Businessweek.com and Zillow.com recently released a list of 32 of the smallest towns in the United States with the highest home values. The results of the list were determined by locating the towns in the U.S. with the highest median home sale prices and the smallest year-round population per Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Topping the list is Hidden Hills, Calif. With a population of 2,037 and a median home sale price of $2,490,163, this Los Angeles County town is predominately made up of residential communities. Not far behind with a median home price of $2,488,987, Water Mill, N.Y. has a population of 1,872. 

Other towns that appear on the list include Kenilworth, Ill., Chilmark, Mass., Haleiwa, Hawaii, Far Hills, N.J. and Stinson Beach, Calif.

To learn about the rest of the small towns on the list, click here

—Shari Barbanel

For those interested in "going green," the answers are now comfortably just a mouse click away. Eco Home Resource, a new web site devoted to green living, can now help you find healthy products for the home, as well as your nearest ecologically friendly home cleaning service, insulation contractor or landscape designer.

 www.EcoHomeResource.com features more than 3,000 environmentally friendly products and services for the home, as well as articles, interviews and pod casts with industry experts, such as HGTV eco-friendly landscape designer, Cynthia Kiktavi and sustainable architect and author, Kelly Lerner. A powerful search feature sorts this database by specific category as well as zip code and state proximity. Secure on-line shopping is also available through the site’s Eco-Shop.

Eco Home Resource uses official third-party certification programs to evaluate the effectiveness of a product as well as its environment-friendliness. Some of these well-respected certifications include those by the Carpet & Rug Institute, National Fenestration Rating Council, Green Seal and Green Guard, Co-op America, and Energy Star.

Eco Home Resource also showcases experts in a variety of fields, such as Feng Shui, color theory, aromatherapy, sound and light design, and space arrangement. A news filter channels current news stories from credible media outlets around the world, reporting on environmental news.
—Robert Burke

In the heart of Tuscany, set outside of Cortona, rests one of Italy’s most extraordinary estate homes—one so noteworthy its appearance on the real estate market is something that only comes about una volta in una luna blu—once in a blue moon!

For the first time in nearly half a millennium, Villa Fontana is gracing the luxury home market with momentous poise, offering potential buyers the opportunity to own more than an estate, but possess a piece of history.

Impressive gates dated 1777 and a cypress-lined drive leads to a dominant 18th-century façade, providing abundant accommodations, including 16 bedrooms, 10 baths, and 6 reception rooms—set on three floors. A fourth floor windowed tower offers lake views, and the property includes a guesthouse with 2 bedrooms. The grounds complement the Etruscan architecture with a limonaia (literally a lemon house, or orchard area for fruit trees and native plantings), and the property holds a long-standing history with botanical societies, ultimately presenting the gardens as a pristine example of trees and plantings that were nurtured over the centuries. Most unique attribute?—A consecrated chapel set towards the back of the villa.

The estate home is on the market from Knight Frank and Abode for 8 million Euros—over $10 million USD—and is a true example of timeless elegance and the sweet sentiment of generations of family history. Benvenuto alla dolce vita—Welcome to the sweet life.

—Holly Marie Busacca 

Photos courtesy Rupert Fawcett of Knight Frank. To contact the selling agent for more information, e-mail Rupert.Fawcett@KnightFrank.com

For those who have ever dreamed of owning a rustic villa in southern Spain, this dream can now be realized in Paradise Valley, Ariz. for approximately $2 million. On November 6, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts and Crown Realty & Development announced the opening of InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa, the first U.S. resort of the InterContinental brand.

Nestled in the awe-inspiring foothills of Camelback Mountain, the European-influenced, 34-acre resort offers 34 detached, privately owned, single-family villas; 253 guest rooms; and 40 suites, including two presidential suites. A Spanish (particularly the Andalusia region of southern Spain) influence is evident throughout and is exemplified by many courtyards and the Alhambra walkway, modeled after the Alhambra in Grenada, Spain.

Like any luxury resort, InterContinental Montelucia is chock full of appealing dining options; unlike other luxury resorts, guests can find everything from a menu of more than a dozen French fries from around the world at Kasbah Poolside Bar to a comprehensive selection of 100% agave tequilas and tapas at Mbar, within the resort’s signature restaurant, Prado, which is reminiscent architecturally of Michelangelo’s Villa San Michele in Tuscany.

Additional amenities within InterContinental Montelucia include Castillo Lucena, Arizona’s only private wedding chapel within a luxury resort; the 31,000-square-foot Moroccan-inspired Joya Spa; five pools; a full-time golf concierge and complimentary driving range at Mountain Shadows Golf Club; and proximity to elite shopping, dining, hiking and the exciting metro areas of Phoenix and Scottsdale.

For more information, visit www.icmontelucia.com

– Sarah Binder

 When the Yellowstone Club debuted in 1999 it captured lots of attention and its fair share of big names from business, sports and government. After all, who wouldn’t want to have their own private place to play in Montana’s Big Sky country especially when it comes with a totally private ski resort, Warren Miller as director of skiing and security headed by a former member of the Secret Service?

