Luxury Real Estate

By John Brian Losh

I am currently watching John Adams on DVD, it is a seven-part biopic miniseries about John Adams and the story of the first fifty years of the United States. The miniseries is based on the book “John Adams” by American historian David McCullough. It is one of best history films I have ever seen, and has received lots of critical acclaim.

It has given me a whole new appreciation for our founding fathers, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States of America. Many of the scenes from this miniseries were filmed in historical sites throughout Philadelphia, like Constitution Hall. Join us this fall in Philadelphia for our conference in October, and see for yourself! It’s a real-life history lesson!


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. The Founding Fathers are some of the best people who ever lived. They are some of my biggest heroes, especially George Washington. There’s a great movie about the creation of the Constitution called “A More Perfect Union,” which I highly recommend.

By Renaud Rippert

Before the current season began, there was some concern as to how the real-estate market in Saint Barts would fare, given the number of uncertainties which presently affect global markets.

This concern is clearly justified by factors such as the sub-prime financial crisis, the weakness of the U.S. dollar in comparison to the Euro, and the economic hardship felt in parts of Europe and, most notably, across the United States.

In reality, for Saint Barts, the analysis is very positive.

The island’s position as a particularly unique market has only been reaffirmed. It remains limited in size and thus in development opportunities and its patrons have proven to be less affected by the factors cited above.

North American clients, who continue to show emotional attachment to the island and who find themselves so conveniently located geographically, are able to invest in a strong and secure market and to diversify their investments in a dominant currency.

Europeans, who are less troubled by our currency, are more and more present in our high-end market, which remains reasonable in comparison to other affluent markets, where such clients are frequent investors, as well.

This being said, one can safely affirm that our market is experiencing neither a rise nor a fall, but rather a consolidation of justified pricing. Because, on the contrary, the overestimation of certain properties, which has been observed in the past two years, no longer allows for finding a buyer. Regarding the high-end spectrum of the market, there is considerable demand for such products, with significant prices being offered on exceptional properties. In this respect, the situation in Saint Barts is comparable to those markets that attract a similar clientele, such as The Hamptons, Aspen and the more desirable neighborhoods of London.

As an agency historically and intimately linked to the creation and development of the real-estate market in Saint Barts, Sibarth Real Estate has consistently positioned itself as a “market regulator,” advocating the preservation of the market’s stability over time. We have never participated in the thoughtless inflation of prices or sought to simply market the “Saint-Barth Effect.” It is our mission to sell properties in Saint Barts for their intrinsic quality, and certainly not to sell them to the detriment of the island, capitalizing solely on its popularity, with no respect for appropriate counter values. Our conservative appraisals support a long-term vision, anticipating the present consolidation of our market.


Editor’s Note:
Renaud Rippert is a real-estate agent with Sibarth Real Estate, a LuxuryRealEstate.com member in Saint Barthélemy, Guadeloupe. This is absolutely wonderful. It is so nice to hear from decent, respectful people who will stand up for good and not sell themselves short for a quick sale. Good work being such a responsible brokerage, Sibarth Real Estate. You set a great example for others to follow and I applaud your efforts.

By Jean-Yves Piton

With a devalued U.S. dollar against many other foreign currencies (i.e. Euro, Pound Sterling, etc.), now is the best time to invest in luxury real estate in the United States.

Whether this initiative is part of your diversification strategy or not, your property investment(s) in the United States will pay off in both the short and long term. Namely, your purchasing power is greater today in the United States and your ability to create greater returns in the future is increased tremendously.

To further exemplify present investment trends, I recently came across the following article “U.S. Real Estate Tops Foreign Investors’ List, Interest in Asia Grows” posted in the July 7, 2008 issue of www.Bostonsf.com.

The commentary reveals that, based on the results of the recent 16th Annual AFIRE Foreign Investment Survey, the U.S. real-estate market is at the top of global investors’ list.

Furthermore, “with 56% of the votes, the U.S. again emerged as the most stable and secure country for real-estate investment. No other country has ever come close to this number-one position. The second-ranking country has historically been the U.K., but this year Germany, with 10.5% of the votes, took that honor; Australia and the U.K., with nearly 9% of the votes, tied for third place.”

Agreeably, “this year, New York City and Washington, D.C. were named foreign investors’ top global cities. New York City leaped ahead by a substantial margin to be named the top global city, followed by Washington, D.C. and London in a tie for second place. Last year, New York City was ranked second globally and Washington was ranked fourth. Paris fell from second to fourth rank.”

Directly involved with global real estate on a day-to-day basis, I find such figures and trend eye-opening.


