Tracy’s Top Luxury Home Pick June 26, 2009 – Alys Beach Beach Side Lots

June 26, 2009 By 2 Comments

We had great feedback after our first week of Top Luxury Picks. Every week I pick my favorite luxury home or property that meets my strict criteria to be worthy of making my Top Luxury List. It will either be an excellent buy or the best of the best or a rare gem that only few know about. This week I have selected Alys Beach’s Beach Front Lot Release. Alys Beach defines luxury Northwest Florida and oozes the ultimate luxury in everything they do. This is probably one of the easiest luxury picks I will have to make.

Alys Beach is a highly acclaimed New Urbanist community on Scenic 30A and has been recognized world wide for their environmentally focused building practices, unique architecture, and fortified building standards to withstand hurricanes. Recently a home in Alys Beach was awarded the “Best Outdoor Space” Award by Southern Living in their June 2009 Issue. Also, their Caliza Pool was featured in Southern Accents June edition as one of seven POSH Pools which included a prestigious list of the most dramatic swimming pools from South Beach to The Biltmore Hotel to the Four Season Resort! Alys Beach released their much anticipated beachfront lots, releasing approximately 17 lots and only 3 of the much sought after gulf front lots. One of Alys Beach’s gulf front lots has already sold and 5 of the other beachfront lots have already gone under contract. If you have been waiting to get in on this majestic community, now is the time to do it as there are still excellent opportunities to own property in this exciting new area of Alys Beach. Each and every lot has been carefully planned to offer awe inspiring views of the Gulf of Mexico. For more information you can view the Alys Beach Beach Front Master Plan below in addition to viewing all available lots in Alys Beach.

Click here to view the pdf of the Alys Beach – Beachfront Master Plan

Click here to view all available lots in Alys Beach

It is a true pleasure to live on 30A and be able to experience Alys Beach as part of our daily life. Our kids frequently play on Alys Beach’s playground and run on the vast open space of their amphitheater. Alys Beach’s  plan and vision for their gulf front and beach side area is inspiring and will be a benchmark for all things luxury along the gulf coast. We greatly enjoyed taking these pictures of Aly Beach. You can see their vision of the beach side lots coming to fruition and how amazing their gulf views are. Enjoy!

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Celebrity Real Estate News for June 26, 2009

June 25, 2009 By 1 Comment

Bill Gates Buys Historic Wyoming Ranch

Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, has reportedly purchased Irma Lake Lodge, a famous Wyoming ranch once owned by William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, who may have been one of the earliest successful entrepreneurs. After serving in the U.S. Army, Cody was hired to hunt bison and scout Indians and then he started his famous “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” show where Annie Oakley and Sitting Bull performed among other notable characters of the Old West.

Cody established Irma Lake Lodge as his own personal hunting retreat. It is a 492-acre property named after Cody’s youngest daughter, Irma, and is located about 20 miles outside of Cody, WY. The lodge is virtually secluded and surrounded by wilderness and forest lands since it sits next to Shoshone National Forest and nearby Washakie Wilderness. It is approximately 50 miles from Yellowstone National Park.

The final purchase price is unknown at this time, although it was originally listed at $12 million several years ago and has received several price cuts — coming all the way down to a listing price of $8.9 million before Gates bought the ranch.

Only two people have owned the ranch since Cody: the William R. Coe family, who purchased it from Cody in 1911 and owned it for 75 years, and then Minnesota’s Roger Hollander. And now, another famous Bill takes over.

Joan Rivers Selling Upper East Side Penthouse for $25 Million

Located in Manhattan’s Upper East Side “in one of the East Sixties grandest limestone mansions,” is entertainer Joan Rivers’ penthouse condo, which is listed for $25 million, according to Big Time Listings.  Although the condo address is not disclosed, Big Time says the property is located at 1 E. 62nd Street (off Fifth Avenue, in the Lenox Hill sub-neighborhood).

According to the Sotheby’s listing, the “…penthouse aerie (”nest”)” has a doorman (of course), is located steps from Central Park (naturally) and was designed by America’s greatest classical revivalist, Horace Trumbauer in the neo-French Classic style (magnifique!). The 42-foot wide mansion was built for Alice Troth Drexel in 1903. (Yes, those Drexel’s).

