They say you can never be too thin or too rich, but belt-tightening is sending a cold chill through Wall Street that could well spread to Main Street and beyond, according to various reports.

Luxury stocks may be taking a hit, but the recession hits home hardest for employees facing layoffs at Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and many other financial institutions that occupy Wall Street.  If not facing unemployment, these and other employees and executives may be facing furloughs, salary reductions, slashed year-end bonuses along with uncertain financial footing.

That fear and uncertainty will surely cause many to trim traveling plans, modify shopping habits, and pay less attention to the $65 billion luxury retail market in the United States–and Reuters reports that New York alone spends a third of that on luxury goods, restaurants, travel and automobiles.  Of course,  the ripple will also be strongly felt in the luxury real estate market where demand for $2 million-and-up apartments has already softened in favor of those under a million.

CNBC reports relates the story of one bank executive who, fearing the possibility of a layoff, has very modest spending plans for any bonus he might receive this year, Meanwhile the Occupy Wall Street movement has put a damper on spending. According to Reuters:

Even those who are still getting big bonuses may hesitate to flaunt their wealth in New York this year given the Occupy Wall Street protests have been growing from a camp set up near the New York Stock Exchange. A number of finance industry leaders have said they understand the anger of the protesters, many of whom are concerned about a lack of jobs and growing income inequality.

Will the luxury gloom spread elsewhere in the United States? We’re watching it closely–and the shopping statistics should tell us much in the next two months.

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Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills

Bloomberg reports that Louis Vuitton, with its monogrammed bags and luggage, handily outranks its luxury brand competitors for the fifth straight year. With a reported value of $19.8 billion, Vuitton ranks 29th worldwide for all industries–and more than twice the combined value of Hermes and Gucci combined.

Even though the luxury sector of the market has experienced an overall decline of 3 percent in value, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci and Tiffany managed to grow their businesses by focusing on craftsmanship, heritage, and pricing maintenance said Bloomberg. Included in the Brandz 2010 study cited in the story are other brands in the top 10 luxury ranking. They include Chanel, Henessey, Rolex, Moet & Chandon, Cartier and Fendi.

Prada, regrettably, was dropped from the top 10 rankings.

The most valuable brand in the world, though, would have to be Google, with its estimated value of $114.3 billion according to the Millard Brown Optimor’s 2010 Brands raking of the most valuable luxury labels.

In our closets and chests, though, most of us would prefer to have labels such as Vuitoon, Hermes, Gucci, Tiffany, Rolex, Cartier or Fendi.

In our stock accounts? A thousand shares of Google would do quite nicely!

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Post tags: fendi, google, gucci, hermes, louis vuitton, luxury, luxury brands, prada, rolex. cartier, tiffany

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I love the genius behind Dyson engineering and products.

Instead of thinking outside the box, these air gurus study the box very closely and re-engineer it into device that works better than its predecessors.We love the Dyson vacuums and find them intuitively simple to use.  They are also nearly indestructible.  The Dyson wizards have also invented a hand dryer that really works–with air that travels in the neighborhood of 400 mph.

A tip of the top hat to Paul Taylor with the Financial TImes, who released this story whereby inventor James Dyson claims his bladeless fan–or the Dyson Air Multiplier,  works by forcing a jetstrem of air out of a narrow circular slit and then over an aerofoil-shaped blade, and is proving to be at least as efficient as its bladed counterpart, while reportedly being more comfortable and much safer.

The Dyson fan is controlled with a remote slider, which allows for more precise air flor. The cost ranges from a hefty $300 for the 10-inch model and $330 for the more powerful 12-inch air multiplier.

The fan, or air multliplier, is reportedly and currently available at select specialty stores in the US–and will hopefully soon be available on the Dyson site as well as Amazon.

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Post tags: air multiplier, bladeless fan, Dyson, gadgets, hand dryer, James Dyson, luxury, vacuum

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Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that millionaires are fleeing their luxury homes in New York to establish residency in less-taxing states. As a result, New York is receiving far less revenue than was expected from the wealthy since these wealth taxes were enacted last April.

Call it the law of unintended consequences.

To be fair, many of these losses come from scaled-back salaries and layoffs on Wall Street, but more than a few may be packing up and moving to more tax-friendly states such as Florida, Nevada and elsewhere–and are taking jobs with them. It is reported that billionaire Buffalo Sabres owner Tom Golisano who was paying $13000 a day in New York income taxes has moved to Florida. With him go 5000 jobs from Paychex, the Rochester, NY payroll processing company he owns. Rush Limbaugh has also given up his Manhattan home to escape excessive taxation.