Editor’s Note:
Jean-Yves Piton is the Global Services Membership Manager for LuxuryRealEstate.com. He assists Bente Madtsen, the Director of Global Services, in expanding the LuxuryRealEstate.com brand into even more countries around the world. There are some wonderful opportunities available for U.S. buyers and sellers. One person’s downturn is another person’s bargain, so be sure to look for the good out there. The photo of the U.S. flag is from www.flickr.com/photos/tomsaint/2525886032 and it is the copyright of tomsaint11.

By Robert Lockard

A helpful warning to bloggers: “Be prepared.” It’s the Boy Scout motto and it’s also good advice for people in all walks of life. It appears that many bloggers, myself included, are a little unprepared for the possibility of close scrutiny of blogging. What if we were told that we had used too much of someone else’s news article in our blog entry or that we got our facts wrong and are guilty of negligence or even defamation? It’s a scary thought, but that’s the risk we take in offering our work in a public environment.

Have you noticed that, as bloggers, our responsibilities and rules seem to be a little hazy and hard to define? It sometimes does to me. Luckily, in college I studied media law, fair-use doctrine and other libel laws, so I have a pretty good understanding of what is allowed and forbidden when writing content.

The rules can get pretty complex, but they boil down to the fact that writers need to respect others’ rights by not stealing their work, spreading lies about them or being unfairly critical of people we disagree with. I don’t believe I’ve witnessed any of that in the discussions I have seen on ActiveRain and the LuxuryRealEstate.com Blog, but it’s still important to keep in mind. Kindness and honesty are generally essential for free speech and democracy to thrive. I have no desire to defame anyone because my goal is to uplift by exercising the Golden Rule as much as possible.

When you use a news story or another person’s blog in your work, make sure to give credit to the person you borrow from. I always strive to do that when I write a blog entry, since much of my inspiration for writing about specific topics comes from news sources and other bloggers. Actually, this blog was inspired by two news articles: a Seattle Times article by Brier Dudley entitled “Battle of the day: AP vs. blogs,” and Marcie Geffner’s article in Inman News entitled “Is your blog a lawsuit magnet?” I highly recommend reading them both so you can make sure you’re aware of some potential pitfalls.

The one thing I don’t know too much about is the fair use of photos in blogs. I almost always provide a link to the source of the photos I use, and I try to include the photographer/artist when it’s available. Maybe someone can help me out on this aspect of fair use because I’m unsure what the rule is there. Is it okay as long as we give credit to the person responsible for the work or do we need to obtain written permission? Speaking of which, the photo above is from www.flickr.com/photos/katiegail/1344714672, and it is the copyright of rakastajatar on Flickr. I got the idea to check Flickr for a safer photo to use because of Ms. Geffner's comment in my ActiveRain Blog.

In closing, I strongly advise you to pay close attention to Ms. Geffner’s 17 questions in her Inman News article. I won’t reprint them here because I wouldn’t want to use too much of her work or remove the incentive to visit her site. As I read them, I went over in my mind the times when I had encountered these different situations or at least considered them. I hope this helps you be a little better-prepared in case anything like this might come up as you blog.

Happy blogging!


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. I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me with your suggestions about the photo issue I mentioned.

By Yvonne Harvey

With the Fourth of July weekend just around the corner, I can’t help but talk about the Declaration of Independence. And, of course, it all happened in Philadelphia, where we are holding our 13^th Annual Luxury Real Estate Fall Conference!

I found some interesting factoids on the famous, or maybe infamous, painting by John Trumbull, simply titled “Declaration of Independence.” As you know, paintings back then were the cameras of today. And this painting today would more likely be in the tabloid section or propaganda fodder. There are so many historical flaws in this painting, that its historical relevance is almost moot.

You may remember, if you read or watched The Da Vinci Code, how you instantly went and looked closely at the painting. Well, this might just make you want to take a look at this one, too. Look under the desk at the legs of our standing forefathers. They seem to be disproportionate to their bodies, especially Thomas Jefferson’s leg.

The painting includes 48 portraits. Of those 48, 43 were signers and 5 who may have been there, but did not sign the Declaration of Independence. Please note there were 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. Hmmmm… several seem to be missing.

The painting itself was piecemealed together. It is said that John Trumbull carried his canvas with him to take advantage of any occasion which might arise; this would be comparable to our picture phone today. Many of the portraits were painted directly onto the canvas from life between 1789 and 1794, or sketches Trumbull had done in earlier years, i.e. John Adams in 1787 in Paris. If an historian wants to correct me here, please chime right in, but I need to ask this question. Wouldn’t that mean the attendees may appear as much as 18 years older from the date the Declaration of Independence was adopted? If my calculations are correct John Adams was 41 when he adopted the Declaration of Independence, and yet Trumbull sketched him at the age of 52. Just thinking out loud.

