Infographics: Just how big will Mitt Romney's...

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Monday, April 30, 2012, by Sarah Firshein

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A Tale of Two Housing Markets: Single and Multi Family

The numbers are in, the analysts are out, and given the volatility of this particular economic indicator, the spin is at full speed:

“Good News on Housing Permits More Than Offsets the Bad News on Starts”— HIS Global Insight

“Housing Starts Decline Again” – Capital Economics

“March Multifamily Starts Down; Permits Continue Upward Trend”— KBW

“March Construction Numbers Aren’t As Bad as They Look”— Trulia.com

“Housing Starts Lacking Consumer Confidence” — Sageworks Inc.

Here’s the problem: We are living a tale of two housing markets, single and multi-family. Depending on what kind of builder or investor you are, you’re going to see the housing starts numbers differently. Let’s weed through it first:

Total starts fell 5.8 percent, driven by a nearly 20 percent drop in multi-family. Single family was essentially flat month-to-month. But remember, multi-family is a very volatile number and can swing 20-30 percent monthly due to large local projects. Yes, they are both ahead from last year, but 2011 was the worst year in the history of U.S. home building.

“The further fall in housing starts in March means that about a third of the past year’s improvement in homebuilding has now been undone. But the continued rise in building permits is an encouraging sign which suggests that housing starts will improve again later this year,” writes Paul Diggle at Capital Economics.

Building permits are always seen as a better indicator of construction, or at least more dependable and less influenced by weather. Single family permits dropped 3.5 percent month to month, but multi-family surged ahead 24 percent to the highest level in four years.

“The pickup in multifamily construction is taking place most noticeably in the South and West—again, not a big surprise—since 46 of the 50 fastest-growing metro-area populations from 2010 to 2011 were in the South or West, according to the Census Bureau,” writes IHS Global Insight’s Patrick Newport.

Clearly we’re still seeing big demand in the multi-family sector, but single family is still faltering.

“Single family is more of a restocking issue,” said Morgan Stanley’s Oliver Chang on CNBC. “In order to meet baseline demand, they [builders] have to build.”

Chang says real growth in single family demand just isn’t there, due to a still tightening credit market. On the flip side, he claims that distressed housing has stabilized and distressed home prices have bottomed; that’s because investors largely use cash.

So if there’s all this demand for single family rentals, and investors are rushing to get in, is there still enough demand for all this multi-family construction?

“Bottom line, with the secular decline in home ownership, multi-family construction will be where it’s at for a few years but still only make up about 30 percent of total starts. Single family starts still have the intense competition with foreclosures and now rent seekers,” writes Peter Boockvar of Miller Tabak.

So why, as we asked yesterday after the disappointing builder sentiment report, did single family starts, permits and sentiment rise through the fall and the winter only to slam on the breaks? Newport calls that one a “head scratcher,” and adds, “If the builders have gotten ahead of the game, single-family construction will go through a demoralizing slowdown later this year.”

Questions?  Comments?  document.write("");document.write("RealtyCheck"+"@"+"cnbc.com");document.write('');And follow me on Twitter @Diana_Olick

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Short Sales Higher, Prices Lower

Buyer traffic is strong, supply of homes for sale is low, and yet home prices continue to defy the usual formula, falling again in March. Prices usually rise as supply shrinks, but demand is still too low to make those historical “norms” compute, not to mention that the type of supply available is largely distressed.

Foreclosures and short sales (when the home is sold for less than the value of the mortgage) accounted for 47.7 percent of sales, in a three month running average measured by Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance. That’s the 25th month in a row that distressed sales have topped 40 percent of the market.

“With nearly half of the market being distressed, we’re a long way from a return to a normal market,” said Thomas Popik, research director at Campbell Surveys. “Agents responding to our survey say that homeowners with well-maintained properties in good locations are very reluctant to list at today’s prices. That’s why inventory is low—and also why forced REO and short sales are such a big proportion of the remaining market.”

Home prices for non-distressed properties fell 5.7 percent in March year-over-year, according to the survey. Prices for “damaged” REO (bank-owned properties) fell 5.7 percent and for move-in ready REO fell 2.5 percent during the same period. The real sticker shock is in short sales. Prices of those homes fell 14.3 percent from March of 2011.

Short sales have been ramping up of late, as banks attempt to comply with the so-called “robo-signing” mortgage settlement. Those are part of the losses the banks are required to take in the $25 billion deal. Over the past six months, short sales have moved from 17.8 percent of all sales to 19.9 percent, according to the Campbell/IMF survey. They now represent the number one segment for distressed properties.

That share is likely to grow, as the conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), last week announced it was directing the two mortgage giants to “develop enhanced and aligned strategies for facilitating short sales, deeds-in-lieu and deeds-for-lease in order to help more homeowners avoid foreclosure.” It includes a requirement that mortgage servicers review and respond to short sale requests within thirty days.

Lengthy timelines have long been the biggest complaint in the short sale sector. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hold hundreds of thousands of distressed loans, and accelerating the process will surely move the numbers up quickly, although the rules don’t go into effect until June 1. The FHFA is requiring the two make final decisions on these sales within 60 days. Previously, short sales could take up to a year and even beyond, with buyers often dropping out in frustration.

“This could put short-term downward pressure on home prices, as short sales by their nature occur more quickly than foreclosures,” writes Jaret Seiberg, analyst at Guggenheim Partners. “That could raise questions about the status of the housing recovery, which could be negative for those with housing exposure. That would include homebuilders, mortgage lenders and mortgage insurers.”

On the plus side, short sales tend to sell at higher prices than foreclosures. It appear, however, that regardless of the FHFA edict, banks are already ramping up the short sales. Some began doing so in the aftermath of the robo-signing scandal, as foreclosures stalled. Even now, foreclosures falling as short sales rise. The good news is that sales of distressed properties are rising, but the headlines will likely focus more on the falling prices, than the much-needed clearing of these homes.

Questions?  Comments?  document.write("");document.write("RealtyCheck"+"@"+"cnbc.com");document.write('');And follow me on Twitter @Diana_Olick

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[Special Report] RBI Pending Home Sales Index – February 2011 [Baltimore Metro]

Posted by Jonathan Miller -Thursday, March 10, 2011, 1:47 PM
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This podcast is an overview of the RBI Pending Home Sales Index – February 2011 covering the Baltimore Metro market just released for RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI), the data, research and analytics arm of MRIS.

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[Special Report] RBI 2010 Year End Housing Market Summary [Washington, DC Metro]

Posted by Jonathan Miller -Thursday, March 3, 2011, 3:36 PM
1 Comment

Here’s a brief recap of the 2010 annual data just released by RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI) covering the Washington, DC metro housing market.

