Luxury Real Estate

By Jim Walberg

From his blog: Economic Meltdown Causes Fear In East Bay Real Estate Community!

No matter how positive and resilient one is, we are in stormy economic times! However, opportunities abound in the midst of this economic hurricane!

I was chatting with my friend, Bob Waun – president of Vacation Finance, which is headquartered in Michigan – about the financial meltdown going on in the credit markets and the stock markets. He asked if I was afraid for what is next for our real estate businesses in the Bay Area and the Caribbean. I told him, “Nah… we are still having the time of our life!” The mantra of a sailor is…, “Do not be fearful!” And, the definition of FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real! If you didn’t know, my favorite condition in sailing is with the gunnels (side rails on each side of the boat) in the water and salt water spraying all over me. You can’t imagine the big grin on my face while I am sailing in those conditions. However, it is not the time for the faint of heart if you are a sailor in stormy seas. It is the time when experience pays off.

Both our Bay Area and Caribbean real estate businesses are thriving… however, it is taking all hands on deck to pull it off. We are blessed with a great team who only look at the glass half full, and are committed to creating a GREAT experience for our customers. Many of our competitors are running down to Starbucks talking about how the sky is falling. The vacuum they are leaving within our real estate community is amazing, and whoever fills that void today will have a larger market share when the market shifts again – which it will. In order to make it through these tough financial times we all need to work together, side by side, realizing storms don’t last forever. At the end of Bob’s and my conversation, he left me with these thoughts:

Faith, beliefs and conviction can be fickle friends when they are tested by panicked masses. “The end is near!” seems to be the chant of the crowd across the world today. But what of substance has changed within our global economy. Did a world of Fathers change their commitment to feed and clothe their children? Did Mothers decide that the generic brand cereal would be fine in mass? Did we stop wanting nice things and suddenly over the weekend decide to settle for less? What is the shift that causes such a panicked response? What fundamental changes are causing us to doubt the future? Purely fear of what “MIGHT” change. Does that sound rational to you?

Historians and economists can attest that humans don’t always act rationally en masse, but as individuals we can still choose to be rational – to act out of faith and conviction, not panic. ”Looking back on it, I was a trader in the pits of the S&P in 1987. It was the most exciting and profitable stock market opportunity of my lifetime,” a friend told me today… Did he notice it at the time? No. He said he was scared to death, but he kept at his work of trading stocks in the best way he could. Life is clearer in the rearview mirror. Regret is more painful than overcoming fear…

In a storm, it is not time for people to jump ship and swim to safety. A storm is the time for experienced sailors to do their work and sail through it. It doesn’t mean we are not afraid. However, it does require us to not panic – which could cause our ship to go down. I promise we will all will make it through this economic mess. We may get wet and a bit wind-blown, but working together, we will get to a safe harbor and live to see another day when we will look back and tell the stories of how we made it through the storms of 2008 and 2009. Contact me today if you would like some help through your storm. Until next time… fair winds!!!


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. Such wonderful words of hope! Thank you, Jim, for your marvelous understanding of what is really happening in today’s market. People are filled with great fear at the moment and it’s hard to know what to do when we’re in the middle of so many crashing waves. I trust that wisdom and goodness will lead us to prevail over these hard times. I hope that we will all be wiser about who we put our faith in after we come through this. I am in total agreement with Jim that this is no time to panic or jump ship. Let us return to honesty and kindness, for it appears to me that this crisis was brought on by the dishonesty and selfishness of a few. Now people don’t know who to trust. I hope we will all be trustworthy and good, like I know Jim is.

By Brian Langhorst

We have over 200 members from around the world joining us for the 13^th Annual Luxury Real Estate Fall Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania! The dates are October 12^th through 14^th at the historic Ritz-Carlton Hotel. We have members coming in from all across the United States and Canada, as well as Spain, Mexico, Australia, Argentina and Thailand! We very much hope you will join us as well! There are great room rates still available at the Ritz-Carlton.

Please contact me at 206.695.4846 or BLanghorst (at) LuxuryRealEstate.com to learn more about this industry-leading referral and networking event.

