The world's tallest single-family house is for sale. The architect lived in the home, but it's now on the market for $1.45 million. The home is 12 stories high and has an elevator that lets out to the sixth floor. It features panoramic views and sits on 1.08 acres of land.

Located in Prescott, Arizona, the home is in the shape of a plus sign and is 6,200 square feet. The home has no traditional central air or heating systems. The home can collect cool air at night which keeps the house cool during the day. 

Join the conversation about this story »

David Solomon is saying "so long" to Aspen.

The Goldman Sachs president and co-COO is selling his large Colorado estate for $36 million, according to Mansion Global.

Solomon built the home after he bought the property for $4 million in 2005. The 83-acre property comes with a guest house and incredible views of the Colorado scenery.

Michael Latousek of Douglas Elliman has the listing.

SEE ALSO: The foreclosed $50.9 million penthouse on Billionaire's Row is reportedly owned by a Nigerian tycoon who could be hiding on his yacht

The residence lies nestled in the hills of Aspen, Colorado.

It's built to look like a typical log cabin, with huge windows to look out at the sweeping vistas.

The house sits on 83 acres of pristine Colorado land.

Domestic real estate investment in China is dropping. Numbers released from the National Bureau of Statistics of China show that May’s property investment in terms of square footage was higher than last year, but still remained way below the baseline.

The decline in investment combined with cooling measures will likely result in a major drag on real estate prices in the country.

Why are we using square meters of investment?

If you’re new to Asian real estate investment, analysis is slightly different from how it would be done in North America or Europe. It’s much more specific, and typically done on a per meter basis — whereas you’re probably used to benchmark prices or a home price index.

It’s not any more accurate, or less accurate by itself — analysts in Asia just look at it differently. So today we’ll be looking at one indicator that’s commonly used, the amount of square meters invested in a month, compared year over year.

Real estate investment in China increased from last May

Domestic investment in China is up from last year, but down significantly from the long term trend. May 2017 saw 75.8 million square meters of land developed and bought, a 5.3% increase from the same month last year. Some people likely think this number is great, because it’s higher than last year. Let’s give it some context to give us a better picture.

Investment for May remained way below the long-term trend

When looked at over time, this is a massive drop in investments. The average for May over the previous decade was 116 million square meters. This means this May is actually 35% lower than the trend established over the previous decade. This combined with cooling measures being rolled out by their government, is expected to put downward pressure on home prices in the country.

Cooling measures coming to China

The low rate of investment will collide with new cooling measures across the country. One of those measures will be flooding the market with inventory in major cities. The Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (the name’s even longer in Chinese), have accelerated the approval of new developments.

They’re also adding millions of square meters of housing, many with restrictions like maximum sale prices. Adding inventory to the hottest markets, while restricting prices can’t be a great thing for price growth.

China is one of the leading countries for global real estate investment. So a slowdown of domestic investment could be yet another sign that the country’s real estate investors are running out of steam.

SEE ALSO: ANIMATION: Where America's immigrants have come from over the last 200 years

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A Navy SEAL explains what to do if you're attacked by a dog

SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know about buying a home, in 7 steps

DON'T MISS: Here's how much you need to earn to comfortably afford a home in the 25 most expensive ZIP codes in America

1. Getting too emotionally attached

You're about to purchase what's probably the most expensive item you've ever bought. So this advice from Chris Leavitt, a real estate broker with Douglas Elliman and star of Million Dollar Listing Miami, may be easier said than done: "Relax and don't get too attached. There will always be another house if you lose one."

Try finding "several homes you love so that you're not too emotionally invested in one," suggests Tali Raphaely, president of Armour Title Co.

2. Finding the home yourself

We know you're going to browse Trulia to find homes for sale in your desired location. But don't rely on just your brilliant research skills. Finding your own home is like "diagnosing yourself of an illness," says Mirella Nazarian, partner associate of Omega Group Los Angeles.

"Let your agent vet the homes for you," she says. A good real estate agent might find you properties that aren't yet on the market. And of the homes that are on the market, your agent should be able to tell you "what the home looks like, where it's situated, the Walk Score, and the price per square foot in the neighborhood."

3. Going directly to the listing agent

If you've ever played Monopoly, there's a card you might pick (a bad one) that says, "Do not pass go. Do not collect $200." It means you did something wrong and now must pay the penalty.

The same applies if you go directly to a listing agent who is hired by and represents the seller, not you. "Unless [the listing agent] is someone you have worked with or know personally and know they are an amazing agent, this is a big no-no," says Nazarian.