Donald Trump tells Fox News that a number of his millionaire friends are also thinking of bailing from New York because of excessive taxation. Says AP:

“States also realized that having a higher tax rate than their neighbors would cost them talent, lose jobs and hinder economic growth, the foundation reported in May after Hawaii joined Maryland, New Jersey, California and New York to adopt a “millionaire’s tax.” New York, for example, has been careful not to raise its highest rates above New Jersey‘s, according to the foundation.”

In California, millionaires and job producers are already being heavily courted by Nevada, a state that is seeking to grow its employment base and fortunes with its minimal taxation and business-friendly environment:

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Post tags: biillionaire, california, Donald Trump, luxury homes, manhattan, millionaire, New York, taxes, wealthy

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Mexico is struggling with a number of serious problems, including failed real estate developments along the Baja coastline–just south of the San Diego border. From the northern tip of Tijuana’s coastline down to Ensenada, Baja beach areas are spotted with the rusting remains of failed high rise condo projects.

And one of the biggest failures is the Trump Ocean Resort Baja just north of Punta Bandera, where unwitting U.S. investors thought they were buying into one of the safest investments possible: A beach condo development offered by none other than Donald Trump and his family.  Up to 600 buyers paid 10 to 30 percent down on condos ranging from $274,000 for a 485-square foot studio to nearly $3 million for a 2685 square foot penthouse.

Today,  infuriated real estate investors have lost millions of dollars–with scant chance of getting anything back.

Some people refinanced homes in 2006 to come up with the $100,000 to $1 million deposits–which were subsequently and legally spent by the developer. Today, all that remains is an aging billboard with a large photo of The Donald, a shuttered sales center and showroom, a parking lot and a number of excavation holes and standing construction equipment.

This year, parents are warning kids not to head to Baja for Spring Break.  Mexico’s drug violence has escalated and kidnappings are all-too-frequent.  These tourist fears coupled with the global economic meltdown make real estate speculation investment in Baja a risky proposition.

In 2009, our family will remain in Southern California for Spring Break.  And until Mexico gets drug violence under control, we join countless others in avoiding a border crossing.

Call it a protest–or just protective parenting instincts.

© roberta for Luxury Home Digest, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baja, Baja Ocean Resort, beach, condos, investment, luxury, ocean, second homes, travel, trump

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Not all clients took my conservative mortgage advice over the years, and some ended up with home loans that have turned downright nasty.

In one case, a client and dear friend was persuaded to take out a Negative Amortizing Adjustable Rate Mortgage (Neg Am) along with a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) a few weeks after the purchase of her $1.8 million Carsbad home.

I just heard that in a couple of months, her mortgage will reset to an intolerable level and she is seeking a way to manage payments and keep her dream home.

Late last night, I discovered that fellow real estate blogger Ryan Rockwood had written an ebook on How To Get A Loan Modification that is packed with information for struggling borrowers–and chock full of insider tips.

For example, I know that many borrowers agonize because either they or their mortgage broker overstated income levels when applying for mortgage loans during the real estate bubble years.  At the same time, attorneys have discovered that many lenders may have violated provisions in the Truth in Lending Act and/or the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). Rockwood states that there is plenty of blame to go around, and lenders as a rule aren’t pursuing earlier income exaggerations.

That information alone might spur some to pursue loan modifications for their mortgages.

If you are having difficulty with your mortgage, I encourage you to visit the 60 Minute Loan Modification site, where you will soon be able (if not already) to purchase one of the best books I have seen about how to get a loan modification.

© roberta for Luxury Home Digest, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: carlsbad, homes, interest rate, la costa, loan, luxury, modification, mortgage, neg am loans, real estate

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I can’t begin to tell you how many years I have had a prejudice against Chilean wines. Each time I tried one, I was unimpressed–or worse, ended up with a raging headache.

Living in California, we are positively spoiled when it comes to wine. We have a never ending selection of fine wines, so it never occurred to me to search out fine wines from Chile.

At least not until I started connecting with wine folk on Twitter. There, I ran into Robert Bralow, who works for the country of Chile. And to my surprise and delight, send me a wonderful sample pack of 6 different wines (one white and the balance luscious reds).

The first one we opened up was a 2006 Santa Carolina Reserva Carmenere. My husband got to it first and said, “You will never believe how good this is.”
And was he ever right!

