Daniel Radcliffe sure has the best of both worlds – the magic one as well as the one that we all live in. This piece is about the latter. News is that the Harry Potter superstar has just emerged as a pretty serious player on the Big Apple property market. Well for starters he has just bought his third asset in NY that is worth  £4 million. Quite a match for HP co-star Rupert Grint  who bought his fourth home recently, this house has quite an enviable layout.

Spread across a sprawling 3,000 sq. ft, the new house has five lavish bedroom spaces with a 39ft long garden. We are told that this house was built by a sea captan in 1847 for his daughter. So, once can expect a lot of old world charm in this abode.

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Zo-Loft Architecture & Design knows what it is like to stay homeless and be exposed to the elements. They have thus created the WheeLY which is a prototype shelter for the homeless or the chic hobo. It is an expandable tent which is made of recycled materials and is very portable, just as a hobo would like it.

These days, it is quite common to see chic people turning in to hobos as it gives a lot of freedom and is the ultimate form of defying the society and culture. The WheeLY can be pushed during the day like a wheel and it can also hold a number of good up to 250 pounds.

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Finding and buying property has become almost impossible with the rise in land prices. However, one need not give up the desire to live in a beautiful house because other options are always available.

The world of prefabs, after a frantic dose of producing popular living pieces, has taken the backseat and given up to houseboats which take the limelight today. Designed by Bernhard Urich in collaboration with design firm Confused-Direction’s in-house designers Flo Florian and Sascha Akkermann, the Silberfisch houseboat is a floating mini-country that you can take away with you, so long as there is a water body. Designed with the idea of creating a beautiful house in times when the cost of living is too high to buy or build a house, the houseboat may nevertheless be quite unaffordable for most people.

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Having made a fortune through internet and online marketing, Entrepreneur Rick Hill puts his procured possessions, a Lamborghini and a 6-bedroom house on sale. Following the austere way, he has decided to retire from the rat race at an early age of 30 to relax and lead a simpler life as compared to the materialism which is the rule of the day. Quoting he wants �someone else to enjoy the house and car�; he wishes to savor languorous moments for the rest of his life. His six-bedroom home in Church Road, Hockley with modern amenities like conservatory, indoor swimming pool, gym and games room, gorgeous lawns in front of the stately house and an idyllic setting makes this too lucrative a deal to refuse. So for all you affluent people out there, if you happen to be interested in a smart purchase that will be an asset for life then go ahead and grab this opportunity.

It comes alongwith a happening Lamborghini Gallardo, the car Hill is auctioning too and this package deal comes to you at a sumptuous price of �1,150,000.
Via Luxist

Yes, it is the same world�s most expensive house on the French Riviera but a different buyer. Whilst last month, there was a news that Russian billionaire Roman Abarmovich inked a deal with the La Leopolda, priciest house ever by spilling over $500 million. But the rumor is lately proven to be false and here is a revision version. Another Russian billionaire became the fortunate buyer for the princely villa located on the French Mediterranean coast after shelling out �390 million. The Telegraph reports that a secrecy Russian billionaire who is not Abramovich gave over all his fortune for Villa Leopolda, a Belle �poque mansion in Villefrance on the C�te d’Azur.

The house is owned by Lily Safra, widow of Edmond Safra, a Lebanese banker who was killed by an arsonist’s fire in Monaco in 2003. Within few years, the news came that the house was bought by Bill Gates and became the worlds most prized estate. The estate is spread over two guest houses across 20 acres of grounds with countless olive, cypress and lemon trees taken care by 50 gardeners.

Via Telegraph

UPDATE: Russian Billionaire inked deal with worlds most expensive house, Villa La Leopolda for �390 million.

Another update for realtors and a reason to be jealous for billionaires! The saga of worlds most expensive house started over at elitechoice with $180 mn Belgravia house (Britain’s most expensive), which got sidelined with then worlds most home for �80 million. Then the surge in the price of realty market was observed and an apartment got sold for $200 mn and during the same month news came about Mittal tagging a deal with $230 mn house touting it to be the worlds most expensive home once again.

But this time Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich overshadowed Mittals realty possessions by owning a $500 million La Leopolda. The latest worlds most expensive house now belongs to the owner of Chelsea Football Club. The regal summit villa overlooks the French Rivieraand Roman his heart to this beauty while he was visiting this along with his girlfriend Daria Zhukova.

Known to hold the best sea views in the south of France, the villa is spread across 10 acres of spotless grounds that run right downhill to the route of Villefranche. At first built for Belgian king Leopolds mistresses, the estate hold eternal value as it has been a den of big moguls i.e. late banking magnate Edmund Safra, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Fiat tycoon Gianni Agnelli.

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The very mention of basement flats used to convey vibes of a dark, dank and malodorous coal-hole but the news about £16 million Basement Flat in Knightsbridge has upgraded its image. Two flats on the floor and “lower-ground” floors of period residence blocks in SW1 are inviting prospective dwellers with a sale price of £9 million for St James’s three-bed room flat and £16 million (£15.95 million) for a four-bed in Knightsbridge. Out of the two entrances, the communal one is guarded by a janitor whilst the other one is to maintain the privacy of Sir and Madam. Besides having a reception room on the ground floor, the Knightsbridge maisonette features a master bedroom on the first floor.