Asia Pacific investment in London property is at a five-year high and accounted for almost half the deals in the first six months of 2017, according to research by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield.

Asia Pacific firms spent more than $4.4 billion (£3.42 billion) on residential and commercial property in London in the six months to July, almost half of the $8.8 billion (£6.83 billion) total investment.

Investment from Europe came in second, despite the Brexit vote and aided by a weak sterling, with Germany spending the most of any European country on London property.

Compared to the same period last year, which saw deals totalling $7.45 billion (£5.78 billion), investment is up 18.5%.

Earlier this year Hong Kong property firm CC Land Holdings bought London's Leadenhall Bulding, or 'Cheesegrater', for £1.15 billion ($1.48 billion), the second biggest London property deal ever.

The Qatari government is one of the biggest landlords in London according to property investment researchers Datscha, since it is a co-owner of Canary Wharf Group estate, which owns the most property in London by square footage. Transport for London is the third biggest London landlord by square footage, with the Queen seventh.

Transport for London is the third biggest London landlord by square footage, with the Queen seventh.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A study on Seattle's minimum wage hike shows $100 million a year in lost payroll for low earners

It looks like Miami, but its soul is pure Brooklyn. In 2013, this "bonkers" estate was the most expensive home in Brooklyn, on sale for $30 million.

But just the following year, it got a price chop down to $17 million. Last year, it shed both a neighboring home and another $4.5 million from its price tag, and it listed for $12.5 million.

Now it's back, and this time it has an $18 million price tag and an adjoining guest home included. 

The 10-bedroom Mill Basin property is a gated waterfront compound with a storied past and more than 23,000 square feet of interior space.

The main house was originally built and owned by John Rosatti, a multimillionaire with connections to the Colombo crime family. He then sold the property to Russian heiress Galina Anisimova (known as the mother of the "Russian Paris Hilton") for $3 million in the late 1990s.

Outside, the mansion has a 1,000-square-foot pool, a 40-person pavilion for parties, and 30,000 square feet of outdoor gardens. The main house boasts a downstairs wine cellar, 257 feet of waterfront, a four-car garage, and a two-boat marina. Taken together, this is more akin in style to something you'd see in Miami than in Brooklyn. 

Douglas Elliman has the listing.

Megan Willett and Raisa Bruner contributed reporting to earlier versions of this article.

SEE ALSO: Goldman Sachs president David Solomon is selling his enormous Aspen estate for $36 million

Here's the entrance to the home that was at one time Brooklyn's most expensive property.

The home is perched right on the Mill Basin waterfront and has its own private marina.

Mill Basin is pretty deep in Brooklyn — about an hour's car ride (or longer on public transportation) from midtown Manhattan.

American Express may not be able to go through with the plans it had for one of the most infamous properties in the Hamptons this summer. 

AmEx had planned to rent the East Hampton house known as "Grey Gardens — which appeared in the famous documentary of the same name — to host events this summer. The house has been beautified since the film, and it's now on the market for both rental and purchase by its current owner, journalist Sally Quin.

But now East Hampton officials are pumping the brakes on that plan. 

"It is a residence and can not be used for commercial purposes," village administrator Rebecca Hansen told the New York Post.

Local officials have sent a cease-and-desist letter to American Express, saying that no commercial events are permitted to happen at the house. Grey Gardens lies in a residential zone and is thus covered by a local code that states that "no commercial uses of land are permitted in any residential district,"according to the Post.

The first event, a Jennifer Fisher jewelry sale, has already been moved elsewhere.

Grey Gardens is still on the market for just shy of $18 million.

American Express did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

SEE ALSO: Goldman Sachs president David Solomon is selling his enormous Aspen estate for $36 million

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Grey Gardens — the famous subject of a documentary, HBO film, and Broadway musical — is on sale for nearly $20 million

The small suburban hamlet of Johnsonville, Connecticut, has sat abandoned for nearly 20 years. After going on and off the market since 2015, the town sold in July for $1.85 million.

International religious organization Iglesia Ni Cristo, also known as INC or Church of Christ, scooped up the 62-acre property with plans to turn it into a recreation and sporting center for members. The Philippines-based church has grown its US real estate portfolio over the years, converting idle lots into permanent gathering places for worship.

Sherri Milkie, the real estate agent on the listing, said she received nearly 100 calls from prospective buyers in the days after a Business Insider article about the property went viral.

"We needed deep pockets and [the INC] said, 'We love this place and we're going to do [what it takes]," Milkie told Business Insider. The church paid cash with no contingencies.

