Luxury Apartments in Mumbai

Indians today have a keen understanding of global trends and are becoming rather savvy in terms of their lifestyle expectations. It seems as though “luxury mania” has hit the people of Mumbai. No longer are they satisfied or willing to settle for the run of the mill type of apartments. If you have the money, live in luxury is today’s mantra. Real estate developers are cashing in on this growing trend in the market and you’ll find a number of real estate developers who are catering to the luxurious needs of the people. Moreover this demand for luxury is fueled by the NRI community, who are interested in investing in high end apartments.

Because of the exclusivity that it demands, luxury apartments today, are unique both in design and architecture. Moreover the location of these apartments need to be in strategic locations. Amenities and facilities are expected to be top notch, and people will settle for nothing less.

Unlike the trend abroad of fully furnished apartments, Indians are still unwilling to opt for a full furnished apartment. While the majority prefer the flexibility of choosing their own furniture, a number of people are quite open to the fact of choosing a partly fitted-out apartment i.e. modular kitchens; living rooms with extravagant light fittings, swanky ceilings and some other portions of the home also fitted out.

Luxury Real estate developers such as Hiranandani, Lodha, Kanakia,K Raheja are some of the well known names in this luxury segment. Intense competition amongst luxury real estate developers has resulted in an increase in the level of sophistication and luxury innovations, and the lucky winners are the end users, who have more luxury apartments to choose from, and are thus ensured an enriched life.

Ambi Valley Gated Community

Another trend in luxury real estate in Mumbai is gated communities. Akin to Brazil’s ‘Condominio Fechados’ (closed housing estate) or Argentina’s ‘Barrios Privados’ (private neighborhood), more and more cash-stacked Indians today are seeking the security and the luxury of living in a ‘Gated Community.’

Gated Community is a form of a residential complex, sometimes characterized by high walls and fences with controlled entrances for pedestrians and automobiles, surveillance of those entering the premises, clean streets and amenities on a par with a dream luxury resort. The concept, already popular abroad, is making a foray into the country as NRIs returning to their roots are looking for the security and amenities of gated communities.

These communities offer the perfect getaway from everyday civic problems, ranging from water cuts, pebble-strewn streets to living with the stench of un-picked garbage cans.

Security is one of the key features that a gated community offers, says Edward, deputy marketing manager of Puravankara, a leading real estate developer.

Special security personnel man various entry and exit points. A closely connected set of security personnel feed information on visitors entering the premises and save residents the pain of answering umpteen doorbells rung by salesmen or other unwanted visitor on the premises.

With many professionals who keep shuttling between India and countries abroad, security of their homes is a big challenge, says Edward. “An independent house or just a regular apartment does not offer that security. But in a gated community, these residents can leave their house for some months without fear of being broken into or tampered with.”

But it is not just the security, but also the amenities, some of which border on ‘living life king size’, which are getting the cash-rich professionals hooked on to these communities.

An upcoming 275-acre integrated township offers its residents the luxury of catching a helicopter shuttle to the new Bangalore airport virtually from their doorstep! The township will have its own helipad to enable residents take the helicopter shuttle. The chopper will also double up as an air ambulance to lift critically ill residents to hospital for emergency service, doing away with wasting precious minutes in traffic jams. In a bid to woo this high-end segment, developers have begun offering amenities of international standards, albeit at a premium cost.

These residential complexes resembling luxury hotels boast of swanky swimming pools, saunas, clubhouse, spas, dedicated areas for jogging freaks and fitness centers, well manicured lawns, vast green stretches of golf courses, cricket pitch, shopping malls and multiplexes. Self-contained entities are also perceived by some as an attempt by the nouveau rich to segregate from those who do not fit into their class.

Neighborhoods with fancy names like 10-Downing or Inner Circle tend to reinforce that perception.

Bentley has seen a drop in sales of 28 percent in July. And “mass luxury” brands, such as Porsche, Lexus and Mercedes have seen some larger drops in sales, especially at the top end of their ranges.

