Property of the Week: Modern Villa in Mallorca

With spring break just around the corner, we’ve been dreaming of our ideal getaway. This contemporary villa in Spain tops the list. In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if you booked a one-way ticket—and never looked back.

Situated near the shops, marina, and restaurants in Mallorca’s tony Puerto Portals, this architect-designed home offers two floors of spacious living areas. The ground floor includes four bedrooms and three bathrooms, as well as a studio/library. The first floor features a Bulthaup kitchen and generous indoor-outdoor living spaces with sweeping views of the Mediterranean. Details and finishes were all thoughtfully sourced, from Italian lighting to a Jacuzzi with a self-cleaning, saltwater electrolysis system.

Costa D’En Blanes is listed by Maria Vega and is on the market for $4,736,771.

Find more details about this property on Househappy.org.

Property of the Week: $65M Rocky Mountain Dream Home

Have you ever dreamed of having your own hiking trails, a private beach, waterfalls flowing into your three majestic ponds, and panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains? Well, all you’ll need is to scrape together $65,000,000 and this 18,000 square foot Colorado craftsman could be yours!

Four Peaks Ranch sits on 876 acres with views of Mt. Sopris, Mt. Daly, Capital Peak, and Snowmass. The home itself includes 7 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a glass elevator, a wine room, and a even a furnished teepee. The incredible property also features 2 fireplaces, 4 fire pits, 2 full kitchens, and a brick pizza oven.

1000 Watson Divide Road, Snowmass, Colorado is listed with Hansi Brenninger of Joshua & Co.

This property post can be found in its original form on Househappy.org or view complete gallery below:

Luxury Homes in Little Packages

Bigger does not always mean better in todays luxury home market as many high-end homeowners are skimping on size to make room for expensive amenities.

In the past, the luxury real estate has been defined by the size of homes, but today many are scaling down on the size. Real estate brokers say more and more clients are shaving off square footage to give priority to sustainability and smart design––including solar power and becoming LEED platinum certified.

For example, last year mortgage banker Heidi Brunet built a 2,085 square foot home in Dallas with extra additives like soy-based, energy-efficient insulation, stained concrete floors, and $48,000 LED lighting system.

Instead of splurging on space in the house, she chose to have a large yard with a 1,000 square foot deck, and a pool because she spends most of her time outside. To Brunet she “wanted the house to be everything I needed it to be and nothing more”.

Architects design  size-conscious homes by removing unnecessary space like formal living rooms, dining rooms, and large hallways. Some regions are also attempting to regulate home size with new ordinances; For example, city planners in Austin, Texas created the 2006 “McMansion ordinance’” which limits floor area to 40% of a lot size. Also, in 2010, Marin County, California required any plans to double homes size more than 3,000 square feet to undergo a design review.

The lesson? A home can still be a dream home no matter the size.

This article can be found in its original form on WSJ.

Photo: Wall Street Journal

Sales of Multi-Million Dollar Homes in California Reach Record High

As home values began to rebound following the foreclosure crisis, the number of multi-million dollar homes in California climbed to a record high last year. According to reports from DataQuick, there was a 47% increase (4,500) in properties sold for $2-3 million, a 31% increase in homes sold for $3-4 million, and a 29% increase in homes sold for $4-5 million.

The majority of luxury home sales occurred in 25 cities along the California coast including Manhattan Beach, La Jolla, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, and Los Gatos. California’s most expensive sale last year was an 8 bedroom, 14 bathroom beachfront mansion in Malibu for $74.5 million.

The luxury-home market “responds to its own set of economic factors,” said John Walsh, President of DataQuick. Rather than traditional factors, things like initial public offerings, stock-market performance, and investment decisions can play a greater role.

Check out some of our favorite luxury homes for sale in California (below), or visit Househappy.org to view more properties.

$30,000,000, San Fransisco, CA

$9,350,000, Malibu, CA

$8,393,000, Newport Beach, CA

$5,600,000, Manhattan Beach, CA

$3,995,000, Los Angeles, CA

$3,595,000, Laguna Beach, CA

$2,995,000, Hidden Hills, CA

$2,949,000, Calabasas, CA

$2,195,000, Los Angeles, CA

This article can be found in its original form on Bloomberg.

Images: Househappy.org

Sundance Film Festival Boosts Real Estate Market in Park City

Every January, Park City, Utah draws in tens of thousands of movie fans to attend the annual Sundance Film Festival. This influx of nonresidents creates a huge opportunity for real estate agents to up their game and attract potential buyers.

Park City is the lesser-known Hollywood ski town when compared to Aspen, Colorado; however, many celebrities choose Park City because they can keep a low profile there. Celebrities from Michael Jordan to Katherin Heigl own homes in this ski town.

While many locals see the Sundance Film Festival as two weeks of crowded restaurants and paparazzi, real estate agents see the festival as a boost in business. They find ways to turn the thousands of nonresidents who visit into potential buyers––especially those who are looking for an escape from Hollywood.

“I love Sundance. I have sold so many homes through Sundance. At least one person will fall in love with Park City. They may not buy that week but they come back,” says Paul Benson, an agent at Summit Sotheby’s International Realty, who sold three homes for a total of $27 million last year to people exposed to Park City through Sundance. Mr. Benson says the potential buyers aren’t just in the entertainment industry, they are also the investors and the corporate sponsors. He hosts dinners and events to get to know them.

