Items of Interest ARE SOME SUBURBS THE NEXT SLUMS Arthur C. Nelson, director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech, obviously does not wear rose-colored glasses. He has looked carefully at trends in American demographics, construction, house prices and consumer preferences and has painted a disconcerting picture. In 2006, using recent consumer research, housing supply data and population growth rates, he modeled future demand for various types of housing, according to the Atlantic Monthly. Nelson forecasts a likely surplus of 22 million large-lot homes (houses built on a sixth of an acre or more) by 2025 - that's roughly 40 percent of the large-lot homes in existence today. For 60 years, Americans have pushed steadily into the suburbs, transforming the landscape and (until recently) leaving cities behind. But today the pendulum is swinging back toward urban living, and there are many reasons to believe this swing will continue. As it does, many low-density suburbs and McMansion subdivisions, including some that are lovely and affluent today, may become what inner cities became in the 1960s and '70s - slums characterized by poverty, crime, and decay. So much for manicured lawns. TRADE GROUP ISSUES A PREDICTABLY SUNNY SUMMER FORECAST A flat pattern in
home sales activity should continue for the next couple of months
before improving over the summer, according to the latest forecast
by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Said Chief Economist
Lawrence Yun: "Things are beginning to improve." Adding
that he continues to look MONEY MAGAZINE LOOKS AHEAD The monthly quotes the National Association of Home Builders as predicting that newly built houses will have layouts that can "live bigger" than their square footage would suggest, with rooms that can do double duty. As for mortgage pricing, it may come to resemble pricing for, say, homeowners insurance, which takes into account dozens of factors. Lenders "want to be able to assess the risk, practically down to the biological level, that you won't pay your mortgage," says Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH Associates, which tracks the home-lending market. And with more innovative real estate Web sites popping up, everyone now knows how much everyone else's house is worth, and consumers will continue to have unprecedented access to housing information that was once found only in multiple listing services. WHEN WILL THEY STOP BUILDING CONDOS Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, which is based in Encino, Calif., estimates that nearly 202,000 condo units will be added this year to the pool of 574,000 added nationally in the last five years, reports the New York Times. Next year will bring 94,166 more units onto the market. "We have not even approached the bottom and will not approach the bottom until 2009," said Hessam Nadji, managing director of research services at Marcus & Millichap. So far, the Manhattan market has been largely spared, in part because of foreign owners who never sought a quick profit. By the end of the year, about 15,000 units will have been added during the five-year condo boom in Manhattan, according to the Miller Samuel appraisal firm. CEO Jonathan Miller said that foreigners, who have bought up to a third of these new condos, typically put in more cash and plan to hold for some time. "They're in it for the long-term equity play," he said. "They're looking for a 10-year hold." A THIRD OF U.S. METRO AREAS HAD 1ST QUARTER PRICE RISE According to the latest quarterly survey by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), median prices for single-family homes rose in 48 of 149 of the areas compared with one year earlier. But 100 had price declines; one was unchanged. The median existing single-family home price was $196,300, down 7.7 percent from the first quarter of 2007. "These are highly unusual results because there were very few jumbo loan originations in the latest quarter, so sales are much slower in high-cost areas," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "At the same time foreclosures related to subprime mortgages rose." Median first-quarter metro area single-family home prices ranged from $65,400 in the Saginaw-Saginaw Township North area of Michigan to nearly 12 times that amount in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara area of California, where the median price was $780,000. The second most expensive area was San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, at $701,700, followed by Honolulu at $620,000. In the condo sector, metro area condominium and cooperative prices - covering changes in 55 metro areas - showed posted a median for previously owned apartments of $216,900 in the first quarter, down 3.0 percent from $223,700 in the first quarter of 2007. Twenty-three metros showed annual increases in the median condo price, 31 areas had price declines and one was unchanged. Metro area existing-condo prices ranged from a median of $106,600 in Wichita to $546,700 in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont area. The second most expensive condo market reported was Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, at $343,700, followed by the New York-Wayne-White Plains, area of New York and New Jersey at $333,800. Total state existing-home sales, including single-family