HousingWatch

Home-Renovation Fantasy Books Can Change Your Life

Ernest Beck — 2010-07-28T17:36:00 00:00

Filed under: News

Carol and Hugo Rizzoli and Josh Kilmer-Purcell (pictured at right with his partner Brent Ridge) are not household-name authors, but if you love real estate and home renovations you might be devouring the stories these people are telling in their new books -- the latest of many new publications in what is affectionately known as the house-porn publishing genre.

You know the plot: fantasies that many of us had had about buying an old wreck out in the wilds somewhere and slaving away at remodeling and renovating and along the way gaining insight into our very selves. That is, you get new insulation, a snazzy kitchen backsplash and perhaps a spread in Country Living as well as self-knowledge.

Kind of like "This Old House" meets "Eat Pray Love." Or as Joanne Kaufman put it in The Wall Street Journal, "The take-home message: If you get your house right, you'll also get your life right (or vice versa)."

But does a house makeover always lead to introspection and internal renewal?
We'd like to believe so, judging by the fabulous success of books like Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence" and the popular "Under the Tuscan Sun" by Frances Mayes. In these cases it's the innocent abroad plot in which the protagonist sets out into unknown territory and, in the process of ripping out walls and dealing with balky Polish laborers, builds a dream house and finds variations of happiness and contentment.

According to Kaufman, such books "hit the sweet spot between our collective passion for real estate and our national belief in the power of re-invention."

The latest crop includes "The House at Royal Oak" by Carol Eron Rizzoli, the story of closing the bookshop that she and her husband Hugo ran in Washington, D.C., and opening an upscale B&B called Royal Oak on Chesapeake Bay; Josh Kilmer-Purcell's "The Bucolic Plague," about his excursion into goat farming with his city-slicker partner; and "The Dirty Life," the upcoming story of Harvard grad Kristin Kimball, a freelance writer who "traded in her life in the city to marry a farmer" and which chronicles year on their sustainable farm.

Sounds like a challenge, as was always portrayed on the old TV show "Green Acres." And one that glosses over the reality that the headaches, agony and angst of a renovation -- haggling with a plumber in hostile territory -- can be soothed with what we gain through these experiences -- love, fulfillment, the perfect relationship, and of course, a book contract.

Still, it's fun to dream (as you turn the pages of these books this summer on the beach) that the rundown shack over there could be transformed into a casual seaside bistro serving locavore delights and fish caught by your friends, the scruffy local fishermen, who also offer old-fashioned wisdom on how to overcome your neuroses.

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Colorado Luxury Home Sales Climb as Wealthy Bargain-Hunt

Ernest Beck — 2010-07-28T11:09:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Cities

An uptick in sales of high-end mountain real estate in Colorado has prompted a critical question: Are the rich really returning to the real estate market and buying luxury homes? Or are they still hoarding their wealth after getting burned in the crash?

Mixed signals about what the wealthy are doing with their money are everywhere. One day we hear via Scorpio Partners that the rich might have as much as $26 trillion stashed away that they're not giving to banks and wealth managers. Meanwhile, The New York Times reports that a growing number of homeowners with million-dollar-plus mortgages have simply stopped making payments.

On the other hand comes word that high-net-worth buyers are apparently loosening their wallets a bit to purchase homes in swanky Colorado resorts like Vail and Aspen. It's not a bellwether market like Manhattan, or course, but some say the flicker of activity in this micro-market favored by high fliers could be a signal that the end of the Great Recession is near and a real estate rebound is on the way.

It's more like a blip, as high-end buyers cherry-pick discounted properties while the getting is good.
True, there have been some flashy deals out there amid the foreclosure auctions of multimillion-dollar properties in these luxury ski areas.

Last month hedge fund honcho John Paulson bought a $24.5 million ranch and home in Pitkin County (home to Aspen and Snowmass), reports the Colorado Independent. and there were 12 transactions totaling $42 million in Vail in May, with six homes selling for more than $4 million,

Overall, the dollar volume of real estate sales more than doubled in Eagle County (home to Vail and Beaver Creek) in the first five months of 2010 compared to a year ago, the newspaper says, citing figures from the Land Title Guarantee Co.

But despite the encouraging numbers, these sales appear to be selective purchases at knocked-down prices -- OK, discount here might mean taking $5 million off the top -- and reflects the fact that buyers are scooping up properties in a depressed market.

