Asheville native Steve Henderson began his career in mortgage banking 20 years ago after graduating from UNCA. An Asheville mortgage professional, Steve worked in the fulfillment side of mortgage originations and was able to gain experience in underwriting, closing, funding, and post-closing. A lifetime learner, Steve transitioned to retail branch originations and was crossed trained… Read more »
Founded by Candy L. Niedoba and Luis Ortiz, the Diverse Professionals Real Estate Group offers integrity, diversity, and leadership through real estate. “We are passionate in providing a multitude of services in order to make your home buying and selling experience extraordinary through exceptional service” Outside of working in real estate, Candy has deep roots… Read more »
I look forward to serve you as your realtor to make the entire process as less stressful as possible. If you need a recommendation for a local lender in the Springfield, MO area I am happy to refer you to some trusted professionals I have worked with successfully. I am a Springfield gay Realtor –… Read more »
From a city’s economic engine to the center of political and administrative power. From cultural heart and nightlife hotspot to dilapidated buildings and high crime rates. From opulent penthouse suites to derelict homes. The downtowns of American cities, both big and small, have always been dynamic places that shifted with the times. From the early… Read more »
Amid the havoc Hurricane Michael caused on blocks of waterfront property in Mexico Beach, Florida, a single home stood out after the storm cleared, a survivor of winds that made buildings “buck like an airplane wing.” This so-called Sand Palace, a home owned by Russell King and his nephew, Dr. Lebron Lackey, and profiled in the New York Times,… Read more »
I recently read an article in The Atlantic by Iliana E. Strauss – “The Hot New Millennial Housing Trend Is a Repeat of the Middle Ages.” The article addresses the trend in “co-housing,” in which people are choosing to live in housing with communal eating and socializing space. The author writes: “Homeownership is still viewed as a central component… Read more »
As they began planning their future together, Ashley Brown and her fiance, Aaron Shuman, concluded that they could no longer remain in Los Angeles because it was getting much too expensive. “Our rent in L.A. was $1,500 for a tiny, 650-square-foot apartment with no amenities,” said Brown, 29, a native New Yorker, actress and New… Read more »
The real estate industry has changed drastically over the years with the development of the internet and the opportunities it brings to the sector. From online listings to outreach, there are better marketing opportunities for both buyers and sellers today. The latest technology that’s changing the landscape of several industries is artificial intelligence (AI) and… Read more »
In the wake of two powerful hurricanes in the U.S. this fall, the scientific evidence that climate change will raise the risk of severe weather events continues to grow. In some coastal areas such as Hawaii and Florida, roughly one-tenth of all homes are expected to be underwater if sea levels rise by six feet…. Read more »
Earlier this year, the St. Helens City Council approved a renewable 50-year lease with Portland-based developer and entrepreneur Carl Coffman so he could build an eight-unit apartment complex on 7th Street in St. Helens. The shipping container homes are made from recycled metal shipping containers with renovated interiors to be used as living spaces. Coffman… Read more »
Anne has called Charlotte home for over 16 years. She is a native of New Orleans and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management with a business minor from Elon University in 1998. She also earned a masters degree in Business from Elon. She has lived uptown, Oakhurst, NODA, and now Villa Heights…. Read more »
If you go to an open house that you really love, wait until you’re out of earshot of the host agent to shout, ‘I want it! I want it!’ You enter your luxury high-rise apartment, toss your keys on the kitchen counter, kick off your shoes, and pour an adult beverage. With your drink in… Read more »
Time travel with me to 1973 Portland. The state legislature has just passed a landmark law establishing “urban growth boundaries,” launching the city toward its future of innovative planning. But if you look around, Portland’s streets are just like those of any American city—a highway builder’s dream. Most recent development is on the suburban model,… Read more »
San Francisco, the California city that has long been a haven for LGBT people, may have the highest rents on Earth, at least according to the financial site Walltwyse. Since the days of the 19th-century gold rush and, later, as a discharge spot for navy sailors, San Francisco has long served as the de facto… Read more »
A Nashville gay Realtor, Matt has been working in residential real estate in the Nashville area since 2005. Nashville is a booming city with a diverse industry base and a wonderful place to call home. Let Matt help you navigate the ever changing city and hot real estate market! See Matt Dillman’s Expanded Listing on… Read more »
Sit at Common Market in Plaza Midwood long enough on a weekend evening and it will inevitably happen. A red, open-aired bus will eventually drive by — a comedic tour guide blasting jokes through the onboard microphone as it drives toward the iconic neighborhood bar, deli and convenience store rolled into one. Regular patrons at… Read more »
Just what does it take to make the agent who’s done so much for you swoon? There are plenty of ways to build a harmonious, lasting, and fulfilling relationship that will take you from starter home to happily ever after. Check out this list of things that’ll make your agent fall head over heels in… Read more »
Unless you’re a college student or someone who lives with minimal belongings, moving can be a fairly intimidating undertaking. From packing all those boxes to finding a moving company that won’t drop your heirloom grandfather clock down a flight of stairs, it’s daunting to say the least. But sometimes there are factors beyond your control… Read more »