Here's what it's like inside Johnsonville.

SEE ALSO: The 15 best small towns to visit in America

Johnsonville, Connecticut, is the shell of a once-booming mill town.

Established in 1802, the little hamlet became an industrial center for twine production.

A community rose up around the mill. Homes, a church, a store, and a post office insulated the town from the outside. It's unknown how many people lived in Johnsonville at its peak.

Die-hard fans of Audrey Hepburn can not only acquire personal items treasured by the acting and fashion legend but live in the star's former Los Angeles mansion, too.

A sale in September involving the Hollywood icon's private wardrobe, film scripts, photography, and more, has recently been confirmed by Christie's. Soon after, a Holmby Hills estate that once housed Audrey Hepburn and her husband Mel Ferrer came on the market for nearly $14 million.

The 7,000-square-foot house was designed in 1938 by a man often called "the architect to the stars," Paul Williams, who was also the first African-American to receive an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal. The two-story Colonial Revival home on Delfern Drive not only attracted Hepburn, but other members of silver-screen royalty such as David Niven, Mia Farrow and, most recently, Eva Gabor.

In fact, the property is officially hailed as the "Eva Gabor Estate." After Gabor's death in 1995, the home was reportedly sold to its current owners for more than $2 million.

Ten years later, the estate came on the market for close to $17 million. It is now offered at about 18 percent off via agent Jade Mills of Jade Mills Estates through Coldwell Banker Global Luxury.

Mills said, "The home offers a stately presence and exquisite curb appeal with double iron gates leading onto a large brick motor court and elegant facade."

As per the listing, the estate is sited on approximately 1.1 acres with private tennis court, lawns, gardens, patios, a 700-square-foot guest house, an approximately 1,000-square-foot staff apartment or detached office, and large pool.

Rooms in the main house include a formal foyer, living room and family room with fireplaces, formal dining room, breakfast room, and kitchen. There are four bedrooms upstairs, including the master suite, and two staff bedrooms downstairs.

SEE ALSO: A one-bedroom home that was purchased for $28,000 on 'Fixer Upper' is up for sale for nearly $1 million

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Warren Buffett lives in a modest house that's worth .001% of his total wealth — here's what it looks like

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kushner Cos, the realty company once headed by President Donald Trump's son-in-law, said on Tuesday it is reassessing how to finance the redevelopment of its flagship New York City property after failed talks with a former Qatari prime minister.

Talks that began more than two years ago to invest in 666 Fifth Avenue, located in the heart of Manhattan, with Qatar's Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani were "recently terminated," a Kushner spokesman, James Yolles, said in a statement to Reuters.

Kushner Cos "is currently reassessing the financing structure of the overall project. The company remains in active discussions with a number of potential investors around the property's redevelopment," Yolles said.

Sheikh Hamad agreed to invest $500 million on condition that the company, recently headed by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and now one of his senior advisers, obtain the rest of a multi-billion-dollar refinancing elsewhere, The Intercept publication reported on Monday.

Jared, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, sold his interests in the company to a family trust in January.

Sheikh Hamad was Qatar's prime minister from 2007 to 2013 and was foreign minister for more than 20 years.

President Trump in early June accused Qatar of being a "high level" sponsor of terrorism, days after four Arab states cut ties with the Gulf nation over its alleged support of terrorism.

Kushner Cos in March said it ended talks with China's Anbang Insurance Group to redevelop the 39-story marquee property it bought in 2006 for $1.8 billion, at the time a record for a Manhattan office building.

Talks had centered on Anbang providing as much as half of $2.5 billion in equity in a plan that called for stripping the building down to its steel columns and adding about 40 floors, according to media reports. A $1.2 billion loan used to buy the property was later refinanced and comes due in February 2019.

The company also said in March that advanced talks were ongoing with other investors to redevelop the tower, valued for its proximity to St. Patrick's Cathedral and Rockefeller Center.

Kushner Cos has a joint venture in the 60-year-old tower with Vornado Realty Trust, a major city property owner.

(Reporting by Herbert Lash; Editing by Daniel Bases and Leslie Adler)

Join the conversation about this story »

Young Americans are delaying homeownership because they're burdened with student loan debt, waiting longer to get married and have kids, and spending more on renting. Some are still living with their parents — especially in certain parts of the country.

Waiting longer to buy a home means there's plenty of time to prepare financially if homeownership is on your list of life goals.