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[Special Report] 2Q 2010 Manhattan Rental Market Overview

Posted by Jonathan Miller -Thursday, July 15, 2010, 11:01 PM
1 Comment

Here’s a brief, ok not so brief, recap of the Manhattan Rental Market Overview I authored a last week for Prudential Douglas Elliman.

 

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[Special Report] RBI Pending Home Sales Index – February 2011 [Washington, DC Metro]

Posted by Jonathan Miller -Thursday, March 10, 2011, 1:51 PM
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This podcast is an overview of the RBI Pending Home Sales Index – February 2011 covering the Washington, DC Metro area just released for RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI), the data, research and analytics arm of MRIS.

View the original article here

Ask Curbed: What's Happening at Market & Buchanan?

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Tuesday, May 1, 2012, by Alex Bevk

From the Curbed inbox:

I'm writing with a question about the development project in the old gas station lot at Buchanan and Market. I know plans for a huge condo building were approved a couple of years ago, but the lot has sat empty since then, with the exception of some monthly parking and the smog station, supposedly because the owner was having trouble getting financing. Recently, however, the parking has been discontinued, the smog center closed, and Cahill signs placed around the perimeter of the lot. Is construction imminent?

Most current rendering of project at Market & Buchanan [Photo: Arquitectonica]

The reader was referring to the Arquitectonica-designed 1960 Market Street, which was approved by the Board of Supes back in 2009. To refresh your memory, the project is a mixed-use building with 115 residential units over ground floor commercial and a garage. Things were delayed through late 2010, when the conditions of approval were revised to include housing the required below market rate units off-site rather than on-site and removing the subterranean part of the parking garage. By July 2011, the existing gas station on the site was demo’d, and early this year they got the permits for the initial excavation and shoring. The permits to actually start were issued March 30, 2012, It looks like construction is indeed imminent.
· Market & Buchanan Condominiums [Arquitectonica]
· And It's A Go: Glassy Blocks at Market & Buchanan [Curbed SF]

Market & Buchanan, San Francisco CA

View the original article here

Bits Bucket for April 27, 2012

This Bullsh#t is just insane! The one Deadbeat who raised her head to bit@h about her Hardest Hit money that was going to end in the paper was a serial refinancing victim who had been collecting rent on 2 condos for years when she was not paying the mortgage. They only pulled her BS when I posted her refis and condos in the local comments section AND SHE PASSED ALL THE CHECKS AND BALANCES TO GET THE HARDEST HIT MONEY!

“Florida’s changes include increasing the number of months homeowners can have their mortgages paid from six months with a $12,000 cap on payments to 12 months with a cap of $24,000.”

Florida homeowners to get mortgage paid for year under new Hardest Hit Fund rules

by Kim Miller

Changes to Florida’s more than $1 billion Hardest Hit Fund announced today will increase the amount of time homeowners can get mortgage assistance and eliminate roadblocks that have stymied program eligibility.

The Florida Housing Finance Corporation board approved the new rules in a meeting this morning in Jacksonville, but they must still get approval from the federal government.

Nationwide, $7.6 billion has been doled out to states with the most devastated housing markets through the Hardest Hit Fund, which was announced in February 2010. But a report released earlier this month said the programs, which are developed and administered by individual states, have been slow to start up and have helped too few homeowners.

Florida’s changes include increasing the number of months homeowners can have their mortgages paid from six months with a $12,000 cap on payments to 12 months with a cap of $24,000.

For homeowners who need to bring their mortgage payments current, the cap on payments was lifted from $6,000 to $18,000.

Also, the changes eliminate the requirement that homeowners be less than 180-days late on their mortgage payments. The new program says only that the homeowner cannot be in foreclosure to be eligible.

“We’re very excited to announce these changes just approved by our board this morning,” said David Westcott, director of homeownership programs and chief administrator for the Florida Hardest Hit Fund at the Housing Finance Corporation. “These changes are really good news and beneficial to a lot of hardest hit fund applicants and participants.”

The report earlier this month from the inspector general of the Troubled Asset Relief Program said as of the end of December, the Hardest Hit program has assisted just 30,640 people nationwide and spent only 3 percent of the available funds.

By the end of last year, 3,302 Florida homeowners had been helped with Hardest Hit money, while the state allocated $63.3 million as of February, according to the federal report.

But Cecka Green, communications director for the Florida Housing Finance Corp., said as of April 1, nearly $90 million had been reserved to assist 4,955 homeowners statewide.

About 350 Palm Beach County homeowners have received Hardest Hit money.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 27th, 2012 at 10:39 am and is filed under Condos, Florida economy, Foreclosures, Housing affordability, Real estate bust. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

8 Responses to “Florida homeowners to get mortgage paid for year under new Hardest Hit Fund rules”

1
Get in the Game Says:
April 27th, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Ahhh – the luxury to waste even more money.

Government slays me – throwing money around to grab votes.

And the nonsense continues…

2
lvent Says:
April 27th, 2012 at 12:46 pm
What are they doing? They would be better off rescinding. Or is their fear the hyper-inflated property taxes wont get paid because they ruined the economy? They created a disaster and we are all being bankrupted because of it. We need at least a 2 year property tax holiday to make up some of our losses and a nationwide loan rescission.

3
Craig Fialkowski Says:
April 27th, 2012 at 1:24 pm
As a local Realtor, I find this incredibly disturbing that the government continues to bail out people who will likely end up loosing the home to Foreclosure in the end. This only delays the inevitable and allows people to live rent free with MY tax dollars. I know for a fact several people who can easily afford to pay their mortgage but don’t. So they get the benefit of $2,000 month housing subsidy? Nobody is paying my mortgage but me. If I don’t pay, I’ll get foreclosed on. That’s the way it works! We have raised a society of give it to me for FREE. Also remember, the money goes to the BANKS!!! Backdoor bailout. I can sympathize that people have hardships, but like any responsible human, you need to adjust your lifestyle and reduce expenses. That generally means finding a more affordable place to reside, sell the BMW and buy a KIA, go grocery shopping instead of Ruths Chris. You can’t feed off the government bottle for the rest of your life.

4
Voice of Reason Says:
April 27th, 2012 at 1:47 pm
Craig et al, I couldn’t agree more. I just had my idiot neighbor crying the blues to me about being behind in his mortgage, (among other financial problems), and I noted that he was telling me this upon his return from the Panthers Playoff game with his family. If hockey tickets are more important than paying your mortgage, so be it; but don’t come crying to me and expecting any sympathy and certainly don’t expect a handout! To quote Jerry Seinfeld, “People…they’re the worst!”

5
Tom Says:
April 27th, 2012 at 1:55 pm
What is going on ? What is the incentive to continue to pay your bills ?

6
David Says:
April 27th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
This is just one more way for the government to funnel money directly to the banks. They are simply using the excuse of a homeowner overburdened with an inflated mortgage to do it.