We’ve had several clients recently buy homes long before they thought they would. These clients came in for meetings and told us that they wouldn’t be buying for at least a year. Four months later, they’re in a new home! We’re seeing this happen time and again so we thought we’d take a moment to… Read more »
As a 5th generation Oregonian, I have been around long enough to see the trends; I lived in NW Portland before it was “The Pearl” and was a home owner in Inner NE Portland long before it was hip. When I first meet with clients, I don’t do all of the talking – I listen…. Read more »
Considering buying a home with a friend or partner? While it may not be your first thought, the answer is “yes.” Property can be purchased by a variety of different buyers—an individual, a business entity, a married couple, and even friends or partners who are not married. When non-married people purchase real property together —… Read more »
Scott and Erica Rothenberg thought the years of scrimping and saving had finally paid off. The three-bedroom house outside of Elk Grove—an upper-middle-class suburb of Sacramento—checked all of the boxes: quiet neighborhood, quality school district, ample space to start a family. But the couple knew competition for the house—like most houses in desirable California neighborhoods—would… Read more »
After a successful career in the restaurant business in Seattle, Washington and Los Angeles, California, Ed returned to McCall and managed the Shore Lodge before moving to Boise in 1994. Ed worked as an electrical contractor before obtaining his real estate license and putting years of experience building and remodeling homes to work. As a… Read more »
Success in the residential real estate industry first requires a bold commitment to big dreams and a willingness to help others. That’s about all “JZ” had after 2007’s economic recession brought layoffs to Atlanta’s non-profit sector. Once a development officer for the Southeast’s largest AIDS service organization, he found himself counting coins and new contacts… Read more »
Sherri Anne: Deirdre, as part of my buyer discussions, I walk through the settlement process. What paperwork to expect, including the closing statement and the costs associated with purchasing a home. But let’s be honest, the excitement and focus is always on finding the perfect home. Details on closing costs and fees are discussed, but… Read more »
Geoff is an award winning real estate agent who lives on beautiful Salt Spring Island with his partner and their two Vizsla’s. Prior to moving to Salt Spring Island, Geoff was a a successful REALTOR® with Royal Lepage in Toronto for over a decade. In 2016 was ranked within the top 3% of agents Nationally…. Read more »
As a Stockton gay Realtor I work with both SELLERS and BUYERS. My GOAL is for you to be so happy with my service that I’m your Trusted Realtor for Life and you refer me to your Family and Friends. I specialize in Traditional Sales, Probate Sales, & Bank Foreclosures. – I have over 15… Read more »
Capitol Hill, widely known since the 1970s as Seattle’s gay neighborhood, is changing. As development and gentrification sweep in, many longtime residents have moved out. But is the gayborhood dying, or just changing? To newcomers, it may be difficult to imagine that it was ever any different. But Capitol Hill didn’t always have the city’s… Read more »
Chris, a Charlotte gay Realtor, is passionate about making the buying or selling process fun and as stress free as possible. What makes Chris stand out? His enthusiasm, energy, keen negotiation skills, and consulting approach just to name a few! The home buying process with all of its many options can be overwhelming. Chris excels… Read more »
As a 5th generation Oregonian, I have been around long enough to see the trends; I lived in NW Portland before it was “The Pearl” and was a home owner in Inner NE Portland long before it was hip. When I first meet with clients, I don’t do all of the talking – I listen…. Read more »
David and Jamie De Maria are Seattle gay Realtors and proud members of Windermere Capitol Hill, a prominent real estate firm in Seattle. David is a second generation real estate broker and has been exposed to the business since childhood. With over 30 years of combined experience, David and Jamie are a well-rounded and savvy… Read more »
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals: I have been in the Pikes Peak Region since 1994 so know the area extremely well. I retired after 25 years from the retail world as an Operational Executive…. Read more »
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals: Billy Woomer specializes in residential real estate throughout the Greater Desert Area. Whether a million dollar luxury home or a 1BR condo, Billy welcomes the opportunity to work with… Read more »
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals: Michael Sullivan is a Triangle Area real estate agent who specializes in relocation to and from Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. He knows the area inside and out, and… Read more »
Every year, The Advocate ranks the cities in the US for queer friendliness based on a number of criteria. This year, the criteria includes lesbian bars, trans events, gay rugby teams, theaters screening “Moonlight”, Misterb&b hosts, LGBT centers, and more. Here’s today’s pick: With over 300,000 hardy souls, Anchorage is the closest thing to a… Read more »
Every year, The Advocate ranks the cities in the US for queer friendliness based on a number of criteria. This year, the criteria includes lesbian bars, trans events, gay rugby teams, theaters screening “Moonlight”, Misterb&b hosts, LGBT centers, and more. Here’s today’s pick: Only an hour’s drive from Los Angeles, Anaheim is not such a… Read more »
Every year, The Advocate ranks the cities in the US for queer friendliness based on a number of criteria. This year, the criteria includes lesbian bars, trans events, gay rugby teams, theaters screening “Moonlight”, Misterb&b hosts, LGBT centers, and more. Here’s today’s pick: Like Long Beach, Seattle has an out mayor (Ed Murray) and a… Read more »
Every year, The Advocate ranks the cities in the US for queer friendliness based on a number of criteria. This year, the criteria includes lesbian bars, trans events, gay rugby teams, theaters screening “Moonlight”, Misterb&b hosts, LGBT centers, and more. Here’s today’s pick: Long Beach has long been an underrated California city, with most folks… Read more »
