First impressions make lasting ones as you step foot inside and anticipate the delights to come.

Exceptional elegance with views of the water don the walls of nearly every room.  The lakefront offering includes six bedrooms, five bathrooms and two half baths, with living space measuring 6,508 square feet and over 7900 square feet total seated on over an acre.

Exquisitely embellished with flowing inlaid travertine marble floors, extensive stonework and a magnificent fireplace the home evokes a quality of regal distinction.

A sophisticated study adjoins with exotic Brazilian mahogany floors and built-ins.

The formal dining room has a picturesque view and sets the stage for truly memorable evenings accented by coffered ceiling, classic columns and an elegant alabaster chandelier.

Unequalled comfort and convenience are yours in the family room complete with a wet bar and perfect location with access to the pool.

Paula and Emeril would love this kitchen, featuring the best of appliances from Bosch, SubZero and Viking, as they would also enjoy the convenience of the butler’s pantry. Break out the cookbooks and let go of your inner chef!

With over six thousand square feet, there is an abounding sense of space – including a recreation room, large laundry area and a three-car garage.

Spanning two stories, this estate accommodates a large family. Enjoy sweet dreams in the grand master suite which epitomizes polished sophistication. Creature comfort is redefined in the master bath with two of everything.

With its large covered terrace, barbeque, gazebo, waterfall, spa and mature Royal Palms, this lakefront resort-style pool looks as if it came out of the pages of a Condé magazine. This is a home for the ages . . . present and future.

Recap of Features:

Foyer

• Enormously elegant Alabaster Chandelier.
• Finest of Marble Floors.
• Domed Foyer Ceiling with a fresco of the night sky

Exceptional Kitchen

• 2 Sub Zero’s
• 2 Bosch Dishwashers
• Butler’s Pantry
• Granite Counters
• Stainless Hood
• Gas Viking Stove and ovens

The Master Suite

• Spa-like atmosphere
• Only the finest of built-in furnishings
• A separate cozy sitting area which overlooks the pool and water
• Angels will float above you as you slumber away

The Master Bath

• His and hers showers
• Two Marble Vanities and Sinks
• Step-down Jacuzzi Tub
• Separate, Private Toilet Areas
• Ladies Bidet, an absolute delight
• ceiling with a fresco of the night sky

Additional Interior Features

• Stunningly beautiful social areas
• Multiple Fluted Coral Columns throughout the entire interior and exterior of the home
• Formal Dining area
• Elegant Alabaster Chandelier and sconces
• Flowing Family Room with a built in wet-bar area overlooking the pool
• Separate downstairs bedroom with hardwood floors and full bathroom
• 2 downstairs half baths
• Marble staircase which leads you to three bedrooms upstairs, each with its own bathroom.
• Upstairs area has a large loft that can be set as its own private media room
• Hardwood doors throughout the home with the finest hardware

Exterior Features

• A Private Resort Style Swimming Pool that you might only find in a top rated Conde Nast resort. This pool features a rock waterfall that spills into an inviting spa. Find tranquility, behind the waterfall you will a hideaway Gazebo that is shaded by palms and offers peaceful water views. Coral style pool deck and beautiful covered areas.
• Mature Oak Trees surround & shade the Media/ Recreation Room. With its floor to ceiling windows, this room has some of the best garden, pool and water views in the entire home.
• Long pavered circular driveway that may fit over 20 vehicles.
• Front entrance has a formal Porte Cohere with fluted columns and water fountain.
• Home is set back on this beautiful lot.

Laundry Area

• Laundry Area is so large it can be turned into a maids quarters. It also has a very large side patio area that is walled off yet open to the sky.

Garage

• Immense three-car garage with plenty of room for all your extra toys.

Security and Hurricane Protection

• Many of the windows and doors have the Roladen automatic roll down hurricane protection.
• Gated community
• Monitored security system

 Offered at $1,900,000.  Additional photos and information are at ewm.com.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The foyer opens into a  living room boasting thirty-five foot ceilings, giving you plenty of room to hang your Joy Palenzuela paintings or the Renoir you just picked up at Christies. A small crowd gathers around the custom fireplace as they admire the great view of the outdoors through the high-impact (hurricane-proof) glass. Children are jumping from the jacuzzi into the heated pool, which is a year-round amenity. It’s difficult to stay around the fireplace with the smell of bar-b-que ribs cooking in the summer kitchen, a stainless-steel grill embedded in granite. Another crowd is watching the Miami Dolphins play the Pittsburg Steelers as the boys scream and run in and out of the oversized playhouse with swingset and slides.

