Luxury Real Estate

By Meghan Barry

If you have ever visited the LuxuryRealEstate.com Headquarters in Seattle, near the historic Pike Place Market, you may have been to the rooftop deck on top of our building. A popular spot for staff gatherings and summertime lunches, this deck boasts expansive views of Puget Sound and Downtown Seattle. What a perfect place to view Fourth of July fireworks!

In-city living often has its limitation with access to the outdoors. However, on LuxuryRealEstate.com there seems to be ample opportunities to purchase a home with the convenience of a metropolitan location, yet with a ground-floor garden, multilevel terraces, or rooftop decks.

This is an appealing option on New York City, listed by Stribling & Associates, Ltd., in the heart of Chelsea’s gallery district. Looks like the perfect place for a hip Fourth of July barbecue.

www.luxuryrealestate.com/749432


Or this one in Boston, listed by Hammond Residential GMAC Real Estate. You can almost hear the fireworks… and the drum beating of Minutemen.

www.luxuryrealestate.com/869190


A 2005 Recipient of The Carolopolis Award for New Construction, this home has maintained that quintessential Charleston style, with a modern updates. What a stunning view! It’s listed by Disher, Hamrick & Myers.

www.luxuryrealestate.com/610485


Editor’s Note:
Meghan Barry is the Executive Vice President of LuxuryRealEstate.com. She works closely with CEO/Publisher John Brian Losh to organize a variety of Luxury Real Estate programs, events and services. Each of the brokers who represent the properties in this blog entry is a member of the Board of Regents, the governing body of LuxuryRealEstate.com. There are plenty of ways to enjoy the Fourth of July, and hopefully you’ll have a great holiday.

By Jim Walberg

From his blog: Caribbean Islands Real Estate Developments Continues to Focus on Belize!

The Placencia Peninsula, an 11-mile strip of land sandwiched between the Caribbean Sea and the Placencia Lagoon in Belize, has beautiful white sandy beaches and – because of its distance from the reef – it also has “real” surf. The water is clean and clear; the trade winds gentle and cooling.

Remember that Belize has a stirring and lively history beginning in 200 B.C. with the ancient Mayans. In the 17th century Spain settled the country. It then survived war, piracy and slavery until being declared a British colony – British Honduras – in 1871. It gained self-government in 1964, chose the name Belize in 1973 and became an independent member of the British Commonwealth in 1981.

The beaches along the Placencia Peninsula are dotted with small resorts that can easily arrange dive and snorkel trips to the reef, which is about 17 miles away. They can also arrange day trips to many small, idyllic cayes, such as Laughing Bird Caye, a mini-atoll that offers protected snorkeling and swimming, a white sand beach and many cooling palm trees (it even has hammocks!) Laughing Bird Caye is also a favorite camping site for reek kayakers who base their expeditions in Placencia. A hotel can also arrange deep-sea or reef fishing trips, or day sailing on a 57-foot catamaran.

Placencia, along with Ambergris Caye, are now two of the country’s main tourist destinations, and they are also well-visited by Belizeans from across the country on local holidays. You can get a delicious plate heaped with stewed chicken, rice and beans for about $4 USD. There are also several small gift shops, a post office and some night life. Nearby Mango Creek/Independence Village also has a disco and weekend activities.

Another new resort is planned for Belize – The Palmetto Bay Resort at Maya Beach being developed by Dave Bowman and his exceptional team. It is located on Placencia Peninsula it will offer beachfront real estate and Four-Star amenities and will be the first development in the Caribbean designed “green” from inception to completion.

The first phase of the gated resort, which is currently under construction, will be comprised of 36 whole-ownership, luxury beachfront condominiums ranging from approximately 1,100 to 4,500 square feet, each with open views of the Caribbean. (In a perfect world, I would be talking with Dave about offering some of their units as fractionals.) Prices will start in the low $300,000s. The turnkey one- two- and three-bedroom residences are spread through two low-rise buildings. Designer Julieanne Dobson also worked on Francis Ford Coppola’s Turtle Inn in Belize. He is creating the interiors using warm woods and natural stone, vibrant contemporary textiles, and niche-lit Mayan and African-inspired art.