Sin City has always been a great place to retire. It’s warm and sunny most of the year and there are enough outdoor activities to make sure no one is ever bored. There is also access to world class healthcare and an abundance of quality senior-living facilities and home healthcare services. It’s also relatively… Read more »
Situated conveniently across I-85/75 west of Midtown, the city’s main gay hub, the Westside (also known as West Midtown) was mostly a swath of warehouses and industrial concerns  some of them vacant  until developers, restaurateurs, and artists began moving in over the past 10 to 15 years. This large neighborhood sprawls a bit… Read more »
For a couple of decades, Washington’s gay community has been steadily expanding east of the city’s traditional hub of LGBTQ culture, Dupont Circle. The historic Logan Circle neighborhood abounds with beautiful 19th-century townhouses — many of which have been gorgeously restored in recent years. Logan Circle has morphed from a dodgy and downcast district to… Read more »
Over the past decade, the gayborhood has morphed into what’s often termed a “post-gay†neighborhood. At many LGBT-owned businesses, you’re apt to bump into plenty of straight folks as well  and vice versa. And it’s a good bet that the formerly explicitly gay neighborhoods will continue to become steadily more diverse  including the… Read more »
It’s no secret that living in walking distance to work, schools or even shops is growing ever more popular, but it’s also a considerably rare commodity (which, in turn, makes it ever more desirable). New research by Redfin now reveals just how much exactly walkability, expressed in form of a Walk Score, is worth in… Read more »
Millennials are seen as hyper-modern trendsetters – but when looking for a city to live in, some of their preferences are surprisingly conservative, new research reveals. New research by rentals portal Abodo reveals that the cliché of Generation Y seemingly doesn’t translate into what they’re looking for when moving to a new city. They asked… Read more »
Home values are appreciating faster than experts expected, rising almost 5 percent over the past year, according to the April Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. There are 3.4 percent fewer homes for sale in the U.S. than there were 12 months ago. Zillow forecasted home values would grow 2 percent from April 2015 to April… Read more »
The economy is looking up for many and according to the Case-Shiller index tracking resales of single family homes, this trend is being reflected in home prices. Nationally, prices are up 5 percent in the last 12 months, but in popular San Diego, that number is even higher. At a rise of 6.3 percent our… Read more »
Real estate agents are starting to jump on the Go bandwagon to try and sell homes. Since the game’s release in early July, thousands of people have signed up for the game; by now, use time is allegedly higher than that of Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter. And as the small creatures once again take over… Read more »
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals: Ft. Lauderdale Real Estate Agent Linda Jain knows the Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors real estate markets inside and out, and knows the importance of great customer service and… Read more »
As I walk into the homey Inner Richmond apartment of Vetiver singer Andy Cabic three days before Christmas, the first thing I notice are the boxes lining the walls — an all too familiar sight in San Francisco these days. When asked about the changes the city has faced over the last five or so… Read more »
October 2003 stands out in Chicagoans’ memory for the Cubs’ infamous collapse one game shy of the World Series. Now there’s another reason to curse that month: Nearly 13 years later, local home values are about the same as they were at the time of that Cubs crash. An index of Chicago-area single-family home values… Read more »
Defeated house hunters in Toronto and Vancouver who feel that the supply of affordable homes must be shrinking aren’t entirely imagining the phenomenon. Beata Caranci, chief economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank, says the houses listed for sale are increasingly tilted towards the upper end of the market. Her report, entitled Moving on the Monopoly Board: Buyer… Read more »
A confluence of factors  including low supply, high demand, obstructive regulations and lacking infrastructure  is driving up housing prices in the state, a panel of state economists and housing experts told a legislative committee Tuesday, May 24. “There are too few units given the strong and growing demand,†said Josh Lehner, economist with… Read more »
Home values in a highly competitive Philadelphia Real Estate market – newly reclassified by the real estate search engine Zillow as “very hot” – finished the first quarter of 2016 higher than the peak the Philadelphia Real Estate market reached just before the housing bubble burst in 2007. “[This] implies that all of the losses… Read more »
New York? Yawn. San Francisco? It’s been overrun by tech junkies. Chicago? Might as well be Shreveport. The jury is officially in, via my Facebook page, and Washington, D.C., has been declared the best city to be gay. But what makes our nation’s capital the ideal urban fruitopia for the LGBT community? Succinctly, today’s Washington… Read more »
As far as modern living goes, building higher and higher is one the trend du jour, with developers trying to (literally) outreach each other with every new project. From Dubai to Hong Kong, the trend to build high has originated some stunning designs with even more stunning views from the apartments. While London is currently… Read more »
LGBTI people are far more likely to buy or sell a home than their straight counterparts, new research reveals. In a representative study Emerald Life, the UK’s first full-service insurance provider for the LGBTI community, asked 2,023 adults about their plans for the next six months; their results were then compared to a sample of… Read more »