Even with the screams from the game and the kids, the estate has a private, five-foot cement wall. Lush landscaping and accent lights adorn the property, including avocado and mango trees, which you have used to make your famous guacamole and salsa dips — fresh from your own back yard!

The kitchen boasts:

• Natural wood cabinetry with glass insets and molding
• Butler’s pantry which leads into the dining room
• Cook island
• Two sub-zeros – on for the refrigerator; one for freezer
• Thermador double ovens with warming tray and microwave
• Viking cooktop with six burners
• Two dishwashers
• Granite bar that frames the kitchen — as it overlooks the family room complete with plasma TV. This bar is extensive and works well for buffet-style entertaining (which could accommodate up to ten bar stools) or the kids doing their massive homework projects.

Flooring throughout includes:

• Inlaid marble in the social areas
• Brazilian cherry wood in the bedrooms, billiard room and dining room
• Back patio has marble as well.

Bedrooms:

• Seven bedrooms, each with its own personality –
• Varying heights in the ceilings of each room
• Extensive crown molding
• Each bedroom has its own bathroom

Bathrooms:

• Seven bathrooms and two half baths
• Master bath is his-n-her styled — and
• Two half baths – one on each side of the house.
• Cabana bath with outside shower
• All bathrooms have granite and marble floors

The public schools* in the area are as follows:

• Pinecrest Elementary (FCAT Scores)
• Palmetto Middle School
• Palmetto Senior High School

The private schools in the area are:

• Gulliver
• Palmer Trininity
• Westminster

Other areas of interest:

Offered at $2,999,999.

Can be rented for $16,000 a month unfurnished (2-year lease only)

Click here to view the embedded video.

_____

CAVEAT: School boundaries are subject to change. Please verify by accessing Miami-Dade School Locator website.

]]> http://blog.ewm.com/2009/09/11/rocky-mountain-high-am-i-in-south-florida-6131-sw-128th-street-pinecrest-florida-33156/feed/ 1 http://thedicarlogroup.com/2009/08/20/beautiful-ponce-davis-home/ http://thedicarlogroup.com/2009/08/20/beautiful-ponce-davis-home/#comments Thu, 20 Aug 2009 07:42:50 +0000 gregdicarlo http://thedicarlogroup.com/2009/08/20/beautiful-ponce-davis-home/ This Ponce Davis home is absolutely stunning. The home offers 6 bedrooms, 6 full baths, 1 half bath, media room, library, bar, pool, lush landscaping, generator and 3 car garage. Priced at $3.750 M

Ponce Davis is a beautiful are just outside of Coral Gables. Minutes to Sunset Place, Merrick Park and Downtown Coral Gables.

c

Courtesy of: Zeder EWM

3 Bedroom | 3.5 Baths | 3,211 Sq. Ft. | 14 Ft. Ceilings | 2 Garage Spaces

$2,199.999

Contact Nancy

Are you looking for something special? One of the most smashing condos at Aqua! Check out this huge 3 bedroom, 3.5 bathrooms with 3,211 sq ft loft with 14 ft ceilings. Breathtaking panoramic postcard views of ocean, intracoastal and La Gorce Island from your wrap around balcony. This condo is impeccably finished, professionally decorated, perfect for your art and gracious family entertaining. Highlights: marble floors throughout, bulthaup open kitchen, custom closets and drapes, lighting installations, ready to move in! This unit also offers 2 garage spaces, valet service, dock space available and pets are welcome.  Superior all around!

Chatham at Aqua – 201 Aqua Avenue

• Year Built: 2004
• Location: Bayfront
• Number of Units: 16
• Number of Stories: 11
• Complete Fitness Center with lap pool
• Stunning swimming pool surrounded by terraces
• Story room and children’s recreation center
• Executive Business Center –Conference Center – Private Office Suites
• Valet Services
• Concierge Service

Luxury home sales on the rise again in South Florida

Luxury homes are selling again in South Florida — a promising sign of new life in the housing market.

For video interview with Audrey Ross by Herald staff, click here: http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/1167851.html

BY MONICA HATCHER

(August 2, 2009) Patricia Delinois’ Black-Berry is buzzing again. After a long, dreary drought, her Sunday afternoons are filling up with open houses.

Delinois, who handles very expensive real estate, says a flurry of new activity is providing hope that the luxury home market has a pulse again, after taking a beating in recent months — albeit with kid gloves.

“We were having open houses and nobody would come,” said Delinois, presi-dent of Century 21 Premier Elite Realty. “Now, we’re getting five, six, 10 families coming through. I’m really praying and keeping my fingers crossed this is a permanent thing.”

