March 22-24 at the fabulous Waldorf Astoria Orlando, Luxury Portfolio International will be hosting its annual SUMMIT for top sales associates and luxury marketing professionals. The exclusive event for Luxury Portfolio members provides insights on luxury homes, lifestyles and trends to help professionals better serve their elite clientele.

The program will feature prominent speakers including keynote speaker Robert Frank, one of the country's leading authorities on wealth and philanthropy, Dr. Jim Taylor, vice chairman of Harrison Group, who will share insights and sales opportunities for those serving the affluent, word-of-mouth marketing expert Spike Jones, as well as many of the top brokers and agents from around the world.

There’s still time for Luxury Portfolio agents and brokers to register and join us for this MEMBERS ONLY EVENT to network, learn and enjoy an elegant luxury resort. The early bird deadline is quickly approaching (February 10) - see more details and register at summit2012.luxuryportfolio.com.

Take a look at some of the latest updates and news from Luxury Portfolio International™, including website updates, informative blog posts and news from our members:

Monumental July Sales: Encouraging news this past month as two remarkable properties listed by Luxury Portfolio members sold. The Spelling Mansion in Holmby Hills, California sold to 22 year old Formula 1 heiress Petra Ecclestone. It was last listed at $150,000,000 by Hilton & Hyland. Across the country in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC, the Evermay estate – last listed at $25,900,000 by Long and Foster® Real Estate Inc. – also sold this month. And the buyer came from within the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World network too. Read more about these remarkable luxury home sales.

Find a Broker in Your Market Faster: We recently updated our Luxury Portfolio Broker search by location, making it easier to find a broker in your area – consumers can and find a Broker quickly by country, state/province, and/or city.

See Video Content on our New LPTV Channel: Video is an exceptional way to tell a story; and now neighborhood features, Luxury Portfolio member updates, LuxeTour™ property video tours and more can be seen on LuxuryPortfolio TV at LuxuryPortfolio.com/video. Also on the channel are the wonderful architectural style videos which we have partnered with HGTV’s Frontdoor.com to create. Check out more on the different architectural styles on our blog.

Secrets of Staging: One of our most popular blog posts! Read Martha Webb’s expertise on home staging in this recent post: Staging Helps Buyers Evaluate - Not Eliminate.

MEMBERS ONLY EVENTS: There’s still time for Luxury Portfolio agents and brokers to register and join us for the International Symposium in beautiful Madrid, Spain! Being held October 19-21, the symposium is a great opportunity to network, learn and enjoy an amazing city. See more details and register at symposium.LeadingRE.com.

Also be sure to save to date our 2012 Luxury Portfolio SUMMIT in Orlando – March 22-24 and the 2012 Annual LeadingRE Conference in Orlando – March 24-26. We look forward to seeing you there!

Two truly remarkable luxury homes on opposite ends of the United States have made headlines with their July sales.

One widely publicized closing is the sale of the Spelling Mansion - the extraordinary Manor built by entertainment moguls Aaron and Candy Spelling in Holmby Hills, California. The world-famous palatial estate was purchased by 22 year old Petra Ecclestone, daughter of Formula 1 billionaire Bernie Ecclestone, now the proud owner of the largest residence in Southern California - an amazing 56,000-plus square feet. Set on nearly 5 acres of some of the most exclusive real estate in the world, the home features unique spaces including a bowling alley, wine cellar and tasting room, beauty salon and even a dedicated gift-wrapping room. The Manor was last listed at $150,000,000 by Hilton & Hyland.

Across the county in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC, an historic 220 year old estate has a new owner after being offered for sale for the first time in 87 years. Known as “Evermay” since the 18th century, the American landmark has hosted presidents, dignitaries and international diplomats and is a one-of-a-kind American classic. Last listed at $25,900,000 by Long & Foster® Real Estate, Inc., the estate is set on a rare 3.5 acre property in the heart of Georgetown, with commanding views of Rock Creek Park and the Washington Monument.

Congratulations to Luxury Portfolio members Hilton & Hyland and Long & Foster® Real Estate, Inc. on the momentous sales!