It is fair to say that North American and British sales of mass luxury cars were artificially inflated by the housing boom and easy credit. Buyers who could never have afforded such cars as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, a Porsche 911, or an Lexus LS used the increase in equity in their home to fool themselves into believing they were wealthier than they truly were.

Thee other factor is a substantial drop in Wall street and City of London bonuses. New York Governor David Paterson recently stated that Wall Street bonuses are going down a projected 20% this year. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli estimated earlier this year that the securities industry paid out $33.2 billion in 2007, an average of $180,420 per recipient – or just enough to cover the cost of a Mercedes S-Class S600 with all the trimmings.

Luxury car dealers who were rubbing their hands with anticipation just a year ago are now being a little more realistic. “It is wrong to say certain segments of the market are immune to economic downturns in the market, as far as we’re concerned.” says Geoff Dowding, worldwide operations manager and vice-president of Bentley Motors UK.

The higher you go on the luxury spectrum, the stronger the market remains and Rolls-Royce’s U.S. sales are up an estimated 48 percent.

“It’s not really a straightforward comparison, because we’re in the middle of adding models,” says Paul Ferraiolo, president of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars North America. “We have definitely seen some of our clients suffer in this economy. I would never make a broad statement that our clients are immune to what’s going on, or not sensitive to the plight of others. We are up, and up significantly, because people are very loyal to the ownership experience, and we have a very high repurchase rate,”

Even in the current soft economy, exclusivity is an important part of the allure of super-luxury brands. Marti Eulberg, president and CEO of Maserati North America says

I won’t say we’re seeing as many people [coming in] as we’ve seen historically, but what’s happening is, customers are coming in because of the exclusivity. We’re providing something they can’t get from, for lack of a better term, ‘mass-luxury’ manufacturers.”

Sales for Lamborghini and Ferrari are up worldwide. Spokesmen for both companies that they expect to finish 2008 with sales at least even with 2007’s, although with the ultra-luxury brands, volumes are relatively small and some areas of the country are less heavily affected by the sub prime crisis than others.

Fortunately for the super-luxury brands, high demand in Asia, especially in China, is taking some of the pressure off.

“It wasn’t that long ago that the U.S. was 60% of our global sales,” says Bentley’s Dowding. “Now it’s in the region of 40%. The world market is definitely re-balancing slightly.”

Even further up the luxury scale, demand seems as strong as ever, and 2 entrepreneurs, William McMichael and Ari Straus are betting on a continued bright spot in the market – The Monticello Motor Club

Monticello Motor Club is being built at a former municipal airport in Monticello, N.Y., about 2 hours north of Manhattan (by car) and includes a helicopter pad and a four-mile race track for members to race their exotic and vintage cars.

If all the phases are built as planned –which includes trackside condominiums - the development could be worth $50 million. The initial membership fee was set at $100,000 with a limit of 500 members. There was so much demand, they raised it to $125,000 almost immediately. “There’s no question there are 500 people who have the means and the desire,” says Straus.

MMC opened in July this year, and this video is a brief look at the circuit. The MMC website is here, if you are interested in membership.

It was in fact, 365 million Euros. ($545 million US) Still no news on the buyer, but I doubt this will remain a secret for long. The entire point of paying this much for a property is to be able to tell your friends how much money you paid.

This is still a staggering amount of money to pay for a single property - regardless of the location. Although, the real estate agent responsible for the sale took a massive discount on the usual commission. He apparently accepted a measly 1%, so his commission was only 3 million or so.

A few newspapers are talking about a backlash against the amount of Russians buying property on the Riviera, but this is untrue. There is not a backlash against Russians per se, more against the nouveau riche attitude to waste that many Russian billionaires have. Being able to spend 365 million on a property you will only use 10 days a year is an example, but wasting food to show how wealthy you are is prevalent amongst the latest influx.

I will not name any names, but it would not be unusual to order 50 lobsters for 10 guests and make certain 40 of them are thrown in the trash, just to prove how wealthy one is. The more you can waste, the more money you have - simple. This is what is getting to the locals. Many French people have a healthy respect for food, both in the care and preparation, but also what happens to it afterwards. It is to be shared and enjoyed, not dumped in the trash.

