By: Jay Hariani

It appears we have a new world record in the land of real estate. It’s been reported the world’s most expensive house has been built in Mumbai, India.

Mukesh Ambani is the world’s fourth richest man according to Forbes and the richest man in India.

This unbelievable new house, named Antilia has an estimated value of an eye-popping $1 billion !!!

The pricey building is 27 stories high (173 meters) and includes 37,000 square meters of floor space.

In addition to the living pace, this ultra-luxury new home features a health club with a a ballroom, a gym and dance studio, a minimum of one swimming pool, guestrooms, various lounges, in addition to an impressive 50-seat cinema.

If you’re worried about where to land your helicopter …. don’t. The swanky new luxurious digs has three helicopter pads located on the roof.

Parking also won’t be a problem. The property will include spaces for up to 160 vehicles.

Source: Guardian

The economy is still in a deep slump and real estate prices continue to fall. But once in a while an amazing property goes on the market that leaves even the jaws of the ultra rich, drop in amazement.

Take a look at this new listing on BillionaireXchange.com – a beautiful 265 acre private island in Belize, including an 18 hole championship golf resort, boat marina, private airstrip and 100 seaside Villas.

Asking price is $125 million.

This luxurious island golf resort is located just off the coast of Belize City in Belize, and is only 2 hours from Miami Florida, and a 10 minute flight from Belize City.

The island is 265 acres, 2.5 miles long, and half a mile wide, with over 13,000 feet of beachfront property, and approximately 12,000 feet of concrete and vinyl seawall protection.

Touting an excellent infrastructure, the resort is painstakingly maintained and has an enormous 600,000 gallon water desalinization plant and comprehensive power plant.

This island offers a 18 hole championship golf course (USGA rated), 12-slip marina, private airstrip, stunning seaside villas, magnificent bar and restaurant, conference facilities, large swimming pool complex with bar, and long sandy beaches.

The island’s landscape features picturesque inland ponds, lush vegetation including 3000 mature palm trees, and abundant wildlife consisting of native birds, crocodiles and iguanas. The swimming pool complex, includes the largest and only heated mosaic tiled pool in the country, nine person hot tub, palapas roof bar area, cascading fountains and native hibiscus and bougainvillea highlight this tropical oasis.

Last but not the least; the island comes with a list of potential applications. The island can be expanded to a large scale resort, a very contemporary villa complex, mixed use resort, or corporate retreat. The island has the likelihood to accommodate 150 private villas, without even compromising with the land used by the golf course.

To learn more about this incredible buy, go to BillionaireXchange.com

Photo by: Fame Pictures; inset: INF

The late Hollywood producer Aaron Spelling, who died in 2006 may be rolling over in his grave. It’s a brutal real estate market out there but now on the market is the most expensive home for sale in the United States.

Aaron Spelling’s widow, Candy, just put the expansive mansion up for sale. The estate is called “The Spelling Manor.” The asking price is an amazing $150 million.

The Spelling mansion is the largest home in Los Angeles County. This iconic French chateau-style property offers about 56,000 square feet of living space and is situated on 4.7 luscious acres of land.

“This house is the equivalent of a mid-sized hotel,” wife Candy Spelling tells PEOPLE. “It’s a lot of work.

Of course it’s going to take an army of helpers to maintain this mansion, including gardeners, security personnel and housekeepers. The house includes a bowling alley, wine cellar, three gift-wrapping rooms, library, gym, screening room, humidity-controlled silver storage room. Outside offers a tennis court, fountains, a water fall, a pool and spa, a reflecting pool and 16 car ports.

Aaron Spelling became Hollywood’s most prolific television producer. He was executive producer of following hit shows – “Melrose Place,” “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “Dynasty,” and “The Love Boat.”

“I have wonderful memories here,” Spelling sighs. “But I feel like it’s a new chapter in my life – and it’s just me in this big house!”

Realtor Kurt Rappaport is very well known in the Los Angeles area. Not only does he earn a huge income by being a co-owner of the swankiest and most exclusive boutique brokerages in the L.A., but Kurt also makes millions of dollars by personally listing and selling the luxurious homes of the very rich and famous in Los Angeles.

For those of us who don’t him by name, you’ll probably recall this. He sold his own huge house on Calle Vista Drive in Beverly Hills to Tom Cruise and Kate Holmes in April of 2007. The amount was a shocking $30,500,000.

So where did Kurt Rappaport and his wife end up? They purchased the enormous house owned by auto accessories and tire tycoon, Lawrence Kraines (Kraco).

