Over at the Wicked Local Wellesley website, reporter Lenny Megliola noted that there was an interesting real estate transaction in his Wellesley neighborhood. The buyer of a property was listed as “Queen Elizabeth 2nd.” What ensues is Megliola’s preparations to go pay a house call on Her Majesty. It’s a fun read.

Here’s a story from Vanity Fair describing how some real estate agents can be real jerks.
Despite some evidence that there’s an inkling of new activity in the luxury real estate market, Manhattan real estate agents are smarting that making a commission isn’t the cakewalk it used to be—and lashing out at precisely the wrong people. [...]

Beacon Hill Median Sales Prices:

Click to enlarge Beacon Hill sales chart.
Beacon Hill median sales price 2005 – $494,000
Beacon Hill median sales price 2006 – $473,000
Beacon Hill median sales price 2007 – $516,500
Beacon Hill median sales price 2008 – $531,250
Beacon Hill median sales price 2009 – $520,000
Beacon Hill median sales price 2010 – $515,000
Click here Beacon [...]

Massachusetts luxury real estate
Here’s something you don’t see every day. Local entrepreneur Mark Andrus is listing his renovated Chestnut Hill Georgian Revival mansion for $12.5 million, and is pledging to donate 15% of the profits from the sale to the Boston Food Bank. As reported on the Luxlist website, Andrus bought the estate for $3.5 [...]

According to LINK, four Bryant Back Bay condos sold in the 3rd Q of 2010:
Bryant #804: Sold for $1,610,000 or $843.00 per sq ft. on 7/19/10
Bryant #803: Sold for $1,600,000 or $892.oo per sq ft. on 9/17/10
Bryant #405: Sold for $1,562,500 or $722.00 per sq ft. on 9/10/10
Bryant #702: Sold for $1,550,000 or $791.00 per sq ft. [...]

The NYTimes column The Appraisal reports that the super lux condo owned by Shia La Beouf’s character in “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” is up for sale. For the third time. The owner bought the huge 6,250 s/f pad in 2003 for $1.4 million – he’s now asking $15 million. Of course, in the movie, [...]

More signs that the economy is improving, the Patriot Ledger reports: The Cape and Islands summer rental market is rebounding from an anemic season in 2009, when economic downdrafts put a damper on vacation plans. Now, the most sought-after listings – oceanfront cottages available from mid-July through mid-August – are leasing quickly, and high-end properties [...]

Technically, the world’s most expensive home doesn’t exist yet. It’s being built and is planned to be completed and ready for sale by 2010 — at the staggering price tag of 100 million pounds (more than $200 million). The penthouse will sit atop the swanky flats of One Hyde Park, a skyscraper development in London’s [...]

High-end homeowners might want to hold off on a sale.
Analysts predict homes priced at more than $1 million may not bottom out until 2012, compared with 2011 for the majority of the national housing market.
The government’s efforts to help everyday homeowners with its “Home Affordable” loan and refinancing programs may slowly be giving the national [...]