Edit 18th August - Nice Matin is now reporting (unconfirmed as yet) that the mysterious buyer is Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, who was arrested by French authorities last year for involvement in a prostitution ring. No charges were bought, but Mr. Prokhorov swore never to set foot in France again, so who knows.

There are some more photos of La Leopolda here.

A British businessman committed suicide by decapitating himself with an Aston Martin DB7 after an argument with his estranged wife. He apparently tied the rope off to a tree, wrapped the other end around his neck and accelerated onto a busy street, with predictable results. Interesting choice, although I hasten to add that the car in the photo is not the actual Aston Martin DB7. Source.

As the saying goes, one man’s meat is…. another man’s sausage apparently. By any one’s standards, free sausages for life must be considered a luxury and this is what a meat producer in Belarus, the former soviet state is offering to Belarussian olympic athletes who bring home a medal. And those girls in the Belarus gymnastic team look as though they could do with feeding up. Source.

Wrapables.com have recently released their new range of pet beds, which includes a “Furrari.” Words almost fail, and the company is keen to point out that they are in no way affiliated with the “other” luxury car maker of a similar name. $312 for the bed of your small dog’s dreams.

According to ebay, 15,000 people a month buy fake care emblems. Presumably in an effort to persuade the not-so-willing lady that they do, in fact own a Lamborghini - it just looks like a VW. Source

This one was in the news some time back, but worth a mention. This $20 million wedding cake stole the show at the luxury brands bridal show in Beverly Hills.

The home does feature some nice (but small) gardens, including a cute little bamboo fountain. It is definitely secluded though, with walls all around, gates at the front, and tall trees surrounding the property.

The living room features beamed vaulted ceilings with a nice fireplace at the end. The room reminds us a bit of a country church we knew growing up. Maybe a nice rug (a bit away from the fire, of course) could warm it up and give it a bit more definition? The bamboo floors are nice - you know how we love hardwood.

The kitchen is small, with white cabinets and walls throughout. The breakfast nook has a small table for two tucked under the window. We would knock out that center bar with the stovetop and expand the kitchen into the rest of the space, especially since there’s already a big dining room. However, someone who has been in the kitchen told us that it is quite lovely and the perfect size for the home.

The master bedroom also has a vaulted ceiling. And here, it works much better. The floor to ceiling windows let in a lot of light. And the doors open straight onto the patio. The room could do without that blinding white, though. The walls, the curtains, the couch, the bedspread. It’s a bit too much white for our tastes (our dislike of all white is well-documented). A nice throw over the bed would add just a splash of color. The other bedrooms seem to be of a decent size. One of the rooms has been used as a workout area.

We love the abundance of bookshelves, but think it’s a bit odd to have them in the dining room. That may just be us, but it seems like the room can’t decide if it’s a library or a place to eat. It also might be the best (or only) place to showcase the dramatic shelves, but it’s just not where we’d personally put them.

Overall it’s not a bad sort of house. We do like the spiral staircase, although personally we’d have to wait to navigate it after coffee. (Fortunately for that, the master suite is on the ground floor.)

It’s on a tiny lot, though, just 1/10 of an acre according to Mr. Big Time.

Emirates Airlines are now offering in-flight showers to their first class passengers. 14 high-paying first class guests will have the luxury of a 5 minute shower. If you fancy adding to the carbon footprint of your flight, this particular little luxury adds 1000 pounds to the weight of the aircraft. And I don’t think the stewardess will scrub your back either

Miguel Caballero offers a range of bullet-proof clothing, some of which will withstand an attack by a mini Uzi (whatever that is).

Steven Seagal is proud to wear Miguel Caballero’s line of clothing apparently. I wonder if he does hats as well?

This Swarovski crystal-studded toilet comes high on my list of silly luxury interior designs, but I am sure it is popular in some quarters. The $75,000 price tag is pretty serious though.

The Ego Bentley laptop/purse will go on sale shortly. Price ? $20,000 - for a purse.