and condo, were down 0.9 percent from the fourth quarter; they were 22.2 percent below the first quarter of 2007. BUT YOU ALWAYS CAN FIND ONE WHEN YOU NEED ONE Since real estate has lost some of its sizzle, fewer people are signing up to take the licensing exam, reports the Real Deal. Also, fewer real estate pros are renewing their licenses after their two-year expiration period. The result is the first drop in the number of licensed agents - and brokers - in several years. The industry may continue to become less crowded, since stiffer licensing requirements enacted by New York State go into effect this summer, which may cause even fewer people to decide to renew. While there are still more brokers and agents showing property than at the peak of the boom in 2005, when the state had 146,325 active licenses, the number of people taking the exam has dropped more than 8 percent since then. According to figures provided by the Department of State, the number of licenses statewide has dropped by 1,736 in just over two months, to 153,467 in comparison with an increase of 2,764 last year. Currently, 68 percent of brokers and 62 percent of sales agents pass the New York exam. INVESTORS ARE SQUEEZING RENT-REGULATED TENANTS As regulatory filings and promotional materials show, some private investment firms expect to generate higher returns quickly by increasing rents after existing tenants vacate the units in hundreds of buildings the firms have acquired, according to the New York Times. Their success depends upon far higher vacancy rates than are typical in rent-regulated apartments in New York. Some residents and tenant advocates say that they began seeing what they consider a pattern of harassment of low-income tenants this year and suspect that it is a result of the new owners' business models. Tenants have been sued repeatedly for unpaid rent that has already been received by the landlords; they have been sent false notices of rent bills, lease terminations and nonrenewals; and they have been accused of illegal sublets. The companies dispute the charges of harassment and say they are protecting their rights. Nevertheless, tenants must answer the notices in court, but many have responded by moving out, court documents indicate. When they vacate the apartments, the owners can increase the rents substantially. "Predatory equity is undermining the best efforts of New York City and state elected officials to slow the loss of affordable housing," said Benjamin Dulchin, deputy director of the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, a nonprofit organization. "Both the private equity funders and the lending institutions are aware, or should be aware, that harassment of tenants is taking place as a result of their financial models." IF YOU THINK SIZE COUNTS, READ THIS Despite a slight drop in its broker ranks, Prudential Douglas Elliman is Manhattan's biggest residential brokerage, according to the Real Deal. But the Corcoran Group, the second-biggest firm in terms of the number of agents, inched out the archrival this year in exclusive sales listings. In the monthly trade magazine's survey of the top Manhattan firms, Elliman secured the No. 1 ranking it has maintained since the survey started in 2004, but the number of its brokers dropped 3 percent in the year ending last month to 1,464 agents. At the 15 biggest Manhattan firms, four companies saw a drop in the number of agents this year, more companies than any previous year since 2005, the first year the Real Deal did a year-over-year comparison. THERE'S KEY MONEY AND KEY MONEY, AND THIS IS KEY MONEY An heir to a billion-dollar fortune just paid a beleaguered mortgage executive $21 million simply for the right to take over the lease to the exec's Fifth Avenue mansion, according to the Observer. That's a good thing for the seller, Michael Strauss, the president and chief executive of American Home Mortgage. His firm, once one of the biggest lenders in the country, filed for bankruptcy last year after a titanic downfall and has reportedly faced conspiracy, fraud and money-laundering investigations. PRICE-CUTTING MAY BE ACCELERATING In the 30 days through the first week of May, prices were cut on about 17 percent of the co-ops and condos in Manhattan, according to an analysis of listings on Streeteasy.com, a Web site that compiles information from most brokerage firms, reports the New York Times. Prices rose on around 2 percent of all Streeteasy listings. Among the most expensive properties - those listed for $10 million or more - there were fewer price changes, but price cuts outnumbered price increases by a ratio of 10 to 1. Actual sales data from deeds and tax records filed with the city's Finance Department showed that prices rose last month, with the average sale price on a co-op or condo reaching $1.45 million, up 17 percent from a year earlier. The median price was $927,500, also up 17 percent. FORECLOSURES SLIP BUT REMAIN HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR April registered the third consecutive month with more than 300 foreclosures, PropertyShark.com reports. Although the latest number, 329, was 6.8 percent lower than March, the year-over-year increase was 84 percent. Single- and two-family dwellings mostly in Queens and Brooklyn were the most common property types scheduled for an auction. Queens