Items of Interest BROOKE'S APARTMENT IS RUNNING A SALE The sale of the duplex co-op owned by the late Brooke Astor at 778 Park Ave. may be remembered as the great deal of the age, surmises the New York Times. The bankers, accountants and family members controlling Mrs. Astor's estate have just slashed the asking price of her apartment, which has 14 rooms, six terraces and five fireplaces, by 26 percent, from the $46 million it was listed at last spring to $34 million. The price cut was said to have amounted to "a double discount," including both the smaller price cut the sellers would normally make about now and the larger one they might make next spring if the apartment had not sold. Because Mrs. Astor, who died at 106, used her spacious co-op essentially as a one-bedroom apartment, extensive renovation will be needed. The co-op allows construction only during regular working hours from May 15 to Sept. 15. 'GIVE IT TO ME,' SAYS HE Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel might be publicly downplaying their future plans together, but the New York Post says Timberlake has gone to contract on a TriBeCa three-bedroom with a $5.25 million price tag. The 3,000-sf loft, in the Pearline Soap Factory condo building on Washington Street, features a 52-foot-long living/dining area, a gourmet kitchen with top appliances, 14 floor-to-ceiling windows facing all four directions and views including sunsets over the Hudson River. There also are sound system, lighting system and very useful electronic shades. TWO CHEERS FOR KELSEY GRAMMER He's trying to sell two Los Angeles houses he bought last year, according to the Wall Street Journal. The 53-year-old Grammer is asking $4.35 million for his estate in the Bel-Air neighborhood. He bought the 7,600-sf house, which was built in 1999, for $4.05 million. The property is a relatively flat 1.5-acre lot that has views of Los Angeles and a long private driveway that many celebrities favor. A buyer would likely renovate or tear down the house, says the listing agent. (If it cost "only" $4.35 million, why not?) The second house Grammer is selling is an English Normandy-style house in Holmby Hills on less than an acre with seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms and a gym. He listed it this summer for $19.9 million but recently lowered the asking price to $18.9 million. Last year, Fox chose not to renew Grammer's sitcom "Back to You" after its first season. A cynic could conclude that's why he's selling. TOMMY RENTS DIDDY'S FORMER PAD Tommy Hilfiger has become a Park Avenue resident - at least for the next year. The fashion icon has rented a quadraplex apartment in a 12-story condo building that was formerly owned by Sean "Diddy" Combs. Sources told the New York Post that Hilfiger, who is continuing the build-out of his Plaza apartment - which is on the market for $50 million - is paying approximately $50,000 per month for a five-bedroom, seven-bathroom apartment located on Park Avenue in the mid-70s. DIVORCE PAYS FOR GOLFER'S EX Flush with a $100 million-plus divorce settlement from Greg Norman, Laura Andrassy is buying an estate in New York's Hamptons, says the Wall Street Journal. Andrassy is in contract to pay $7.55 million for a 0.92-acre property on Southampton's leafy Wyandanch Lane, near the ocean, and plans to tear down the nearly 3,500-sf house, people familiar with the situation say. The property, with a pool, was listed a month ago for $8.75 million. She's upgrading from a Southampton house that she bought last year and that's farther from the water. Norman, who married Chris Evert last June, was ordered to pay his ex $103 million in assets, court records show. WILKOMEN, WERNER German-born director Werner Herzog paid $630,000 for a one-bedroom cooperative unit at 7 East 14th St. near Union Square, says the Real Deal. The 600-sf apartment is on the seventh floor of the Victoria, a bland 21-story residential building between Fifth Avenue and University Place built in 1964. The 66-year-old film and opera director, who also is a screenwriter, resides in Los Angeles with his wife, photographer Lena Herzog. EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ROSIE Rosie O'Donnell paid $1.97 million for a two-bedroom condo in the Platinum, a 43-story Times Square high-rise at 247 West 46th St. She closed on the 22nd-floor apartment Oct. 22 after going into contract in August 2007. Which tells you something about buying in a new development. WHERE P.T. BARNUM'S PARTNER LIVED, AN EGRESS IS SOUGHT A largely intact Romanesque Revival house built in Harlem by circus co-founder James Bailey is on the market for the first time since 1951 with an asking price of $10 million, reports the Wall Street Journal. On St. Nicholas Place and 150th Street, the freestanding stone house measures 12,000 square feet on a 62.5-by-100-foot lot. Bailey, who was the business-minded half of Barnum & Bailey Circus, built the house in 1888, a few years after combining operations with P.T. Barnum's "Greatest Show on Earth." A cousin of Louis Comfort Tiffany designed the home's numerous stained-glass windows, most of which remain intact. The interior is paneled in hand-carved wood. Marguerite Blake, now 87, and her late husband Warren, a New York police detective, bought the house in 1951. Blake, a former