7
Truth Says:
April 27th, 2012 at 3:16 pm
I want my 6 months paid too…

Oh wait, I forgot stupid no longer hurts, and we all have uncle nanny now.

I pay my bills on time, where is my free ride.

8
Florida homeowners to get mortgage paid for year under new Hardest Hit Fund rules Says:
April 27th, 2012 at 6:01 pm

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Weekend Topic Suggestions

Is there any real news to report on the GSE principal reduction front? It almost seems like the airwaves on this story went dead after around April 10, 2012. I’m a bit surprised this isn’t a bigger issue, given the number of wealthy (aka voter) households potentially impacted, whether as payers or recipients of unearned income,and that it is a presidential election year.

Fight brews over principal reduction for upside-down homes
Published: 25 April 2012 08:30 AM
By Brian Bean & Tim Hardin

Lawmakers, finance industry figures and The White House are ramping up pressure over mortgage balance reductions for distressed homeowners.

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, called this week for principal reductions to help ease the global financial crisis and boost a worldwide recovery.

“The housing problem in the U.S. is something that needs to be addressed” and it is “a matter of urgency,” she said last week at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

Her message was aimed at Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees GSEs Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.

DeMarco has overruled requests for principal reductions by GSEs, saying such a move could actually be a more costly solution and prompt homeowners who are not in distress to “strategically” miss payments.

“A key risk in principal forgiveness targeted at delinquent borrowers is the incentive created for some portion of these current borrowers to cease paying in search of a principal-forgiveness modification,” DeMarco said earlier this month at the Brookings Institution.

Eleven state attorneys general recently sent DeMarco a letter urging the FHFA to allow mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to use principal writedowns as a workout solution to “preserve assets and prevent unnecessary foreclosures.”

The Obama Administration has pressured DeMarco to allow GSEs to utilize principal reductions, proposing triple incentives for lenders who participate. Obama even tried to have DeMarco, an independent appointee who does not report to him, removed from the FHFA. But his efforts were blocked by Senate Republicans.

Some lawmakers and banking industry officials oppose principal reductions, saying they’ll do more harm than good.

“Principal reductions create an incentive for a huge group of borrowers who have continued making their payments, despite lower home prices, to stop paying in hopes of principal forgiveness,” Frank Keating, president and chief executive of the American Bankers Association, said this week on The Hill online finance blog.

“A broad principal reduction program would result in fewer investors who are willing to lend for housing finance, increased borrowing costs and tighter credit availability,” he added.

Sen. Bob Corker (Tenn.), a Republican member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, said principal reductions punish taxpayers.

“The last thing the federal government should be doing is taking taxpayer money and creating a program that incentivizes homeowners to not pay their mortgages,” Corker wrote in a letter sent this week to DeMarco.

Officials from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last month sided with lawmakers in urging their conservator to consider principal reductions for the most distressed homeowners. Their requests came after the agencies reworked analyses to account for new triple financial incentives for principal reductions.
…

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[Special Report] RBI 2010 Year End Housing Market Summary [Baltimore Metro]

Posted by Jonathan Miller -Wednesday, March 2, 2011, 12:00 PM
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Here’s a brief recap of the 2010 annual data just released by RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI) covering the Baltimore metro housing market.

View the original article here

[Interview] Jonathan D. Miller, Miller Ryan LLC, Author, Emerging Trends in Real Estate

Posted by Jonathan Miller -Sunday, December 26, 2010, 3:23 PM
1 Comment

I got to interview my namesake, Jonathan Miller who is the longtime author of the seminal publication Emerging Trends in Real Estate, the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) annual commercial real estate industry forecast and speaks extensively on suburban and urban issues.

Our real estate lives have intersected for years.  For example, I would get complimented for a presentation at the Waldorf Hotel (although he gave the speech) while he would get inquiries about the NYC co-op condo market (which I track).

He is the co-founder of Miller Ryan LLC, a firm that provides strategic marketing communications counsel to the financial services and real estate industries.  He also writes over at GlobeSt.com on his Trend Czar blog.

View the original article here

Bits Bucket for May 2, 2012

Here is some of what I found, but, you really need to read the whole thing for yourself. It is publication 590. Look in the stuff about exceptions to the 59 1/2 rule (but read all of it):

Exceptions
There are several exceptions to the age 59½ rule. Even if you receive a distribution before you are age 59½, you may not have to pay the 10% additional tax if you are in one of the following situations.

You have unreimbursed medical expenses that are more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.

The distributions are not more than the cost of your medical insurance.

You are disabled.

You are the beneficiary of a deceased IRA owner.

You are receiving distributions in the form of an annuity.

The distributions are not more than your qualified higher education expenses.

You use the distributions to buy, build, or rebuild a first home.

The distribution is due to an IRS levy of the qualified plan.

The distribution is a qualified reservist distribution.

Most of these exceptions are explained below.

….

First home. Even if you are under age 59½, you do not have to pay the 10% additional tax on up to $10,000 of distributions you receive to buy, build, or rebuild a first home. To qualify for treatment as a first-time homebuyer distribution, the distribution must meet all the following requirements.
It must be used to pay qualified acquisition costs (defined later) before the close of the 120th day after the day you received it.

It must be used to pay qualified acquisition costs for the main home of a first-time homebuyer (defined later) who is any of the following.

Yourself.

Your spouse.

Your or your spouse’s child.

Your or your spouse’s grandchild.

Your or your spouse’s parent or other ancestor.

When added to all your prior qualified first-time homebuyer distributions, if any, total qualifying distributions cannot be more than $10,000.

….

Qualified acquisition costs. Qualified acquisition costs include the following items.
Costs of buying, building, or rebuilding a home.

Any usual or reasonable settlement, financing, or other closing costs.

First-time homebuyer. Generally, you are a first-time homebuyer if you had no present interest in a main home during the 2-year period ending on the date of acquisition of the home which the distribution is being used to buy, build, or rebuild. If you are married, your spouse must also meet this no-ownership requirement.

Date of acquisition. The date of acquisition is the date that:
You enter into a binding contract to buy the main home for which the distribution is being used, or

The building or rebuilding of the main home for which the distribution is being used begins.

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Martha Wire: Kim Kardashian met Martha Stewart for...

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Monday, April 30, 2012, by Sarah Firshein

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? Previous: In Mountains of Montecito, a Contemporary Mansion for $10.5M

? Next: Smooth Dude Barry Manilow Relists His Beachfront Contempo

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Existing Home Sales Report: March 2012

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[Interview PART I] Barry Ritholtz, CEO, Director of Equity Research, Fusion IQ, Author, Bailout Nation, The Big Picture Blog

Posted by Jonathan Miller -Wednesday, October 5, 2011, 12:15 PM
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PART I OF II

I’ve been on a 6 month hiatus from podcasting after 150+ interviews over the previous 2 years – had a bunch of other things going and I needed to take a little break.  I’ve been itching to return and was talking to my friend Barry the other day and he wanted to do another one (his 3rd) and here it is.