Below, we've outlined seven of the dumbest money moves to avoid before you buy a home:

SEE ALSO: From house to kids: The smartest things to do with your money in your 30s

DON'T MISS: Online mortgage calculators don't give homeowners the full picture — here's what to use instead

1. Expect to get a big return.

If someone asks why you want to buy a house and your first answer is something along the lines of "Because I'm wasting money on rent," or "Because it's a good investment," you might not be mentally prepared for all the responsibilities that come with home ownership. At the end of the day, buying a home isn't a means of getting rich.

"When you look at the average price increase of a home across the country over the last 100 years, it's only about 3%," Eric Roberge, founder of Beyond Your Hammock and a certified financial planner, told Business Insider. "If you take away extra costs plus inflation, you're not really making any money on average on a single family home."

It's smarter to look for an affordable house that meets non-monetary goals: It's in your dream neighborhood or it's a good place to start a family.

"A home is a utility, not an investment," Roberge said.

2. Combine too many life events at once.

New beginnings are great, but combining too many life events at once can quickly derail your finances.

Think getting married, adopting a puppy, having a kid, and buying a house all in the same year. Each of these comes with unexpected costs that can eat up your savings if you're not prepared. 

Working toward your financial goals takes time and should happen at your personal pace, not at a time when it seems like it should happen or because everyone else is doing it. 

3. Use emergency savings for a down payment.

San Francisco combines a strong economy with high-paying jobs, a rich culture, and year-round sweater weather — making it one of the hottest real estate markets in America.

The environment attracts house-hunters with deep pockets. It's not uncommon for prospective owners to place bids well above listing prices, often for all cash.

We combed Zillow to find the most modest but expensive houses on the market — under 2,000 square feet selling for over $1 million. They could be all yours, if you've got the funds to spare.

SEE ALSO: 12 modest but insanely expensive homes for sale in Silicon Valley

A shrunken Victorian-style home in Laurel Heights is short on space but rich in charm. It squeeze three bedrooms, three baths, a dining room, and an office into 1,010 square feet.

Address:2888 Bush Street

Price: $2.3 million

A roomy backyard makes a great bonus feature.

A remodeled two-bedroom, one-bath home sits sandwiched between the pricey Potrero Hill and Mission District. It's located close to pick-up locations for several tech shuttles.

Address:621 York Street

Price: $1.5 million

Despite a number of people throwing down the terms “correction” and “crash,” not a lot of people know what these terms mean. Just so we’re all on the same page, we thought we’d put together a quick guide.

This way you millennials will understand what all of those old bears mean (or if they’re just making stuff up).

What is a real estate correction?

A real estate correction is relatively minor drop in the market. The market is in correction territory when the home price index falls not more than 10% from the highest price within a year.

Corrections happen with greater frequency than you might expect, and are generally good for balancing market demand.

What is a real state crash?

A real estate crash is much less common than the media would have you think. When the home price index falls by more than 10% from the 52 week peak value, you’re experiencing a crash.

Crashes are relatively rare, and are usually accompanied by a strong decline in economic macros. Strong declines in macros are also known as recessions.

What is real estate capitulation?

Way back in ancient Rome, there was a politician and entrepreneur name Marcus Licinius Crassus. He’s known as the second richest man in the Ancient Roman Empire, and the guy that took down Spartacus. A little known fact is he made most of his money by owning a fire fighting service.

When a building would catch on fire in Ancient Rome, he would appear soon after with his a slave army of firemen, and a bag of money. Homeowners had two options, they could sell their home to Crassus who would then put out the fire – or homeowners could watch their wealth literally burn to the ground. This is where the term “fire sale” originated, and is the first example of real estate market “capitulation.”

Real estate capitulation is an extremely rare sight to see, but it does happen. This is also known as panic selling, and is marked by a more than 10% decline in a very short period of time – often less than a month. Market capitulation is usually followed by a brief pause, and maybe even a bump up in prices before resuming declines. These are unlikely without a massive loss in confidence over the currency, and local government.

Real estate markets generally don’t move as quickly as many people would like you to believe. When they do move fast, usually only a segment or two are impacted in this way. If you’re from Canada and the US, chances are you’ll never see market capitulation. However, you’ll likely see many corrections, and maybe even a couple of crashes. Constant evaluation of the real estate cycles will help determine if you end up like Crassus, or Nicolas Cage.

SEE ALSO: Canada has twice as many vacant homes as the US did before the crash

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: We drove a brand-new Tesla Model X from San Francisco to New York — here's what happened

A historic château in Aix en Provence is now up for sale — and if you have a spare $17 million, it can be yours. 

