Luxury Real Estate

Leon Abood of Premier Realty Group's record sale was featured recently in the Stuart (Florida) News

By Brian Langhorst

The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is quickly approaching. The dates of the show run October 30^th through November 3^rd. This is an absolutely fantastic time to visit Fort Lauderdale and view the world’s largest boat show! There will be over 3 billion dollars worth of yachts, super yachts, and pleasure boats available for sale and display. If you are planning on attending this event, I invite you to reach out to our wonderful member Drum Realty who represent many of the premier luxury waterfront real estate opportunities in Fort Lauderdale. Ted and Kelly Drum are long time members of Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate and have operated their family-owned boutique real estate firm since 1952.

Drum Realty

1900 South East 15th Street

Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33316

Tel: (954) 764-4242

luxury@drumrealty.com

Drum Realty is South Florida's premier luxury waterfront real estate firm serving Fort Lauderdale for over fifty years. Our family-owned company, located at Lauderdale Marina, has earned an international reputation built on offering the highest quality properties with the most personalized service. Contact Ted or Kelly Drum for more information about any of our fine properties and to schedule tours. We invite you to explore the rich yachting tradition found throughout our charming and historic waterfront neighborhoods and learn how you can own a part of it for your family.

By Jim Walberg
From his blog: A Different Type Of “Caribbean Hurricane” Disaster Has Been Averted!

American Airlines has agreed to restore flights this Winter San Juan and St. Thomas!

You may recall from a past article about the “Hurricane” that was coming to the Caribbean the first week of September. That impending disaster was having American Airlines cancel almost 40% of their winter flights to St. Thomas and San Juan, Puerto Rico. It would be have been devastating to the tourist industry of the Caribbean, since the “high” tourist season is about to begin the end of next month. Well, the disaster has been averted because of the hard work of the Virgin Islands Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty and Gov. deJongh’s Public/Private Sector Airline Committee.

Last month, Ms. Nicholson-Doty and the Airline Committee from the USVI flew to Miami to personally request the American Airlines senior vice president for the Caribbean and Latin America regions to reconsider. They met with Peter Dolora with the intention of not leaving the meeting until American Airlines renewed their commitment to reinstate the winter flights to the Caribbean.

American Airlines’ once-a-day flight between Miami and St. Croix will begin again on November 2nd. The daily flight between New York’s JFK Airport and St. Thomas will resume November 20th, and a second flight will be added on Fridays starting December 18th. American’s flight between Boston and St. Thomas will run on a twice-weekly schedule starting November 2nd, and on December 18th, it will be back to flying five days a week.

There is a piece of the transportation puzzle to the Caribbean that has yet to be solved with American Airlines that is troublesome. American Airlines’ inter-island connecting flights, served by American Eagle, WILL NOT continue to go from San Juan to the USVI! “We are looking at various options,” Nicholson-Doty said, declining to be specific because of ongoing negotiations. So, three weeks ago American Eagle cut its eight daily flights between St. Thomas and San Juan to only three, and there is no agreement if the American Eagle flight schedule will ever re-instate the five flights they are abandoning. American Eagle is also eliminating five of its eight daily flights between San Juan and St. Croix. Again, it is a very difficult situation for the USVI and the Caribbean, because there was an increase in tourist visits to the Caribbean the past 12 months, and now American Airlines is faced with the reality that their business model still cannot make a profit, even with the increased numbers of passengers from last year! Oil prices are still a critical issue for all of the airlines.

The USVI Tourism Department is “putting its money where its mouth is” by investing $1.5 million of its money into partnering with American, Delta and, “to a lesser degree,” Spirit Airlines to advertise the territory and the airlines! This is BIG news! The USVI knows that it is a win-win scenario if they can drive more traffic to these airlines in order to keep these routes as full as possible – even though they have cut back many of their flights. Their marketing efforts include radio and newspaper advertisements, billboards and airport signage. Additionally, in Atlanta buses were wrapped with ads touting the U.S. Virgin Islands and a tagline to call Delta Vacations.

In return for the USVI advertising investment, Nicholson-Doty said the airlines provided complimentary airplane seats for travel agents, travel writers and sweepstakes winners. One of the target cities for this ad program is Charlotte, North Carolina. “The USVI Tourism Board is spending $375,000 to advertise St. Croix in radio, newspaper and Internet ads,” Nicholson-Doty said. U.S. Airways flies to St. Croix from Charlotte on Saturdays. “The ad campaign encourages early bookings to the USVI,” Nicholson-Doty said. Some of the other airlines thinking of serving the Caribbean have contacted the USVI Tourism Board seeking revenue guarantees, but Nicholson-Doty stated, “The USVI could be paying for empty seats, and we are only developing marketing relationships that are a win-win for both sides.”

Another Hurricane has been averted by the foresight and determination of the current USVI administration to face the issues head-on and find solutions. So those of you who were worried about how you were going to get to your favorite spot in Paradise – have a rum punch at Duffy’s Love Shack in Red Hook, instead. Until next time… your Caribbean lifestyle reporter remains on duty!!!


