JULY & AUGUST 2012 |www.opp.org.uk


expensive boutique hotel with 10 suites. Rates start at about $900 per night and go up to over $2000. It is one of South Florida’s most popular tourist stops with a never-ending line-up of vacationers posing for pictures on the front steps where Versace died. The home’s 54-foot mosaic pool, abundant frescoes on the walls and ceilings, incredibly intricate and colourful tile work, marble, fountains, old-world statues, elaborate window treatments, arched doorways, open-air courtyard and lush Florida landscaping are some of the estate’s many attributes. The property is listed with The Jills of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, one of South Florida’s top real estate teams consisting of Jill Eber and Jill Hertzberg. In a press release announcing the sale, Eber said, “The Casa Casuarina is the crown jewel of luxury real estate. This is not only the most well-known property on South Beach, but it is known world-wide for its elegance, style and attention to detail throughout every room.”


The $125 million price tag is high, but it is a one-of-a-kind property in a location that is popular with wealthy potential buyers throughout the world. Russian billionaires have been particularly active in the Florida market in recent years. Vladislav Doronin from the Moscow-based Capital Group bought Shaquille O’Neil’s Miami Beach home last year for $16 million, and Roustam Tariko from Russian Standard Vodka paid over $25 million for another Miami Beach estate. Russia’s Dmitry Rybolovlev bought Donald Trump’s Palm Beach mansion in 2008 for $100 million.


So, if you have a bit of cash going spare, you might want to jump in quickly!


For more details about the


Versace mansion go to www. toptenrealestatedeals.com/homes/ newsworthy/the-versace-mansion However, not everybody wants to spend $125 million. Fortunately, the world is awash with luxury property carrying a more modest price tag. One of the specialists in this fi eld is the Swiss Development Group. They have launched the Du Parc Kempinski Private Residences, a commanding Belle Epoque-inspired property just an hour from the business hub of Geneva. It sits amidst the UNESCO protected vineyards of the Lavaux overlooking Lake Geneva and offers panoramic views of the Alps. On completion in 2013, the property’s 24 freehold apartments, fully managed and serviced by the neighbouring 5 star hotel Le Mirador Kempinski, will be on the shopping list for high net worth individuals in the market for a scenic alternative to city living. Apartments in phase one, which was launched last year, sold out and now we see the opening of phase two with a further 11


Something special | the Versace mansion is an astounding example of luxury


It is as if having the nice things is not enough. Your friends who have never seen them must know that they are nice by the brand attached to them. For more details of the Du Parc Kempinski Private Residences see www.sdg.ch/project/69


These apartments on the lake are, perhaps, at the bottom end of the true luxury market. If you want luxury, but cheaper, you may need to look at fractional ownership. Le Palace des Vosges is an outstanding and unusual example of a luxury fractional ownership product. The concept was very simple. There are lots of Americans (and others who live a long distance away) who love Paris, who adore the Marais and who would give their right arm to spend one month each year right at the centre of this extraordinary place. Split 13 ways, the cost of even a lavish apartment


restore the property. This was a long and painful process, not to mention being extremely expensive, but the end result is a superb luxury two bedroom two-and-a-half bath apartment for half the price of an ordinary studio in the Marais. They called it ‘Le Palace des Vosges’. Le Palace des Vosges is located on the courtyard adjacent to the Michelin- rated three-star restaurant, L’Ambroisie just one door down from the entrance to the gardens of the Hôtel de Sully – an oasis of calm in the very centre of Parisian life. The apartment is 81 square meters (872 sq ft) with two beautifully decorated bedrooms and two spa-like en-suite bathrooms. You enter through the main door which is part of a two-story high glass panelled wall into a large and spacious elegant living/dining room and open gourmet kitchen that has huge


FEATURE


apartments for sale. Owners will also be able to enjoy an exclusive Davidoff Cigar Lounge and Givenchy Spa as well as receiving membership to the Mirador Country Club. Two-bedroom 200 square meter apartments start at about CHF 6.3 million ( $6.6 million). Swiss Development Group specialises in the development of high-luxury, landmark real estate projects, including fi ve-star hotels and luxury private hotel residences both in Switzerland and abroad. Who buys them and why do they choose their product? Of course, the buyers are rich. They come from all over the world but many are from Europe and many of those from eastern Europe. Most do not need a mortgage.


According to Nicolas Garnier, the CEO of the Swiss Development Group, many of the buyers are attracted not just by the obvious luxury of the apartments and the facilities they enjoy but by the brand associated with the apartments.


becomes affordable.


By an extraordinary stroke of luck, the perfect property became available. Not only was it located in the beautiful square called the Place des Vosges – without doubt, the best address in Paris – but it was part of the original structure erected in 1605. Better still, it was not


“It is as if having the nice things is not enough. Your friends must know they are nice by the brand”


on the main square but in a private courtyard just off the square where you could enjoy all of the amenities in greater peace and tranquillity. Even better, it needed complete refurbishment, allowing the building to be restored to the standard required. So it was that a small group of private investors came to buy and


SUPER HOMES | 41


400-year-old beams and château stone tiled fl oors. The ceilings are more than four metres high and every inch has been restored to ultimate luxury for a dream stay in Paris. It’s a perfect home away from home.


They are now selling on the fractions, each giving the owner a one-thirteenth share in the ownership of the property and the exclusive use of it for four weeks per year. Prices start at about $175,000 – which looks a little more affordable if you can put up with only enjoying this luxury for four weeks per year.


For more information, see adrianleeds.com/le-palace-des- vosges or contact Roy Brazier at palacedesvosges@gmail.com. How do you sell this type of


property – and how do you target this type of buyer?


Some of these spectacular properties are accessible via MLS systems and so can be sold on a split commission basis but, worldwide, most are listed exclusively through one particular agent. Selling those will involve you approaching that agent to try to negotiate an introducer’s commission. That is not easy unless you have experience in the fi eld and a presence likely to attract the right calibre of buyer. Most of these agents would not want their image tainted by association with ‘amateurs’.


The alternative, of course, is to capture the sellers directly. To do this is hard work. Many sellers prefer to deal with the big names in the industry but I know of some small agents who have built up a solid reputation by servicing the needs of the very wealthy to a very high standard in a very small area. Compared with the task of fi nding suitable properties for sale, the task of fi nding potential buyers seems more straightforward. This does not mean to say that it will be easy. The fi rst requirement is a good website on which the properties can be appropriately displayed. Then you have to drive traffi c to that site. We all know how expensive that can be.


Should you place your expensive properties amidst your more lowly offerings? Opinion is divided. The consensus seems to be that if you have a large website with a large number of properties you can get away with having the top end properties in a suitably fl agged area of your main site – but if you only offer a limited range of properties and many of them are low cost, you are better off with a dedicated ‘this is an expensive property’ website. People shopping in this price bracket often do not wish to be associated with the hoi polloi.


Getting involved in this market is not easy but the rewards can be substantial. Commission rates will be lower than on more modest property... but think about 1% of $125 million!


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68