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National Luxury News

Chubb to Offer Flood Insurance For Some Upscale Coastal Customers

By Lavonne Kuykendall
From The Wall Street Journal Online

Bucking the trend of insurers cutting back coverage for homeowners who live in storm-exposed areas, Chubb Corp. said it will begin offering excess flood coverage policies for its upscale customers who live along the coasts of Florida, New York and other states.The new policies cover water damage from hurricanes, storms and other types of flooding and are meant to supplement the National Flood Insurance Program that has largely replaced the private market in first-dollar flood protection.

The offer to cover hurricane flood damage puts Chubb, Warren, N.J., at odds with other insurers, who are cutting back in the area. After a record-breaking 2005 storm season, insurers and risk modeling companies came to believe that coming years will have more hurricanes than average, and that coastal areas as far north as New York could be more vulnerable to a big storm than generally thought.

For full article, click here…

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Pricey Minneapolis Homes taking a dip in Price?

I was reading an article posted by the Wall Street Journal this weekend regarding their “House of the Week” series and the success the owners have had or not had on selling their home for 2006. According to the highlighted high end homes in their Weekend Journal, of the 46 homes featured from October 2005 to September 2006, only 14 have sold, and four are currently under contract. It is also interesting to note that the average sold price was 16% below the original list price.

While these homes are not representative of the national market due to their price (most average $10 Million), the sales statistics are following the national trend. Luxury homes also showed signs of peaking in 2005 and then have been slowly declining with the rest of the market since 2006. According to the Wall Street Journal, the highlighted homes that were priced $15 Million or more have sold more than those homes priced lower. It appears uber-priced homes are not affected as much by the decline because sellers can be more flexible with their bottom line and a lot of times buyers shopping in that price range tend to pay with cash.

While I can’t list every luxury market in the Twin Cities area, I will be posting results for the 2006 luxury market for select areas in upcoming posts. I will specifically be compiling data on what price ranges have sold and what hasn’t, similar to the Wall Street News Journal.

Is there a Minneapolis Luxury market that you would like me to report on? Let me know and I will see what the 2006 market has done!

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New Luxury Listing hopes to Break Real Estate Record

Timber and real estate baron Tim Blixseth plans to break the record for the world’s most expensive home by building and selling a $155 million, 53,000-square-foot stone and wood mansion at the Yellowstone Club, a members-only residential ski and golf resort near Bozeman, Montana.

The spec home will beat out the $139 million Updown Court home in Windlesham, England, which currently tops the list of the world’s most expensive homes for sale. The most expensive home for sale in the US is an Aspen, Colorado estate, which was recently listed for sale at $135 million by Prince Bandar bin Sultan.

The Blixseth mansion comes with 10 bedrooms, 160 acres, and a private chairlift to take residents to the Yellowstone Club’s private ski slopes.
Construction costs are expected to range between $35 million and $40 million, not including the land, which Blixseth already owns.

(article courtesy of Institute for Luxury Home Marketing)

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Luxury Home Sale Update

$58 Million New Jersey Mansion Ranks as Year’s Top US Home Sale

$125 million world and $70 million US home sale records still unbroken

(January 10, 2007 – Minneapolis, MN) From New York City to Malibu and Palm Beach, the 2006 US real estate market boasted at least ten buyers willing to pay $28 million or more for high-end residences.

Topping the year’s list of most expensive homes sold in the US was a 63-acre estate with a 10,000 sq. ft. mansion just five miles from Manhattan in Alpine, NJ. Advanced Photonix CEO Richard Kurtz bought the English-style residence with guest cottages, pool and tennis courts from Henry Clay Frick II for $58 million, a price substantially below last year’s record-setting $70 million sale of financier Ron Perelman’s Palm Beach Oceanfront estate.

Neither sale comes close to the standing world record, a $125 million London mansion sold in 2004 to steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who ranked number five on this year’s Forbes list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of $23.5 billion. .

“Strong corporate profits, good news on Wall Street, and a global commodities boom helped grow fortunes and sparked a surge of demand for trophy homes in 2006,” said Jennifer Kirby, local Real Estate Agent with Exit Realty Eden Prairie. “Final numbers aren’t in, but estimates are that the US’s 2006 sales of home priced at $5 million and above were up about 11% over 2005.

“Record Wall Street bonuses will jump-start 2007 luxury sales in New York,” predicted Kirby, “and, we’ll see spillover into other markets as well.”

Fortunes did grow in 2006 as demonstrated by the 18% growth in the number of the world’s billionaires, a list which now includes 793 names. At least five current sellers of luxury homes are hoping these uber-rich billionaires will step up to pay $100 million or more for homes in 2007. The priciest home for sale in the world — Updown Court in Windlesham, England (near Windsor Castle) — has a whopping price tag of $139 million. This spec-built home has 103 rooms, five pools, and a heated marble driveway.

Rounding out the list of $100 million dollar plus homes currently on the market, a Saudi Prince’s Aspen, Colorado retreat is listed at $135 million. Donald Trump is offering a “decorator-ready” Palm Beach, Florida property for $125 million. Those fancying a waterfront home in Istanbul, Turkey on the Bosporus Sea will find a $100 million home available there. Another waterfront option is a $100 million estate with lovely views of Lake Tahoe.

“Fabulous homes are just one example of the luxury goods and services which are in demand,” said Kirby, who specializes in Luxury Homes for the Twin Cities area. “This fall, Willem Kooning’s painting, ‘Woman III’ sold for a record $142.5 million, auction houses set art sales records, and yachts and private jet makers have waiting lists. Around the world, from Russia to Great Britain, there is a super rich group with wants, needs and the wealth to satisfy those desires.”

Jennifer Kirby is a Luxury Home specialist for the Minneapolis/ Twin Cities areas in Minnesota, including Waterfront properties and Historic Homes. She is also a licensed real estate agent in Florida and sells waterfront homes and condominiums in Northwest Florida. For more information on Minnesota or Florida real estate, please contact Jennifer at
651-785-3400, or visit www.FineHomesofMinneapolis.com, www.ListedinGulfBreeze.com, or her Real Estate blogs, http://minneapolisluxuryrealestate.blogspot.com or http://minneapolisrealestateblog.blogspot.com.

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