Analysis and discussion of issues that impact business

This looks like it is in part a response to the cooling housing market. According to Forbes:

(Martha) 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.

If you can't sell something, slap a celebrity's name on it and try, try again?

My main thought would be that just because something is more noticeable, doesn't make it more affordable.

...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.)

She's already got one, with more on the way.

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.

Fascinating. But it's a time-honored tactic. And they're not even sugar-coating it.

"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."

Don't ever forget, McDonald's founder Ray Crock wasn't just in the hamburger business. He owned most of the property his burger joints were on. So no matter how many cheeseburgers were sold, he still got his lease payments. Smart cookie.

But I imagine these will always be targeted to the affluent. I can't see Martha or Shaq "slumming" in a development of $90,000 dollar, 1,200 square foot ranches! Case in point.

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.

Lifestyles of the rich and famous. 460 square feet for half a million dollars. Unbelievable.