Welcome to The Brokerbabble Glossary, wherein Curbed contributor Jeremiah Budin expands the popular column he created for Curbed NY to a national arena. The concept: take a word or phrase that shows up in an unreasonable number of listings and decipher its true meaning. Ideas? Send them to the tipline. [2312 Calle De Panza Northwest, Albuquerque, N.M., via Trulia ] The concept of luxury is at least a little bit subjective. Something that is luxurious is characterized by elegance, splendor, refinement, and so on, all of which—one could argue—are in the eye of the beholder. Of course, when the beholder is a broker with a property to sell, luxury can be found in every bedroom and bathtub in the country. Therefore, although one might expect, for instance, that a “luxurious bath” would be large enough to contain (at least) one adult human body, that expectation would be misguided. Very misguided. [722 Dryden Drive, Baltimore, via Trulia ] Let’s hope that the word ‘master’ refers to the master bedroom and not to a well-dressed (and updated) overlord that comes with the house. Actually, considering the size of that bedroom, let’s hope it doesn’t. [5210 Catalpha Road, Baltimore, via Trulia ] What qualifies a bath as luxurious, exactly? To be fair, compared to what things were like a hundred years ago every bath is luxurious, so maybe these listings are aimed mainly at time-traveling frontiersmen. [11205 Azalea Drive, Pittsburgh, via Trulia ] Yep. Definitely. Any style. · All Brokerbabble Glossary posts [Curbed NY] · All Brokerbabble Glossary posts [Curbed National]
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The Brokerbabble Glossary: Decoded: the Most "Luxurious" Listings in the Country
Have a nomination for a jaw-dropping listing that would make a mighty fine House of the Day? Get thee to the tipline and send us your suggestions. We’d love to see what you’ve got. Click here to view the full photogallery. Location: Malibu, Calif. Price: $50,000,000 The Skinny: Former Yahoo! CEO Terry Semel earned plenty of criticism from shareholders for the excessive compensation he received during his tenure as the company’s chief and now we know where some of it went: to a Michael Graves-designed waterfront mansion on Malibu’s Carbon Beach, colloquially known as “Billionaire’s Beach.” It will take a billionaire’s budget to secure the 10,300-square-foot spread, with nine bedrooms, 13 baths, and 151 feet of beach frontage. Completed in Graves’ usual combination of “modernism and classicism,” the compound includes a “screening pavilion,” a detached, barrel-vaulted structure that would be perfect for a wealthy Hollywood exec. · 22314 Pacific Coast Highway [Hilton & Hyland]
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House of the Day: Former Yahoo! Boss Lists for $50M on Malibu’s Carbon Beach
Click here to view the full photogallery. Photos: Luxist The A-list actor and comedian Eddie Murphy has been trying to sell his sprawling 30-room mansion in the NYC suburb of Englewood, N.J. for almost eight years. Murphy purchased the place for $3.5M back in ’85 and dubbed it “Bubble Hill,” after the slang word for party. Now he can finally throw a party to celebrate unloading the place, most recently listed for $12.75M, down from a 2004 asking price of $30M. The 5.4-acre estate is one of the largest in the neighborhood and features a mansion-sized guest house, “bowling alley, a pool, racquetball and tennis courts, a screening room and a recording studio.” There’s no word yet on the identity of the buyer or the (probably reduced) price they paid. · Comedian Murphy’s estate on brink of sale [Miami Herald]
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Celebrity Real Estate: Eddie Murphy’s "Bubble Hill" Party Palace Finally Finds Buyer
Here at Curbed celebrity real estate is a dime a dozen, from tales of woe, to multimillion-dollar transactions, to sports stars trading one massive mansion for another. How can one make sense of all these famous people buying and selling properties? Enter the Celebrity Real Estate Heat Map. Below, please find the 20 hottest stories from the past few months, taking place as close as Connecticut and as far away as Hawaii. Of course, NYC and Los Angeles are veritable epicenters of celebrity real estate madness, so be sure to zoom in on those cities closely. See someone missing? Leave ‘em in the comments. · All Curbed Celebrity Heat Maps [Curbed National]
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Curbed Maps: Updating the Curbed Celebrity Heat Map: Spring 2012
Click here to view the full photogallery. Celine Dion has listed her 24,000-square-foot private island estate, located some 15 minutes from Montreal, for 29.3M, and one really has to wonder: what would the 24,000-square-foot private island estate of a Vegas headliner who wore a “seven-pound tiara composed of 2,000 Austrian crystals” for her wedding and was once fined for using 6.5M gallons of water a year to fill her pool at her Florida compound actually look like? Yup, exactly. According to the Wall Street Journal, Dion and husband René Angélil have been spending more time south of the Canadian border recently, which is why they’re trying to unload the French Normandy-style castle. In addition to the dizzingly opulent interiors, the pop star will also leave behind Persian rugs, linens, china, flatware, art, and her massive collection of antique furniture, which are all included in the purchase price. Some standout details: a foyer with inlaid marble floors, a dungeon-like stone wine cellar, and a pool house with its own kitchen. All this on an 830,000-square-foot private island that’s accessible only by a gated bridge. Don’t worry, though, “a helipad can be created to make access by air possible.” · Celine Dion Lists a Private Canadian Island For $29.3 Million [WSJ] · Majestic Mansion set on Private Island [Sotheby's Canada]