It’s “R”-rated (for Ritholtz) so wear your earphones if around sensitive-types as he covers the state of housing, a possible recession and his exciting conference next Tuesday.

This podcast was too big so I cut it into 2 parts.  The next will be up tomorrow.

Enjoy!

View the original article here

HBB Fundraising Week

If you would like to keep the HBB online, please consider donating through the Paypal link in the sidebar or send your contributions to:

PO Box 1764
Flagstaff, AZ 86002

Thank you for your help!

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

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[Special] One Year Anniversary of The Housing Helix Podcast

Posted by Jonathan Miller -Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 5:51 PM
1 Comment

Hey!

Its been a year since I ventured into the world of podcasting. I ended up with 76 podcasts (not including this one) totaling 1.4 days of audio and 1.17 gigs of mp3 files, fraught with audio and hardware challenges, Skype, a new laptop, multiple types of microphones (usb, xlr, lavalier), mixers, cables, scheduling, web site issues, WordPress plug-ins, Amazon S3 and bandwidth made this a year to remember (for me anyway).

Thanks so much for listening!

The idea was to bring the real estate conversation into long form, something I wasn’t able to find anywhere else.  I’ve always loved content you could listen to while commuting that wasn’t sound bite driven and shallow.

For original subscribers, periodic and new listeners, I hope you’ve enjoyed it! I certainly have enjoyed bringing it to you.

In 2010 I plan to deliver more content, more timely uploads (2x per week), off site interviews and a wider interview base, I still need your feedback and suggestions.  I was thinking regular days ie Mondays, Thursdays with special reports interspersed.

While I don’t really have a master plan (despite wide spread rumors of my intentions of global domination) other than this being a fun, entertaining and informative endeavor, I feel strongly that it will lead to other things.  It may already have!  More on that later this year.

Again, thanks for listening and spread the word!

 

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[Stable and Sandy] 1Q 2012 Hamptons/North Fork Sales Report

Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Thursday, April 26, 2012, 2:36 PM
3 Comments

We published our report on Hamptons/North Fork sales for 1Q 2012 this morning.   I’ve been authoring this report series for Douglas Elliman since 1994.

Here are some takeaways:

Overall housing prices (median sales price up 1.2% ) continued to show stability.The luxury market showed larger year over year increases in the price indicators than the overall market.Number of sales were up nominally from same period last year (0.5%).Listing inventory is down sharply year over year (down 17.5%) – home sellers are more cautious about entering the market (ie sales flat but inventory falling).Properties taking somewhat longer to sell and there is a little more negotiability on price between buyer and seller (days on market and listing discount expanded)Despite strength in prices at high end, we saw an uptick in market share of sub-million sales – the decline in mortgage rates and warm weather brought buyers out sooner.

Here’s an excerpt from the report:

Median sales price edged up 1.2% to $630,000 from $622,500 in the prior year quarter. Average sales price increased 17% to $1,437,597 from $1,228,857 over the same period, largely due to continued strength at the upper end of the market. In the median sales price by quintile analysis, the fifth quintile increased 24.8% yearover- year, while the remainder of the market segments showed modest change and mixed results over the same period…

I’ve got a tool to build custom data tables and view charts on the market.

View the original article here

S&P/Case-Shiller: February 2012

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

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Real Estate Sold: Three Top Residential Sales For the Past Week

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Tuesday, May 1, 2012, by Philip Ferrato

There were 87 closings this past week. Here are the three most expensive. Two of them, both Pacific Heights— a co-op and a condo— sold for under asking after languishing on the market. Is this a trend?

Listed for: $4,350,000
Received: $4,000,000
Size: 3-beds, 3-baths
Location: 1940 Broadway, No.6, Pacific Heights
The Story: One of those vast, full-floor co-ops that some people dream about, with incredible views, this sold seven months after listing for $200,000 less than the owners paid in March, 2011 and a whopping $911,000 less than the previous owner paid in March, 2008. March is the cruelest month. Probably unrenovated since the '50s, this looks like a succession of rich-people holds and we seriously doubt anyone's lived there since 2007.

Listed for: $2,995,000
Received: $3,005,000
Size: 4-beds, 3.5-baths
Location: 1340 Cole Street, Parnassus/Cole Valley
The Story: This "sophisticated" if somewhat bland Edwardian house in the "heart of Cole Valley" went for $10K over asking. Great bathrooms, however. There may have been a bidding war— or skirmish— over the move-in ready house, which closed in under six weeks. Well done!

Listed for: $1,849,000
Received: $1,780,000
Size: 3-bed, 3-bath
Location: 2635 Buchanan Street, Pacific Heights
The Story: In a 2-unit Edwardian building, this big classic flat with a garden sold within about six weeks, but it had been on the market for six months back in 2011. The sellers paid $1,780,000 for the condo in 2007, and this time around they had to pay the agent's fee and transfer taxes.

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Photo Ops : Getting To Know the New Bay Bridge

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Monday, April 30, 2012, by Sally Kuchar It seems like everyone's been so excited about the Golden Gate Bridge's upcoming 75th anniversary celebration that we've neglected our less-famous bridge to the east, particularly its replacement's construction. Thankfully, photographer and friend of Curbed SF Bhautik Joshi was lucky enough to partake in a Caltrans boat tour of the under-construction east span of the new Bay Bridge earlier this month. He snapped some great shots with full descriptions of what kind of action is happening. Check out his photos above, and click the link in the photo caption for more information on the construction.
· Bay Bridge tour April 2012 [Flickr] The Bay Bridge, San Francisco, CA

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Constuction Spending: March 2012

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[Special Report] 1Q 2010 Long Island Market Overview

Posted by Jonathan Miller -Sunday, April 25, 2010, 4:54 PM
1 Comment

Here’s a quick recap of the Long Island Market Overview I authored for Prudential Douglas Elliman that we released last Thursday.

 

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[Interview PART II] Barry Ritholtz, CEO, Director of Equity Research, Fusion IQ, Author, Bailout Nation, The Big Picture Blog

Posted by Jonathan Miller -Thursday, October 6, 2011, 8:21 AM
1 Comment

PART II OF II

(Listen to Part 1)

I’ve been on a 6 month hiatus from podcasting after 150+ interviews over the previous 2 years – had a bunch of other things going and I needed to take a little break.  I’ve been itching to return and was talking to my friend Barry the other day and he wanted to do another one (his 3rd) and here it is.

