Luxury Real Estate

Courtesy of Rimontgó

Berklee College of Music, whose headquarters is located in Boston, Massachusetts, recently announced that its new Valencia campus would be opening its doors in September 2012 in order to welcome students enrolled for the Master’s Degree Programme.

Berklee College was founded in 1945 by Lawrence Berk with the aim of preparing students for a career in the music business. Naturally, in the intervening years the amount of technology available to both musicians and technicians has increased greatly, and Berklee has responded by remaining abreast of all the latest trends.

Now the college is a notable presence in Valencia, based in the superbly futuristic Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, which has been chosen as Berklee’s first overseas venture; no doubt this breath-taking building will provide some added inspiration for the first postgraduate intake.

Apart from the formal Master’s programmes, Berklee Valencia will also offer summer schools and special courses, which will benefit talented students not only from Valencia but the whole of Spain. Berklee’s President, Roger Brown, says: “Valencia was selected for our new campus since not only is it one of the most popular destinations for students in Europe, but the city has a strong musical symphonic band tradition and is also connected to some of the richest musical cultures in the world, including Latin America, the Mediterranean and Europe, making it the ideal location.”

Students will be able to enjoy fantastic facilities at the new college, including the Music Technology Complex, with its state-of-the-art acoustic design courtesy of the Walters-Storyk Design Group, which houses a recording studio, project production studios and technology laboratories. There are also several impressive auditoriums for live performances, seating a total of 1,490 spectators. The Teatri Martín i Soler is a 400-seater theatre suitable for opera performances, including a full orchestra pit and the latest in stage equipment.

Berklee College has produced some illustrious alumni in its time, including Quincy Jones, Diana Krall, Aimee Mann, Branford Marsalis, John Mayer and Howard Shore, probably best known as the composer of the scores for The Lord of the Rings. Apart from offering Valencia’s musically talented youngsters a fine education, Berklee College plans to contribute to the city’s cultural life, so there will be plenty for valencianos to look forward to in 2013.

Courtesy of LandVest

Brunswick & Harpswell are neighboring towns in Cumberland County along the Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. Scenic and historic they also have a thriving arts and cultural scene inspired by their coastal charm. Accolades for this area have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, Where to Retire Magazine and MSN’s House & Home. Most recently, based on a search of cultural assets in towns with populations under 25,000, the Smithsonian Magazine recognized Brunswick, Maine as one of the best small towns in America.

LandVest is the recognized leader for Maine real estate, waterfront homes and estates throughout New England and offers exceptional properties in Harpswell, just 8 miles from Brunswick.

Click here to read Smithsonian’s article about Brunswick.

For more information on Maine Real Estate for sale in the Portland, Maine and surrounding area contact William Davisson at wdavisson@landvest.com or click for William Davisson’s contact information.

Click here to visit the LandVest Blog.

Courtesy of Amat Immobiliaris

This phrase, read in a book by Paul Auster, struck me as the perfect title for this month’s diary, because everything really is very strange.

We have rulers in Madrid who one day say things are white and the next black, who distort data any way they please.

We have the problem of big companies and the multi-million salaries that their managers and executives are paid even today. Only this last May 1st we read in the newspapers that Mr. Martin, CEO of the Martinsa company, was raising his salary!

And we have some government departments hiring staff, and they are hiring at prices way above the market levels, people without any kind of educational qualifications, earning the same as a good salesperson or a tax advisor with a masters degree. Who can explain such things?

There are the speeches given by leaders of the Catalan left parties, bitterly criticising the measures of the Catalan Government, as if the history of the region had nothing to do with them, when only yesterday they were the ones in government! Are they not part of the disaster, as we all are?

