The word "luxury" is bandied about quite often in real estate.

KC Loft Central manages 700 market rate apartments in the downtown area. The company's average rent ranges from $850 for studios to $1,630 for two-bedroom apartments.

There's also a 720-square-foot basement. Graeber's loft is listed at $445,000, in a city where the median home price in 2007 was $197,000.

The Bekins building at the corner of Wesley Parkway and West Fourth St. is being transformed into 70 loft-style apartments. The building is expected to welcome its first renters this spring.

Located in Seattle's downtown Millennium Tower, this 9,876-square-foot loft offers 360-degree views of the city's skyline, Olympic Mountains and Elliot Bay, as well as a private rooftop deck.