Items of Interest HURRY UP WILL YOU Catering to the time-crunched consumer, manufacturers such as Viking Range, TurboChef Technologies and Wolf Appliance are pitching a range of extra-fast appliances that promise to cook or clean in a fraction of the time of traditional devices, notes the Wall Street Journal. New induction cook tops use magnetism to channel heat directly to a pot or pan. High-speed ovens rely on a combination of microwaves and fast-blown air. And fast-cool compartments in refrigerators blow cold freezer air on beverages. German appliance-maker Miele just launched a restaurant dishwasher configured for home use that offers cycles as fast as 10 minutes. But kitchen designers say that consumers may not be willing to pay more than double for such appliances when they can get high-quality take-out instead, though supposedly not for washing those dishes. Nevertheless, appliance makers are betting on speed to boost lackluster sales. Appliance makers are even touting features that will save time on little things: Sears's Kenmore brand recently introduced a speed-brew coffee maker and a toaster that cuts about 60 seconds out of the process of browning bread. Sears and other manufacturers have also rolled out dryers with steam "refresh" cycles that aim to de-odorize and de-wrinkle clothes in around 15 minutes. One of Viking's new ovens - which uses air moving as fast as 44 miles an hour to cook food five times faster than a conventional oven - starts at $2,300. TurboChef just unveiled a consumer oven that uses a new technology to cook food up to 15 times faster - touting, among other feats, the four-minute rack of lamb. It starts at $6,000. SLEEP WELL All new mattresses and mattress sets must meet revised fire-safety standards, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, reports the Washington Post. The commission's new guidelines do not make mattresses fireproof. But the measures are expected to slow fires by controlling the spread of open flames, decreasing fire intensity and delaying what is called flashover, when the entire mattress is engulfed in flames. Under the current standards, that fearsome point can be reached in less than five minutes. The commission estimates that at least 240 mattress fire-related deaths and more than 1,000 injuries will be prevented with the new rules, by giving people more time to escape. Manufacturers can comply by coating mattresses in chemicals or by making them with fire-retardant materials. New mattresses that meet the guidelines will carry a mandatory label referring to the commission's new rule, 16 CHR Part 1633. Look for the label, because stores will be allowed to sell non-compliant mattresses they had in stock before the rule took effect. BUILDER
CONFIDENCE SLUMPS TO LOWEST LEVEL IN 16 YEARS OVERHEATED HOUSING MARKETS COOL DOWN A new study says the number of homes in overvalued markets dropped in the first quarter of 2007, according to CNNMoney. A report from the financial service companies, National City Corp and Global Insight, says the number of single-family homes that they judged overvalued in the United States fell from 17 percent in the last quarter of 2006 to 14 percent in the quarter ended March 31. Of the 317 metro areas covered by the survey, 157 of them experienced price declines during the quarter. That - combined with wage gains and steady interest rates - reduced widespread overvaluation of homes. The report's authors determined proper home values based on population density, relative income levels, interest rates and historically observed market premiums or discounts. They compared them to actual selling prices to arrive at overvaluations or undervaluations. The latest price declines were mostly clustered in areas that had seen big price run-ups during the boom, with California, Florida, New York and Massachusetts taking hits. The report identified Bend, Ore, as the most overvalued metro area in the nation. The median single-family house price there is more than $324,000, almost twice what it sold for four years earlier and 78.7 percent over the survey's valuation price. Naples, Florida, which had led the pack for several years, had price declines that enabled it to slip into third place at 63.4 percent overvalued. In second place was Prescott, Arizona, at 64.6 percent. The most undervalued market, according to the survey, is Dallas, where homes sell for 24.9 percent below their proper price. AMERICANS ARE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT REAL ESTATE A survey by Boston Consulting Group showed that 55 percent of Americans believe that their own home is worth more money today than it was a year ago, according to Dow Jones in Realtor magazine. About 75 percent believe that they could sell their homes within the next six months at the price they set. And 63 percent continue to believe that real estate is a good or excellent investment. Nearly 70 percent of home owners say they are