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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A recent closing in the Old Preston Hollow area of Dallas is rumored to be the most expensive sale in the city’s history.

Set on over 8 acres in the prestigious neighborhood, the estate was completed in 1993 after two and a half years of construction by skillful designers and craftsmen. Some of the many amenities are a bowling alley, tennis court and adjacent gazebo, racquetball court, exercise room and locker rooms, baseball diamond, a conservatory overlooking four interlocking Koi ponds, and a private lake.

The unmatched luxury estate was listed and sold by Associate Ralph Randall of Luxury Portfolio member Dave Perry-Miller & Associates. See more details here.

The Luxury Portfolio team receives leads from some of the top industry and national companies in the country. When these leads are a good match, we connect the reporter and the member.  Arizona Best Real Estate recently reaped the benefits of a lead. The result? Exposure in The Wall Street Journal!

"Being affiliated with Luxury Portfolio has allowed Arizona Best Real Estate the opportunity to obtain some fantastic public relations opportunities on a national level. One cannot buy this type of exposure. To be able to share positive and accurate information with the national media about our local real estate market and specifically the luxury market gives our real estate consultants and company a voice, as well as, provides our past, current and future clients hope in this trying economic time. The fact that the national and local media looks to Luxury Portfolio as one of its real estate sources speaks volumes of their respect within the media community. This is such is a phenomenal benefit to the members of Luxury Portfolio," said sales associate Kirsten Johnson of Arizona Best Real Estate in Scottsdale, AZ.  

Read the full article.

Jawitz Properties (South Africa) recently secured two high-end properties in KZN’s Zimbali Coastal Resort to the value of R100-million as a result of the seller being able to expose their properties along side the finest luxury properties around the world.

“Sellers at the highest luxury end of the market are realizing that they need to expose their property to the right markets globally – especially in these difficult times. The Zimbali properties are exceptional and belong in the fine property collection,” says CEO of Jawitz Properties, Herschel Jawitz.  Read more.

These days marketing a luxury home goes far beyond advertising. An aggressive marketing campaign includes strategic media placements — and Luxury Portfolio has proven effective in not only generating “buzz” about listings, but also leads!

Luxury Portfolio members represented all four properties in the Irish Times “Take Five” column, which compares a luxury home in Ireland to four properties at a similar price point abroad. One property included was a $1.5 million Claxton, Georgia estate, listed with Cora Bett Thomas Realty & Associates.  A prospective buyer from Ireland saw the estate in the Irish Times and called Cora Bett Thomas Realty that very day, hoping to visit the home soon. A few days later, the company received a second lead from the placement.

“You have to love it when something that cost you nothing creates a promising call!” said Meg Albertson, vice president of business development for Cora Bett Thomas Realty. “This was an effortless way to promote the property on an international level — and it produced a terrific result.”