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Celebrity Real Estate: Here Now, Celine Dion’s Utterly Insane Private Island Estate
Released by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency: the 1:84 scale model of Osama bin Laden’s Pakistani compound that was used to plan last year’s raid. The detailed replica took six weeks to build with painstaking precision, from the clay fields to the styrofoam buildings. [New York Daily News via Gizmodo ]
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bin Laden’s Hideout: Released by the National Geospatial Intelligence…
Welcome to Friday Open Threads, wherein Curbed passes the mic to readers: let thy voices be heard in the comments section—and, please folks, fight fair. Have something you want discussed next week? Send it this way. It’s official: an earthly being has dropped a record $90M to $100M on the 10,923-square-foot duplex penthouse of One57, a glassy midtown condo building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Christian de Portzamparc. (The building is still under construction, but view the floorplan and finishes over here. ) Said mysterious buyers will not only inhabit the highest residential space in the city—the unit occupies the 89th and 90th floors—but according to the developer they’re also “a very nice family” and “someone that people would recognize.” Generally speaking, now, homes in the $90M to $100M price range are under the jurisdiction of a different stratosphere of the wealthy, like Russian venture capitalists or the god-blessed offspring of billionaires ( Petra Ecclestone, Ekaterina Rybolovleva ). Even Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison hovers in the $40M range, and the record that Rupert Murdoch set in 2005 when he dropped $44M on a triplex penthouse in Manhattan seems like peanuts now. So while one commenter over on Curbed NY postulates that the unnamed new owner of the One57 penthouse is the Beckham family, the claim seems dubious. (Although wouldn’t that be something!) Got guesses? Leave them in the comments. · All Friday Open Threads [Curbed National] · One57 Penthouse Sells for $90M+ in NYC’s Biggest-Ever Deal [Curbed NY] · At Over $90 Million, Sale of Midtown Penthouse Sets a New York Record [New York Times]
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Friday Open Threads: Who’s the Mystery Buyer of NYC’s Priciest-Ever Apartment?
Click here to view the full photogallery. Photos via Contemporist Created by the Singapore-based firm MAPS Design, the Residences at the W Koh Samui are some of the most attractive beachside villas in the world. With more than a half mile of white sand beach, only 19 residences, and a remote location, there’s little chance of a crowd forming to spoil the paradise. The two- and three-bedroom homes are priced from 65M thai baht, or $2.07M, but there’s little sense in converting the prices to dollars. According to the official W website: “The residential units are not offered to individuals who reside in the United States, entities organized under the law of the United States, nor to persons or entities located in the United States.” It’s not quite clear why this is, but perhaps it explains why Facebook’s Eduardo Saverin, a Singapore resident, is looking to renounce his American citizenship. · The Residences [W Koh Samui]
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Globe Trotting: Sleek Villas on Chic Thai Island Off Limits to American Buyers
Have a nomination for a jaw-dropping listing that would make a mighty fine House of the Day? Get thee to the tipline and send us your suggestions. We’d love to see what you’ve got. Click here to view the full photogallery. Location: York, Maine Price: $1,490,000 The Skinny: Nestled on a patch of grass just steps from the rocky shore, this is a Maine cottage in its highest expression. From the location, to the shingle-style design, to the stone fireplaces, even to a lack of bathrooms—just two for six bedrooms—this coastal cottage was built for another era but would suit the casual summer home enthusiast as well. Nothing here is too precious, but it all has a fitting patina. The kitchen, while small, has wooden countertops and original built-ins, while the entertaining spaces have a similarly historic feel, but an overly gloomy color scheme. The saving grace is the waterfront porch, stretching across the home’s oceanfront, with stone columns and choice views. The 3,400-square-foot house is currently listed for $1.49M. · York, Maine [Tate & Foss]
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House of the Day: Panoramic Views from Just Above Maine’s Rocky Coastline
As part of its massive rebranding efforts, JC Penney will dominate the universe open enormous “Home Worlds,” which the retailer bills as “neighborhoods” within the larger store. Anchored by Martha Stewart’s licensed shop-in-shops—you’ll recall how JCP invested $38.5M in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in December, thereby unleashing the wrath of Macy’s—these home emporiums will also feature a bevy of collections from JC Penney’s new design partners: Sir Terence Conran (founder of the legendary decor and furnishings mainstay The Conran Shop), Bodum (the Danish design firm known for its coffee presses and tea pots), Royal Velvet (bedding and bath), Michael Graves (whose long stint designing products for Target ends this year), and Jonathan Adler, whose budget collection will take the name of his firm’s motto: Happy Chic. According to Home Accents Today, Home Worlds, set to debut next year, will be divided into stores (2,000 square feet), shops (500 square feet), and boutiques (300 square feet), much like the way the high-end UK department store Selfridges is organized. So, uh, take that, Target? · JC Penney’s ‘Home World’ to include Michael Graves, Jonathan Adler, Terence Conran, Bodum, Martha Stewart [Home Accents Today]
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Brand Extensions: Soon You’ll Be Able to Buy Jonathan Adler at JC Penney