That sound you hear may be some air finally escaping from the inflated San Francisco real estate market. Home prices in the San Francisco Bay Area fell by 1.8% year-over-year in March, the first such drop in four years, according to Redfin , a Seattle-based real estate brokerage. “For years, San Francisco has been one… Read more »
The luxury housing market is in a slump, with prices falling 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the year-ago period, according to a new report from Redfin. Aside from a positive blip in 2015’s fourth quarter, the market has been slowing since the third quarter of 2014, so the drop is… Read more »
It’s the news buyers have been waiting for: San Francisco’s crazy competitive market appears to be slowing down. According to SocketSite, the inventory of unsold homes on the market in mid-April is at its highest point in four years. “The inventory of unsold homes listed for sale in San Francisco ticked up to 615 over… Read more »
That sound you hear may be some air finally escaping from the inflated San Francisco real estate market. Home prices in the San Francisco Bay Area fell by 1.8% year-over-year in March, the first such drop in four years, according to Redfin , a Seattle-based real estate brokerage. “For years, San Francisco has been one… Read more »
Is this a thing now? Really?: San Francisco Examiner reporter Joe Fitz Rodriguez tweeted an image of a “hair-raising” billboard he spotted on Ocean Avenue advertising new homes in San Francisco from the low $1,000,000s. At Gay Realty Watch, we look for news to share with you about the gay real estate market – both… Read more »
Last week, we wrote about a new report from the California Legislative Analyst’s Office that found that poorer neighborhoods that have added more market-rate housing in the Bay Area since 2000 have been less likely to experience displacement. The idea is counterintuitive but consistent with what many economists theorize: Build more housing, and the cost… Read more »
Finding a home in Manhattan is notoriously hard, with rents steadily on the rise and an ever-growing influx of people looking to make the borough their home. For February 2016, MNS Real Estate reports the average Manhattan rent to be sitting at $3,850 (€3,411, £2,658), after spiking over $4,000 (€3,563, £2,812) towards the end of… Read more »
More than half of LGBT people that live in rural areas of Northern Ireland feel compelled to move to cities, a new report has revealed. The findings by The Rainbow Project, also showed that 43% of respondents said their sexual orientation was at least partly related their desire to move. The survey explored the lives… Read more »
A starter home is supposed to be an entry point into the market: a modest property, maybe a two-bed, one-bath, a place a young couple could buy into before all the pets and kids and seldom-used kitchen appliances come along. Buy a starter home, if all goes well, and you position yourself later to trade… Read more »
As the price of an average house in the beautiful city nears $1.3 million Canadian, young tech workers are moving out, leaving worried business leaders behind. Kevin Oke had a millennial’s dream job in Vancouver, B.C., working as lead designer at a video-game company whose clients included Atari and Ubisoft Entertainment, but he still couldn’t… Read more »
Buildings, transport and manufacturing consume the most energy in our day-to-day lives; but with ever-rising demand and cost, what would it look like if we reimagined these systems? The Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy (AIME) demonstration project is one possible strategy to create a balance between urbanization, resulting in humanity’s growing need for energy, and humanity…. Read more »
As expected, San Francisco planners are recommending approval of a mixed-use redevelopment project that would incorporate a Castro funeral home building. At its February 11 meeting, the planning commission is expected to vote on the Prado Group’s revamp of Sullivan’s Funeral Home at 2254 Market Street and its adjacent parking lot. The developer has proposed… Read more »
With Toronto constantly growing, neighborhoods around the city are constantly changing and the city’s ever-growing popularity sees the masses of dwellers follow the trend. Hipsters flocking into a certain area is the most obvious sign of gentrification rearing its head – but even right now, without coffee shops and ironic tote bags taking over the… Read more »
New York City real estate professionals are split on what effect the Federal Reserve’s expected raise in short-term interest rates will have on property values and real estate development. According to the latest survey by accounting firm Marks Paneth, 41 percent say an interest rate hike will cause co-op and condo values to decline, 34… Read more »
Personal assistant Brenden Michaels is wondering if his days in Brooklyn are numbered. He still clings to a cheap rental flat in uber-gentrified Williamsburg, but has seen his neighbourhood’s prices skyrocket. He now laughingly suspects even the improvements he’s made to his own home may eventually come back to bite him. “I’ve repainted everything, put… Read more »
The year 2015 was all about records: new heights for sales prices, rentals … and the number of applications to affordable housing lotteries. But the market began to shift late in the year: sales price growth cooled, and landlords offered more concessions amid rising vacancies for rentals. Both are trends some brokers predict will continue…. Read more »
Former San Francisco resident Dan Hutchins was the focus of attention for a standing-room-only crowd of more than a hundred who packed Maui’s Seascape Maalaea Restaurant earlier this month. The Maui AIDS Foundation organized the event for World AIDS Day, and Hutchins was the featured speaker. For the first time publicly, he told the compelling… Read more »
The typical San Francisco millennial can only afford to buy 135 square feet of housing, the lowest buying power in the country, according to personal finance company SmartAsset. Despite the city’s strong job growth and its reputation for well-paying tech jobs for young engineers, wages haven’t kept up with soaring property values. This year, San… Read more »