Hawaii Business Magazine recently announced the Top 100 Realtors in Hawaii and we want to congratulate three Luxury Portfolio members who appear in the top 25:

#1    Pat Choi – Choi International
#19  Neal Norman – Koa Properties, Land & Homes
#23  Myra Brandt – Kahala Associates

We’re thrilled our members have received this much-deserved recognition. The list was compiled based on total sales volume for transactions that closed in 2010. See the full list here.

Unique Homes Magazine ULTIMATE Issue is on sale NOW at most major bookstores so be sure to pick up a copy! The Luxury Portfolio pages are, as usual, in the very front of the book!

Luxury Portfolio would like to congratulate our 18 Luxury Portfolio members whose incredible properties qualified them for inclusion on the 2011 Ultimate Homes list.
They are:

- Alain Pinel Realtors (San Francisco Bay Area, CA)
- Chase International (Lake Tahoe, NV)
- Choi International (Honolulu, HI)
- Disher, Hamrick & Myers Residential, Inc. (Charlotte, NC)
- Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors (Miami, FL)
- Greenwich Fine Properties (Greenwich, CT)
- Harry Norman, Realtors (Atlanta, GA)
- Houlihan Lawrence (Westchester County, NY)
- Illustrated Properties Real Estate (Palm Beach Gardens, FL)
- Joshua & Co. (Aspen, CO)
- Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. (Chantilly, VA)
- McGuire Real Estate (San Francisco, CA)
- Premier Estate Properties, Inc. (Boca Raton, FL)
- Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate (Vail, CO)
- Village Properties (Montecito, CA)
- William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage & Insurance (Shelton, CT)
- Willis Allen Real Estate (San Diego, CA)
- Windermere Real Estate (Seattle, WA)

Luxury Portfolio member Lila Delman Real Estate just announced a contest where the lucky winner will enjoy a two night stay in Newport during the J Class Regatta on June 17 and 18.

For the contest, which runs from May 2 – 22, 2011, entrants who answer all questions correctly on a quiz will be entered into a drawing for the weekend prize. There will be one quiz each week, allowing for a total of three possible entries. Be sure to enter and see more details on the Lila Delman Facebook page. Good luck!

Luxury Portfolio member Carter Jonas recently completed very informative and thorough research of the London residential home market. The results are encouraging with an active market so far in 2011, including a noticeable increase in the sales market for homes and London luxury homes up to £3 million.

Their full release on the topic includes an in-depth area by area breakdown with astute comments from each region’s head of sales.

Beginning today, Luxury Portfolio member Kahala Associates will be featured each Tuesday in a segment called “Beyond Homes” on Wake Up 2day - Hawaii’s leading morning news program on KHON Channel 2.

The goal of the segments is to inform, in an interesting and fun way, on subjects relating to Hawaii real estate, the process of buying and selling and building wealth. Topics will include the 2011 outlook for Oahu real estate, real estate investment, curb appeal and home staging tips and much more.

Take a look at a promo below and if you’re local be sure to tune in each Tuesday!

A great read in Haute Living Magazine provides a comprehensive look at Luxury Portfolio member Premier Estate Properties, chronicling their rise to top Florida luxury real estate company from their inception in 1993.

Recognizing an opportunity in the high-end market, the firm chose to only market and sell properties priced at more than $1 million. Still today, Premier Estate Properties is the only leading real estate company that caters to this niche exclusively. The success of their approach is readily evident in a portfolio that exceeds $1.4 billion, an industry-leading average listing price of $3.6 million and average sale of $3.3 million.

The article highlights the company’s innovative approach in all facets – marketing, technology and much more – and how their global reach is balanced with an exclusive boutique feel. This is tremendous, well deserved recognition for Premier Estate Properties!

At a recent event dubbed a “Decade of Luxury,” Luxury Portfolio member Kahala Associates marked their 10th year in business on Oahu.

The celebration was the first event held at the gorgeous new Waikiki EDITION hotel. “We could not think of a more appropriate, elegant location to hold our tenth anniversary year event than the opening night of Ian Schrager’s exclusive, new Waikiki EDITION Hotel,” said Myra Brandt, Kahala Associates co-founder and principal broker-owner. “With this event, we want to thank our company’s steadfast supporters and celebrate the launch of our second decade in operation in true luxury style.”

Congratulations to Kahala on 10 successful years and an amazing event!