"I don't think personally it's a sign that we've bounced back and now everybody's jumping back in," said broker Led Gardner of Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate. Instead, he said, buyers are recognizing "the opportunity being presented." Of course, the Paulson purchase is impressive, but recall that Pitkin County had the record sale of a $47-million ranch back in in 2006.

Seems the rich are just like us after all -- always searching for a bargain.

More on AOL Real Estate:
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Want to learn more about home buying and home finance? If so, you won't want to miss
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"What Works Now: Smart Moves When Buying a Home,"
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Housing Market Setback? Index Shows Less Work for Architects

Ernest Beck — 2010-07-07T14:17:00 00:00

Filed under: News

The wobbly economic recovery is looking a bit wobblier, if you consider the Architecture Billings Index put out by the American Institute of Architects, which reflects not only how much work architects are getting but also suggests the status of construction spending and the overall health of the housing and real estate markets.

After three months of climbing out of a recession-induced hole, the index suddenly sank back in May to 45.8 from 48.4 the previous month, a relapse from what was touted as a sure signs that business was improving for designers, contractors and developers.

"This caught us off guard after a string of good months in the right direction," says Kermit Baker, the AIA's chief economist.
Baker notes that any index number below 50 still indicates an anemic market trying to right itself.

What caused the reversal? Take your pick: the jittery stock market, a less-than-stellar employment rate, the lingering European debt crisis, that oil spill in the Gulf, or Brazil being knocked out of the World Cup.

Well, it could be just about anything that sours anyone's eagerness to invest. So, where do we go from here?

Baker says that for the most part banks and financial institutions remain skittish about loaning money to get projects going, which clogs the pipeline of development that often starts with a call to an architect's office.

Caution reigns supreme when it comes to starting a building, be it a high-end residence, or an office tower, or pouring money into a renovation when commercial rents are in the doldrums.

All true, but let's look on the optimistic side. A deadline for the housing tax credit has been extended and Congress is considering legislation to help lenders and borrowers and free up credit. These moves might lead to at least a stabilization of the market and some risk-taking on the part of developers or anyone else who might want to sign up an architect.

"We're still trying to find the bottom of the market," Baker says, "and hopefully that's not too far away."

More on AOL Real Estate:
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Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.

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Want to learn more about home buying and home finance? If so, you won't want to miss
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India Plans World's Tallest Residential Tower

Ernest Beck — 2010-06-16T12:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Design

India is emerging as a global economic power, with a rising middle and wealthy class with money to burn, which is good news for Lodha Developers, a Mumbai company about to break ground on the world's tallest residential tower -- and, no doubt, one of the city's priciest real estate offerings.

With 117 stories, the 1,450-foot World One Tower will dwarf the Empire State Building and the Willis Tower in Chicago (née the Sears tower) in the overall skyscraper stakes, and easily rise higher than the Q1 Tower in Australia's Gold Coast City, the current reigning world champion of residential structures.

Of course, the nearly 300 apartments in the $450-million World One Tower won't come cheap. Residences will start at around $1.5 million and top out between $10 and $12 million, according to the developer. That may be chump change by New York City luxury real estate standards, but it definitely ranks high in India's big cities, where property prices have nearly doubled over the past year, Indian Realty News says.

Still, who might be in the market for such high living?
The new class of emerging wealthy Indians, of course. We often think of India as a developing country with a massive impoverished underclass. While this low-income sector still exists, the country is also one of the world's fastest-growing economies. Last year the number of Indians on the Forbes rich list rose to 49 from 24, and two were in the top ten.

These elite few might go for the swanky design by U.S. architects Pei Cobb Fred & Partners and Leslie E. Robertson Associates. The tall tower features 3 and 4-bedroom units, lavish villas with private pools and duplex mansions, all with private balconies and acres of Italian marble floors, as well as a 20,000-square foot spa and views of the city and Arabian Sea.

If you're feeling guilty about living in such a big building, soothe your green guilt: Despite its size, World One is going for LEED Gold with solar energy lighting the common areas and rainwater harvesting.

Before buying, however, consider another big building on the drawing boards -- as well as some engineering issues that might pop up. Just as Mumbai's World One was being celebrated, another developer touted plans to construct an even taller building -- called the Pentominium Tower (who dreams up these names?) in Dubai.

Dubai is already home to the world's tallest structure, the Burj Khalifa, which closed only a month after opening due to electrical problems (but has since reopened).

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Baltimore Home Auctions Make Luxury Living Affordable

Ernest Beck — 2010-06-15T13:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Cities

Baltimore seems like a cool place, the gritty bits from "The Wire" and John Waters movies notwithstanding. And now you can live there in the lap of luxury for a pittance, compared to some high-priced real estate markets like New York and San Francisco.