continues to show the most foreclosure activity out of all the boroughs, with 58 percent of New York City's total number of newly scheduled auctions. Brooklyn regained the second spot with a 28 percent monthly increase, reaching, with 55 new foreclosures, its second highest number in two years. Despite a 36 percent drop from the previous month, Staten Island, up 180 percent, had the highest year-over-year increase among the five boroughs. The Bronx and Manhattan were the least affected and made up only 11 percent of the city's total number of new foreclosures. NEW RESIDENTS ARE KEPT FROM NEARBY SCHOOLS Lower Manhattan's population has experienced a post-Sept. 11 baby and building boom, and the highly regarded schools in the neighborhood - P.S. 234 and P.S. 89, in Battery Park City - are faced with a glut of children and nowhere to put them. Some three dozen children are already on the waiting lists for these schools. A growing chorus of public officials and parents warns that similar problems could crop up in other neighborhoods across the city where, they say, a rise in residential development is not being accompanied by a similar rise in new public schools. In a 114-page report, William C. Thompson Jr., the city comptroller, derided the school system's capital planning process as "broken," concluding, "There are far too many neighborhoods with overcrowded schools and no hope of relief for at least several more years." He pointed to neighborhoods such as the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Long Island City and Flushing in Queens, Downtown Brooklyn and Dumbo in Brooklyn, and Soundview and Throgs Neck in the Bronx, saying he was concerned that residential construction in those places was outpacing new schools. THE STATE IS BEARING DOWN ON REAL ESTATE FRAUD Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo is stepping up efforts to crack down on real estate fraud and other violations, reports Crain's. In March, the AG's freshly beefed up Real Estate Finance Bureau charged the Miami-based Related Group with selling more than 65 unregistered Florida condo units to New Yorkers in violation of state law. That suit followed one in November, charging a Brooklyn developer with fraud and deceit in the sale of 12 newly constructed condominiums in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood. That case was the first such case against a developer filed by the once moribund Bureau in more than two years. "What happened under Eliot Spitzer was just neglectful," says Douglas Heller, head of the co-op and condo practice at law firm Herrick Feinstein, a former assistant attorney general who typically represents developers. "There was no enforcement under Spitzer, absolutely none." In contrast, Cuomo has doubled the bureau's enforcement staff in the last year, hiring four attorneys in January alone. He also gained legislative approval for a 30 percent increase in the filing fees for big real estate developments, with the proceeds going to the real estate bureau. "They're really just getting the group off the ground," says Jeanne Matase, a partner at Pryor Cashman who represents developers. With more people, she says, the bureau will also be able to speed up its review of new projects. In previous years it was common for offering plans to languish at the AG's office for six to nine months. "They're supposed to respond to your initial filing within 30 days, Matase says. "Volume-wise, they were drowning." ON A CLEAR DAY, YOU CAN YEARN FOREVER New Jersey's Gold Coast, directly across from Manhattan on the Hudson River, has had condos selling well despite prices that are very high by the state's standards, observes the New York Post. Last year, for example, the still unfinished 77 Hudson in Jersey City set a state record when it sold a $6 million combined condo unit. The Beacon development, also in Jersey City, has sold 90 percent of the apartments in the first two of its five buildings (the third went on the market last weekend with units from $340,000 to $2.1 million. The W Hoboken, which is part-condo, part-hotel, sold all 40 of its condos at around $1,100 per square foot. Also in Hoboken, Hudson Tea ($475,000-$2.3 million) has sold more than 90 percent of its units in the two buildings that have been released. Down the road at Maxwell Place (with prices from $600 to $1,350 per square foot), the entire first building sold out and the second, 372-unit phase, including 10 townhouses, is more than 90 percent sold. While sales might not be as swift as they were in 2004 and 2005, this year's prices are "significantly higher" than in 2004 or 2005," says Benjamin Jogodnik, senior vice president at Toll Brothers, which is building Maxwell Place and Hudson Tea and posting significant earnings declines nationwide. (See below.) "We have had no price reductions." DRINK UP AND HOLD IT IN The Water Board was poised Friday to raise water and sewer rates by 14.5 percent, ignoring a last-minute plea by a majority of the City Council to postpone its meeting until more revenue data becomes available, reports the New York Post. The rate hike would kick in July 1. In a letter to Mayor Bloomberg, the council members said the rate hike could be limited to 5.5 percent if the administration didn't force the Water Board to make rent payments, which are based on the size of its growing debt load. Those payments come to $68 million this year and $122 million next year. The mayor has adamantly refused to surrender any Water Board payments, saying the city needs the money to balance its own budget. RATES CONTINUE THEIR DOWNWARD DRIFT The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.01 percent for the week, down from last week's 6.05 percent 6.15 percent last year at this time, according to Freddie Mac. The 15-year FRM was unchanged at 5.60 percent and below the 5.87 percent rate of a year earlier. Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) were 5.57 percent this week in comparison with 5.67 percent the prior week and 5.89 percent the prior year. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.18 percent, down from last week, when it was 5.29 percent, and last year, when it averaged 5.48 percent. "Recent remarks by Federal Reserve officials, which partly bolstered optimism that financial markets will recover later this year, helped mortgage rates ease up a little this week," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "Fed Chairman Bernanke indicated in a speech on May 13 that the Fed stands ready to continue to add liquidity to the markets. On the same day, San Francisco Fed bank president Janet Yellen added that she anticipates inflation will slow as commodity prices level off in the second half of the year." IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD, IT'S GETTING HARDER TO BORROW The Federal Reserve's
survey of banks' senior loan officers, one of the most closely
watched gauges of lending practices, found that the credit crunch
is widening, according to the Wall Street Journal. The TWO BROOKLYN LENDERS FACE FEDERAL CHARGES The owners of a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based mortgage company face conspiracy, wire fraud and bank fraud charges stemming from Olympia Mortgage Corp.'s dealings with Fannie Mae and Credit Suisse First Boston. Inman News says Leib Pinter, 64, is accused of fraud in connection with the alleged theft of $44 million in proceeds from refinance loans funded by Fannie Mae and Barry Goldstein, 59, allegedly sold nonperforming loans to Credit Suisse First Boston using falsified loan histories, prosecutors said. If convicted of either of the conspiracy to commit wire fraud or wire fraud counts, Pinter faces a prison sentence of up to 30 years, as does Goldstein if convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud counts. WILL THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TRACKS BECOME THE OTHER SIDE Not likely. But homeowners in some of the toniest ZIP codes in the Hamptons are facing a frightening reality: They can't afford to foot the bill for their high-priced homes, according to the New York Post. In the first three months of this year, banks have launched preliminary foreclosure actions - known as lis pendens proceedings - against a record 120 borrowers in East Hampton and Southampton towns. Twenty percent of those borrowers live in homes that are worth more than $1 million, according to figures from the Suffolk County clerk. A total of 10 East End homes, including a massive Westhampton mansion, has been foreclosed outright so far this year. In addition, more than 800 East End homeowners - a mix of rich and middle-class people from Riverhead to Montauk - have been flagged by credit-monitoring companies this year for late payments. MORTGAGE VOLUME IS ON THE RISE For the week ending May 9, loan applications grew by 2.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. On an unadjusted basis, the growth also was 2.9 percent, but activity declined 1 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. Refinancings went up by 6.5 percent from the previous week and purchase activity slid by 0.7 percent. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 48.7 percent of total applications from 47.1 percent the previous week, and the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share rose to 8.3 percent from 6.8 percent. REMODELING ACTIVITY REMAINS WEAK BUT IS NOT WORSENING The level remained steady during the first quarter of 2008, according to the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI). The current market conditions indicator increased to 41.8 from 40.9 in the fourth quarter, while the future expectations measure showed no change from the previous quarter at 37.9. The RMI measures remodeler perceptions of market demand for current and future residential remodeling projects. Any number over 50 indicates that the majority of remodelers view the market conditions as improving. The RMI has been running below 50 since the final quarter of 2005. "The remodeling market continues to show weakness, following the downturn in the overall housing market," commented NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders, stating the obvious. "We expect there to be some further erosion in 2008, with a gradual recovery in 2009." PROSPECTIVE BUYERS SAY THEY ARE WARY OF FORECLOSED HOMES Trulia.com says a
new study conducted by Harris Interactive found that more than