Confidence seems to be returning, as well as a rising tide of money from outside the country, positive signs for both the high-end housing market, and the real estate market in general. Demand fed by foreign money has always been a critical piece of the real estate puzzle in South Florida.

“We’re on our way out of the worst [of the economic downturn]” said Manny Mesa, a Doral-based trial lawyer who is hunting for a bigger home for his wife and four children.

On Thursday, he toured the digs of former Miami Heat point guard Tim Hardaway. Hardaway is asking $3.9 million for the five-bedroom, five-bath home on almost two acres in the Pinecrest area. It boasts a six-foot coral rock wall for privacy and a closet the size of a very large bedroom.

“People are confident that the world is not ending,” said Adam Greenberg, a managing director for BayBridge, a Miami-based brokerage and mortgage banking firm. “They were so concerned it was ending and that our financial system could falter.”

When the global economy took a dive last year, real estate prices plummeted, including prices for South Florida’s toniest properties, priced at $1 million or more.

And then things got worse. As the calendar year turned, fear that the global financial system was heading off a cliff brought South Florida’s luxury home market — largely dependent on foreign wealth — to a standstill. In January, just nine houses priced over $1 million sold in Miami-Dade and seven in Broward.

But now brokers and some analysts are sensing a collective, if tentative, sigh of relief among the very wealthy, as evidenced by the recent uptick in luxury home sales. In June, the last full month of available data, 25 were sold in Broward and 41 in Miami-Dade.

The figures are still significantly off from the market’s peak, when about twice as many were selling on a monthly basis. And prices are still droopy.

Nonetheless, real estate brokers say it is evident that foreign buyers are returning to South Florida as news spreads globally that many of the region’s tropical, waterfront palaces are on sale. Among the bargains: Shaquille O’Neal’s 2.45 acre estate on Star Island, which sold recently for $16 million, about $2 million less than he paid for it in 2004.

SALES PITCH

Marketing a really ritzy home can involve having a robust website devoted just to that one property, color spreads in the Robb Report (billed as “The Global Luxury Source”) and advertising spots on shows like Extra and Power Lunch on CNBC. But in other ways it’s not that different from selling a two-bedroom CBS in South Miami. Delinois recommends having scented candles burning and a loaf of bread baking in the oven.

“Smell is very, very important,” said Delinois, who must know something, having sold Hulk Hogan’s home on North Bay Road in Miami Beach for a whopping $17.9 million.

Alas, despite Delinois’ recommendation, Hardaway didn’t have any candles burning or bread baking when Mesa stopped by. He didn’t get the sale either.

Mesa said he was going to keep on looking.

Brokers and analysts say the renewed activity in high-end real estate is at least partly because of a revived interest among lenders in making very large loans, called jumbo loans.

Banks’ appetite for jumbo loans — defined as more than $423,750 in South Florida — had all but evaporated as lenders hunkered down to weather the storm.

“They are marketing, inviting us to their offices to meet with them to tell us what they can do,” said Tere Bernacé, a broker specializing in waterfront properties in Coral Gables and a former banker with Barclays Capital. “They say they are trying to increase their profile again in our market.”

Added Delinois: “I have never had a bank calling before to say they were lending.” BayBridge’s Greenberg said banks are interested in the rich and famous because they are looking for safety.

“They see values as very depressed and borrowers in the super luxury home market as a very unlikely default candidates,” he said.

In the past 30 days, BayBridge has closed three loans that were over $5 million.

“I’ve never had a client that has defaulted on a loan over $5 million, in the nine years I’ve been doing this,” Greenberg said.

Spokesmen for Ocean Bank and BBU Bank in Coral Gables acknowledged they are actively seeking the business of luxury home buyers.

That doesn’t mean the loans are easy to get. Large loans require much heftier down payments — up to 50 percent of the purchase price — and stringent verification of income and assets.

Those who buy in the ultra-luxury category (homes priced at $5 million or more) often aren’t looking for loans.

“Most of the people who buy at this price point don’t finance, and if they do, it’s a matter of convenience,” said Audrey Ross, a senior vice president of Esslinger Wooten Maxwell.

In the past three months, Ross brokered three sales in Gables Estates — each for more than $5 million, she said. Two were all-cash transactions.

FIRST TO RECOVER

Ross, who has specialized in high-end real estate for 25 years, said typically the ultra-luxury sector takes less of a hit in real estate downturns and is usually the first to recover.

