High Estates

NATIONAL HOUSING - More ugliness as affordability on the buy side is still a problem. Mortgage resets will continue to make struggling homeowners payments even more unaffordable. I do not think the gov’t sponsored rate freeze plan will be as effective as some think. Inventory will continue to be a drag on national housing and buyer demand will continue to be pressured. Prices will continue to drop in most of the struggling markets like Miami, Las Vegas, & Phoenix with some markets seeing 10-15% drops. I am fairly negative on national housing for 2008, however, if I were in the market for the longer term I would start to get VERY interested in bidding for distressed properties that have realized a 20-30% correction in price since 2006. All in all, I think its going to get uglier before it gets better and I expect foreclosures & delinquencies to rise in 2008 causing more pain for wall street financials. I also expect commercial to follow residential and get hit in 2008.Towards the end of 2008 I expect the rate of declines for major datasets to slow, showing a glimmer of hope for 2009.

Source: urbandigs.com

www.housemaxx.ca

Just north of Lansing Michigan, there is a town called DeWitt named after Clinton DeWitt, who is the former governor of New York. This happened because many New Yorkers have settled in mid-Michigan prior to 1833. The town is very quaint, with family friendly restaurants and shops in downtown area. It was actually recognized by CNN/Money Magazine’s “Best Places to Live 2005.” It is also known for its 5 scenic parks and quality schools. If you want to live pretty close to a large city, and yet want the warmth of a small town, DeWitt can be a great choice.

In the East Memphis neighborhood of High Point Terrace, a dented plastic water bottle and faded Dr. Pepper can rest between a set of rotting rail ties and contorted, overgrown brushwood. At first glance, the rail tracks stretching behind High Point residential backyards appears to be part of property that has been long forgotten. But this is not just another abandoned lot. It’s a piece of an out-of-service railway owned by CSX Transportation, a company that has placed a $17 million price tag on the 13-mile discontinued rail corridor stretching from Midtown Memphis to Cordova. And it’s all part of a brewing dispute involving a number of local entities, including a private equity firm representing a consortium of civic organizations; city, county, and state government; and one of the largest railroad companies in the Eastern United States.

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Each city has blocks that everyone knows; and not by their street address but by nicknames like “billionaire’s row” or by the number of film and Wall Street stars that live there.

They often are the most expensive block in their respective city.

Usually the block orients around the city’s defining feature. In New York, it’s on Central Park; in San Francisco it has views of the bay; in Seattle it sits on Lake Washington; and in Miami it’s on the water.

In Pictures: The Most Expensive Blocks In The U.S.

For the first time ever Forbes.com has generated a list of the most expensive blocks in 10 cities across the country. To do so, we created an index with California-based data provider Reply! of the 100 most expensive properties in each city, mapped them geographically and then measured home values and the concentration of high-priced home values in each particular cluster.

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Subprime woes spread to pricey real estate.

NEW YORK - The subprime mortgage crisis is spreading to a somewhat unexpected place: homes costing more than $500,000.

As lending has rapidly gotten more restrictive for borrowers taking out large loans, sales of expensive homes have fallen sharply around the country during what should be one of the busiest seasons for buyers and sellers, mortgage bankers and real estate agents say.

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Global Property Guide, a real estate research firm, recently issued a report ranking the most expensive flats in Europe. Currently, property value is on the rise throughout much of Europe, and real estate in locations such as the Baltic region are seeing an increase in value. Rental yields (profit yields) in several European cities are above 10%. The extremely small and distinguished principality of Monaco currently wears the crown for most expensive real estate in the Europe.

Monaco has an average price of �24,900 per sq meter, making the principality the most expensive real estate in Europe, but profit yields are low at 2.4%. A 35 sq. meter apartment of this expensive real estate yields an average return of 2.12%, while a 195 sq. meter apartment yields an average return of 2.64%.

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The bar for luxury residential real estate in Hong Kong, already one of the most expensive areas in the world, has been raised.

The Peak, at 1,811 feet above sea level, is the highest point on Hong Kong Island and has symbolized prominence and wealth since the 19th century. Formally known as Victoria Peak, it towers above the heart of the city and has spectacular, 360-degree views of all of the surrounding islands. To live there signifies a status level for which captains of industry from around the world are willing to pay top dollar.

Last month, The Peak exceeded its own lavish reputation, with local headlines claiming it is the site of the most expensive residential piece of land in the world. The government land auction of 12 Mount Kellett Road fetched $231 million from Sun Hung Kai Properties — 134 percent of the opening bid and a projected $5,417 per square foot.

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POLICE must have back-up before answering calls for help on the Flemington and North Melbourne high-rise estates.The directive was issued last week after a series of attacks on officers and police vehicles by youths armed with rocks, bricks and makeshift spears.

One in five calls to Flemington police were from the housing estate, Divisional Superintendent Brett Guerin said.

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