Forget the winery fantasy for a moment, let's return to the bed and breakfast fantasy. Imagine owning this piece of real estate and being the owner of a small inn in Key West, Florida. The Southernmost Point Guest House is located on Duval Street in the heart of Key West's tourist area near the official southernmost point of the Continental United States. The historic mansion is on a corner lot with gardens leading to the pool, parking, trellised patio and a wide porch that wraps around the building. There are 10 bedrooms and eight bathrooms and seven spacious apartment units in two buildings. According to the Southernmost Point Guest House website, some of the apartment condos are for sale for $650.000. This beautiful spot is listed at $4.25 million.

Madonna recently bought some more space in her New York City co-op building and now it looks like she's set to divest herself of some real estate. The Sun reports that Madonna is looking to sell Ashcombe, her English country house in Wiltshire. She and Guy Ritchie bought the home in 2001 for £9 million and are now hoping to put it on the market for £12 million. The eight-bedroom home is listed as a Grade II structure by English Heritage. It was originally part of a larger building and was restored in the 1930s and 1940s by the photographer Cecil Beaton. Madonna and Guy are reportedly selling because they do not spend enough time at the estate especially since Madonna has been recording and touring again. We wish them luck, this is certainly not the best time to be selling England's housing slump is starting to rival the problem we have had in the States.

[Thanks, Lana]

A large chunk of land in California's Santa Ynez valley has been carved into large ranch property. The Ranches at Figueroa Canyon are five ranches being being offered for sale. Four architects are designing conceptual main house and ranch site plans, each tailored to specific ranch properties: Howard Backen of Backen Gillam Architects based in Sausalito and St. Helena, California; Barry Berkus of B3 Architects and Berkus Design Studio in Santa Barbara, California and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jonathan Foote, Architect in Tucson, Arizona and Livingston, Montana; and David Leavengood of Leavengood Architects in Seattle, Washington.

Each architect will provide a conceptual design for one of the ranch properties, covering the main ranch house and a site plan for ancillary buildings such as a ranch manager's residence, guest house, barns, entry or pool. Buyers may opt to work with the architect who provided the conceptual plans for their ranch, choose one of the other Preferred Architects or select an architect outside of the Preferred Architects Program.

The Ranches at Figueroa Canyon range from 187 to 1,176 acres and each has one or more legal parcels served by water and utilities. The areas were traditionally used for cattle ranching but could now be home to vineyards and equestrian facilities, as well as a private residence. The five ranches – College Ranch, Ranger Peak Ranch, Vista Largo Ranch, Corrales Creek Ranch and Lost Trail Ranch – range from $6 million to $24.5 million.

Louis Kahn only designed 3 major architectural homes in his career and one of them, the Escherick House (named after the woman for whom it was built, Margaret Escherick) is up for auction. Its address is in Philadelphia and according to some it's his best residential creation and has "mature style" and a "warm and human quality" to the interior (and I tend to agree).

So the house will be sold, but unlike most houses its price will not only reflect the local regular real estate market but also the art market. Valued at $2 million only about half of that is unbiased structural and land values -- the rest is all artistic and historical sentiment.

Paul McCartney may have to pay $48.6 million in a divorce settlement to Heather Mills but he's in no danger of going broke anytime soon. The divorce settlement reveals the extensive of McCartney's massive fortune, which is over $750 million. McCartney has invested well in both art and real estate. The Daily Mail reports that McCartney's real estate holdings include a townhouse in St John's Wood, London, a Manhattan apartment, a Long Island, New York estate, a Beverly Hills home, a 1,500 acre estate, a country retreat in the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland and other homes sprinkled throughout the English countryside. The bulk of his wealth comes from his business assets including shares in Beatles songs and his investments and he has a cool £15 million in the bank.

At the start of the month, the NY Post's legendary real estate columnist Braden Keil reported on a $65 million sale of an estate in the Hamptons. Now he has said that the exclusive six-acre estate on the enviable Gin Lane has been purchased by Tiger Woods and his wife Elin. The property is anchored by a 3,200-square-foot Colonial Revival main residence, a 7,500-square-foot guesthouse and a four-car garage with staff quarters. We covered the property as an estate of the day in January.

But did Tiger really buy this home? The agent for the property, Beate Moore of Sotheby's International Realty tells Newsday's Laura Mann that Tiger did not buy the property and Radar says they have talked to Tiger Woods's reps who also confirm that Tiger has not bought this property. It's no longer listed so someone did buy, we'll just have to wait for property records to solve this mystery.

For a while it seemed that Miami might be one part of Florida that was if not immune from the real estate slowdown, protected a bit by its size and cachet. But now prices have started to plummet and putting many real estate speculators in trouble. The Miami skyline is dotted with cranes as buildings continue to go up but thousands of condo units are waiting either unsold or in foreclosure.

The numbers in Miami are startling, According to a report in Canada's Globe and Mail, prices citywide were 17.5 per cent lower in December than a year earlier with the value of some condos down by as much as half. And as more condo projects in progress are finished up the numbers could even go lower. Condos with sexy names and alluring promotions such as Jade and Vue are now facing millions of dollars in mortgage defaults and foreclosures. It's been a disaster for both investors and developers. In fact, two prominent Miami condo developers who were facing condo problems have died of heart attacks.

The problem in Miami is just part of Florida's boom and bust cycle. Whole towns sprung up over the last few years and many have gone bust just as quickly often leaving half-built homes abandoned (for a great photo series on this check out this piece on Rotunda Sands in Mental Floss). At this point, practically the entire state of Florida is in some sort of foreclosure crisis making it easy pickings for those from across the country and around the world looking for a real estate deal. Both homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth and developers forced to sell condos at cost or in some cases for even less than it cost to build them are ready to accept all sorts of offers.

