Luxury Lifestyle, Design & Architecture blog

Prince Bandar bin Sultan, a Saudi royal and former ambassador to the U.S., owned several ranches in Aspen, Colorado. The largest amongst them called Hala Ranch was listed by him way back in 2006 for $135 million. It was the highest asking price and the listing became America’s most expensive home for sale.  However, the markets changed dramatically as the economic crisis struck and it was not possible to find a buyer willing to invest that kind of money in real estate. The property was never listed again but according to Forbes the 90 acre Rocky Mountain ranch has found a new owner finally. It is John Paulson, the hedge fund billionaire worth $12.5 billion who has paid the Saudi Prince $49 million for the ranch. It is the highest price paid for a home in Aspen this year. The Twin Ranch Mega Deal John Paulson has made the bulk of his fortune by shorting subprime securities in 2007. He confirmed the sale and commented that he got the 90 acre ranch located in the Starwood commun...

J. Christopher Flowers’ Harkness Mansion, which he bought in 2006 for a record price of $53million, was recently dethroned by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev. At $88million, his abode in Manhattan is now the most expensive apartment in the Big Apple. It was sold by Citigroup’s former CEO, Sandy Weill and his wife Joan, who had purchased this place for $42.4million. The couple have decided to donate the proceeds of the sale to charity. The 6,744 square feet space houses 10 rooms and has a beautiful view of Central Park. The ceilings and windows of the apartment have been built very high, giving the whole place a very grand look. This pricey purchase also has seven walk in closets, a 2,077 sq ft wrap-around terrace, and a den with a bar attached. This is not Mr. Rybolovlev’s first real estate purchase in the United States. In 2008, he purchased Maison L’Amitie, Donald Trump’s 33,000 sq ft Florida estate for an eye popping $95 million! But the interesting bit is tha...

The Emmy Award-winning talk show siren, Ellen DeGeneres has reportedly moved in an expensive Malibu property which was earlier bought by Brad Pitt. The sprawling property is priced at US$12 million and has been bought by her with partner Australian Portia de Rossi. The four-bed, four-bath home is known to have environmentally-friendly bamboo flooring, glass walls, a swimming pool and a tennis court. Brad Pitt had purchased this one in the swanky Encinal Bluffs enclave, shortly after this much-talked-about split with Jennifer Aniston. He moved in here with his present love beau Angelina Jolie. Besides this, the couple now owns a three-house compound in Los Angeles; a funky beach house in Santa Barbara, California; a chateau in France; a luxury home in New Orleans; and a house on stilts in rural Cambodia. The news about Ellen’s interest in the estate first flew around Thanksgiving, a month after she and wife Portia De Rossi put their Beverly Hills compound for $49 milli...

The real estate markets have been striving to regain its highs but have been falling short repeatedly. However, the activity on the markets has increased in terms of number of transactions of significant value. The Real Deal recently reported about a major real estate purchase in Deal, NJ. Jeff Sutton who is a major force in the New York City real estate market has moved into New Jersey with this deal. The real estate mogul from New York City has purchased an outsized luxury home for $22.6 million. The major deal in Deal has attracted the attention of those watching the real estate markets. The luxury home in question was originally listed for an asking price of $35 million. However the markets haven’t recovered enough to sustain that level of prices. Sutton could finally strike a deal at a much lower price of $22.6 million which in any case is still one of the highest prices ever recorded in Manmouth County real estate history. Sutton has big plans for the mansion and w...

The New York Post reported that real estate agents have been seeking potential occupants for PH17-18 at 785 Fifth Avenue, the home of Denise Rich a songwriter and ex-wife of Marc Rich. The asking price of the mansion in the market is $65 million which makes the property the city’s most expensive apartment in New York. The co-op has hit the market as she does not need this type of space for a single woman. According to the agents Chezz Levi, Noble Black and Bonnie Evans, the duplex penthouse in 12,000-square-foot, is the largest penthouse on Fifth Avenue ever offered. It is on the corner of 60th street designed by Emery Roth. Per square-foot it would cost $5,400.The penthouse has three outdoor spaces, a smaller wrap-around terrace has attention commanding view of central park and the other terrace could accommodate two hundred  people, The third one was converted by Rich once into an ice-skating rink for the people who gathered there for pleasure, according to the Pos...

