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Yahoo reports that this average-looking suburban home hides inside a Renaissance-era castle, with hand-carved columns, exotics woods, 400-1000-year old priceless furnishings, tapestries, gilded ceilings and precious luxury fabrics that run $150 per yard. In fact, the dining room draperies are estimated to have cost around $14,000. It is, in other words, a hidden castle.

The home is dark, but leaded glass windows allow gem-like light to filter into the rooms.

Owned by the Right and Honorable Dowager Countess of Shannon, Almine Barton, who purchased the home in 1979 and raised her family there. A world traveler, Almine Barton lectured frequently on the play of light in art as well as spiritual healing. Hence, the dark rooms and leaded glass windows that play with light at different times of the day, shedding beautiful colors over the rooms. 

Her goal in selling this hidden castle is to downsize to a more manageable home. We must wonder, though, how many of the attached fixtures, fabrics and columns will remain? It would seem there is much hidden value in this hidden castle–especially when it is priced at $399,000!

Don’t miss seeing the photos below:

Hat Tip: https://www.yahoo.com/realestate/boring-facade-hides-outrageous-interior-011637537/photo-the-almost-too-normal-exterior-1453771007449.html

—Roberta Murphy

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Jumbo Loans are Back with a Bang to Fuel the Luxury Real Estate Market

by Selena Cowell
Is the luxury real estate market on the mend? Home sales and prices are gradually rising in those places where the wealthy would like to plant their mailboxes–such as Chicago’s North Shore, the San Francisco Bay area, the haute Hamptons and the Rancho Santa Fe and La Jolla areas near San Diego.

According to recent reports,  national sales of properties in the  $75,000 and $1 million range are up by 38.7%  compared to a year ago. Meanwhile,  properties priced over $million are up by 25.7%, according to the National Association of Realtors. The good news is that the luxury real estate market is being driven by another resurgence–the jumbo mortgage loan.

These loans are typically over $417,000, the usual limit for qualifying by agencies like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Jumbo mortgage loans are gradually coming back to the market after they all but disappeared in the wake of the credit crisis of 2008. Although most lenders had stopped making new jumbo loans, they’re back in the market again.

Presently, the credit markets are comparatively stable and the lenders who lend such big loans to the most efficient homebuyers now see that jumbos are one of the most profitable ways of making money with the low cost deposits. The secondary market investors are starting to regain their taste for the high-yielding loans. The jumbo mortgage loans are being offered at interest rates that are barely higher than those offered by the conventional mortgage loans.

If you’re about to take out a jumbo mortgage loan, you should first calculate how much you can borrow before striking the final deal. The jumbo mortgage market might fare better than the overall mortgage market throughout 2013. Our preferred lender for jumbo mortgages in San Diego is WJ Bradley Mortgage in La Jolla–and Jenny Nguyen, who can be reached at either 858-877-8008 or858-799-0747, If income and/or assets are no barrier, you should have no diffiulty in finding mortgage loans up to $10 million-or more.

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by Roberta Murphy–At $600,000 per month, the Beverly Mansion in Beverly Hills, is most likely contender for most expensive luxury rental in the nation.  And it’s got an interesting history as well.

• It was in the Beverly Mansion that the infamous horse-head-in-bed scene was filmed for The Godfather.
• John F. Kennedy and his bride honeymooned in the Beverly Mansion.
• Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston filmed scenes for The Bodyguard here.
• Marion Barries bought the manse for William Randolph Hearst in 1946 and it was at the Beverly Mansion that he spent the rest of his days.

With 50,000 square feet, the estate has 17 bedrooms, 29 bathrooms, a 50-foot entry hall with loggia, and museum-quality ceilings that soar 22 feet in the living area.  The dining room is elegant, but the outdoor terrace will easily seat 400 for al fresco dining.

As might beexpected on this 3.7 acre estate, there are massage rooms, gym, lighted tennis court, staff offices and quarters, art-deco night club, wine cellar, billiard room, commercial kithen and so much more.

The Beverly Mansion is also offered for sale at $115,000,000. and private showings might be arranged courtesy of Hilton and Hyland. For additional information, contact Roberta Murphy at 877-818-8197 or email Roberta@SanDiegoPreviews.com

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Between Rancho Santa Fe and the beaches in Encinitas sits an irreplaceable plot of land that surely belongs to another century.

