Discounted mansions luring tech millionaires
Jeff Paster, a developer of luxury homes in California’s Marin County, couldn’t find a buyer for the brandnew waterfront mansion he listed in January for $45 million US. He’s expecting that one will turn up at an auction this weekend, with a starting bid set at $25 million.
“People at this income level always have money,” Paster said in an interview at the 15,000-square-foot residence on Belvedere Island, a tony enclave north of San Francisco that’s known for views of the downtown skyline and Golden Gate Bridge. “We had qualified buyers circling for months, but with no sense of urgency. This sets a deadline.”
Technology executives paying discounts to listed prices have been active buyers of luxury properties this year in the San Francisco Bay area, where the growth of social-media and Internet firms such as Twitter Inc. and Yammer Inc. has created a new wave of millionaires. Some older homes sat unsold for years before finding buyers, said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage of Northern California.
In 2012, there have been 13 publicly recorded transactions for more than $10 million in exclusive San Francisco neighbourhoods such as Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights and Sea Cliff, says DataQuick, a research firm. That’s up from six sales last year and a dozen in 2007, the previous high mark. The numbers don’t include deals in expensive areas outside the city, such as Belvedere or Tiburon, in Marin County; Atherton in San Mateo County; or Palo Alto in Santa Clara County.
“Over a long listing period, it’s hard to say what will happen, because obviously the market is constantly changing,” Turley said. “The success of tech and social media means people are looking very generally at San Francisco and the Silicon Valley as places to live because these businesses are sourced here.” Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said.
“We will make our decisions based on technological findings and not with prejudgment,” Motegi said Friday.
“We can’t say for sure that Japan will be free of nuclear power by the 2030s.”
The comments from Motegi, who oversees the energy industry, signals a shift in nuclear policy since the Liberal Democratic Party returned to power and a new cabinet was introduced Dec. 26. The previous administration planned to phase out nuclear power by the end of the 2030s in line with public demands.
All but two of Japan’s 50 nuclear reactors remain offline for safety checks following the Fukushima nuclear disaster on March 11 last year. The new government will also review the previous administration’s goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 25 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020, Motegi said.