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 Luxury Real Estate network. Jim is an exceptional blogger, as you can see by visiting his blogs, East Bay Real Estate and Caribbean Islands Realty, and reading his great blog entries like the one above. He is the master of fractionals and other luxury homes in the Bay Area and the Caribbean, and he always has a lot of great opportunities to share. Whew! That is definitely good news. Many Caribbean countries depend upon tourism for their economies, especially during the winter when U.S. travelers want to escape the cold for the “isles of perpetual June.” As I mentioned in my last blog entry, I just finished writing a City Spotlight on Nassau, Bahamas for the winter 2009 issue of LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine. It’ll be out in December.

By Robert Lockard

Great news from Florida! The state's real-estate market is well on its way to recovery, according to Jim Cramer in an excellent video from TheStreet.com. Click the link to check it out.
 

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. Rob Thomson, the Co-Owner of Waterfront Properties & Club Communities and a member of the Board of Regents, pointed out this excellent story to me. Thanks for sharing the good news, Rob! The picture above is from www.flickr.com/photos/kowax09/127385974 and is the copyright of Olivier Bareau.

By Bob Melvin

Dear Friends,

There was a very important vote before the Charlotte County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, April 8, 2008. This vote decided whether Charlotte County will be either OPEN for Business or will continue to be CLOSED for Business. In short, the vote will allow developers, on a case-by-case basis, to increase heights of buildings up to 65 feet, from the current 35 feet.

No quality developer will come to Charlotte County without this flexibility. For each 10 feet a developer raises a building, a community enhancement “public access” has to happen on-site. The County staff and County Commissioners will make these decisions, based on merit, with lots of public input!

This flexibility is absolutely necessary for the economic development of Charlotte County. For example, I am currently working with several world-class hotel companies to bring an eco-tourism resort hotel to West Charlotte County. In turn, I believe that this type of development will also bring upscale retailers and upscale marinas, in particular, to West Charlotte County. In my opinion this is exactly the type of economic development we need.

I would like to encourage you to send an email to our County Commissioners, hopefully in support of this Planned Development amendment change. Make no mistake, change is coming to Charlotte County. This change will allow for higher-quality development… especially now that we have lots of rooftops, and a lot more that have been approved and not yet built… this is a “window of opportunity” for hotel and commercial development.

For example, did you know Charlotte County has the most waterfront in Florida with the least amount of hotel rooms? These are the types of businesses we need, and I hope you agree.

All the best,

Bob Melvin
Owner/Broker/Realtor

Gasparilla Properties, Inc.
P.O. Box 1364
411 Park Ave.
Boca Grande, FL 33921
941-380-8891 Cell
941-964-5650 Office
941-964-5654 Fax
bmelvin@GasparillaProperties.com
www.GasparillaProperties.com

Bob Melvin Properties LLC
1861 Placida Road, Suite 203
Englewood, FL 34223
941-473-5444
941-473-5447 Fax
bmelvin@bobmelvin.com
www.bobmelvin.com


Editor’s Note
Bob Melvin is the Broker, Owner and REALTOR® of Gasparilla Properties and he and his company are considered the “go to” experts for real-estate sales in the Boca Grande, Fla. area. Issues like this are very important for luxury brokers and agents to be aware of and take an active part in shaping. I hope that we will follow Bob’s wonderful example and do our best to improve our communities through positive public policies. Here’s to Charlotte County’s future as a luxury community.

By John Brian Losh

Meghan Barry and I just did a 5-day sweep through Central Florida, visiting several of our prominent members on both the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic Coast. The prevailing feeling is that prices have stabilized and there are, at this time, homes in all categories to be purchased. If you or any of your customers have ever even thought of owning a home in Florida, the time to visit and purchase is now. I believe that the next selling season will bring increased prices and less inventory. I cannot emphasize enough that the time to view and purchase real estate in Florida is now. We are in a very unique time in history where we have low prices, low interest rate and diverse inventory. The perfect opportunity. Visit the Florida Regional Section (www.luxuryrealestate.com/florida) to view property.

Editor’s Note:
John Brian Losh is the CEO/Publisher of LuxuryRealEstate.com and the President, CEO and Broker of Ewing & Clark, Inc. in Seattle. He tirelessly trots the globe meeting with members of LuxuryRealEstate.com and getting the scoop on industry trends. Great stuff.

Illustrated Properties Real Estate is proud to announce the addition of Dutcher Higgenbothem and Bass, Inc., to their Family of Companies.

There is strength in numbers and Illustrated Properties is proud to have increased not only in size and but also in market share with the recent merger of the very successful, well-known and respected Dutcher, Higginbotham and Bass, Inc., located in Sewall’s Point.

Like Illustrated Properties, DH&B was a local, family-owned real-estate company that was rooted in the area since 1961. DH&B were the developers of many prestigious communities in Martin County. In fact, they built the first condo on Hutchinson Island.

Stephen Dutcher, former Owner/Broker of DH&B, is a third-generation real-estate agent. At age 19, Steve received his real-estate license and followed with his Broker’s license in 1983. Steve’s commitment and professionalism is best illustrated by his successful sales history participating in real-estate sales & development in the Stuart, Sewall’s Point, Hutchinson Island and Jensen Beach areas.