And here is the hat I was hoping Mr. Caballero would be making. Unfortunately not bullet-proof, the price should be enough to scare any would be mugger away. The Paul Stuart Limited edition Crocodile skin Trooper hat - $1,400.

Dumb - or desirable?

A slashed bonus is one thing; a depleted expense account another. But, even in these times of strife and slimmed-down pay packets, what self-respecting City hotshot can be expected to do without a yacht?

The prospect of credit crunch belt-tightening hitting yet another of the staples of the super-rich lifestyle was raised yesterday as luxury yacht makers admitted that discounts are now available. Full story.

Although I get the feeling this is more a case of wishful thinking on behalf of the Independent’s editor who must have lost his shorts in the sub-prime fiasco. One failed-to-sell yacht does not a disaster make. And if anyone is interested, I have a friend in Spain with a three-year-old for sale and I know he would happily take less than this.

On a slightly more bizarre note, Donald Trump appears to think that nothing says luxury quite like watching two 300-lb men beat the crap out of each other in a cage. Mixed Martial Arts Online recently announced a new partnership between “Affliction,” who describe themselves as “the premier fashion label for men who love hard rock and fast living,” and Mr. Trump with their first event, “Affliction Banned,” on pay per view on July 19th.

At a press conference held in Trump tower, Mr. Trump said:

This particular sport resembles my business style of being fast paced, strategic, and aggressive…remembering to never give up. I am particularly excited to partner with Affliction and become a major player in promotion of MMA; the youngest and fastest growing sport to emerge in the last century.

Mr. Trump is rapidly becoming my favorite quotable person and other news to come out of the conference was the return to competition of Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko, who will be headlining alongside Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski, “Big” Ben Rothwell and Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia. I am stopping there in case I upset the wrong people. Full story here.

Back across the pond to the UK, the “Environmental Transport Association,” (ETA) announced the “Most Expensive bicycle in Britain,” a $19,000 gold-plated, custom made fixed-wheel that comes with the optional accessory of a security guard to watch over it when it is left in public.

With less than 10 days before the start of Green Transport Week, it is believed the bike may be bought by a ‘cyclist who has everything’.

Director at the ETA, Andrew Davis said: “A personal security guard is not a practical option for most people, but with over half a million bicycles stolen across Britain each year, it’s vital that cyclists are properly insured.” Full story

It might actually be the most expensive bike in Britain, but it pales in comparison with Lance Armstrong, whose charity, The Lance Armstrong foundation, sold a jewel encrusted, gold plated Trek Madone 5.9 SL back in 2005.

Maîtres du Temps, master watchmakers, announced their new Chapter One in Geneva recently. The watch features “a tourbillon with mono-pusher column wheel chronograph, retrograde date, and retrograde GMT, as well as moon phase and day of the week on their own rolling bars.” I don’t even know what that means. 558 components and a price tag of $400,000, I do understand. According to their sales brochure:

The level of technical and design sophistication achieved by Maîtres du Temps has rarely been seen in watchmaking and is the result of the right combination of people sharing a bold vision.

Just in case you missed it, that is four hundred thousand dollars. For a wrist watch. Ouch….

Maîtres du Temps

It would appear that the luxury market for champagne is as robust as ever with a recent announcement from Veuve Clicquot.

Staying in Europe, but coming down the price scale just a tad, French champagne maker, Veuve Clicquot, announced a design collaboration with luxury yacht manufacturer, Riva to produce the “cruise collection,” a craftsmen-produced champagne cooler. Riva, who make possibly the sexiest speedboats on the planet use traditional materials such as mahogany wood, chrome and leather with traditional boat making techniques to produce these beautiful coolers. The “cruise collection,” is made to measure and comes complete with four bottles of Veuve Clicquot :”La Grande Dame ’99, 2 magnums of La Grande Dame ’88, 6 champagne flutes, 6 water tumblers, plates, table mats and cutlery. Price - $80,000. A bargain compared to the watch Veuve Clicquot

It would also appear that the luxury market for champagne is as open to abuse as all other markets as the message received when entering the Veuve Clicquot website is this

Dear websurfer,

A promotional deal is currently on the ‘net regarding a free offer of a case of 6 bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne.