It is also historical fact that Trumbull was unable to meet all 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence; in nine of the cases the attendees had died before the opportunity arose. In some of these cases he painted from portraits hanging in the “Independence Chamber.” Since then, four of these portraits have been deemed fake. One, in particular, is the so-called portrait of William Whipple who died in 1785, and yet the signer of the painter is St. Memin, who was only born in 1770 and didn’t even come to America until 1793. Historians now agree the portrait is of a Joseph Wipple (note the spelling of his last name is even different Geesh!).

Painter Robert Edge Pine had an unfinished painting “Congress Voting Independence,” which historians agree was more historically accurate than Trumbull’s. And yet, we use Trumbull’s painting in many history books. Pine actually lived in the very building and painted in the “Independence Chamber” It appears that Trumbull embellished the room in his painting with colorful red, white and blue, and even had the wrong furniture. We know this because the actual desk and chair used by John Hancock is preserved in the Independence Hall. Again, Pine’s depiction is much more accurate.


Finally, I find this quite weird, even the Internet is unclear on the spelling of John Trumbull’s last name. Some spell Trumbull, and some spell Trumball. Oy!

Whew! I feel like I just did a whole book report for my teacher. I hope you enjoyed my little rant.

See you in Philly!


Editor’s Note:
Yvonne Harvey is the Events Coordinator for LuxuryRealEstate.com. So when you come and enjoy the wonderful presentations, discussions and networking opportunities at Luxury Real Estate conferences, you know who to thank. History is quite amazing, isn’t it? I love the Founding Fathers and I am always amazed by how much they sacrificed to fight tyranny and establish the first nation of liberty. George Washington is one of my biggest heroes and he is one of the best people who ever lived, in my humble view. The two pictures above are from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Declaration_of_Independence_(John_Trumbull).jpg and www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/images/vc53.jpg.

By Yvonne Harvey

Since we made the announcement that we are having this year’s 13th Annual Luxury Real Estate Fall Conference in Philadelphia, I have become almost obsessed with Philadelphia’s history. In past blogs, we have discussed Rocky Balboa’s historic run up the stairs of the Philadelphia Art Museum and the Liberty Bell typo.

Well of course I had to talk about a young woman named Betsy Ross. We all know that she was the seamstress of the very first United States flag, but do we really know Betsy Ross as a person? She gained historical relevance from just one snapshot of her life, and yet I felt she was much more than just a seamstress. She was an extremely strong woman, and the epitome of a woman living in the eighteen and nineteenth centuries.
 

Betsy was the eighth of seventeen children and was raised in a Quaker community. Her first marriage to John Ross in 1773 caused a split with her family and meant her expulsion from the Quaker congregation since she married outside of her sect. She was only married to John Ross less then 3 years when he was killed by a military explosion. She went on to marry twice more and both of them died relatively young. She had a total of seven children, two of which died very young.

Even in death, Betsy would not rest in peace. Betsy was buried on the Free Quaker burial ground on South 5th Street. Twenty years later, her remains were exhumed and reburied in the Mt. Moriah Cemetery in the Cobbs Creek Park section in Philadelphia. In preparation for the United States Bicentennial, the city ordered her remains moved to the courtyard of the Betsy Ross House in 1975; however, workers found no remains under her tombstone. Bones found elsewhere in the family plot were deemed to be hers and were re-interred in the current grave visited by tourists at the Betsy Ross House today.

It is rare to have people today to have a smidgen of the hardships women of the 1700s and 1800s had, and Betsy Ross endured them all. This blog is not to make you sad, but to make you feel thankful and blessed for your family’s and friends’ health and see the strength of women such as Betsy Ross. Can you imagine what people will say in 200 years about how we lived and how we persevered?


Editor’s Note:
As she mentioned, Yvonne Harvey is the Events Coordinator for LuxuryRealEstate.com. So when you come and enjoy the wonderful presentations, discussions and networking opportunities at Luxury Real Estate conferences, you know who to thank. You should definitely join us at the 13th Annual Luxury Real Estate Fall Conference on October 13-15, 2008. I enjoy studying history because it is through the sacrifices and experiences of past generations that current ones have been brought to pass. Plus, I try to learn from others’ experiences. Betsy Ross is a wonderful example of perseverance and nobility. Thank you for the great blog entry, Yvonne! The painting above is from www.ushistory.org/betsy/flaglife.html.

By Yvonne Harvey

Did you know the state of “Pennsylvania” is spelled incorrectly on the Liberty Bell?

Inscribed on the Bell is the quotation, “By Order of the Assembly of the Province of Pensylvania for the State House in Philada.” Note that the spelling of “Pennsylvania” was not at that time universally adopted. In fact, in the original Constitution, the name of the state is also spelled “Pensylvania.”

