Luxury Clues

UniqueGlobalEstates.com Launches New Luxury Magazine

Our good friend Donna Lee Laue, CEO and founder of UniqueGlobalEstates.com, has just launched a new on-line luxury magazine. There is a wealth of good information if you work the luxury market. Be sure to read Malcolm Kaufman's columns on the Pulse of the San Francisco Market as well as the updates about their luxury ambassadors. Malcolm's Pulse is an outstanding example of what CEOs expect when they have a conversation with an agent about market conditions. For those of you who work downtown condo projects anywhere in the country, use the Pulse as a model for what you can create to serve clients in your area.

If you're not familiar with Donna's site, you can list any of your current listings on the site that are priced at $1 million or more. There is no charge and there is no fee attached to the leads that you receive. This is a must-have for every luxury listing.

If you are one of the top 5-10 ten luxury agents in your area, Donna still has positions open for the UGE Luxury Ambassadors. There are special criteria you must to join this elite group. If you meet them, you will be eligible to receive referrals for the "discreetly" marketed properties. These are the ultra high end listings that never are placed on the Multiple Listing Service. If you're interested, contact Donna through the information provided on the site.

Thanks Donna for giving us another great luxury agent resource!

Posted by Bernice Ross, www.ListenandLearnRealEstate.com, your #1 source for the best real estate sales training on audio CD training available 24-7. If you're ready to make more money in your real estate sales business, visit www.RealEstateCoach.com to learn how.

$1,000,000 for 611 Square Feet? Million Dollar Starter Homes

Forbes.com has two really terrific articles this week. The first one is a pictorial of $1,00,000 starter homes. It's worth scrolling through to see the differences in the housing.

In Manhattan, you can buy 611 square foot condo for $1,000,000. In fact, if you want a real eye opener, visit some of the virtual tours of Manhattan properties. Texas seemed to provide the most square footage for the money. Whether it's Austin, Dallas, or Houston, $1,000,000 can buy you 5,000 square feet in a good area. Often times, that's new construction with all the bells and whistles.

Even though prices are down in California, the prime areas are still holding the line on pricing. You may be able to find a 50 to 100 year house in Pasadena, Hollywood, or the Westside for $1,000,000, but it won't be a prime area. In fact, 1500 square foot condos in the better parts of town were still hovering around the $1,000,000 mark. The Bay area is still going strong. San Francisco has such a limited amount of space that it's now being considered a "super city" where the prices are independent of the land and improvements.

Speaking of super cities, the other article that's worth taking a look at is the cost of renting in other places in the world. Forbes.com points out that a two bedroom, unfurnished apartment in Hong Kong runs $6,398 per month. What was particularly surprising was the cost of renting the same unit in Moscow--$4,000 per month, especially as compared to Tokyo which goes for $4,102. If you have ever been to Moscow, it's hard to believe that anything is that expensive. When we were there, we were told that the wait to rent a personal apartment was up to 20 years. Everyone lives pretty much in a rooming house or dormitory situation. Of course, the Russian economy is awash in money from its oil business, so it's not surprising the prime properties are going for premium prices. The decline of the dollar against the ruble also makes purchasing much more expensive.

Posted by Bernice Ross

Photo by Midweek Post

It pays to be seen in the right places

Last year I spoke at the Luxury Conclave and am pleased to be on the agenda for this year’s conference as well. This year’s Conclave is being held January 16th- 18th, 2008 at The Phoenician Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, AZ.

The Luxury Conclave is the premier event in the luxury industry. The most elite luxury Realtors® and marketers in the world gather once a year for this event. Attendance to this highly regarded event is by invitation only ensuring that the caliber of the attendees is nothing short of the upper echelon. Returning hosts Unique Global Estates, Unique Homes, and The Wall Street Journal are welcoming a new host for this year’s event with the addition of CKG International. Together this powerful group of hosts have been planning an event that is quite simply unmatched anywhere!

This year’s event will include a speaker line up that is unparalleled featuring, keynote Laura Ries author of The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, Anne Randolph publisher of LORE, Steve Noble CEO of Nobelinks. Several Luxury Agents will also be speaking at the event including, Jo Ellen Nash, Valerie Fitzgerald, Sandra Baldwin, Maggi Thornhill, Sandra Wilken, and Florence Shapiro.