half of all U.S. adults HOME BUILDERS' OUTLOOK NEARS DECEMBER'S RECORD LOW They remained considerably downbeat as market conditions continued to erode in May, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI fell a single point to 19, bringing it within one point of the record low 18 set in December 2007. (The series began in January of 1985.) "Conditions have continued to deteriorate in recent times," said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. "The latest HMI shows that even fewer builders now foresee market conditions improving over the next six months compared with our April survey, and builder ratings of buyer traffic through model homes also have dropped off over the past month on a seasonally adjusted basis." The HMI's component index gauging current sales conditions declined one point to 17 in May - its lowest level since the series began 23 years ago. Moreover, the component gauging sales expectations for the next six months declined three points to 27, and the component gauging traffic of prospective buyers declined two points to 17. A ROTHSCHILD CLOSES ON A MODEST PENTHOUSE Baron Eric de Rothschild, who helped bring the family bank back to France after it had been nationalized and has spent the past 34 years running the vineyards at Château Lafite Rothschild, has purchased for his wife, painter Maria-Beatrice Caracciolo Di Forino, a Village penthouse where she can do some work whenever they're staying in New York, says the Observer. According to deeds, they paid $1.15 million for the one-bedroom, 1,050-square-foot co-op at 40 West 12th St. Rothschild reportedly bought the apartment for his wife so she could have a place "to be more connected to the art market." The co-op is said to have a wood-burning fireplace, two skylights, a wall of original wrought-iron glass doors and great north light. HE WAS FORE-SIGHTED IN 1990 Hank Aaron has listed his West Palm Beach, Fla., home, which borders a golf course, for $900,000, reports the Wall Street Journal. He also owns a larger house in the area, purchased more recently. In Presidential Estates, a small gated community in West Palm, the listed house, at 3,500 square feet, has five bedrooms and comes with a sunken bar and a pool. The property has 110 feet on the golf course. In 2002, the 74-year-old Aaron and his wife Billye paid $460,000 for the 1990 house, now somewhat renovated. Two years ago, the Aarons bought a 4,100-square-foot house in the area for $975,000. It's on Lake Mangonia and has a pool. They also have a home in Atlanta. ONE HOME AT A TIME FOR THIS TV WRITER-PRODUCER Norman Lear, 86, and his wife Lyn closed on a 38th floor condominium at 15 Central Park West last month, paying $10 million, according to city records, reports the Real Deal. The two-bedroom, 2,367-sf apartment went into contract in October 2006 and the sale was finalized April 28. Other entertainment figures in the trophy tower include Warner Bros.' president Alan F. Horn, Sting, Denzel Washington and Tokyo-born director and producer Keiko Ibi. ON A CLEAR DAY, SHE AND HER HUBBY CAN SEE FOREVER Elizabeth Hasselbeck and her husband Tim Hasselbeck. The blond Survivor star who turned View co-host and the Arizona Cardinals quarterback just bought a four-bedroom, 2,349-sf apartment at Ariel West, the new tower at Broadway and 99th Street, says the Observer. According to city records, they spent $3.25 million. The floor plan shows that two of the bedrooms, the 30-foot living/dining room, the family room and the master bathroom are all lined against a massive wall of windows. It's not the first Upper West Side place for the couple. They spent $999,000 in 2005 on an apartment 20 blocks south, city records show; they haven't sold off that place yet. MAYBE "REAL ESTATE AGENT CODY BANKS" IS HIS NEXT MOVIE Frankie Muniz has relisted his Los Angeles home after taking it off the market for two months, says the Wall Street Journal. The actor trimmed the price to $3.7 million from $3.88 million for the 4,200-square-foot house in the Hollywood Hills, which has five bedrooms and a pool. The exterior has Balinese detailing, yet is somehow described as "traditional." (Maybe in Los Angeles, that works.) Muniz starred in the television series "Malcolm in the Middle" and several movies, including "Agent Cody Banks." In 2005, the actor, who is now 22, bought and sold five houses in the same neighborhood as the listed house, for which he paid $3.49 million in January 2006. It had been remodeled the year before. INDUCTION COOKTOPS ARE BECOMING MORE POPULAR So-called "smooth-tops," a category encompassing glass-ceramic surfaces that employ radiant heat generated by electrical elements underneath, are facing new competition from induction cooktops, says the Washington Post. Like other flat cooking surfaces, induction models are powered by electricity. However, instead of generating heat, the electricity creates a magnetic field that transfers current directly to the cookware. There are several benefits to this technology. For one thing, induction cooking is more efficient because there is less energy loss between the induction element and the pan. It is also considered safer, because the cooktop itself doesn't get very hot. There are downsides to the new technology. For one, induction cooktops are relatively expensive, starting at about $1,500 and reaching about $4,000. Induction models also require an investment in appropriate cookware. Sales have picked up just within the past six months, says Jim McCoy, president and chief executive of the Kitchen Guild, a design-build firm with four locations in the Washington