The wide and expansive rear lawn backs up to pasture, wetlands and forest beyond.  Family of deer come grazing and cows come to visit when the lawnmower is at work.

Late afternoons, it is not unusual to see colorful hot air balloons gliding across the sky–and the stars at night twinkle just a little brighter than in the surrounding suburbs. Love the ocean? Encinitas and Cardiff beaches are just a couple of miles away.

• The 4-bedroom home itself has aged gracefully–and has many possibilities for expansion and improvement.  It could truly be a decorator’s dream-come-true.
• Oversized 3-car garage and ample guest parking.
• Close to excellent public and private schools and Mira Costa College (San Elijo Campus).
• Home feels rural, but is very close to Harvest Ranch Market, fine restaurants and upscale boutiques.

Asking price is $1,350,000.

This property is not yet in the MLS, but private showing can be arranged. For additional information, call Roberta Murphy 877-818-8197 or 760-402-9101.

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by Roberta Murphy

We’ve written about luxury closets in the past, but these days some are spending up  to $500,000 for a luxe master closet that might include a champagne refrigerator, sound system, glass-enclosed display cabinets, wet bar or even a breakfast area.

Gone are the simpler days of a luxurious dressing room. The master closet area has become a destination room.

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday on four luxurious closet areas, ranging in size from a modest 600 square feet to a dressing suite with 1300 square feet.  What are the trends with luxury closets?

Luxury home owners today want closets that invite lounging–with prized clothing and accessories on display behind lighted display cabinets. Materials used may include exotic woods, crystal chandeliers and windows that allow for natural lighting. These dressing lounges might also have a sound system, television, jewelry vaults, exercise equipment and even an office nook. Clothing is easily compartmentalized, with large and organized spaces for shoes, hanging clothes, accessory storage and vaults for jewelry and valuables.

There will also likely be a secure safe of some sort for storage of jewelry and valuables. And frequently, these safes are cleverly disguised. Another security feature might be a security camera to protect against theft and pilferage.

These master dressing areas have become trophy rooms of sorts–and are a key selling feature in luxury homes we show in our own San Diego real estate practice. Frequently, properties are crossed off luxury home buyers’ lists if  a master closet is not large enough or appointed to their standards. Rejection might also occur if there are not equally and finely appointed dual closets for couples.

What are your demands when it comes to closets? Please share your list or photos!

For additional reading:

 The Luxurious Closet
The Luxury Pantry

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by Roberta Murphy

Ah… the luxury of being able to comfortably live in one of the most expensive cities in the world (so why not divide one’s time between them–just for bragging rights?:-)

CNBC just released their 10 most expensive cities in the world to live where they included 200 factors such as costs for a 2-bedroom luxury apartment, utilities, transportation, food, clothing, entertainment and so on.

It might come as no surprise that three of the top 10 are in Japan, two are in Switzerland and two in Africa.

So, without boring our readers with details, we cut to the chase, offer the cities in descending order and include the expected monthly rent for a luxury 2-bedroom apartment plus cost of a fast meal and a cup of coffee:

1. Tokyo, Japan where rent runs $4848, a cup of coffee $8.29 and fast-food meal $8.29
2. Luanda, Angola where monthly rent runs $6500, a cup of coffee a bargain at $3.90 and a fast food meal for around $19.94
3. Osaka, Japan offers the luxury apartment at $3062, a cup of coffee at $7.02 and the fast-food meal at $8.29.
4. Moscow, Russia has their luxury apartment at $4200, with cup of coffee at $8.37 and the fast-food meal at $6.70. (And how about an international newspaper at $9.78?)
5. Geneva, Switzerland presents the luxury apartment at $4818, with cup of coffee at $6.57 and the fast food meal at a whopping $12.59.
6. Zurich, Switzerland (compare to Geneva) offers a comparable apartment at $3614, a cup of coffee at $6.02, and a fast food meal at $12.59.
7. Singpore might offer luxury digs at $3588, a cup of coffee for $5.18 and a fast food meal for $5.66
8. N’Djamena, Chad …just doesn’t seem to have much in the way of luxury 2-bedroom apartments for expatriates. But should you find a place to live, you’ll pay $3.32 for a cup of coffee and an outrageous sum of $25.18 for a fast-food meal.  Personal safety and OIL are big issues here.
9. Hong Kong offers a very pricey (but comparable) apartment for $7092 per month, the cup of coffee at $6.83–with a bargain fast food meal at $3.54.
10. Nagoya, Japan has the bargain luxury apartment at $2551 per month, the cup of coffee at $6.38 and the fast food meal at $8.42

Sitting in San Diego, I feel as if we are living in paradise at bargain basement prices.