Luxury real estate is a category that you can find in plenty across America. Every once in a while you get to see properties on the market that even go much beyond the luxury real estate. Recently a mega mansion in Southern California by the name of The Bradbury Estate has come on the market for an asking price of $78,800,000. This incredible luxury estate is located in the semi-secret millionaire enclave of Bradbury,CA. With its heavy price tag it qualifies as one of the most expensive homes in America listed for sale. The luxury enclaves of Southern California like Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Brentwood are better known but Bradbury is also ranked as one of the Most Expensive Zip Codes in America by Forbes consistently. It is located in the Los Angeles County in the San Gabriel Valley region. The location is particularly scenic as it is situated in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains below Angeles National Forest. As is expected from an affluent city, the residen...

Sometimes the real estate market surprises with its incredible final selling price which was supposed to sell double the price. We can recollect here the penthouse on top floor of St Regis Hotel which was sold on for bargain price of $28 million, which was listed for seventy million dollars in 2008. According to sources, there is a billionaire’s row mansion which will set the record as the most expensive home in San Francisco. As there were no buyers for 3-storied French limestone town house, after several cuts in price is now on the market. The asking current price is $38,500,000. The expensive property was bought by Apollo Group‘s Peter Sperling in the year 2004 for $32,000,000. Mr. Peter Sperling renovated the unfinished original structure. The house for some personal reasons he put it on market for $65 million. But the house on a hill with asking price $65M was on the market without any offer for years. Peter Sperling of Apollo group was told if the mansion at 28...

Basketball superstar Michael Jordan’s estate in suburban Chicago along the Lake Michigan is on the market. The highest priced luxury mansion is listed for twenty nine million dollars in Highland Park, Ill., Chez Malkin of Real estate mavens Baird & Warner has listed the residence built between 1993 and 1995. The mansion designed to Jordan’s specifications which offer amenities, security, and privacy. M J estate comprises of tennis court, basket ball court and two hundred mature pine trees. The expansive property has living space of approximately fifty six thousand square feet which boasts nine bedrooms, fifteen bathrooms and four half bath. The privately gated estate in seven acres in the neighborhood of Highland Park offers elegant comfortable home. The stunning residence with its perfect finishes offers nine bedrooms, fifteen full bathrooms, four half bathrooms, and five fireplaces. The other features are a media centre, a guard-house, three garages with climate control system...

Teenage pop sensation, Justin Bieber, besides his own share of controversies befitting a celebrity, has now made headlines again and this time for all the right reasons. Portraying that the age of 18 is when wisdom begins to settle, Justin Bieber has now reportedly bought a luxury mansion in the highly prestigious Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. This bespoke loft is said to be a self-gifted present on the singer’s 18th birthday and will accommodate Bieber as well as his girlfriend Selena Gomez. The Hollywood Hills mansion is currently being occupied by Hollywood and television star, Ashton Kutcher, who has been paying an exorbitant sum of $50,000 a month as rent for the mansion. Bieber and his girlfriend are slated to move into the opulent mansion as soon as Mr. Kutcher moves out.   The luxurious Hollywood Hills mansion is sprawled across  9,400 square feet and will provide the couple with more than sufficient living space, which is inclusive of five bedrooms, along with...

How would you like to live like the Flintstones, but in high-end luxury? If yes, fly to Malibu, California as soon as you can. Hollywood actor and producer Dick Clark has put his stone age-like luxury Malibu home on the market. The one-of-a-kind home has many things going for it. Its Hollywood association and innovative architecture are points in its favor. The luxury Malibu home is regarded as one of the landmark properties in the city. This stunning home offers brilliant views of the Pacific Ocean, the Channel Islands, Boney Mountains and Serrano Valley. Built out of stone, this luxury Malibu home also offers views of stunning sunsets, and you are never too far away from the lights of the city. The property is listed at $3.5 million and covers 22.89 acres. The star attraction here is the main residence that houses a single bedrooms and two bathrooms. As you must have already guessed, this is no family home. The property’s website also describes it as a romantic Malibu retreat. The...

