This is a market that sometimes brings out the creative forces in real estate. And more and more, real estate exchanges are making lots of sense in the luxury real estate market.

Earlier this evening, I had an interesting conversation with a Sotheby’s real estate agent in Northern California.

It seems he is interested in exchanging his exquisite 104 acre property just outside Carmel for a luxury home in Rancho Santa Fe, just outside San Diego. His acreage offers 380 organic citrus trees that supply local restaurants, two greenhouses that produce basil for Whole Foods markets, Zinfandel grape vines that go you-know-where, and a number of fat and field-fed Angus cattle. He also has plans for an exquisite Tuscan villa that might be built for $1.5 million.

He is seeking to move to Southern California, and to Rancho Santa Fe in particular. And knowing that Rancho Santa Fe property owners love privacy, space and quiet, he thought that perhaps an easy and compatible exchange might be accomplished.

The numbers are certainly workable. He owes less than $800,000 on this parcel, in which he has invested nearly $3 million. He is seeking a Rancho Santa Fe home valued at $1.5 to $2.8 million–and may or may not be accomplishing the transaction via a 1031 exchange.

Quite simply, Northern California landowner wishes to relocate to Rancho Santa Fe and figures that some homeowner there would love the opportunity to exchange properties with him.

Makes sense to me.
So, if you have a Rancho Santa Fe home and have dreams of a bucolic life outside Carmel and California’s premier wine country, please let me know and I’ll arrange for a proper introduction. Just give us a call at 877-818-81979 or 760-402-9101.

And if you have an unusual luxury home exchange proposal of any sort, we’d also like to hear from you!

The post Luxury Real Estate Exchanges appeared first on Luxury Home Digest.

by Roberta Murphy

To paraphrase Charles Dickens, these may be the best of times and the worst of times at least with San Diego real estate.

Few are surprised that the real estate bubble popped in the plethora of new home subdivisions that peppered San Diego County in the last few years.

Stupid loans and and unwitting buyers created a marriage that has crippled the real estate industry.

But not all markets and communities suffer in the same way,

For example, few would consider Rancho Santa Fe, California real estate a bargain, when single family Rancho Santa Fe homes start at $1.15 million and currently peak at $29.9 million.

Moreover, only 16 of the current 167 active listings in RSF are priced under $2 million.

The bargain bin of real estate? Hardly!

Still, we have stumbled across a few notable buys:

• A 3220 square foot Del Rayo Downs home in Rancho Santa Fe was purchased for $1.74 million on 3/14/2006. It is vacant, in lovely condition and has been reduced to $1.395. The owner will even consider a trade.
• A gated, private and single story Mediterranean estate with over 5000 square feet on one acre just closed escrow at $2.1 million. It needed TLC, but the lots and bones were probably worth the total price. Located just outside Fairbanks Ranch.
• A 19.4-acre gated Covenant estate was listed at $29.5 million last August and closed escrow at a paltry $21 million last month. It was reportedly a cash sale.
• A Notice of Default has been filed against a lovely and very spacious 3-bedroom Rancho Santa Fe condo that has recently been reduced to around $1.2 million. I am already calling clients on this one.
• Another Rancho Santa Fe townhome was reportedly purchased for $1.675 million in the summer of 2005. It is now on the market at a value range of $1.3 to $1.4 million, has assumable financing, and guaranteed golf membership in the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club .

Do we expect Rancho Santa Fe real estate pricing to fall off a cliff?

No way.

But it is certainly worth our time to scout the market to find sound values such as these.

Moreover, many who are now home shopping in Rancho Santa Fe and other luxury neighborhoods now can thank their lucky stars that they werent buying two years ago.
If you would like more information on Rancho Santa Fe or other San Diego luxury real estate, just give me a call at 760-402-9101 or 877-818-8197. You may also email me: roberta@sandiegopreviews.com

Read also:

Luxury Builder Claims 2007 Worst in 40 Years

San Diego Irresistible to Ex-Pats and Foreigners

The post Bargains in Luxury Real Estate appeared first on Luxury Home Digest.