funeral-home director, and a niece live in the house, which needs renovations. HOME CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES TO SLIP Residential construction projects in September fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $344.4 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported, according to Inman News. At that rate, spending on private and public residential projects was down 1.3 percent from August ($348.8 billion) and 27.1 percent from a year ago ($472.4 billion). By itself, private residential construction spending was down 1.3 percent from August and down 27.7 percent from a year ago. PURCHASES BY FOREIGN BUYERS ARE TAPERING OFF REVENUE PLUMMETS FOR LUXURY HOME BUILDER Toll Brothers said building revenue for its latest quarter fell 41 percent. "Unfortunately, the preliminary signs of stability we had discussed in early September . . . were upended by the past month's financial crisis," said CEO Robert Toll. The company's preliminary results showed that revenues were approximately $691.0 million, backlog was approximately $1.33 billion (down 54 percent) and net signed contracts were approximately $266.7 million (down 27 percent). For the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, home building revenues of approximately $3.15 billion declined 32 percent. "Results of the crisis - accelerating fears of job losses, a large decline in consumer spending, a significant capital crunch, increased credit market disruption and plummeting stock market values - all contributed to drive our cancellations up to 233 units and drive home buyer confidence and our traffic and demand down to record lows," Toll remarked. THE ECONOMY CRIMPS RESIDENTIAL REMODELING The market continued its slump during the third quarter of 2008, according to the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI). The current market conditions indicator sagged to 33.5 from 41.8 in the prior quarter. Future expectations of remodeling work also slid to 27.7 (from 38.0 in the second quarter). Both these indices rest at historic lows since the start of the RMI in 2001. Any number over 50 indicates that the majority of remodelers view market conditions as improving. The RMI has been running below 50 since the final quarter of 2005, implying decreasing remodeling expenditures since that time. The remodeling market is tightening because more home builders are taking on remodeling work, creating a more competitive marketplace and flattening out calls for bids and appointments for proposals, the NAHB explained. DON'T BUY SEEMS TO BE THE NEW DUBAI The city-state's six-year property boom appears finally to be over, with asking prices for some homes here falling as much as 19 percent in October from the previous month, according to a closely followed survey reported in the Wall Street Journal. Over the summer and fall, tightened local lending collided with the global financial crisis to choke off easy credit. That scared away buyers, especially local and international property speculators who have helped fan years of price increases. Other factors were at work. Dubai has been rocked by a series of arrests and probes at several big property developers and financial institutions. No charges have been filed, but the dragnet alarmed investors. Government officials themselves moved to tighten regulations in order to slow down run-away speculation and property flipping. Analysts at HSBC Holdings said that average asking prices for homes in Dubai fell 4 percent in October from September. Advertised prices for upscale Dubai "villas"- typically stand-alone homes in a master development - fell by 19 percent month-on-month, the bank found. In next-door emirate Abu Dhabi, average home prices fell 5 percent. BUILDINGS WITH FEW SALES CAN CHALLENGE BORROWERS Brokers are having a hard time finding banks that will write mortgages on buildings with a low percentage of sales, says the Real Deal. Banks are increasingly unwilling to write mortgages for some new buildings, especially those that have sold only a small percentage of their units. That, in turn, makes it harder for the buildings to sell out, leading to a chicken-and-egg problem that's likely to pose significant obstacles for new developments in the coming months. Banks want to make sure that the majority of a building's units are sold because, if they don't sell and prices are slashed, the investment has less value. Said Ross Weinstein, a managing partner of the Union Square Mortgage Group: "Traditionally, there were no requirements. Then it grew to 25 percent, and now very few lenders are doing anything unless you can hit that 51 percent mark." For older buildings, banks are scrutinizing everything from financial records to board meeting minutes. "Things that buyers would never have dreamed of looking at before are now coming to light," said Weinstein, who recently endured a bank's careful review of the minutes of a co-op board's meeting about a leaky roof. SO MUCH FOR THOSE $400 REBATES Mayor Bloomberg said that he would immediately halt the popular property tax rebate to help plug a budget shortfall expected to hit $4 billion in the next two years. The announcement that the rebate checks, which had been sent out every year since 2004, would not be coming this fall angered members of the City