Located on Hans Place, the property spread over 4,200 sq ft was once a home to Jane Austen and Shelley and is very close to worldwide punter i.e. Harrods. The estate features innovative paneling and tailored handmade furnishings. The attention-grabbing rooms are the drawing room and adjacent kitchen/dining room, massive and well-ventilated, with towering ceilings. The walls are clad with artwork valued at £100,000 and cabinets are adorned with elegant hand-embroidered silk panels accommodating audiovisual apparatus.

Via TimesOnline

Futuristic concepts hardly touch reality and feel fortunate if your most-wanted thingamajig becomes functional. Whilst in February we featured Disney’s creation of “Home of the Future,” built in 1957 with an indication about the under-processing of another Disney’s Innoventions Dream Home along with other big technology moguls to be completed in May. And now with running June the elite edifice, which is a collaborative effort between Disneyland, Microsoft, HP, Life|ware and home-builder Taylor Morrison, is behaving no less than a celebrated advertising campaign for its feature-packed products than any standard “home of the future.” Announcing the grand opening of their new Innoventions Dream Home located in Tomorrowland in Anaheim, Calif, this futuristic hi-tech dwelling sports state-of-the-art technology-driven luxurious setting of getting domestic jobs done, practically without someone elating a finger.

The reach of its inter-connectivity feature is not restricted to only family members but also to the amusement and information world at large. The Innoventions Dream Home is an invitation for guests from all age-group who are curious to keep their fingers on revolutionary in-home technologies. The illusory Elias family of this Dream Home is expected to greet all guests by June End. Activated via RFID tags, the entrance of these creatures into the room would alter the lighting preferences, play different music and all slapped LCD picture frames exhibited various images (all networked). Each room in integrated touch panels that allows interactivity via streaming HD feeds and HP media servers running Microsoft’s Media Center.

Another interesting feature of the house is the magic mirror installed in daughter’s room that dons virtual outfits on the user in real time that is complimented by the youngest son’s room occupied with two projectors and a host of mechanization to build the story of Peter Pan comes alive. The hi-tech kitchen chooses not be ordinary and hence sports a voice-activated HP TouchSmart PC that reads recipes for you while cooking. Other specks include a 100-inch rear-projection screen of a Star-Glas-like material in a home theater, a 7.1 speaker system for aural distinction and the Microsoft surface postioned in the dining room is worth stealing a look. Currently, the house is inviting limited visitors and it was disclosed in February that the digital house spread over 5000 sq ft of floor space may cost $15 million.

Via Hemagazine/Gizmodo/ NewLaunches

Technology lifestyle magazine Electronic House has lately unveiled their Home of the Year Awards for 2008, which is being deservingly bagged by the 4,000-square-foot indoor entertainment structure. Constructed for a Wisconsin-based couple, this indoor oasis can mar any standard entertainment room and hence we can’t help but to bring it before you.

It sports a pool, spa, tanning salon, sauna, eight-seat Theater, television area, and a pizza oven, among countless other features.

If it falls short to convince you relax in the company of a tanning salon, sauna and half bath with integrated speakers. It also features a wall-mounted Elan VIA64 touchpanel, HomeWorks keypads and a wireless Crestron WiFi touchpanel control audio and theater options plus the lighting and home surveillance system.

Via BallerHouse

Zaya, an Abu Dhabi-based real estate corporation has commenced its first of many property luxurious ventures. Known as Nurai, it is an impressive private community of limited edition resort beach-front estates and water villas standing on the ordinary island off the coast of Abu Dhabi. Having roots attached to Arabic word “nour” denoting light, Nurai is enclosed by pure waters and ringed with unspoiled sandy seashores. Positioned at the northeast of Abu Dhabi, the island is set in seclusion away from the crowd of the city life yet is only minutes away from the mainland.

Spread over 130,000 sq.mtr, the island is expected to be shaped like a fascinating and deluxe resort and elite private residential estate, consisting of one boutique luxury lodge resort equipped with 60 suites, 31 beachfront manor and 36 water villas.

The colossal project is am association between New York based Studio Dror, led by Dror Benshetrit and the Paris-based firm AW2; both accountable for the blueprint of the lodge. Those interested in resort beachfront property can pick from two designs viz. ‘The Shoreline’ or ‘The Seaside’.

The seashore estates would comprise of six bedrooms, seven bath, private beach and rooftop garden constructed over geography of 12,275 sq. ft. On the similar lines, the seaside estate would feature five bedrooms and six baths. Other highlighting features of the property include garden, infinity swimming pool, concealed service quarters and al fresco bathe. Anticipated to be open in 2010, the price of the luxurious residences start at $30 million.

Interesting insights:

Via Zawya/ CoolHunter