IN THE NEWS
Luxury Properties Division of Prudential California Realty launches third year- 180 top luxury agents meet at St. Regis Resort (March 1, 2010), Irvine, CA -- An elite group of 180 specialists of the Prudential California Realty Luxury Properties Division came together for a day-long conference at the St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach in mid-February. Noted experts in ultra-high-end properties from Santa Barbara to San Diego attended the event. President and CEO Jon Cook reported on sales results for the division, which was launched in 2008. Since that time, the company’s agents have closed over 1,500 luxury transactions representing over $7 billion in sales volume. The division increased it average sale price of luxury homes sold to $4.57 million. “The foundation of Prudential California Realty was built on the luxury market,” says Jon Cook, President and CEO. “We are dedicated to expanding and enhancing the division to help our agents give their high-end clients the most effective representation.” Ron Peltier, Chairman & CEO of the firm’s parent company, HomeServices of America, Inc. (HSA), was a featured speaker at the event and spent the day with the group. HSA, an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway, is the second largest full-service independent residential real estate brokerage firm and the largest brokerage-owned settlement services (mortgage, title, escrow and insurance) provider in the U.S. Heidi Hockenberry, director of marketing for the division, presented the results of an ongoing study that tracks where the company’s luxury buyers come from. “This information helps both our agents and the division market our high-end listings even more effectively,” she noted. Among the findings: a significant percentage of buyers are coming from outside the county where the listing is located. “That makes our connections throughout Southern California and across the international Prudential network more important than ever,” she said. Her presentation ended with the unveiling of a new digital magazine created to showcase luxury properties. Pat Veling of Real Data Strategies, Inc., shared luxury market data with attendees, including graphs depicting $2 million+ market activity in micro markets across Southern California. Cook announced that all Prudential agents working with high-end properties can now access these reports, which are updated monthly. “Our agents can use this data to help their clients buy and sell successfully in this market,” he said.
Prudential Ca Realty CEO, Jon Cook,
and Jim McInerney.
“Having personal
connections with the top luxury agents outside our immediate market gives us a
tremendous advantage to offer our clients,” said Billy
Rose, a Luxury Properties Director from Beverly Hills. “This meeting is the perfect
setting for making those connections — and we always come away with new ideas
and a deeper understanding of where the market is headed. In addition, we
find it a real benefit to hear macro market projections and details from such
prominent players like Jon [Cook], Ron [Peltier], and Pat [Veling].”
A highlight of the day was a presentation by Prudential La Jolla agent Jim McInerney, who is the US marketing representative for Santosha Resort & Residences, an exclusive, ultra-luxury residential resort community in the Southern Zone of Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. About the Luxury Properties Division Created by a core group of highly experienced Prudential California Realty luxury agents from Santa Barbara to San Diego, the division leverages the company’s worldwide luxury connections and alliances, highly collaborative agent network, proprietary contact lists and powerful marketing resources to bring exceptional listings to the attention of an elite global audience. Since its inception in 2008, the division handled over 1,500 luxury transactions with sales volume over $7 billion. The company’s luxury listings are showcased at www.luxsocal.com . About Prudential California Realty
With over 3,400
sales associates in 58 offices across Southern California and the Central Coast, Prudential California Realty is
one of the top five brokerages in the nation. In 2009, agents of the firm, the
largest company in the Prudential Real Estate International network, closed
more than $10 billion in sales volume and well over 15,000 transactions.
Prudential California Realty is proud
to be a member of HomeServices of America Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate.
Prudential California Realty top producer Jim McInerney adds Costa Rican paradise to his portfolio
Ask La Jolla Realtor® Jim McInerney why exclusive world travel and music industry circles are already buzzing about Santosha Resort & Residences in Costa Rica, and he’ll refer you to a comment by the project’s architect that says it all. The acclaimed Miles Humphreys has crafted stunning ultra-high-end resorts in some of the most breathtaking natural settings on earth, including Bali, Thailand and the Maldives. But, he says, nothing compares to this. “I have visited many sites around the world, but this is without a doubt the most amazing property I have ever set foot upon,” he says. “They will come from all corners of the earth to visit it.”