area. The sleek, minimalist look is especially popular in urban areas and among fans of contemporary design. Still, sales of electric cooktops of all kinds have fallen even as the devices have improved. They held a 62.1 percent market share compared with gas models just a couple of years ago but fell to 58.7 percent last year. SLOW DOWN, YOU'RE GOING TOO FAST Advocates of a fledgling decorating philosophy known as "slow design" urge homeowners to feel comfortable letting their décor grow organically, adding one unique item at a time, says the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in Realtor magazine. "It's a big investment, and you're going to live in the space for a long time. Decisions shouldn't be made over a glass of wine on a weekend," says Wynne Yelland, principal with Locus Architecture in Minneapolis. So. . . think "heirloom" and seek out well-made pieces by local artisans; start small, anchoring each room with one piece that will have real lasting character, depth and meaning; be patient, without buying a roomful of furniture all at once but letting the décor evolve over time; and don't reflexively throw away old things when, sometimes, a coat of paint or a small repair can result in furniture that is better than new. THE PERFUMES OF ARABIA WON'T HELP, BUT THIS WILL The best tile and grout cleaner is oxygen bleach, a powder that you mix with water, according to the Washington Post. You apply a generous amount of the solution and let it soak into the grout. After a 10-minute wait, scrub the grout with excess oxygen-bleach solution, and it looks like new. If you plan to also paint the grout, you must let it dry for at least 48 hours. NOW LIE ON IT Manufacturers of bed sheets have no agreed-upon standard for counting the number of vertical and horizontal threads in a one-inch square of fabric - the definition of thread count - even though American Society for Testing and Materials International (ASTM) guidelines say all threads, including multi-ply yarns, can be counted only once, notes the Washington Post. U.S. manufacturers adhere to the rule, but many foreign manufacturers do not, according to Norma Keyes, director of fiber quality research at Cotton Inc., an industry trade group. In fact, higher thread count doesn't always mean you have a higher-quality sheet," Keyes said. Some manufacturers make luxurious, high-thread-count sheets by spinning expensive, long-yarn cotton and weaving the threads into fine fabrics, but those textiles are rare and pricey, up to $2,000 per set. The size of sheets is another tricky variable. In 2005, when Consumer Reports last reviewed sheets, the organization found widespread inconsistencies in size among sheets labeled as queen size. For laundering sheets, Keyes advises against washing them in hot water, which practice can damage fabric fibers. Second, if you use the detergent's half-cup line, your sheets will get just as clean as using more. Also avoid adding bleach and limit the use of liquid fabric softeners to every other or every third wash. When drying sheets, use the low setting. "We try to dry sheets to death, which makes the fibers more brittle," Keys said. "I haven't seen any formal studies on it, but once you over-dry them a couple of times, you won't get back to that feeling they had when you first bought them." Finally, buy at least two or three sets to rotate use. WILL YOU EVER SEE A FISH AS PRACTICAL AS THISH Apologies to Joyce Kilmer, but it's nice to know about the Gambusia affinis, commonly known as the "mosquito fish" because of its healthy appetite for the larvae of the irritating and disease-spreading insects. Lately, says the Wall Street Journal, the fish is being pressed into service in California, Arizona, Florida and other areas struggling with a soaring number of foreclosures. The problem: swimming pools of abandoned homes have turned into mosquito breeding grounds. "They are real heroes," says Josefa Cabada, a technician at the Contra Costa Mosquito & Vector Control District, a government agency. "I've never seen a mosquito in a pool with mosquito fish." TARDY PAYMENTS ARE HURTING HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATIONS A growing number of
homeowner and condominium associations across the country are
raising their LUXURY BUILDER REPORTS STEEP DROP IN EARNINGS Toll Brothers said second quarter revenues of approximately $817.9 fell 30 percent lower than one year earlier. Its backlog at the end of April was 50 below the second quarter of 2006 and 13 percent behind the first quarter. In this year's second quarter, the company had 308 cancellations compared with 384 the year earlier. The number of contracts was 44 percent lower in units and 58 percent in dollars. The average price per unit of gross contracts signed was $590,000 versus $711,000; in the first quarter this year, it was $634,000 and $710,000 in the second quarter of 2007. Commented CEO Robert I. Toll: "The just-completed spring selling season was quite weak in most markets as buyers remained on the sidelines. We believe there is significant pent-up demand, which is growing." Despite the numbers from Toll and its rivals, investors seem to have faith the sector will turn around sooner rather than later. Toll shares are up 15 percent this year. ALL YOU DO IS TAKE A BIG TABLESPOON FULL AFTER EVERY MEAL It's so tasty