Highrises.com Condo Blog

Worth Magazine has looked at all the luxury high-rise condo buildings throughout the world and compiled what they think are the ten best.  They're pretty vague about the criteria they used, only saying that these are "Then of the world's coolest places to live".   We would add a few to the list if we could, like Sierra Towers in LA or Museum Tower in Dallas.

1.  One57 in NYC.  90 floors but only 92 units!

2.  One Hyde Park in London.

3.  Opus in Hong Kong.  A Frank Gehry production.  12 units, 12 floors. 

4.  Absolute Towers in Toronto.  The first tower sold out faster than most concerts... they were gone in 24 hours.

5.  HSB Turning Torso in Copenhagen.  Pictured to the right.  Powered entirely by locally produced renewable

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Just after Marc Schorr, Wynn's COO since 2002, gave his resignation notice for June 1st of this year he put his penthouse condo at Park Towers at Hughes Center for sale at $9.8 million.  According to Clark County property records, Schorr originally paid $4.25 million and in 2009, it hit a price tag of $15 million.  

Park Towers, is a Las Vegas luxury high-rise development, and has all the amenities: pool, spa, tennis, a business center, a wine cellar, beauty salon, fitness center, screening room, library, lush gardens, 24 hour security, underground parking, concierge services valet parking and much more. Park Towers has limited supply as it consists of just two boutique towers and is well known for its high end luxury condo status.

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It was a relatively quiet week. Mixed US economic data had little impact. Events in Europe were the main influence on mortgage rates. Investors were concerned that uncertainty in Europe could slow the pace of global economic growth. As a result, mortgage rates ended the week a little lower.

The bank problems in Cyprus raised broad questions about the relationship between the troubled countries and the stronger countries in the European Union (EU). Early in the week, Cyprus reached an agreement to receive an EU bailout package for its banks. The terms of the aid highlighted the growing reluctance of Germany and the other healthier countries to use taxpayer funds to provide aid to the weaker countries. Investors are concerned that this may slow the…

We have great news we have to share! The Happiest Job in America in 2013 is Real Estate.

Forbes just listed the top 10 happiest (and respectively happiest) jobs in America.  The #1 happiest job was a real estate agent. Careerbliss surveyed 65,000 people to come to this blissful conclusion. The logic behind this is real estate agents are rewarded for their success. They can have a flexible schedule and increase their income with hard work. The careers with less rewards and more office politics scored the lowest on the happy rating including associate attorney, customer service associate and sadly RN’s and teachers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects an 11% increase in real estate jobs from 2010-2020. The majority (57%) of real estate agents

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News of a Cyprus bank bailout proposal caused a flight to safety early in the week which helped mortgage rates. Investors then viewed the Fed statement released on Wednesday as negative for mortgage rates. The two factors roughly offset each other, and mortgage rates ended the week just slightly lower.

The banks in Cyprus, a member of the European Union, are in dire need of additional capital. Cyprus is a tax haven for foreigners and its banking sector is enormous compared to the size of its economy. The EU proposed to loan Cyprus some of the needed funds, if Cyprus raised the rest through a one-time tax on all bank deposits. The bank deposit tax was very unpopular, and government leaders in Cyprus voted against the bailout plan without providing an…

Miami’s newest high rise condos, One Thousand Museum, designed by world renowned Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid, released floorplans today for the futuristic building downtown.  The type of units include three types:

 Full Floor Units

The full floor units at Zaha Hadid include 11,000 square feet each.  There are two designs to choose from, each with 5 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, living room, dining room, family room, kitchen, media room, laundry/staff room, gallery and office.  Each unit also comes with a terrace with a depth of fifteen feet with spectacular views of Miami.  These exclusive Miami condos are placed on the 51st-58th floor for top placement.

Half Floor Units:

Townhouse unitsThe half floor units at One

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Hotels

Bally's

Bally's Remodel Imperial Palace/The Quad The Imperial Palace has been renamed The Quad. Yes, The Quad.

The Palms

The Palms is undergoing a big remodel with changes to the guest rooms, casino, pool, sports book, and more. The project is in progress now and should be complete by late 2013.

THE Hotel/Delano

THEhotel will be remodeled and rebranded as the Delano Las Vegas, a sister to the very upscale, very luxurious, very expensive Miami Beach Delano. Delanowas originally supposed to come to Vegas at Echelon, the complex of hotels that was to replace The Stardust,  but with that project in mothballs the company decided to go elsewhere. The work should be done by the end of 2013.

Hooter's

Hooter's is getting a much needed

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The Feburary 2013 report from the US Census revealed some interesting news for multi family units.  New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places increased 54.9% from Feburary 2012 to Feburary 2013.

In February 2013, 285,000 buildings with five or more units began construction for units in buildings with five units or more, up from 240,000 in February 2012.  As the economy recovers, we expect more completed projects as many we on hold or canceled from 2008-2012.

View some recent developments in Highrises.com's New Buildings Blog.

The Las Vegas Valley median price of single-family homes sold in the region in February was $150,000, unchanged from January but up 24 percent from $121,000 in February 2012, according to a report out today from the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.

A total of 3,232 previously owned homes were sold in the valley last month. That's up from 2,821 in January but below February 2012's total of 3,794.
Short sales, in which lenders agree to sell a home for less than what's owed on the mortgage, accounted for 38 percent of all deals last month. Sales of bank-owned homes comprised 10 percent of February's total.

Meanwhile, inventory keeps shrinking. The number of homes up for sale on the GLVAR's listing service at the end of February was 14,120,

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This spring 300 Ivy, a new mid-rise condo comes to Hayes Valley in San Francisco. 

This quaint neighborhood is surrounded by boutiques and some of the best restaurants in San Francisco.  Even better, 300 Ivy is a perfect location to take Muni quickly to all over the city.   The new building will have mixed use with retail on the ground floor and new SF 63 flats and townhouses.  There will be several amenities craved by SF locals including enclosed bike parking, shared outdoor courtyard, an outside kitchen and even a rooftop garden.

The roof at 300 Ivy will also capture the sun’s energy to provide 50% of the hot water for residents.  The roof will also have a sunbathing deck and breathtaking views of the city.  The units vary from

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