Real Estate News

We’re still feeling some Oscar® fever, so allow us to indulge with yet another home owned by an Academy Award nominee — Glenn Close. Yes, we still have vivid memories of her role as deranged stalker Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction and were curious to read about the sale of her Manhattan “aerie” from none other than Real Estalker.

Close’s Upper East Side condo is on the market for $11,800,000 and her apartment, 19-D, is described as being one of Central Park West’s most glamorous since it’s part of the “… coveted “D” line east over Central Park, south over the Planetarium and all the way down the Park to the Manhattan skyline.” A spacious 19

Attention Seattle-area real estate professionals: We’re hosting two Zillow education events this week, one on Thursday in Bellevue and one on Friday in Seattle.

Thursday, March 11, 8:30 am – 10 am, Hyatt Regency Bellevue.

Friday, March 12, 8:30 am – 10 am, Seattle Public Library.

Come and learn how to get the most out of Zillow. I’ll be talking about the Zestimate home value, Zillow widgets, Zillow Advice, Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, and Zillow advertising opportunities.

The events free. Hope to see you there.

Credit:

Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed mortgages declined this week, with the current rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace at 4.76%, down from 4.80% at this time last week. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate fluctuated between 4.76 and 4.82 during the past week.

Additionally, 15-year fixed borrowers were quoted on average, 4.24% and for 5/1 ARMs, 3.47%.

What are the rates right now? Check Zillow Mortgage Marketplace for up-to-the-minute mortgage rates for your state.

Here is the original:
Rate for 30-year Fixed Mortgage Fell This Week to 4.76%

Consistent with trends that materialized in December, home value appreciation continued to weaken in many markets around the country during January.  Nationally, while the annualized appreciation rate continued to improve -– increasing from -5.5% in December to -4.8% in January –- home values declined 0.33% from the prior month (a slightly larger monthly depreciation than the 0.27% recorded in December).  See Figure 1 for the national performance in historical context.

Of the markets I focus on in the table below, four stayed in positive or flat territory in terms of month-over-month appreciation: Los Angeles (0.2%), Philadelphia (0.2%), San Diego (0.0%) and San Francisco (0.3%).  Five markets stayed in positive territory in terms of year-over-year appreciation: Boston (1.7%), Denver (0.4%), Los Angeles (0.9%), San Diego (0.2%) and San Francisco (0.9%).   It was just four months ago that sixteen of the twenty-four markets shown in the accompanying table had recorded four or more months of positive monthly appreciation in home values.

The number of homeowners losing their homes to foreclosure across the country remained unchanged from December, but was still pegged at the highest level seen in Zillow’s data, which began in 1996. In January, more than one in every thousand homes in the U.S. reached the final stage of foreclosure.

Foreclosure re-sales as a percentage of all transactions notched up in January to 22.28%, largely as a function of the decreasing volume of non-foreclosure sales in the winter months relative to the steady stream of foreclosure re-sales.

It seems that the home buyer tax credits are keeping some additional incremental demand in the marketplace during the winter, but they are not having the same powerful impact on home sales seen in the late summer and fall of 2009.  This suggests that most of the incremental buyers who could be coaxed off the fence and into the marketplace were already persuaded to purchase before the extension of the tax credit last November.  Undoubtedly, there will be another mini-frenzy of home buying around the expiration of these tax credits in June but we expect this spike to be a very muted version of the November spike.   In line with our smaller expectations for a spike in sales before expiration, we also think that the payback in diminished sales post-expiration will be more muted.

Read the rest here:
A Month That Makes Us Miss Last Summer – January Real Estate Performance

The Florida home of former professional tennis sensation Jennifer Capriati is on the market for $2.1 million; it was first listed in 2008 for $2.35 million.

Located in Wesley Chapel, about 40 minutes outside of Tampa, Capriati’s home is part of the Saddlebrook Resort community, which is known as a haven for developing tennis and golf talent.