The castle, which dates back nearly 1,000 years, was previously owned by the French royal family and is now on the market with Sotheby's International Realty, Bloomberg reported.

The current owners, Ghislaine Pillivuyt and her husband, Bertrand, inherited the property in 2006 and have been running it as a family business — opening the house and garden to the public, using it as a wedding venue, and running a bed and breakfast there.

Take a look around:

SEE ALSO: A one-bedroom home that was purchased for $28,000 on 'Fixer Upper' is up for sale for nearly $1 million

Château de la Barben is nearly 1,000 years old.

Source: Sotheby's

It's located in Aix-En-Provence, one of the most picturesque areas in the South of France.

The earliest records of the castle date back to 1064, when it was owned by monks. It subsequently changed hands several times and was at different points owned by a medieval lord and even the French royal family. In 1474 it was sold to the De Forbin family, who kept possession of it for 500 years.

Source: Bloomberg and Château de la Barben

If you're looking for a quiet seaside destination to summer in, Shelter Island might be just the ticket.

This 8,000-acre island sandwiched between the North and South Forks of Long Island has long been known as the Hamptons' quieter sibling. It's stayed this way mainly because it's only accessible by ferry. 

Local real estate broker Jonathan Smith of Sotheby's says that Shelter Island's less convenient location (for New Yorkers, at least) has helped to keep property prices down. 

"It's in the heart of the Hamptons but separated by ferry, and that impacts the perceived value of land," Smith told Business Insider. "It offers excellent value for Hamptons buyers."

According to real estate site Trulia, median listing prices for homes in Shelter Island's most expensive neighborhoods hover around $1 million. The median listing price for houses listed in the Hamptons' most expensive hamlets — parts of East Hampton and Southampton, for example — are as high as $6.5 million. 

We've rounded up the best spots to eat, drink, and stay on the island. And if you like it enough, check out some of the most high-end real estate you can pick up right now on Shelter Island. 

SEE ALSO: Meet the rich and powerful people who live on 'Billionaire Lane' in the Hamptons

Shelter Island is about a three-hour drive from New York City. The last leg of the journey requires taking a ferry, either from the North or South Fork. The ferry service runs every 10 to 20 minutes, 365 days a year. The South Ferry runs for longer hours in the summer.

Source: The South Ferry and North Ferry

When it comes to dining out, there are a few local favorites. 18 Bay is one popular choice. The menu changes every week, but the concept remains the same: a four-course Italian meal that begins with four different types of antipasti, followed by a homemade pasta dish, an entree, and a dessert. This costs $75 per person.

23 North Ferry Road

Vine Street Cafe is another popular restaurant. You'll find it in a cozy cottage in the center of the island. Ingredients are locally sourced, and daily specials are offered. An entree costs around $35.

41 S Ferry Rd

They also operate a food truck from the edge of Montauk Highway in the Hamptons, serving simple burger dishes, fish sandwiches, and salads.  

Salesforce officially got naming rights to San Francisco's new transit center, but not without ruffling some feathers, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Transbay Joint Powers Authority board voted Thursday to confirm a 25-year, $110 million sponsorship deal which will change the name of the Transbay Transit Center to the Salesforce Transit Center, according to the Chronicle.

"Unfortunately, we are in a situation where we have to rely on naming rights," Ed Reiskin, a board member and director of the Municipal Transportation Agency, said, according to the report. "I find it distasteful, philosophically, but I get it, logically — every dollar we get privately helps us fulfill our public mission."

The deal includes the potential placement of Salesforce logos on 177 signs throughout the facility. It doesn't, however, include any signs on the white, cloud-like lattice that lines the exterior of the center, which will eventually bring together 11 different transit systems.

For those outside of the Bay Area, the naming agreement might not seem like such a big deal. But critics are upset that the agreement will allow a private company to slap its name on a public facility that's being built with public funds. 

"San Francisco has been home to Salesforce since our founding in 1999. As the city's largest technology employer, we are deeply committed to making this city a better place for all its residents and visitors," Salesforce said in a statement. "We're happy to grow our commitment to the city with Salesforce Transit Center and Salesforce Park, which will provide better access to and from San Francisco, and a sprawling public park for all to enjoy. Salesforce continues to be aligned with the city on investing in the public interest and we look forward to the opportunity to further discuss this important partnership."

You can read the full story here.

SEE ALSO: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has a message for laid-off Microsoft workers: Work for me

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Scientists overlooked a major problem with going to Mars — and they fear it could be a suicide mission

I'm a Warren Buffett nerd. While most people watch series on Netflix for fun, I like to read through the archives of Berkshire's Annual Letters! Yeah, it's that bad.