It’s “R”-rated (for Ritholtz) so wear your earphones if around sensitive-types as he covers the state of housing, a possible recession and his exciting conference next Tuesday.

This podcast was too big so I cut it into 2 parts.  The first part was presented yesterday.

Enjoy!

View the original article here

Bits Bucket for May 3, 2012

Corporation$ Inc., don’t need no stinkin’ Gov’t regulation, on account$ of theys “ProFEE$$ional$” & “Ethical$” & good ol’ “Bidne$$Folk$”

” …But those fee$ have more than doubled in recent months, reaching the 24 cent average like all other shops, Duncan said. So retailers selling 99-cent cups of coffee may now be paying almost a quarter in fee$ on a sale.

Card companies “followed the rule but not the spirit of what the Fed said,” Duncan said.”

heheeheeheeheeeheee :-/

Bank$ slash retailers’ debit card fee$:
By Jose Pagliery @ CNNMoney May 3, 2012

End of FDIC program may hurt small firm lending

It’s still unclear whether the savings from lower fees are being passed on to consumers. It’s even unknown whether most shops have seen the savings themselves.

Some have fallen victim to a legal loophole, according to Robert Day, managing partner of Merchant Relief Council, a Tustin, Calif., group which seeks to protect retailer profits.

His explanation involves credit card processing companies, which fill middleman roles between shops and banks.

“Debit card companies had to lower fees to processors, but there’s no rule that says the processors have to pass that on to the merchants,” he said. “They’re pocketing that savings for themselves.”

According to the Fed report, Visa and MasterCard are charging shops 24 cents on average, while Discover’s rate is lower, at 17 cents. A dozen smaller companies fall into a similar range.

It’s a sharp fall from what the big three were charging in 2009, when the average was 55 cents for each transaction.

Today, the cap is set at 21 cents, plus a percent of the sale amount.

In the age of plastic, the total amount buyers put on debit cards has grown. In 2009, $1.4 trillion was spent in 37.6 billion debit card transactions. Last year, $1.8 trillion was spent in 46.7 billion transactions.

View the original article here

[Special Report] 3Q 2010 Manhattan Rental Market Overview

Posted by Jonathan Miller -Monday, October 18, 2010, 9:24 AM
1 Comment

Here’s a brief recap of the results of the 3Q 2010 Manhattan Rental Market Overview I released a few weeks ago.  I am tardy getting this online and recorded it on my iphone late in the evening at my hotel while at a conference.  I’m not up to my sharpest delivery with a bunch of “ums” but as they say (whoever “they” is), it should all about the content or am I getting that confused with “right or wrong spell my name right?

View the original article here

Print Power: Modern Flowers in Kids Rooms

Flowers are generally not thought of as modern or particularly cool. They're a throwback to a Victorian Era of inhibiting dicta and rules, right? Well, I love 'em, always have. It's not always easy to embrace the "girly" when writing for a forward-thinking design site. So when I drummed up the idea to do a roundup of floral rooms, I feared how it might get received. Evidently rightly so. "There are few things that I hate more than floral print and/or ruffles," wrote a commenter on yesterday's shower curtain roundup. Yikes.

And then I searched our archives. How wrong was my perception. These flowers have serious power, y'all. The use of this classic motif here is fresh and free. One room even belongs to a sole boy, who, yes, has forward-thinking parents. Flowers in children's rooms are modern again.

Enjoy.

TOP ROW:
1. Junie's Scandi-Style Room
2. My Room: Felicity
3. My Room: Sullivan
4. My Room: Uggie
5. Maya's Room

BOTTOM ROW:
6. My Room: Baby Z
7. My Room: Bunny
8. Meg's Room for Three
9. Remy's Fantastic Floral Nursery
10. My Room: Jane Elizabeth

(Images credited in original posts)

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More Pain, Less Gain: S&P/Case-Shiller Preview for February 2012

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

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[Special Report] RBI Pending Home Sales Index – January 2011 [Washington, DC Metro]

Posted by Jonathan Miller -Sunday, February 13, 2011, 10:15 PM
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This podcast is an overview of the RBI Pending Home Sales Index – January 2011 covering the Washington, DC Metro area just released for RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI), the data, research and analytics arm of MRIS.

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Open House Report: Weekend Open House Report: Old School Edition

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Friday, April 27, 2012, by Philip Ferrato

This week, a glimpse into the past with three houses from the '30s— in various degrees of vintage fabulous— open on Sunday.

Location: 3845 Washington Street
Size: 5-bed, 4.5-bath, 3,044-square-feet
Price: $3,400,000
Pitch: "Beautiful Presidio Hts. home with wonderful patio and walk out level garden. Elegant foyer with curved staircase leads to both the formal living and dining rooms. Remodeled kitchen with great nook. Both kitchen and dining room have French doors overlooking garden. Fifth bedroom (currently a den)with full bath and powder complete the main floor. Upstairs are a large master suite with dressing area, two additional bedrooms, and fourth bedroom currently used as a library with built-in bookshelves. Downstairs are two storage rooms, an office, and laundry room providing great potential! Two car side by side car has internal access. Lovely level garden! Sunny, wonderful home!"
Our Take: 1938 dress code calls for twin sets, pencil skirts and pearls. Next door to Capri pants and Louboutins at the evergreen 3855 Washington Street. Plus we'd kill for the breakfast nook.
Open House: Sunday, April 29 from 2:00PM to 4:00PM

Location: 45 Yerba Buena Avenue
Size: 3-bed, 3-bath, 2,976-square-feet
Price: $1,449,000
Pitch: "Stately two story three bedroom, three bath home. Elegant scale and style, tax records show 2967 square feet. Excellent floor plan, details, gorgeous hardwood floors, huge fireplace. Lovely garden. Needs some updating. Huge lot, 9374 square feet. Excellent opportunity, detached garage. Very impressive! Walk to West Portal. Trust Sale, no court confirmation. Property purchased As Is."
Our Take: Vast. Empty. Echoing. And is that a buildable lot we see?
Open House: Sunday, April 29 from 2:00PM to 4:00PM

Location: 691 Marina Boulevard
Size: 4-bed, 4-bath, 4022-square-feet
Price: $3,625,000
Pitch: "Experience the finest San Francisco has to offer. Built in 1937, just as the Golden Gate Bridge was being completed, this magnificent home is the perfect blend of classic style and modern convenience. The superb Spanish design blends perfectly with the picturesque bay setting. A tasteful 2005 renovation has brought this property into the new century. Enjoy unparallel views of two world renowned landmarks right from the front windows and patio. This once in a lifetime opportunity is a rare chance to call Marina Boulevard home."
Our Take: Ever wonder what those fabulous old 1930s houses along Marina Boulevard look like inside? Surprisingly depressing— and recently reduced $200K.
Open House: Sunday, April 29 from 2:00PM to 4:00PM

View the original article here

[Special Report] 4Q 2009 Long Island Market Overview

Posted by admin -Monday, February 8, 2010, 12:28 PM
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Here is a brief recap of the 4Q 2009 Long Island Market Overview my appraisal firm Miller Samuel prepares for Prudential Douglas Elliman. I am a bit tardy getting this recap to podcast from this quarter.