There seems to be no shortage of luxury real estate when there are prospective buyers who are willing to spend endless money to get their hands on the most luxurious of lofts. The same has now been proven yet again with the availability of the magnificent Coral Gables mansion, which comes with its very own observatory, complete with a telescope. This luxury mansion is currently up for sale with an asking price of a staggering $18 million. The entire estate covers an area of 1.94 acres and was developed by Coastal Construction, with designing done by the fabled Chris Fergis. The Coral Gables mansion will offer its new owners a slew of luxury amenities, while providing an enormous 15,080 square feet of living space. The opulent mansion features a grand living area, along a separate guest area that is comprised of two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Exuberating luxury from every corner of the house, the Coral Gables mansion comes with eight bedrooms and twelve bathrooms, along with a wat...

Greenwich Village is one of the most expensive localities in one of the most expensive cities in the world. That means sky high rent for luxury rentals. But $75,000 a month sounds more like a monthly rental for a home on the moon! But that does not deter Timothy Barry and Span Architects, who are building a townhouse in the Gold Coast Block in Greenwich Village for the above mentioned rent. Well, they are not completely insane for setting the rent so high, considering the residents of this area, such as billionaires Sergei Brin and Sean Parker. The architect has used an array of mediums such as glass, wood, stone and steel to create a fusion that breathes out modernity and sheer serenity. Some very unique ideas have been given shape here, including a glass paneled hallway, an incredible free-standing elevator to transport people to the five floors of this house, and a sky lit kitchen area fitted with some top notch appliances like the 8-burner Viking cooking range. Two floors have ...

The real estate holdings of late billionaire Teddy Forstmann have been hitting the property pages with great frequency since his death in November 2011. The Wall Street financier’s luxury home in the Hamptons has just hit the market. The price is expectedly high at $34 million. There has long been speculation over the sale of Forstmann’s holdings, and property watchers have long been looking out for an inside view of Forstmann’s estate. His luxury home in the Hamptons is everything that you would expect a billionaire’s home to be like. The home on Meadow Lane houses six bedrooms, and has, among other things, an ocean-side pool, a pair of hot tubs and a tennis court. The luxury home is spread over 8,600 square feet, spacious enough for a billionaire to entertain friends and family without it looking crowded, and without the danger of people stepping on each other’s feet. The main residence sits on an estate of nearly four acres. The retro-styled mansion is blessed with beautiful view...

Boutique condos are seeing a lot of interest these days. A clear proof of that is the Miami luxury condos, which were sold for $26 million! New York now has a great condo in the market. Andrew Madoff earlier this month listed his Lux74, luxury condo located in Manhattan’s posh Upper East Side for $4,490,000. He however, re-listed it a week later as a rental property, the price tag being a steep $25,000 per month. For those of you whose memory needs some refreshing about this name, Andrew Madoff is the son of Bernie Madoff who was imprisoned for 150 years in 2009 on various charges of fraud and money laundering. His Ponzi scheme is considered to be the biggest financial fraud in US history, with losses to clients adding upto billions of dollars. Infact in 2008, it was Andrew and his brother Mark who had informed the authorities about the fraud, upon being confessed about it by their father. Andrew had bought this property for $4,370,000 in October 2008, just two months before this wh...

We had recently reported about the decision taken by David Beckham to sell a collection of five luxury cars stationed at his home in UK. The former England captain has extended his stay in the US by signing a two year contract with an American club. We had also reported about the speculation being made by the experts in the industry that the Beckhams might decide to sell their Hertfordshire mansion, popularly known as Beckingham Palace. According to a report carried by The Sun, Kim Kardashian has shown an interest in the UK property owned by the British power couple. The story carried by the tabloid has quoted reliable sources in the real estate industry. According to the reports the US reality star has requested the estate agents in Los Angeles to arrange for viewings of the sprawling mansion. The mansion is built on a 17 acre estate. Victoria and David Beckham had purchased the mansion way back in 1999. The real estate prices which had peaked in 2006-07 had been hurt badly by the ...

Like any other gossip related to celebrities the celebrity real estate gossip is also as interesting and exciting. And when Madonna is in the picture the gossip also acquires grandeur. The gossip read like a title of an album: Madonna has an album to promote and an estate to unload. The Real Estalker now reports that it is not mere gossip but the pop star has actually listed her French Country-style mansion that sits down a long gated drive off a particularly swish stretch of Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills for $28 million.  It is not a regular listing but a pocket listing which means that the real estate agent has entered into a contract to sell the luxury estate but the property is not listed in the Multiple Listing Service and the listing is not advertised. The area is full of massive mansions and exuberantly landscaped estates. The property boasts of high falluting neighbors like Stewart and Lynda Resnick, star maker Simon Cowell, sitcom royal Max Mutchnick, an...

We like to believe that the real estate market has recovered because some Russian billionaire comes in to purchase an overpriced penthouse or estate. But the fact remains that there are many more multimillion dollar estates that are languishing on the real estate market and are unable to find buyers with deep pockets despite scaling down the asking price repeatedly.  The owners of these properties are forced to take the listing off if they can afford to wait or they go in for non distressed real estate auctions. But there are several cases where the owners are unable to pay their loan or opt for bankruptcy. They have to forfeit their home in a foreclosure or liquidate the property in a bankruptcy fire sale. A Newport Coast Mansion Once Valued at $87 Million A Newport Coast, Calif. Estate which was known as Villa del Lago is a case in point. It is an unfinished Italianate Villa which was once valued at $87 million. It is now set to go for bankruptcy auction on April 26. It was...

California is known for its pristine beachfronts and whether they are resorts or private homes they are all designed to optimize the advantage the beach front provides. If you are looking for your own beach retreat to get away from the concrete jungle existence in a metropolis then an opportunity exists if you have $17 million to spare.  The MariSol Malibu estate with private access the ocean and a modern set up endowed with luxury is on the market for an asking price of $17 million. Berry Berkus AIA, one of the most prestigious names amongst architects has built it in modern minimalistic design. The estate is situated in one of the most premium area of California. The 10,000 square feet private estate is located on the beachfront area in the city of Malibu. One of the most exclusive features of the estate is a private 4,000 sq ft area reserved for its private beach. Nature’s Paradise The location of the estate is such that it enjoys a 360 degree view of the ocean and...

 Azerbaijan to build world’s tallest building  Azerbaijan to build world’s tallest building  Azerbaijan Tower Azerbaijan to build world’s tallest building Azerbaijan is planning to build the world’s tallest building – taller than both the Burj Khalifa and the upcoming Kingdom Tower to be built in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Azerbaijan Tower, which is set to break ground in 2015, will  rise more than a kilometer in height, or 3,444 feet, upon its completion in 2018 or 2019. The Azerbaijan Tower is being built on a series of artificial islands, called the Khazar Islands, constructed in the Caspian Sea off Garadag, southwest of Baku. The tower is the centerpiece for a massive, $100 billion mixed-use master plan with housing, schools, retail and a Formula 1 racetrack. Developers plan to break ground on the tower in 2015, with construction is slated to finish by 2019. The entire Khazar Islands are expected to be finished by 2022.

Princess Grace Ave. Avenue Princesse Grace is the most expensive street in the world to buy property, where 91.740Euro($120,000)  will purchase just one square metre of prime real estate, according to a survey by Wealth Bulletin. Prime residential property on the top 10 most expensive streets in the world saw their overall value fall by 12% in the last year, the survey found, with European streets faring better than their US and emerging markets counterparts. That compares with price falls of between 20% to 30% in mainstream property prices in London and New York over the same period. Avenue Princesse Grace might have been the most expensive street on the list, but prices for prime property there have fallen from a staggeringly high 145.000Euro ($190,000) per sq/m a year ago. Via Suvretta in the Swiss ski resort of St Moritz was the only street on the list that saw prices rise for top properties in the last year. The street ranked sixth on the list, where property costs at least...