See you in Philly!

Editor’s Note:
Brian Langhorst is Luxury Real Estate‘s Membership Manager. He meets members’ unique needs through the dynamic services LuxuryRealEstate.com provides. Holy cow! Two blog entries about the Fall Conference on the same day. We must be getting close to that event. Be sure to save your spot soon.

By Robert Lockard

I am sorry to keep talking about sad things in my luxury real estate blog entries, but I just read an article in CNN entitled “Ex-bankers on pushing customers to rack up debt” and it once again brought up many familiar concerns to my mind on the topic of consumer debt. I wish that I could talk about happy topics. I would much prefer to discuss luxury properties or any other topic, including how getting adequate sleep can lead to more success, but, alas, I feel it much more pressing to focus on the problems upon us.

I am absolutely disgusted by the state of our financial markets. It seems to me that dishonesty is rampant and the very people who are responsible for this mess are asking for a great deal of money to supposedly solve the problem. But I care about people much more than institutions. And, based upon the testimony of the two honest women in the CNN article, who both have good consciences, I see little difference between the practices of certain banks and lenders and the practices of drug pushers. Many lenders trick people into taking more money than they need, they strive to get young people addicted and they keep people in a state of dependency for extended periods of time. All of that adds up to trouble.

Debt is a plague that, when handled unwisely, can lead to all sorts of problems that I think are even worse than the horrible effects of drug abuse. People can at least stop taking drugs and eventually go through a process of withdrawal and recovery. But with debt, even if a person stops going into more debt, they still have interest building up on the money they owe and they face all sorts of roadblocks on the way to recovery.

The very institutions that have pushed so many people to get addicted to debt are now suffering from a major withdrawal (pardon the banking pun) and seem on the verge of collapse… wait a minute – collapse? How is this possible? It starts with how good people are treated. We have not been treated fairly and now those who have been engaging in dishonest practices are reaping the bitter fruit. We have become a nation of debtors, instead of a nation of wealth.

Perhaps our financial market, as it currently stands, should not be saved. Perhaps we must soon create an entirely new and honest way of working with our money. Whatever we choose, we cannot keep doing what we have been doing.

I feel like I’ve been ending every blog entry with an apology for being so negative. I just don’t want to leave my readers with a sense of anger or hopelessness. I think that there is much to hope about. There are plenty of good people in this world and in our wonderful nation, the United States. I am confident we will make it through this sad time. I just want to make sure this never happens again.


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. The photo of the parrot biting a credit card is from www.flickr.com/photos/djkbird214/2695122732 and it is the copyright of dj-squared.

By Jim Walberg
From his blog: Caribbean Real Estate: U.S. Financial Crisis Has Created Great Fear Throughout The Islands!!!

In the midst of the biggest financial meltdown since the 1930s some hard questions are being asked of Jim Walberg this week.

My email box is overflowing and the phone has been ringing off the hook. The people who have an interest in the Caribbean real estate markets are afraid. They are asking some very hard questions that need to be immediately addressed by our Federal government as to how a further financial collapse can be averted. You may recall my past article about the mantra of a sailor as he sets off on a voyage – Do Not Be Fearful! Well, it is a challenge to get to that place when the walls or the U.S. financial structure seem to crumbling down before our very eyes. There is no getting around the fact it is a historic financial mess. My focus is to always get to “what is” as fast as possible, and start making lemonade out of the truck load of lemons that has just been dumped on our front porch.

When I want some well-thought-out ideas on National financial issues I call my REALTOR® friend in Naples, Florida. His name is Mike Lissack. He is one of the smartest financial minds that I know. He came to real estate from a long and successful career on Wall Street where he was named by Worth Magazine as one of “Wall Street’s 25 Smartest Players”, and is one of the top 100 Americans who have influenced “how we think about money.” Before he retired from money management he directed more than $25 billion of investments, supervised their financial reporting, and assisted in the design of their risk management and investment operations.