Luxury prices have held up significantly better in the current slump than the market as a whole, according to Coral Gables-based real estate analyst David Dabby.

For homes selling for more than $1 million, the price per square foot has fallen about 14 percent in Miami-Dade and 20 percent in Broward from the 2006 peak.

That compares to a 50 percent decline in the market as a whole, Dabby said.

Jill Hertzberg, a broker with Coldwell Banker, who along with her partner Jill Eber was ranked eighth nationwide in sales volume last year by The Wall Street Journal and LORE Magazine, said unheard of deals on luxury properties are driving interest.

Hertzberg cooed over a fully renovated home in Miami Beach with a stunning wide-water vista of Miami’s skyline that “`screamed out to anyone wanting a downtown view and a beautiful home.”

Originally listed for $4.1 million, the property was dropped to $3.2 million and quickly drew multiple offers. It is now under contract and a closing date has been set.

“These are great properties,” Hertzberg said. “They aren’t second-rate properties. They are adjusting down to prices that are incredible, that no one has see before and people are buying them.”

We are so totally in the right place at the right time. Look what we found practically in our own back yard.

This is exactly what we’ve been searching for — an incredible 2-acre estate right on the Atlantic Ocean in Key Largo. That’s not more than a couple of hours from our office, but as soon as you enter the private compound and the gate closes behind you, it feels like a whole other world. Honestly, we’re in heaven. We were meant to live here.

See the grand foyer entrance with that fabulous staircase? Yes, we know the gourmet kitchen is a chef’s dream and we promise we’ll actually do some cooking, but first could we concentrate on the extraordinary details we’re finding throughout the rest of the house? Like the floors … Brazilian cherry hardwood and natural stone. The custom cabinetry. The French doors. The loft. The guest house. And how about the pool – isn’t it great? We love it all!

Some decisions are easier than others. We unanimously award this very real dream home FOUR DOORKNOBS!!

Click the special doorknob below for even more inside info about this magnificent Florida Keys estate.

For those of you who are looking at luxury condos in Coconut Grove, here are some interesting facts about what is going on at The Grovenor House.

• 30% of the units at The Grovenor House are on the market.
• There are 2 short sales and or foreclosures in the building which makes it one of the most stable condos in the Miami area.
• The 2 bedroom units with City views are available in the $600,000 to $800,000 price range.
• Unit 509 is the only 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath unit with Bay Views to be priced below $1,000,000.  There are 5 other units exactly like it currently for sale priced above $1,000,000.  In an effort to remain competitively priced, you can expect the sellers of the other similar units to follow suit.
• The 3 bedroom units with Bay views start at $1,399,000.
• There have been 3 closed sales this year at The Grovenor House.  The first was for a 3 bedroom, 3 bath unit with 2,640 square feet of living space on the 19th floor and direct water views which closed for $1,500,000.  The other two units had 2 bedrooms, 2 baths and City views which closed for $670,000 and $700,000.

To view all properties currently available at The Grovenor House, click here.

If you are interested in any of these properties at The Grovenor House, or other real estate in Coconut Grove, please feel to send me a note here or call at 305.342.1623.

Walking distance from University of Miami, Jaycee Park, close to great restaurants,

Sunset Place, shops, Publix and the best public and private schools in Miami – Dade

Home will be open this Sunday July 12,2009

from:2-4pm- refreshments will be served

Home features five bedroom, six bathrooms, formal living and dinning room

Spacious kitchen, two family rooms and much more

Offered at $1,175,000 – ML # 1341560

See … doesn’t he look happy?

And why wouldn’t he be the picture of contentment? He’s got an amazing Mediterranean-style home with two fireplaces, a library, entertainment room, wet bar and an incredible designer kitchen. Sounds great, yes? Well, that’s just what’s in his Main House.  Besides all that, there’s the detached car collector showroom, the game house with home theater, the pool, the pool house, plus the tennis and basketball courts. Let’s see … what are we forgetting? Oh, silly us!  How about the 18-hole miniature golf course and the FAA approved air strip.

Thing is, we know some of this wonderfulness is probably lost on the horse. If you asked him what he appreciates most about his private paradise, he’d proudly show you his six barn stable and his training ring. Go figure!

Can you please take one second and check out the pool?

This is where we want to be. All four of us. And not as birds or giraffes or dogs, either. Just incredibly fortunate people living the exceedingly good life. Yes, absolutely definitely without a doubt – we unanimously award this magnificent retreat from the ordinary world FOUR DOORKNOBS!

Click on the special doorknob below for details, photos and a great virtual tour of the estate. Enjoy!