likely to make renovations in improvements to their homes in the next year and nearly 67 percent said the state of the current housing market has had no effect on their spending. "Americans believe their homes are still their best investment," says Michael J. Silverstein, a Boston Consulting senior partner. "They're positive about their homes' value and believe in a bounce-back in residential real estate overall. Talk of declining average values of homes is not forcing a cutback in spending. It's just not translated into the American psyche." POPULATION IS BOOMING IN SOME CITIES The largest population growth nationwide between 2005 and 2006 occurred in urban hubs in the South and the West, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau figures, says Realtor magazine. New York continued to be the nation’s biggest city, with 8.2 million residents. This was more than twice the population of Los Angeles, which ranked second at 3.8 million. Phoenix, with a population of 1.5 million, edged out Philadelphia to become the nation’s fifth most-populous city. Houston is fourth; Chicago is third. BUT IN WHICH WATERS WILL HE SWIM NOW Rupert Murdoch is preparing to sell his waterfront home on Long Island's North Shore for $14.8 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. The asking price for the home on Centre Island would be nearly double what the publishing executive and his wife Wendi paid four years ago. The property's 4.6 acres include a pool with 950-square-foot guest house, a tennis court, a beach cottage and a boat mooring. The white wood-frame, Federal-style main house, known as Rosehearty, measures about 10,000 square feet, overlooks Oyster Bay Harbor and has 11 bedrooms, high ceilings, oak floors, an elevator and a private generator. The couple - well, Wendi probably didn’t pony up her half - paid $7.78 million for the estate in 2003. They added an electronic gated entrance; other work included wrought-iron fencing around the property and redecorating. Murdoch is currently renovating a penthouse on Fifth Avenue. He paid $44 million for that home in 2005, then the highest price ever for a New York City residence. GOOD FOR GEIGER Basketball star Matt Geiger is selling his party house near St. Petersburg, Fla., because he and his girlfriend are expecting their second child, reports the St. Petersburg Times in Realtor magazine. The 28,000-square-foot has the master bedroom and all the other bedrooms on different floors. It also boasts 40 televisions, 18 of them wired with Xbox; a putting green; a man-made lake stocked with 2,500 bass; and a herd of livestock including 12 buffalo, 11 Watussi, two donkeys, a miniature horse and one cow. The swimming pool holds 330,000 gallons of water and has a central lava pit. One of the hot tubs has a built-in checkerboard. A checkerboard? There are several lavish bars, a DJ station and dance floor, a pizza oven and a cigar room. Plenty of partiers can be accommodated in the 5,200-square-foot guest house. The house is listed at $19.9 million. PICTURE THIS Fashion photographer Mario Testino has signed a contract on a New York City condominium for close to $6.3 million, the asking price, says the Wall Street Journal. Testino's roughly 2,600-square-foot apartment is in 40 Bond, a soon-to-be completed downtown Manhattan project of hotelier and developer Ian Schrager. Based in London and well-known for portraits of celebrities such as Princess Diana and her sons, the photographer will have as a neighbor Ricky Martin, who has signed a contract to buy a similar, $6.3 million apartment in the loft-style building. Both apartments will have three bedrooms, three and a half baths, 10-foot tilt-and-turn windows and 11-foot ceilings. HERE’S A PIECE OF PALM BEACH FOR A PITTANCE The home of the late sportscaster Curt Gowdy has sold in the city for $19.5 million, reports the Wall Street Journal. The "voice" of the Boston Red Sox first listed his lakefront home for $27 million two years ago, but its price was cut to $25 million shortly before his death last year. The final listing price was $22 million in December. Gowdy, who died last year at age 86, and his wife Jerre paid $1.7 million for the home in 1988, according to public records. The buyer is Mitchell Morgan, 52, a real-estate investor based in greater Philadelphia, and his wife Hilarie, a psychologist. The Spanish Mediterranean-style home of 12,600 square feet was built in about 1929 by Palm Beach architect John Volk for Edward B. Adams, a senior partner in the E.F. Hutton brokerage firm, and was once owned by a granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller. The couple replaced the electric, plumbing and air-conditioning systems, put in a new roof and gutted the kitchen. The property includes a six-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bath main house, a two-bedroom garage apartment, a staff apartment, a pool, terraces and a dock for a boat as long as 40 feet.
