Anybody growing up in the ’50s and ’60s was captivated by Disney’s House of the Future. Now, Disney is unveiling a new house of the future with technology that controls lighting, music, images and heating based on the preferences of individual family members.

Like the original House of the Future the technology amazes but unlike the Disney house circa 1957 some of the electronics are already available. However, the house does give an indication of what’s ahead, something builders (and journalists) who attend the International Builders Show also preview at the Next Gen House, which features the newest technology.

Today, technology is an accepted feature of many luxury homes with lighting, entertainment, and temperature controlled using intuitive touch pads.  Also, with the advent of wireless controls and MESH networking, prices are coming down. Additionally, this technology makes it easy to retrofit existing homes. Presently, wireless is most effective for lighting and temperature control but it will eventually cover other systems in the home.  On the horizon, maybe even for this year, is in-house wireless HDTV.

—Camilla McLaughlin

There is a new name in the online real estate business —Overstock. The online closeout retailer has added real estate to its site with more than 2 million single family listings in all price brackets in a wide range of locations. A click on a listing brings more details on the property as well as information on the broker.
According to a report in Inman News, the online closeout retailer says this initial foray into real estate is powered by Vast, but they plan to add property data from multiple listings services and for sale by owner aggregators.

—Camilla McLaughlin

San Francisco, CA – July 29, 2008 – It’s all in the numbers, and based on recent sales statistics from BrokerMetrics, the Napa Valley offices of Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate are dominating the market share in the million-dollar-plus category of residential real estate for 2008. Pacific Union sales of single family residences is more than double that of other brokerages for the same time period in Napa County.

“I applaud the outstanding efforts of our entire team and am proud of Pacific Union’s dominance in the market this year,” said Heidi Rickerd-Rizzo, VP and branch manager of Pacific Union’s downtown Napa and St. Helena offices. “We have worked very hard to make this happen, and these numbers really show what we’ve done.”

Pacific Union enjoyed a 117% jump in Napa sales pended in June 2008 compared to those a year ago. With 116% more buyers than the closest competitor in the region, Pacific Union’s impressive results have literally made the market happen.

Pacific Union has a long and successful history in the Valley. The firm’s commitment to the community is reflected in its affiliation and support of Meadowood Resort, Napa Valley Grape Growers Assoc., The Napa Valley Land Trust, Napa Valley Opera House, The Boys and Girls Club and The Cameo Theater among others. Pacific Union sales professionals are among the best and most experienced in the business, and are ready to assist buyers and sellers realize their wine country dream, investment goals, or personal real estate objectives.

Joyce Rey, long regarded one of the country’s most respected and successful real estate professionals is being honored with the American Cancer Society’s “Spirit of Life” award. Rey is being honored along with Nancy Daly-Riordan, the wife of former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan.

Rey, who sold the first $1M residential property on the Westside is the Executive Director of Rodeo Realty, a division of Coldwell Banker PREVIEWS International.  Rey, who currently represents the highest priced residential listing by any Coldwell Banker agent worldwide was named real estate professional of the year in 2006 by Unique Homes as well as one of the thirty-five most influential people in luxury real estate!

The event, scheduled for Sunday, August 10th is a gourmet garden party hosted by Wolfgang Puck, Sherry Lansing and Barbara Lazaroff. The Master of Ceremonies is Jim Moret and auctioneer Andrea Fiuczynski of Christie’s for an evening of fine food, auction, wine and sounds of jazz.

An Austrian celebrity, Wolfgang Puck is a chef, retauranteur and the owner of the world famous SPAGO. The former CEO of Paramount Pictures, Sherry Lansing was named one of the thirty most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal in 2001. A restauranteur and interior designer, ASID member Barbara Lazaroff is the designer of SPAGO, EUREKA and GRANITA.

To bid online, please visit www.calspiritauction.cmarket.com.

For more information on the event, please contact the American Cancer Society at (310) 348-0356, or visit the American Cancer Society online at www.calspirit.org.

