Las Vegas comes to Vietnam via the Ho Tram Strip, a US$4.2 billion, 9,000 room integrated luxury resort and entertainment destination.

The resort will be Vietnam’s largest single tourism venture and it wll be built on the white sand beaches of Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province, in southern Vietnam.

Designed by renowned Las Vegas architect Paul Steelman, and themed on the concept of environmental preservation and conservation, Project I of the Ho Tram Strip will resemble a wildlife preserve, highlighting the lush natural beauty of the area while showcasing Vietnamese and Asian culture. Phase 1 of the project calls for a five-star hotel resort with 1,100 rooms, a championship golf course designed by Greg Norman, and Vietnam’s first Las Vegas-style casino.

The second phase will include an additional resort, another casino and more restaurants and nightclubs. When the Ho Tram Strip is complete there will be five resorts and a conference center.

Construction of Project 1 (Phase 1 and 2) - including the two five-star hotels, Vietnam’s first Las Vegas-style casinos and the specially designed Greg Norman golf course – is scheduled to commence in the second half of 2008 and be completed by 2011. The entire 169 hectares of the Ho Tram Strip, featuring five Las Vegas-style integrated resorts, is scheduled to be completely developed and operational within ten years.

The Chicago Spire, is one of the most ambitious projects in the U.S. According to Chicago Tribune, developer said Tuesday that it has sold 30 percent of the building’s condo units, which, it says, is proof the world’s tallest residential structure will be built.

The developer says they have already sold 30 percent of the building’s condo units, sending a strong signal that there is enough interest in the project despite the fact that the condos are priced higher than others in the city (the studio units start at $750,000) and that the developer has required 15 percent of a unit’s price upfront for each sale.

Spire spokeswoman Kim Metcalfe said the sales were achieved in just four months of marketing and counters critics who claimed the 2,000-foot-tall structure would never go up.
Metcalfe emphasized that the 352 units booked are sales, not just offers of interest accompanied by deposits. “This is clearly a benchmark,” she said.

The Spire is designed with 1,194 units, including a $40 million penthouse, which is still for sale. The building is scheduled for completion in 2012.

Zaya, a Abu Dhabi-based real estate company has launched its first of many property ventures; Nurai, a spectacular private community of limited edition resort beach-front estates and water villas on a natural island off the coast of Abu Dhabi.

Derived from the Arabic word “nour” meaning light, Nurai is surrounded by clear waters and ringed with pristine sandy beaches. Lying immediately northeast of Abu Dhabi, the island is set in isolation away from the hustle and bustle of city life yet is within minutes from the mainland.
People interested in resort beachfront estates will have their choice of two designs - ‘The Shoreline’ or ‘The Seaside’.

The Shoreline estates will consist of six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, private beach and rooftop garden with a total build area of 12,275 square feet.

Similar in size, but with five bedrooms and six baths, will be The Seaside estates. No detail has been overlooked. Each resort residence includes luxurious amenities such as a private beach and garden, infinity swimming pool, concealed service quarters and outdoor showers.

The resort is due to open in 2010 and the prices for the residences start at €20 million ($30 million)

Via zawya

Who said anything about a recession? Sometime between the government bailout of Bear Stearns and the Bureau of Labor Statistics report that America lost 80,000 jobs in March, Lee Tachman spent roughly $50,000 last month on a four-day jaunt to Miami for himself and three close friends.

The trip was an exercise in luxuriant male bonding. Mr. Tachman, who is 38, and his friends got around by private jet, helicopter, Hummer limousine, Ferraris and Lamborghinis; stayed in V.I.P. rooms at Casa Casuarina, the South Beach hotel that was formerly Gianni Versace’s mansion; and played “extreme adventure paintball” with former agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

Mr. Tachman, a manager for a company that executes trades for hedge funds and the owner of “a handful” of buildings in New York, said he has not felt the need to cut back.

“I always feel like there’s a sword of Damocles over my head, like it could all come crashing down at any time,” he said. “But there’s always going to be people who are trading, and there’s always going to be a demand for real estate in New York.”

He is hardly alone in his eagerness to keep spending. Some businesses that cater to the superrich report that clients — many of them traders and private equity investors whose work is tied to Wall Street — are still splurging on multimillion-dollar Manhattan apartments, custom-built yachts, contemporary art and lavish parties.

Buyers this year have already closed on 71 Manhattan apartments that each cost more than $10 million, compared with 17 apartments in that price range during all of 2007. Last week, a New York art dealer paid a record $1.6 million for an Edward Weston photograph at Sotheby’s. And the GoldBar, a downtown lounge, reports that bankers continue to order $3,000 bottles of Rémy Martin Louis XIII Cognac.

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Read this “Ultra” interesting article on nytimes

While not wanting to subject anyone to Malibu’s audacious real estate market, the back story on this 10-bedroom home, listed at $23.75 million, is too good to pass up. A wealthy builder/developer built this 10-room, 11-bath home in 1992 for the love of his life. She moved in, but didn’t like being so far from the city. So the couple moved out after a weekend. Yes, the couple spent all of a weekend living here.

Since the couple moved out of this 5.33-acre estate, dubbed Villa Versaille, the home has been rented out for parties, and movie, television, and music video shoots, according to the listing agent. Additionally, the owners have hosted parties at this estate. Also, it was rented out as a rehab center/wellness center at one point. While the listing notes the pools, the gardens, the horse stables, and the caretakers’ residence, it’s also worth pointing out this detail: “Today’s building restrictions & a recently passed Malibu Municipal Ordinance will not allow an estate of this caliber to be built again. Today, the maximum the city will allow is 11,172 sq ft for the main house (on a five+ acre lot minimum). This property was built prior to the ordinance & is therefore “grandfathered” in to the city ordinance.” No, these things don’t get built anymore.

3 acre waterfront estate w/direct ocean access. Largest property in S. Gables waterway boasts 757′ of waterfront on east and north side with 75′dock. Architecturally unique 10,000+ sq ft home built by renowned architect Alfred Browning Parker sits on lush, private grounds with mature oaks surrounded by coral rock wall.

Featuring lit tennis court, pool and screened porch this property and location provide the opportunity to create your ultimate lifestyle in your private compound!
Offered @ $12,500,000