So, why is Joan selling?  According to the NY Times, she wants to move closer to her daughter, Melissa and grandson who live on the West Coast. Joan recently won the 2009 version of The Celebrity Apprentice, even beating out her daughter.

Was This Most Expensive Real Estate Sale in Dallas — Ever?

Down in the Big D where everything’s big, there was a big sale recently. Our friend Candy Evans at Dallas Dirt reported that an estate in Preston Hollow, located at 5323 Park Lane, Dallas, TX,  was just sold for the priciest Dallas real estate transaction in history — possibly for about $30 million.

Candy says it was originally listed for $45 million last year, but was recently lowered to just under $40 million and then her sources say it was sold for “$30 million-ish.” The buyer is Kelcey Warren,  Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Energy Transfer Partners, L. P. (ETP) and the seller is Larry Lacerte, founder and CEO of Exponent HR, a Web-based technology solution for human resource and payroll administration. Interestingly, Warren’s agent was Rosie Waters (of Allie Beth Allman and Associates), who is married to football legend Charlie Waters, who works for… Energy Transfer Partners!

If the Preston Hollow neighborhood sounds familiar, it’s where former President George W. Bush and Laura live after life at the White House.

Look at the aerial below and try to identify some of the unique outdoor amenities on this 9-acre estate:

  • racquetball court
  • exercise room and locker rooms adjacent to a near Olympic-sized natatorium
  • bowling alley
  • wine cellar with tasting room
  • an Orangery conservatory
  • Interlocking Koi ponds loaded with about a million dollars worth of Koi
  • tennis court
  • baseball diamond
  • private lake

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Celebrity Real Estate News for June 19, 2009

June 19, 2009 By 1 Comment

This week we have another great edition of Celebrity Real Estate News. Unfortunately, none of the top stories are in South Walton…but they are still great stories!

Lance Armstrong Drops Price on Texas Estate

By: Diane Tuman, Zillow Content Manager | June 15, 2009

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong recently used Twitter to announce the arrival of his fourth child, but nary a word about a price drop on his magnificent estate in Dripping Springs, TX. Armstrong’s 447-acre property at 560 Deadman’s Hole, Dripping Springs, TX 78620, was just recently reduced to $10.5 million — a $1.5 million price drop from its original $12 million asking price.

According to Statesman.com, Armstrong had the house built in 2003 and it has “…seven miles of hike-and-bike trails, Hill Country views and 1,886 feet of frontage on the Pedernales River, as well as ownership in Dead Man’s Hole, the famous natural swimming pool.” This is where Armstrong wrote “Every Second Counts,” his best-selling memoir about his battle with cancer, explaining that he would challenge himself by jumping from the ledges around Dead Man’s Hole.

The home contains 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, has an infinity-edge pool, fire pits, and is 4,241 square feet. Dripping Springs is located about 25 miles west of Austin, TX.

Armstrong is prepping for the Tour de France, which begins on July. 4. He is in excellent shape and we are excited to watch him race!

Stephen Baldwin Losing Home to Foreclosure

By: Diane Tuman, Zillow Content Manager | June 12, 2009

(Photo courtesy LoHud.com)

Actor Stephen Baldwin, one of the Long Island-raised Baldwin brothers who all went into acting careers, is losing his Old Mountain Road home in Nyack, NY to foreclosure. The Baldwin home will be auctioned off on June 24, according to LoHud.com.

According to public records, Baldwin and his wife, Kennya, paid $515,000 for the circa-1850 home in 1997. He then listed the property for $3.4 million in 2006, with the desire to find a bigger property so he could keep horses, but it did not sell.

LoHud reports that the Baldwins defaulted on paying $824,488.36 to mortgage holder Bankers Trust Co. and county filings show the Baldwins owe National City Bank money for a separate mortgage and may owe tens of thousands in unpaid state and federal taxes on the property.