Manhattan apartment prices reached new highs in 2015, with the typical price of a co-op or condominium topping $1 million for the first time as the year drew to a close. The new benchmark, in the fourth quarter, was a milestone in the rising cost, and for many the unaffordability, of homeownership in New York… Read more »
The price of an average Manhattan apartment has passed the $1.9million mark after surging 60 per cent in the past 10 years. Remarkably, total real estate sales this year alone are expected to reach $24billion, and 190 apartments have sold for more than $10million each. The Manhattan market is traditionally composed of co-ops, in which… Read more »
The real estate market is in a sleepy mode, and there are lots of reasons for this. This is the first of a two-part peek at the forecast for 2016, and in this first of the series, we’ll lay out the forces that are at play, setting the stage for what is to come. In… Read more »
King County is experiencing the worst shortage of homes for sale in more than a decade, driving prices higher and keeping more would-be buyers in apartments. The median price of single-family homes sold last month in King County was $499,950, a 13.6 percent increase over the past 12 months, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported… Read more »
RealtyTrac has released its October 2015 U.S. Home Sales Report, which shows that among 94 major metro areas analyzed for the report, 33 markets (35%) have now reached new all-time home price peaks in 2015. The report also shows that the median sales price of U.S. single family homes and condos in October was $207,500,… Read more »
“The most requested neighborhood characteristic of all buyers is walkability,” real estate broker Andrea Evers recently told a reporter for The Washington Post. But, in an article written by the Post’s Michele Lerner, Evers went on to say that “very few areas” in the greater DC market meet the desired criterion, particularly if the prospective… Read more »
Canyon Lake Ranch was once a playground for Christian day campers, and then was a corporate retreat with water-skiing, barbecues and cowboy shoot-em-up shows. Hawks now circle above 108 sunbaked acres occupied by copperhead snakes, a few coyotes and the occasional construction truck. Soon this ranch will be a gated subdivision of 99 mini-mansions designed… Read more »
For some time now Chicago has been bouncing around near the bottom of the 20 metro areas tracked by Case Shiller in terms of year over year single family home price gains. With this morning’s release of the September Case Shiller home price index we ended up dead last with only a 1.1% gain. The… Read more »
New York City’s top developers are becoming all too aware of a slowdown on the top end of the real estate market. Though there are no forecasts projecting an imminent crash, some high-profile builders say they’re seeing the velocity of sales in high-end buildings start to wane amid increased competition in the luxury segment of… Read more »
The Mark Company’s Condominium Pricing Index for October is out and Downtown Seattle condo prices were up 5 percent in October, reaching a new high of $814 per square foot. That surpasses the previous peak of $808 per square foot in March and is now 11 percent higher than October 2014. New construction inventory also… Read more »
The Louis and The Harper are high-end apartment buildings on 14th Street in the heart of one of DC’s hottest neighborhoods. (Andre Chung for The Washington Post) When we think about the reasons behind the movement of younger, higher-income people into center cities — reversing the decades-long trend of suburbanization — lots of things come… Read more »
Miami-Dade County real estate posted a robust third quarter as total residential sales, single-family home transactions, existing condo transactions and median prices grew compared to the same period in 2014, according to a new report by the 40,000-member MIAMI Association of REALTORS(R) (MIAMI) and the local Multiple Listing Service systems. Miami-Dade County had 7,811 total… Read more »
Long-distance moves  from one city to another, out of state, across the country  are often moves made for jobs. Local moves, on the other hand, tend to be more about housing. We move from one address to another within the same city or county to get a bigger home, a better home, a… Read more »
It’s official: San Francisco’s luxury housing market is cooling, according to Paragon Real Estate Group. “All price segments in San Francisco have cooled off from the overheated frenzy of the spring 2015 selling season — this cooling is a common seasonal phenomenon,” Paragon said in its November market report released Friday. “But while the lower… Read more »
The Chinese restaurant across the street from me – one of the last, reasonably priced joints in the neighborhood – closed last weekend. Their lease was up for renewal and the rent increased from $5,000 a month to $25,000. Such an enormous jump isn’t unusual here in the West Village, part of Greenwich Village in… Read more »
China’s Central Bank is moving forward with capital markets reforms that could make it easier for Chinese citizens to invest in New York real estate. The country’s monetary policymakers announced on Friday they may soon allow residents of a Shanghai free-trade zone to buy overseas assets directly – a trial run for the rest of… Read more »
The streaking hot San Francisco housing market is finally showing signs of cooling down and experts are wary of trouble times ahead. Morgan Stanley’s Vance Edelson issued a statement aimed at its valued clients on Friday saying, “The tech IPO slowdown has stoked concern that San Fran, one of the hottest real estate markets, could… Read more »
Condos are back in the game as they outpace single-family homes in appreciation. A recent research study released by Zillow stated that condos are appreciating at 5.1 percent annually, outpacing the 3.7 percent rate of single-family homes in the United States. During the past recession, condos were hit hard by the sudden burst in the… Read more »
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. Providing you with expertise in Real Estate solutions – I dedicate 100% of my energy toward serving my clients. I depend on referrals from satisfied clients, so I work… Read more »
