by Roberta Murphy It’s interesting to study living costs in the most expensive cities in the world–at least as tabulated for 2009. According to Mercers, who tabulate these statistics for expatriate living, the 10 most expensive cities (based on housing, food, entertainment, clothing and transportation) are: 1. Tokyo 2. Osaka 3. Moscow 4. Geneva 5. Hong Kong 6. Zurich 7. Copenhagen 8. New York 9. Beijing 10. Singapore Mercer’s, in…
The Luxury of Speculation
The luxury of speculation is that it allows us to wonder and gossip about Wall Street and tech world takeovers–and covet the fortunes being made.
Louis Vuitton Tops Luxury Brands–Followed by Hermes, Gucci
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…
Sometimes a Luxury Home Just…Isn’t
Oh Dear… Yesterday, good friend and Sacramento real estate broker Gena Riede declined to take a $2 million listing in Whitney Oaks–located in Rocklin, just outside Sacramento. The home has magnificent views, is in a fine golf course neighborhood, and offers over 7000 square feet of potential living area. This was a listing appointment that Gena had prepared for in detail. She had reserved space here for an article about…
The Luxury of….No Human Slavery
Jeff and Rocky Turner Jeff and Racquel Turner are two favorite people of mine. Not because Racquel has a heart as wide and deep as the Mississippi River –or because Jeff so unselfishly shares his technological expertise with so many. Rather, they both hold out a helping hand to people and causes that can use a lift. A few years ago, Rocky realized that orphaned girls in Africa were missing…
Venetian Plaster Transformation
by Roberta Murphy The Elegance of Venetian Plaster When first entering this newer San Diego luxury home, we were amazed by its wall and ceiling finishes. Walking slowly from room to room, one can run fingers over the cool burnished walls and the gray stone door arches. The touch is smooth and cool. Even the ceilings and dome gave the impression that we had indeed been transported to a Venetian…
Luxury Above La Costa
by Roberta Murphy At San Diego Previews, we deal with a number of people who are relocating to the San Diego area. They may be from from the East Coast, the desert, Bay area, Midwest or Europe, but all have pretty specific ideas about the lifestyle they anticipate in sunny Southern California. Many of these seekers are seasoned and affluent home buyers–ones who can be pretty specific about the features…
Hong Kong Luxury Real Estate on a Roll
by Scott Murphy $57 Million as a sales price for a Hong Kong apartment? That’s a price that would make the most expensive areas around the world such as San Diego, Los Angeles, New York and even London cringe. This five-bedroom, 6158 square foot luxury duplex suite located at one of Hong Kong’s most prestigious addresses was bought by an unidentified Chinese buyer. And if you think that is…
Luxury Gadget: Bladeless Fan
by Roberta Murphy 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…
States Soak the Rich–and Lose
Soak the Rich? 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…
