11/26/2010

HISTORIC HOMES TOUR IN FLAMINGO PARK, WEST PALM BEACH, DEC 5TH, 4 - 8PM AND CONCERT AFTERWARDS


Flamingo Park, a neighborhood of historic homes, many in the Spanish Mission and Mediterranean Revival style, built during the 1920s boom era, will present their 19th annual popular tour of historic homes on December 5th from 4-8 pm.  Several houses are characterized as mixture of classical Spanish, modern and Mediterranean-style units. Many Flamingo Park homes provide residents with wooden floors, fireplaces, walk-in closets, French doors, open balconies, attics, cottages, garden views, Florida rooms, covered patios and large swimming pools.
An annual lighting contest is held for the neighborhood in the evening.   There will be a dessert reception and candlelight concert at 8:15 pm by the Forest Hill High School Dimension 20 Chorus.
The 1924 Alfred J. Comeau home at 701 Flamingo Drive will be included.  Comeau was the Developer of the first West Palm Beach skyscraper.  Three homes on the tour  are an Ardmore Road home featured on Rob Thompson’s PBS show, This Old House, Rachele Scholes' home on Sunset Road and Jamie Young and Jeff Fessler's home on Kanuga Drive which both were both featured on the HGTV show My House Is Worth What?
No children allowed. For tickets ($25 if purchase prior to 12/5 and $30 at the door) see flamingopark.net or historichometours.com.

11/22/2010

CORAL GABLES HISTORIC HOMES MORE AFFORDABLE AND SELL FASTER AND CLOSER TO LIST PRICE



Known as an area where there are historic homes built prior to 1940, the average historic home sold in the past 12 months went for $244/sq ft after 128 days on the market at 92% of list price, whereas others sold for an average of $275/sq ft after 147 days on the market at 90% of list price, saving buyers  about $3100 per 100 sq ft of home. The MLS in this area calculates by adjusted sq ft, with a smaller factor for covered terraces, patios and garages.
Of the 400 single family homes sold, 20% (80) were historic homes. They are mostly found West of US 1, between Bird Road & 8th Street, Red Road and LeJeune Avenue.

11/13/2010

UNUSUAL PALM BEACH HISTORIC HOME SELLS FOR $6.8MM



Cielito Lindo at 122 Kings Road was one of a few Kings Road residences subdivided from a massive 1927 45,000 sq ft 124-room mansion by Marion Sims Wyeth with Moorish style entranceway, brickwork, wooden window grills and tower, built originally for Woolworth heiress Jessie Woolworth Donahue and her husband James.  The property is located north of Mar-a-Lago Club.


The subdivided home that was recently sold is 12,380 sq ft, almost totally furnished, has 20 rooms including 7 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms and two powder rooms.  Formal gardens by Mario Nievera are lush and extensive.   An expansive wall with fountain from the original Donohue estate is carved with the words Cielito Lindo.  


Beautiful lake and ocean views abound from the master bedroom, guest room and tower.  Rooms are large with high ceilings.  Cielito Lindo was one of the largest Palm Beach Jazz Age palazzos, built in 1924.  The exterior of the home features red tile bands, a red barrel tile roof and geometric shaped interlaced wood details.  The Library’s pickled paneling and pecky cypress walls and ceilings in the bar room, and 18th C. Italian marble fireplace mantelpiece are part of the 1764 William Hogarth (English artist) estate.  There are panoramic views from the Tower Room.  Dining Room features Venetian plaster and baths are of onyx with Sherle Wagner gold fixtures.

11/08/2010

SALES OF IMPORTANT HISTORIC WORKS OF ART ARE AHEAD 13% IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2010

Bullish bids for important works of Impressionist and Modern art came in this past week from Russia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Quatar, Abu Dhabi and Singapore as well as other corners of the world.  The money comes from fortunes made in oil, gas, gold and other commodities.  Sotheby’s sold $227MM worth of impressionist and modern art last week.  Between $800MM and $1BB of art has sold or is planned for sale last week and this week by Sotheby’s and Christie’s, both prominent auction houses.   