Illustrated Properties has a winning combination with the addition of DH&B. Their clients will benefit significantly by this major addition to the real-estate market in Martin County, Fla.

The new Illustrated Properties (DH&B) Sewall’s Point office will continue to provide their clients with the same personal dedication they’ve come to expect, combined with the best real-estate tools and services the industry has to offer. Since Illustrated Properties is a full-service real-estate company, clients can also enjoy the convenience of the additional services they provide, which include Mortgage, Title and Insurance. Clients will also benefit from Illustrated’s national and international networks, which provide their customers with the most well-known and respected international marketing affiliations and relocation services available in the business.

Illustrated Properties is an established, independent real-estate brokerage firm owned by the Adams Family who has been in the real-estate business since 1936. This company has 18 offices in Palm Beach, Martin, and St. Lucie counties.


Editor’s Note:
We welcome good news like this from our LuxuryRealEstate.com members, whether it’s mergers, new records or other important events.

By Joey Pauley

At Luxury Real Estate, we do not only produce the most-viewed luxury real estate website in the world, LuxuryRealEstate.com, we also produce award-winning websites for our clients. Over the last three weeks we have launched three websites that are as distinct as the companies they represent: MiamiRealEstate.com, EwingandClark.com, and TheFloridaAuthority.com.

Each website has had its own challenges. But I think the biggest challenge is trying to launch the site. There is a fear to launch a new website. It is a huge change and naturally a time for stress.

I find it ironic that three people in our Web department are also expecting children: Michael, Dustin and Eric. I know how tough it is for our clients to adapt to the change of a website. I can only imagine how our lucky fathers are going to adapt to having a newborn. Good luck to them all.

And you thought this post was going to be about websites, didn’t you?


Editor’s Note:
As a Technical Account Manager with LuxuryRealEstate.com, Joey Pauley helps members with their Web and technology needs. He does a phenomenal job in all of his projects, as you can see by visiting the many websites he has helped design. What a wonderful analogy Joey has given us. Bringing forth these new websites, with all their inherent stress and relief, is an experience very much like parenthood. Everyone in our web department has had three children this month, I suppose.

By Courtney Jackson

Unique Homes is now in the process of compiling the 2008 edition of Ultimate Homes, an annual magazine dedicated to the listing and ranking of the top 1,000 properties currently on the market for purchase. Since 2005, Ultimate Homes has served as the standard for ranking the best in luxury real estate by price.

"We believe a vehicle that ranks and lists the most expensive estates here in America was information that was fractured and incomplete. For the first time, the consumer now has a comprehensive source to compare and contrast by price the most sought after properties currently on the market for purchase," said Nick Antonicello, Director of Sales for both Unique Homes and Ultimate Homes.

As in the past, the publication will not only list the top 1,000 listings by price, but also the top ten listings by price, by state. "This is a twist to the rankings that ensures geographic balance to the information provided. For the most part, the list is dominated by California, Florida and New York. By also offering the top ten properties by state, the consumer gets added insight on smaller markets like Utah, Montana or Idaho," said Antonicello.

Last year the states of New York, California and Florida represented nearly $12.5 billion of the $19.1 billion or 65% of all the homes in the list of 1000 properties. The Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate network (LuxuryRealEstate.com) represented 112 different properties in this exclusive list or nearly 12% of all properties!

Like in past editions, editorial will focus upon the top ten listings as well as the top ten agents with the most listings. In addition there will be breakdowns by companies, networks and organizations who represent the best of the luxury segment here in the United States. The list will feature current listings between $11 million and $165 million. If an agent currently represents an estate property in this price point, they are qualified to advertise the property on a half-page, full-page or two-page basis.

"Ultimate Homes is the ultimate publication for marketing the most expensive properties currently on the market. It will be sent complimentary in a hardbound edition to the agents and sellers whose properties are advertised beyond the list and the magazine will be sold off newsstands in some 80 countries. It is a once-a-year opportunity to truly allow the agent to promote a significant property in a special venue designed to reach high net worth consumers currently in the market," said Antonicello.

For details please contact LuxuryRealEstate.com Print Director Courtney Jackson, Courtney@LuxuryRealEstate.com or 800-488-4066.

By Robert Lockard

I like talking about good people and the examples they set for others to follow. One particularly noteworthy person is Rob Thomson, the president of Waterfront Properties, which is the exclusive member of the Luxury Real Estate Board of Regents in Jupiter, Fla. About six years ago, this charitable man founded Charities for Children to pick up and deliver gifts for children who have little means of their own. In each of the past several years, this charity has delivered tens of thousands of gifts to local children.

Most of Charities for Children’s funds come from Mr. Thomson himself, although his fellow brokers and other members of the community also donate money and toys. All of the money is spent on gifts for children, with none taken for any other consideration. It’s so nice to hear about good news like this. I hope I can share at least a few other inspiring stories I’ve heard about brokers and agents giving back to their communities.


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.