The luxury market in the Northwest is showing signs of recovery. In the last six months of 2009 there were 21 sales above $3 million. And, more importantly, 48% of those sales happened in the 4th quarter. We hope having these sales in the 4th quarter show positive signs for 2010 and that we are heading towards recovery. There seems to be a real energy in the luxury marketplace on behalf of buyers that we did not see at all in the first two quarters of 2009.

In looking at 21 sales that closed in the last 6 months, all of them sold within 15% of the listed price. Remarkably there were two sales above $10 million in the Seattle area. One property in the Laurelhurst neighborhood sold for $11,500,000 and the other in the Washington Park neighborhood sold at $10,600,000. Both of these properties were large estate homes on the Seattle waterfront.

In the Bellevue and Kirkland communities on the Eastside, there were several sales of note: a Clyde Hill estate closing at $5,399,000 and 3 pending sales that will close in the coming weeks: a Kirkland home at $4,575,000, and two Bridle Trails homes: one at $3,750,000 and one at $3,478,000.

We are very excited to see these sales occur and hope this is a sign of things to come for a more healthy market in 2010.

Posted by:Tere Foster

Den Before Staging

To effectively market luxury homes in a competitive housing market it is imperative real estate agents think creatively about how to best present the properties to prospective buyers.

I am proud to represent the ultra-luxury residence at 10005 Meadowbrook in Dallas’ Preston Hollow neighborhood. To highlight the home’s uniqueness, I selected Dallas-based interior designer Barry Williams of Barry Williams Inc. to stage the almost 12,000-square-foot residence, which features a treasure trove of inlaid and mosaic stone. The home is truly a work of art in itself.

At 10005 Meadowbrook, Barry approached two design challenges – keeping an interesting mix

Den After Staging

and the home’s unique living room – in his usual confident manner. “The home features five large living areas and if they all have two chairs flanking one sofa it would appear uninspired,” Barry says. “There are, however, only so many ways to arrange furniture, so keeping the mix of fabrics, textures, colors and whether or not the furniture is upholstered or shows a wood frame is all important.

“I like for a room’s landscape to be varied,” Barry says. “I like all different types of furniture as well – painted and stained wood, metal, stone, all upholstered, and different textures. All comfortable, of course.”

Great Room Before Staging

“The specific challenge of the living room is that the room is ringed by nine onyx columns and all the furniture is seen from all sides,” Barry says. “That is very unusual. The front door is on axis with the back doors to the courtyard. Respecting that line of site is critical and yet that is not the center of the room at all. I had to make it the center of the back of a sofa and then back up a table to the sofa so that would be the view coming in the front door. Walking into the back of a sofa never feels right. It is not welcoming at all. And yet the room can’t be all chairs either.”

Great Room After Staging

Barry has done a superb job complementing the already superb home at 10005 Meadowbrook. I am truly proud to represent this fine property and I know that choosing Barry Williams to add his personal touch was a great decision.

Posted by:Dave Perry-Miller

It’s always informative to step back and take a quick “snapshot” of a specific niche of the local luxury residential real estate market. In Dallas, a good barometer of how things are fairing is the $2- to $3 million price band in the highly sought-after Highland Park Independent School District. The district is widely known for the quality education it offers, and the towns it serves, Highland Park and University Park, are known for the quality of housing they offer the district’s families.

So … just what will $2- to $3 million buy in the way of luxury housing in the Park Cities? A fine example of this price band is my new listing at 3728 Stratford. This classic turn-of-the-century Prairie-style home in Highland Park offers ample charm and is a short distance from highly desirable Armstrong elementary. The four-bedroom residence, on a 70-by-208-foot corner lot, features extensive period detailing, and has been beautifully remodeled and meticulously maintained. It offers all the amenities today’s luxury buyers desire, including a pool and a very tastefully updated kitchen, and a more than 2,000-square-foot guest quarters.

This fine residence is currently competing with 52 other homes for sale in the HPISD priced between $2- and $3 million. The average asking price per square foot of these 51 homes is $417. The average days on market is 156, with the maximum time on market being 418.

Thirteen properties in this price band in the HPISD have sold in the past six months. Those homes sold at an average of $364 per square foot, having spent an average of 153 days on the market. The minimum time on the market for these luxury homes was 18 days, while the maximum time was 422 days.

Posted by:Dave Perry-Miller

It is no longer the little town that started in 1953. Now we can all experience the luxury of shopping at our very own Neiman Marcus. Bellevue has officially grown up into a sophisticated city with luxury shopping in addition to the luxury homes. It is no longer a sleepy bedroom community of Seattle. Sip champagne while shopping at Jimmy Choo or stop for lunch at the Wild Ginger. The shopper girls and trend setters will have their own little bit of heaven right here in Bellevue, Washington.