This is a hoax, totally beyond our control; and of course, we are not the author. We do not gather any e-mail nor build up any database.

We strongly condemn the author of this hoax and hope that it will end.

Yours sincerely,

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin

This is a very French reaction. Customer service? Pas possible! Caveat Emptor

Heading East, Reuters report that luxury goods makers are shooting themselves in the foot by producing goods with a “Made in Asia,” label, and a Chinese customer in China was incensed to discover that genuine Armani is actually made in China, but the fakes say “Made in Italy.”

The makers are, of course trying desperately hard to persuade consumers that cost-cutting by moving manufacturing plants to countries where child slave labor is readily available is actually a step up.

“At the end of the day, we are talking about perception. There is no reason why you can’t make good things anywhere in the world, as long as you have the artisans and attention to quality,” said John Hooks, deputy managing director at Giorgio Armani.

Good luck with that. Full story.

Time magazine and F. Scott Fitzgerald seem to think that luxury retailers are making another big mistake by not offering more of their products online.

That reticence is a big mistake, Forrester says, because the growth in online sales shows no signs of easing. In Europe alone, total online sales should rocket 63% from an estimated $246 billion this year, to $401 billion in 2011, it predicts. In the U.S., total sales are expected to soar 93% from last year to $335 billion in 2012. Premium brand companies that are selling online expect their total sales to jump 111% within five years, by which point they will account for 22% of total sales.

While at the same time (sic) accusing luxury brands of “jumping on the e-commerce bandwagon.” Make your mind up guys. If Armani can convince people that making T-shirts in obscure far Eastern countries is a step up in the luxury world, you have to give them some credit. Full story.

Over in Australia, luxury car dealers are confused as to whether or not they should start charging a new luxury tax because of conflicting advice coming from the Australian Taxation Office. The Australian reports:

The Government increased the tax on luxury cars worth more than $57,000 from 25 per cent to 33 per cent in its May budget, but last Wednesday the Senate refused to pass legislation implementing the change, instead referring it to a committee that will not report until late August.
The tax office told Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Andrew McKellar last Thursday that the tax would be collected retrospectively - backdated to July 1 - after the legislation eventually made it through the Senate. Full story

All in all, an entertaining start to the luxury week.

The property, which has been on the market for 5.6m euros, “looked like a war zone” with £6,000 worth of jewelery and clothes looted by some of the guests, and televisions thrown in the swimming pool. Apparently, invites were posted on the Bebo and Facebook sites and rumors were spread that Jodie Hudson’s parents did not mind the seven-bedroom house being trashed because they were getting divorced.

According to The Times Online, Miss Hudson organised the party through invites logged on both her Bebo and Facebook profiles. Describing it as the “party of the year” she wrote on the sites: “Theres gone be a lot of alcohol an amazing DJ.” Guaranteed destruction I would have thought

As the party escalated, Jodie’s mother, Amanda Hudson, a real estate agent who is estranged from her husband and has lived in Marbella for 10 years, called the police. Officers arrived at the house shortly after midnight.

One partygoer said: “People scarpered in all directions, but the police managed to pull people over and search their bags and pockets, but it was already too late and a lot was gone.

“Somebody said that we were allowed to wreck the house because the birthday girl’s parents were getting divorced and there were kids behaving like gangsters from a rap video, throwing stuff around and smashing things. There were chairs, tables, even a TV in the pool.”

Following the party, Miss Hudson wrote: “There’s so much damage and clothes stolen. A lot of broken doors. people caught having sex.”

So, if you are considering giving your teenager unlimited access to the internet and the keys to your luxury holiday home- think again.

Bar culture

Those who need a stiff one after hours to unwind will love the bar culture in Central Business District of Singapore. Most expatriates working in Raffles Place and City Hall patronize their favorite bars at the end of the day for a beautiful cocktail and friendly chit-chat with friends. Mandarin Hotel is a popular hangout; it is luxurious yet utterly relaxing as it overlooks the beautiful night scene of Orchard Road. This fancy joints serves up cocktail classics with a spin – lychee martini in Japanese teapot, anyone? Sit back and take in the atmosphere as the jazz performers croon the night away.