This was unlike any Chilean wine we had ever had: Very earthy, smooth and oh so drinkable!
The next night we opened the 2006 Caliterra Tributo Single Vineyard Carmenere. This wine was unbelievable! It resembled a very full bodied Pinot with intense fruit and flavor that just exploded with each sip.
The remaining 4 bottles went down just as smoothly and not a headache to be had!
This article is my mea culpa to the winemakers of Chile. Their price point is very affordable (all the ones we tasted were under $20), and with the great assortment out there to choose from, I am confident you and I will easily find wines that capture our tastes.

Wine Tip: Searching for a specific bottle of wine and can’t seem to find it? Check out www.wine-searcher.com. I found that Caliterra Tributo and ordered 6 bottles!
Na Zdrowia!

© roberta for Luxury Home Digest, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: california, Caliterra Tributo, chile, chilean, napa, tasting, wine, wine-searcher

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Iglu-Dorf Hotel

I grew up in the mountains at Big Bear Lake and spent many winters building igloos. Behind all the effort was the dream that I would one day get to sleep overnight in one of these icy creations.

It now appears someone in Switzerland has beaten me to the punch.

Perched 8,500 ft in the Swiss mountains above 5-star resorts sits Davos, Switzerland. Here one will find Iglu-Dorf, a 15-igloo hotel linked by tunnels. Somehow, it looks like a cross between neolithic caves and eco-housing–where we might get to live like an Eskimo for a day or two (my childhood dream-come-true).

With tempatures reaching minus 20 degrees Celsius, warm clothing and high-tech thermal underwear would be in order as would a keen sense of adventure.

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Post tags: big bear lake, Davos, hotels, ice hotel, igloo, iglu-dorf, luxury, Switzerland

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Earlier today, a client emailed my husband Mike about a great deal on a red Mercedes 500 SL convertible available on eBay. It was a 2004 model with only 7000 miles and offered a three-year warranty to boot. Located in Florida, this two-seater beckoned with a red price tag of around $28,000.

Ever the bargain hunter, Mike grabbed the San Diego Union Tribune’s Sunday classified section for cars, expecting to search through at least three pages for comparable sales.

It turned out be to a very short search because there was less than a quarter-page for all used cars in San Diego.

I am not particularly interested in red convertibles, but the slim number of classified ads in San Diego’s daily newspaper DID catch my attention.

We have all heard that the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and other august print publications are on the ropes. The cause could only be financial, and financial resources are provided primarily by (1) Advertisers and (2) Subscribers (the number of which determine what advertisers pay for advertising).

I’ve been following these stories because I have a natural interest (because of background and training) in journalistic business–and also have a keen and active interest in how information (and advertising) is transmitted via the internet.

And it seems the latter may have overtaken the former. E-Bay and Craigslist are trampling traditional media.

Yesterday morning, I had a call from a Nevada broker asking if we had an agent fluent in Chinese who could help some Chinese investors seeking property in La Jolla.  Hmmm….we have agents who speak Spanish, Polish, Russian and Farsi, but none who were fluent in Chinese.

The solution was simple.

I clicked to Craigslist, immediately placed and paid for an ad for a Chinese-fluent real estate agent–and serendipity took over. Within hours, we had a perfect response.

This morning Shumei Tao, a very bright and talented real estate agent, joined our company, San Diego Previews Real Estate.  She is fluent in not only Mandarin, but Taiwanese, Cantonese–and the Internet. She too thought it serendipitous to find an internet ad that addressed her specific qualifications.

And it was only this evening as I looked at the sparse classified ads in the newspaper that I realized yesterday morning’s  instinctive reaction to a need: Head over to Craigslist and have the ad online within minutes. And then today, a Florida client sends not a classified ad, but an eBay listing for an automobile.

And then I stop to wonder: When was the last time I scanned the newspaper classified ads for…anything?

© roberta for Luxury Home Digest, 2008. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: classified ads, craigslist, ebay, newspaper, san diego real estate, san diego union tribune

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Wine Tasting Tip:
Always begin with a clean clear glass and pour less than an inch into your glass. Always begin with the lightest wines first (white, sparkling, rose’ etc) and then work your way up to the heavy ones (Zins, Cabs, etc). The reason for this is that it helps keep taste buds sensitive so you can enjoy and appreciate each wine you taste. Nibble on a cracker, snack on some cheese–or simply have a sip of water between tastes in order to help preserve your palate.
Na zdrowia!

© roberta for Luxury Home Digest, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: grant street vineyard, san diego wine review, zinfandel

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