Council. Should there be an unexpected upturn in the city's finances, Bloomberg said, he might reconsider issuing the rebate checks. But, he continued, it is far more likely that the city's economic outlook would continue to deteriorate, forcing even more cuts and tax increases by early next year. Bloomberg estimated that canceling the rebates would save $256 million. LENDERS ARE SQUEEZING MORE AND MORE DEVELOPERS A growing number of developers with projects under way in Manhattan, who are already reeling from declining real estate values and high construction costs, are being confronted by lenders who are either unwilling or unable to continue funding, according to real estate experts, says the Real Deal. The Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, which was filed in mid-September, has - not surprisingly - put several construction projects in the city on hold. On the whole, though, the future of Lehman Brothers-backed projects is difficult to ascertain. But other lenders also are putting pressure on developers to provide more equity in projects as a way to improve the financial profile of their struggling banks, real estate attorneys said. PRE-CONSTRUCTION SALES COULD EXTEND A LIFELINE TOO Developers used presales to increase buzz on projects, and presales were favored by some buyers who followed the logic that unit prices would increase once there was a tangible building in progress, notes the Real Deal. Today, however, it's less about buzz than necessity. Some developers - particularly those who have projects in the pipeline outside Manhattan's most desirable neighborhoods - are doing preconstruction presales because, if they don't, banks won't finance their construction loans. According to developers and analysts, banks are reluctant to invest in some projects unless a developer can demonstrate a certain amount of buyer interest through signed contracts and deposits. "No developer is going to tee up a whole project unless they have a bank lined up for it," observed Greg Belew, a co-founding partner of the development firm Fifth Square Partners. "Banks are saying they won't give you a construction loan until you have a certain amount of presales." VACANCY RATE FOR RENTAL APARTMENTS IS ON THE UPSWING In Manhattan, there is a growing supply of empty apartments that, owing to a combination of overpricing, bad timing and lack of demand, cannot find tenants willing to sign the dotted line, reports the Observer. But brokers and other industry professionals are still confident that the Manhattan rental market will steady itself in the near future. Nearly every real estate brokerage has its own vacancy rates, and a quick poll shows a range of 1.46-3.8 percent. The theory goes that if the sales market slows, the rental market will pick up. But a slumping sales market has yet to manifest itself in the form of a more robust rental market. And that's because the rental market's also closely linked to the city's economic health, particularly its employment picture. The city's unemployment rate stands at 5.7 percent, up from 5 percent last September. LAND PRICES ALSO ARE SLIDING The price of land for residential and commercial development in New York City is going only in one direction - down, down and down, according to the Real Deal. Because of the inability to secure financing from commercial and savings banks, prices of land for development of residential apartment buildings and hotels have declined in some cases by as much as 75 percent from previous record highs. 'THIS OLD HOUSE' TO FIX UP GUESS WHAT IN BROOKLYN The program has selected a 104-year-old brownstone in Prospect Heights as the first New York City home to be rehabbed in the show's 29-year history, the producers announced, reports the New York Post. The house on Sterling Place was chosen from hundreds of applicants in all five boroughs, with more than a quarter of the applications coming from Brooklyn homeowners, a show spokeswoman said. Producer Deborah Hood explained why this 1904 row house best fit the show's criteria. "We loved the neighborhood," she said. "Prospect Heights - as opposed to Park Slope, where everything's already pretty renovated - still has a lot of houses that need help. The second thing was that, despite the fact that it had been chopped up as an SRO over the years, surprisingly a lot of the period detail had survived and remained intact." Work is scheduled to be completed in February. PRICE PROTECTION COULD PROVE TO BE A GROWING TREND Hoping to head off buyers' uncertainty about purchasing apartments in the midst of a down market, New York developers have begun offering price protection programs that give buyers a buffer against the falling prices of new construction condominiums, says the Real Deal. In Brooklyn, SteelWorks Lofts in Williamsburg and the Clermont Greene in Fort Greene are among the developments offering the programs, which work by guaranteeing buyers a discount at closing if units sell in the building for less for less than they paid. GREEN IS GOOD Driven by growing demand for eco-friendly living and working space, developers are forging full steam ahead on plans to obtain green certification for both commercial and residential projects in the Big Apple, the Observer says. Nationally, the amount of square footage certified under