Dan Marino Spices Up Sale With Some Perks

By: Diane Tuman, Zillow Content Manager | June 9, 2009

Dan Marino, the prolific quarterback of the Miami Dolphins from 1983-1999 who frustrated pursuing linebackers with his fast release and strong throwing arm, can’t seem to shake a different kind of problem: selling his home in Weston, FL. Frustrated by the lack of action, he is now sweetening the deal on his 4-acre, 15,000 sq ft home located at 3415 Stallion Lane, Weston, FL 33331 by throwing in $1.5 million worth of furniture and a signed football, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The sprawling Tuscan-style home is neatly tucked into the gate community of Windmill Ranch Estates, which is approximately 25 miles west of Fort Lauderdale. It has 10 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms to accommodate his family of eight, although three kids are in college and one is graduating high school, which means Dan and his wife will have a huge empty nest once all the kids have flown the coop.

The Marinos built the estate in 1998 and first listed it in 2006 for $15.9 million, then dropped the price to $14.5 million in 2007 and now it’s listed at $13.5 million. It looks like many celebrities are having a hard time unloading their properties as A-Rod and Britney can attest.

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Tracy’s Top Luxury Home Pick June 19, 2009 Best Luxury Sensibility 2009 Parade of Homes – Home in WaterColor

June 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Homes in WaterColor: Best Luxury Sensibility – 243 Pine Needle Way by Gulfview Construction

We have seen many luxury homes that aim to impress or are an architect’s vision of greatness and the design ends up not making any usable sense for the owner. This WaterColor home took all of the great features of luxury homes and packed it into a sensible and usable design. For example the walk through garage that goes right out the back to the pool, hot tub and outdoor fireplace. This home have 5 bedrooms and 5.5 baths. Antique Chicago brick walls, full marble baths, claw foot tubs, extensive wood details, white washed oak floors, expansive closets, a laundry chute and an open kitchen and large great room for entertaining. This is the ultimate WaterColor second luxury home built by Gulfview Construction.

This WaterColor home is for sale for $1,849,000 at time of writing this article. If you would like anymore information on this home please call us at 850-259-1788.

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Tracy’s Top Luxury Home Pick June 19, 2009 Best Architecture 2009 Parade of Homes – Luxury Home in WaterColor

June 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Homes in WaterColor: Best Architecture – 432 Pine Needle Way by Archiscapes

My Best Architecture choice has to go to a beautiful home in WaterColor at 432 Pine Needle Way designed by Chris Stoyles of Archiscapes. This is a 3,935sf home that has Chris’ signature trademarks throughout. The tower offers unparalleled views of WaterColor, Seaside and miles of Scenic Hwy 30A. There are massive amounts of porches, the kitchen with the pass through counter opening up to the main living area is amazing. There is an outdoor dining room that is screened in, built in bunks upstairs, a poker room…and the sand room with the cool potting carts was an excellent touch. Archiscapes really out did themselves on this home and that is why they made my Top Luxury Home pick for this week.

If you are interested in this luxury home in WaterColor or would like to preview other luxury homes in WaterColor. Please give Tracy Baranowski a call at 850.259.4270 or Craig Baranowski at 850.259.1788 or email  us info@teambaranowski.com.

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Tracy’s Top Luxury Home Pick June 19, 2009 Best Interior 2009 Parade of Homes – Homes in WaterSound

June 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

This week Craig and I had the opportunity to view some homes in the 2009 Parade of Homes for Walton and Okaloosa County. This is a great event to see the latest designs and building trends. All the builders worked very hard on these projects to get them ready in time and it is definitely a must see if you are in town or a local in the area. All of the homes are amazing and we focused on the homes in our South Walton Area primarily the WaterSound and WaterColor homes. Every year these are our favorite homes to view. It is a lot of work and the builders deserve a pat on the back for making it happen in such a difficult market. The number of homes in the parade was down this year…however they had 31 great homes to view from Crestview to Sandestin to WaterSound.

This week I am going to start the list with three homes in the Parade of Homes since they were all amazing and each unique enough to make my list.