For now, the temporary bandage seems to be real estate auctions. The other day I mentioned that two prominent real estate firms in Florida are working with a major real estate auction company. And just about every day I learn of a new auction of a condo complex in Florida. Many of the auctions are absolute, meaning that bidders will take whatever they can get. The good news is that this slump cannot last forever and for those who have the means to pick up a warm weather getaway there are major bargains to be had. Maybe this is the time for Miami developers to reach out to Russian investors looking for a place to wait out the winter chill.

Need more proof that Florida's real estate market is in deep trouble? Here it is, both Sotheby's Realty and Coldwell Banker are making moves on the real estate auction front. Sol Sotheby's International Realty and Nestler Poletto Sotheby's International Realty have announced they will hold their first luxury property auction for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties on March 28 in Fort Lauderdale, putting more than $200 million in high-end properties on the block. Most of the properties will be sold to the highest qualified bidder with no limiting conditions or amounts.

The same company that is working with Sotheby's, Daniel DeCaro Real Estate Auctions, is also helping Coldwell Banker Real Estate Florida with auctions. They now offer clients the option of auctioning off their homes in Central Florida rather than selling in the traditional manner.

One of the advantages of being a homeowner is the fact that you can change and upgrade things to however you want them. Whether you're upgrading things for your own personal pleasure, looking to increase the price tag when you sell someday, or you're just dreaming and drooling, these home improvements are something to take a look at. From luxury custom-made garage doors to smart door locks that can be changed everyday to custom wall wine racks, you're neighbors will definitely be jealous.

Think about it....who really has a second kitchen? A full second kitchen? They're rare indeed, but the new trend in luxury housing is to start changing that.

People with money to spend want kitchens for both themselves and for their personal chefs and caterers, and they don't want to be bumping around together in the same space. But it's not just about whether or not you can afford it, as the building has to be approved and depending on the rules and regulations in the area an additional full kitchen may or may not be allowed. But in the areas where it does work houses generally run in the $5 million range and higher when they include 2 kitchens.

I am too young to have been a part of Woodstock, but for the 400,000 or so who did attend the 1969 music festival, Max Yasgur's farm in upstate New York is a special place. Roy Howard currently owns the property and after years of wrangling with local officials over reunion permits, he's ready to sell. The asking price is $8 million, but who can put a price on owning such an iconic piece of American history?

The alfalfa field where the actual concert took place is not for sale, but Yasgur's 2,000 square foot house is, along with a larger farmhouse and barn as well as 103 acres of land. The house, located 80 miles north of New York City, comes with a gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances, double convection ovens, Viking stove, antique soapstone sink, 22-foot vaulted ceiling and beautiful views of the Pocono Mountains. Also included is a double whirlpool tub, steam shower and a bidet.

Real estate in Napa is at a premium but real estate in Mexico's vineyard land is still reasonably priced. The Village at the Vineyard is a joint venture with Liceaga Winery and will be located in the Guadalupe Valley wine country east of Ensenada. The $40 million development will include a 50-acre winery, a 15-acre Tuscan-style village with 75 homes, a 20- to 36-suite boutique hotel, spa, cosmetic surgery center and wedding chapel. When home owners are away, they can rent their homes. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall and should be completed in 18 months. Sales are scheduled to begin July 15.

As much as I love choosing homes for estate of the day posts, I also love it when people send in tips, highlighting homes I never would have found on my own. Today's estate, courtesy of tipster Higher Ground, is a deluxe log cabin in Ashe County, North Carolina. The home is built with huge logs of hemlock harvested in Virginia and sits on 12 acres with a creek and views. It also sets next to 2000 acres of game land on Three Top Mountain for added privacy. The five-bedroom home has more than 3,800 square feet of space. The great room features a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace and the entire home features luxury amenities such as granite and maple butcher-block counters. The master suit has a private covered balcony and a master bath with a whirlpool tub and heated ceramic tile floors. The loft serves as an exercise room. The deck includes speakers, a hot tub, refrigerator and a grill. It is listed at $1.3 million. After the jump, beams everywhere, even in the bathrooms.

Here's a hot real estate opportunity, I don't see a castle come to market every day. Searles Castle in Great Barrington, Massachusetts has 40 rooms and seven turrets. The home, which has most recently served as a private school is now up for sale for $15 million. No pictures on the listing yet but you can see one interior shot here.

Searles Castle is one of two in the New England region (the other is in New Hampshire) that bear the name of Edward Searles. Mary Hopkins, the widow of railroad tycoon Mark Hopkins commissioned the castle which was built in 1888. She hired interior decorator Edward Searles for the project, and they married a year before it was finished (she was 22 years older than he). After she died he stayed in the castle for a time and then after his death it has been a private private school, conference center among other businesses and was most recently the John Dewey Academy.

The castle has 36 fireplaces, a dungeon, and more than 50 rooms for a total of around 60,000 square feet. It could be turned into a resort or a spa or perhaps a private residence once again.

[via CNN]
[Thanks, Timothy for this great find]

The Chateau at Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe, California is a new multi-use resort that will include two condo-hotels with a total of 477 rooms as well as a 50,000-square-foot convention center, spa, park, shops and restaurants. The Chateau is located next to the popular Heavenly Village ski resort and a pedestrian overpass across Highway 50 will connect The Chateau with the gondola at Heavenly Village. The $420 million project will be constructed to be LEED Certified and will use native wood and stone in earth tones to blend in with the surroundings. Construction should be completed in early winter 2009.