So we have been corresponding about the financial meltdown that is surrounding all of us. He has some pretty interesting ideas as to what he would do if he was in charge of the direction our Nation takes next, regarding making sure these events never happen again. I felt it was important for you to also review what he has been proposing to me. Here are his latest thoughts, given the events of the last few days. Mike’s view on the financial solutions of our current crisis is we need someone in our government to take proactive action NOW! Here are some more of his suggestions for your consideration, and those of my Caribbean friends asking some very hard questions:

Now that all of Americans again “own” another financial institution because a bailout was required – AIG – and the Feds have stepped in and are claiming they will finally fix the financial mess that our country finds itself in, there are further urgent steps that are needed now:

1) Remove the FDIC cap or raise it to $250k (we do not need any runs on the bank)

2) Nationalize the rating agencies – they do not do their assigned task – they rated junk bonds “AAA”, and then their reversals of these ratings led to the present financial meltdown. Ratings are a utility that needs to be performed by competitive institutions who answer to investors – not issuers and NOT bankers.

3) Establish a “swaps” clearinghouse and prohibit implicit leverage on “swaps” by legislating that no position can be swapped or hedged more than once without a prior trade being offset.

4) Prohibit “third order and higher” derivatives. There is an underlying transaction, it spans derivatives. Then there are derivatives which rearrange the first set of derivatives. At that point, enough is enough!!! The system cannot deal adequately with the complexities of continuing to dilute and issue more derivatives using the same bundle of “AAA bonds” that are actually junk.

5) Write down 90 percent of current appraised value guarantee on Fannie and Freddie mortgages.

6) Announce a national shared equity appreciation fund into which the excess of the 90 percent of current appraised value loans can be dumped.

This is a summary of his second round of suggestions for me to consider. His first email addressed the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mess. Let me know your thoughts. Also, if you want to contact him directly, go to www.Lissack.com. We will always figure out a way to make lemonade out of lemons with this financial mess. Do you know why? BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE A CHOICE! Until next time… fair winds to you in the midst of a BIG storm!!!


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. This whole situation makes me sick. The fear is practically palpable and we are right on the edge of crumbling… why? Are there fewer workers, fewer skills, reduced demand or anything like that? No. The big problem is greed and pride. Honestly, it’s very hard for me to find anything positive in this current situation. Dishonesty has become so rampant that the truth is becoming harder to find. Why should we fall? My heart is filled with sorrow and disgust. I am not a negative person, but it seems to me that the foolishness of a few people has led to the destruction of much that good people have built up. How can we let this stand?

By Robert Lockard

As promised in my last luxury real estate blog entry, here is my discussion of some meaty topics I’ve wanted to talk about for a little while. The past few weeks have been pretty thrilling, wouldn’t you say? Wall Street dropped an incredible 504 points on Monday and 449 points on Wednesday. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, organizations designed to create stability, have failed. Other financial institutions, once seemingly healthy and sound, are facing bankruptcy and other troubles. Think that’s bad enough? Russia’s stock market is doing considerably worse.

Okay, that’s the bad news. Now let’s take a step back and switch gears a little. I am an optimist. I believe that good wins in the end. I think that right now many bad companies and practices are facing the fact that they have built upon a sandy foundation and they are in danger of falling. All of the companies that are failing are doing so because of their own greed and recklessness. Home loans were turned into investment packages and many other bad ideas were allowed to come about because of greed.

If these companies had built upon solid foundations and principles that were put into place to safeguard the country after the Great Depression, we would probably be all right. It comes back to greed and pride. There is safety in old wisdom.

I cannot say a hundredth part of what I desire to say right now because this might not be the most appropriate forum to share the most treasured things in my heart. However, I can say that we need not fear what people can do or what problems may arise if we can see how temporary they are. We should be patient, long-suffering, forgiving and kind, especially when times are tough. Anyone who knows me knows that I definitely try to practice what I preach, so I hope you won’t think that I’m giving this advice lightly.

Let these organizations tremble because of their fear of falling. We will not fall if we are firmly planted on truth and honesty.


Editor’s Note:
Robert Lockard is the Public Relations & Media Specialist with Luxury Real Estate. I am Robert. I create all of Luxury Real Estate's newsletters, write the editorials in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and much more. Stribling & Associates is a member of the Board of Regents, an exclusive group of brokers that leads the Luxury Real Estate network. The photo of the Grand Canyon is from www.flickr.com/photos/raindog/2838872767 and it is the copyright of raindog.