Home in WaterSound: Best Interior – 12 Shorebridge Circle by Dune Construction


David Lillienthal with Dune Construction did a wonderful job of building the 3,021sf WaterSound home for a second home owner. The interiors were amazing and designed by Kelly Porter-Smith of Porter-Smith Design. This house was also a Parade of Homes Blue Ribbon Winner. This WaterSound home had walnut floors, hand distressed cypress beams and columns, extensive wood walls, custom iron railing, custom cabinetry and lots of natural stone and tile throughout. This WaterSound Luxury Home was my Top Pick for Best Interior.

If you are interested in this luxury home in WaterSound or would like to preview other luxury homes in WaterSound. Please give Tracy Baranowski a call at 850.259.4270 or Craig Baranowski at 850.259.1788 or email  us info@teambaranowski.com.

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Top 3 South Walton Luxury Transactions for May 2009

June 8, 2009 By 1 Comment

These are the Top 3 Luxury transactions for May 2009 as reported in the Emerald Coast Multiple Listing Service and featured in our Real Estate Round Up radio show on June 5 2009.

#3 –  Penthouse Condo in Seacrest a 10 unit all penthouse condo – Andante 4,300sf | 4Bed 4.5Baths – List $2.99mil sold for $2.15mil @ $500sf. 5 penthouse units are still available for purchase.

8268-east-county-hwy-30a-seacrest-fl-andante-condominium

#2 – Penthouse Condo in Destin – St. Thomas at Silver Shells 5,200sf | 4Bed 4.5Baths – List price $3.9mil sold for $3.38mil @ 650/sf. 4 Penthouse units currently available for purchase.

15400-emerald-coast-parkway-destin-fl-st-thomas-at-silver-shells-condominium

#1 – The Blue Mountain Beach Estate with 487 feet gulf front and 688 feet lake front on Big Redfish Lake. Originally listed for over $17mil and was listed for $12.7mil when sold. 8,354 square feet, 4Bed 3Bath and 3 ½ Baths. Sold for $7mil to Jim Barksdale former CEO of Netscape.

879-blue-mountain-road-estate-santa-rosa-beach-fl

If you are considering buying or selling a luxury beach home or condo, put the Team Baranowski advantage to work for you. If you have questions, our team is always available – 850.259.1788 or 850.259.4270.

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Top Luxury Markets Stay Strong Amid Distressed Real Estate Market

May 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Luxury home markets that continue to stay strong and see steady price gains are areas that have predominately not seen a large increase in new development over the past five years. Here is a quick glimpse of the top five luxury home markets based upon price gain from 2008 and published by Forbes.

The top price gainers for the luxury market are:
1. Mendham, NJ +11.7%
2. Menlo Park, CA +11.6%
3. Los Angelas, CA (West Hollywood) +7.1%
4. Chappaqua, NY +6.5%
5. Los Angeles, CA (Hollywood Hills) + 5.1%

One important factor that are influencing price increases is the lack of distressed home sales in their specific luxury market. Three of the top areas on this list were in California’s Menlo Park, West Hollywood and Hollywood Hills areas. These luxury homes have primarily been unaffected by California’s wave of foreclosures. California is the number one state that has been hit hardest with distressed properties in the nation. Average home prices are down over 40% in California. However, the pockets of luxury home communities have remained strong.

Luxury homes in South Walton which include the areas of South Walton East and South Santa Rosa Beach encompass the beach communities of Seaside, Blue Mountain Beach, WaterSound, WaterColor, Rosemary Beach and Grayton Beach have declined close to 18% on a price per square foot basis.

Jan 1st 2008 thru May 31st 2008
62 Homes sold over $700,000
$1,272,000 Median Sales Price
$536 per square foot
Jan 1st 2009 thru May 29th 2008
39 Homes sold over $700,000 [38% drop in sales volume]
$1,200,000 Median Sales Price
$440 per square foot

Although the numbers in South Walton are down for luxury homes, we are seeing pockets of communities remaining strong including sales in WaterColor. As we continue to sell available inventory we are seeing prices stabalize and anticipate increased sales volume through the summer of 2009.

If you are considering buying or selling a luxury beach home, put the Team Baranowski advantage to work for you. If you have questions, our team is always available – 850.259.1788 or 850.259.4270.

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