4Q 2009 Long Island Market Overview [Miller Samuel]

 

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Business Insider’s “The Best Finance People On Twitter”

Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Sunday, April 22, 2012, 11:15 AM
2 Comments

Well I’ve locked myself in my office for the past few days placing the finishing touches on the upcoming week’s (Thursday) housing market reports for Long Island and Hamptons/North Fork but noticed about 500 new followers on my twitter account.

Business Insider, the giant blog aggregator with an online newsroom, placed me on their “The 101 Finance People You Have To Follow On Twitter“

The only name noticeably absent (has to be an oversight!) is my friend Barry Ritholtz who is a twitter content machine, known to wear Ted Baxter ties.

Very cool to be on the list with the very people I already love to follow. Thanks @BusinessInsider!

View the original article here

Production Innovation and Industry Relationships Lead to Record Traffic in 2012

Spring is upon us and the first part of 2012 is in the review mirror.  It has been another busy start to the year for Trulia and we wanted to take a minute to share some Truli-a-mazing milestones and achievements.

Let’s start with a few key milestones:

In March 2012 (source: comScore) we overtook Realtor.com in unique users for the first time in Trulia’s historyMarch 2012 was a record month in mobile visitsMarch 2012 was the largest traffic month in company history

We welcomed another member to the ranks of our senior management team-Lee Clancy joined the Trulia family as our new VP of Consumer Products. He is focused on creating more local, social and mobile tools, furthering our commitment to providing the inside scoop. Here are the latest and greatest:

iPhone Rentals App — On the heels of super-popular Android rentals app, we created Trulia Rentals for iPhone, which caters to renters’ tight time frames by providing instant notifications about new rental listings, plus a color-coding system to easily keep track of all currently-available rentals.Trulia Local — “What is it like to live here?” That’s a burning question that crosses the mind of every homebuyer and renter. Now with Trulia Local, you can visually see real estate values, crime, school ratings and local amenities on a single map.Trulia Insight — Leveraging “big data,” Trulia Insight provides real estate pros with deeper knowledge of their client needs by exposing them to their clients home search preferences, plans to buy in the next six months and whether or not they are pre-qualified for a mortgage.Trulia Estimates — To help give homeowners a starting point for estimating their home’s value and understanding current market trends, we rolled out Trulia Estimates to more than 50 million off-market homes, townhomes and condos in nearly 500 counties across the country.Optimized Trulia iPad – The launch of the new iPad was a great opportunity to update our top-rated iPad real estate app to take full advantage of the great new iPad features. We’ve improved the speed of our app for users on 4G LTE networks. You’ll also see optimized “retina”-true icons and graphics. And our heatmaps look fantastic on the new iPad, too.

We’ve also been hard at work on the industry side creating partnerships with some of the biggest MLSs and brokers across the country.

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), the largest MLS in the country, announced a direct syndication to Trulia. This strategic partnership with Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) to directly syndicate more than 100,000 listings to Trulia providing consumers with the most accurate information on homes for sale across Chicago, northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana.Alain Pinel Realtors is the largest privately owned and independent real estate company in California and they partnered with Trulia to further their reach and enhance their brand awareness. They are committed to reaching buyers in the places they are looking online, which increasingly is more mobile and this new partnership helps them enhance their online strategy.Better Homes and Gardens Mason-McDuffie embraced Trulia to bring their agents, brokers and consumers on Trulia closer together. This partnership provides their listings with extensive exposure.Carpenter Realtors partnered with Trulia to reach more homebuyers in the state of Indiana and within the first few weeks of this new partnership, they saw a huge spike in the amount of exposure that our listings got to prospective homebuyers, which more than doubled their incoming lead traffic.

Lastly, since we are obsessed with providing the inside scoop, we’re always looking for new ways to understand what’s happening in the real estate market. Under the leadership of our Chief Economist Jed Kolko, we published a series of new housing data reports to help shed more light on where people are looking to move tomorrow and how home prices and rents are trending today. Together, these reports–which include the Trulia Price and Rent Monitors, the Trulia Metro Movers report, the Trulia Rent vs. Buy Index and the Trulia Housing Barometer–provide a forward-looking way of understanding the housing market.

We got a lot accomplished to start 2012 but we’re only getting started!

Author information not available.

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[Special Report] 1Q 2010 Manhattan Rental Market Overview

Posted by Jonathan Miller -Thursday, April 8, 2010, 11:34 PM
1 Comment

I take another shot at my podcast recording adventure using my iPhone and the resulting sound quality isn’t bad.

The 1Q 2010 Manhattan Rental Market Overview that my firm Miller Samuel prepares for Prudential Douglas Elliman was published today.  Look for a lot of extracurricular Manhattan market rental analysis between now and the 2Q release in July.

How I did it – Once I record the podcast on my iPhone, I am able to convert the file to an mp4 fomat on my iPhone, upload the file to my ftp server.  I then grab the file from my ftp server and copy it onto my laptop, move it into the Garageband app, add the intro and outro, apply the filters, convert to a new mp3 file and export into iTunes and then upload to this blog. Phew!

 

View the original article here

Accelerating Mobile with Akamai

At Trulia, mobile is an extremely important channel for us and we now see more than 30 percent of our traffic being driven through mobile applications. In our industry, mobile performance is critical because buyers and renters are always on-the-go. That’s why we use Akamai to bring a better quality experience to our mobile users across our mobile site and mobile apps

Here’s our VP of Product, Lee Clancy, talking about Trulia’s relationship with Akamai:

PR @ Trulia. Pop Culture Vulture

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Top 10: Top Ten Least Expensive Properties For Sale in the FiDi

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Wednesday, May 2, 2012, by Sally Kuchar

This week we'll be exploring life downtown - specifically the Financial District. We combed through the listings to find the ten least expensive properties for sale in the FiDi. We should point out that while the first half of the list (10 - 5) is mighty pricey, it gets cheaper towards the end, and the least expensive of all is actually the newest member of our Under 500K Club. As always, we didn't include any property that has a sale that's pending. As you can see above, FiDi's boundaries (according to the realtors) are Stockton to the Embarcadero and Market to Broadway. Have a neighborhood you'd like us to highlight? Send it to the tipline or leave a comment after the jump. Let's get this party started!