And while this strange world moves onward, most mortals have to work magic just to carry on. A company like ours, with so many clients, and close to its clients, sees the daily miracles that people and companies work in order to survive. A few examples:

• Over 50% of those who leave rented flats tell us, when asked, that they are going to live with relatives. The sociologists are right when they say that families are showing more solidarity than ever.
• Promoters who find themselves forced to sell off the last personal possessions left to them in order to pay the bank re-financing agreements they have had to take out over recent years.
• Industrialists, from whatever sector, with good orders portfolios, with impeccable banking records, who in order to be able to survive find themselves obliged to use their own personal assets as surety for the renewal of loans, doubtless for smaller amounts then they had before and under worse conditions. And that is only the ones who can manage even that, for the majority find themselves forced to close.
• Many lawyers and tax advisors who have had to join together to share offices, reinvent themselves, for many of their clients (companies) have disappeared.

All of us, or nearly all of us, have had to reinvent ourselves, but seeing as life goes on we do just that, move onwards without looking back... and precisely as life goes on, we never tire of saying “Investors, now is the best time, invest in the real-estate sector, it is full of opportunities!” Ifyou don’t, then in a few years — I don’t know how many — you will regret that you hadn’t!

Courtesy of Windsor

Vero Beach, FL (May 14, 2012) The Gallery at Windsor is pleased to present Christo & Jeanne-Claude, A Visual Study. On view will be original preparatory works by Christo (Javacheff) and Jeanne-Claude (de Guillebon), husband and wife artists who together created environmental artworks in urban and rural sites around the world. The study derived from the Weston Collection at Windsor, Vero Beach, bridges the gap between the artists and their projects, offering an account of the creative process involving some of the monumental projects undertaken between 1971 and 1998.

Christo, originally from Bulgaria and Jeanne-Claude, originally from Morocco of a French military family, seemed destined to live and create together, as they were born on the same day in 1935. Christo studied art in Sofia and in Prague. Jeanne-Claude studied Latin and philosophy in Tunis. They met in Paris in 1958 and went on to create an impressive body of large scale, deliberately temporary works together.

Throughout their 51-year relationship, they paid all expenses associated with their artworks, including planning, construction, and de-construction, partly from the sale of Christo's preliminary drawings, early works from the 1950's and 1960's, and lithographs. They accepted no contributions, grants or other financial assistance, preferring to make their decisions separate from any potential influence of financial backers. Their works involved years of planning, meetings and hearings held by governments and communities for approval of their projects.

The collection is available for viewing by appointment from May 15 through the end of July, 2012.

Visitor Information:

Christo and Jeanne Claude, A Visual Study
Dates: May 15, 2012 – July 31, 2012
Venue: The Gallery at Windsor, 3125 Windsor Boulevard, Vero Beach Florida, 32963
Visiting Times: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 AM to 3 PM by appointment
Entry: Visitors to contact 772 388 4071 to arrange their visit or gallery@windsorflorida.com
www.windsorflorida.com/gallery

For additional information, please contact: Harriet Weintraub of Harriet Weintraub PR hweintraub@hwpr.com or Jane Smalley of Windsor jane.smalley@windsorflorida.com

About Windsor

Founded in 2002, The Gallery at Windsor is an independent art space. The Gallery, which is home to important works from the George Weston Collection, invites curators to respond to the space with museum quality shows of contemporary paintings, works on paper and photography. The Gallery has exhibited works by leading contemporary artists including Peter Doig, Bruce Weber and Nan Bush, Ed Ruscha, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Alex Katz, Tony Scherman, and most recently Beatriz Milhazes, the first exhibition in the Gallery’s curatorial partnership with the Whitechapel Gallery in London.

Windsor (www.windsorflorida.com) is a private residential community spanning 416 acres of lush barrier island between the Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean in Vero Beach, Florida. Established in 1989 by Hilary and W. Galen Weston of Toronto, Canada, Windsor was designed by renowned town planners Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk following the New Urbanism principles of urban design.

Courtesy of Staci Caplan and Michael Humphrey of Sterling Properties

When picturing the life of luxury in idyllic Santa Barbara, many things come to mind - the beautiful beaches, various micro-climates, luxury homes and estates, prestigious neighborhoods such as Montecito and Hope Ranch, luxury resorts like The Biltmore Santa Barbara and The Bacara...and of course visiting the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club! Finally, polo season has arrived, and we're looking forward to an exciting summer at the club!

The Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club holds a special place in our city's rich history and was in fact the third polo club to be opened in the United States. Polo matches were held as early as 1894 in Santa Barbara, even before the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club was established in 1911. Ever since, the world renowned club has drawn luxury lifestylers and celebrities from around the world (even Charlie Chaplin!). The club is held in such high regard that it was the first stop that the newly married Prince William and Princess Catherine made in the United States after the royal wedding. It is without a doubt the premiere polo facility in the western United States, and has had the honor of hosting the most prestigious event in polo, the Federation of International Polo World Championship. In addition to such prestigious events, the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club hosts intercollegiate and interscholastic tournaments.

Although non-members are invited to watch the many matches and tournaments, members of the club enjoy many additional luxury amenities. The Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club has truly incredible facilities, including three lush, meticulously maintained playing fields - some of the best in the world. Members can enjoy watching the games from the comfort of a luxury field side cabana, with room for up to 10 guests and catering services. The exclusive Clubhouse, also established in 1911, serves gourmet cuisine and refreshments and the Sunday Brunch and wine tastings are not to be missed! In addition, the club also has a world-class fitness center and tennis courts.

If you’re in town searching for your perfect luxury home or simply enjoying a relaxing visit to the coast, a visit to The Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club should definitely be on your list of things to do this summer!

Courtesy of Zephyr Real Estate

San Francisco, CA - May 9, 2012 - One of San Francisco's historic Painted Ladies on Postcard Row has just been listed on the market. The First Lady is now available for the first time in nearly 20 years. The iconic home at 710 Steiner Street last sold in 1993 for $575,000. To mark the occasion, Bonnie Spindler, Zephyr's Victorian Specialist, is hosting a champagne reception on Monday, May 14, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

The Painted Ladies, together one of the City's most recognizable landmarks, are located across from Alamo Square on Steiner near Hayes. Featured in numerous photos, souvenirs, advertisements and films, the ladies are also called Postcard Row and feature some of the finest examples of Victorian architecture around. The seven Ladies were the project of Matthew Kavanagh, who built them between 1892 and 1896, reserving the northernmost dwelling for himself.

The home now on the market boasts four levels and features five bedrooms, two and one-half baths, large closets, laundry facilities, three vintage fireplaces, a brick patio, private yard with redwood trees and Australian ferns, a two-car garage, and three decks with lovely downtown views. The triple parlor is perfect for entertaining and embracing the lifestyle so richly represented. Elegant touches such as the inlaid floors, skylight and dramatic chandeliers distinguish this Lady from her sisters.

A photographic tour and detailed features and amenities can be viewed at http://www.710Steiner.com. This home is listed at $2,295,000.

"I am so excited to be working with another of the Painted Ladies," commented Bonnie Spindler. "They epitomize the Victorian style that's so much a part of what I do, and I love matching up the ideal owner with one of these very special homes."

Bonnie Spindler, Zephyr's all-time top residential sales agent, is known throughout the area as the Victorian Specialist and, in fact, resides in a Victorian herself. She is active in her community and has served as President and on the board of the Alamo Square Neighborhood Association as well as a host of other affiliations. She is a member in good standing with the San Francisco, California and National Associations of REALTORS. She may be reached at (415) 474-4445 or by email at victorianspecialist@bonniespindler.com.

About Zephyr Real Estate

Founded in 1978, Zephyr Real Estate is San Francisco's largest independent real estate firm with $1 billion in annual gross sales in 2011 and a current roster of more than 200 full-time agents. In 2010, Zephyr launched its new website, which has earned three web design awards, including the prestigious WebAward for Outstanding Website from the Web Marketing Association. Zephyr Real Estate is a member of the international relocation network, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World; the luxury real estate network, Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate; and the local luxury marketing association, the Luxury Marketing Council of San Francisco. Zephyr has six strategically located offices in San Francisco, a business center in Marin County, and serves a large customer base throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, visit www.zephyrsf.com.