Bran Castle, one of Romania's top tourist attractions and a must-see for fans of literature's most famous vampire, is up for sale, says the Wall Street Journal. Those willing to brave a price tag that could exceed $100 million will get the keys to the castle that inspired settings in Bram Stoker's "Dracula," said Michael Gardner, chairman of Baytree Capital, the New York private-investment firm handling the sale. The building in the Transylvanian region of Romania has become known throughout the world as Dracula's Castle and is currently being used as a museum, he said. But Archduke Dominic Habsburg and family, the current owners of the property, aren't looking for just any old investor to bite. The firm was brought on to not only sell the place, but to develop a plan for it as well, Gardner said. Gardner said the castle and the land around it is ripe for the development of tourist amenities including hotel accommodations and spas, all while "keeping the castle as centerpiece of the resort area." Already, 450,000 people visit the castle annually, he said. So don’t walk, run! HOUSING PRICES ARE HAMPERING RELOCATION EFFORTS Of the North American companies polled by Prudential Relocation in 2006, almost 47 percent agreed that the present state of the job and housing markets was getting in the way of their relocation efforts, according to Investor’s Business Daily in Realtor magazine. Experts say more and more workers do not want to sell their homes at a loss in order to move for employment purposes. And while many companies offer relocation assistance, a growing number are adding in restrictions as a way of controlling costs. Some companies that agree to purchase a relocating employee's home if it does not move off the market fast enough have implemented new restrictions - such as preventing workers from selling their properties for more than a certain amount above the appraised value, forcing them to work with an approved real estate agent and not proceeding with the buyout until the home has been on the market for as many as 120 days. DON’T GO THERE Moscow is the world’s most expensive city for expatriates for the second consecutive year, according to the latest Cost of Living Survey from Mercer Human Resource Consulting. London is in second position, climbing three places since last year. Seoul moves down one place in the ranking to take third place, followed by Tokyo in fourth. Asuncion in Paraguay is the least expensive city for the fifth year running. Covering 143 cities across six continents and measuring the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment, the study found that Europe dominated the top 50; it had 30 cities on the list and six of the top 10 spots. Strong currencies helped push most European cities higher for 2007. Only two US cities made the list (New York City at 15 and Los Angeles at 42) because of the weak US dollar. PUT IT THERE In vacation spots from Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts to Puget Sound in Washington, home buyers are increasingly paying big premiums - sometimes as much as twice the cost of comparable properties - for waterfront homes that come with their own docks, the Wall Street Journal observes. In parts of South Carolina's marshy Low Country, docks are doubling property values, while in Puget Sound they're increasing values by as much as $500,000. In the Northeast, the dock premium has reached as high as $1 million on Long Island and $4 million or more on Nantucket. In Laurel Harbor, N.Y., a two-acre parcel with a 150-foot beach and a 75-foot dock was recently listed for $1.4 million - even though local zoning rules prohibit the construction of a house on the property. And in Cove Neck, N.Y., a buyer recently paid $3.4 million for a waterfront home - and then promptly tore it down. The value, the listing agent on the sale says, was in the dock. It's nearly impossible to build a new dock in many parts of the country because of environmental regulations, local ordinances or, in some cases, outright bans on new construction. In the Long Island village of Centre Island, which hasn't seen a new dock built since the 1970s, pop star Billy Joel recently gave up his five-year battle to build a dock after running up against federal environmental laws. PREDATORS ARE IN HOT PURSUIT OF TROUBLED BORROWERS With the housing market in decline, the New York Times notes that financial predators are finding yet another way to take advantage of people who fall behind on their payments. Their schemes take various forms and often involve promises to distressed homeowners of cash upfront, free