Turnberry Towers in Houston

Turnberry Tower, a 34 storey luxury condominium development in Houston has been canceled.

Turnberry’s $3 million sales office was closed on Monday. The Tower had originally been planned to offer limousine services, maid suites and two, 15,000 sqft homes. Relatively speaking, one would have expected an oil-based economy such as Houston’s to be withstanding the current financial storm a little better than much of the rest of the US, but even here the credit crunch is taking it’s toll. Turnberry is a well established developer with substantial successes and completed high-end condominium projects all over the US, and has pledged to return all deposits already taken with appropriate interest accrued.

Turnberry Associates said the 184-unit development planned near the Williams Tower has been “discontinued” as turmoil in the financial markets has caused traditional construction lending sources to dry up. The Houston Chronicle

Investment banks asked to justify bonuses

It would appear I am not the only one to be wondering if the bonuses planned by many Wall street investment banks this year is an appropriate use of the recent government capital injections - or if it is enough to kick-start the sluggish NYC luxury property market. Representative Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee in Oversight and Government Reform wrote letters yesterday to nine firms after announcements that there is an intention to pay out $108 billion in employee compensation, much of it in the form of bonuses - almost the same amount as paid out in 2008.

I question the appropriateness of depleting the capital that taxpayers just injected into the banks through the payment of billions of dollars in bonuses, especially after one of the financial industry’s worst years on record. Henry Waxman The Boston Globe

I for one will be interested as to whether Mr. Waxman’s bite is as strong as his bark.

Luxury Property prices in London down 12%

Docklands Penthouse London

According to Liam Bailey, head of residential research for Knight Frank, luxury property prices in London are down 12% from last year’s levels, and The New York Times is selling a nice 2 bedroom condo in London’s docklands for $1.4 million.

This two-bedroom two-and-a-half-bath penthouse apartment overlooks the River Thames on the Isle of Dogs, part of London’s Docklands area. The living area has a double-height ceiling and oversized windows with views of the river. Above the living room, on the mezzanine level, is a cinema room. A private roof terrace has a container garden and a gazebo; it also looks out over the river. Both bedrooms have en suite bathrooms, and there is a half bath off the foyer. The apartment runs the entire length of the sixth floor. New York Times

Luxury Real Estate Auction in Colorado

We recently reported on an up-coming sealed bid auction of a number of luxury properties in Colorado. I spoke with Scott Franklund, the organizer of the auction yesterday, who reported that the auction had been “successful,” whilst being rather cagey about actual prices. This was the company’s first sealed bid auction and Mr. Franklund confirmed that they will certainly be running more in the future. We both agreed that realistic pricing will lead to succesfull sales of luxury property, almost regardless of the current market conditions. Not all properties up for the auction sold, although there was an approximately 50% close rate. Somerset Manor, reduced in price from $7.3 million to $ 5.3 million, was one of those that failed to sell.

Luxury Real Estate Auction in Colorado

Luxury real estate news from around the world. Ups, downs, new developments and disasters abound.

The Wall Street Journal reports on a new luxury development in downtown Houston. The WaterLights District.

The WaterLights District will include a careful planned array of office, hotels, restaurants, boutique retail, and residential structures amid a park setting along the banks of Clear Creek, just south of the world’s largest medical and research center, the Texas Medical Center.

1927 villa for sale, Bucharest, Romania

The Diplomat, a Bucharest-based online magazine announces a refurbished interwar villa for sale or rent.Price - €15,000 per month; for sale at  €3.5 million.

Pache Protopopescu Built in 1927 and completely refurbished in 2007, this interwar villa in the east-centre of Bucharest was built for a Jewish family 80 years ago and is now available for sale or rent. Avoiding nationalisation, the house was acquired by Romanians, whose descendants still retain ownership. The iron entrance gate gives access to an impressive interior court with high walls, arches and two beautiful terraces placed on the ground and first floor of the building.

TRLV Group will be at this year’s Cityscape Convention in New York’s Javits Center, Booth D36, September 10th and 11th presenting a unique project site on the Las Vegas Strip next to the MGM/Dubai/Kerzner future hotel & casino and the Stratosphere Hotel & Casino recently acquired by Goldman Sachs.

