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Friday, July 21, 2006
The Donald’s List Price Is No Longer the Biggest …
In breaking news from the mine-is-bigger-than-yours front, Donald Trump’s $125 million listing in Palm Beach no longer is the nation’s priciest property.
Saudi Arabian Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz is asking $135 million for his estate in Aspen, Colo.
Check out details from the Rocky Mountain News. At 56,000 square feet, it’s big enough to house a Publix store. And at 95 acres, the spread could accommodate at least a couple hundred South Florida McMansions.
Of course, we won’t know the true winner in the Most Expensive Mansion contest until both sales close.
But I’ll hazard a couple guesses: I bet the prince isn’t paying his agent 6 percent. And I doubt whoever buys either of these properties is too concerned that mortgage rates edged up again this week.
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Once-bullish economist finds fault lines in Florida
Mark Vitner, the oft-quoted Wachovia Corp. economist who once was the cheeriest of cheerleaders for Florida’s economy, is feeling a little less sunny about the Sunshine State.
Among the economic clouds he points to: The end of Florida’s wave of real estate speculation. Many people who signed contracts on new homes never planned to close, instead hoping to flip for big bucks, he says. Now they’re backing out or taking title to homes they had hoped to sell.
In his gloomier forecast, Vitner also points to the rising costs of doing business in Florida, something he warns could be a drag on once-booming job growth. (Check the Post on Sunday for more on businesses leaving the state.)
“I’m a little less optimistic on Florida,” Vitner told me today. “Housing seems to be slowing more than people realize. And we’ve seen a number of manufacturers that have gotten frustrated with the costs of insurance and the tightness of the labor market.”
To put Vitner’s sober outlook in perspective, understand that he was the picture of optimism during last year’s boom.
Here’s how Vitner sized up Florida when I phoned him back in November: “It’s hard to come up with the correct superlatives. We have the best economy by far in the nation. I don’t want to say it’s an embarrassment of riches, but the economy is so strong in Florida from coast to coast.”
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