It’s no secret that that the tech market has exploded in San Francisco in the last few years. According to a report by Dr. Michael Mandel, an estimated 68,000 people in the city of San Francisco work in the technology industry; one report by the Bay Area Council Economic Instituteputs the number of professional science… Read more »
In all of San Francisco, according to McLaughlin’s study, more than 63 percent of homes (including condos and town houses) are valued at $1 million or more. That’s up from 39 percent in 2010. The city’s housing crunch is a familiar story. We’ve known that lower- and middle-income families have struggled to stay in San… Read more »
The Federal Reserve is likely to raise short-term interest rates later this year for the first time since 2006. Will it throttle the commercial real estate boom? That’s a multibillion-dollar question for investors. Real estate insiders talk about the rate hike the way doctors talk about wine: healthy in moderate doses. Even if higher rates… Read more »
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. Thank you for visiting my Gay Realty Network web site. I am a dedicated, full-time, RE/MAX agent serving the Greater Providence, East Side, Cranston, Warwick, Lincoln, North Providence, Cumberland,… Read more »
The gayborhood will get a little gayer just in time for Pride. The Atlanta City Council on Monday approved the temporary installation of rainbow crosswalks at a busy Midtown intersection. The resolution, sponsored by City Council member Kwanza Hall, enables the crosswalks for 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue for two weeks, paving the way for… Read more »
RealtyTrac, the nation’s leading source for comprehensive housing data, today released its August 2015 U.S. Home Sales Report, which shows single family home and condo sales through August were on pace for an eight-year high nationwide and in 110 out of 204 (54 percent) metropolitan statistical areas with sufficient sales data. A total of 1,947,028… Read more »
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. A great real estate agent needs many skills and qualities, including integrity, community and real estate market knowledge, marketing savvy, strong negotiation skills and a good professional network –… Read more »
Builders are opting for apartments over condos, experts say, because they don’t face the liability of being sued under the state’s condominium act. Some condo builders still bear fresh memories of multimillion-dollar settlements with homeowner associations. “You’re finding developers saying, ‘Why take the risk of building a condo?’\0x2009” said Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Windermere… Read more »
The awkward, criss-crossing intersections around Market Street and Van Ness Avenue will soon pop with some of the most change in the city. Nearly every property zoned to rise at least 120 feet tall under 2009’s Market-Octavia Plan has been snatched up, and the city’s newest spate of towers is in the works. Carpet stores,… Read more »
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. Mario is a San Francisco real estate superstar. He is a nationally recognized Top Agent, as well as a husband, son, brother, uncle, and friend. Mario is also a… Read more »
The West Village of Manhattan is a place “where the streets are so tiny, so isolated from the hubbub of the rest of the city, they have managed to stay trapped in a time warp,” said Barry Benepe, an architect and urban planner who has rented an apartment on Jane Street since 1971 and was… Read more »
Families who earn an average income can only afford a home in seven of 32 California counties, according to the California Association of Realtors. The report said someone earning the state’s median income of $60,244 can afford less than a third of California’s available homes, condos and town homes. For Judy Cornick, a Sacramento retiree… Read more »
San Francisco’s Castro Merchants business group voted this morning (Thursday, August 6) to approve a proposed ice cream shop in the neighborhood. Juliet Pries, a 15-year-Castro resident, said she hopes to open the Cafe Fountain at 554 Castro Street by early 2016. Pries, who’s straight and currently owns Ice Cream Bar, at 815 Cole Street… Read more »
Sales of California homes remained robust in July, with the number of houses and condos sold hitting a nine-year high for the second month in a row, a research firm reported Wednesday. CoreLogic Inc. reported an estimated 46,065 new and existing single-family homes sold in California in July. That’s up 14.4 percent from last July,… Read more »
Seattle is dead and Amazon killed it. The recent news around Amazon has focused on the company as a workplace. Much of it has been unflattering, all of it is accurate. But a more comprehensive indictment of Amazon would also describe its effect on the rest of Seattle, which used to be a great place… Read more »
Summer is cranking along and so is Chicago’s construction scene. In case you’ve missed it, the city is experiencing a boom in new construction. Thousands of new apartment units and hotel rooms are on the way, and the city’s skyline is littered with cranes that are helping construct these new developments. And while it seems… Read more »
Home prices in the U.S. have risen consistently for the last three years. By that measure, the housing market looks pretty good, but the prices are being driven by a severe lack of supply. And that’s discouraging for many buyers, especially in some of the hottest markets, like Denver. Take the case of new mom… Read more »
Most of the San Francisco residents will find it hard to purchase a home given the rising cost of houses. Based on a study conducted by the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.), only 10 percent of prospective home owners in the area could afford to buy a single family house. C.A.R. released their 2nd Quarter… Read more »
Forbes Magazine, that guru of money, has recently issued a roundup of real estate realities for 2015. Rather than re-invent the wheel, this week I am presenting their insights to you in a deconstructed and simple format. Here we go: An overview: Real estate has stabilized – yay! After years of roller coaster values, we… Read more »