But if you're reading this, I assume you're a little different, too. Maybe you're proud to be an investment nerd like me!

After all, being a Buffett nerd has its advantages. For one, I learned about the concept of an "economic moat." It's a principle that has made Buffett's investment company Berkshire Hathaway billions of dollars in profits. And it's become a guiding principle with my own investments.

In this article, I'm going to explain what an economic moat is and why it's one of Buffett's core investment tenants. But unlike Buffett, I'm not going to share how to use the principle to buy stocks. Instead, I'll show how small investors like you and me can build profitable economic moats using real estate investing.

Let's begin by discussing what an economic moat is.

What is an economic moat?

An economic moat protects the profits of a business from attacks by competitors. It's like a large moat of water around an ancient castle. A business with a wide economic moat has an enduring competitive advantage. This means its competitors have difficulty duplicating it.

For example, one of Buffett's investments is CocaCola. Around the world, the formidable CocaCola brandcreates a competitive advantage. No other maker of sugared water has been able to replicate their success with customers.

Buffett has long used this principle to evaluate and purchase his best investments. The results? $1,000 invested in Berkshire Hathaway at $19/share in 1964 would have been worth 11.6 million dollars in early 2015!

But what does this have to do with you? Should you try to be like Buffett and identify individual businesses with wide economic moats? Even Buffett himself advises most investors to just invest in a broad basket of index funds instead of picking individual stocks.

I've found you have to apply this principle more broadly than just stocks or bonds. Economic moats have worked best for me in the world of real estate investing.

Easier economic moats using real estate investing

With real estate investing, your can use your knowledge and skills to make more money investing. For example, you can study every property for sale or rent in a very small area. As the local expert, you can then find properties priced below their full value.

And unlike stocks sold on an exchange with millions of competing buyers, you often negotiate directly with the seller or their agent. This gives you a chance to do even better on price.

But not every piece of real estate will automatically have an economic moat. In the sections that follow, I'll share five competitive advantages you can look for with real estate investments:

1. Pricing power
2. Barriers to entry
3. Switching costs
4. Low-cost advantages
5. Trade secrets

Let's begin with pricing power.

Competitive advantage #1 — Pricing power

Buffett's favorite businesses are able to maintain and increase their prices over time. Their brand and products are unique in the marketplace. This means they don't have to cut prices to compete.

For example, Buffett has long owned Sees Candy, a specialty chocolate and candy company. Instead of competing on price, Sees has raised prices consistently over the years faster than its production costs.

This pricing power makes a company more profitable over time.

A well-located real estate property works in much the same way. An attractive property in a demand location is unique. Renters and buyers will pay progressively higher prices for the privilege of living there.

I wrote an entire guide on how to choose the ideal investment property location. But within that guide, I included several factors you should look for to find these high-demand investment properties. In summary, you want locations with:

• Increasing demand– This usually occurs with an increase in population and high-paying jobs in your general area. Within micro-locations, you can also find other demand factors like proximity to parks, greenways, schools, and coffee shops.
• Barriers to supply– This occurs from physical restraints (i.e. no more new land to develop) and government restraints (restrictive or expensive development laws). The result is new construction becomes much more expensive and rare, and this also makes existing housing more valuable.

I learned that the properties with the most pricing power are not always the properties you can buy the cheapest. In real estate investing, it pays to follow the lesson Buffett picked up from his long-time partner, Charlie Munger:

"It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price."

Competitive advantage #2 — Barriers to entry

Real estate investing has inherent barriers to entry. But if you can overcome these barriers, you'll create strong economic moats.

First, real estate is expensive compared to other investments. You can buy a share of stock for just $100. But even cheap real estate costs many thousands of dollars. This means real estate investors have to either save or borrow money for purchases.

Second, real estate investments require local knowledge. Some principles hold true across all real estate markets, but each local area has its own quirks and unique trends.

Third, real estate has a perceived "hassle" compared to other investments. Many would-be real estate investors sit on the fence because of horror stories they've heard about tenants and toilets.

All three of these barriers to entry can be solved with knowledge, systems, and relationships. And the more difficult the better, because that creates an even wide moat.

Competitive advantage #3 — High-switching costs

Acquiring new customers is expensive. So, the most profitable companies work to keep their customers for a long time. High customer switching costs help them do that.

High switching costs are anything that makes it harder for a customer to leave. For example, you pay a fee and go through a lot of hassle to switch away from one of the big cell phone companies. This is VERY intentional on their part.

