We pulled together a list of upscale abodes for sale or just sold that have been equipped with fantastic, unusual--and in some cases downright wacky--amenities. These are not your typical luxe enhancements like home theaters, wine cellars and game rooms, although most of our estates have those features too. Our friends at Trulia.com, Realtor.com, Sotheby's International Realty and Coldwell Banker Previews International helped us uncover these unique listings.
High-end homes with outrageous and wacky amenities lure many a gawker, but attracting real buyers can be tricky. Luxury homes with unusual amenities speak to a small niche and can sit on the market for longer periods of time, waiting for the right buyer to come along.
"The quirkier they [extreme amenities] are, the more they complicate the prospects of reselling the property," says Tara-Nicholle Nelson, consumer educator at Trulia.com, a San Francisco-based real estate listing site. However, she also notes, "Some of the extreme high-end home features actually create a clear way for sellers to differentiate their otherwise already highly attractive home from the other uber-opulent homes on the market."
Hall Willkie is president of Brown Harris Stevens, a New York-based real estate firm that represents a $35 million Manhattan townhouse boasting a two-story indoor wall of water. Willkie says both the pool of potential buyers and the selection of homes with opulent amenities are small.
The homes "are the opposite of cookie cutters, so when buyers find a property like that that they like, they tend to become a little aggressive about getting it," he says
Provided by: By Morgan Brennan, Forbes.com - Apr 14, 2011
