Global Update: Chicago Shines

Another benefit of a personal helipad? You won’t be subject to the Hamptons’ harsh new helicopter rules, which “allow each helicopter only one flight per week in or out of the airport.” [Fortune] Chicago shines in the first quarter of 2015. A new report from RE/MAX found that the number of luxury home and condo transactions was up 18% over the same period in 2014. [Marina City Online] No one puts Nordstrom in the corner. Leaked designs for the planned Nordstrom Tower, located at 217 W. 57th Street, show the building topping out at 1,795 feet, making it (potentially) the tallest building in New York City. [NY Post] A Down Under dousing? A new report from the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force claims Australia could be ripe for money laundering by foreign property investors. [Sourceable] Just think of it as a delayed check out time. The New York City Council will vote on a proposed bill that would “would bar owners of hotels with more than 150 rooms from converting more than 20 percent of them to apartments without a waiver from the city Boards of Standards and Appeals.” The bill, if passed, will remain in effect for two years. [NY Post] A booming moment in Miami. A robust first quarter, driven by property investment from domestic and foreign buyers, has resulted in “a 2.3 percent rise in sales for $1 million-plus single-family homes in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.” [Community Newspapers]