A $1.74 billion residential development on the north coast, about a two hour drive from Cairo, Marassi will eventually cover more than 1,500 acres and include a marina, golf course, retail space and 3,000 hotel rooms.

Perth’s millionaires are finding it hard to move their second (or third or fourth) homes. Dunsborough, the premier town of the region and conveniently close to the Margaret River wineries, has seen the median house price fall 11.4% to $655,000 in the year to June.

One of Manteca’s biggest builders - Woodside Homes - has filed for bankruptcy protection. The home builder has housing projects that are part of the 402-lot Tesoro neighborhood bounded by Woodward Avenue, Atherton Drive and Van Ryn Road as well as a portion of the 497-homeUnion Ranch East directly east of Del Webb at Woodbridge on North Union Road.

The purchase is not his first property in Singapore. Modi has two other luxury condominiums in Singapore located in Orchard Road, the city’s shopping district. He also has another penthouse in Sentosa Cove, described as “an exclusive weekend hideout” on Singapore’s Sentosa Island.

An industry source is quoted as saying Trump flew to Bangkok last month to talk with a Gaysorn executive about development plans for a four rai plot located at Ratchaprasong intersection.

As the dollars, euros and pounds continue to pour into China, a new breed has emerged. Wealthy, high-net-worth individuals with the desire and wherewithal to flaunt their wealth. China is rapidly becoming one of the largest consumers of high-end goods in the world. Estimates put China as the third largest luxury goods consumer, accounting for a minimum of 12% of the market, with Goldman Sachs suggesting that this will rise to around 30% by the year 2015.

No wonder then, that luxury retailers are flocking to the Chinese high streets and Malls, creating some of the most expensive retail real estate in the process.

Giorgio Armani was one of the first brands to enter the market, opening their  flagship store in 2004. Armani now have no less than 12 stores in Shanghai alone. Next to jump on the band wagon was Louis Vuitton, closely followed by Cartier, Hermes, Giorgio Armani, Prada, Gucci, Escada, Celine and Emmenengildo Zegna.

Luxury automobile manufacturers were the next group: Porsche, Ferrari, Bentley and Rolls Royce all opening new dealerships in China by 2005.

Indicators of the luxury retail rush are everywhere. Saks Fifth Avenue will open its first store in China in 2008, in Shanghai, under a licensing deal with Roosevelt China Investments Corp. Tiffany & Co. is set to unveil new stores this year in Beijing and Shanghai, both of which already have one Tiffany store each. New York City-based watch retailer Tourneau opened two stores in Shanghai in August, the first of 30 it plans to have in China within five years. Cartier operates 12 stores there now and has five more under construction. The company anticipates that 10 percent of its sales will be coming from China by 2012.

Ernst & Young published a report last year on the Chinese luxury market that says 13.5 percent of China’s consumers can afford luxury items. Most of these are between 20 and 40 years old and have a “spend now and worry later” attitude, the report says. The most active consumers are men.

Luxury department store Saks fifth avenue are also planning an entry into the Chinese market, but seem to be having trouble with the local sub licensee. Roosevelt China Investment Corp. recently announced that it has terminated its sublicense agreement with I.T. Ltd. "While we have terminated the arrangement with IT, we continue to seek an alliance with local market experts and remain committed to opening a licensed Saks Fifth Avenue store in Shanghai in 2009," said Tweed Roosevelt, Chairman of Roosevelt China Corp. Current plans are for the licensed Saks Fifth Avenue store to be situated in one of the most dramatic and historical buildings in China, the former Jardine-Matheson headquarters on the Bund. Plans call for the building to be fully renovated to its original grandeur with a flagship presence in the newly renovated Bund area. Saks Fifth Avenue is a part of Saks Incorporated.

"We are committed to bringing Saks Fifth Avenue, one of the world’s finest luxury department stores, to the burgeoning Chinese retail market,” said Mr. Roosevelt.

Napa Reserve recently opened a flagship store in Shanghai, selling premium Napa Valley wines. Shanghai is currently being described as the Manhattan of China, although one Napa valley wag on a recent trip described Shanghai as “New York on steroids.” Doesn’t bear thinking about.  
 
383 Weihai Lu,
Jing An
near Shimen Yi Lu

威海路383号
近石门一路

6340-0493