Business Channel 2006-11-05&07

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The housing market is softening¹ up around the country and you would think that the high-end homes will take the biggest hit, but that's not the case. Sales of homes above a million-dollar-mark appear to be going strong with no flagging in sight.You see high-end buyers are less affected² by things like higher interest rates or taxes and they have more cash to put down.But at the same time,high end homes tend to spend more time in the market because wealthy buyers can afford to be picky.Here's CNN Money's quarterly look at what some of those buyers may be looking at for a million dollars or more around the country.

This house in Brooklyn,New York is 17-foot wide,four-bedroom,3500 square-foot brownstone in the popular Park Slope Area.It's one block from Prospect³ Park,a popular summertime hangout and the subway, a must in the city. And it's close to shopping as well.With a master bedroom suite⁴, a formal dinning⁵ room, and a country pine kitchen,it's a prime spot for parties.The owner didn't like the creaking halls or stairways,so they were recently rebuilt.But the crowning glory of this home in the city is the backyard,quite a luxury in any New York neighborhood.It is currently on the market for 1.99 million dollars.

This home in Cranston Rhode Island could become someone's summer retreat.It's about 10 miles from Providence⁶ and sits on half-an-acre of waterfront.The 4,200-square-foot cottage has everything from a private beach to a separate carriage house complete with its own bed and bath. And if those New England winters are too much for you,there is always the sunroom. It's all yours for a mere⁷ 1.6 million dollars.

If you're an architecture buff, this home in Oak Park, Illinois could be for you. It's one of the three modest homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's draughtsman,John Van Bergen.It was recently remodeled inside using more than a mile of oak trim, and in addition, connected to the home by a double-height glass atrium, replicates⁸ the original structure of a 1914 space. The artist's landscape was a number of Japanese plants replicating⁹ the Asian style Frank Lloyd Wright was so fond of . This house is on the market for 1.55 million.

Finally, this home in Savannah, Georgia with its four bedrooms and backyard koi pond has a looking feel of an elegant lady, includes a double parlor¹⁰, a library and a rooftop garden on the third floor. And if the mortgage payments get to be too much, the basement has a two-bedroom apartment with a screened porch and walk-out access to the gardens. It's on the market for 1.35 million dollars.

For more on this and other real estate features, go to CNNMoney.com and click on the real estate section.



high-end: (adj.) relating to products or services that are more expensive and of better quality than other products of the same type

Those are considered to be high-end personal computers and single-user systems.