The last major auction was in May 2008 before the financial crisis stemmed the tide, when the art market was down 30% according to Mei Moses All Art index which tracks publicly sold art.  2009 was described as “rocky” in the art market.  In the first half of 2010 returns were up 13%.
Recent “big time” art sales that set records included:

MATISSE: Monumental bigger-than-lifesize bronze sculpture of a woman’s back set a new record at Christies for this artist by selling for almost $49MM ($48,802,500).   Sale estimates were between $25-$30MM and a global bidding wear sent the price up. The piece, “Nu de dos, 4 etate (Back IV)” measures 74.5”.  This work was conceived by Matisse around 1930, but cast in 1978, 24 years after his death.  The piece is No.oo in a collection of 12, the first three versions conceived in 1909, 1913 and 1916-17 are at the Museum of Modern Art. Matisse’s "Danseuse dans le fauteuil, sol en damier," sold for $20.8MM.  Photo is from Christie’s Images Ltd.

MODIGLIANI: A life-sized painting sold at Sotheby’s for $69MM, and Modigliani’s circa 1917 seductive canvas, titled “Nu assis sur un divan (La Belle Romaine),” ["Nude Sitting on a Divan (The Beautiful Roman Woman),"] catapulted beyond a pre-sale estimate of about $40MM.  It sold back in 1999 at Sotheby’s for $16.7MM, which was a record at the time.  His previous record was $52.6, sold earlier this year in Paris.  

GRIS: “Violon et guitare” a cubist oil painting on canvas done in September 1913, sold for $28.64MM after estimates for $18-25MM.  It was sold by Marilyn Arison, wife of late billionaire Ted Arison and sold to benefit the nonprofit YoungArts.  In 1998 they paid $9.9MM for this work of art.  Gris regarded this Cubist still life as his ultimate masterpiece, according to Christie’s.

MONET’s: “Le Bassin aux Nympheas,” part of his iconic water lilies series, sold for $25.7MM.  Its format is awkwardly elongated.  Most of his coveted water lily paintings are in museums and some consider them, painted during the last 20 years of his life, his ultimate achievement.

ROTHCO: abstract painting, off the market for 40 years, could sell this week at Sotheby’s, estimate is between $20-$30MM.  PICASSO: “Man with a Flag” sold for $5.3MM. LEGER: His “Femme sur fond rouge, femme assise”, the stylized figure of a woman seated cross-legged, in black and white on a red background sold for $6.35MM. SEURAT: A black Conte crayon study of a woman standing is seen from the back with a feeling of time suspended and profound mystery as the shadowy figure seems about to enter an invisible world brought $4.3MM. GIACOMETTI: “His “Femme de Venise V,” a craggy, jagged elongated fiture case in 1958 in an edition of 6 brought in $10MM.

This week, Christies hopes to get $240MM from sales of works by Warhol, Lichtenstein, Koons, Richter and Rothco.

Both Christie’s and Sotheby’s had predicted a surge in demand ahead of this year’s autumn auctions, with the art market emerging from a slump triggered by the global financial crisis.

The jewelry market has surged ahead as well. The Bulgari Blue Diamond, designed in the 1970’s as a gift from a European collector to his wife on the birth of their first son, was bought for about $1MM at in 1972. It features two triangular-shaped diamonds, one colorless at 9.87 carats, the other a “fancy vivid” blue diamond is 10.95 carats.  The blue diamond is one in about 10 in existence with a color pure enough to qualify as “fancy vivid.” This is the largest blue diamond to have sold at auction. Photo credit: Reuters/CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2010/Handout/.

11/05/2010

1937 OCEAN BREEZE DELRAY BEACH COTTAGE RECENTLY SOLD FOR $927.00



One block from the beach and ocean, a charming beach cottage with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, guest cottage and pool, 2273 living sq ft, also is near Atlantic Avenue.  On the market 871 days, originally listed for $1,395,000.
Note French Doors and beamed wood ceiling.

 Fireplace in living room.





 Porch with columns and requisite rocker.





 Pool with Chicago brick pavers.




  Pavilion in front of guest house.

1925 OLD FLORESTA MIZNER COTTAGE RECENTLY SOLD




Historic gated 1925 Mizner cottage on just about one acre in Old Floresta, Boca Raton, sold in May 2010 for $1,500,000.  3497 living sq ft. Originally listed for $2,295,000, it was on the market for 503 days with one interim price reduction. 


4 bedrooms, 3 baths, several fireplaces in the house. 

24’X20’ Living room is upstairs, family room downstairs. 

Note wood ceilings, arches at entryways, front fountain, pavers may be Chicago brick,