10) #2303 at 611 Washington Street
Asking price: $1,625,000
Size: 1-bed, 1.5-bath, 1,547-square-feet
Price per square foot: $1,050
The skinny: Monthly HOA dues are a staggering $1,928. From the listing we learn that "a permit to merge this unit with the adjacent one (#2304) has been obtained for the discerning buyer who is willing to do some work to get a spectacular and over 3,000-square-foot unit for a combined price of $3,975,000." [Ed. note: You can see that listing here. It's listed for $2,350,000.] Building amenities include doorman, pool and gym. 1-car valet parking is available for an additional $240 per month.

9) #3706 at 333 Bush Street
Asking price: $1,600,000
Size: 2-bed, 2-bath, 1,668-square-feet
Price per square foot: $959
The skinny: "The ideal San Francisco View Home!!" It's on the 37th floor and it's in the FiDi so this unit's got views of the Golden Gate Bridge, North Bay, Transamerica Building, Coit Tower, Bay Bridge, etc. Monthly HOA dues are $1,079 and there's 1-car valet parking for an additional $275 per month.

8) #2901 at 333 Bush Street
Asking price: $1,349,000
Size: 2-bed, 2-bath; 1,320-square-feet
Price per square foot: $1,022
The skinny: 39th floor and cheaper than the previous one that's on the 37th? We suspect the 37th floor unit has fancier finishes. Monthly HOA dues are $1,079 and there's valet parking for an additional $275.

7) #46 at 550 Davis Street
Asking price: $1,295,000
Size: 2-bed, 2-bath, 1,471-square-feet
Price per square foot: $880
The skinny: This is a rad light-filled 2-level condo located in the rich with foliage Golden Gateway Complex. Monthly HOA dues are $965 and there's 1-car parking in the garage.

6) #42 at 640 Davis Street
Asking price: $1,285,000
Size: 3-bed, 2-bath, 1,471-square-feet
Price per square foot: $874
The skinny: This townhouse is being described as a "rarely available Architecturally Award Winning" unit. It too is located in the Golden Gateway Commons. Monthly HOA dues are $794 and there's 1-car parking in the garage.

5) Unit C at 845 Montgomery Street
Asking price: $968,000
Size: 2-bed, 2-bath, 1044-square-feet
Price per square foot: $927
The skinny: This unit's been pricechopped to pieces, and has been on the market since October of 2009. The building was featured in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. Monthly HOA dues are $684 and there's 1-car parking in the garage.

4) Unit D at 25 Hotaling Place
Asking price: $595,000
Size: 1-bed, 1-bath, unlisted square footage
Price per square foot: Unavailable
The skinny: First listed for $609,000 in March, this unit's now asking $595,000. Monthly HOA dues are a low $383 and there's no mention of parking.

3) Unit 6D at 946 Stockton Street
Asking price: $530,000
Size: 3-bed, 2-bath, 991-square-feet
Price per square foot: $535
The skinny: This unit at the Mandarin Tower has a glorious walkout patio with views of Nob Hill and Russian Hill. Monthly HOA dues are $627 and there's no mention of parking.

2) Unit 10D at 946 Stockton Street
Asking price: $525,000
Size: 3-bed, 2-bath, 991-square-feet
Price per square foot: $530
The skinny: Also located in the Mandarin Tower. We should point out that this is basically Chinatown, but we're playing by Realtor Rules so we're following their boundaries. We should point out that the listing says "soon to be build subway station just right across street." Monthly HOA dues are $605 and there's no mention of parking.

1) Unit #413 at 733 Front Street
Asking price: $499,000
Size: 1-bed, 1-bath, 800-square-feet
Price per square foot: $624
The skinny: While it did make it into our Under 500K Club, it's a short sale. It's been on the market since March of 2010. Monthly HOA dues are $649 and there's no mention of parking. Right now it's been renting for $2,500.

View the original article here

The Question For Buyers; Will The Investment Pay Off?

A report from the Santa Fe New Mexican. “Santa Fe’s housing market has lost its fear. With buyers finally stepping up, the number of residential sales in the first quarter was the highest in five years. ‘I think the buyers are tired of waiting,’ said Stephanie Duran, an agent with Barker Real Estate. ‘My gut is they’re tired of being afraid. The threat of higher interest rates is greater than the fear of maybe declining prices.’”

“As home prices collapsed — down perhaps 30 percent from the top of the market in Santa Fe — many homes were pulled from the ‘For Sale’ listings, and refinanced or converted to rentals. Other owners simply cannot sell because their house is worth less than what is owed to the lender. These owners would have to write a check at closing to cover the difference between what they would net with a sale and what is owed on the mortgage. These factors have resulted in less inventory, which is down 30 percent from 2010.”

“‘The decrease in inventory has created more urgency,’ said Warren Sacks, VP of Barker Real Estate. ‘Buyers recognize if they don’t buy this property, it might not be there.’”

“Janice Diamond, a self-employed massage therapist, was one of those on the hunt for a house Wednesday. She’s been in Santa Fe for 25 years and is renting a place off Rodeo Road. She’s looking for more open space, fresh air and a home where her aging mother can live independently. Now she’s back with a mission of owning a home by the end of summer and has been looking with Barker agent Francine Miles. Her quest for a home with a ‘mother-in-law’ suite for about $300,000 would have been impossible a few years ago, Miles said.”

“The short sale Diamond looked at has been priced at $319,000, or $152 a square foot, for 260 days. ‘You get to the point where the banks don’t want to lower it anymore,’ Miles said. Diamond also looked at a bank-owned, 2,000-square-foot home on 1-plus acres. It was described by Miles as ‘a smokin’ deal,’ for $304,000. But many of the wood floor planks were missing, the vigas were aging, the home would need a new back deck and front portal, and there was no cooling.”

“The question for Diamond, as with all buyers, is whether the investment would pay off. ‘If it [the market] goes up, what would this be worth?’ she asked.”

From KVUE in Texas. “Cynthia Mattiza of Realty Austin says it’s a seller’s market right now. ‘I tell buyers, ‘If you like it, act on it now,’ said Mattiza. ‘A house goes on the market and literally within seven days, you probably have multiple offers.’”

“Ryan Rodenbeck of Spyglass Realty and Investments says homes within four miles of downtown and Central Austin are in high demand. He says homes move fast when the presentation and price are right. ‘The last seven houses we listed this year have gone full price or above,’ said Rodenbeck.”

The San Antonio Express in Texas. “Home building is on the way back. San Antonio-area home builders in the first quarter started 1,636 homes, a 10.4 percent increase over the same quarter last year. Lot supply continues to be an issue for the building industry. The San Antonio market has 18,636 vacant lots, a 31.8-month supply. But the 90 most-active neighborhoods have just a 17.6-month supply, a shortage.”