too! According to the Wall Street Journal, a growing number of cities and counties grappling with water shortages are turning to a solution that may be tough for some homeowners to stomach: purifying wastewater so that residents can drink it. Doctors and engineers say recycled water is safe to drink. Indeed, reverse osmosis coupled with ultraviolet light and hydrogen peroxide treats wastewater beyond what federal and state drinking standards require, they say. That wasn't always the case. A National Research Council committee concluded in a 1998 report that reclaimed or purified wastewater can be used to supplement drinking-water sources only as a "last resort" and "after a thorough health and safety evaluation." But Jim Crook, the chair of the committee, says that since that report was issued, there have been a great deal of advances in treatment of wastewater, such as the use of ultraviolet light after reverse osmosis. Mmmmm, good! What's in a Name? Called Deutal Bay Farm in the 17th century, Turtle Bay is said by some to derive its name from the pronunciation of the Dutch word ''deutal,'' which means an unevenly curved sword. Others say Turtle Bay, is a reference to an East River cove, which either resembled the shape of a turtle or sheltered them. Regardless, the turtle feasts of the day prevailed and so did its subsequent name, Turtle Bay Farm. Stretching from 43d to 53d streets and the east side of Lexington Avenue to the East River, Turtle Bay is a community with more than its share of expensive housing in Manhattan. The history of Turtle Bay dates back to 1639 when the Dutch governor gave two Englishmen a land grant of 40 acres, crossed by a creek that emptied into a bay of the East River, according to the Turtle Bay Association, which, thankfully, has done the work of writing most of what follows. From the early days of European settlement and through the Revolutionary War, the bay offered sailing ships a safe haven from winter gales and the capricious currents of the East River, making it important to the commerce of Manhattan. Shipbuilders established a thriving business in Turtle Bay, and by the time Robert Fulton tested his steamboat on the East River in 1808, the wharf area was filling up with breweries, carpentry shops, mills and small industries. As the city grew in the mid-1800s, before the grid system transformed the area, Turtle Bay saw its share of squalor as well as squires. Among the country gentlemen was Horace Greeley, founder of the old New York Tribune. "The house," he wrote, was on eight acres of ground including a wooded ravine or dell on the East River at Turtle Bay, nearly opposite the southernmost point of Blackwell's Island" (now Roosevelt Island). Edgar Allan Poe, a friend and neighbor of Greeley, wrote of the pleasures of rowing a small boat around the island and bemoaned the city's plan for a grid system, which doomed the natural landscape. In his commentary for the Columbia Spy newspaper, Poe wrote of his exploration around Turtle Bay cove:
James W. Beekman saw the city expanding, and he embarked on an ambitious plan to develop his property through the sale of small plots for private residences. On 50th Street he acquired various plots to round out his holdings, then moved out of his Mt. Pleasant mansion. In 1859, he gave land and financial assistance for a church (Dutch Reformed) on 50th Street, with a deed that contained a covenant that should the property not be used as a church, it would revert to the Beekman heirs. The Reformed Episcopal Church stands at this site today. (Poor heirs!) The Turtle Bay area south of the Beekman holdings was developed on a more haphazard basis since it was not restricted to residential use. In March 1863, the first Draft Act was passed and an enrollment office was established at Third Avenue and 46th Street. No sooner had it opened than an angry mob marched on the office and burned it down. The July 13 uprising started as a protest against a conscription act that allowed draftees to be exempted from military service by payment of $300. To impoverished immigrants, that figure translated to a rich man's war fought with poor men's blood. (Like that would ever happen.) Within hours, the entire blocks between 45th and 46th streets were destroyed. The rioting went on for more than three days before troops managed to contain the mobs, which burned and looted whole sections of the city. In August, thousands of soldiers, cavalry patrols, and artillery were sent by order of President Lincoln. New draft offices were opened, but enforcement was lax because of widespread opposition to the Civil War by local government and the press. After
the Civil War ended, the building of brownstones transformed the
once bucolic landscape block by block, while the waterfront became
a commercial sinkhole. By 1868, the beautiful bay was filled in,
its charms sullied by slaughterhouses, packing sheds, cattle pens,