Another cup of coffee, please?

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$57 Million as a sales price for a Hong Kong apartment?

That is an amount that most people cannot even imagine. No matter how hard-working or how dedicated to the saving, wise spending and money management encouraged by Forbes.com, lovemoney.com and the like, most people will not accumulate that kind of wealth–even in several lifetimes. It is most definitely the realm of the super rich, being able to purchase such colossally expensive homes–and the ultra-wealthy in Hong Kong are no exception.

What if I had $57 million to buy a luxury home in the U.S.?

I would seriously have to consider a currently-available 10,000 square foot home right on the beach in Del Mar, just north of La Jolla. The climate couldn’t be more perfect, the views are spectacular, while snow-covered mountains and desert golf are just a couple of hours away. But then again, I am a big fan of (and a Realtor for) homes in San Diego!

The post Hong Kong Luxury Real Estate on a Roll appeared first on Luxury Home Digest.

We are seeing luxury scaled down on many fronts, and luxury hotels and timeshare resorts are taking it on the chin as well.

For the first five months of this year, according the the Wall Street Journal, U.S. hotel occupancy has declined 53 percent. This is the lowest drop in occupancy since 1987, when Smith Travel Research began tracking these numbers.

While both luxury and budget hotels are ailing with declining revenues, those hotel investors suffering the most (just like homeowners) are the ones who bought their real estate at the top of the market with loads of debt. Defaults on these hotel loans have spiked, and securitized mortgages (where loans are chopped up and sold to different investors as bonds) are also expected to rise from 4.7 percent to over 8 percent by year’s end, according to Morgan Stanley.

Timeshares are faring not much better. The biggest timeshare operator in this country, Wyndham Worldwide Corp has seen timeshare sales plunge 39 percent from a year ago. Another big loser is Marriott International, whose timeshare business reported a $17 million loss in the first quarter of this year.

And then we have luxury hotel operators like Four Seasons, which manages a number of luxury hotels, and is facing pressure from hotel owners to discount room rates in response to economic pressures. Recently, the owners of the Aviara Four Seasons Resort in Carlsbad, CA (north of San Diego) tried to divorce themselves from Four Seasons, who have a 30-year management contract with Broadreach Capital Partners of Palo Alto, CA. The owners are trying to preserve financial viability, while Four Seasons is trying to protect its non-discounting luxury reputation–and its contract.

Four Seasons, incidentally, was the only luxury hotel not to discount room rates after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This was broadly seen as a brilliant move. Four Seasons, with its 82 hotels around the world, maintained both its profitability and its luxurious reputation.

These harsh economic times, though, are weighing heavily on the luxury hotel market. Their fixed costs are higher with staffing, valet service and maintenance–while corporate travel has shrunk and leisure travelers are bargain hunting. This has caused many hotel operators to discount room rates and offer bargain travel packages.

This is a market that surely has not only the venerable Four Seasons on guarded watch, but also the Ritz Carlton, the St. Regis and other five-star destinations throughout the world.

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It’s a sad fact of life, but unscrupulous vultures are always ready to pick at the flesh of the most financially distressed–which more frequently these days includes the owners of luxury real estate.

Over on our San Diego real estate blog we report that San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis is asking San Diego Realtors to help her track down and prosecute real estate fraudsters operating in our county.

We have written before about the foreclosure and loan modification scams that prey upon distressed San Diego home owners who are struggling to stay in their homes. The DA’s office is aggressively trying to warn homeowners to stay away from these San Diego real estate crooks and their fraudulent offers of mortgage and loan modification assistance–and is asking us, as San Diego Realtors, to report any suspicious activity.

All too often, unwitting and desperate home owners will pay an upfront fee to a person or company who promises to prevent foreclosure–or to modify existing mortgage loan terms. And all too often, people are paying for services they never receive–and might be better off with a do-it-yourself loan modification.

Click to continue reading….

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