The grand opening of the Bravern shops and Neiman Marcus will add panache and cache to the city of Bellevue. The landscape of the community has been pleasantly changed, embracing luxury, forever.

Posted by:Tere Foster

One of the best ways to judge the strength of the luxury housing market is to simply count the number of serious buyers at a weekend open house event.

Recently, I held an open house at my newest listing: 4329 McFarlin in Highland Park. This immaculate home completed in 2002 offers more than 6,200 square feet of living space, a downstairs master suite, a corner lot with 90-foot frontage in the well-respected Highland Park school district and a lagoon-style pool. The property is offered at the very competitive price of $1,999,000. Judging by the attendance at Sunday’s open house, a house with this much bang for the buck won’t last long in today’s luxury market. In a two-hour stretch, approximately 35 people toured the residence. Many of these folks were not simply “kicking tires,” they were seriously in search of a new home.

In addition to luxury home shoppers being drawn to competitively priced homes, a trend I am increasingly seeing (and this open house strongly reinforced) is their desire for a downstairs master suite. Often these same buyers are also looking for a downstairs guest suite for their aging parents.

Another trend I am seeing quite often is buyers looking to simplify their lives by downsizing from a larger home to a smaller home that is completely move-in ready.

Lastly, entertaining at home remains a very strong draw for luxury home buyers. Well-appointed kitchens, game rooms and an outdoor entertainment area – preferably one that is surrounded by a pool – are major factors in just how many luxury home shoppers will visit an open house. These same attributes are also often the determining factors in just how fast a well-priced home such as 4329 McFarlin will sell.

Posted by:Dave Perry-Miller

All indications are the market is experiencing the bounce we typically associate with springtime in Texas. This year luxury home sales are growing stronger at a time of year that we often see sales begin to slow. I attribute much of the “typical” summer slowdown to the extreme heat of summer in Texas and the mass exodus of affluent buyers to second homes and vacations in much cooler climates.

A fine example of the market gaining steam in Dallas is my listing at 3412 Princeton in Highland Park, which recently went under contract. This immaculate, updated Tudor is in the very competitive $1- to $2 million price range in the sought-after Highland Park Independent School District. Currently there are 258 homes for sale in this price range in the few square miles that the district serves. To compete effectively in this market, a home really has to stand out. In addition to an aggressive marketing campaign, I focused on two things in particular with 3412 Princeton: knowledgeable pricing based on market conditions and staging the home to bring out its fun personality. The residence was staged by Barry Williams, a Dallas-based designer with impeccable taste and attention to detail. Barry’s stellar work helped buyers appreciate the home’s inherent charm and visualize its potential.

Looking at the larger Park Cities market, a total of 77 homes priced from $1- to $2 million have sold since Jan. 1 of this year. Fifty of those have sold since April 1, providing reason to believe that despite the Texas summer the market really is heating up.

Posted by:Dave Perry-Miller

Every August a certain fever arrives. It beckons cabin owners to travel and hide away during the hottest month of the year. Miller Young Design clients are definitely doing this in style. We have a vast array of “Clientele in the Cabin”. One favorite is The Log Style. Homes built from logs can be found all over the Northern Hemisphere, typically in areas where trees are in abundance. Whether traditional hand crafted log or a new application of the milled log, contemporary and ranch built cabins are quite stylish. For many, the log cabin has become an idyllic form of architecture. These serene escapes, usually lakeside, are surrounded by mountains and are host to the best comfortable casual interiors and exteriors along with acres of lawn to sun on, lunch on, or simply look at as you swing mindlessly in a fringed hammock set between two tall trees. This isn’t “home-life” as usual, a slower tempo kicks in and there is appreciation for the brisk mornings accompanied by the aroma of an old fashioned breakfast cooking as endearing friends arrive.

At Miller Young Design we understand that many associate the log cabin with wholesome values. The well planned cabin is space efficient, simplistic in its plan and can accommodate an active family of generous size and an overflow of guests while maintaining the dignity of private spaces in a casual relaxed mode. Colors must be vibrant to balance the exposed wood that is prominent in this style of architecture. A coordinated palette scheme encompassing multiple colors for the interior and exterior is a must. Once balanced, the colors, no matter where furnishings have been moved, will always look well. Furniture styles should be complementary in finish and scale so that balance remains intact. When selecting linens, stick to basic neutrals, one color throughout including matching PJ’s and Robes. Consider that if everything were out on display at the same time it should all look good together whether inside or outside.