The right real estate can also have very high switching costs. And this can make you a lot of money as a real estate investor.

One of my favorite examples is a real estate investor and teacher from Colorado named David Tilney. David likes to invest in single family houses. He finds that renters of houses tend to stay longer. Often, his tenants have kids and stuff, both of which make it more of a hassle to move (i.e. high switching costs). Small apartments, on the other hand, are much easier to move in and out of. As a result, they also attract more transient tenants.

But David takes it a step further. He looks for what he calls "mouse trap houses." These houses are loaded with storage, like a 2-car garage, basement, and an attic. What do tenants do? They pile lots of junk in them. Amazingly, the tenants find most other rentals have much less storage, and as a result, they stay with David for 5-10 years on average!

Smart real estate investors can also do more to increase the cost of switching for tenants. Mike Butler, author of the great book Landlording on Autopilot, offers his tenants incentives before each lease renewal. For example, he may give them partial free rent or a property upgrade. By moving, the tenant would now "lose" this benefit, and Mike avoids the costs of a turnover for another year or two.

Competitive advantage #4 — Low-cost advantages

Warren Buffett loves to buy businesses with built-in cost advantages. For example, his insurance company GEICO has always sold insurance direct to customers instead of through agents. This saves GEICO 10-15% in commissions, and as a result, allows them to offer lower prices to customers while still making a profit.

I like buying existing properties (instead of new housing) to give me a low-cost advantage in real estate. New construction material costs tend to rise with the overall inflation level of the market. And as I said in a previous section, local factors like a limited supply of land and government regulations increase the costs of construction even more.

As a result, my existing properties often cost much less than comparable new properties, even after remodeling. This allows me to keep rents much lower than the new construction prices while still making a profit. Not only does this make it easier to keep my properties full, but it also protects me from future recessions or price slumps.

I also like that in real estate investing we can lock-in our biggest cost – interest rates on loans – for very long periods of time. When your rents go up over time (see #1 – Pricing Power) yet your biggest cost is fixed, you have a recipe for a VERY profitable investment over time.

Competitive advantage #5 — Trade secrets

The final competitive advantage is a catch-all category called trade secrets. Some businesses develop processes, patents, or new technology that allows them to build enormous economic moats to keep out the competition.

I would have a hard time understanding and identifying the value of these trade secrets with stocks, but in real estate, you can actually develop them for yourself.

Here are just a few ideas of real estate investing trade secrets I've used or have seen others use over the years:

• Marketing sources to find deals– Finding good deals is often the most difficult part of real estate investing. But if you can find and cultivate little known or difficult deal sources, you can carve out a strong competitive advantage for yourself.
• Processes & systems – Real estate investing has long been a local and informal business. If you can bring a degree of professionalism and systems to your small business, you will create a competitive advantage. The Emyth was a book that helped me immensely in this area.
• Relationships/network– Relationships with people always matter, but with local real estate investments, it matters even more. When you build strong relationships with vendors and other team members, you build an economic moat for yourself. The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey opened my eyes to the practical economic value of strong relationships.
• Customer service– While the real estate itself is typically the focus, how you treat your customers can set you apart from your competition. Be creative and find ways to be remarkable with your service. Seth Godin's great book Purple Cow can give you inspiration in this department.
• Property hacks– You can use your creativity and knowledge to improve your profits with real estate investing. For example, you may decide to install tile or other hard surface floors in your rental. It may cost you 20% more now, but it saves you MANY times the cost over the next ten years of ownership. There are many other property hacks like this that give you an advantage.

I'm willing to bet you can find even more trade secrets to make yourself more competitive in real estate investing. That's the beauty of owning investments that you can personally impact.

Become a builder of moats

Warren Buffett has made billions of dollars for a reason. He invests with solid principles, like buying businesses with economic moats. He's also extremely smart, and he surrounds himself with other smart people like his partner Charlie Munger.

And as a Buffett nerd, I've tried to inspire you to model his success. But you don't have to copy him exactly. Instead, you can model his principles and apply them to real estate investing. It's an investment arena that allows you to create and protect your own investing success.

I wish you all the best with your own investing adventures!

SEE ALSO: How Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway makes most of its money

DON'T MISS: 'I call it the triple-headed monster': A 27-year-old realtor and landlord explains her favorite strategy for making money in real estate

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A hacker reveals the most secure thing you can do to your passwords

A massive property that was assembled from four different plots of land has hit the market for $150 million, making it the most expensive home currently for sale in the Hamptons.