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 Jim Walberg
From his blog: Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Bailed Out Today! Boom Or Bust?

“The Feds took over Fannie Mae and Feddy Mac today! Time will tell what happens next for East Bay Real Estate consumers and who will pay the bill, says Jim Walberg.

The Federal Government made their historic announcement today – a Federal bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could not wait another day! The straw that broke the camel’s back was the liquidity condition of both of these mammoth financial entities. It is frightening to imagine that both of these companies own or guarantee about $5 TRILLION in home loans – about half of all the nation’s total home loans! And, we need to be reminded about my phrase, “Do not be fearful!” – False Evidence Appearing Real!

The plan that was announced today by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and James Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, places the two companies into a “conservatorship” to be run by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Under conservatorship, the government would temporarily run Fannie and Freddie until they are on stronger footing. “A failure of Fannie and Freddie would affect the ability of Americans to get home loans, auto loans and other consumer credit and business finance. And a failure would be harmful to economic growth and job creation,” Paulson said at a news conference today in Washington. With this bailout, the Feds have now made $200 BILLION available to them to shore up their liquidity issues. Again, this money is coming from the United States as an addition to the national debt.

The role of these two financial institutions is to buy mortgage loans from banks and package those loans into securities that they either hold or sell to U.S. and foreign investors. This allows national banks like Wells Fargo Bank and Bank of America to make more loans. The problem affecting the mortgage meltdown has hit Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac VERY hard! The past 12 months have seen an alarming number of their loans started going into default, emptying out the companies’ financial reserves and sending ice through the veins of the credit markets around the world. Costs have skyrocketed and the Feds could not wait another day by placing them into a conservatorship. The Treasury Department is now guaranteeing the solvency of these two lenders. That means that YOU and I are the ones guaranteeing the loans because more money is just going to be printed to bail them out.

With this bailout, mortgage rates on conventional, 30-year fixed-rate loans are expected to fall by the end of September. If the mortgage interest rate falls for home loans, it should attract more buyers into the market, which would then have a positive effect on home prices. However, Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com, did say, “Continued investor wariness and a depreciating housing market may keep rates from dropping. We are not looking at sunshine and daffodils in the housing market anytime soon.”

Paulson stressed that both Fannie and Freddie are still in business and will have a new management team. Freddie CEO Richard Syron and Fannie CEO Daniel Mudd will no longer run the companies, with the FHFA taking over control of their boards. Syron and Mudd will be replaced by two market veterans with the job of restoring the mortgage agencies to a profitable condition. Herb Allison, the former chairman and CEO of pension provider TIAA-CREF, will head Fannie Mae. Allison formerly served as president of Merrill Lynch. David Moffett, who served as vice chairman and chief financial officer of U.S. Bancorp until early 2007 and then joined the Carlyle Group private-equity firm as a senior adviser, will take over Freddie Mac.


Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who led the efforts to help get the U.S. housing market and the broader economy back on track, applauded the decision by Lockhart and Paulson. “These necessary steps will help to strengthen the U.S. housing market and promote stability in our financial markets,” Bernanke said in a statement. The real test will come when financial markets around the world open Monday. Pimco’s Bill Gross, a widely followed bond fund manager, said that the Freddie-Fannie plan was the right move. “This is a significant step and almost exactly what we had hoped for,” Gross told CNNMoney.com Sunday.

Time is always the judge of any decision, especially one of this magnitude. I am not a fan of ever increasing our national debt. Today it is already staggering without the additional billions required to support this bailout. Still, the rescue of Fannie and Freddie may go a long way towards bringing stability to the housing market while making it easier for consumers to obtain affordable mortgages. We will see. I look forward to your comments.


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 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. This is a pretty scary time. It’s disappointing to see that things became so tough for these two institutions that they were unable to survive without government help. This definitely deserves some close scrutiny, and I hope that things will turn out all right in the end.