the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program (LEED) has grown 62 percent this year to date over where it stood at the end of 2007. And while the New York chapter doesn't track numbers for the city itself, architects and developers say they can't think of anyone that has scaled back their green ambitions in recent months. The green stamp of approval has become a branding necessity, especially in the high-end market. "I would say green building as a general matter is recession-proof," said Russell Unger, president of the U.S. Green Building Council of New York. David Kramer, a principal at developer Hudson Companies, said his younger staff especially is adamant that their projects be green. Three out of the developer's four new projects are going for LEED certification - Emerson Place, the Knickerbocker, and 3rd & Bond, all Brooklyn. THE SKY IS THE LIMIT A 78th-floor penthouse at the Time Warner Center came on the market this week for $65 million, which works out to a bewildering $7,831 per square foot, says the Real Deal. The monthly maintenance fees are $13,361 and the monthly taxes are $16,332, totaling $356,316 per year. The master bedroom suite happens to have an office, his-and-hers dressing rooms, his-and-hers bathrooms and a gym, too. Other features include a 41-foot-long living room with floor-to-ceiling windows; a red lacquered corner library/office; a dining room with a view of the Hudson River; a chef's kitchen ("and pantry with full laundry center"); a screening room; and four other bedrooms, all with en suite bathrooms. Records suggest the apartment was sold for less than $30 million two years ago, which is a lot closer to what it ought to be today. ECONOMY, CREDIT AFFECT FORWARD-LOOKING SALES INDEX Pending home sales fell on the heels of a strong gain a month earlier as credit tightened and economic conditions deteriorated, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in September, declined 4.6 percent to 89.2 from an upwardly revised reading of 93.5 in August. But it was 1.6 percent higher than September 2007, when it stood at 87.8. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said areas showing annual sales gains include Long Island, Boston, Minneapolis, Denver and Washington, D.C. in addition to consistent solid gains in California and Florida. MOST EXCLUSIVE NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE PRESERVED VALUE In a survey of the nation's most exclusive zip codes - neighborhoods filled with spacious beachside mansions, panoramic mountain views and historic brick townhomes - the Real Deal found that they generally remain somewhat insulated from the real estate markets around them. But as homes take longer to sell, even in America's toniest areas, the first cracks in their real estate markets are beginning to show. In blue-chip markets with a limited supply of homes, prices are staying stable, even growing, despite slowing sales volume. ONLY FOUR MARKETS RECORD INCREASED OR STEADY PRICES Asking prices in 22 of 26 major U.S. markets tracked by Altos Research and Real IQ declined between September and October, with Las Vegas posting the largest decrease for the seventh straight month at -3.7 percent, says Inman News. Despite falling in most major markets, asking prices were up fractionally in Denver and in Houston - the only markets showing three months of sequential price increases - as well as Dallas, the report found. Seattle asking prices held steady during the period. Listed property inventories declined in 23 of 26 markets, with the largest declines in Boston and Charlotte. Widespread inventory declines have continued for many months, but, as demonstrated by declining prices, the pace of supply contraction has not kept up with the falloff in market demand, according to the report. The market continues to slow as the average days on market increased in all 26 markets, with 23 markets posting average days on market of 100 or more. By far, the market with the slowest rate of inventory turnover was Miami at an average of 172 days on market - exactly twice as slow as in San Francisco. NEW FORECLOSURES HIT PEAKS AND VALLEYS While new foreclosure auctions in Los Angeles and New York City fell considerably between September and October, real estate data company PropertyShark.com reports that conditions appear to be worsening in Miami and Seattle, according to Inman News. Miami saw a 93 percent jump in new foreclosure auctions between September and October, and Seattle experienced a 14 percent increase. Compared with a year ago, Miami foreclosures were up 35 percent and Seattle foreclosures, up 108 percent. Yet new foreclosures in Los Angeles plummeted 51 percent from September, and New York City foreclosures dropped 15 percent. However, Los Angeles foreclosures were 11 percent higher than a year ago and New York City foreclosures, up 50 percent. In New York City, new foreclosure auctions between September and October decreased the most in the Bronx (down 54 percent), followed by Staten Island (down 25 percent), Brooklyn (down 16 percent) and Queens (down 9 percent). Auctions actually increased slightly in Manhattan during the period. PLANS ARE LAID TO SPEED UP LOAN MODIFICATIONS Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and U.S. officials announced plans to hasten the modification