Formerly owned by entrepreneur Robert Sillerman, according to Curbed, the property includes a 12,000-square-foot main house, outdoor pool, pool house, tennis court, two golf greens, and a golf house. 

It's located on Meadow Lane, a stretch of Southampton with real estate so pricey, it's often been referred to as"Billionaire Lane." 

In addition to 700 feet of ocean front, the listing also includes an additional lot that faces the bay. 

Harald Grant of Sotheby's International Realty has the listing.

SEE ALSO: Meet the rich and powerful people who live on 'Billionaire Lane' in the Hamptons

The Hamptons' most expensive property is located on Meadow Lane, home to its fair share of millionaires and billionaires.

With more than 14 acres of land, the property is truly massive. Listing photos show the lines that formerly divided the land into three separate lots. The current listing also includes a fourth lot facing the bay.

The new owners can enjoy three private walkways to the beach.

The great Canadian real estate binge may be coming to end. Numbers from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show the market across the country is substantially weaker when compared to the same time last year. Generally speaking the market saw a drop in sales, and decelerating price growth.

Sales Drop 11.4% Year-Over-Year

Real estate sales across Canada are dropping at a rapid pace. There were 39,979 sales, an 11.4% decline year-over-year. The monthly drop is the interesting part however, at 6.7% lower it’s the largest monthly drop since June 2010. A monthly decline is normal for this month, just not a drop this large.

Prices Experiencing Deceleration Of Growth

Prices across the country were basically flat from the month prior. The composite benchmark, that’s the price of your typical home in Canada, is now $616,500. This represents a minor 0.3% decline from the month before, and is 15.8% higher than the same time last year. While that’s still a pretty solid gain year-over-year, the 15.8% does signify decelerating growth.

Fastest Moving Markets Across Canada

The biggest year-over-year leaders in the country are Toronto, Guelph, and Vancouver Island. Toronto ended June with a composite benchmark price of $810,700, a 25.34% increase from the same time last year. Guelph, a suburb of Toronto, saw a composite benchmark price of $421,800 – which is also 25.34% higher than the same time last year…strangely. In third is Vancouver Island, where the benchmark price is now $418,400, a 19.81% increase from the same time last year.

Slowest Moving Markets Across Canada

The smallest year-over-year changes were observed in Saskatoon, Regina, and Calgary. Saskatoon had a benchmark price of $306,500, a 3% decline from the same time last year. Regina had a benchmark price of $297,800, a 0.7% decline from the same time last year. Third from the bottom is Calgary, which had a benchmark price of $435,900, a 0.6% increase from the same time last year.

Year-over-year growth remained high in most markets, but decelerating growth is a big concern. The bullish case would be growth falls to a more sustainable level, and prices continue to move higher but slower. The bearish case would be that growth turns negative, and brings the past few years closer to the average growth baseline. What do you think? Leave your comments below.

SEE ALSO: Canada has twice as many vacant homes as the US did before the crash

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A hacker reveals the most secure thing you can do to your passwords

Marc Bell, a financier, producer, and former CEO of adult networking site FriendFinder Networks (best-known as the corporate parent of Penthouse), is once again selling his massive South Florida home. Even at a discounted $29.95 million, it's still the most expensive home listed in the city of Boca Raton, an affluent enclave north of Miami. 

The mansion was previously listed for $35 million in May 2014. According to Bell, the family had found a buyer for the house but decided at the last minute not to move.

"We had a rebellion [from our kids] who wanted to live out their high school days there," Bell told Business Insider. "We decided not to sell and take it off the market."

 Nestler Poletto Sotheby's International Realty has the new listing.

The eight-bedroom Mediterranean-style house is obviously beautiful from the outside, but don't let its stylish facade deceive you; inside, there's an extensive re-creation of the starship Enterprise, along with plenty of other "Star Trek" memorabilia. There's also a "Call of Duty" room, basketball court, and 2,000-square-foot ballroom turned arcade.

But if "Star Trek" isn't your thing, you might also enjoy the home's extensive entertaining areas and gated-community perks. It has a little something for everyone. 

SEE ALSO: This $150 million estate is now the most expensive home for sale in the Hamptons — take a look

Bell's home is a jaw-dropping 27,000 square feet on 1.6 acres.

The house is situated inside a Boca Raton country club and has some impressive amenities to go along with that, like tennis courts, a golf course, and a shopping center. "Imagine living in a resort," Bell said. "Everything is there."

The front door has beautiful Mediterranean details, and palm trees shade the entryway. But don't let the classic exterior fool you.