Courtesy of Frederick Peters, President of Warburg Realty

Buyers, sellers, and agents struggle to work effectively in stratified real estate markets. We have such a market at the moment in New York. Because one segment of the market is not necessarily behaving like another, it can be challenging for everyone to understand how value fluctuates from price point to price point. Reporters avid for an interesting story can just make the problem worse. So I will try here to deconstruct what my agents and I are seeing on the ground:

At the top of the market, unique co-op properties in good condition are frequently selling quickly with competitive bidding. That said, this surge in the $15,000,000 and up market is by no means comprehensive. There are also many properties, actually MORE than those that rush out the door with competitive bids after two weeks, which are remaining on the market for six, ten, even fourteen months. Many are beautiful apartments in top buildings on Fifth and Park Avenues. Why are they staying on the market for so long? Perhaps they don’t have outdoor space. Perhaps they need renovation. Perhaps they are not on high floors. Perhaps they are just too expensive. Unfortunately, the press is filled with stories of top prices and bidding wars for billionaires. So all ultra luxury sellers believe that this is going to happen for them. More often than not, it doesn’t. Even in this range, most apartments are still boundaried by market considerations. So if it’s too expensive, or needs too much work, or doesn’t have great views, it can as easily sit on the market at $22,000,000 as at $2,000,000.

One more thing: if you are a seller contemplating listing your property, PLEASE do not be taken in by the hype which seems to be circulating in the marketplace and the press about “whisper listings.” It simply does not make sense for ANY seller who hopes to achieve the best price to limit access to just a few brokers to whom the information is “whispered.” No seller ever knows where his buyer will come from. Only by opening the listing to everyone (and making sure that a skilled broker has been hired to pre-screen) can any seller ever be sure of achieving the highest possible price.

Sellers are struggling even more to determine how to price their properties in the $3M to $7M range. Only a year ago, these co-ops were flying out the door. Now this marketplace has slowed dramatically and the buyers are much more cautious. Whether that is attributable to job insecurity, bonus anxiety, or overall second-decade-of-the-new-millennium malaise, many of these desirable six, seven, and eight room apartments are going for 10% less than they would have commanded a year ago. Sellers find this hard to understand, and it IS hard to understand! Sure, many of these units have been heavily used by the current owners and need refurbishing. But still, the economy looks better than it did a year ago. Stocks are higher. Employment is (slightly) better. Nonetheless, in this segment of the market buyers rule. They kick the tires of every available apartment. They bid low. They get cold feet. And finally, the apartments which sell are those with sellers who capitulate to the changed reality.

So here’s my parting advice for buyers and sellers alike; DON’T believe everything you read in the newspapers. Generally the trends which are being reported, based on closed sales on which deals were made 60 or 90 or 120 days before, are already old, outdated news. And reporters are looking for zippy stories. That is their job. And it is much more exciting the write about the $35M “whisper” listing which is creating buzz than the eight or ten other listings which have lingered for months. In the end, unique, special outliers aside, most properties in every price range respond to market forces. Those forces are complex, nuanced, and highly changeable. But they CAN be understood and interpreted by expert agents. Or…just read my blog!

You can read more on www.warburgrealty.com/blog.

Courtesy of Harry Norman, REALTORS®

The “Mitchell House” is an integral part of Atlanta’s history and is one of Buckhead’s grand estates. Originally built in 1929 by the president of Georgia Power Co., the “Mitchell House” was recently featured in a new nationally created program called ”Garden Dialogues”. The program, which debuted in Atlanta on April 15^th, offers exclusive access for small groups to experience some of today’s most beautiful gardens created by some of today’s most accomplished designers. 3015 Andrews Drive was one of four homes featured.

View this video tour for your own exclusive access to see one of Atlanta’s treasured homes and properties.

Courtesy of Rimontgó

From Thursday 19^th until Sunday 22^nd of April, real estate professionals flocked to the Spring SIMA (Salón Inmobilario Internacional de Madrid) convention at the Feria de Madrid, Centro de Convenciones Sur. As always, it offered an excellent opportunity not only to catch up with fellow property professionals but also to learn about the latest industry trends.

