Top real estate stories of 2016: House flipping becomes reality, government tries to cool the hot market

What if you kept making the same prediction over and over again and it never came true?

That’s the dilemma for housing naysayers who have been calling for some type of meaningful correction for more than a decade. It hasn’t happened on a national level, unless you consider a 0.7 per cent reduction in prices in 2008 a crash. Individual markets always tell their own story and price reductions are now underway in cities like Vancouver and Calgary.

Even the Canadian Real Estate Association, which represents over 110,000 realtors, now says the housing boom can’t go on. The Ottawa-based group is forecasting housing sales to drop by 3.3 per cent next year after a record 2016.

On the price front, 2016 should see a record average price of $489,500 but CREA says prices will drop 3.3 per cent next year.

What’s changing? The fear of a rising rate environment was starting to materialize late in 2016 – albeit in small way.

The bigger threat seems to be tougher mortgage rules out of Ottawa which will make it even harder for first-time buyers to qualify for a loan and potentially snuff out a housing market that has been on fire for almost a decade and half.

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New Mexico home sales continue record-setting year

New Mexico home sales continue to have a record-setting year. According to the Realtors Association of New Mexico, the number of home sales and the median price of those homes rose in November, compared to the same time last year. During the month, 1,513 homes sold with a median price of $187,000. Last year, RANM reported 1,278 homes sold with a median price of $177,500. “November’s reported median of $187,000 is the highest November median since RANM started keeping statewide statistics,"…

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Middletown real estate firm merges with Berkshire Hathaway division

A local real estate office that has been family owned for more than 40 years is merging into Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Professional Realty. Woodlan Realtors in Middletown was founded in the 1970s and has been run by Brent Woodlan and his mother, Rita, since 1995. While they have rejected many offers from national firms to be acquired in the past, Brent told me the deal with Berkshire, a real estate brokerage network held by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B), “just…

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Douglas Elliman opens its 19th South Florida brokerage office

Douglas Elliman now has 19 brokerage offices in South Florida after opening a Jupiter location. Its new office at 400 U.S. Highway 1, Suite C1, is led by managing broker Don Langdon, who has been named a top producer by the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches for seven consecutive years. When he managed Douglas Elliman’s Wellington/Palm Beach network, he exceeded more than $1 billion in sales in over 1,000 transactions. The Jupiter location houses more than 20 agents, said Matthias Fretz,…

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Home of Actor Ron Glass Appears on the Market Soon After His Death

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Actor Ron Glass, known as the stylish, savvy detective Ron Harris on the “Barney Miller” sitcom and the devout Christian preacher on the sci-fi TV drama “Firefly” (and its sequel film “Serenity”) died of respiratory failure last month. He was 71.

Now, the late actor’s hilltop home in the Los Feliz Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles is on the market for $1.85 million.

The 2,138-square-foot, two-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom, Mid-Century Modern home isn’t exceedingly spacious by Hollywood standards, but it is remarkably well-situated. It sits on a hill with views from downtown L.A. to Century City to the Pacific Ocean. There’s an oversize wraparound balcony that takes full advantage of those incomparable views.

The home of the late actor Ron GlassThe wraparound balcony

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Built in 1959, the home has been “meticulously maintained and upgraded,” according to listing agent Alison Whitaker of Sotheby’s International Realty–Beverly Hills Brokerage.

The original stacked-stone accent walls and fireplace are in pristine condition. The kitchen isn’t large, but its layout, adjacent and open to the dining area and den, lends itself to easy expansion.

Stacked stone fireplace

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The kitchen features a peninsula

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The kitchen, dining area, and den could easily be combined in one great room.

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Both the guest bedroom and the master bedroom have access to the wraparound balcony. The master bedroom features a walk-in closet and master bathroom.

A subtle nod to the former owner

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Perhaps the peaceful feeling of the place comes from the fact that Glass was a devout Buddhist and an active member of the SGI-USA Friendship Center in Los Angeles. The actor took a number of roles with religious themes, including the aforementioned “Shepherd” on “Firefly,” God’s cousin Rod on the short-lived series “Teen Angel,” and as a soul-collecting devil in an episode of the revived “Twilight Zone.”

The post Home of Actor Ron Glass Appears on the Market Soon After His Death appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

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America’s Hottest Markets for Real Estate in December 2016

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“On Dasher, on Dancer … on U.S. home buyers!” At least, that’s what Santa might say if he were checking out realtor.com® data while making his express prime deliveries (guaranteed delivery by Christmas morning) later this month. We took an early peek at the stats for December 2016 and found that, much like demand for toys and candy canes, demand for real estate showed no signs of slowing down for the holidays.

In fact, the shelves are almost bare: The year is set to close with a record-low supply of homes for sale.

The U.S. housing market already had a stronger than normal off-season in September and October because of demand from buyers, including many first-timers, who hadn’t yet been able to nab a home, says realtor.com’s chief economist, Jonathan Smoke.

“Since the election, demand seems to have intensified—potentially as a reaction to mortgage rates moving suddenly higher,” Smoke says. “The threat of rates approaching multiyear highs in the months ahead is creating a sense of urgency.”