Capriati’s two-story, custom-built contemporary is on one acre and has a pool, plus hot tub. Views include a lake, plus one of Saddlebrook’s two championship golf courses. It has four bedrooms and five bathrooms, a personal theater, where first-run movies can be shown and a unique drive-through garage. See more photos of Capriati’s house.

Saddlebrook residents have access to 500 acres of recreation, including two championship golf courses, 48 tennis courts, a European spa, fitness center, three restaurants and three swimming pools.

Capriati turned pro just weeks before her 14th birthday in 1990 and became the youngest player to ever reach a tour final that same year. After taking two years off due to personal issues, she executed one of sports greatest comebacks by winning three Grand Slam titles — the Australian Open (twice) and French Open.

> See more Wesley Chapel real estate

> See Wesley Chapel home values

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Lots of real estate news lately, surrounding some “Real Housewives,” including Tamra Barney who appears to have sold her home in a short sale and now, Jeana Keough, who avoided foreclosure and got a loan mod.

We reported last June that Keough admittedly had a notice of default on her Coto de Caza home and was trying to do a loan modification. Her lender initially denied her request, but it looks like she succeeded after an all-out assault that included speeches, e-mail campaigns, letters to her Congress people, communiques with a friend at HUD, and contact with the governor’s office. After Keough made enough noise, her lender stopped foreclosure and she has a loan mod.

Although Keough’s home is still listed on Zillow for $3.9 million, she tells Lansner on Real Estate that the house is off the market, but she might sell later when she’s not under so much pressure. See more photos of Keough’s home.

> See more Coto de Caza real estate

> See Coto de Caza home values

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Since President Obama took office last year, housing has been one of his administration’s top priorities. Programs have aimed to stem foreclosures by encouraging loan modifications and stimulate demand for housing with tax credits.

Now, the administration is taking a slightly different tack. The New York Times yesterday reported on a new program that will pay both homeowners and banks in an attempt to stimulate short sales.

Underwater homeowners who are delinquent on their mortgages appear to be the program’s target. They would receive $1,500 in “relocation assistance,” presumably when their home is sold. The bank that services their mortgage would receive $1,000 for the first mortgage, and another $1,000 if there is a second mortgage.

The Times reports the program will begin April 5.

This program seems to be the “Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)” that was announced late last year, according to HousingWire. Whether the name and details will remain is yet to be seen — the Treasury Department, which will run the program, doesn’t seem to have any information up on their Web site yet.

So far, the program is generating some controversy. Sources quoted in the Times were skeptical about whether it would be effective, and Daniel Indiviglio from The Atlantic wrote about his concerns today.

We’ll keep looking for more details, but in the meantime, any thoughts?

See more here:
New Program to Offer Short Sale Incentives to Homeowners and Lenders

Yes — you read that right — a price hike of $15 million. According to Curbed Hamptons, a modern Montauk Zen masterpiece was listed for $35 million, but just got a price hike of $15 million.

Located oceanfront at 42 Old Montauk Highway, Montauk, NY, it is for sale for $50 million, which has to be one of the priciest pieces of real estate in the Hamptons these days (OK, well, there is this equestrian center for $75 million).

This 7,000 sq ft modern construction sits on 35 acres, high on the bluff and is accessed by a half-mile private drive.  According to the description, the home was engineered with steel to withstand 150 mph winds. Civilized touches include marble floors warmed by radiant heat and a home theater.

> See more Montauk real estate
> See Montauk home values

Source:
Modern Montauk Beauty Gets Price BUMP of $15 Million

A couple of notable residences on the market in the Chicago area are owned by billionaire Bill Wrigley Jr., the great-grandson of chewing gum founder William Wrigley, who established the candy company in 1891. Wrigley Jr. sold Wrigley Co. to Mars Inc., in 2008 for $23 billion and he gave up his title as CEO, but he remains as executive chairman.

