Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae planning a foreclosure holiday
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are putting a temporary halt to foreclosure sales and evictions of occupied single-family homes during the holiday season. It’s not just that the government-controlled mortgage finance companies have gotten into the holiday spirit. The idea of the suspension, which will.. .. read more..
OYSTER BAY COVE, LI
Thursday, November 20, 2008
If this "gated mansion" set on 4 acres of "landscaped beauty" is any indication, the famed Gold Coast of Long Island still glimmers. This center-hall Colonial, measuring about 12,500 square feet, has six bedrooms and 7½ bathrooms and features... .. read more..
FLATIRON
Thursday, November 20, 2008
If only you could find a TriBeCa-style loft that was much closer to Union Square. Oh, wait - we have one right here! This "fully renovated" three-bedroom condo occupies a full-floor of a "beautiful" turn-of-the-20th-century building on East 17th... .. read more..
PURCHASE, NY
Thursday, November 20, 2008
This Georgian Colonial measures out to 8,000 square feet - enough space for eight bedrooms, 9½ bathrooms and numerous common/entertaining rooms, plus a kitchen with two dishwashers and two sinks (though just one Sub-Zero fridge). Flourishes... .. read more..
TRIBECA
Thursday, November 20, 2008
This building was converted from a sugar warehouse, and what you'll find inside is still definitely very sweet. Like this "dramatic and unique" condo loft - a 3,555-square-foot duplex with 16-foot ceilings and direct views of the Hudson River. The... .. read more..
OSSINING, N.Y.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 3Square feet: 2,600 -- This spacious Westchester home features a first-floor master bedroom suite with large walk-in closets and a bay window - which comes in handy for the "seasonal Hudson River views." The full... .. read more..
GRAMERCY
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Bedrooms: 1 Bathrooms: 1 Square feet: 840 Maintenance: $1,147 -- Bonus room! Den, home office, whatever you want to call it. In another city or suburb, you might expect some extra space, but here in Manhattan it's a bonus! Add that to the... .. read more..
FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Bedrooms: 1 Bathrooms: 1Square feet: 850 Maintenance: $912 -- For those who still don't realize how convenient Brooklyn can be, this corner co-op at Lafayette Avenue and South Oxford Street offers easy access to dozens of restaurants and... .. read more..
GREENWICH VILLAGE
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 2½ Square feet: 1,850 Maintenance: $2,549 -- This "stunning artist's loft" on Bleecker Street makes a statement (for example, this must be the home of one very successful artist). The "massive" triplex in a... .. read more..
STAPLETON HEIGHTS, S.I.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 2½ Square feet: 3,400 -- Arts & Crafts isn't just for summer camp - it's also a noted historical style, and a good example is this 1922 home known as the Parsonage. With fine chestnut and pine detailing and a mix of... .. read more..
SUITE 'N LOWER
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Plaza's Astor Suite has gone back on the market with a new broker and a $17 million price cut. The 5,000-square-foot, fifth-floor unit, owned by European Esprit founder Juergen Friedrich, is now sporting a $38 million price tag. The... .. read more..
QUITE THE COLLECTION
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The legendary czar of mid-century American furniture design, 81-year-old Vladimir Kagan has a client list that reads like a who's who of the past 60-plus years. From Marilyn Monroe and Walt Disney to Tom Ford and Angelina Jolie, Kagan's enduring... .. read more..
CUCKOO FOR CO-OPS
Thursday, November 20, 2008
When Tom Mangne entered his co-op board interview, he thought he'd anticipated everything. He'd secured a mortgage for the $450,000 Hudson Heights apartment he wanted. He'd submitted his tax returns. He'd forked over his credit card statements... .. read more..
CO-OPS FOR SALE
Thursday, November 20, 2008
EAST VILLAGE ALCOVE STUDIO, $325,000: Apartment on East Sixth Street has kitchen with granite countertops, new air-conditioning, new hardwood floors and storage areas above bathroom and front door. Agent: Barbara Lamb, Century 21 NY Metro... .. read more..
JUST SOLD!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Manhattan GREENWICH VILLAGE $1,657,000 30 E. Ninth St. Three-bedroom, two-bath co-op, 1,300 square feet, with renovated kitchen and renovated marble; building features doorman, garden, laundry and storage. Maintenance $1,614, 51 percent... .. read more..
NOT SO HOT
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Even though gas prices are declining, home heating costs can hurt - especially if you took a gamble over the summer and locked in your gas or oil rate, anticipating that prices would keep going up. (The penalties for breaking such a contract can... .. read more..
If the home builders are nervous, what does that mean for the rest of us?
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The builders are about as pessimistic as they've ever been. Yesterday, we learned that the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, which tracks builder sentiment, fell to a record low of 9 in November (sinking from an already low 14 in October). Today we found out th.. .. read more..
Paulson and Bair's Dueling Foreclosure Strategies
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and FDIC Chairwoman Shelia Bair battled it out on Capitol Hill today over competing plans for the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Plan funds. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D. Mass.) bashed Paulson for shifting his pl.. .. read more..
Squatters "Hold Houses Ransom"
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Many weird stories have popped up at a result of the real estate bust, but none stranger than this recent item from California's Riverside Press-Enterprise . A character named King Solomon II is filing deeds of sale on foreclosed homes and then renting them out to other people. This is a big proble.. .. read more..
Robert Shiller (and me) on housing
Friday, November 14, 2008
A shameless plug here that I participated in a 30-minute segment on the "state of the housing market" on NPR's Talk of the Nation show yesterday, along with noted Yale economist Robert Shiller . Here's a link to the audiocast, on the off-chance you weren't glued to NPR all day Thursday. At one poin.. .. read more..
