by Roberta Murphy I really want to talk about the effect gas prices will have on real estate, but first wish to tell a little story: My grandgather, Adolph Michelson emigrated at the age of 7 with his family from Norway to Deadwood, South Dakota. It required a long, hard journey by steamship. train and wagon to arrive at their eventual home in the steep hills above Deadwood. It was…
Yahoo! to Google: Real Time Stock Quotes
Google has become a noun, a verb and a trusted friend in my life. It of course answers endless questions and sends curious clients my way, but also handles my email, documents, maps, spreadsheets, instant chat, and more. And when I want to check traffic conditions, I can do it with another Google real time mapping application on the Blackberry. Just when I have to count both fingers and toes…
Databases Coming Out the Wazoo?
by Roberta Murphy Call this a geeky rant. Call it a blonde tirade. Call it what you want, but I just don’t know what to do about diverse databases. I think I have them coming out the Wazoo. If you came here seeking luxury news, you may want to click away and come back tomorrow. Right now, I am trying to sort out a database problem that honestly keeps me…
Rise in Luxury Home Foreclosures, Short Sales and REO’s?
by Roberta Murphy Luxury Home Foreclosures? It appears that even the luxury real estate market will not fully escape the financial ravages that are taking down less-expensive neighborhoods. Housing Wire asks: Has REO gone jumbo? To find out, they consulted with Integrated Asset Services, LLC in Colorado to see if foreclosures are moving up the real estate food chain. And though not all properties with loans in excess of the…
Solar Panels for the Green Luxury Home
by Roberta Murphy Upon first seeing these beautifully-designed solar panels, I couldn’t help but imagine other applications and modifications for the green lifestyle–whether it be in the luxury home, a school yard, a country club or off-the-grid project. Imagine these cobra-shaped shades as swiveling solar panels that take the place of outdoor umbrellas around the pool. Or as bus stop shelters or airport curbside check-in. The possibilities are endless and…
Troubled Homeowners: Beware the Predators
by Roberta Murphy The real estate predators are always there–in good times and in bad. There are whispered stories in real estate circles of certain escrow and loan officers who, in the heady days of real estate, slipped deeds into the stacks of papers homeowners were signing as they refinanced their homes. The deed, of course, moved the property into the predator’s claws. As the Discovery Channel shows, predators will…
A Call to Luxury Blogs and Bloggers
by Roberta Murphy I love luxury and enjoy reading luxury blogs. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to visit them all to ferret out the latest in luxury news. One solution is to create a luxury blog network that will syndicate content from the best luxury blogs–whether they are focused on bling, luxury travel, luxury real estate, luxury clues, luxury furnishings or just the rich and famous. The Luxury Blog Network…
Meet This San Diego Real Estate Blogger in San Francisco!
by Roberta Murphy I attended the Inman Connect event in San Francisco last year and met lots of people I knew only from the real estate blogging world–and others who would become good friends. Could I resist missing this event, where we can peer over the bloody edge of the envelope and see what’s in store not only for the real estate market, but in the technologies that serve and…
Luxury on a Gold-Plated Shoestring
by Roberta Murphy I call Eve Sieminski the Polish Contessa. She loves fine jewelry, expensive hairstylists and fine wine. I don’t know where Eve shops for jewelry or what deal (if any) she strikes with her hairstylist, but we follow her wine recommendations religiously. Eve truly knows how to serve luxury on a gold-plated shoestring. You see, the Polish Contessa, has no problem pouring a classless wine down the drain,…
Nouveau Luxury Home Buyers: Instapreneurs
by Roberta Murphy Who are these young and ultra-affluent buyers of homes in Rancho Santa Fe, Palm Beach, La Jolla, Aspen and Manhattan? Robert Frank, in his best-seller Richistan, calls them instapreneurs (didn’t he coin the term?). These are the new titans in technologies, who have benefited from a rise in financial speculation and governments that support free trade and wealth. Instapreneurs are not plodders when it comes to accumulating…