rotting wharfs and railroad piers. There was much ambitious building and renovation in the 1920s, which restored many of the brownstones into fashionable townhouses. Turtle Bay became popular with the literati, and it was then that Turtle Bay Gardens was born as a large communal garden in the backyards of houses bounded by 48th and 49th streets between Second and Third avenues. Since its inception, the garden community has attracted a long list of prominent New Yorkers: Tyrone Power, Dorothy Thompson, Maxwell Perkins, Johnny Carson, Mary Lasker, Mary Martin and Katharine Hepburn, among others. Elsewhere in Turtle Bay, Thomas Wolfe lived at 865 First Avenue, between 48th and 49th Streets in 1935 and Truman Capote, at 870 United Nations Plaza for some years before his death in 1984. Other notable residents have included the writers Alexander Woollcott, John Steinbeck (330 E. 51st St.), and John O'Hara, who stayed at the Pickwick Arms Hotel (230 E. 51st St.) while writing Appointment in Samarra. Not until six city blocks of slaughterhouses along the East River were razed in 1946 for the United Nations was the blight of First Avenue transformed into an international enclave of modern architecture. Aside from that aging complex, Turtle Bay boasts a number of places of interest such as the Ford Foundation, Tudor City, Japan Society, Efrem Zimbalist House, Sutton Place Synagogue and Norwegian Seamen's Church. Since the deafening rattle of the last "El" train was silenced, Turtle Bay has seen a building boom of unprecedented growth, filling the area with towering office buildings, high-rise apartments, and condominiums. A recent tour of apartments offered by various brokers in the neighborhood suggests that not every residence is characterized by the panache - or expense - of living in the most prestigious of buildings. Turtle Bay
Upper West Side
Chelsea
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for
a "soft" first half, Yun anticipates "notable improvements
in the second half." He made the prediction even when the
NAR forward-looking Pending Home Sales Index edged down 1.0 percent
in March from February and was 20.1 percent lower than the same
month last year. According to the NAR, existing-home sales are
projected to rise from an annual pace of 4.95 million in the first
quarter to 5.82 million in the fourth quarter. For all of 2008,
existing-home sales are likely to total 5.39 million, the NAR
said, and then rise 6.1 percent to 5.72 million next year. "Although
more than half of local markets are expected to see price growth
this year, the aggregate existing-home price will decline 2.4
percent in 2008, driven by a relatively few markets that are very
oversupplied," Yun maintained. The median price is forecast
at $213,700 this year before rising 4.1 percent to $222,600 in
2009. So shines the sun. As for sales of new homes, they are expected
to plunge 30.9 percent before rising 10.1 percent in 2009. Housing
starts, including multifamily units, will probably drop 29.5 percent
to 955,000 in 2008, and then rise 1.3 percent to 967,000 next
year, the NAR said. The median new-home price is estimated to
fall 3.7 percent to $238,000 this year before rising 5.4 percent
in 2009 to $250,900.
proportion
of domestic banks tightening their standards was at or near historical
highs for almost all loan categories, including credit cards and
student loans. Conducted in April, the survey showed that demand
for loans weakened in most categories, though not as much as in
the previous three months. Banks continue to get more restrictive
in their real-estate lending as the housing bust adds to their
losses. About 70 percent of banks said they tightened standards
for new home-equity lines of credit over the prior three months.
Roughly half of the banks said they tightened terms on existing
home-equity lines of credit over the past six months because of
home prices falling below their appraised values. More than 60
percent of banks tightened standards on prime mortgages, up from
just over half in January and 15 percent a year ago. At least
three out of four said they tightened standards for nontraditional
and subprime mortgages in the past three months. 
would
consider purchasing a foreclosed home. Yet more than two-thirds
also feel that there are several negative aspects of such purchases.
Conducted over a three-day period in late April, the survey had
results showing that 69 percent of U.S. adults mentioned hidden
costs, 35 percent said the prospect was risky and 33 percent worried
about the possibility of the home losing value. Among those most
likely to consider the purchase of a foreclosed home were single/never
married adults (60 percent), men (57 percent) and younger adults
(18-34), persons with children in the household (66 percent).
Twenty percent of U.S. adults said that having a personal connection
with someone who lost their home to foreclosure was a negative
in considering such a purchase.
fees
or putting the brakes on clubhouse improvements, new landscaping
and other shared neighborhood amenities, observes the Wall Street
Journal. The kitty is so low for some that essential services
such as building maintenance, electricity, trash removal and repairs
have been cut. As community residents lose their homes to foreclosure
and new home building has slowed considerably, many of the roughly
300,000 neighborhood associations in the U.S. are grappling with
shrunken budgets. One estimate puts the delinquency rate on dues
at less than 5 percent in many markets - higher than normal, though
still not enough to threaten basic services, says John Carona,
president of Associa, a Dallas-based company that represents 7,000
community associations in 26 states. Normally, the delinquency
rate is about 2 percent, he says.