Ownership at Palmetto Bay Resort will include access to fitness facilities, conference rooms with wireless Internet; 24-hour reception and security; fully equipped luxury kitchens with gourmet utensils and stainless steel appliances; balcony barbecues; and lush, mature landscaping with use of indigenous fruit trees and plants. The property will feature a 300-foot oceanfront infinity pool, a 400-foot private beach, beach boardwalk, and private dock.

We have been telling you about Belize and the many awesome opportunities for second and third home ownership for months! It is now time to act. Let me know if you are ready!


Editor’s Note:
Jim Walberg is the co-Broker/Owner of The Bay Area Team, the most-successful team at Keller Williams Realty-Danville. He is also a member of the global LuxuryRealEstate.com network. Jim is an experienced blogger, as you can see by visiting his blog, Caribbean Islands Realty. We welcome your blog entries and comments in the LuxuryRealEstate.com Blog.

By Jim Walberg

We have just ended the first month of 2008 and my January 3rd Predications are being confirmed every day regarding the trends of Caribbean real-estate buyers! The deeded fractional ownership is having a dramatic impact on the buying patterns of Baby Boomers, Brits, Europeans and Canadians. Their appetite for full ownership of second and third homes/condos in the Caribbean is being refocused on the fractional-ownership resorts being developed by BIG international companies!

Buyers seeking Caribbean properties are recognizing that they are not going to live there full-time, so why have the responsibility of full ownership when there is an excellent resort management company in place to maintain and even rent a deeded fractional-ownership property as part of the purchase? An example of this trend can be witnessed in Aruba. There are more than 2,000 fractional-ownership units planned for this island by international developers cashing in on waves of buyers! (There are always exceptions to this thinking when the price point and the product are too good to pass up for full ownership, such as South Beach – Belize)

What does all this mean for the sellers and buyers of Caribbean real estate? If you are a seller, get your home on the market NOW with the most experienced international REALTOR® you can find who understands this market and has an effective Internet-based marketing strategy in place. As a buyer in 2008 for Caribbean real estate, you are going to have your pick of some great bargains, and ones that have huge upside appreciation that are available to those who know where the values are.

Some of the real-estate “hot spots” are St. Kitts, St. Vincent, Anguilla, Belize, Dominic, and the Dominican Republic. The outlook for buyers and sellers in the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean is “bullish” for 2008!

Deeded fractional ownerships will continue to gain market share away from the fully owned homes and townhomes/condos products. Those who have Euros, Pounds or Canadian dollars will have the best buying power for any real estate connected to the U.S. dollar. Again, be sure to find the best REALTOR® you can to represent you in all of your international real-estate transactions. A great resource for top-quality international REALTORS® is Luxury Real Estate!


Editor’s Note:
What an enthusiastic endorsement! To contact Jim Walberg, email Jim@JimWalberg.com or visit www.CaribbeanIslandsRealty.com. Fractional-ownership resorts have a lot of advantages as second homes and vacation spots. In fact, I recently wrote a four-page editorial on fractional-ownership resorts, which are also known as Private Residence Clubs, for LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine. The story will be appearing in the Spring 2008 issue of the magazine. Click the following link to read the Winter 2008 issue of LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine.

Condo hotel, hotel condo and condotel are all too long and don’t really describe this property type particularly well. That’s why I propose that this property type be known as Hondo. It sounds sleeker, plus it solves the problems inherent in the repeated vowel sounds in “condo hotel” and the clunky awkwardness that is “condotel.” I’m probably not the first to suggest this, but I thought I’d throw it out there anyway. I’ll also hopefully suggest replacements for other terms in the future.

Hondo. What do you think?


Editor’s Note:
Robert Lockard is the Public Relations & Media Specialist with LuxuryRealEstate.com. I am Robert. I create all of Luxury Real Estate’s newsletters, write the editorials in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and much more.