By Andrew Harper

Our country is blessed with some of the finest dining establishments in the world, but for this list, I thought it would be more intriguing to look at quintessentially American restaurants.

Some of these places are legendary. Most are local institutions. All serve tremendous food.

These suggestions are based on my professional wanderings over the last 30 years as a luxury hotel reviewer and committed food lover. The selections are completely subjective and wholeheartedly recommended.

The Steakhouse

You can almost always count on finding a good steakhouse in every American city. And then there’s Peter Luger in Brooklyn. In business since 1887, it is renowned for its rigorously selected, succulent, buttery porterhouse prepared to exacting standards. This is not a fancy place; it’s cash only, and the service is gruffly efficient. No carnivore should miss it.

Restaurant With a View

My choice is Nepenthe in Big Sur, Calif. A casual place perched right by the Pacific, with tiered outdoor tables so that all can enjoy the glorious panorama, this is one of the most singular settings I’ve ever found in which to enjoy a meal. I was relieved to hear it survived the terrible fires that ravaged Big Sur earlier this summer. The food is simple but very good, and the thing to try is the aptly named “Ambrosiaburger.”

The Crab House

Maryland crab is one of the glories of America’s bounty, a food so inherently delicious that the less done to it the better. Jimmy Cantler’s Riverside Inn, just outside Annapolis overlooking Mill Creek, is the place to enjoy incomparable blue crab. Get them steamed and learn the indelicate art (wooden mallet required) of opening them. Or go for the nearly binder-free crab cakes, plump and irresistible.

Barbecue

If you really want to get folks riled up, don’t talk politics or religion — name the place you think has the best barbecue. Here it is: Arthur Bryant’s in Kansas City, Mo. Yes, I know the venerable Mr. Bryant has gone on to his reward. Yes, I know they’ve branched out. So go to the original on Brooklyn Avenue, where, in a setting that can be called simple, you’ll feast on the most sublime, tender ribs you can imagine. I’ve tried barbecue all over the country, and this remains my favorite.

Hamburger

This being perhaps the most American of all food, choosing one was difficult, but my ultimate favorite is that at Zuni Café in San Francisco. I am a great fan of this personable, stylish restaurant, which I visit every time I go to San Francisco. Chef Judy Rodgers’ burger is made from fresh ground beef, salted, chilled overnight and served on a wonderful focaccia bun. Add the excellent Caesar salad and a robust glass of red, and you have one of my favorite meals.

Cajun/Creole

Some say that this is the one true cuisine that evolved in America. After having visited New Orleans regularly for almost 30 years, I must say that the one place that consistently delivers the best is Commander’s Palace. Beautifully rebuilt after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Commander’s is better than ever, and Chef Tory McPhail is turning out classic and contemporary New Orleans food that is as good as any you’ll find.

Wine-Country Cuisine

During my last visits to Napa and Sonoma, the best meals I had were at the lovely restaurant Cyrus in the appealing town of Healdsburg in Sonoma County, Calif. The service is flawless; the food utterly sublime; the wine selections always on the mark. An added benefit: It is in the charming Les Mars Hotel, so no need to concern yourself with driving.

Pizza

The Italians will rightfully tell you that pizza was born in Italy — Naples, to be exact — and that we’ve taken a thing of beauty and transformed it beyond recognition. So? I’ve had the pizza in Naples, and it’s great, but the homegrown version is every bit as good. After tasting extensively all over the country, my choice is Frank Pepe in New Haven, Conn. Everything here is of the first order. But the standout is the fresh clam pizza with white sauce. This is a pie of sublime pleasure, the one against which I judge all others.

California Cuisine

This approach to cooking prizes the finest ingredients and preparing them so that their best qualities shine. The concept started at a small, charming restaurant in Berkeley, Calif., called Chez Panisse. The inspiration of Alice Waters, Chez Panisse has been thrilling diners since 1971. The menu changes daily, and there are no choices. Don’t let that deter you. You will encounter some entirely new tastes here. It’s not fancy — just profoundly delicious.