Rimontgó was represented by its director, José Ribes Bas, and Sales and Marketing manager of the Valencia office, Cristina Martínez, who reported that the mood was upbeat as the attendees gathered to exchange views and find out about the latest trends and tendencies in the market.

According to a representative from Planner Reed, the organisers of the fair: “visitor numbers exceeded the expectations of both the organisers and exhibitors, with many interested in making a purchase having, according to reports, informed themselves in advance with regard to properties on offer at the fair. International exhibitors also made their presence felt, including Uruguay, SIMA’s special guest country, whose substantial delegation was led by the Vice-President of the Republic of Uruguay, Danilo Astori, promoting the country as a destination for real estate investment, accompanied by the likes of Enrique Iglesias, the Iberian-American Secretary General, Héctor Lescano, the Minister of Tourism and Sport, and Carlos Pita, the Uruguayan Ambassador to Spain.”

There was a great deal of interest in the programme of seminars and on Friday the 20^th in particular, as the focus turned to attracting Russian buyers. DªAlma Anita Tablada of Property Worldwide Moscow delivered a very interesting and informative presentation on the challenges posed by the necessity for Spanish property companies to cast their nets as far as Eastern Europe. Describing Spain as Russia's “ideal partner” in terms of being a location that is desirable to wealthy Russian investors looking for holiday homes in the warmest part of Europe, Dª Alma made some very helpful suggestions as to how businesses might most efficiently tap into the burgeoning Russian market.

Other countries highlighted at SIMA's Spring convention were Uruguay, Brazil and the United States of America, in particular the Miami area.

All businesses these days are obliged to look beyond their national borders in order not only to maintain their economic health, but to advance it, and the Rimontgó team is especially keen to keep up with all the latest information and trends from the constantly moving and expanding world of international property.

Courtesy of Frederick Peters, President of Warburg Realty

In art and movies of the thirties and forties, the quintessential depiction of loneliness is often the same: a man or a woman framed in a pool of light inside an apartment building window in a soulless urban environment. There is no place, the message seems to be, where you are more alone than in the big city. And what city is bigger or more indifferent than New York? It is thus one of the particular pleasures of a career as a residential agent in New York that today, we sell community as much as property.

Over the last twenty years co-ops have become more and more focused on creating internal communities. Buildings have in-house newsletters. There are Board committees which plan internal events. Annual or semi-annual cocktail parties in the lobby bring residents together, as do Halloween parties and chance encounters in the gym or the yoga room or the playroom or the library. Today there is a context for the neighbor you see in the elevator: you have almost certainly seen them around the building SOMEWHERE before.

As a child growing up in a New York co-op I experienced none of this. There were no gyms in the co-ops (of course, there were more or less no gyms, period, except in schools.) There were certainly no playrooms where the kids became friends. Basements were devoted first to coal storage, then simply underutilized by building residents, who would only go downstairs to visit their storage areas or use the laundry machines. Not much community building there!

Over the years the buildings gradually perceived an opportunity to make their residents not only happier, but also more united and cohesive. Co-owners do have shared interest in the value of their investment, and increasingly they also share pride in the quality of their home environment. These buildings have become real vertical villages, with the elevators and lobby the equivalent of sidewalks, the gyms, libraries, and playrooms standing in for shops and clubs where like-minded people encounter one another. And like any village it is all overseen by an elected group of residents, making decisions for the public good.

An interesting sidebar to this community building is that it works much better in co-ops than condominiums. While condos, especially the newer ones, may have spectacular amenities, the presence of part time residents and investors among the ownership ranks more or less guarantees both chronically empty apartments and a substantial transient population of renters rather than owners. Short term renters will, by definition, be less community oriented, less concerned about property values, and more indifferent to the comfort of their fellow tenants.

As agents, we are frequently frustrated by the judgments of co-op Boards, which can sometimes seem (and be) arbitrary. But we are also aware that, in addition to safeguarding the financial stability of their buildings and, by extension, our entire real estate market, these buildings provide an oasis of small town connection amidst the chaos of our urban lives.

You can read more on www.warburgrealty.com/blog.