If you get a chance to visit the second floor of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, take a moment to look at the original maps on the wall. They, too, have the state name spelled “Pensylvania” (and the Atlantic Ocean called by the name of that day, “The Western Ocean”). The choice of the quotation was made by Quaker Isaac Norris, Speaker of the Assembly.


Editor’s Note:
Yvonne Harvey is the Events Coordinator for LuxuryRealEstate.com. So when you come and enjoy the wonderful presentations, discussions and networking opportunities at Luxury Real Estate conferences, you know who to thank. You should definitely join us at the 13th Annual Luxury Real Estate Fall Conference on October 11-14, 2008. And be sure to take lots of notes. I know I’ll have my “penn” ready if I get to go to “Pensylvania.”

By Robert Lockard

I just have a quick thought to share today. I wish I had more time to write more about this topic, but I’ll just do the best I can in a short space. I read a wonderfully informative Inman News article today entitled “Media create foreclosure hysteria.” As you can tell by the headline, this article is trying to explain what various media sources are currently saying and not saying to make our current real-estate troubles seem even worse than they actually are.

Perhaps there is not a concerted effort to cause a panic by inflating numbers. Maybe the reporters who are striving to meet their deadlines and report this important story to their readers simply don’t have enough time to fully analyze all the facts they’re reporting. Whatever the case is, author Bernice Ross points out some excellent facts in her article that have failed to be reported correctly or been lost in the editing process.

I especially like how she ends her article. She says, ”The question I would like answered: Why isn’t this positive news being reported elsewhere?” Now that’s a good question. This question has been raised many times and the answer is often simply that news distributors are in the business of selling news to readers and viewers and so they want to make their stories eye-grabbing and ear-catching. A story about foreclosure rates increasing slightly isn’t big news unless it’s spiced up a bit.

Ross points out that there’s plenty of good news happening in a variety of markets. I try to get the word out about these stories by publishing a weekly newsletter called the Week in Review with Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate members’ positive news stories. I also try to keep the LuxuryRealEstate.com Blog filled with great content from our members and employees.


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. Feel free to share your thoughts on what we can do to share the good news happening in our markets.

By Brian Langhorst

Lately, the keyword in advertising is international! Everyone wants international exposure as foreign currencies are very strong compared to the U.S. dollar. This strength presents great options for investors to come to the United States and purchase real estate. I agree that this is a great target audience, given the current situation.

I also wanted to throw out some facts from Forbes.com, which recently compiled a list of the top billionaires in the world. These facts drew my attention to the importance of continuing to market domestically as well as globally. Of the 1,125 billionaires in the world, 444 or 39.4 percent are citizens of the United States. This is by far the highest number of individuals in one country anywhere in the world. In your marketing campaigns be sure to reach out to both audiences.

There are several print magazines that do a very good job reaching both international and domestic buyers. LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine, Unique Homes and Country Life all work very well. We are happy to help you design ads and market to these key groups. Please contact me with questions or to advertise: blanghorst@LuxuryRealEstate.com.

What are you doing to reach both domestic and international markets?


Editor’s Note:
Brian Langhorst is LuxuryRealEstate.com’s Membership Manager. He meets members’ unique needs through the dynamic services LuxuryRealEstate.com provides. In addition to these excellent publications, we also run group ads in The Wall Street Journal, and we have one coming up on June 27, 2008 that you can sign up for. Contact our Print Director, Courtney Jackson, for details.

By Janice Ridge

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in a CNBC interview said that although the U.S. economy has been struggling, we are coming closer to the end of the current credit crisis. He believes progressive signs of credit and market stabilization are evident and the markets are considerably calmer than they were in March.

In defense of the housing industry, speculators and investors bear little responsibility for record high oil prices. In the CNBC interview he stated, “This is not about blame, this is about supply and demand. All the research we have done shows that speculators and investors have had very little impact on this.” Traders and longer-term investors tend to take positions on both sides of oil market transactions, long and short, thus being essentially price receivers rather than price setters.

Do you agree with Mr. Paulson’s assessment of the situation? If the current run-up in oil prices is not the fault of investors then who is to blame or is it even worthwhile to find someone to blame?


Editor’s Note:
As the Director of Membership at LuxuryRealEstate.com, and herself a licensed REALTOR®, Janice Ridge is devoted to coordinating the efforts of all of the LuxuryRealEstate.com Membership and Account Managers, so that each of our members is given superior service. This is definitely a hot topic at the moment because all of our lives are directly affected by credit and fuel problems, which both affect the real-estate market. There might not be an easy answer to the questions raised in this blog entry, but hopefully we can generate some useful discussion and get a variety of perspectives.