Hot Dog

I have a personal favorite spot for enjoying this American classic. Tucked off of 53rd Street in New York, just east of Fifth Avenue, is a little jewel of place called Paley Park. Donated to the city by William Paley, the late chairman of CBS, it is an oasis of sophisticated tranquility in the heart of this busy town, with graceful honey locust trees, ivy-clad walls, and a beautiful waterfall at the far end whose cascade blocks out the din of the city. A small concession stand sells sandwiches and drinks, but I suggest ordering the excellent hot dog and reveling in this marvelous urban sanctuary. Who needs a power lunch when you can have this?


Editor’s Note:
For more information on this company, contact Margaret Temple, the Business Development Manager at Andrew Harper in Austin, Texas. Andrew Harper is an exclusive partner with Luxury Real Estate. This is some great advice for travelers seeking great deals. For more than a quarter century, Andrew Harper has explored the world as an incognito traveler. Always paying his own way, his unbiased reviews of the finest hotels, villas, yachts, restaurants and culturally authentic travel experiences are legendary. Through a variety of media, complemented by highly personalized travel planning services, members of Andrew Harper’s luxury travel club enjoy the resources to dream, plan and realize an unparalleled level of globetrotting. After reading this blog entry, I feel like I just enjoyed a sumptuous meal! How about you? Be sure to check out the links to these amazing eateries in case you’re staying at a luxury property nearby and would like to enjoy exquisite cuisine. Andrew Harper’s blog entries are always informative whether he’s talking about top American cities, hotel tips or gourmet food. Be sure to keep checking the Luxury Real Estate Blog for scoops like this!

By Brian Langhorst

As many of you know, our 13th Annual Fall Conference is being held this October 11th – 14th at the historic Ritz Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. But did you know that Philadelphia:

- Has 0% sales tax on certain items!
- Is the largest city in Pennsylvania.
- Is the sixth most populated city in the United States.
- Is home to famed Morimoto Restaurant, run by chef Masaharu Morimoto, one of the original Iron Chefs.
- Is the nation’s 4th largest consumer market.
- Has the oldest diamond district in the United States!
- Is home to luxury jewelry stores Lagos and Tiffany & Co.
- Was the nation’s first capital in 1774.
- Is home of the Rodin Museum and houses the second-largest collection of works outside of France.
- Is home to Comcast, Lincoln Financial Group, CIGNA, Sunoco and many more.

We are very excited to be traveling to Philadelphia this fall and hope that you will join us at this industry-leading event bringing together the best luxury real estate professionals from around the world.

To learn more about Philadelphia, visit helpful websites like www.GoPhila.com.

Contact me to register for the Fall Conference: BLanghorst (at) LuxuryRealEstate.com

I look forward to seeing you there!


Editor’s Note:
Brian Langhorst is LuxuryRealEstate.com’s Membership Manager. He meets members’ unique needs through the dynamic services LuxuryRealEstate.com provides. The Fall Conference is a great opportunity to meet with agents and brokers who specialize in luxury homes. Don’t miss out! The photo above is from www.flickr.com/photos/aymlis/20975366 and it is the copyright of aymlis.

By Andrew Harper

Many people have a list of places they’d like to visit before they move on to the next world; here are a few American suggestions of my own.

For conversation’s sake, I have avoided the obvious targets, but a stroll across the Golden Gate Bridge or a trip up the Empire State Building is still definitely worth it.

Though we are lucky to live in a beautiful country, I have focused on smaller, man-made locales, simply because a catalog of pretty American places could stretch on forever.

This list is admittedly subjective, but it comes from 30 years of professional wandering. Some places are more well-known than others, but all share a sense of tranquility and wonder.

And since I review small boutique hotels for a living, I have included nearby recommended places to stay. Happy travels!

Madison Valley, Montana

Montana’s Madison Valley, which runs between the Madison and Gallatin ranges down to West Yellowstone, is magnificent Lewis and Clark territory. This is unspoiled land, vast and uncompromising – everything you hope Big Sky Country will look like. Harper Recommended Hotel: The Lodge at Sun Ranch.

