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Posted by Adam

Monday February 27, 2012

OPRAH Winfrey has put her New York City apartment up for sale.

The media mogul is asking $7.9 million for the penthouse — which is located on the 36th floor of Manhattan apartment block, Place 57 — four years after purchasing the residence for $7.1 million.

The flat features a 768 square foot terrace and a triangular living room with a modern kitchen, as well as two bedrooms and a separate dining area.

Oprah’s master suite comes with three walk-in closets and a shower, plus a jetted bath tub.

Her decision to sell the property comes after the 58-year-old star — who was named Hollywood’s highest earning woman last year after earning $290 million between May 2010 and May 2011 — put her Chicago apartment up for rent in November.

The former chat show host offered to let the $5.6 million luxury apartment — which she purchased in 2006 and attempted to sell for $6 million in 2008 — to tenants for $180,000 per year.

Views of Lake Michigan are available from the library, living room and master bedroom, which has 10 foot ceilings, and the 4,607 square foot residence includes a grand foyer, inner foyer, living room, formal dining room, butler’s pantry, three bedrooms and four bathrooms.

Tags: oprah winfrey

Michael Jordan’s Highland Park, Ill., estate is up for sale for $29 million. Is it worth the investment? Let’s take a look.

• The home has 15 full bathrooms and four half baths. The current owner will be taking his half mustache with him.

• The home was constructed from 1993-95 and has a decidedly dated look. While a negative for many, this can be a positive if your wardrobe still consists of hoop earrings and baggy jeans, giving the property a sort of stuck-in-time look, a la Colonial Williamsburg.

• The home has nine bedrooms, ranging in size from a 21 feet by 24 feet master bedroom to a small 9-by-13 room, which could easily be transformed into a Charlotte Bobcats trophy room with space to spare.

• The home includes a full basketball court. The buyer will obviously be able to use the court. Similarly, if you buy Michelangelo’s old canvases, you can doodle on them with crayons. But should you? No.

• The home is 32,683 square feet. On the downside, it includes only a one-car garage. Really. But who can realistically expect more than a one-car garage for $29 million?

• In addition to the $29 million asking price, there are property taxes of $165,300 a year and an insurance price tag of $145,000 annually — or approximately one good night in Vegas.

• The front gate has a large “23″ on it, which would have to be removed by the owner, although 23 could be a meaningful number for anyone. For example, to purchase this home, you might have to have 23 jobs and take out 23 mortgages.

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
On March 24, 2012, bidders will have the opportunity to own a 10,000 sq. ft. Florida mansion situated on an immense waterfront point lot. Platinum Luxury Auctions LLC, a luxury auction firm specializing in high-priced properties, will handle the sale.

Though previously offered for $4.4 million, the mansion will sell to the highest bidder at or above only $1.25 million. “In all of my years of handling exquisite waterfront properties at auction, I do not believe I have seen this type of value-to-discount ratio,” said Trayor Lesnock, president and founder of Platinum Luxury Auctions.

The property is located directly on the Intracostal waterway in Edgewater, Florida, and is equal parts private sanctuary and sportsman’s paradise, with nearly 7.4 acres of lush grounds (and room for a helipad!).

The Frank Lloyd Wright inspired design offers over 10,000 sq. ft. of interior living area, defined by dramatic, open living spaces, lofted ceilings and large windows. Polished hardwood and Florida fieldstone are prominent throughout the home, creating a look that resembles a luxury hunting lodge or mountainside chalet. The main house has 3 bedrooms and 4.5 baths, while the separate guesthouse offers 1 bed and 1 bath, a loft and wet bar.

Other features of the property include a boathouse, L-shaped dock, a commercial-grade kitchen with exhaust fans and deep-fryer, lagoon-style pool with Jacuzzi, illuminated tennis court, 3-car garage with workstation and more.

Edgewater, Florida is a beautiful waterfront city located just south of Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach, and is only an hour drive from Orlando. It is full of small town charm but is also home to a very active business climate, making it an ideal “work-play” location to enjoy the Florida waterfront lifestyle.

For more details on this luxury auction, please visit
www.PointLotEstateAuction.com or call 1.800.262.5132.

Inland Real Estate Corporation (NYSE: IRC) today announced that it has
acquired two retail properties in the Minneapolis market for a total
cost of approximately $46.6 million, excluding closing costs and
adjustments. On February 24, IRC purchased through its joint venture
with PGGM, Silver Lake Village, a grocery-anchored community center
located in St. Anthony, a dense urban inner-tier suburb of Minneapolis,
for $36.3 million. Also on February 24, IRC purchased Woodbury Commons,
a community center located in Woodbury, an affluent eastern suburb of
the Twin Cities, for $10.3 million. The Company plans to contribute
Woodbury Commons to the joint venture with PGGM in the near future.

Silver Lake Village is situated in a prime location within a dense trade
area. The center totals approximately 159,303 square feet of gross
leasable area (GLA), plus a 144,046-square-foot Wal-Mart store on a
ground lease. The center is anchored by market-leading grocer Cub Foods,
and additional tenants include a strong mix of national and regional
retailers such as Applebee’s, Chipotle, Caribou Coffee, Wells Fargo,
GNC, RadioShack and Sally Beauty Supply. The center is approximately 94
percent leased, including ground leases. Upon closing, the venture will
assume a restructured $20 million property-level loan with a seven-year
term.

Woodbury Commons is located in one of the fastest-growing suburban areas
in the Minneapolis metropolitan area. The center totals 116,197 square
feet of GLA, and its tenants include Outback Steakhouse, Applebee’s,
Hancock Fabrics, Payless Shoe Source and Sally Beauty Supply. The
property is shadow-anchored by Wal-Mart, and IRC has also signed a lease
with a new anchor tenant that will bring the center to 100 percent
leased occupancy after closing. IRC anticipates placing financing on the
asset at leverage levels consistent with its existing business plan.

“These two acquisitions exemplify our strategy of acquiring high-quality
assets in the best infill locations within our primary markets,” said
Scott Carr, president of property management for Inland Real Estate
Corporation. “Both of these centers offer significant upside potential
through a targeted leasing program that will fill vacancies through our
existing relationships with tenants already in the IRC portfolio. In
addition, these assets were acquired in an off-market transaction
sourced from a local developer with whom we have an established
relationship.”

Housing appears to be rated a “buy” these days, especially among investors, who see a ripe and rising rental market and big potential for income. But is it the right time yet for what I call “organic” buyers to get in? By this I mean people buying a home to actually live in it, raise a family in it, let the dog run around in the back yard. If prices are still falling, couldn’t an even better deal be waiting down the road a bit?

No. House prices will continue to fall on a national basis at least through 2012, but you have to look past national headlines to your local market, which is likely already recovering nicely. The trouble with the national numbers is that they are heavily weighted toward the lower end of the market and to the distressed end of the market.

Around 73 percent of homes that sold in January were priced below $250,000, according to the National Association of Realtors. Forty-seven percent of homes sold that same month were considered “distressed,” which is either a foreclosure or a short sale (where the lender allows the borrower to sell for less than the value of the mortgage). With all the activity in these areas, no surprise that prices skew lower.