Star-powered properties

By Lucy Maher

updated 1:15 p.m. ET Oct. 27, 2006

You don't need to pay the nearly $9 million asking price for Martha Stewart's "Turkey Hill" property in Westport, Conn., to live like the lifestyle doyenne.

Instead, simply head to Cary, N.C. There you'll find a community built by KB Home called Twin Lakes. Each of the 1,500- to 4,100-square-foot residences features exteriors, flooring, fixtures and cabinets chosen by Stewart; the model homes are decorated with Martha Stewart Living products. (The first phase has sold out, and there will be 650 in all, ranging from the low 200,000s to the mid-400,000s.) There is already a burgeoning Stewart-affiliated community in Fairburn, Ga., and two more are set to open early next year, in Katy, Texas, and Perris, Calif.

Stewart's not alone in the celebrity real estate game. In fact, several less-commercial stars — including tennis great Andre Agassi, basketballer Shaquille O'Neal and hotel heiress Nicky Hilton — have become involved in real estate developments in the past year, underscoring a trend that continues even in the softening housing market: celebrity-branded real estate.

What's in it for the star? In Stewart's case, a licensing fee. Others receive entrée into the real estate market, a design payment or, as investors, equity in the property. The home buyer gets to associate his or her lifestyle with the celebrity's image. And for the developer, there's ever-alluring buzz.

MORE FROM FORBES Click for related content Slideshow: Celebrity-branded properties Most-fashionable hotels Celebrity homes Homes that have starred in hollywood films America’s richest real estate tycoons Homes of America’s richest Most expensive homes in the world Associated Press

"Developers are doing it to attract eyeballs, to garner attention to the project," says Jonathan Miller, president and chief executive of Miller Samuel, a New York City real estate appraisal and consulting firm. "This is the way to do it. It's another hook."

Sales across the country are slowing — last week the Federal Reserve reported a "widespread cooling" of the housing market, with some areas reporting dips as much as 18 percent over the prior year — so developers are looking for new ways to lure buyers. But it's not enough to have just a celebrity name attached to the project. In this market, developments must inject extras into the mix.

In New York, real estate marketer Michael Shvo is selling a condo project called The Jade, a 57-unit building in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood whose design was influenced by Jade Jagger, a jewelry designer and daughter of Rolling Stones rocker Mick. It features studios to three-bedroom apartments outfitted with "pods" — kitchen, bath and storage units with retractable lacquered walls that close off unused portions — as well as a Jagger-designed, Moroccan-themed communal rooftop reminiscent of her home in Ibiza. Prices range from $500,000 for a 460-square-foot studio to $3.7 million for a 1,822-square-foot penthouse with 635 square feet of outdoor space.

Since the condos went on the market this summer, Shvo says, two-thirds of the units have been sold.

MORE FROM FORBES

Forbes Section Front

Christmas prices come early to Wal-Mart Some billionaires losing big in economic crisis Seven better uses for the bailout’s $700 billion Gates once again tops list of America’s richest Where home prices may actually ... rise? The world’s most powerful women Billionaires for the next generation The best U.S. cities for earning a living The biggest losers in the Beijing Games The least-expensive cars to drive Forbes Section Front