Like many Seattle neighborhoods, Belltown has undergone tremendous change through the years. The area was named by William Nathaniel Bell, an Illinois native and member of the first group of white settlers in Seattle. Bell lived in Seattle on and off until his death in 1887, and he left his mark on the city in… Read more »
There is a mystery rising around the corner from my home in Northeast D.C. Its reveal has been slow: one floor at a time, the metal skeleton taking shape over months. The work seems to sputter on and off, and several times I’ve wondered if something went wrong. The money ran out. Or the inspectors… Read more »
The single-family home in America has evolved in one particularly remarkable way: It has gotten bigger, and bigger. New homes built today are about a thousand square feet larger than single-family homes completed just 40 years ago (that’s about the size of an additional modest rowhouse in Washington, D.C.). All that space is a sign… Read more »
In the very hottest real estate markets, and we have a few here in California, the balance of supply and demand is tilting very much to the demand side. What that means is that there isn’t a lot of inventory for buyers to choose from and when something grand does come on the market, the… Read more »
While construction of single-family homes and multifamily rentals is on the rebound, condo construction has sunk to new lows. A condo rebound has been delayed by stringent rules on condo mortgages that took effect post-housing crisis, as well as stronger demand among young people for rentals, The Wall Street Journal reports. Condo construction in the… Read more »
According to the Miami Association of Realtors, Miami’s real estate market recorded its highest number of single-family home sales of any month in history in June 2015, and is on pace to set another all-time annual sales record. The Miami market registered 1,390 single-family home sales in June, beating its previous record of 1,317 in… Read more »
Del Seymour knows all about the pimps, drug dealers and vagrants of San Francisco’s Tenderloin district – because he used to be one of them. “I was a real bad dude down here. I’ve pissed and shitted myself on these streets. I’ve felt the cold and felt the fear of being attacked. I’ve been stabbed… Read more »
If you’ve been out and about in Manhattan over the past six weeks and you have eyes and ears, you know something’s happening — something worrisome. The urban streetscape is degrading. Take a walk down Broadway on the Upper West Side from the 100s to the 70s, as I did Sunday, and you’ll see it… Read more »
Typically home-buying activity falls off during the summer months, but not this year in the metro Puget Sound region, where buyers are competing to buy fewer homes while paying significantly higher prices. The lack of condos and houses for sale is nothing new as real estate agents have been clamoring for additional inventory for more… Read more »
In a market where many sellers receive multiple offers, buyers who have their heart set on a particular property need a winning strategy. The Regional Sales Contract is used for the vast majority of re-sales in D.C. and Maryland and arms agents with many “if” clauses, called “contingencies,” to protect either their buyers or their… Read more »
There are a lot of really, really expensive apartments poised to enter the market in the next few years (we’re lookin’ at you, 220 Central Park South and Nordstrom Tower) that will join the ranks of the city’s already-inundated luxury market. A few questions have been floating around for a while: when’s enough, enough? Are… Read more »
If you’re living in a one-parent household making the $7.75 minimum wage in Hawaii, you would need to work 163 hours a week to comfortably make your rent payment on a two-bedroom apartment — giving you a luxurious five hours a week to sleep, eat or spend time with your family. To comfortably afford a… Read more »
The housing crash of the late 2000s was supposed to have decimated property values across the nation. But in Brooklyn, the housing market barely broke its stride. Supply and demand is supposed to be an immutable truth, yet a well-documented boom in development has done little to stop spiraling prices. Every few weeks, a different… Read more »
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. Ron is the Broker/Owner of his own Houston real estate firm. Whether you’re buying or selling property in the Houston real estate market, you must to have confidence in… Read more »
For many years, a perplexing phenomenon has made its way into real estate markets across the country: where there is a high concentration of same-sex couples, real estate tends to be more expensive and appreciate in value faster. The trend was made famous by a 2001 study by Richard Florida and Gary Gates, which found… Read more »
Earlier this week, city supervisors in San Francisco considered an emergency 45-day moratorium on the construction of new market-rate housing in the Mission district so that the city could, in theory, pause to ponder what’s happening in its insane housing market. The Mission has long been home to lower-income residents, many of them minorities, and… Read more »
Yes, 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of San Diego’s renowned Balboa Park and there are continuing events celebrating this historic landmark as there should be. Balboa Park has played a great part in the history of San Diego’s LGBT community. From social, political, HIV-AIDS demonstrations and Pride, etc. In fact, this year marks the 40th… Read more »
As rents and home prices have skyrocketed over the past few years, the Bay Area has become a more difficult place to live, to put it mildly. Real estate website Redfin has compiled data showing that Bay Area residents are increasingly looking to buy in other locations. Back in 2011, 85.5 percent of people located… Read more »
Trulia bases these calculations on all the homes listed on their site for rent or sale in March 2015. They include things like mortgage payments, maintenance, insurance, taxes, closing costs, down payment, sale proceeds and security deposits in the cost of owning and renting, and make a separate calculation for homeowner association fees. At Gay… Read more »