monthly rent and a chance to retain their houses in the long run. But in the process, someone else takes over the deed, borrows as much as possible against the value of the house and pockets the cash. And, almost always, the homeowners still end up losing their homes. There are no nationwide numbers on this common fraud, known as equity stripping, but it has turned up in almost every state. Seven states have passed laws to try to stop it. Still, with foreclosure rates rising rapidly, it will be a growing problem, consumer advocates say. PENDING HOME SALES CONTINUE TO FALL The forward-looking Pending Home Sales Index dropped 3.5 points to 97.7 in May from a downwardly revised April index of 101.2, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That number is 13.3 percent lower than May 2006, when the reading was 112.7. In April, the index was 10.4 points lower than a year earlier. Commented Lawrence Yun, NAR senior economist: "Some transactions are being postponed from mortgage market disruptions." Mortgage purchase applications are trending up, with some of the rise due to buyers reapplying for alternatives to subprime financing, Yun said, adding that "home sales should stay close to present levels in the months ahead given an accumulating pent-up demand." SALES OF PREVIOUSLY OWNED HOMES ARE AT A FOUR-YEAR LOW Activity in the U.S.
eased slightly in May as potential buyers hold out until they
see more signs of stability in the housing market, according to
the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The median price slipped
and inventory rose as well. "I think psychological factors
are currently the biggest drag on the housing market, in addition
to a disruption from tighter credit for subprime borrowers,"
opined Lawrence Yu SALES OF NEW HOMES ARE DOWN ONCE AGAIN They fell 1.6 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 915,000 units, according to figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department. The pace was 15.8 percent below a year earlier. "The gradual decline in new-home sales is still underway, and we expect this trend to continue as the market approaches the bottom," said Chief Economist David Seiders of the National Association of Home Builders. "We expect home sales to stabilize before the end of the year, followed by a systematic multi-year recovery beginning in 2008." The inventory of new homes for sale edged down 1.1 percent to 536,000 units, equivalent to a 7.1 months' supply and up slightly from 7.0 months in April. The median length of time that completed homes were on the market was 5.7 months in May, down from 5.9 months. DECLINING PRICES PERSIST IN THE U.S. A home-price index that tracks 20 U.S. metropolitan areas measured the 17th consecutive period of annual decline in April, according to Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite index, reports Inman News. The monthly index has been in negative territory since January 2007 when compared with results in 2006. And the 10-city index experienced an annual decline of 2.7 percent in April, the largest decline since late 1991 for that index, according to the report. Fourteen of 20 metro areas in the 20-city index had year-over-year price declines in April, the report says. The most extreme price index drops were in Detroit, down 9.3 percent; following, in order, were San Diego, down 6.7 percent; and Washington, D.C., down 5.7 percent. The metro areas with the largest year-over-year price increases in April were Seattle, at 9.6 percent; Charlotte, N.C., 7 percent; and Portland, Ore., 6.4 percent. HOUSING STARTS FALL, BUT BUILDING PERMITS RISE Housing starts fell 2.1 percent in May as the correction in the housing market persisted. Starts were down 24.2 percent from a year earlier. But Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal found good news in a 3 percent rise in building permits, an indication that things could be better down the road. "Home sales most likely will erode somewhat further in the months ahead, and improvements in housing starts probably will not be recorded until early next year," commented David Seiders, chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). "The downswing in new housing production is still underway, although the rate of decline has slowed since late last year. We still expect starts and permits to bottom out late this year before a systematic recovery process begins in 2008." Robert Mellman, an economist at JPMorgan Chase added that there will be "continuing declines" in home building through the second of this year. "If rates hadn't gone up, we would have expected