Club culture

Dance the night away while world-renowned DJs spin out their magic at downtown Singapore! We have a lot of luxurious clubs worthy of international standards, such as Zouk where club, lounge and bar come together under one roof. You could party to trance and house music in Zouk the club, listen to funk while admiring their genuine Warhols in Velvet Underground or just sip expensive cocktails in their Wine Bar. Bouncers stand guard on themed nights to ensure only the well dressed and wealthy looking gets in. Oh well, it’s play time for the rich and elite.

Supper culture

Tired and hungry after a night of dancing? Fret not because supper culture is very prominent in Singapore and you can never go hungry even after midnight. Carousel at Royal Plaza offers scrumptious supper buffet from 11pm to 3am and attracts nocturnes in town who crave for dim sum and nasi lemak. As the hallmark of luxurious buffets, this posh restaurant prepares exquisite 5-star cuisine and service is impeccable. Priced steeply, supper buffets like this one is not normal fare for the common folk.

Safety

Staying out late in downtown Singapore is safe and convenient. Our dependable law enforcement makes us one of the safest cities to live in the world. As such, crime levels are minimal and most expatriates feel assured even when they are out partying at 4 o’clock in the morning. Apart from that, late night taxis are wide available especially in downtown Singapore so you could reach home safely after a night of luxurious fun.

Summary: Night life in Singapore is luxurious, unwinding yet absolutely safe! To know more about clubs and bars in downtown Singapore, please contact us!

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International dining

Craving for an international dining experience? You could devour it right here in Singapore. Thanks to the multitudes of sophisticated restaurants featuring cuisine from all over the world, eating is an international affair. Apart from the French, Japanese and American restaurants, we also delve into the more quaint and exotic. The next time you plan to impress your guests, bring them to Shashlik where authentic Russian borscht and escargot are served. This international dining scene further means a dose of comfort for expatriates who miss the food in their home countries. No matter which part of the globe they come from, they could always find a taste of home here.

Local flavors

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Singapore, eat like a Singaporean! Many foreign visitors sing praises of our local delights which are a unique mixture of Chinese, Indian and Malay cuisine. These tropical flavors could be rather spicy because we Singaporeans crave chilies but after a few tries, you may acquire a taste for this addictive ingredient! Our signature dishes include the yummy chili crabs at Boat Quay where you could eat with your fingers in a relaxing environment next to the soothing river. Also, do not forget to try out the fragrant Hainanese chicken rice at the luxurious Meritus Mandarin Hotel, often cited as the best food in Singapore.

Fine Dining

For those who like it haute, downtown Singapore offers some of the most sophisticated and decadent fine dining in Asia. Notably, the restaurant groups Les Amis and Garibaldi are the leading moguls in French and Italian fine haute cuisine respectively. Each operates several luxurious restaurants which feature carefully designed degustation menus which guarantee only the freshest ingredients and finest culinary skills. The Au Jardin under Les Amis is particularly enticing to gourmets because you could dine amidst soothing greenery in the pristine compound of the Botanic Gardens. High-end dining in Singapore has also gained an international foothold as our restaurants and chefs frequently win titles abroad.

Concept Dining

In recent years, Singapore sees a rise in concept dining restaurants vowed to provide a completely different eating experience to their clientele. These restaurants usually feature a theme which resonates through their menu and décor. Aurum at Clarke Quay is perhaps the most prominent. Their self-invented concept is called molecular gastronomy where art and hi-tech meet to create concoctions like abalone with pearls and liquid food items served in a syringe. Expensive as it may be, since its launch, Aurum has attracted a large pool of fans who swear by this amazing restaurant that changes what they think about food eating.

Summary: Eating in downtown Singapore is full of variety and fun! With so many options, there is a restaurant for every occasion. To know more about dining in prime districts, please feel free to contact us!

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Keith Lau is a professional real estate agent based in Singapore, and may be contacted at: Singapore Prime District