Nearly six decades after it was built in 1904 in the Pacific Heights district of San Francisco, Moffitt Mansion was physically relocated across the bay to its current position in Belvedere, California.

In 1962 architect Norman Gilroy purchased the home, originally built for Dr. Herbert C. Moffitt, and had the historic home moved to save it from being destroyed by plans to build new apartments. The massive undertaking began by sawing the huge home in half with a chainsaw. In order to make the trek through the city streets with the two halves, Gilroy convinced utility companies and city officials to temporarily move overhead wires to clear a path. Barges then floated the sections to Belvedere Island, where Gilroy utilized original house plans and detailed drawings to return the mansion to its turn-of-the-century glory. While many historic luxury homes have a story to tell, the tale of Moffitt Mansion is truly unique.

Today, the home still exudes its original character as the mended exterior is largely unchanged from the historical photos. Moffitt Mansion is currently on the market, listed by Frank Howard Allen Realtors.

See the current property detail on Luxury Portfolio.

Auckland, one of the largest and most vibrant metropolitan area in New Zealand, is home to some of the world’s finest luxury homes. Uniquely positioned on a small isthmus of the North Island, Auckland has direct access to two large bodies of water – the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea. Named one of the happiest cities in the world, it is also one of the most beautiful.

This recently sold Auckland mansion sits atop a cliff overlooking the Hauraki Gulf. Gaining fame as the house on the television show New Zealand’s Next Top Model, this home's beauty actually stole the limelight from the show’s contestants. The elegant interior design is only matched by the panorama views captured from every room. Featuring a large deck and pool overlooking the gulf, this home is a true showcase of sophisticated luxury.

Read more about the glamorous luxury home.

Featured in The Wall Street Journal, Departures and Oprah Magazine, Sucré (French for sugared) creates delectable chocolates, macaroons, confections and gelato in a luxurious boutique setting. The unique and elegant bakery is located in the heart of New Orleans, although they receive orders from around the world, and do an excellent job in creating artitsanal sweets that are almost to beautiful too consume.

Sucré is sponsoring Round Two of the Luxury Portfolio Blog Contest, and the winner will be awarded with a sampling of Sucré's famous French macaroons!

Round Two ends August 15, so start commenting today!

Details:
1.  The participant who posts the most interesting comment directly on an existing blog post will be awarded a luxury gift. 

2.  The winner will be acknowledged in Luxury Portfolio’s e-newsletter LuxeChatter and announced on the Luxury Portfolio blog.

3.  The contest will be ongoing, with a new giveaway every few months.

We look forward to your participation!


If you have any questions, please contact communications@luxuryportfolio.com.

John Daugherty, Realtors is taking their customer experience to a whole new level by adding a new ‘live chat’ feature to their website. With 87% of home buyers starting their search online, this type of progression is very important.

‘Live chat’ allows visitors to the John Daugherty website to instantly connect in a streaming conversation with a John Daugherty agent. Visitors to the site can have their questions answered instantly from the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. With the addition of the new website and ‘live chat’, John Daugherty, Realtors has taken a innovative approach to selling homes by providing their clients, agents, and potential customers with the best use of technology.

Since 1967, John Daugherty, Realtors has been servicing the Houston area with a mission to provide the best possible service for their clients while encouraging maximum teamwork among the agents and staff. Visit their site to learn more.

Congratulations to the 52 Luxury Portfolio sales associates and teams featured in The Real Estate Top 400 Professionals, which honors the top real estate professionals in the U.S. The annual rankings are sponsored by The Wall Street Journal, REAL Trends, and LORE. Once again, Luxury Portfolio is pleased to have more agents in the Top 400 than any other luxury organization.

"This is an impressive accomplishment, especially given the challenging economic environment”, said Paul Boomsma, president of Luxury Portfolio Fine Property Collection®.  “A key reason why Luxury Portfolio has been so successful is because of the commitment and the quality of the sales associates affiliated with the program.”

View the rankings in their entirety.

We would like to congratulate Phyllis Harb of Dickson-Podley Realtors, who is the first winner in the Luxury Portfolio blog giveaway. Thank you Phyllis for your insightful comments on Luxury Portfolio blog posts!

We are rewarding those who write the most insightful and interesting comments to existing blog posts.   It is that easy...

1. Read through some of the blog posts.

2. Select a post that you are interested in or have knowledge/experience with.

3. Type in your information, your thoughts, and comment...that's it!

The contest is ongoing, with a new giveaway monthly.

The next round of the contest starts today and runs through August 15!