Islands seem to be everywhere! And I have to confess since writing Unique Homes feature on buying an island for the May issue I’ve been secretly indulging in some virtual island shopping of my own. I’d always thought of islands as mainly related to coastal or exotic regions but some of the nicest can be found in land locked locales. Still, I was surprised to learn that Sotheby’s is offering a private island in Montana of all places. Not only isn’t Montana the first place that pops into one’s mind at the mention of islands but assimilating the notion of a private island and a lodge style home together takes a moment or two. Then, the vision of such an unlikely pair captivates. Ten acres on Whitefish Lake with incredible views and over 2,600 feet of waterfront combined with a log home with a dramatic two-story great room, river rock fireplace, and two guest suites has great appeal. Check it out here. Thanks to Cheyenne Morrison, former owner of Coldwell Banker Morrison’s Private islands, for bringing it to my attention. Cheyenne’s blog keeps me up to date on island trivia.

post by Camilla McLaughlin

MELROSE, MT— Producers for the DIY (Do It Yourself) Network have chosen Locati Architects (Bozeman, MT) to design The Ultimate Sportsman’s Lodge at Meriwether Ranch.  Locati Architects is one of the West’s premier architectural firms and is known throughout the United States for its numerous showpiece homes and lodges.  Among many other awards, the firm has been honored with “The Best in American Living Awards” for two years (2006 and 2007) as well as The Home of the Year by Mountain Living Magazine (2006).

The building process will be featured in DIY’s new series called the “Ultimate Sportsman’s Lodge.”  Each room in the 5,200 sq. ft. one-of-a-kind Lodge will focus on a “Sportsman’s Fantasy.”  Locati has included a Liar’s bar, a top-of-the-food-chain trophy and gun room, “Eat-Like-a-Wild-Man Kitchen, Labrador Lounge and Angler’s Landing Covered Deck and Fire Pit.

“Everything about our series celebrates Montana,” said Chris Dorsey, president of Denver-based Orion Multimedia, the production company behind the show.  “We have the perfect combination: a pristine location in the middle of the Wise-River- to-Glen section of the Big Hole River, considered the stream’s prime reach for fly-fishing and Jerry Locati, a native Montanan who knows how to design the experience, as well as the ‘sticks and bricks.’”  Jerry Locati, A.I.A. says “Meriwether Ranch is an idyllic setting for The Lodge.  The tone of our design is inspired by the privacy, solitude, and magnificent outdoor lifestyle embodied by Meriwether Ranch.”

According to Dave Ellingson, outdoor enthusiast and conservationist who, with his wife Emilie, has made the dream project become reality, “less than ten per cent of the Ranch’s 724 deeded acres will be impacted by the development of new home sites and other building. The remaining acres will be protected from further development by the establishment of a conservation easement.”

Groundbreaking for the Lodge is slated to commence in August with a ten month build out schedule. DIY’s ‘Ultimate Sportsman’s Lodge’ will begin airing in July of 2009 and will continue airing throughout 2010. DIY Network is part of the Scripps family of networks that includes HGTV, Food, Fine Living, and Great American Country, and is one of America’s fastest growing networks.

For more information visit www.meriwetherranch.com, www.locatiarchitects.com.

July 15, 2008, (PORT ST. JOE, Fla., and BIRMINGHAM, Ala.) – MyHomeIdeas.com, a new home and garden portal from SPC Digital, the digital arm of Time Inc.’s lifestyle subsidiary Southern Progress Corporation, will give away a luxurious Idea House in a sweepstakes that will run from August 1 to September 30, 2008. Individuals can enter once per day for a chance to win the prize package worth $1 million. The winning entry will be announced mid-October, and the lucky sweepstakes winner will receive a coastal home located in WindMark Beach, developed by The St. Joe Company in the Northwest Florida town of Port St. Joe. For a chance to win and for complete contest rules, go to: myhomeideas.com/myhome/homegiveaway.

The Idea House Giveaway is a cross-platform program with online, print and on-location components. MyHomeIdeas.com introduced a new channel on the Web site called “Home Giveaway,” which showcases ongoing original content and updates on the project. Online features on the WindMark Beach Idea Home will include floor plans, before and after images, interviews, footage with the architect and designer, a virtual 360-degree tour, extensive photo galleries detailing unique design elements, color and more. Interactive elements will include a blog where visitors can post feedback.

Promotional advertising for the sweepstakes is appearing in the July, August and September issues of select Southern Progress and Time Inc. magazines and will run in Web sites across Time Warner properties.

The aptly named Idea House will serve as a public showcase for innovative lifestyle and design ideas. Visitors to MyHomeIdeas.com will find hundreds of practical take-away decorating techniques from the home that can be easily applied to anyone’s living space, no matter what your style or square-footage.

“Southern Progress Corporation is proud of our nearly two decade legacy of working with the nation’s leading developers, architects, designers and builders to produce Idea Houses that inspire, motivate and encourage people to create homes that reflect their individual style,” said Jim Sexton, senior vice president and editorial director of SPC Digital. “We’re thrilled that this first home giveaway occurs at WindMark Beach, a community created by St. Joe, with whom we have a strong relationship, to take this concept to the Web in a bold new way.”

