Last month, Luxury Portfolio member Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate reported sales of two Vail luxury properties last listed at over $9 million. Just in time to enjoy the season in luxurious style...

     The first is a brand new mountain home, last listed at $9.795 million, with mountain views and a huge patio overlooking open space and a mountain stream. See more.

The second home is a spacious luxury penthouse with four bedrooms last listed at $9.35 million, boasting a stunning panorama of the surrounding landscape. See more.

Congratulations to Slifer Smith & Frampton on the amazing luxury home sales!

View more top reported sales and top new Luxury Portfolio listings for the previous month.

    Luxury Portfolio member Baird & Warner recently listed the highest priced residential listing in the city of Chicago. The 13,000-plus square foot penthouse of Bill Wrigley, Jr., chewing gum heir and chairman of Wrigley Co., is currently on the market for $14 million.

    The undeveloped space – which consists of three units combined into one - is in the limestone building at 65 E. Goethe St in Chicago’s prestigious Gold Coast neighborhood. “It’s sort of a Who’s Who of Chicago that lives there,” stated Baird & Warner VP of Luxury Home Sales Jim Kinney, who is listing the property. Read more.

View the property details and photos on Luxury Portfolio.

Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco recently selected Arundel Burrell, an agent with Luxury Portfolio member Frank Howard Allen, to be their exclusive Realtor in Marin County. Congratulations to Arundel and Frank Howard Allen for being chosen by the great organization to assist in bettering their community!  Read more.

This past year Luxury Portfolio members across the globe participated in some extraordinary charity events and offered their support to honorable causes across the world. As 2009 comes to a close, we want to highlight these great stories that illustrate that even in midst of a rough economic climate, people have found the strength to aid the less fortunate.

Patterson Schwartz Real Estate Gives Back to the Community
Committed to making the community a better place to live, Patterson Schwartz Real Estate embraces the philosophy that being a good neighbor is more than just giving money to a worthy cause. The mission: to develop and invest in the community in which they live and do business.

Patterson-Schwartz donates a portion of the proceeds from every transaction to the Patterson-Schwartz Foundation. The Foundation lends support to local charitable organizations, including social services, health care research, youth programs and garden clubs. In 2008, the Patterson Schwartz Foundation donated more than $80,000 to several local organizations. Read more.

Long & Foster Holds Eleventh Annual Community Service Day
All 213 Long & Foster sales offices throughout the firm’s seven states participated in the company’s most inclusive day of volunteering during the annual company-wide Community Service Day. Hundreds of sales associates and employees throughout rolled up their sleeves and took their talent into local neighborhoods to help give something back to the many communities the company serves. Read more.

Luxury Portfolio member Ebby Halliday Realtors was recently honored with a 2009 WebAward, presented by the Web Marketing Association, for their great website, Ebby.com.

Recipient of a Standard of Excellence Award, Ebby.com was recognized for outstanding achievement in web development.  Congratulations to Ebby Halliday for this great honor!  Read more about it.

Luxury Portfolio member Halstead Property, LLC launched their Value Factor Program four months ago and it has been a huge success.

Similar to the Michael Saunders & Company Best Opportunities program focusing on the Sarasota, Florida market blogged about earlier this year, Halstead’s Value Factor puts a spotlight on properties that offer the best value in today’s New York City area market. Their definition of “value” considers many factors beyond price, including location, building, condition, and size of the property. To keep the program inventory fresh, properties remain in the Value Factor for only 45 days. The strategy has worked, as 49-percent of Value Factor properties have closed or are in contract.

There is no doubt today’s luxury home buyer is seeking value, and smartly implemented programs such as these aid greatly in that search. Luxury Portfolio has also made it easier for consumers to find value properties on LuxuryPortfolio.com with a new feature allowing them to search specifically for listings that have had price reductions. On the site, luxury home seekers are able to see the dollar amount and percentage change in price since a property was first listed. Search the current price reductions on Luxury Portfolio.

Read more about the Value Factor Program and see the current listings.

Frank Howard Allen Realtors, a Luxury Portfolio member serving California’s North Bay communities, has devised an interesting way to promote groups of fine listings on their Facebook page. Each week Frank Howard Allen presents a “trilogy” – three properties that tie into a specific theme. The most recent trilogy, posted yesterday and titled “Lodge Style,” displays three mountain-lodge inspired homes. Previous trilogies have included Vineyard Properties, Vintage Charmers and Innovative Designs. This is a great idea to attract a buyer looking for a particular type of property.

See the Frank Howard Allen Realtors Facebook page for more. You can also follow Luxury Portfolio for updates on Luxury Portfolio Fine Property Collection, luxury homes and luxury news.

Huge congratulations to Martha Fuller Turner, President and CEO of Houston-based Luxury Portfolio member Martha Turner Properties, who has been chosen for induction into the Texas Business Hall of Fame. She is one of four honorees that will be officially inducted on October 15, 2009, and is one of only seven women to have ever received the honor. Notable past honorees include former President George H.W. Bush, Ross Perot, Roger Staubach and T. Boone Pickens.

For the past 27 years, under Martha’s guidance, Martha Turner Properties has grown from a 2-person office into an influential global presence with over 200 top-producing associates.  It was the first residential real estate company to be named one of Houston's greatest companies by the Greater Houston Partnership.

Luxury Portfolio salutes a true one-of-a-kind on her tremendous and very well-deserved recognition. Read the complete release.

Spreading over 25 acres in Hickory Creek, Texas, the estate known as Champ d’Or is the result of five years of detailed planning. Comprised of a 36,000 square foot mansion inspired by chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte near Paris, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis court, pool/tennis house, 15-car garage, two matching guardhouses and a 1.5 acre lake, the luxury estate is filled with an air of old world opulence while at the same time containing the most modern of amenities.

The breathtaking masterpiece is currently listed at $27,500,000 by Luxury Portfolio member Briggs Freeman Real Estate, who has created a new and gorgeous website that provides an in-depth trip into Champ d’Or. You can see numerous photos and find more details on the chateau (a ballroom with mirrors patterned after Versailles, veranda that seats 450 guests, bowling alley, theater, etc.), learn about the exquisite details (ornamental moldings, bronze sconces from Paris), and view opportunities allowed by the exceptional setting.

Discover more by taking the tour, which, of course, is also available in French.

In an effort to continue to provide clients with every opportunity available to buy or sell their mountain home, Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate, the leader in Vail Valley, Colorado real estate, has introduced an Auction Division. Having gained significant popularity in the past several years, the option of buying and selling a home through the auction process, including luxury home auctions, can be of great benefit to both sellers and buyers of luxury homes.

Slifer Smith & Frampton’s new division allows sellers to know the date their property is expected to sell, with a specific closing date and no contingencies from auction day to closing. Buyers are provided an opportunity to compete fairly and on the same terms as all other buyers, with the knowledge that the seller is prepared to sell the day of the auction.

The first auction of this new endeavor is taking place in Vail, Colorado on August 26. Two properties will be offered, and the winning bidder will have their choice of the two new construction luxury residences. Each home was previously listed at $2,799,000 and the auction is subject to a minimum bid of $1,600,000. Visit VailRealEstateAuctions.com for further details.