According to a study by the University of Utah Bureau of Economic and Business Research, of the more than 30,000 nonresidents who attended Sundance last year, some 40% said they would return to Utah during the following year.

As far as the real estate market in the Park City area goes, nearly 70% of homes are second homes. The average price for a single-family home in 2013 was $929,000 up about 6% from the previous year, according to the city’s department of economic development. Last year, 34 homes sold for over $4 million and the number of building permits for new homes was up 50%.

In the end, wining and dining festival attendees seems to pay off for real estate agents.

Source: WSJ

Photo: World Ski

Property of the Week: Secluded Lakefront Craftsman in New York

Do you love to fish? Or do you simply dream of living in peaceful seclusion, surrounded by trees and water? Then you might love this Forestburgh, New York property as much as we do.

This 6 bedroom, 5 bathroom craftsman sits on 10 acres of wooded, lakefront property within the Turner Brook Preserve. Just two hours outside of New York City, the 5,938 square foot home has been updated and modernized throughout and includes two master suites, plenty of open living space, and lots of windows to enjoy the natural surroundings. The home, located on a peninsular of Gillman Pond, also has a private dock and outdoor patio overlooking the water.

4 Philwold Rd., Forestburgh, New York is listed by Vanessa Saunders of Global Property Systems Real Estate and is on the market for $1,775,000.

This property post can be found in its original form on Househappy.org or view complete gallery below:

Property of the Week: Snowy Aspen Getaway

Looking for a snowy, winter getaway? We may have found the perfect home for you.

This 6 bedroom, 6 bathroom home in Aspen, Colorado provides stunning views of Independence Pass with the convenience of being only a few miles from downtown. The 8,196 square foot home includes a great room with soaring ceilings, a formal dining room, chef’s kitchen, 1,000 bottle wine room, home theater, elevator, 8 fireplaces, and patios to enjoy the surrounding views.

185 Popcorn Lane is listed by Laura Maggos and is on the market for $8,450,000.

This property post can be found in its original form by clicking here, or view complete gallery below:

Homeowner Trends: Pet-Friendly Luxury Design

For some homeowners, the most important family members are their pets. Today, pet-ownership is at an all-time high due in part to many Americans delaying getting married and having children.

In the U.S., 68% of households included at least one pet in 2012, up from 62% in 2010 according to American Pet Products Association. Spending is also hitting highs with $53.33 billion spent on pets in 2012, up from $41.2 billion five years prior.

As a result homeowners are turning to architects, builders and interior designers to help them add special spaces and rooms for their pets. This includes everything from dog spas and grooming centers to pet-size furniture. Many of these design-conscious pet-owners want to integrate their pet spaces and items to flow with the design aesthetics of the house. Thus pet built-ins and cabinetry that blend with the rest of the home are being widely adopted.

Designer Melanie Charlton is working on an eating and dressing station for a client with two small dogs. There will be a room to hold the dogs’ coats and leashes, and offer a changing-table-height surface for dressing them. Charlton adds that, “Over the past five years we’ve really seen a jump in the level of cabinetry in certain rooms that the dogs live in”.

Condominium and apartment developers are also adding amenities for pets when constructing new buildings. A condo complex under construction in Coconut Grove, Florida, that is across the street from a 12-acre park found out through focus groups that many prospective buyers are pet-owners. As a result they dedicated a section of the building to include a dog spa with a shower and a separate platform for pet grooming.

A challenge that pet-owners face can be whether or no the pet will like the space they had custom built for it. Homeowner Beth Wright, didn’t want to clutter her newly remodeled house with a bulky dog crate, so she designed a cabinet/alcove for her dog. She even took the dog shopping with her to help pick out the cabinetry. In case the dog rejected the space, she thought it could be used as a storage area, but luckily the dog ended up loving it.

In the end, to many, accommodating space in their house for pets is not much different than designing a house with kids in mind.

Source: WSJ

Photo: GJW Titmuss 

Property of the Week: Loft-Style Home in Los Angeles

This Los Angeles is perfect for someone looking for the feel of downtown living in a single family home. The two bedroom, two bathroom residence has 2,137 square feet of open space with polished concrete floors and steel trusses to give it an industrial, loft-like feel. The home also features art lighting, skylights, a great room with fireplace, walk-in closets, a master bedroom, and integrated speaker system. Two-story glass doors open to the outdoor-living area with a solar heated pool, spa, and entertaining area.

655 San Juan Avenue is listed with Sparks Landon of Abbot Kinney Real Estate and is on the market for $3,200,000.

This property post can be found in its original form by clicking here, or view complete gallery below. 

Property of the Week: Indoor/Outdoor Living in Beverly Hills

This post and beam compound in Beverly Hills epitomizes the ultimate indoor/outdoor lifestyle that is synonymous with Southern California. Renovated by Colombian architect Alejandro Ortiz, this 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom mid-century style home features floor-to-ceiling glass, an open living room and kitchen, a library/study, gym, and scenic canyon vistas. Outside the main residence includes a one-bedroom detached guesthouse and a lush, sunken central courtyard featuring a flat, grassy lawn, a connecting bridge overlook, outdoor lounges, multiple decks, and a saline pool.

9551 Oak Pass Road is listed with David Kramer of Hilton & Hyland and is on the market for $4,495,000.

This property post can be found in its original form by clicking here, or view complete gallery below.