Santosha (derived from an ancient Sanskrit word meaning “complete contentment”) is set on one of the largest tracts of developable land in the Southern Zone of Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. International Living magazine recently named the area one of its “4 Best Real Estate Plays for 2010.” The magnificent site will be home to an exclusive, ultra-luxury residential resort community resting lightly between the Pacific and a pristine rainforest.
While Costa Rican terrain can be steep, Santosha’s
nine contiguous parcels consist of gently sloping pastoral lands with dramatic
views of the rainforest and the shimmering Gulf Dulce some 1,500 feet below. The setting is near the town of Golfito, on the fringes of a pristine and private
rainforest reserve that’s home to millions of species of
prized hardwoods, orchids, and wildlife. Monkeys, ocelots, coatis, sloths, tapirs and brocket deer to
giant dragonflies, butterflies, parrots, macaws and toucans are just some of
its exotic inhabitants.
The view from the forest ridgeline sweeps from the Osa Peninsula, with some of the most forbidding jungle in the hemisphere, all the way to Panama, 20 miles to the south. Much of the surrounding acreage is government-protected forest.
An ecological reserve Only about 100 of Santosha’s 864 acres will be developed as residential villas and estate homes. The rest will be preserved for future generations as part of the Santosha Rainforest Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to education, research and preservation of the local ecosystem. The foundation is allied with the country’s National Biodiversity Institute (INBio), a private research and management center that supports efforts to gather knowledge on Costa Rica’s biological diversity and promote its sustainable use. A magnet for musicians Santosha started as a sketch on a napkin when CEO and Co-Founder Jim Mullen and his wife, Renee, were vacationing on a private island next to Humphreys’ famous Four Seasons Kuda Huraa in the Maldives. Today, the architect is part of Santosha Development Group, an international resort development team with tenured backgrounds in designing, building and operating five-star resort projects.
“One of the next great yachting and jet-set destinations” The area’s combination of pristine tropical beauty, superb surfing and fishing, and convenient yacht and plane access inspired Private Air magazine to call it “one of the next great yachting and jet-set destinations.” The area is known for having two of the most challenging (and least accessible) surfing breaks in the world, and some of the best whale watching and striped-marlin fishing in the Pacific. The town of Golfito, built as a port for United Fruit Company in the 1920s, has a well-established infrastructure that includes a hospital, a supermarket and a small airstrip. It’s also Costa Rica’s closest yacht-ready port to the Panama Canal, making it a stopover destination for luxury vessels porting to the Caribbean or en route to Costa Rican resorts to the north. Future plans include building a 210-slip marina with drafts of twelve feet on the site of the old banana-loading pier.
Phase One: Ready to Emerge In development for six years, Santosha has the support of the Costa Rican government, including a coveted D-1 Environmental Permit from SETENA, the country’s environmental agency. Key approvals and building permits have been secured, and three freshwater wells have been drilled. Now, the Santosha team is preparing to launch Phase One of the project, an approximately 30-acre gated community of 25 luxury estate villas.
Each residence
will feature large wood- The estates will be fully furnished with custom fabrics, antiques and art from Indonesia as well as furniture hand-built and carved in Bali. “I had the pleasure of watching the artisans at work,” says McInerney. “This is hand craftsmanship in the purest sense — no electric tools are used. The results are uniquely beautiful.” McInerney is now forming an interest list and preparing the final legal documents needed to take early deposits for Phase One. On February 4, he will unveil the project for the specialists of the Prudential California Realty Luxury Properties Division. Santosha offers not only the ultimate in residential resort living in the pristine setting of a rainforest sanctuary and an exquisite Pacific cove. It also provides a rare opportunity to leave a legacy of preservation and stewardship for generations to come. (Source: Dream Homes, Villager, February 2010)
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Photographed at the event: Santosha CEO, Jim Mullen,
A secluded rainforest
retreat
Mullen, an accomplished drummer, has also assembled a team of
music industry veterans, whom have toured and recorded
with a range of legendary recording musicians, to develop and operate a world-class recording and
post-production facility at Santosha. The 
framed windows with dramatic
ocean and rainforest views, a private pavilion overlooking a reflecting pond,
an infinity swimming pool, fountains, waterfalls, and tropical gardens. The initial phase will also include a private spa and clubhouse
exclusively for its residences.