Don’t forget your business cards! You will be provided numerous networking options through out the event. Millions of dollars in referrals happen at this event each year.

There are approximately 30 tickets left, so if you’re interested please follow up by emailing me at [email protected] for an invitation and preferred pricing.

The last Conclave was amazing. I hope that you can join us in Scottsdale on January 17th.  This is the one luxury real estate event that is a “MUST attend.”

Posted by Bernice Ross

LuxuryClues Goes to Bermuda

Last week I was blessed with the opportunity to speak in Bermuda for our friends at Coldwell Banker. It was a magnificent trip (even though it took 36 hours to get there do to traffic and airline overbooking issues.)

Bermuda is absolutely charming. The properties are painted in a wide variety of pastel colors. What was surprising was that every roof, with the exception of one red roof, was painted white. Bermudians are extremely careful about conserving water, even though they have received over 50 inches of rain this year. The roofing systems are composed of white limestone. Each house has its own water collection system to capture the rain for household use. The contrast between the pastels and   white roofs was quite spectacular.

What I did find to be disconcerting was the narrow roads combined with the right hand drive cars. When I was in England, driving on the opposite side of the road didn't bother me. However, there's a reason there are no rental cars in Bermuda. Your brain is so trained to look the wrong way that the number of car accidents would be terrible.

One of the other surprises about Bermuda is that only about 5 percent of the property can be purchased by non-Bermudians. These properties are usually in the $5 million and up range, provided there are any available at all. Entry prices for Bermudians are in the $700,000 to $800,000 range. While the food and drinks were comparable to what we pay in the States, other items are much more expensive. For example, a tube of toothpaste was $11.00. Bermudians find it cheaper to buy a plane ticket and shop in the States and bring their goods back in. They also take great pride in how they have been able to figure out how to legally take back as much as possible and not have to pay duty.

We  stayed at the Fairmont Princess in Hamilton. This magnificent hotel has all the traditional charm and elegance of the luxury hotels in Great Britain combined with exceptional service. The yacht in the picture is an elegant 100 footer.

The good news about going to Bermuda in late November is that the legendary flying roaches and the nasty mosquitoes were no where to be found. We did hear the tree frogs singing in most of the places that we went. The temperatures were in the 60's and 70's, so it was quite a treat, even though we did have some rain. We also enjoyed the traditional rum drinks as well as some real Bermuda onion soup. Since Bermuda doesn't export its onions, the only place to have the "real thing" is on the island.

Posted by Bernice Ross

Photos by Byron Van Arsdale

Fur Coats and Vodka in Vegas

Wow--what a week. One of the highlights for me at NAR last week was joining fellow speaker Jerry Rossi and his wife, "The Bishop" for drinks at the Russian Restaurant at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Butch Grimes, a hot new technology speaker, also joined 15 other attendees at the ice bar inside the Vodka vault.

It's quite the experience. Rossi sprang for two bottles of Chopin vodka (this is very, very smooth). Before entering the vault, you wrap yourself in a mink coat, and in Rossi's case, a warm Russian hat. The photos show Rossi making a rather colorful toast to his guests. The next time you're in Vegas, if you want a memorable place to have a drink, this is it.

Posted by Bernice Ross

Byron & Five Really Awesome Women in a Limo

Donna Lee Laue of UniqueGlobalEstates.com sure knows how to throw a party. Over 100 of the top luxury agents in the world gathered at Donna's gorgeous home for her annual "Soiree." The food, the wine, the company--all were spectacular. So was the breath-taking view of the bay from the top floors of her four story home. Donna's lovely home with its gorgeous terraced garden is one of the most beautiful gems in San Francisco. Donna has a strong commitment to charity and allows her home to be used for raising money for the charities she supports.

Since Donna lives on a very steep hill with very limited parking, we took a cab to the Soiree. At the end of the evening, Donna had hired a limo to take her guests back to their respective hotels. Together with Byron and me were four of the Really Awesome who attended our conference last March. I'm sitting between Frances Flynn Thorsen, Managing Editor of RealTown and Jennifer Cummings (luxury marketing guru extraordinaire). Byron is seated with Darlene Lyons (Broker Agent Speaker's Bureau and EZ Events) and fellow coach and blogger, JoeAnn Fossland. Needless to say it was a fun evening and a fun ride!