Wrigley’s Lake Forest home — For Sale $14.5 Million (below)
1345 Lake Rd, Lake Forest, IL 60045
> See more Lake Forest real estate
> See Lake Forest home values

Highlights: This grand Italianate mansion on Lake Michigan was built in 1912 and was originally designed by architect Howard van Doren Shaw. According to chicagomag.com, Wrigley bought it in January 2003 for $9.9 million. The home’s original owner was Donald McLennan,  a Chicago insurance executive who cofounded insurance giant Marsh & McLennan. Donald and his wife, Katherine, called the house “Stornoway,” after a small Scottish town believed to be the birthplace of some of McLennan’s ancestors. See more photos of Wrigley’s Lake Forest home.

Wrigley’s Gold Coast penthouse — For Sale $14 Million (below)
65 E Goethe St, Chicago  IL 60610
> See more Gold Coast real estate
> See Gold Coast home values

Highlights: Just a few months before Wrigley bought the Lake Forest mansion above, he paid $10.1 million for a 13,200-square-foot Gold Coast condominium below. According to the Chicago Tribune, the “… full-floor penthouse is raw, undeveloped space, and sits on the eighth floor of the Lucien Lagrange-designed limestone building…”. The penthouse was created from three units combined into one, but as you can see from photos of Wrigley’s penthouse, it is a humongous, concrete shell. Wrigley reportedly backed out of finishing out the space twice before deciding to sell. If you’re wondering how one can justify asking $14 million for unfinished space, it includes Wrigley’s plans to finish it out, plus two 1,500-square-foot outdoor spaces on the roof, and six garage spaces — a rarity to find so much space on the Gold Coast.

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Chicago Billionaire Wrigley Has Two Multi-Million Dollar Homes on Market

Since the (almost) two years since we introduced Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, lenders have been telling us how Zillow has helped them grow their business by connecting them with highly qualified borrowers. In fact, Zillow contacts convert 9x greater than the average industry leads.

I recently wrote a blog post about a review in Inman News where Kathy Whitman, president of Whitman Metropolitan, Inc was quoted as saying that Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is one of their main sources of generating customers.

Today, Zillow’s COO Spencer Rascoff shares an email he received from another ecstatic lender who says:

“Through Zillow, we have acquired new clients for million dollar loans; clients who come to us with top credit scores and great income and healthy assets. These are ideal clients for [our bank] – some have switched assets to [our in-house money management firm], and the potential is great for more investments, as well as clients for [other of our] banking products. These new clients are also great pipeline additions; I have done several refis for clients who originally did a purchase loan with me in the past 2 years, and several have referred their friends to me……..Using Zillow on the other hand did give me the opportunity to be connected with serious buyers, in great numbers.”

If you’re a lender and you want to learn more about how you can start quoting on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace call 877-661-3171 or email mortgagesales@zillow.com.

Continued here:
Lenders: Find New Customers on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace

Everyone, I have huge news: I’m retiring from Zillow. I’ve recently come into a lot of money.

About a week ago I received a Zillow email out of nowhere from this charming woman, Ms. Helen Samule Doe, daughter of the late former Oil Minister of Gambia, Marcus Doe. She saw my apartment listing on Zillow and was so impressed by my honesty that she felt she could trust me. She wants me to invest her oil fortune in American real estate. All I have to do is open up an account and wire her cash for fees so she can deposit over $9 million dollars. She’s going to split the proceeds with me.

This is the best plan ever.

. . .

If you didn’t believe a word I said, good. Occasionally, our users report weird emails being sent to them through Zillow. They range from scenarios like the above to suspicious, out-of-nowhere offers to buy listings at outrageous prices, to even weirder stuff. All sorts of users can receive these emails, too — basically, if you have a [Contact Me] button on your profile, you may be “contacted.”

Zillow is popular — really, really popular — and like other extremely popular websites such as Craigslist, we’re targeted by fraudsters for abuse. So how do you protect yourself?

Zillow’s got a great fraud resource page – check it out. And in general, don’t provide any personal or financial information. You can report scams to the authorities and our fraud research page provides links to do so. For the most part, just listen to your own common sense. If something is too good to be true, it probably is.

- If someone whom you’ve never met or heard of emails you out of the blue through Zillow with an immediate offer for your home, chances are it’s fraud. Does that ever happen in real life? Not really.

