REAL ESTATE

(Page 2 of 7)

"That's where the conversation begins," says Jones, who facilitates real estate transactions all over the world, but specializes in waterfront properties, whether in Majorca, St. Barth's or nearby Rowayton. "I grew up on a beach and a sailboat." Jones has also worked as a chef, partnering with Julia Childs, and as a wine and food consultant for the Clinton White House, the Rolling Stones and the Sultan of Brunei, among other notables. She is opening her lounge with a team of 10 "high energy" sales associates and plans to double that number in the next months. "Business is booming. We've tripled sales during what was supposed to be a soft year," she says, before slipping into a chauffeur-driven car, Blackberry buzzing. "We're going to do for real estate what Starbucks did for coffee."

Planned Communities: United Gates of America?
Gated communities have evolved from their earliest incarnations when identical homes were placed too close together and branded with names that strove for a whispery exclusivity. The Close at Royal Hunt Club is one example, a Houston community featuring neither royalty, hunting, a club of any sort nor a close (whatever that is). Today some six percent of all Americans live in gated enclaves that range from the super-exclusive Isleworth in Florida, home to Tiger Woods, Shaquille O'Neill and Ken Griffey, Jr., to the solidly middle-class communities of starter homes. The trend is strongest in our nation's sunniest states: in California, for instance, a full 40 percent of all newly constructed homes are behind gates. To distinguish new enclaves, developers now offer highly specific niche amenities: Racers Ranch in Dallas has a speedway, for instance; Jumbolair Aviation Estates in Ocala, its own airstrip.

And while the Yankee temperament would seem at odds with these factory-made lifestyles, homes within private associations tend to sell well in our state, appealing to first-time buyers, second-home owners, retirees and anyone else who wants to share the costs of landscaping, security and recreational facilities, not to mention a sense of enforced civility and orderliness.