Another indication of the heightened demand for housing is that the median list price remains the same from November instead of steadily declining into the winter months.  The current median price of $250,000 is 9% higher than one year ago, a record for December.

And while homes are sitting on the market six days longer than for November, they’re picking up speed as the year ends. The median number of days that properties take to sell is expected to reach 88 for December, which is five days faster than last year at this time.

We analyzed our data to find the markets where homes are selling the fastest and buyers are eagerly checking out listings. The result: our monthly list of the country’s 20 hottest markets for real estate! These metro areas include smaller nearby towns, so for example the San Francisco market also takes in Oakland and Hayward.

As usual, California dominates the list with 12 markets, including San Francisco, which holds on to the No. 1 spot for the fourth month in a row. Texas, Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Tennessee are also represented. Two newcomers made the list: Midland, TX, and Yuba City, CA, which was also the biggest gainer, vaulting up 30 spots to crack the top 20.

Check out the full list:

The hot list

Rank (December)	20 Hottest Markets	Rank (November)	Rank Change
1	San Francisco, CA	1	0
2	Dallas, TX	2	0
3	Vallejo, CA	3	0
4	San Jose, CA	5	1
5	San Diego, CA	6	1
6	Denver, CO	4	-2
7	Stockton, CA	7	0
8	Columbus, OH	9	1
9	Sacramento, CA	11	2
10	Detroit, MI	10	0
11	Yuba City, CA	41	30
12	Santa Rosa, CA	13	1
13	Fresno, CA	14	1
14	Colorado Springs, CO	20	6
15	Oxnard, CA	19	4
16	Fort Wayne, IN	8	-8
17	Los Angeles, CA	18	1
18	Nashville, TN	17	-1
19	Midland, TX	33	14
20	Modesto, CA	15	-5

The post America’s Hottest Markets for Real Estate in December 2016 appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

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Lea Black of ‘Real Housewives’ Dishes About the L.A. Home She’s Selling

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Although Lea Black of the “Real Housewives of Miami” says real estate isn’t a top priority in her glamorous life, she owns five fabulous homes, three in the Miami area and two in Los Angeles.

In an effort to simplify her housing situation and focus on other endeavors, she’s putting the smaller of her two Hollywood Hills homes on the market. The outspoken housewife hopes a new owner will enjoy it just as much as she and her husband, Roy Black, did. Her husband is a prominent lawyer, whose clients have included Justin Bieber, Kelsey Grammer, and Rush Limbaugh.

Black says she and her husband will be spending more time in Southern California. “We’ll be spending about half the year here, where we used to be in Miami most of the time, and only come to L.A. about three months per year.”

The simple front exterior is deceiving. The house extends three stories down the hillside and has remarkable views of Los Angeles.

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She’s decided to sell her four-bedroom, 4.5-bath, 3,536-square-foot home in the Sunset Plaza area. Her other L.A. home is a little more than a mile away and about twice the size of the Sunset Plaza property.

“It wasn’t an easy decision to sell this house, because we’ve been in it about 12 years and I love it so much,” says Black. The couple bought the property in 2004 for $1.76 million and used it for a few months each year. It’s now on the market for $2,895,000.

“It’s perfect for entertaining,” she says. Although she doesn’t schmooze and tell, she says many of her high-profile celebrity friends have stayed there.

She also notes that unlike many of the homes in the hills above Sunset Plaza, this one is situated on a wide street with lots of easy parking. Anyone who’s ever attended a party on these meandering hillside streets or taken a tour of star homes can testify it’s a tough area to navigate.

Dining space

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“Whoever gets this house is one of the luckiest people in the world,” Black says. “It has great energy, and it’s practically maintenance-free, with its drought-resistant landscaping.”

The house offers city to ocean views toward Catalina Island. The first floor features a living room with a high ceiling, fireplace, wet bar, dining area, and chef’s kitchen. The second level down has three bedrooms and a family room, and the third level down has a media room and a guest room with a private entrance.

Media room

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The house has been staged by designer Meredith Baer, so the furniture in the photos isn’t included in the deal, but Black’s beloved chandeliers are.

“Although the house is modern, I furnished it and finished it with classical features that are timeless, so that it would never feel dated,” she says.

The living room was staged by designer Meredith Baer.

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Black is also putting one of her three Florida houses on the market.

“I’ve lived in a ridiculous mansion [in the Miami area] for 20 years—it’s spectacular, and we’re going to keep that. But I bought another house on the water on Star Island with plans to renovate, but I ended up renting it out. I don’t think we’ll ever live on the water, and the market has never been better, so I think it’s time to sell.”

And while Black keeps a keen eye on the residential real estate market, there are other priorities in her life.

Her top priority is family, namely her son, who’s in high school. She’s also focused on helping her husband and his booming legal business. Black is also well-known for her charity work, including the annual Black Gala, which raises money to support programs for at-risk youth through the Consequences Charity and Foundation.

She also runs a website, LeaBlackInk.com, which offers a range of products, most notably her recently released novel, “Red Carpets and White Lies.”

The couple’s fabulous real estate portfolio lands in line somewhere after family and business. Which isn’t to say she doesn’t enjoy buying and selling property: “I like houses and jewelry,” she says with a laugh. “What can I say?”

A bedroom

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