“And it’s harder to qualify for a mortgage now than in recent memory. Jack Shull, San Antonio branch manager of Guild Mortgage Co., said it’s possible — but it can be time-consuming — for first-time buyers to get mortgage loans. A few years ago, no-documentation loans, known by the industry as “liar’s loans” were prevalent and helped contribute to the housing crash. ‘We’re still able to get people qualified. It’s just much more tedious. We put them through so many more hoops and bells and whistles,’ Shull said. ‘It’s more time-consuming. But frankly, it should be. Today I think people understand that buying a home is a serious thing.’”

From KTEN in Texas. “In Grayson County, the real estate market is gleaming with possibilities. Tour a few neighbors in Grayson County and you will find the occasional for sale sign. ‘Our months of inventory have come down from about 13 to 11,’ says Mark Tooley, Virginia Cook Realtor.”

“With interest rates near 4 percent, folks are excited to purchase. ‘A lot of people think I can’t get a loan, but that’s not necessarily true. You have to be able to pay your mortgage and have good credit, but there’s a lot of money out there to be loaned,’ says Tooley.”

“And on the flip side, sellers, you can now make your investment back. ‘Today if you bought your home in the last four, five years, you can probably sell it for what you paid for it. If you bought it 20 years ago, you’re going to make a little extra on the side,’ says Ron Schildknecht, association executive, Greater Texoma Association of Realtors.”

Pegasus News in Texas. “The Huse family finally got tired of all the driving. Two years ago, they packed up and moved to the Mosaic Building in downtown Dallas. With any family living downtown, safety is also often an issue. Safety issues used to keep Heather Huse up at night, but now an automatic alarm system and a host of other safety perks let her sleep in peace. ‘There’s one door in and one door out, so if I lock it, that’s it,’ she said. ‘The building emergency system takes care of that for me, and worrying about break-ins is no more because I’m 18 floors up with a locked door.’”

“The Montgomery’s have resided on the 17th floor of the Gables Republic Tower for nearly three years. Shannon Montgomery and husband Ken Montgomery knew what an exciting experience living downtown would be for their two daughters, ages 7 and 10. ‘I started becoming more relaxed in situations where other parents would be very nervous,’ said Ken Montgomery. ‘With cars and trains flying by, I know what to expect with my kids because they spent time living around it.’”

“‘It’s important to be alert, stay together and aware of what’s going on around you,’ said Shannon Montgomery. ‘Our girls have learned that, and it makes them grow.’”

My San Antonio in Texas. “The posh but troubled Boot Ranch golf resort near Fredericksburg is on the market. Boot Ranch, a 2,051-acre master-planned golf community in Gillespie County, started selling luxury lots in 2005. But the upscale neighborhood has been slow to materialize. ‘It was a terrible time to try to get off the ground,’ said John Flournoy, managing broker of the Phyllis Browning Co. ‘They were about 18 months slower than they should have been. If they had opened earlier, they would have had a year or two of appreciation on the front end. They opened when the market started sliding.’”

“About 39 estate lots out of 110 have been sold, eight homes have been built and two homes are under construction, according to Land Advisors. Flournoy said the project is too far from Austin and San Antonio to attract buyers who are still working and has suffered from competing with the better-located Horseshoe Bay and Cordillera Ranch. But he thinks it will eventually succeed. ‘Boot Ranch will survive this,’ he said. ‘In 20 years, it will be successful.’”

From Tulsa World in Oklahoma. “In one Tulsa County neighborhood, landlord Harry Heuszel owns several rental properties. He paints over bare plywood nailed to windows and doors of abandoned homes owned by others. He even tries to match the paint so that it blends in with the existing trim color as part of an effort to keep up neighborhood appearances. ‘It’s hard to rent these houses when you got a ghost town over here,’ Heuszel said.”

“In Lake View Heights, most homes saw no change in value in the past year. But among those that did, the change was drastic. One home sold for $60,000 in 2006. After remaining unoccupied for five years, it sold again for $6,000. Another home in the same neighborhood, a 975-square-foot, 57-year-old frame structure, also sold for $56,000 in 2006. A local real estate investor purchased the home in 2010 for $7,000, records show.”

“Heuszel has been watching all of those home sales and others in the neighborhoods since the mid-1990s, many of which he says were overvalued. ‘These homes were never worth that,’ Heuszel said, ‘as far as I’m concerned.’ Heuszel, who owns about 10 rental homes in the neighborhoods, blames the banks. ‘The banks were greedy to loan money,’ Heuszel said. ‘The banks would loan $45,000, $52,000 and $57,000 on these things.’”

“Out-of-state investors purchased some homes, installing new windows, central heat and air conditioning, even granite counter tops. ‘And guess what? They couldn’t sell them for $45,000,’ Heuszel said. ‘So they went belly up.’”

“County Assessor Ken Yazel said his office takes into account abnormal sale prices. ‘If I have a neighborhood of, say, 200 homes and there’s been 25 sales - and a person came from California and paid too much - we don’t want that to raise the values of everybody else,’ Yazel said.”

“Peter Lewis, 69, is one of those who admits he didn’t research the area well enough when he purchased a couple of homes in the area with cash in 2008. Coming from his native England, Lewis said the $18,000 and $24,000 sale prices seemed like bargains when he bought the homes. He has renovated both homes, but now said he just hopes to recoup his investment. ‘If I get more money back, I’ll be lucky,’ Lewis said.”

View the original article here

[Three Cents Worth NY #187] Manhattan Mortgage Rates Are Listing

Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 11:11 PM
No Comments

It’s time to share my Three Cents Worth on Curbed NY, at the intersection of neighborhood and real estate in the capitol of the world. And I’m simply here to take measurements.

Read today’s 3CW post on Curbed New York:

By far the three most popular observations about the Manhattan housing market to date in 2012 are: “mortgage rates are at historic lows” and “listing inventory is tight” and…ok, there are just two that are worthy.

I thought I’d mash them together and see what happened since I’ve never made the direct association. Admittedly I was surprised with the visual that resulted….

[click to expand]

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[Special Report] 4Q 2010 Queens Market Overview

Posted by Jonathan Miller -Thursday, January 20, 2011, 5:32 PM
2 Comments

Here’s a brief recap of the 4Q 2010 Queens Market Overview that my firm prepares for Prudential Douglas Elliman.

View the original article here

[Special Report] 1Q 2010 Brooklyn Market Overview

Posted by Jonathan Miller -Monday, April 19, 2010, 10:59 AM
1 Comment

Last Thursday we published our 1st Quarter 2010 Brooklyn Market Overview and since I am in the throes (sp?) of working on our upcoming Long Island and Hamptons/North Fork reports to be released later this week, I am tardy posting my quick summery to the site.  I view this particular podcast as basically an excuse to play with my iPhone recording software but there is some fairly coherent info presented on the numbers presented in the report.  Check it out.

 

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