Freedom is in art and accessories. Individual tastes will shine through in regard to the style and color of the chosen scheme. A quote from one of our clients:

“To us a cabin is a state of mind. It is a place where you feel protected, at home and able to express your personal style. In a cabin, life is quiet enough to enjoy simple pleasures traditions and people around you.” When asking what was the best feature about working with a designer to create their cabin, she responded, “You, as all really good designers, live in the moment with the client and focus on their quality of life through your suggestions and specifications knowing these products will endure from that time forward. In this you achieve a timeless design never dated.” A Miller Young Design “cabin home” in particular represents the pinnacle of a somewhat trouble-free and very efficient home.

Posted by:Linda Young

In short, a whole lot of house. Dallas is known as a city that lives large, and that couldn’t be more true than when it comes to luxury real estate. Dallasites expect a lot of square footage and for a few million dollars they can literally count on it. My listing at 9898 Hollow Way is a prime example. Priced at $4.5 million, it is situated on almost three-quarters of an acre in prestigious Preston Hollow. This beautiful new home with every conceivable amenity features a 34-foot-high entryway with an ornate floating staircase and inlaid Crema Marfil flooring. It’s more than 10,000-square-foot floor plan offers more than ample room to entertain in grand style.

Another fine property currently available to luxury home shoppers in Dallas is my listing at 10005 Meadowbrook, which is set on a more than 1-acre lot in Preston Hollow. Priced at $5,195,000, this new Mediterranean-style home offers more than 11,000 square feet of living space, onyx columns and flooring and spectacular attention to every detail.

For a bit more, say $8,995,000, buyers can expect the kind of square footage and acreage that is frankly unimaginable in many of the world’s large cities. My listing at 9338 Meadowbrook offers luxury home buyers almost 14,000 square feet of living space on 2 acres with a guest house, a tennis court and two apartments!

These homes are fine examples of why Dallas continues to attract affluent homebuyers who know quality – and value – when they see it.

Posted by:Dave Perry-Miller

These days, everyone is cutting back on wants & focusing mainly on needs. For this reason, the secondary home market has been hit reasonably hard during this economic recession. I believe it will make a come back as confidence in the real estate industry grows & more buyers take a leap of faith to invest once again in real estate. While the financial implications of a second home carry considerable weight, the hope is that your second home is first a place for fun, relaxation, enjoyment and quality family time. And in a world where time comes at a premium, family time is never overrated. So is the owning of a second home truly just a luxury? Let’s look at a few reasons why purchasing a second home is a wise investment & not necessarily only a luxury.

Casual Luxury the enchanting style of luxury homes of today is deep-rooted in the desert foothills and is truly a style that is rising at sea level.

The creation of a comfortable natural environment with a dignified aura of modishness that is not strict and noticeably casual, however maintains the specifications of luxury products, is an art form.

Natures’ backdrops such as mountain views sites are optimal for desert residences. Mountains are indicative of the landscape of the valleys of the West and since streams and lakes are usually not on property, man-made natural water features are complementary and key in offering a relaxing approach and feeling of well-being throughout the property.

The application of identical specification for interior and exterior stone facades presents a link to nature, nurturing indoor-outdoor experiences and leading to the embraced (now massive) great rooms in the style of Casual Luxury. The same application can also be seen in the private residence areas with their ever so popular “Spa Features” together with all amenities. Spa ensembles are increasingly chic, enjoyable, and convenient to have at home for health and beauty. Pure luxury in a natural setting is the description of a beautiful spa.

Home Chef? Or just prefer a substantial welcoming kitchen? A plan that tends to this craving has divided great rooms which now include the serving and dining kitchen suited with dramatic ceiling treatments.

Hosting a concert of art takes us to completion. This is the answer to all other calls of the habitat; strong architecture, stone and natural backdrops. Collections by several individual artists. Powerful either in subject, size or color, each relative to the site and their group. Artifacts are welcome in moderation. Viewing spaces are generous and open to observers of the collections, as are the distinguished natural views.

Miller Young Design’s Bill Miller has recently completed the firm’s latest “Casual Luxury Residence” revealed in Contemporary.

Within our portfolio of style we at Miller Young are inspired to create Casual Luxury for our clients offering them the Beautiful Natural Environments they call home.

Posted by:Linda Young

Bellevue, Washington - the new epicenter of luxury shopping? Recent data seems to say yes! An article in the Puget Sound Business Journal this week highlighted why Neiman Marcus chose to open a new flagship store at the Bravern in the heart of downtown Bellevue. According to the article, there are more affluent consumers in the 10-mile radius around where the new Neiman Marcus store will be than there are in Beverly Hills. Here is a link to view the entire article.

Even though affluent consumers in the Northwest seem to prefer more a more understated luxury lifestyle, they still respect the quality that comes from top luxury brands.

