Goldstein’s recognition as one of America’s most prolific sales associates stems from a newly published report that ranks the best real estate professionals across the country for 2016. It was conducted by REAL Trends, a leading trends tracker in the real estate industry, and sponsored by Zillow, the online listing database.

REAL Trends America’s Best Real Estate Agents report also features Goldstein as the 60^th most successful agent in Florida, out of over 250,000 realtors, in terms of sales volume. Last year, he closed $40.2 million in deals, more than double the qualifying threshold for the ranking.

“I am obviously pleased and honored to be ranked on this ranking of the country’s top residential real estate agents,” said Goldstein in a press statement on the occasion. “It represents the time and effort that we put into each customer that we serve and how much work it takes to build a successful real estate career. The level of sales it takes to qualify makes it a truly special recognition.”

The enormity of Goldstein’s achievement glares when put in perspective. In 2016, the average realtor completed 8.6 transactions, bringing in less than $1.3 million, according to Steve Murray, president of REAL Trends.

“I have to say, my exposure and use of my affiliation with Haute Living, has had a tremendous amount of doing with my rise in Golden Beach,” said Goldstein. “It's just the beginning.”

Alexander Goldstein is the exclusive agent representing the Golden Beach, Florida, real estate market as a member of the Haute Residence Real Estate Network. View all of his listings here.

Images courtesy of Alexander Goldstein 

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Do these characteristics and traits sound like people you know in the Coachella Valley?

They might be your children, nieces and nephews, colleagues or neighbors. And they are showing a strong interest in the Coachella Valley real estate market.

According to a study by Realtor.com, millennials aged 25-34 make up the largest age demographic of prospective home buyers (24%) followed by those aged 35-44 (23%). Combined they make up nearly half of today’s buyer pool. Among the top 60 metropolitan areas by household count, the metros which saw the largest shares of older millennial listing views compared to the national rate (the “Millennial Index”) included Salt Lake City, Miami, Orlando, Seattle and Houston. Within these cities, the share of older millennial views were approximately 1.2 times larger than their share nationally.

Because the information above focuses on metropolitan areas by market definition, millennial ‘hot spots’ in broader metro areas (i.e., Brooklyn, NY) are not always included. As it turns out, the number one zip code search (in listing page views) by the older millennial demographic is the Coachella zip code of 92236, followed by Downey, CA and then Brooklyn, NY.

To see what homes these millennials are looking for, download my FREE real estate app ‘Palm Springs Home Search’ via the Apple App Store or Google Play: https://homestack.com/a/palmspringshomesearch

William Landesman is the exclusive agent representing the Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, California real estate market as a member of the Haute Residence Real Estate Network. Contact him here!

Image courtesy of William Landesman

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There’s a three-level, 7,200-square-foot residence made from 11 shipping containers in Yardley, Pennsylvania. The home belongs to and was designed mostly by Bill Mathesius––a state superior court judge and also a county executive of Mercer County in New Jersey––and his significant other Martha Moseley. Moseley recently spoke with Dwell.com, offering a little insight into how the project came together and detailing some of the home's main features, which include an on-demand water heater, radiant heat, central air, and multiple decks.

The couple, who had sold their individual properties, were looking for a new home and had only three requirements: It needed to have a view; it needed to be in Pennsylvania; and it needed to be close to Trenton, New Jersey (where Mathesius works). After a bit of research, they stumbled upon a lot featuring an already installed concrete foundation. That foundation, along with an article that Moseley had read about shipping container homes, became the foundation for the two to build their new residence.

Each container, which now feature interiors mostly lined with Sheetrock, is about 45 feet. This became extremely convenient for the couple, since the pre-existing concrete foundation ended up being around to 45 feet wide.

According to Mosley, the inspiration behind positioning of the kitchen island was “to bridge the different units, take the focus away from the elongated container beams, and balance the overall structure.” Her and Mathesius wanted the home to have a free-flowing, open feel––one that would be reminiscent to that of a loft apartment.

The north-facing side of the home doesn’t have many window treatments. This is due to the abundance of bamboo that has been planted that acts as both a natural curtain and canopy. The windows that are featured in the house are large and custom-made.

