend the rest of their lives. Why? 1. A warm climate, beaches, mountains, jungles–and breathtaking biodiversity. The people and ... More About: Estate , Real Estate , Luxury , Real
Luxury Builder Says 2007 Worst in 40 Years
2007-12-10 16:35:00 by Roberta Murphy If real estate investors are looking for blood in the streets, they had better be wearing galoshes. Even the books of venerable Toll Brothers, America’s largest builder of luxury tract homes, are in the red. For the first time in 21 years, the company is suffering its first quarterly loss (Oct. 31) in the ... More About: Luxury , Years , Builder
Mortgage Rate Freeze: Who Wins and Who Loses
2007-12-09 05:22:00 by Roberta Murphy This month’s hot real estate question: Which homeowners will benefit from President Bush’s recent interest rate freeze for subprime loans? And who will be left out in the cold? Drumroll…. The winners, who may receive a five-year extension (and possibly even longer) on their low introductory mortgage rates, are those: Whose mortgage loans are truly subprime. Traditional ARM mortgagees apparently need not apply. With FICO scores at or somewhat below 660. Who originated their home loan between 2005 and this past July 30. Who are relatively current in their mortgage payments. Who cannot afford higher monthly payments. Who have less than 3 percent equity in their homes. Who actually live in the mortgaged property. Investors need not apply. Whose mortgage rates are due to reset in the next two years. Who call their loan servicers, and begin the application process. Don’t expect them to call you. The losers appear to be everyone else in San Diego, but most pa... More About: Mortgage , Freeze , Wins , Rate , Mort
Luxury Home Sales to Climb with Bonuses
2007-12-07 21:37:00 by Scott Murphy Many top executives at large investment banking firms will be depositing some jumbo bonuses by the end of this month. Despite an overall bonus decrease of 10% due to months of multibillion-dollar bank write-downs and a spreading credit crisis, many will be pocketing some still-sizeable sums. Depending on which firm they work for and the position held, bonuses can range anywhere from up to $2 million to $50 million. Real estate prices this year have dropped–and where else should these high earners invest their bonuses? According to Forbes, some of these bonus recipients may also be rookies– as well as first time homebuyers–looking in the $5 to 6 million range. For top executives, the bonuses will be substantially more and potentially leading them towards the $20,000,000 home range. Some rich real estate markets such as Manhatten, San Diego, the Silicon Valley area, Los Angeles and other top markets, just might see an increase of sales come the end... More About: Luxury , Sales , Home , Climb , Limb
Real Estate Fraud: Cash Back and Consequences
2007-12-04 17:57:00 by Roberta Murphy Opportunities for real estate fraud couldn’t have been more ripe than in 2005 and 2006, when real estate prices started to quietly soften–especially in fertile markets like San Diego, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Miami. Home prices in these areas had rocketed to unsustainable levels, and some of the micro markets within these areas had already started to stall as early as 2005. By 2006, market time and “days on market” had begun to climb, to the discomfort of many sellers. Many had listed their properties, hoping their homes could sell for at least as much as the recent neighborhood comparable sales or their own refinance appraisal–and perhaps even more. Some of these sellers were more motivated than others, and reduced their listing prices substantially to attract more buyers. The stars were perfectly aligned for the real estate crooks: The housing market was declining, and there was general confusion in pricing; Mortgage money was eas... More About: Estate , Fraud , Real Estate , Back , Real
21st Century Clocks
2007-11-30 23:29:00 by Roberta Murphy This futuristic clock doesn’t necessarily belong in the luxury home discussion, but it certainly provides some interesting global details: Abortions are far more prevalent than marriages. There are more divorcecs than HIV infections. Bicycle production still far exceeds auto production. Bicycle production also outpasses the manufacture of computers. Respiratory disease is far more prevalent than STD/HIV and AIDS. Suicides ... More About: Clocks , Century
San Diego and Detroit Make Strange Bedfellows
2007-11-29 06:57:00 Say what? In 2004, San Diego real estate was ranked as the least affordable in the United States. Thousands of San Diegans, priced out of the coastal market, moved to Temecula, Murietta and other outlying and inland areas where homes were more affordable. These days, according to the National Association of Homebuilders, San Diego has slipped to ... More About: Strange , Make , Detroit , Strange Bedfellows
Malibu Thanksgiving Wildfire Burning Homes
2007-11-24 19:32:00 by Roberta Murphy The Malibu fire started early this morning just before 3:30 a.m. near Malibu Lake and Mesa Peak Canyon–and as of this writing, has destroyed over 35 homes. Propelled by strong Santa Ana winds and fed by dry brush and trees, this Thanksgiving weekend wildfire is currently out of control. Over 1500 acres burned in ... More About: Homes , Burning , Wildfire
American Expats Join Foreign Rush for US Real Estate
2007-11-21 17:26:00 by Roberta Murphy It had to happen sooner or later. With the falling dollar, American real estate has become a screaming bargain to foreign investors around the world. Real estate prices in many prime US locales have already declined, and must be irresistible for those who are purchasing with Euros or Canadian dollars. Now, many Americans who ... More About: Estate , Real Estate , Quality of Life , Join
The Timeless Luxury Home
2007-11-17 02:09:00 by Roberta Murphy Sometimes you walk into a home, sense both ageless soul and serenity–and can’t help but smile. We recently listed such an estate in the beautiful hills of Vista, California. Its current and original owners are a spirited and beautiful international opera singer and her dashing husband, a retired professor of art. With loving ... More About: Luxury , Home , Timeless , Mele
Real Estate Exchanges: Banter and Barter
2007-11-16 22:40:00 by Roberta Murphy Yesterday afternoon and evening were devoted to Leaving Las Vegas. I was tired of long lines at the airport, anxious to get back to San Diego, and was dismayed to hear the Southwest flight had been delayed two hours. I spent much of the time catching up on email, reading about Costa Rica and ... More About: Estate , Real Estate , Real
Commission Conundrum with Luxury Real Estate
More articles from this author:2007-11-13 04:55:00 by Roberta Murphy A year or so ago, real estate circles were abuzz with argument and discussion about the pros and cons of discount real estate services and commissions. Discounter Redfin had opened with one agent in San Diego, and their CEO Glenn Kelman promised that real estate discounters would turn the real estate brokerage business either upside down–or inside out (I don’t recall which). Beating Kelman at his own venture was Iggy’s House, which would list one’s home for free, and a corresponding sales arm that rebates even more than Redfin. In between the two were countless other ventures that vied against each other in real estate commissions and levels of service. In the ensuing months, we began to see not a decrease in real estate commissions, but instead a rise in commission offerings. Builders and desperate sellers were offering 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and even 8 percent sales commissions on their properties (usually condos). It is unimaginable to this writer that the U.S.... More About: Estate , Real Estate , Luxury , Commission , Real 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
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