of hundreds of thousands of loans held by the housing finance giants, says the Wall Street Journal. The streamlined effort will target certain loans that are 90 days or more past due. The program will aim to bring the ratio of mortgage payments for these homeowners to 38 percent of their income by modifying interest rates and in some cases forgiving portions of principal debt. Borrowers would have to provide a statement or affidavit showing that they have encountered some sort of hardship that has impacted their ability to pay their mortgage. It would apply only to loans made on or before Jan. 1, and borrowers will be disqualified if they file for bankruptcy. The homes must be owner-occupied and escrows for real estate taxes and insurance must already be set up. Servicers are expected to be paid $800 for a successful modification and loan investors are expected to reimburse servicers for certain fees associated with the modification. There will be a 90-day trial period, and if borrowers successfully make payments for those 90 days, the modification will be formally approved. The chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Sheila C. Bair, called the program inadequate, saying it "falls short of what is needed to achieve wide-scale modifications of distressed mortgages." FANNIE MAE IS BLEEDING MONEY All the profits, and then some, that Fannie Mae reaped as home prices soared in recent years vanished in a mere three months, the mortgage giant said, reports the New York Times. It lost $29 billion during the third quarter, more than it earned from 2002 to 2006. The implication of the grim results - the first since Fannie and its sister company, Freddie Mac, were seized by the government in September - is that home prices could continue to fall. With home values falling across much of the nation, Fannie Mae said that it was bracing for billions of dollars in additional losses and that it may need more than the $100 billion that the Treasury Department has pledged to keep the company afloat. The loss eclipsed the $28.1 billion the company earned from 2002 through 2006 and was more than 20 times the loss that Fannie Mae reported for the third quarter of 2007. CITIGROUP JOINS OTHERS IN OFFERING TO RESTRUCTURE LOANS The company unveiled a program to help thousands meet their monthly payments while reducing the bank's potential for larger losses as the economy erodes. About 130,000 mortgage customers are expected to qualify for the program, resulting in the workouts of over $20 billion of loans. Bank executives said they believed it would reduce losses by hundreds of millions of dollars and possibly more. Like some of its competitors, Citi also will hold off foreclosing on troubled borrowers who have income enough to make their monthly payment and who make a good-faith effort to work out their loan with the bank. JPMorgan Chase, which acquired Washington Mutual and its troubled loan portfolio, announced plans in late October to cut monthly payments by lowering interest rates and temporarily reducing loan balances for as many as 400,000 homeowners. Bank of America, which acquired the large mortgage lender Countrywide Financial, announced a similar program. And HSBC ramped up its mortgage modification effort in January. 2009 CONFORMING LOAN LIMITS IN MOST AREAS TO BE $417,000 The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said the limit will remain $417,000 except in certain cities and counties. The conforming loan limit is the maximum size of loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase in 2009. Loan limits for two-, three-, and four-unit properties will remain at 2008 levels as well: $533,850, $645,300, and $801,950 respectively for homes in the continental U.S. For "high-cost" areas in 2009, limits will be equal to 115 percent (as opposed to 125 percent this year) of local median house prices and cannot exceed 150 percent of the standard limit, which is $625,500 for one-unit homes in the continental U.S. to $729,750 now. So-called "jumbo" loans exceed the limits. LOAN APPLICATIONS ARE ON THE RISE The Mortgage Bankers Association says volume for the week ending Nov. 7 went up 11.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the increase was 10.5 percent, but it was down 40.0 percent compared with one year earlier. Refinancings grew by 16.1 percent from the previous week, and purchases rose by 9.0 percent seasonally adjusted. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 45.1 percent of total applications from 42.9 percent the previous week, and the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share slipped to 2.3 percent from 2.5 percent. HUD TRIES FOR MORE HONESTY IN MORTGAGE COSTS While announcing new rules, the department also acknowledged that it lacks powers to enforce them, says the Wall Street Journal. The rules update requirements of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, known as Respa, a 1974 law that sets standards for home-purchase transactions. HUD Secretary Steve Preston said changes were needed because "many people made uninformed decisions" in taking out loans. That, he said, contributed to a surge in mortgage defaults. HUD estimated the changes will bring savings of nearly $700 in loan-closing costs for the typical consumer. The rules require a three-page "good-faith estimate" for borrowers explaining rates, fees, any prepayment penalties and the possibility of later increases in monthly payments. The rules also limit to 10 percent the maximum amount certain fees can increase from the initial estimate. Lenders and brokers will have until Jan. 1, 2010, to start using the forms. RATES EDGE DOWN FOR THE SECOND WEEK RUNNING Freddie Mac reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.14 percent for the week, down from last week's 6.20 percent and 6.24 percent last year at this time. The 15-year FRM this week was 5.81 percent, down from 5.88 percent both last week and last year. Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.98 percent in comparison with 6.19 percent the prior week and 5.96 percent a year ago. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.33 percent, up from last week's 5.25 percent; at this time last year, it was 5.50 percent. "Long-term mortgage rates fell slightly this week as signs the overall economy is weakening brought interest rates down market-wide," commented Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "In addition, the actions of the Fed in recent weeks to assist commercial paper markets appear to be thawing part of the credit freeze that has gripped capital markets in the U.S., giving banks some breathing room." FORECLOSURE FILINGS CONTINUE TO GROW Foreclosure-related filings were up 5 percent in October from the previous month and 25 percent from one year earlier, data aggregator RealtyTrac said, according to Inman News. RealtyTrac said Nevada, Arizona and Florida had the highest rate of foreclosure-related filings, which include default notices, auction sales and bank repossessions. Rounding the top (?) 10 states with the highest rate of foreclosure-related filings were California, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, Illinois and Ohio. RealtyTrac said foreclosure activity in North Carolina was up 29.75 percent from September to October, but down 20.15 percent from a year ago. In Maryland, foreclosure filings were up 32.31 percent from a month ago but down 15.71 percent year-over-year. Foreclosure activity in New Jersey was up 10.64 percent from September and 74.92 percent from a year ago. REPORTS SAYS SUPPORTIVE HOUSING DOESN'T HURT VALUE A new report by the Furman Center for Real Estate and Public Policy at New York University finds that housing for the homeless and other needy New Yorkers does not depress the value of neighboring homes and properties. Examining the impact of 123 supportive housing developments over an 18-year-period, the study discovered that the value of properties within 500 feet of such supportive housing does not drop over the long term when that housing is added to the neighborhood. Properties somewhat farther away from the supportive housing (500-1,000 feet away) show a decline in value when the supportive housing first opens, but their prices then increase steadily relative to other properties in the neighborhood. FED CONFIRMS TIGHTER LENDING STANDARDS The Federal Reserve Board's October survey of senior loan officers found that majorities of SLIGHT GAIN IN FIRST-TIME BUYERS RECORDED THIS YEAR The number of first-time buyers rose to 41 percent in 2008 from 39 percent of transactions in last year's survey and 36 percent in 2006. According to the study by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the median age of first-time buyers was 30, down from 31 in 2007, and the median income was $60,600. The typical first-time buyer purchased a home costing $165,000 and plans to stay in that home for 10 years, up from seven years in 2007. Commuting costs factored greatly in neighborhood selection, with 41 percent of buyers saying they were very important and another 39 percent saying transportation costs were somewhat important. Environmentally friendly features also were cited by 90 percent of buyers. Sixty-one percent of buyers were married couples; 20 percent, single women; 10 percent, single men; 7 percent, unmarried couples; and 2 percent, other. Twenty-six percent were nonwhite, 9 percent were born outside of the United States, and 4 percent primarily speak a language other than English. Seventy-eight percent of all respondents purchased a detached single-family home. Fifty-five percent of all homes purchased were in a suburb or subdivision and 17 percent were in an urban area. The median distance from the previous residence was 12 miles. The biggest factors influencing neighborhood choice varied by household type, but overall they were quality of the neighborhood, cited by 62 percent of respondents; convenience to jobs, 51 percent; overall affordability of homes, 41 percent; and convenience to family and friends, 38 percent. Other factors valued highly by consumers included quality of the school district, 27 percent; convenience to shopping, 27 percent; and neighborhood design, 24 percent. NAR CLINGS TO RISING SALES PREDICTIONS Using what he terms middle-ground assumptions, Chief Economist Lawrence Yun says in a forecast revised downward that existing-home sales are expected to total 5.02 million in 2008, rising to 5.32 million next year and 5.62 million in 2010. For all of 2008, home prices will have fallen by more than 20 percent in Las Vegas, Phoenix, and many California and Florida markets, while