NY Times
May 23, 2007
Property Values
What You Get for ... $10 Million
By ANNA BAHNEY
Miami Beach, Fla.
WHAT: Five-bedroom house, plus one-bedroom guest house and service quarters
HOW MUCH: $9,995,000
PER FOOT: $1,575.25
Situated on Palm Island, a gated community off of the McArthur Causeway between downtown Miami and South Beach, this house has 217 feet of frontage along Biscayne Bay. With a private dock and boatlift, the property can accommodate a yacht and has access to the Atlantic. Built in 1930, this two-story Mediterranean-style house has 6,345 square feet. The double-height living room has arched doorways, a vaulted exposed-beam ceiling, ornate columns and a wall of windows with views of the bay. The estate has six and two half baths, a two-car attached garage and a four-car detached carport. There are ceramic, hardwood and marble floors throughout the home. The property is four-fifths of an acre in size, with a circular drive in the front and, along the bay at the rear of the house, a covered lanai, pool and spa with mature palm trees. The guest house has one bedroom and one bath, and there is a separate suite in the main house for use as service quarters. The community offers tennis, racquetball and basketball courts, as well as full-time security. Taxes are $92,055 a year. There is a voluntary homeowner’s fee of $500 a year. Barbara Hagen, Majestic Properties (305) 992-3749; www.majesticproperties.com.
Bozeman, Mont.
WHAT: Five-bedroom house with two cabins
HOW MUCH: $10,000,000
PER FOOT: $2,789.40
This 3,585-square-foot house was built in 2002 and has three baths, a Tulikivi wood stove, a two-car attached garage and a covered porch. Each of the guest cabins — one has 648 square feet of space, the other 360 square feet — has an efficiency kitchen and a bath. The buildings have been clustered to preserve the habitat of black bear, elk, mule deer, bobcats, mountain lions and moose. The 640-acre parcel of land allows for four residences to be built in addition to the existing log-style house, which could be a caretaker’s home, and the guest cabins. (The land has conservation easements held by the Montana Land Reliance stipulating that the parcel cannot be subdivided any further.) At an elevation of 7,200 feet, the property is situated at the base of the Bridger Mountains and surrounded by National Forest land. With views of the Crazy Mountains, the Paradise Valley and Yellowstone National Park, the property is 30 minutes north of Bozeman and 10 minutes from Bridger Bowl, a skiing area. Cache Creek originates on the property, and there is also a pond. The taxes are $6,831.43 a year. Vivian Bridaham, The Collection — Sotheby’s International Realty, (406) 586-4408; www.thecollectionsir.com.
San Francisco
WHAT: Six-bedroom house
HOW MUCH: $9,995,000
PER FOOT: $1,427
Built in 2006, this 7,000-square-foot four-story home in the Russian Hill area of San Francisco is within a block of shopping, restaurants and the Hyde Street Cable Car. Designed to optimize views, the house has oversized windows taking in the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, the Marina, the bay and the city. The house has a below-ground media room and garage with morotized lifts to accommodate four cars. The ground level has two bedrooms, a family room that opens to a landscaped garden, and an office with a private entrance. The middle level has a library, two bedrooms and a master suite with a Jacuzzi tub. The top level has a fourth bedroom, as well as the formal living and dining rooms and eat-in kitchen. A motorized skylight opens to provide access to a roof deck. The house has six and two half baths, four fireplaces, two elevators, and a wine storage room and tasting area with space for about 1,000 bottles. It is wired for digital services, cable for flat-screen televisions, electric shade installation, built-in audio speakers and an alarm system with video surveillance capacity. Taxes are expected to be about $124,937.50 a year. Betty Brachman, Sotheby’s International Realty — San Francisco, (415) 296-2215; www.tenhastings.com.