In San Francisco, a boom is always associated with its essential counterpart, the bust. They’re as typical to the city as sun and fog. And currently, the city is in one heck of a housing boom, but the national indices don’t quite do justice to how over-the-top mind-blowing crazy the situation has gotten. For example,… Read more »
When a duplex condominium in New York’s new One57 supertall tower sold for $100.5 million dollars in January, it shattered all records. This condo is the most expensive single-family residence ever sold in Manhattan. Yet, at the rate that luxe residential towers are coming online in the part of Midtown known as Billionaires Row–consider the… Read more »
I had anticipated some of the rewards and discoveries of visiting cities in the process of economic and cultural recovery and re-invention. An unexpected reward has been the chance to get a time-capsule view, a kind of real-life time-line diorama, of how the downtown areas of cities look through all the stages of a decline-and-rise… Read more »
Over the last half-century in America, it’s become acceptable, then increasingly common, then entirely unremarkable, to live alone. Women who once lived with their families until their wedding day now live alone. Men delaying marriage later into their 20s live alone. Divorces, more common today than in 1950, live alone. And seniors who live longer… Read more »
San Francisco has become ground zero for class warfare as wealthy real estate developers snatch up cheap housing and kick out long time residents so they can build million dollar condos in a process called gentrification. City Supervisor David Campos says he’s had enough, and today he’s going to introduce an ordinance to halt all… Read more »
A gay couple have complained about a flatshare ad – that says a room is available for a straight couple only. Ross Boulter and his partner Mikey say they were looking for a flat in Guilford on Spareroom.co.uk, when they saw a listing for a flatshare in the city centre. However, after reaching out to… Read more »
A gradual decline in inventory has contributed to the increase in overbidding among buyers, according to a new report from Paragon Real Estate. The real-estate firm tallied the number of homes, co-ops, TICs, condos and even 2-4-unit buildings listed on the MLS, starting just before the market recovery began in 2012. It found that while… Read more »
A massive fire swept through Cherry Grove’s commercial district on Fire Island last night, destroying several private homes, the Holly House Hotel, and the Grove Hotel, the last of which was home to the famed Ice Palace nightclub. For decades the Ice Palace hosted the Miss Fire Island pageant and served as the kickoff location… Read more »
New research into Gallup survey information reveals an educated estimate of where LGBT Americans live, considered perhaps the most detailed glimpse yet into the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people across 50 states. At 6.2%, the San Francisco metropolitan area has the highest percentage of the adult population who identify as LGBT of… Read more »
Rain wasn’t the only thing in short supply over the winter. The Bay Area housing market has also been suffering from an inventory drought. Real estate activity always slows in winter, but the number of homes and condos sold in the Bay Area in January and February were the lowest in seven years for those… Read more »
By most indicators, the national real estate market is looking up. There are lots of reasons for this and we’ll get into some of them here. But for the most part, the real estate market follows the general state of the economy. When employment is high and the economy is on a strengthening trend, buyer… Read more »
When a developer announced last week that he planned to build what would be the tallest building in Canada on the southwest corner of Yonge and Bloor, Toronto seemed unimpressed. Many who wrote online comments about the proposal wondered why on earth this city needs yet another glass condominium tower, even a dramatic 80-storey one… Read more »
A gradual decline in inventory has contributed to the increase in overbidding among buyers, according to a new report from Paragon Real Estate. The real-estate firm tallied the number of homes, co-ops, TICs, condos and even 2-4-unit buildings listed on the MLS, starting just before the market recovery began in 2012. It found that while… Read more »
Hey, did you know housing cost in San Francisco is really high? Of course you did — you live here. But, did you know that the mortgage is so damn high that it is possible to find a castle in Europe that is less expensive than some condos in San Francisco? Did you know that… Read more »
The yearly Knight Frank’s Wealth Report that surveys the movements of the global ultra-rich has been released (h/t CityLab), and–truly, surprise!–New York City’s status amongst the moneyed elite has dropped three places to rest as the number four city most populated by individuals who have amassed over $30 million in personal wealth. What’s eyebrow-raising is… Read more »
Wherever the towers of big development rise, the rents rise with them. And as the rents hit nosebleed heights, New York vanishes. Neighborhood by neighborhood, borough by borough, this is how you kill a city. From the glitzy corridor of the High Line in Manhattan, to the Downtown Brooklyn neighborhood around the Barclays Center to… Read more »
Stefan Kaiser, a 24-year-old associate with Encore Architects in Seattle, has some ideas about how to make tech cities more equitable. He did research on the topic thanks to an AIA Seattle travel scholarship, which allowed him to spend time last year in San Francisco, Kansas City and Nairobi. Kaiser moved to Seattle in 2013… Read more »
Something a little fun and fluffy for Sunday: For decades we have believed that the most popular name for a road was “2nd.” But by my analysis, that crown actually goes to “Park.” (Again, look to the methodology section for a discussion of this.) Out of over a million roads in the United States, 9,640… Read more »
The beautiful island, which happens to be shaped like a penis, is north of Fiji and with no direct flights, owners will have to get their by boat or perhaps helicopter. The asking price for a Beachfront Freehold is $125,000, whilst you can get an Ocean Access View lot for just $75,000 and according to… Read more »