As idyllic as it sounds, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for the club. The much publicized divorce of founders Tom and Edra Blixseth coupled with ambitious expansion plans led to some of its current financial difficulties. In mid-November the club filed for bankruptcy. According to a comment released to The Associated Press, the club has been unable to secure financing with its creditors and bondholders. Read about it here.     

—Camilla McLaughlin

Every year, the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association and the Sales and Marketing Council come together to recognize excellence and identify the best built homes in Atlanta. Industry professionals from across the country are brought in to Atlanta to judge all homes in the competition. Bobby Webb of BWC Properties accepted two awards at the 28th Annual OBIE Awards Gala held at the Cobb Galleria Centre.
 
BWC Properties took the first place Gold award for best home in the $2.5 million to $4.99 million price range. BWC also took the Silver award for best home in the category of $5 million and above.  
 
Webb is also partnered with Shane Meder of Black Sheep Interiors who helps Webb with his interior designs.
 
The award-winning homes are located in Tiller Walk subdivision in Sandy Springs on Claire Rose Lane. In addition to the award-winners, Webb has two more homes under construction in Tiller Walk that are set to be entered in next year’s OBIE competition. Authentic European designs are Webb’s specialty. Winners this year were French Chateau and French Country Manor designs. Currently under construction are a Swiss Alpine Villa and an Italian Palazzo.
 
—Robert Burke 

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate recently conducted a survey of more than 2,300 consumers at home shows in 15 cities across the country gauging consumer environmental practices. Among the findings, half of those surveyed admitted to paying more money for an energy efficient product within the past 12 months and 30 percent claim that they would be willing to spend $5,000 or more on green improvements to increase a home’s appeal to potential buyers.

Additional findings conclude that 82 percent of those surveyed think that they are well-informed when it comes to issues pertaining to the environment and more than half of respondents believe that when preparing to buy or sell or a home, it is important to work with a green-certified real estate agent.

—Shari Barbanel

While analysts in Dubai say government finances are sound, stock prices in the city-state have fallen prey to plummeting property sales and uncertain financial outcomes.

The second largest, and most popular of the United Arab Emirates, is seeing down-market trends after a six-year property boom. A Wall Street Journal article stated Dubai’s real estate influx may be suffering, referencing prices on offered properties falling as much as 19 percent from the previous month.

The article, titled Dubai Faces Hit as Property Boom Fades, said, “Analysts at HSBC Holdings PLC said Wednesday [November 12, 2008] that the average asking price for homes in Dubai fell 4% in October from September. Advertised prices for upscale Dubai "villas," typically stand-alone homes in a master development, fell by 19% month-on-month, the bank found. In next-door emirate Abu Dhabi, average home prices fell 5%.”

Stock market woes aren’t all Dubai should be concerned with. After a series of arrests and inquiries at several property developers and financial institutions, Dubai is facing tighter government regulation to ease the minds of would-be buyers and strengthen the landmark’s public image. Of course, there is anxiety that Dubai may have difficulty raising funds if property revenue declines; yet talks of potential loans from oil-rich Abu Dhabi could soften these fears if a credit crunch occurred.

Is it possible for the Pearl of the Persian Gulf to weather the financial storm, or will the most popular of the United Arab Emirates wash away leaving only sand behind? According to the article, the government and developers are frantically reassuring investors, with one developer, Emaar Properties PJSC, saying it would “relax payment plans for customers in a bid to attract new buyers.”

—Holly Marie Busacca

Integrated Asset Services, LLC, a company that focuses on default services and residential assets, has released its monthly IAS360™ House Price Index for September 2008. The findings show that home prices declined by 2.1% on a national level in September and 13.3% annually. But it’s not all doom and gloom, the data also suggests the market is improving on the county level. In fact, 75 of the 360 counties sited in the reports have seen improvements in September.

“Housing prices at the national and MSA levels are still seeing declines, but we’re seeing positive signs at the county level, and even more encouraging signs at the neighborhood level,” said Dave McCarthy, President and CEO of Integrated Asset Services.

Using the combined data of 15,000 “neighborhoods,” the IAS360™ House Price Index monitors the monthly median house price changes in 360 counties, nine census divisions, four regions and the national overall.

“A review of the IAS360™ House Price Index county level data, which is an aggregate of the 15,000 neighborhoods we track, provides insights into pockets of the country that may be showing signs of improvement,” said McCarthy.

Information on the 75 counties that saw improvements in September 2008 can be obtained by contacting dmahoney@csg-pr.com

—Lauren Varga

According to figures released in late October by the S&P/Case-Shiller home price indices, home prices in 20 metro areas nationwide fell an average of 16.6% in the past year. The price declines ranged from highs in Phoenix and Las Vegas, down 30.7% and 30.6% respectively, to a decline of just 2.7% in the Dallas/Fort Worth area from August 2007 to August 2008.

Ted Wilson, partner at Residential Strategies, a Dallas-based housing tracking service, attributes the area’s stability to the levels of inventory, telling the Forth Worth Star-Telegram that "existing and new inventories are not as out of tandem with demand as in other areas of the country."

Of the 20 metro areas surveyed, three of California’s major cities endured notable drops in home prices: San Diego home prices are down 25.8%, Los Angeles, 26.7% and San Francisco, 27.3%.

— Sarah Binder