Luxury Real Estate News - Gangsters in Montreal - Indian Luxury Property still Strong - Super rich detached from Property Slump and 30 Luxury Homes in Arizona go to Auction

Underlying reasoning for the ups and downs in the luxury real estate market

There seems to be a lot of ups and downs in the luxury real estate market this week, and if any one is wondering why that may be, this chart should clear things up nicely.

Two brothers in Montreal are embroiled in what appears to be a gangster-related murder attempt after the failure of the luxury condominium project, “One Avenue du Port.” As little as 8 years ago, the brothers Magi were riding high on the crest of the luxury real estate boom, now one of them lies in a hospital bed fighting for his life after being shot by a professional hit man while his car waited at a traffic light and the other faces extradition to the US and a lengthy prison term if he is convicted of charges filed in a Los Angeles court alleging he was part of a large-scale Montreal-based fraudulent telemarketing operation that targeted elderly people.

While the attempted killing of Tony Magi came only months after the U.S. indictment was filed against his brother, police investigators interviewed by The Gazette see nothing that links the two events. But the events highlight a number of problems the brothers have experienced in recent years, despite once appearing to be on successful paths as real estate developers. Full story.

The India Times reports that one sector in the Indian real estate market is still strong - the luxury property sector. Of course, announcing projects and selling them are two entirely different animals.

Even in the midst of low sentiments haunting the real estate sector, there is one segment that is totally unfazed by it all. Luxury homes continue to dazzle in the face of robust demand and keen investor interest in the segment. Full story.

Knight Frank’s latest report suggest that London luxury homes worth over £10 million have become “completely detached” from the property slow down in the UK, with “super prime” London real estate climbing nearly 3% in price during August alone, in the face of falling prices in the rest of the city (and country.)

There are now signs that the gap between this sector and the rest of the market is growing. Liam Bailey, Knight Frank, residential research. Full story.

Bloomberg reports that Los Angeles and San Diego luxury real estate prices fell the most in more than ten years in the second quarter of 2008, but San Francisco is hanging on.

The average price of a luxury home in Los Angeles dropped 3.8 percent in the quarter from a year earlier, the most since 1996, according to a survey by First Republic Bank, a unit of Merrill Lynch & Co. Luxury homes were defined as those costing more than $1 million with up to 6,000 square feet (557 square meters), six bedrooms and six bathrooms. Prices fell 7.8 percent in San Diego, the most since 1997, while San Francisco prices rose 0.2 percent. Full story.

Nine luxury model homes come up for auction in Waddell/Surprise, Buckeye, and Gilbert, Arizona following Trend Homes Chapter 11 reorganization. The homes will be sold alongside 21 other model homes with starting prices at 50% of the original sales prices.

If you’re the first, last and only bidder at $90,000, you get the property. Rhett Winchell, president of Kennedy Wilson Auction Group

The auction will be  September 14th - Auctioneers site with full details.