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NYC’s Real Estate Epicenter is Shifting

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Bloomberg News has reported that New York City is currently experiencing a shift in what what neighborhoods are considered the most desirable for apartment and office rentals.

Whereas Midtown – from 30th to 59th Streets – has been the hotspot in recent years, areas further downtown are beginning to pick up steam. The once-popular neighborhood now has more vacancies than it did at the height of the recession in 2009.

“The epicenter of this city has shifted several times before and is in the process of shifting again,” said Michael Cohen, tri-state region president of Colliers International.

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’50 Shades of Grey’ Apartment Building a Hot Commodity

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Escala, the Seattle condo complex where the fictional Christian Grey famously lived in the wildly popular 50 Shades of Grey novel series, has become a hot commodity in the Seattle real estate market.

In the book, Grey inhabited the penthouse, and real-life broker Erik Mehr says the building has been a hotspot ever since the series became popular.

Interest in the building has picked up steam again recently with the release of trailer for the movie adaptation of the book.

“Our silly phone calls have spiked again where people want to rent the [penthouse],” he says. 

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All-Cash Deals Remain Popular in Some Markets, but Lessening

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According to the latest reports, 38 percent of home purchases in the second quarter of 2014 were all-cash deals. This is a large number to be sure, but it is actually down from 42 percent in the first quarter of the year.

Experts are attributing the decline to the fact that there are fewer deals to be had for the large institutional buyers that purchase multiple homes per year. According to CNN Money, those types of deals make up 4.7 percent of all sales, down from 6 percent last year.

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Residential Construction Rates are Rising

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The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development revealed this week that, from June to July, three important residential construction numbers have risen nationwide.

The numbers of construction permits taken out (+8.1 percent), construction projects started (+15.7 percent) and construction projects completed (+3.7 percent) all increased significantly.

All three of these measures suggest that the housing market continues to pick up in strength.

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Bruce Willis Finally Sells $16.5M Beverly Hills Estate

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Following more a year on the market, Bruce Willis’s $16.5 million Beverly Hills estate has finally sold.

The final purchase price was nearly 20 percent less than the original asking price of $22 million, which Willis had set back in May of 2013.

The 10,000-square-foot home boasts 11 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms and even has its own tennis court and movie room.

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Bravo Hires New Hosts for ‘Million Dollar Listing’

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“Million Dollar Listing” has two new agents this season in British transplants James Harris and David Parnes.

The two men are successful realtors and own Bond Street Partners in L.A., and now they will help move million-dollar properties on the Bravo TV show.

The seventh season of “Million Dollar Listing” is set to air on Wednesday, Aug. 20.

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San Francisco Has Toughest Housing Market to Afford

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According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, the San Francisco housing market is the toughest in the country to break into.

In the second quarter of 2014, only 11.1 percent of households earning the median local income of $100,400 could afford to purchase a median-priced home in the area. In comparison, 62.6 percent of households nationwide could afford to purchase a home at the national median price of $214,000.

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Robin Williams’s $29.9M Napa Valley Villa for Sale

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Four months before his tragic passing earlier this week, Robin William put his 653-acre Napa Valley estate on the market for $29.9 million, and it is still listed for sale.

Nicknamed Villa Sorriso, the home boasts five bedrooms, six full bathrooms and five half baths in 20,000 square feet. Outside there’s a barn, tennis courts and even a vineyard that produces three types of wines.

The home was previously on the market for $35 million in 2012, though Williams unlisted it when he experienced a lack of interested buyers.

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News, Tips & Advice

As Rents Increase, Buying May Be Better

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Although home prices have been increasing, so too have rent prices. So with interest rates as low as they are, it may be better, financially, to purchase a home than to continue to rent.

Even former HUD secretary Shaun Donovan has spoken out on the issue and said that the rate at which rents are rising is the worst the country has ever known.

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