it would have stabilized. We've put off the stabilization in housing until early next year," said he. Total building permits increased 3.0 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.501 million units, reflecting a spike in multifamily permits. Total permits were down 21.7 percent from a year earlier. IF YOU LIVED THERE, YOU’D BE BORED BY NOW The metropolitan areas encompassing Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind. and Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa. tied for the title of most affordable major U.S. housing market in this year's first quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI. Lower home prices and mortgage interest rates helped boost housing affordability across the nation in the first three months of this year, though obviously not everywhere. The latest HOI shows that about 44 percent of new and existing homes that were sold in the United States during this year's first quarter were affordable to families earning the national median income, up from 41.6 percent of homes sold in the final quarter of 2006. The median sales price of all Indianapolis homes sold in the first quarter was $116,000, and the median sales price of all Youngstown-area homes sold was just $78,000. Once again at the bottom of the affordability scale was Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif., where just 3 percent of homes sold in the first quarter were affordable to families earning the metro's median household income of $61,700. The median price of all homes sold in that area was $525,000. As the third least affordable major metro, New-York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J. was the only non-California location within the bottom five.
The UCLA Anderson Forecast noted that "the credit crunch in the subprime mortgage market will likely trigger a second leg down in the housing market in terms of output and prices." In his national report, UCLA Anderson Forecast Senior Economist David Shulman writes: "We previously had thought that housing starts would bottom in the 1.4-1.5 million range; we now think the bottom could be around 1.2-1.3 million units with the risks still on the down side. Moreover, the recent weakness we have experienced in home prices will likely tend to accelerate with the nationwide peak to trough declines ranging from 5-10 percent."
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.63 percent for the week ended July 3, down from last week’s 6.67 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.79 percent, according to Freddie Mac. The 15-year FRM was 6.30 percent, down from 6.34 percent the week before. A year ago, it averaged 6.44 percent. Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 6.29 percent this week in comparison with 6.30 percent the prior week and 6.39 percent a year earlier. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs were 5.71 percent, up from last week, when it averaged 5.65 percent. At this time last year, the one-year ARM was 5.83 percent. "Long-term mortgage rates continued to move lower for a third consecutive week, in part reflecting a moderation in core inflation," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. THE DEFAULT RATE FOR CREDIT-RISKY BORROWERS IS HIGH So-called Alt-A mortgage loans made in 2006 are going bad at more than four times the rate as similar loans made in 2004, said analysts at Standard & Poor's. Alt-A loans are offered to home buyers who don't have perfect credit but who are considered less of a risk than subprime borrowers. After 14 months of seasoning, 4.21 percent of Alt-A loans securitized and sold on Wall Street in 2006 are 90 days or more delinquent, or have been foreclosed. That statistic compares with 1.59 percent for 2005 vintage Alt-A loans and .91 percent for the 2004 vintage with the same amount of seasoning, Standard & Poor's said. Standard & Poor's attributed the higher rate of serious delinquencies in the 2006 vintage to a greater proportion of loans made to borrowers with limited income documentation and little equity in their homes. "The most disconcerting trend is how quickly the performance of these delinquent borrowers has deteriorated," Standard & Poor's analysts said. "We continue to see migration from 60-plus-day to 90-plus-day delinquencies within the 2006 vintage, suggesting that homeowners who experience early delinquencies are finding it increasingly difficult to refinance or work out problems." SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE GETS AN EARFUL ON APPRAISALS Unscrupulous lenders and mortgage brokers have "a totally free