AN AMERICAN PALACE, ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE US HOMES FOR SALE

Right down the highway in coastal Hillsboro Beach there stands Le Palais Royal, a 60,500 sq ft estate on four acres of waterfront land – ocean to intracoastal – on the market for $159,000,000 – so, will the entity who has that much petty cash to purchase please step up? 

Planned to resemble France’s Palace of Versailles, a must-stop-by for your next trip to Paris, features include a huge $2MM marble staircase, more than $3MM of gold leaf, 11 bedrooms, 30-car underground garage, IMAX theatre, 3,000-bottle wine cellar, waterfalls  and a 1300 gallon fish tank.  Two guest houses, each about 3,000 sq ft, will be included on an extra lot.  Under construction are a go-kart track, ice-skating rink, bowling alley and night club, all to be ready in 2 years.

Right on: you never have to leave home.  It may take months to explore the complete house.

Wouldn’t this make a spectacular Winter White House?  But, can the US government afford it?  They would need to build an airstrip, perhaps a hospital and make mainland access readily available for cars and walkers.  It would definitely raise area home values.  A good move.

 

READY TO SHOP FOR THE BEST OF THE BEST?

Main Streets Across the World 2014-2015 tracked over 500 of the top retail streets, and two in our area came up HIGH on the list.

Lincoln Road in Miami Beach ranked as the 10^th most expensive retail street in the United States and Worth Avenue in Palm Beach ranked 14th, tied with Boston and Georgetown.  You, no doubt, won’t be surprised to learn that Manhattan’s Upper Fifth Avenue was at the very top of the list, 46% more expensive than #2, Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay. 

For our World Traveler readership, other streets on the list were England’s Bond Street, Paris’ Champs-Élysées, Milan’s Via Montenapoleone and Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall.  Rents rose impressively on the number one street, Manhattan’s Upper East Side, to $3500 per sq ft.  Between Madison Avenue’s East 72nd and 75th street, this usually thriving stretch is reported to be a “micro-pocket of retail that is really starting to flourish, thanks to the new Apple Store, the forthcoming Metropolitan Museum of Art building and new residential product.” Retail asking rents north of 72nd are increasingly exceeding $1,000 per square foot.

Lincoln Road rents, at $325 per sq ft, which sounds reasonable in comparison, have held steady for the past year.  National and international investors have sent Lincoln Road’s rents and property values way high.  Tenants include H&M, Anthropologie, Intermix, Forever 21, Apple, Gap, Urban Outfitters and lululemon and the same shops, as well as those on Worth Avenue listed below, can be found in local malls in other Florida cities.

Rents on Palm Beach’s Worth Avenue jumped up 20% to $150 per sq ft, resulting in one of the largest global growth rates.  Worth Avenue has attracted global luxury retailers, such as Cartier, Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Graff, Gucci, Hermès and Louis Vuitton.  Luxury real estate firm, Cushman & Wakefield, reports that part-time residents and international visitors have led to the growth.

An overhaul is planned for Lincoln Road with sidewalk enlargements, extensive landscaping and new pedestrian walkways on some side streets and in back alleys where new retail and restaurant venues will be found.  A Business Improvement District will be created by assessing area business and property owners to create a 10-year long maintenance and management program.

With rising consumer sentiment and increased tourism (100 MILLION tourists visited Florida in 2014 and more are expected this year) it might not be a bad idea to get on line on Worth Avenue and Lincoln Road and elsewhere on the Friday after Thanksgiving and going forward a few weeks after.  Online purchases are expected to be about 10% of retail sales, the other 10% visiting brick-and-mortar stores.

Sounds like our economy has severely improved, don’t-cha think?

LOCAL RENTAL MARKET

TOUGH these days for you and those you love to find the rental of your dreams at the price you want to pay.  Rentals have gone up in the past year, especially on the waterfront or near a thriving downtown area like Delray Beach or Boca Raton.  Demand is strong from those who want an ocean view to those who want to be near amenities, entertainment and restaurants.

Many prospects call me and give me addresses and MLS numbers for units they saw online… but most are already rented!

When you see a rental you like: GRAB IT or next week someone else will.

One great reason to focus on rentals is that each year you can move to a different  “scenario” and perhaps eventually find where you want to stay, and we at Weichert Realtors, Health& Joseph, have LOADS OF RENTAL LEADS to tell you about.

If you have the information about a unit you want to see, give me a call and let’s go look!  SOME units are negotiable, some are not.  Some take pets, restricting them by weight, some do not.  Some are for age 55+, some are for all ages.

Good luck with your search… let me make your search easier!

Marilyn Jacobs

561-302-3388

Weichert Realtor, Heath & Joseph

GREAT COUNTRY CLUB HOME BUY - FABULOUS LIFESTYLE

• CONVERT ALMOST 1900 LIVING SQ FT TO FOUR BEDROOMS??? YES… STILL PLENTY OF SPACE… THINK CONVENIENCE and RESALE VALUE. • CURRENTLY 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1st floor… EASY BUY INTO DELUXE LIFESTYLE AT POLO CLUB… at $210,000 • MOVE RIGHT IN-fully furnished. Nothing to buy! Just bring your toothbrush… • Open layout, spacious, light and bright, good size rooms, great flow • Office (behind snack bar and large folding screen), and Den with lake view could be bedrooms 3 & 4 • Spacious Eat-In-Kitchen and washer and dryer in foyer utility closet • Welcoming Pretty Entry Foyer, closets galore, tile floors, carpeting in bedrooms • Lake and nice treed, lawn views, spacious front lawn (grandkids can throw a ball) • Immaculate, owned and used a few weeks a year by Swiss gentleman, designed by Decorator Shirley Friedman • Walk to community pool, worship, shopping, club house with resort pool and world-class spa, restaurants, supermarket • BONUS: Lexus SC400 with 40,000 miles, bike, 2 sets of golf clubs, 2 cribs (If you don’t need the car, sell it!) • Mandatory Membership to Polo Club in Boca Raton-UBER UBER lifestyle-all ages • Recently renovated clubhouse, 2 championship golf courses, top USTA tennis facility, World-class spa, special interest groups, lectures, day trips, theater • Dinner dances with live music, shows with stars performing WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE ???

Marilyn Jacobs, Realtor®
WEICHERT REALTORS, Heath & Joseph
Cell: 561-302-3388

listing link:  http://www.flexmls.com/link.html?159ym2uxpxny,15,1