The home is located in WindMark Beach, in Port St. Joe, FL., approximately 40 miles east of Panama City and 20 miles west of Apalachicola. It is a 2,020-acre waterfront community that embraces the essence of coastal living and reflects the local Southern style of Northwest Florida. Resting on four miles of beach, WindMark Beach represents a return to a lifestyle that is tied to the water and surrounding community.

“The WindMark Beach community is beautifully situated on one of the last, great undiscovered beaches in Florida,” said Jerry M. Ray, JOE’s SVP for Strategic Alliances. “It is a remarkably special place that captures the spirit of ‘Old Florida’ – relaxed, and resting lightly on the land. The lucky winner of this house will become part of something truly special. We have collaborated with Southern Progress on the creation of a dozen Idea Homes and Show Homes, and we are very pleased that SPC Digital has chosen WindMark Beach for this exciting promotion.”

More information about WindMark Beach can be found at windmarkbeach.com.

The architects on the project are Cooper, Robertson, & Partners of New York and the interior designer of the home is E. Dale Trice of Design Services of Florida in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.

Chicago’s North Shore began as a place to escape from the city’s heat during the 19th century and has since developed into one of the best places to live in the U.S. due to the thriving sense of community, excellent school systems, availability of luxury housing stock, and proximity to Lake Michigan and Chicago.

Stretching along the lakefront from Evanston to Lake Bluff, the area is relatively small with a population of approximately 181,000 and total housing of only 75,000 units. Winnetka’s population is only 12,400 with 4,300 single-family homes. In any given year, turnover of housing is usually less than 5 percent.

Average values in most of the lakefront communities exceed $1 million with luxury property starting around $1.5 million. These values are not unexpected in communities where more than 85 percent are college-educated and the median income exceeds $200,000.

Our market has not experienced the run-up of prices that other states have seen and thus the market, while challenging, has continued to be a solid investment. Over the short term, our markets are experiencing declines in average values from where they stood two years ago, however, long-term housing values have shown steady growth and provide positive returns.

—Steve Hudson, The Hudson Company

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Just over the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco is Marin County, famous for its natural beauty and progressive sensibilities. One of the most affluent counties in America, Marin is much more than a collection of high-end bedroom communities. Its residents are influential, from Wall Street to Hollywood to Capitol Hill.

Most of Marin County consists of protected open space and its coastal communities (e.g. Sausalito, Tiburon, Stinson Beach) are favored by bohemian multi-millionaires who prefer flip-flop sandals and shorts over Armani suits. Throughout the county, instead of Rolls Royces, kayak-topped Priuses are parked inside gated estates while muddy mountain bikes and greasy Rollerblades sit by the front doors. Mega-mansions are rare in Marin County, but a 6,000-square-foot water-view home easily could command more than $10 million.

The  “Marinites,” as we call ourselves, include Fortune 500 CEOs, young high-tech entrepreneurs, a vibrant creative community (e.g. Carlos Santana, Robin Williams, George Lucas), and plenty of trust funders. It’s an eclectic population united by an interest in healthy living, an environmental consciousness and appreciation of natural beauty.

Although Marin County is literally minutes from the center of San Francisco, it feels a world away. Billboards are banned, traffic is light, and strip malls are discouraged in favor of the charming downtown business districts of communities such as Larkspur, San Anselmo, Fairfax, Tiburon, and Mill Valley.

—Melissa Bradley, Bradley Real Estate

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In my 30-plus years in the Las Vegas real estate market, I’ve seen my share of housing trends as the city continued to transform itself. Now that it’s a metropolitan area of more than
2 million people, the dynamics have changed again. Some people are surprised to hear that the past year set a record for the number of sales over $10 million in Las Vegas. Five years ago, such properties were almost nonexistent, but today there is tremendous demand for them.

High rollers can still find multi-million dollar penthouses, but not every luxury buyer wants to live in a high-rise on the Strip. Clients moving from Southern California are more interested in replicating their low-density, high-end lifestyle. As a result, guard-gated communities with large lots on world-class golf courses are the hottest current trend. These developments, offering an array of high-end amenities, are not your typical subdivisions. At Southern Highlands, where raw 1-acre lots command $1.5 million, it costs approximately $225,000 to join the exclusive golf club and residents include billionaire casino owners.

Home prices at the Promontory phase at The Ridges of Summerlin shattered a Las Vegas record at more than $1,000 per square foot, while houses in communities such as Queensridge and MacDonald Highlands regularly exceed $10 million.

—Jerry Masini, Award Realty

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