Where Americans want to live in 2007

The ball has dropped and holiday revelers are busy avoiding carbs as they sweat off their holiday pounds at the gym.

Well, enough of that.

Instead, grab a comfortable seat and join us as we drool over the crop of out-of-this-world homes currently for sale. A bloated US inventory--a natural result of a softening market--combined with increasingly accessible international options means there are an extraordinary number of breathtaking properties to go ga-ga over.

But for some at the high-end, a home may not suffice. Today's moneyed are no longer looking to simply purchase a roof over their head; they are looking to purchase a lifestyle. And as the rich keep getting richer, what is desired, never mind what is available, grows more and more extravagant.

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For the health-minded, that means life at a spa. Tired of schlepping from the yoga studio to the organic supermarket, these types prefer to have it all under one roof, which explains why spa residences have picked up steam in recent years. According to Susie Ellis, the president of SpaFinder, a research clearinghouse and information service on the spa industry, more than 200 US spa residences have opened their doors in the last three years.

And to Ellis, it makes sense. "Active baby boomers are just not interested in the term retirement or retirement community," she says. "Instead, they want to look great, feel great and be active. That's why a spa community is appealing; it says vibrancy and living."

One such destination, Miraval Living, a spa and wellness residence backed by former Time Warner chairman Steve Case, will open its doors this summer on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The unique facility boasts more than 300 luxury apartments priced between $650,000 and $3.5 million and comes complete with spa, fitness and healthy eating facilities. And as if that weren't enough to keep wellness wannabes on track, the facility offers personal advisers for every resident.

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For others, living well implies a tropical paradise complete with white sand beaches and waterfront access. According to David Hehman, co-chairman and CEO of EscapeHomes.com, a Web site that specializes in luxury second-home listings, water is by far the single largest recreational amenity that wealthy and discerning buyers' desire.

"Whether it is a condominium in Miami or a place in Cabo San Lucas, I think people really look for water and warm weather when they want to escape," he says.

HG Christie, a Bahamas-based real estate firm, has a collection of island fare that certainly fits that bill. Among the firm's properties is a 3.75 acre Paradise Island estate, which boasts more than 6,000 square feet of living space, wrap-around patios and waterfront views. Sun worshippers will also enjoy the $32.5 million property's white sand beach and nearly 2,000 feet of water frontage, to say nothing of its heated swimming pool, three docks and helipad.

Those with wanderlust will want to check out The World, a 644-foot, 12-deck vessel, which offers its 200 residents the adventures of the sea combined with the comforts of home. In addition to 165 privately owned apartments, which range in price from $825,000 to $7.3 million, the yacht offers four restaurants, a spa, a library and athletic facilities. This luxury sea community spends two-and-a-half days on average at each port, which residents select based on their personal interests.

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But it's not just the types of homes and the lifestyle they offer that have changed as the concept of a dream home has evolved and price tags skyrocketed. The properties' amenities, which range from his-and-her bathrooms to on-site helipads, have grown increasingly extravagant as well.

"Today, your home can be packed with amenities and offer his-and-her features that luxury homeowners of a decade ago never even dreamed about," says Laurie Moore-Moore, president of the Dallas-based Institute for Luxury Home Marketing. Among them: spa baths, which include rain showers and chromotherapy tubs, as well as his-and-her home offices, garages and kitchens. Guest cottages, pool houses, butlers' pantries and even ballrooms are also increasingly common requests among wealthy buyers.

A far less taxing way to enjoy the New Year, indeed.

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