It was on the market for almost a year, but the 12,981 s.f. mansion finally sold for $15,990,000. Nice discount off the asking price of $18,950,000.   Full article

They want big houses — several of them — with ornate exteriors, situated on golf courses, designed by golf professionals. Sound like a typical wealthy American home buyer?

Nope. It’s their affluent counterparts in China, who are plowing their rapidly accumulating wealth into Western-style mansions. “We assumed they would want houses with an Eastern influence,” says Dave Jenkins, a community design director, at Sater Companies, a small Florida firm, which recently started designing luxury homes in China. “We were wrong.”

Hired by a Chinese developer of a large luxury community South of Shanghai, Sater Companies has designed a handful of “villas” with a Mediterranean influence. These houses, which will cost up to $1.5 million, typically include sleeping quarters for a live-in maid, a main kitchen, and a separate “work kitchen,’’ situated away from the main living area because the cooking tends to be smoky.

Rendering courtesy of Sater Design Collection, Inc.

Mr. Jenkins says the new development will include hotels, golf courses and homes for about 20,000 people, stretching over 10 square miles, when it’s completed. “It’s like Vegas, Monte Carlo and Taos, all rolled into one,” he says.

Many U.S. real estate companies have shied away from the Chinese market because of legal entanglements and government restrictions on foreign developers. But when considering that prices of luxury homes in China rose 13.5% in 2007, according to Chinese government statistics, U.S. builders may find China too tempting to pass up, if business at home stays slow.
Article by: Michael Corkery – Wall Street Journal

Despite a steep downturn in the U.S. housing market, the luxury home market remains strong in throughout the U.S.  A record breaking $175 million real estate sale in Colorado breaks a new national record for the highest value home ever sold. While the overall U. S. housing market has taken a downturn, wealthy home buyers continue to invest in homes at the very top of the market.

Evidence of the strength of the luxury home segment was revealed in late November with the sale of the Trinchera Ranch in Colorado for a record-setting $175 million. This sale breaks the U.S. residential sales record of $103 million set earlier this year in New York’s Hamptons.

Sellers of the Colorado property were the heirs of the late Malcolm Forbes, who acquired control of the historic Trinchera ranch in 1969. The buyer is billionaire hedge fund manager Louis Moore Bacon, who appears as number 286 on the Forbes list of the wealthiest Americans. Trinchera is the largest ranch in Colorado and its 171,400 acres contain five residences, as well as a Western style lodge with 16 bedrooms.

Although the Colorado sale set a U.S. sales record, it fell short of the world record residential purchase, also set this year, with Sheikh Hamad of Qatar’s acquisition of a penthouse condominium in London for £100 million – equivalent to about $200 million at the time of the sale.

“Although the vast Colorado ranch, the ocean front lot in the Hamptons, and the London penthouse condominium are not apples-to-apples comparisons, they are each indicative of the health of the very top of the world’s luxury home market,” said Laurie Moore-Moore, Founder of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, an international organization which tracks the luxury home market and trains luxury real estate agents.

“These sales illustrate the fact that there are more rich households than ever before and the world’s wealthiest have shifted more of their investment dollars out of alternative investments like commodities and into multiple residences.

Based on this year’s World Wealth Report from Merrill Lynch and CapGemini, the world’s über rich have invested 12% of their total portfolios in homes other than a primary residence,” said Moore-Moore. “In short, there is more money than ever competing for homes at the very top of the market. The luxury residential market is the good news story in real estate.”

Mike Montpetit, a real estate professional with Town & Country Realty and member of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, agrees. “In most markets across the country, the very top of the market remains healthy – luxury is the ‘sweet spot’ in real estate.”

Park City, Utah started its humble beginnings as a small silver mining town in the Wasatch Mountains.  No more.  This winter mecca is now a hot ski destination, but also an appealing place for second home buyers.  Real estate is booming and baby boomers are quickly snatching up homes in the $2.5 million-plus range.

In the Tuhaye community, homes have been selling for an average of $600 a square foot! Park City offers home buyers breathtaking views, world-class ski resorts, as well  as a charming, historic community that definitely hasn’t forgotten its humble roots.  Full A rticle

When you walk through one of the fabulous Lake Tahoe custom homes, you are in awe of the magnificent lake views and beauty of the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountains.

Like the rest of country’s real estate market, Tahoe’s has softened as well. But not in the above $5 million range, titled the “ultra-high end”. Full article

There doesn’t seem to be any end in sight for the slumping housing market. August existing home sales fell for the sixth straight month, to their lowest level in five years. The inventory glut has reached all-time high of 4.58 million homes. Full article