shot" at appraisals because they are able to coerce appraisers in an "unregulated wilderness" where rules don't exist or aren't consistently enforced, a spokesman for appraisers told lawmakers, according to Inman News. Alan E. Hummel, chairman of the Appraisal Institute's government relations committee, told members of a Senate subcommittee that such coercion, whether it's subtle or blatant, can have devastating impacts. "People have lost their homes to foreclosure; entire segments of the mortgage market have collapsed; and mortgage fraud has surged," Hummel told the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development. "Neighborhoods throughout the country have been devastated by mortgage lending abuse." Sometimes, appraisers are told to doctor their reports or lose out on future assignments, Hummel said. Or they will be told to overlook material issues or conditions that would prevent an appraisal from hitting a predetermined number, "or else." HOME EQUITY LOAN DELINQUENCES EDGE UP Credit card loan delinquencies declined the first quarter of 2007, according to the American Bankers Association's Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin. But home equity loan delinquencies increased to 2.15 percent from 1.92 percent. Late payments on credit cards were 4.41 percent of all accounts in the first quarter compared with 4.56 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 (seasonally adjusted). LOAN ACTIVITY IS STEADY Mortgage loan application volume inched up just 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended June 28 from one week earlier, reports the Mortgage Bankers Association. On an unadjusted basis, volume declined 0.1 percent but was up 9.7 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. Refinancings went down 2.6 percent from the previous week, and purchase applications dipped 2.0 percent seasonally adjusted. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 37.8 percent of total applications from 38.7 percent the previous week, and the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share grew to 21.0 percent from 20.4 percent. THE FEDS TIGHTEN SUBPRIME GUIDELINES, CLOSING BARN DOOR Federal bank, thrift and credit-union regulators issued beefed-up guidelines aimed at curbing weak underwriting standards for "subprime" mortgage loans, says the Wall Street Journal. The guidelines require more than 8,000 federally regulated lenders to underwrite loans based on a borrower's ability to make payments on a loan's adjusted rate, not just its low introductory rate. Roughly 75 percent of the subprime adjustable-rate mortgages offered last year were loans with a low flat or "teaser" rate for the first two or three years and then a higher, floating rate for the life of the 30-year mortgage. With limited exceptions, the guidelines expect lenders to collect much more information to prove that borrowers have the capacity to pay. In addition, lenders are directed to give borrowers the option to refinance out of an adjustable-rate mortgage at least 60 days before the interest rate jumps to a higher level, without penalty. ARE MORTGAGE BROKERS THE KEY TO SUBPRIME MESS Mortgage brokers are involved in about 58 percent of home loans, up from 40 percent a decade ago, according to Wholesale Access, a research firm in Columbia, Md., observes the Wall Street Journal. They originate about half of loans made to borrowers with good credit. Their presence is even greater in other segments of the mortgage market where defaults are rising. Brokers originate about three-quarters of subprime mortgages made to borrowers with scuffed credit, according to Wholesale Access. They also originate 70 percent of so-called Alt-A mortgages, a gray area that falls between prime and subprime. Mortgage brokers didn't set the standards for the many aggressive loans that are now going sour. But they provided the low-cost sales force that made it possible for lenders to quickly ramp up production without hiring employees. As business surged, some brokers put borrowers into loans they didn't understand, couldn't afford or were otherwise ill-suited for, one reason defaults have skyrocketed. In the worst cases, brokers have been known to falsify information and resort to other fraudulent means to get mortgage loans approved. Critics say regulators and lenders haven't done nearly enough to insure the quality and integrity of this independent sales force. "The mortgage brokers are the wild, wild West of mortgage finance," Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, told the Journal. "We need to bring a sheriff to town."