- If someone claiming to be something incredible, like the daughter of the late Oil Minister of Gambia, wants to invest with you on the basis of your attractive home photos, chances are it’s fraud. Does that ever happen in real life? Not really.

Finally, if you’re still suspicious, use Zillow Advice as a resource. People frequently ask other forumites about suspicious emails. Odds are high that other people have received similar messages. By following all these steps, you can have safe and enjoyable time on Zillow.

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From Leesburg, VA, Zillow user othersider2 asks in Zillow Advice:

Is the home buyer credit really helping the buyer?

I have been looking for a home to buy in the Leesburg, VA area.  It seems that prices have gone up some because everybody wants to get in on the home buyer credit, and there is more demand now than there is supply.  So I have to ask:  if prices are going up, am I really benefiting at all from the buyer credit?  I don’t think its helping me.  I feel like its a trick the government is playing on us buyers to get us all excited and then buy only to find out that we paid more than we should have, even with the credit.  I’m tempted to wait until the program is over to see if prices will come down some.  Any advice?

Last week, we saw this same theory from orange hammer in Denver who asked, “Buy now or wait til $8000 tax credit expires?” Orange hammer felt competition was driven up in Denver due to the tax credit.

What do you think?

Here is the original:
Is Homebuyer Credit Really Helping the Buyer?

DallasDirt’s Candy Evans tipped us off that former NFL and pro baseball star Deion Sanders’s Dallas condo is on the market for $7.5 million.

Sanders made his mark as a versatile, lightning-quick athlete who played two pro sports in the same year over a 12-year period (1989-2001). Plus, he became a feared threat in the NFL by playing several different positions effectively on defense and offense (cornerback, kick returner, wide receiver, punt returner) en route to earning himself the nicknames “Neon Deion,” and “Prime Time.”

According to DallasDirt, Sanders bought this condo in the Azure just a year ago through his TwentyOne LLC (he wore #21 through most of his pro career), but the purchase price is not known.

What is known is that it’s on the market for $7.5 million and it is said to be Dallas’ first LEED-certified residential building. The penthouse is two stories and has a private elevator to the roof terrace with a private pool. While it’s listed as having 9,444 square feet, that includes the terraces and pool. Features include panoramic skyline views of downtown Dallas, a two-story living room, terrace lounge with bar and full bath and outdoor fireplace.

While Sanders had a lot of flash and dash on and off the field, his condo comes off as a bit austere. See photos of Deion Sanders’ Dallas condo.

> See more Dallas real estate

> See Dallas home values

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Quite a price cut: In increments of a million and half-million dollars, this Russian Hill house in San Francisco dropped its asking price from $6,950,000 to $4,950,000 in a year’s time, reports SF Curbed. See celebrity price cuts.

$2 Million Price Chop on Russian Hill Beauty

Powerful talk-show radio personality Rush Limbaugh’s NYC penthouse is on the market for $13,950,000, evidently as a show of revolt against New York’s notoriously high taxes.

Limbaugh uses New York studios as a backup to broadcast his show if bad weather threatens his Florida operations, but it looks like he’s had enough with New York. According to Gawker, Limbaugh threatened to sell his Manhattan apartment due to taxes and went on the air last March saying so. Here’s a portion of the transcript from his March 30, 2009 show titled, “El Rushbo to New York: Drop Dead:”

Well, I announced that I was officially vacating New York after these stupid, punitive, massive tax increases, and basically I go to New York now for hurricane relief, whenever a hurricane hits.  No other reason to go there.  Well, sometimes I visit the overrated staff, but it would be cheaper to fly the staff down here to visit me than to pay these stupid tax increases!

Limbaugh’s Upper East Side pre-war penthouse hit the market last week and it’s described as having expansive views of Central Park. Also, there are lots of murals done on the ceilings and walls of the home, done by artist Richard Smith. See more photos of Limbaugh’s New York City penthouse.

> See more Upper East Side real estate

> See Upper East Side home values

See the rest here: