real estate

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Squeezed Owners Seek Tax Break as Home Values Drop

Local governments feel the pinch as property taxes decline

(Newser) - With property values falling across much of the nation, more homeowners are asking for reassessments, looking for a break from property taxes that inflated before the subprime mortgage balloon burst, reports the New York Times. For local governments, especially in areas already suffering from high rates of foreclosure, declining property...

Why Sam Zell Is Still High on Tribune

Ducati-riding magnate tells the New Yorker his deal's golden

(Newser) - Billionaire real estate magnate Sam Zell, legendary for turning around distressed properties, is likely to have his riskiest play—the struggling media giant Tribune—in his hands by year’s end. The financials have only gotten worse since he made the deal, but the "extravagantly confident" Zell isn't showing...

Real Estate Is What Divides America Into Red and Blue

it's land-use laws, not religion, stupid

(Newser) - Real estate—as much as religion or politics—is what really divides America into red and blue regions, argues Atlantic Monthly’s Virginia Postrel. Comparing the housing markets in Dallas and Los Angeles, she notes that it's no coincidence that there's cheap, plentiful housing in the former, and expensive, scarce...

Where to Find Housing Bargains
Where to Find Housing Bargains
Sep 26, 2007 1:48 PM CDT

Where to Find Housing Bargains

Where to look to make sure your next home is a solid asset—and where not to

(Newser) - Taking into account current affordability, projected growth, and employment opportunities, BusinessWeek pick the best and worst prospects for bargains in the US housing market. The best, in alphabetical order:
  1. Austin-Round Rock, Texas
  2. Baton Rouge, La.
  3. Birmingham-Hoover, Ala.

These Streets Are Paved in Gold
These Streets Are Paved in Gold
Sep 15, 2007 11:04 AM CDT

These Streets Are Paved in Gold

Forbes publishes list of most expensive US city blocks

(Newser) - Forbes has compiled a list of the most expensive real estate blocks in 10 major cities.  It teamed up with date provider Reply! to compile an index of the 'billionaire rows' of the US. In New York, the block between Fifth Avenue, Madison, 69th and 70th Sts. takes the...

All the Space That's Fit to Sell
All the Space That's Fit to Sell
Aug 29, 2007 3:42 PM CDT

All the Space That's Fit to Sell

Newspapers, fighting to stay alive, turn to their landmark buildings in efforts to raise cash

(Newser) - Newspapers, in an effort to bring in cash and stave off extinction, are selling iconic properties in downtown districts, the Journal reports. The latest example is the Philadelphia Inquirer, whose new owner hopes to net $70 million for its Beaux-Arts tower; the Boston Herald and Minneapolis Star Tribune are also...

China's Malls Beg for Shoppers
China's Malls Beg for Shoppers
Aug 28, 2007 1:44 PM CDT

China's Malls Beg for Shoppers

China’s mall explosion may mimic US mortgages

(Newser) - The malls keep going up in China, but the number of mallrats isn't keeping up with them. Indications abound of retail real-estate bubble, the Christian Science Monitor reports, but warnings to banks about loaning to malls aren’t halting new construction. Consumption is only 37% of Chinese output—half the...

Home Resales Down For Fifth Straight Month

Decline lower than expected, but unlikely to stop, experts say

(Newser) - Existing home sales slumped again in July—the fifth straight month the figures have been off and a sign that the market-draining housing downturn will continue. Though the 0.2 percent decline was the smallest movement since 2002, experts expect sales to continue dropping, according to Bloomberg.

US Median Home Price to Drop
US Median Home Price
to Drop
Aug 26, 2007 3:08 PM CDT

US Median Home Price to Drop

Projected 1-2% decline for 2007 would be the first since 1950

(Newser) - The median cost of an American home, now $220,000, is expected to drop this year for the first time since tracking began in 1950, reports the New York Times. The decline will be modest—1 to 2%—but could last into 2008 and 2009, meaning that, adjusting for inflation,...

Condo Crash Is Just Beginning
Condo Crash
Is Just
Beginning
Aug 25, 2007 11:40 AM CDT

Condo Crash Is Just Beginning

Glut of new units and failing contracts yet to peak

(Newser) - Mortgage lenders are about to be hit with another wave of foreclosures and bankruptcies, the Journal reports, as the crisis kicks in in condo market. Because buildings take years to complete, even after buyers have signed contracts, the effect of declining property values and tight credit are slower to talk...

New-Home Sales Grow, Spur Wall St.
New-Home Sales Grow, Spur Wall St.
Aug 24, 2007 11:21 AM CDT

New-Home Sales Grow, Spur Wall St.

But new figures don't fully reflect credit market's impact, analysts say

(Newser) - New-home sales grew 2.8% last month, delivering an unexpected bit of good news to investors still reeling from the credit crunch. But the housing market, which had been rebounding in recent months from a slump, will likely show renewed weakness after he mortgage crisis dust settles, Bloomberg reports.

Hotelier Helmsley Dead at 87
Hotelier Helmsley Dead at 87
Aug 20, 2007 1:21 PM CDT

Hotelier Helmsley Dead at 87

'Queen of Mean' learns certainty of death, if not taxes

(Newser) - Leona Helsmley, the notoriously tyrannical real-estate baroness dubbed New York’s “Queen of Mean,” died of heart failure today at 87. The Brooklyn native took the reins of her husband Harry's real-estate empire in the 70s, and soon her name was synonymous with both luxe hotels and the...

Mortgage Crisis Hits Affluent Buyers, Too

Even borrowers with excellent credit are now facing higher rates

(Newser) - Mortgage tremors have rippled so far across the home loan market that even buyers of high-priced homes with good credit records are now being squeezed, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rates have surged on loans above $417,000 for prime borrowers—to 7.34% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, up...

Builders' Loans Pushed Credit Meltdown

Peddling dubious mortgages to move properties helped burst bubble

(Newser) - In the ongoing post-mortem of the housing boom, BusinessWeek turns an acute eye on developers, especially big, publicly traded builders who jumped into the mortgage business to move people into their newly built houses faster. As demand for new homes began to fizzle, they kept sales brisk by offering adjustable-rate...

Best Home Sellers' Markets
Best Home Sellers' Markets
Jul 31, 2007 5:35 PM CDT

Best Home Sellers' Markets

Times are tough, but your house won't sit on the market for long in these towns

(Newser) - The housing market overall isn't good, but luckily for some, there's an exception to every rule. Forbes points you toward 10 towns where sellers can still finish with smiles on their faces.
  1. Raleigh, NC
  2. San Francisco
  3. Austin, Texas
  4. San Antonio, Texas
  5. St. Louis 

Consumer Confidence Rises
Consumer Confidence Rises
Jul 31, 2007 4:18 PM CDT

Consumer Confidence Rises

Shoppers buying again after June slump

(Newser) - Consumer spending rose more than expected this month, to its highest level in 6 years, after shoppers tightened their belts in June, Bloomberg reports. Consumer confidence jumped 7.3 points according to a Conference Board index, suggesting the slump was temporary. Economists chalk up the spending jump to low unemployment...

Calif. Foreclosures Set Record
Calif. Foreclosures Set Record
Jul 24, 2007 5:56 PM CDT

Calif. Foreclosures Set Record

Second-quarter figures reveal housing slump worse than '96 skid

(Newser) - Reflecting the increasingly gloomy picture across the country, residential foreclosures in California were up 799% in the second quarter compared to the same time last year, the LA Times reports. Stricter lending practices and the reeling housing market contributed to the record high 17,408 foreclosures in the three-month period,...

Parking Spot for Sale: $225,000
Parking Spot for Sale: $225,000
Jul 12, 2007 7:28 AM CDT

Parking Spot for Sale: $225,000

Manhattan drivers pay house rates to stash their cars

(Newser) - The price of New York City parking has doubled in five years, with some drivers currently vying for the chance to pay an astronomical $225,000 for one of five private parking spaces in the basement of a Manhattan condo, the New York Times reports. That's the price of a...

Office Rents Soar in US
Office Rents Soar in US
Jul 5, 2007 1:50 PM CDT

Office Rents Soar in US

Companies are bearing the brunt of a price surge for commercial leases

(Newser) - The price of office space has surged nationwide due to a dwindling store of vacant commercial property and picky landlords increasingly keen on attracting well-heeled tenants. Across the country, leases spiked an average of 3.1% in the second quarter, following an increase of 2.8% in the first.

150-Story Chicago Spire to Begin Construction

Calatrava designed building will be nation's tallest building

(Newser) - The Chicago Spire, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, is finally under way. Following an ownership change, a design change and a name change, what will become the nation’s tallest building will be completed in 2010.

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