Posted by Bernice Ross

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Every time I visit San Francisco in July and August, it's always amazingly cold. Apparently, the cold weather is caused by the warm temperatures inland. There is a small gap in the mountains surrounding the City and the cool ocean air is drawn towards the warm inland air. This creates the fog, drizzle, high winds, and cool temperatures. It was wonderful to be walking around in a sweater with a jacket in August, especially considering the 100+ temperatures we were having in Austin.

San Francisco, especially Union Square, has certainly improved over the last number of years. I remember visiting during the mid 1980s and the homeless and prostitutes were everywhere. It was not safe to walk in many places at night. Today, that's all different.

One of the most remarkable changes is the revival of the Union Square area. All the major luxury brands are located within steps of Union Square. One of my favorite discoveries was the three hearts that rest on three corners of the Square. Our friend Malcolm Kaufman of McGuire Realty, filled us in on the history of the three hearts.

There were 120 hearts manufactured and then decorated by local artists. They were sold for $20,000 each to raise money for charity. Most have found their way into private residences or stores. The three in Union Square are whimsical and fun--just another reason to lose your heart in San Francisco. (Click on the images to enlarge.)

Posted by Bernice Ross, Photos by Byron Van Arsdale 

Meet Me at the Dam

Yesterday, Frances Flynn Thorsen, the Managing Editor of RealTown, and her husband Ralph, joined us for a guided tour here in Austin. Fran and Ralph are moving to sunny Tucson from Bethlehem Pennsylvania. The picture to the left shows the four open flood gates at Mansfield Dam on Lake Travis in Austin, TX. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, Austin has several "constant level" lakes, including Lake Austin and Town Lake. To keep these lakes at a constant level and to avoid flooding, they allow Lakes such as Travis or Buchannan to fluctuate. Currently Lake Travis is 20 feet over the full mark. Hence the open flood gates. This is a rare site.

Also, check out Fran's blogs at The RealtyGram blog and The Fat Lady Blog to see Fran's pictures from the Care Web Giving Circle trip to Peru. The hats Fran and Ralph are wearing are the traditional sun hats worn in Peru.

Posted by Bernice Ross, www.RealEstateCoach.com

A Lesson about Luxury Real Estate Service from San Francisco's Top Blues Spot

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting with Gale Frandsen, Prudential Utah Real Estate in San Francisco where he was being honored for his outstanding performance. We had a lovely lunch and discussed the value of service in the luxury real estate industry as compared to other industries. Clearly excellent care is both expected and appreciated, especially in the upper tier.

Shortly after my conversation with Gale, I had the opportunity to visit “Biscuit and Blues”, a blues night club in San Francisco. We were seated in the press section, and I had the pleasure of meeting Dorothy Hill, a music journalist. We began a conversation and I was amazed to discover that this small nightclub is rated #1 for “The Blues” on the entire West Coast. We discussed the “why” and, I was impressed to hear that it is about the excellent service they deliver to both the locals, the talent and to tourists. This “care” brings in the best groups….and return visitors.

I loved the wonderful service that night, loved an introduction to Zydeco Blues…and am more convinced than ever that…personal service will make all business grow….and….it can’t be outsourced!

Posted by Donna Lee Laue, www.UniqueGlobalEstates.com

Vail Village Gets a $3000+ per square foot Face Lift

I just had a very interesting conversation with Dave Cole, Prudential Colorado Properties, regarding the incredible renaissance of two of the world’s most popular ski destinations. He shared that over $1 billion dollars, from both the private and public sector, has been raised to transform Vail Village and Lionshead’s dated, but charming village town homes and condos, into world class structures. The replacement construction is topping out at$3,000. per square foot and, according to Dave, is “absolutely dazzling!" It will be very interesting to see what happens with a billion dollar infusion… to track the demand for the area… and of course the appreciation of the properties going forward

Donna Lee Laue, www.UniqueGlobalEstates.com