San Francisco de Asis Church, Ranchos de Taos

Famously painted by Georgia O’Keefe and described by her as “one of the most beautiful buildings left in the United States by the early Spaniards,” this handsome adobe mission a few miles outside of Taos Pueblo yokes together a staggering five centuries of American history. Harper Recommended Hotel: Casa de las Chimeneas, Taos.

Whaling Museum, Nantucket

At its whaling peak during the first half of the 19th century, the small island of Nantucket had 88 ships scattered across the oceans. The Whaling Museum is wonderfully evocative of this era (plenty of scrimshaw and rusty harpoons), and out-of-season Nantucket Town, with its Greek Revival mansions and cobblestone streets, is equally enchanting. Harper Recommended Hotel: The Wauwinet.

Battery District, Charleston

The historic Battery District of Charleston, South Carolina, home to dozens of stately antebellum mansions, is one of the prettiest American neighborhoods I’ve ever explored. Follow the promenade along the shores of the Charleston peninsula; Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired, sits broodingly across the Cooper River. Harper Recommended Hotel: Planters Inn.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Housed in a charming Venetian-style palazzo, this gem of a gallery displays works by Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Whistler and Sargent. It’s small enough to tour in an hour or so, and you can spend the rest of your time enjoying the sunny, flower-filled courtyard. And if your name happens to be Isabella, you get in free. Harper Recommended Hotel: XV Beacon.

The Four Seasons Restaurant, New York

If you had to choose only one restaurant in New York City to visit, the Four Seasons Restaurant would be the one. The city’s prettiest dining room was designed by architects Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson, and astutely hasn’t been touched since its introduction in 1959. The Pool Room is a study in muted sophistication, despite some of the outsized egos at the tables. Harper Recommended Hotel: The Lowell.

The Rothko Chapel, Houston

This small, non-denominational chapel located just off the Menil gallery in Houston’s Museum District seems unassuming at first, but spend some time surrounded by the 14 mysterious paintings by Mark Rothko, and it may start sinking into your skin. Harper Recommended Hotel: St. Regis.

The Huntington Gardens, San Marino, California

Mr. Huntington did quite well in railroads, and he’s left us with a wonderful afternoon escape just outside of Los Angeles. After admiring some of the spoils of his industry – a Gutenberg Bible, a Shakespeare folio, Thomas Gainsborough’s “The Blue Boy” – venture out into the superb botanical gardens, home to dozens of unique environments: an almost eerily authentic Japanese garden, a lily pond straight out of a Monet painting, and an entrancing collection of cacti. Harper Recommended Hotel: Hotel Bel-Air.

Robie House (Frank Lloyd Wright), Chicago

The Robie House, the world’s first modern home, was designed in 1908 by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and still seems startlingly contemporary 100 years later; with its broad horizontal lines and sleek art glass windows, it looks like a modernist yacht. Wright himself showed up to protest the planned demolition of the house (it was to be replaced by a seminary dormitory) at the ripe old age of 90. Harper Recommended Hotel: Four Seasons.

The Oregon Coast

Highway 101 along the Oregon Coast swerves through 360 miles of jagged cliffs, rocky outcrops, sweeping dunes and temperate rain forests. The coastline lacks deep harbors, so there are no large cities here – just old logging towns, fishing villages and the occasional artist colony. And the entire coast is public land, which makes for excellent picnic opportunities in rugged and remote spaces. Harper Recommended Hotel: The Stephanie Inn, Cannon Beach.


Editor’s Note:
For more information on this company, contact Margaret Temple, the Business Development Manager at Andrew Harper in Austin, Texas. Andrew Harper is an exclusive partner with Luxury Real Estate. This is some great advice for travelers seeking great deals. For more than a quarter century, Andrew Harper has explored the world as an incognito traveler. Always paying his own way, his unbiased reviews of the finest hotels, villas, yachts, restaurants and culturally authentic travel experiences are legendary. Through a variety of media, complemented by highly personalized travel planning services, members of Andrew Harper’s luxury travel club enjoy the resources to dream, plan and realize an unparalleled level of globetrotting. This blog entry is chock full of great information, just like Andrew Harper’s previous blog entry. Be sure to keep checking back at the Luxury Real Estate Blog for scoops like this!