The guest room is the exact width of a single container. The couple has coined the room the “sleeping nook” and use it for when their children are staying over. There aren’t many doors found throughout this unique home, but a few of the doors that this container home does possess are located in the sleeping nook, which also happens to be “the only extra room with any privacy,” Mosley says. The nook’s white bas-relief doors, were designed by Mathesius, who also is responsible for much of the artwork in the house, including various sculptures, paintings, and photographs. The crafty guy also made the fire pit and the patios’ planter boxes.

Due to local zoning laws as well as being located in a floodplain, those who reside in the area aren’t allowed to have anything outside of a storage or garage space downstairs. “So we keep all of our systems in a side room next to the guest room, and it’s all very, very compact,” Mosley says.

While she notes that people have been “fascinated” with her and Mathesius‘ interesting abode, she admits that the architecture is “not for everyone.”

Images courtesy of Dwell.com

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What is important with holiday decor is to keep it classic and simple, and to use similar color for your ornament; pick a color, then stick to it and do not go crazy, (okay, you can pick a maximum of two or three colors). I love the idea of metalic color decor—it makes everything look so rich, so chic. No need to clutter your house with excess decor to make your home feel festive; a few candles and a simple tree will do it.

I also love using wallpaper to wrap my presents instead of the classic wrapping: there are amazing pattern options. You could even match it to your wall! And it has the advantage of being more resistant; no more tearing on sharp corners when wrapping all those presents. Here again I tend to use only one pattern for all the presents—just add some luxury color ribbon: one color for each person, et voila!

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What’s the best place to dine or drink under the stars in your region?

Many tourists and locals love 5th Avenue or 3rd street in Old Naples. The newest location is  Mercato- a new outdoor walking complex with restaurants, bars, shopping and 13-plex high end movie theater. Located in North Naples.

What "smart" (or high-tech) features do homebuyers covet (want) the most?

The luxury trends we are seeing are whole home automation systems for everything from lighting, sound, windows, appliances etc. Also- on the exterior of the home things like fire bowls, water features and swimming pools with automated LED lights and color systems.

The post Bua-Bell Group Reveals the Best Place to Dine in Naples and High-Tech Features Homebuyers Covet the Most appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Name a few tips for those looking to decorate their homes for the holiday season in a non-traditional way.

Think about decorating for the winter season, and not so much just the holiday. Bring in metallic for a glamorous look, or do all white.  Have a lot of candles in crystal candleholders.  Go natural with burlap, brown craft paper, bare branch trees, birch logs, pinecones, and etc.

What do you feel is the most difficult part of your job (e.g. having to marry your personal style with that of your clients, locating the perfect furniture pieces to suit a space, drafting layouts, having to work long hours, etc.)? What’s the easiest?

The most difficult part is the business part. The easiest part is the creative part, the actual designing of the project. Finding the right pieces, doing the furniture layouts, "losing track of time" when you are in the groove is all part of that.

 

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It’s that time of the year again, planning and decorating for the holiday season is upon us. While many unpack their boxes of tried and true beloved decorations, others may want to try non-traditional ways of decorating this time around. For those who want to take the less conventional route this season but still enjoy the rich, fantasy set-like drama of holiday decor, I would suggest taking a little inspiration from storefront display windows. You will find Christmas trees and wreaths, for example, are no longer explicitly trees or wreaths, they maintain their iconic shape but are composed of different objects limited only by your imagination. For those looking for a warm, simple and casual aesthetic, lit gathered branches creatively arranged are a fresh take on traditional heavy greens in garlands and trees. To go even more minimal, consider skipping the ornaments and incorporating accent colors instead. Perhaps doing placemats, dish towels, rugs in vibrant jewel tones in metallic or pearlized fabrics.

What do you feel is the most difficult part of your job (e.g. having to marry your personal style with that of your clients, locating the perfect furniture pieces to suit a space, drafting layouts, having to work long hours, etc.)? What’s the easiest?

The most difficult part of my job is probably the long hours. Juggling several jobs simultaneously requires putting in long hours of work in order to give each job full attention. When I meet with a client, their expectation is that my service to them has been undivided. They don’t want to hear about how another job might have caused me to overlook something in theirs. They want to feel confident that my proposed design is the absolute best solution I arrived at after being fully involved in the design process and considering alternatives. I am aware of this and compensate by working longer hours to make sure that I am equally and fully invested in each project. On days when others expect to be typically off with their families, my job requires me to accommodate the needs and requests of my clients who do not want to hear excuses. On the flip-side, there is no greater reward than having a client who is ecstatic with not only the design but the end result.

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