many markets in middle America will experience little change, Yun says. He adds that wide variations in home price movements will continue in 2009, with Houston and Denver likely to see respectable price gains while most other markets experience no notable change. In the economist's view, new-home sales are likely to total around 487,000 this year and 413,000 in 2009 before rising to 520,000 in 2010. Housing starts, including multifamily units, will probably total 936,000 units in 2008 and 781,000 next year, Yun predicts, then increase to 886,000 in 2010. "Housing construction won't improve before existing-home sales recover and inventory conditions become more balanced," he says. Old News Sheathed in limestone and brick, pre-war buildings have long symbolized a certain kind of New York City class, notes Curbed.com, which provided its readers with the information in this narrative. Inside, the rooms often are big and architecturally detailed, rimmed with crown and floor moldings and separated by hardwood floors and thick, neighbor-proof plaster walls. And there are those fireplaces and high ceilings to keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. This sort of superior construction and quality floorplan can still fetch a premium on the market. All else being equal, a pre-war apartment will cost about 12 percent more than its post-war counterpart, according to appraisal executive Jonathan Miller and NYU's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. Of course, WWII was some time ago, and some of these buildings have lost their shine. So, while there's still ample stock of impressive pre-war, the date of construction is not always shorthand for the quality of the apartment. (The date of construction also is not necessarily shorthand for whether the apartment is "pre-war." Tenements, brownstones and other low-rises built before the war don't get the "pre-war" tag in NYC real estate parlance.) It's always best to kick the tires. Kick the wires and pipes while you're at it. Similarly, there's no uniformity to the post-war stock. But generally speaking, these apartment buildings, erected in the decades immediately following the war didn't have the good bones of their predecessors. "There was a rush of construction to satisfy demand," Miller says. "Post-war apartments were less expensive to construct." The classic post-war building is white-brick and tiered (hence the nickname, "wedding cake") and its charms are less evident. But while thin-skinned and low-ceilinged, the apartments inside likely have more up-to-date electrical and plumbing. Some also have amenities not seen in pre-war buildings (hello, garage!) and a more forgiving policy when it comes to renovating. In the '80s and'90s, as floor-to-ceiling glass and bamboo floors began to replace white brick and parquet, new condo developments gained some standing in the apartment arms race. Whether these apartments are "post-war" is a question for debate; by some counts, the "post-war" apartment era ended in the '70s. Further muddying the waters is the recent trend to claim "pre-war" as a marketing concept devoid of all time-based considerations. Thanks to Curbed.com for the foregoing. Below, some of the pre-war and post-war properties listed by various brokers and recently visited: Upper West Side
Upper East Side
Harlem Townhouses
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!
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The credit crunch has taken a toll this year and, unless a foreign buyer is flush with funds, the buying process has grown onerous, reports the New York Times. A 2007 survey by the National Association of Realtors in the United States found that Florida led all states in foreign home buying, accounting for 26 percent of all international purchasers. California was next at 16 percent, followed by Texas at 10 percent. Tania Russo, a real estate agent in Palm Beach, Florida, said that many lenders are charging as much as 2.5 percent of the loan amount, what the industry refers to as "points," to close a loan, making financing expensive. "Most lenders are requiring any foreign buyer to put 50 percent down right now," she said. "That's why most buyers we're seeing are cash buyers, so financing is not needed."
domestic respondents reported having tightened their lending standards on prime, nontraditional and subprime residential mortgages over the previous three months. About 70 percent of domestic respondents - down from about 75 percent in the previous survey - indicated that they had tightened their lending standards on prime mortgages. About 50 percent of domestic respondents, in contrast to 30 percent in the July survey, experienced weaker demand for prime residential mortgage loans over the past three months. A higher net fraction of large banks than smaller banks reported a decline in demand. In addition, approximately 75 percent of domestic respondents, similar to the fraction in the July survey, noted that they had tightened their lending standards for approving applications for revolving home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) over the past three months. Some 25 percent of domestic banks reported weaker demand for HELOCs over the past three months, more than double that had reported weaker demand in the July survey.
