PALENTOWN ROAD - CATSKILLS - NY

Looking at the Mombaccus Mountains

BORAT, LEV LEVIEV & KAZAKHSTAN

Photo of Lev Leviev from FJC of CIS

Borat makes me laugh "but he couldn't be more wrong about Kazakhstan," remarks Yerzhan Kazykhanov, the country's representative to the UN. As the ninth-largest country in the world, extending from the Caspian Sea to Siberia and Central Asia, Kazakhastan is rich in natural resources and has become a must-visit destination for the serious businessmen, reports Walter Ruby of the NY Daily News. Enter Lev Leviev one of Manhattan's star developers, Downtown by Starck, 60 Spring, The River Lofts, to name a few of his projects completed with Shaya Boymelgreen. Leviev has bought a gold mine in Kazakhastan, which will sit pretty with his diamond mines in Africa and his land holdings in the US, Israel, India etal. But true to Leviev's strong philanthropic agenda he has also signed an agreement with Kazakhastan to build 100 schools in that country.

On another front, Boymelgreen and Leviev appear to be reviving Parkwest, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Miami. In the "Boom or Bust Miami" blog, Bob reports that they are becoming landlords in one of Miami's most important urban neighborhoods and that Parkwest is "rumbling with activity." So much for all the doom and gloom we hear coming from Miami!

APARTMENT ZERO

Anyone ever see the Brazilian film "Apartment Zero?" It had a staircase reminiscent of this one at 261 Broadway. Great movie!

WHO MAKES THE BEST BUBBLES?

Go to "Housing Bubble and Real Estate Market Tracker" to get a sum up of opinions from the suits regarding the bubbles in real estate. Essentially Florida remains number one in the foreclosure game because all the risk factors are bunched together right now. As we say in real estate "timing is everything." Rising interest rates, lots of creative financing ploys which are turning back to bite (cited are 43% of total loans in Florida are in this category); rising property taxes; and rising home insurance rates (somebody has to pay for Mother Nature's revenge). Repeatedly cited as high risk along with Florida are the areas of Arizona, California and Nevada. However, there's a fat bustling market just getting underway it seems in the red state of Oklahoma using lots of USDA rural development programs, offering financing at - yes - 100%!

MORE ON McMANSIONS

Jump here to read what Charles R. Drummond IV, writing for the Harvard Crimson, has to say regarding McMansions. Another good reason to live in the city!

REAL ESTATE THEORY OF NATURAL SELECTION

A must read: the truly insightful article by Todd Huttunen from The Hall Monitor via the Jonathan Miller's blog the Matrix. Huttunen is an appraiser and cabinet maker. His essay is how Darwin's theory of "natural selection" can be applied to real estate, which is evidenced in our new vernacular of "teardown" and "McMansion." Read on, it's great! The Hall Monitor

MANHATTAN REAL ESTATE EXPENSIVE? LOOK AT LONDON!

In tony West End, more precisely, Grosvenor Square W1K, you can get two bedrooms, both ensuite, one with a dressing room, to die for kitchen, formal dining room, reception room (our living room), huge entrance hall for only $5,412,777 USD. That's right friends, you read that correctly. Another good reason why people from other countries are buying property here, our dollar gives them extra value for their money! I'm including the floor plan this time because it looks like a dream - all those bay windows. By the way it's around 2100 square feet. This property is being represented by Hamptons International in London, jump here for complete info and make an appointment to see. The property's reference number is KN1060109. Let me know if it's a gorgeous as it looks!

LEVIEV & BOYMELGREEN

Read the great profile on Lev Leviev and Shaya Boymelgreen at Bob:Miami. These two whiz kids are responsible for some great developments in Manhattan, The Philippe Starck Building, 20 Pine, The River Lofts, 225 Lafayette and many more. This article gives us a well rounded vision of Leviev, however, one thing that was left out is how well he's known and loved for his outstanding philanthropy and leadership in his community.

DONALD TRUMP OR COURTNEY LOVE?

Lincoln Anderson writing for the "Downtown Express" comes up with a great headline: "City to Trump: Yes to hole, no to building." It's kind of a "will it" or "won't it" situation at the moment but it seems that The Donald wants to build a 42-story condo-hotel on the corner of Varick and Spring Streets. According to the article he can dig the hole but not the building, at least not yet. Check the whole story out here it's well worth following for the outcome in another round of community groups v the ever popular department of buildings.

90-100 HUDSON - TRIBECA - NYC