We are so excited to see how many luxury retailers have chosen Bellevue (and the Bravern ) as their newest area to open - including Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Jimmy Choo, Salvatore Ferragamo and Tory Burch. So now, in addition to being the luxury real estate destination of the Northwest, now Bellevue is fast becoming the luxury shopping destination as well.

Posted by:Tere Foster

The Preston Center office of Dave Perry-Miller & Associates welcomed a special visitor this past week when former President George W. Bush, the ultimate luxury real estate client, dropped in to attend our Monday morning office meeting. Mr. Bush talked with our agents and staff members about plans for his presidential library to be built on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Mr. Bush also spoke candidly about the book he is currently writing, which will discuss the reasoning behind some of the toughest choices that he had to make while serving as president. But most of all, the former president expressed how happy he is to be back in Texas and getting re-acquainted with longtime friends and the state he loves. Recently he and Laura purchased a beautiful luxury home right in Preston Hollow.

Posted by:Dave Perry-Miller

The “El Camino Real Bells” along with their destination have long influenced today’s architecture.

My design career has been influenced by the history of the California missions, specifically when designing California classic homes and commercial buildings from this era.

The “El Camino Real Bells” were in place from the early part of the last century to designate the route of “El Camino Real” from San Diego to Sonoma, California. They were built by the Spanish during the early mission days.

370 original bells graced The El Camino Real, (Royal Highway or King’s Highway), which is guided by Highway 101 in California. The El Camino Real is the first recorded road in the state, and was built by the Spanish when the missions were operational.

Most bells were produced in the 1920’s and over the years have been displayed on commercial and residential properties of historical importance. They have a dignity denoting mission and convey the Spanish Colonial or Spanish Revival periods.

When I was commissioned to design homes and commercial buildings from this era, some of my travel and research took me through the El Camino Real, reviewing the homes and buildings of the 1920’s. This allowed me to journey back into time and find sources sensitive to the era and lifestyle. This would assist me in the design which would soon be dictated by the historic influence of these periods. I found skilled artisans who hand painted tile from this era and were baking them on site all while I watched. There were shops with one-of-a-kind 1920’s lanterns, hardware, vintage iron and vintage wood carvings and of course, old mission bells.

When we look at a beautifully well constructed home or building with a unique design that stands out, is rich in history, is a meticulous reproduction of an era, however new in amenities, it more than likely is the result of a dedicated designer’s travels and research which has been interpreted into an owner’s dream.

While Spanish Colonial is a classic period it is only part of the Miller Young Design portfolio of style and eras that we embrace. We at Miller Young Design have created “Classic Origins” for connoisseurs of traditional homes. This is a signature design for those who desire a home designed with authentic influences enhanced by a library of fine pieces crafted in Old World techniques, celebrated in spaces of serene contentment.

Posted by:Linda Young

Representing truly unique and special properties is one of the highlights of my residential real estate career. And, frankly, it’s not every day that I have the opportunity to represent a modern masterpiece!

Designed by Glen Allen Galaway, who trained with Philip Johnson in New York, as his Dallas home, the mid-Century Modern residence at 7010 Airline in University Park is a shining star in the Park Cities.

The Park Cities includes the small, affluent towns of Highland Park and University Park, which are actually island cities surrounded by the much larger city of Dallas. Both towns are well known for significant architecture, but not typically of the modern variety!

The property offers an ideal setting in which to display a significant modern art collection. Natural lighting plays a prominent role in its design – and skylights add to the drama.

The current owners made a commitment to preserve the integrity of this significant Dallas residence and I am proud to have been chosen to represent their home. This magnificent residence truly offers buyers who appreciate mid-Century Modern architecture an unmatched opportunity in this part of the world.

Posted by:Dave Perry-Miller

Greenway Parks is a 150-acre neighborhood three miles north of downtown Dallas known for its abundant parks and homes of architectural significance.

Designed in 1927 by David R. WIlliams, the neighborhood was an innovative concept intended to be like no other American suburb. Homes in Greenway Parks are clustered around a series of open private parkways in the English Commons tradition, offering residents ample green space in the center of a major metropolitan area.

Noted architects who have designed homes in the neighborhood include Charles Dilbeck, O’Neil Ford, Howard Meyer, Ralph Bryan and John Aston Perkins. A strong homeowners association, as well as deed restrictions, have helped to preserve the integrity of Greenway Parks.

The neighborhood is increasingly popular with upscale Dallas homebuyers -- so popular that one of my recent listings (pictured) drew as many as four prospective buyers a day and went under contract in only six days!

By: Dave Perry-Miller, a luxury real estate expert serving Dallas, TX