The Manhattan residential
real estate market continues to be characterized by falling inventory,
rising prices and a record number of sales in contrast to the
national housing market. According to the Miller Samuel appraisal
firm, the number of sales increased 104 percent in the second
quarter, to 3,939 units as compared with the 1,934 units sold
in the same quarter last year. Listing inventory STABILIZED RENTS ALLOWED TO RISE, BUT LESS THAN IN 2006 Rents for the one million rent-stabilized apartments in New York City can go up by as much as 5.75 percent over the next two years, the city’s Rent Guidelines Board voted, according to the New York Times. The board voted 5 to 4 to allow increases of 5.75 percent on two-year leases and 3 percent on one-year leases. The rent board did not make a separate adjustment for tenants who pay their own heating bills, as they had the previous four years. The increases, which are smaller than those approved last year, are for leases renewed between Oct. 1, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2008. THE CODE IS CHANGED TO MAKE FOR SAFER BUILDINGS The City Council approved the first major overhaul of the city’s building code since 1968, greatly expanding fire safety requirements, encouraging environmentally sound construction and simplifying operations at the Department of Buildings. The updated code, which is to be reviewed for possible revision every three years, adds sprinkler requirements for smaller buildings, raises standards for smoke detectors, strengthens safety regulations for high-rise residential buildings and provides for rebates on permit fees if buildings meet higher environmental design standards and undertake more environmentally friendly practices. Plus ça change When the loft living had its beginning in olden times, the 1970s, the units tended to be crude, grim and grungy. It was artists, after all, who popularized them as residences; their appeal was their cost and the appropriateness of the space for work studios. That made sense, so those artists were at the cusp of gentrification wherever they began renting, then buying their lofts, originally in SoHo. The lofts were notable for their creaky floors, undivided "rooms" (sometimes even the bathrooms), antediluvian kitchens (not infrequently mere hotplates), encrusted walls and ceilings (not necessarily tin), Alpine staircases, drafty windows and rasping freight elevators (if they existed at all). No one would call those living quarters homey or their neighborhoods of warehouses and light industry anything but intimidating or unwelcoming to the general public. Vestiges of the period remain throughout the city, but unimproved lofts have become a scarce commodity. How times have changed! The years have been kind to lofts: Many have been renovated and thus transformed into dwellings equal in luxury and finishes to their uptown counterparts. It is hardly a revelation that their popularity has so grown that numerous new buildings have been designed to contain only lofts; their style has become virtually an industry standard - open kitchens glossy with stainless steel, stone countertops and professional equipment; vast living areas that segue seamlessly from one to the other; high ceilings, often with exposed ducts; and oversize windows. Although many lofts in converted buildings retain the disadvantages of limited views and light entering only from front and back, even many of those units manage to minimize those drawbacks. The tradeoff of sunshine for floor space can be well worth the exchange, and prices usually reflect any deficits. As for their neighborhoods, onetime backwaters have become beacons of upscale boutiques, specialty stores and destination restaurants. Some even have newer parkland, notably that on the Hudson River at the edge of TriBeCa. Many are within walking distance to the increasingly heated financial district. More so perhaps than any other category of Manhattan housing, prices for lofts have gone through the roof. (Sorry, couldn’t resist the pun: no editor.) The median sale price in the second quarter was $3.6 million, hundreds of thousands of dollars higher than comparable figures for co-ops and condos, according to the Miller Samuel appraisal firm. High though they may be, such prices derive from the market in general and from the quality of the units, some of which are notable. Consider the light-filled 3,570-sf corner loft that is convenient to a Tribeca subway stop as well as eateries such as David Bouley Café. On only the third floor of an old building, this eye-stopping condo has been elegantly renovated to make the most of expansive living and dining areas, a wood-burning fireplace, 10.5-foot exposed brick and wooden beamed ceilings, rough-hewn cedar pillars and wide-plank maple floors. The master suite has a very large walk-in closet (currently filled with clothing that is almost entirely black) and a bath with steam shower, soaking tub, double sinks and walls of travertine marble. As for its perfectly placed half-open kitchen, there is a six-burner Viking stove with a hood vented outside, SubZero refrigerator, Miele dishwasher, beautiful custom cabinets and countertops of cream-colored marble. In all, there are three bedrooms, two and a half baths, a laundry closet, 120 feet of secure extra basement storage, and a surfeit of style. For this property, the price of $4.9 million with $1,370 in common charges is well within reason. Other TriBeCa lofts listed by various brokers and seen recently:
