Real Estate News

WTC Development Talks Continue Ahead of Deadline
By Christina S.N. Lewis
The Wall Street Journal
March 11, 2010

Negotiations continued Thursday between developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who are trying to resolve an impasse over the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site before a critical deadline Friday.

Officials on both sides said they were making progress in reaching an agreement that would put the massive reconstruction project back on track, but serious differences remain. An arbitration panel in January gave them until Friday to come to an accord or face the risk of having the three-person panel step in and resolve the dispute themselves.

In the Hunt for Rentals, Should You Use a Broker?
By June Fletcher
The Wall Street Journal
March 12, 2010

Q: I'm hunting for a rental apartment, and it seems that real estate agents get ticked off if they find out you're talking to more than one. One agent has been fairly helpful so far. But when I show her ads that others have listed, she often takes a few days to respond. While I'm waiting, should I call the other agents in the ads? And should I call ads listed by owners, to avoid paying a Realtor fee?

—Jersey City, N.J.

Green homes face a red light
By Les Christie
CNN Money
March 10, 2010

Lots of people, especially those trying to battle high utility bills, believe in energy-efficient homebuilding.

But there's something holding green technology back: It simply costs more to include it than it adds to resale value Appraisals for newly built green homes do not fully reflect the cost of green technology, and the lower appraisal values mean buyers often cannot get the full financing they need from banks.

That discourages developers from using green technology, in turn diminishing the market for more green products.

Palm Beach, St. Lucie County foreclosures up 60+%
Reported by: Associated Press
Last Update: 7:24 am

WASHINGTON — The foreclosure crisis isn't over, but the pace of growth may finally be slowing down nationally. The same cannot be said in Florida.
RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday that the number of U.S. households facing foreclosure in February grew 6 percent from the year-ago level, the smallest annual increase in four years.

More than 308,000 households, or one in every 418 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice, the Irvine, Calif.-based foreclosure listings company reported. That was down more than 2 percent from January.

Resort real estate market might have hit bottom, analyst reports
By Harry Eagar
The Maui News
March 10, 2010

The state's resort real estate market is not out of the woods yet, but Honolulu analyst Ricky Cassiday said he believes he has detected signs that it finally touched bottom in the last quarter of 2009.

The woods were dark and deep. Resort residential real estate - both condominiums and single-family houses - did a gross business of better than $2.5 billion in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The slump brought the total down to less than $1.7 billion in 2008 and to $1.3 billion last year.

10 Best Places for Second Homes
By Steven M. Sears
Barron's
March 9, 2010

At long last, the market for luxury real estate is coming back to life.

Prices for primary residences, which plunged at least 20% from the peak in 2007, appear to have bottomed. In some of the snappiest locations, scattered bidding wars are breaking out and prices are turning upward.

In Greenwich, Conn., realty brokers say, the final months of 2009 were almost record-setters for sales volume, as two years of pent-up demand was unleashed. Even the megadeal is back. In Beverly Hills, film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg just plunked down $35 million for an 8,700-square-foot home on six acres.

Home Supply Increased in February
By James R. Hagerty
The Wall Street Journal
March 8, 2010

The number of homes listed for sale increased in many metropolitan areas in February.

The supply of homes available for sale in 27 major metropolitan areas at the end of February was up 4.2% from a month earlier, according to figures compiled by ZipRealty Inc., a real-estate brokerage firm based in Emeryville, Calif. The ZipRealty data cover all single-family homes, condominiums and town houses listed on local multiple-listing services in metro areas where the firm operates.

A plan to save commercial real estate
Fortune Magazine
By Janet Morrissey
March 5, 2010

Economists have long been predicting commercial real estate could be the next day of reckoning for the financial markets, with a wave of defaults looming as billions of dollars in troubled loans come due in the coming months.

But a little-noticed bill introduced in January could help bring a new source of desperately-needed liquidity to the sector: foreign investment.

Homeowners Hold Ground Against Rising Property Taxes
By M.P. McQueen
The Wall Street Journal
March 6, 2010

Dan Scagliozzi has paid higher property taxes each year since he purchased his home in West Orange, N.J., more than a decade ago. Last year, with the value of his house sliding, he decided to do something about it.

Using a new online property-tax service, he appealed his tax assessment—for $49.99. Mr. Scagliozzi, 52 years old, says he reduced his assessment about 10%, knocking his tax bill to $13,049 from $14,680.

"Overall, a very nice return on our $49.99 investment," he says.

Move here if you want to get ahead quickly
By Francesca Levy
Forbes
March 1, 2010

Professional success often requires some degree of sacrifice. Surprisingly, one of those sacrifices might include moving to the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio. Living in Delaware County is, in some ways, a smarter career move than packing up and heading for Wall Street or Silicon Valley.

With three-year income growth of 11 percent between 2007 and 2009, Delaware County is one of 10 places Forbes found best for professionals to get ahead. The fastest-growing county in the state, it has benefited from both a diverse mix of jobs that has kept the economy strong, and family-friendly neighborhoods that expanded out from the city center.