by Roberta Murphy The Acura Tennis Classic is returning to La Costa Resort and Spa July 28 August 5 -and glorious Carlsbad, CA weather should greet 56 of the top women tennis players in the world during this weeklong match. These tennis stars will be arriving from all corners of the globe, and include such luminaries as tennis divas Venus Williams and Maria Sharipova, along with Rancho Santa Fes own…
Show Me the Money: San Diego
by Roberta Murphy Its always interesting to know how metropolitan communities stack up when it comes to median household income, and San Diego is no exception. There were a few surprises. I had no idea Carlsbad would outrank Encinitas, or that Poway would beat out Coronado. San Diego is full of surprises. When to comes to compiling such reports (and a host of others), there is no finer source than…
Smart Investor Secret: Luxury Vacation Rentals
by Roberta Murphy Investment in high end real estate markets can be a challenge for most buyers. If the price of the real estate does not intimidate, then the low cap rate, or return on investment, will. In fact, carrying costs v income on luxury real estate investments are often negative for many years, or until the property is sold. With real estate investors in our expensive San Diego market,…
Interactive Luxury Home Surfaces?
by Roberta Murphy [youtube]LGcYkSnvVDM[/youtube] Much has been written and said about Microsoft’s new surface computing technology. It is the WOW technology of the year. Sooner than many of us thought possible, this technology will first become a defining feature in luxury homes, and as adoption increases and prices drop, it will likely appear as a builder option in many tract subdivisions. Imagine interactive coffee tables that wirelessly download photos from…
Off-the-Grid and Low Impact Homes
by Roberta Murphy Several months ago, in an interesting discussion with Marc LaChance, I was introduced to off-the-grid homebuilding. Marc has a plan and the means to build homes where electrical, telephone, gas, water and sewer lines do not run. I saw some early plans for his homes, and was highly impressed with their beauty, functionality and earth-friendliness. It seems when one door opens in the mind, it leads to…
Uptown Ruppies and Their Urban Retreats
by Roberta Murphy Two years ago, I met a wonderful couple who lived in a lovely custom home overlooking La Costa Resort and Golf Course. The view from their Carlsbad, CA home was picturesque and their home seemed to suit them perfectly. They were both successful writers, worked from home, and appeared to enjoy an idyllic lifestyle. Their La Costa luxury home was on the market, and I was surprised…
New Luxury Real Estate Show
by Roberta Murphy I just heard from Eric Carlsen that he and Online WalkThru were going to be hosting the new Vox One weekly video webcast. This program will center on the luxury home market, luxury mortgages and lending, new home and real estate technologies, top luxury real estate agents and changes taking place in the luxury home market. I have always been a fan of their luxury home video…
Hot Tomatoes and Cool Bloggers
by Roberta Murphy The Real Estate Tomato hosts a number of real estate blogs throughout the country–and provides guidance regarding blogging basics, layout, design and the technical tangles that occasionally plague us all. Keith Jeppson with Salt Lake Speaks suggested that we create a blogroll of all us folk on the Tomato Vine. Since blogrolls seem to be on the outs with search engines, I have taken to including my…
Newspaper Advertising: A Dead Horse?
by Roberta Murphy Early weekend mornings are quiet around our household. The guys like to sleep in, the parrots are quieter than usual and I have the luxury of spidering around the web and spinning ideas. The newspaper still sits in the driveway, and will remain there until Eric, our middle son, goes out to retrieve it so he can read the sports pages. Until that time, the world is…
World’s Most Expensive Mansion
by Roberta Murphy This may arguably be the most expensive and tallest private residence ever built. Indias wealthiest man, Mukesh Ambani, 50, is slated to begin construction of a billion dollar glass and steel skyscraper home in Mumbai City, the financial capital of India. The 27 story building will be designed to house his family of six and staff of 600, with six floors dedicated to the storage and parking…