Upper West Side Some of the listings by various brokers seen since the last newsletter:
NoHo A sampling of listings by various brokers seen since the last newsletter:
And these from around town:
Manhattan Market Update
The number of sales increased 104 percent in the second quarter as compared the same quarter last year, according to the Miller Samuel appraisal firm. Listing inventory dropped 31.5 percent from the prior year quarter total. Prices were generally up, with the greatest price gains seen in larger apartments. The median sales price increased 1.7 percent to a record $895,000 over the prior year quarter result of $880,000 (7.2 percent above prior quarter result of $835,000). Co-ops
Condos The median sales price of a condo this quarter was $1,040,000, up 5.1 percent from last year at this time and up 5 percent from the prior quarter. Average price per square foot and average sales price showed similar patterns. Inventory levels for condos totaled 2,756 units, down 22 percent from the prior year quarter total of 3,535 units. New development is estimated to be 34.9 percent of condo inventory this quarter. Luxury
Properties The median sales price of a luxury apartment this quarter was $3,600,000 this quarter, down 10 percent from the record $4,000,000 median sales price set in the prior year quarter last year at this time but up 5.1 percent from the prior quarter. Average price per square foot and median sales price also showed declines from the prior year quarter. However, since this segment of the market is defined as a percentage of the total market, the declines reflected a wider range of included sales because of the surge in the overall number of sales. The three- and four-bedroom markets are more reflective of the high end market this quarter.
The median sales price
of a loft apartment this quarter was a record $1,650,000, up 10
percent from last year at this time and up 1.2 percent from the
prior quarter. Average price per square foot and average sales
price showed 6.5 percent and 10 percent gains respectively from
the prior year quarter. Some of Manhattan's Latest Listings Please click here to view available properties. (To view all photos, tours, floor plans and maps, please use Internet Explorer.) Click Here to Sign Up For Your Free Issue of Realty Digest!
©
2007 Service You Can Trust |
n,
NAR senior economist. Total existing-home sales - including single-family,
townhomes, condominiums and co-ops - dipped by 0.3 percent to
a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.99 million units from an
upwardly revised pace of 6.01 million in April. May’s sales
were 10.3 percent below the level a year earlier. Household formation
has slowed dramatically since late 2006, implying that many people
are adding roommates or moving in with parents, Yun added. The
national median existing-home price for all housing types was
$223,700 in May, a 2.1 percent drop from May 2006, when the median
was $228,500. With characteristic understatement, Yun said that
the market is "underperforming when you consider positive
fundamentals such as the strength in job creation, economic growth,
favorable mortgage interest rates and flat home prices."
Total housing inventory rose 5.0 percent at the end of May to
4.43 million existing homes available for sale, representing an
8.9-month supply at the current sales pace and up from an 8.4-month
supply in April.
dropped 31.5 percent
to 5,237 units from the prior year quarter total of 7,640 units;
the second quarter of 2006 had registered the highest level in
more than 10 years. Days on market were 117, four weeks shorter
than the same period last year. The listing discount was 2.2 percent,
down from 3.5 percent during the same period last year. Prices
were generally up, with the greatest price gains seen in larger
apartments - namely three- and four-bedroom units; they gained
17.6 percent and 36.2 percent respectively over the same period
last year. The median sales price increased 1.7 percent to a record
$895,000 over the prior year quarter result of $880,000 (7.2 percent
above the prior quarter result of $835,000). The average price
per square foot increased 5.2 percent to a record $1,139 over
the prior year quarter result of $1,083 (6.4 percent above the
prior quarter result of $1,070). As for the average sales price,
it decreased 3.8 percent to $1,333,316 over the prior year quarter
record result of $1,386,193 (3.3 percent above the prior quarter
result of $1,290,391). 
