beach Archives - Luxury Home Digest

Between Rancho Santa Fe and the Beach…

Roberta Murphy Thompson — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 20:46:28 +0000

Best of Ranch and Coast!

Between Rancho Santa Fe and the beaches in Encinitas sits an irreplaceable plot of land that surely belongs to another century.

The wide and expansive rear lawn backs up to pasture, wetlands and forest beyond. Family of deer come grazing and cows come to visit when the lawnmower is at work.

Late afternoons, it is not unusual to see colorful hot air balloons gliding across the sky–and the stars at night twinkle just a little brighter than in the surrounding suburbs. Love the ocean? Encinitas and Cardiff beaches are just a couple of miles away.

The 4-bedroom home itself has aged gracefully–and has many possibilities for expansion and improvement. It could truly be a decorator’s dream-come-true.
Oversized 3-car garage and ample guest parking.
Close to excellent public and private schools and Mira Costa College (San Elijo Campus).
Home feels rural, but is very close to Harvest Ranch Market, fine restaurants and upscale boutiques.

Asking price is $1,350,000.

This property is not yet in the MLS, but private showing can be arranged. For additional information, call Roberta Murphy 877-818-8197 or 760-402-9101.

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Hong Kong Luxury Real Estate on a Roll

Roberta Murphy — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:46:18 +0000

by Scott Murphy

$57 Million as a sales price for a Hong Kong apartment?

That’s a price that would make the most expensive areas around the world such as San Diego, Los Angeles, New York and even London cringe. This five-bedroom, 6158 square foot luxury duplex suite located at one of Hong Kong’s most prestigious addresses was bought by an unidentified Chinese buyer.

And if you think that is really high for an apartment like this, another recently sold in the same building for $51 million as well.

Created and crafted by one of Hong Kong’s major development companies, this is reported to be Hong Kong’s most expensive residential real estate sale–at a mind blowing $9,200 per square foot. This building also has many amenities such as an aroma spa center, fitness room, outdoor yoga gym and amazing views of the harbor.

That is an amount that most people cannot even imagine. No matter how hard-working or how dedicated to the saving, wise spending and money management encouraged by Forbes.com, lovemoney.com and the like, most people will not accumulate that kind of wealth–even in several lifetimes. It is most definitely the realm of the super rich, being able to purchase such colossally expensive homes–and the ultra-wealthy in Hong Kong are no exception.

There have been many fears of a bubble in China’s real estate economy, but lately the rich have been getting richer. There are now 130 billionaires in China and the number is expected to rise with all the money being poured into their economy.

There is also talk from Hong Kong’s leader Donald Tsang about freeing up more land for development to help add supply and bring down the prices to make housing more affordable.

What if I had $57 million to buy a luxury home in the U.S.?

I would seriously have to consider a currently-available 10,000 square foot home right on the beach in Del Mar, just north of La Jolla. The climate couldn’t be more perfect, the views are spectacular, while snow-covered mountains and desert golf are just a couple of hours away. But then again, I am a big fan of (and a Realtor for) homes in San Diego!

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Trump’s Baja Luxury Resort Fails

Roberta Murphy — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:34:07 +0000

by Roberta Murphy

Mexico is struggling with a number of serious problems, including failed real estate developments along the Baja coastline–just south of the San Diego border. From the northern tip of Tijuana’s coastline down to Ensenada, Baja beach areas are spotted with the rusting remains of failed high rise condo projects.

And one of the biggest failures is the Trump Ocean Resort Baja just north of Punta Bandera, where unwitting U.S. investors thought they were buying into one of the safest investments possible: A beach condo development offered by none other than Donald Trump and his family. Up to 600 buyers paid 10 to 30 percent down on condos ranging from $274,000 for a 485-square foot studio to nearly $3 million for a 2685 square foot penthouse.

Today, infuriated real estate investors have lost millions of dollars–with scant chance of getting anything back.

Some people refinanced homes in 2006 to come up with the $100,000 to $1 million deposits–which were subsequently and legally spent by the developer. Today, all that remains is an aging billboard with a large photo of The Donald, a shuttered sales center and showroom, a parking lot and a number of excavation holes and standing construction equipment.

This year, parents are warning kids not to head to Baja for Spring Break. Mexico’s drug violence has escalated and kidnappings are all-too-frequent. These tourist fears coupled with the global economic meltdown make real estate speculation investment in Baja a risky proposition.

In 2009, our family will remain in Southern California for Spring Break. And until Mexico gets drug violence under control, we join countless others in avoiding a border crossing.

Call it a protest–or just protective parenting instincts.

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