Because Baltimore's luxury market took a dive in the recession, 11 properties at a newly built development called Pier Homes at HarborView -- described in breathless terms as "the only waterfront community of its kind in the world" (our italics) -- are being auctioned on June 28, with prices starting at up to 75 percent off the last asking price.

That's right: a 3,523-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath home has a minimum bid price of $375,000 -- down from $1.48 million. The bidding for an even bigger place, with 3.5 beds and 2.5 baths, starts at $665,000, instead of the original asking price of $1.9 million.

Quite a bargain for waterfront living that the website claims is "inspired by the homes of Venice." OK, except for the water views, they don't exactly look like Venetian dwellings (although we did spot an Italianate-looking baroque fountain in what appears to be a courtyard). But that's still good value for money ... if you want to live in Baltimore.
Not everyone in Baltimore is happy, however.

Analysts say the auction -- like many being held across the country in deflated housing markets like Las Vegas and Miami -- will "rock the entire high end" of the market (by pressuring other sellers to lower their prices) and make life difficult for those who bought at a higher price.

The auctioneers argue that offering the homes at steep discounts would "break the logjam across the board" in Baltimore's stagnant real estate market, noting that in April only 17 homes priced at $1 million or above sold in the metro area, out of more than 650 on the market.

It could be a good moment for buyers to take the plunge. The decor looks nice, too, especially that big kitchen and sexy glassed-in shower in the bathroom.

So for all you Baltimore fans, grab your paddles and let the bidding begin.

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Most Expensive House in Most Expensive Zip Code: Is It Worth It?

Ernest Beck — 2010-06-08T17:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Cities

It may look like Newport, R.I., but it's actually New Jersey -- the Jersey that Manhattanites and Americans of all stripes love to mock. But Alpine, N.J., is far from the Jersey Shore of "Snooki" and "The Situation." Just six miles away from Manhattan, it is the most expensive zip code in the United States, according to Forbes.

A current listing in Alpine, a 30,000-square foot mansion with a price tag of $68 million, has also set a record. It is the highest-priced free-standing residential property currently listed in the United States.

The property has so far attracted the interest of four buyers from the world of business and finance, broker Dennis McCormack of Prominent Properties Sotheby's Realty told HousingWatch.

The prospects remain anonymous, but imagine the buyer as someone who covets a grand, Newport, R.I.-style spread, complete with requisite ballroom, library with vaulted ceiling, a 2,000-square-foot pool house (next to the 65-foot pool), a slate roof and tons of substructural steel, for added stability.

But is this house --or any house, for that matter -- worth $68 million?
Shockingly, the answer could be yes.

The antique crystal chandeliers alone -- included in the price -- are worth between $2.5 and $3 million. For the landscaping, 60-foot trees were hauled in, so the owner wouldn't have to wait around for puny 4-foot shrubs to grow.

And let's not overlook the 12 bedrooms,19 bathrooms, 11-car garage and several kitchens -- not to mention the French limestone walls and $5 million worth of hand-cut Tuxedo stone walls surrounding the property. The house comes with its own generator to produce electricity in case of a blackout; and a fire-compression system, so if lighting strikes, your chateau won't be reduced to ashes.

The decor is very Louis Whatever, with Venetian-plaster walls and a hotel-size grand foyer with sweeping stairway, pictured at left.

McCormack says similar homes in the gated community, the Estates at Alpine, are valued between $57 million and $200 million, so you will be in good company in the Garden State. For this property, the land is worth around $15 million, construction costs were $36 million, then throw in the extras, and, well, it does add up.

This wasn't a spec house, which is why the detailing is so special and the price so high. The manse was built by Richard Kurtz, whose business is owning and managing apartments. In 2006, according to the Wall Street Journal, he paid $58 million for the land on which the house sits -- a 60-acre estate, part of larger parcel once owned by Henry Clay Frick -- and then divided the land into multi-acre properties. The 70-year-old Kurtz and his wife will remain in Alpine in a small-ish 10,000-square-foot home.

For $68 million you can buy quite a palace in the sky in Manhattan, but if you're a Wall Streeter who wants to go suburban (with a touch of Gatsby), this nifty cottage might just do the trick.

Find homes for sale in Alpine, N.J. and elsewhere at AOL Real Estate.

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Architects Back in Demand: Is a Housing Recovery Near?

Ernest Beck — 2010-05-27T15:07:00 00:00

Filed under: Design, News, Economy

Something unusual is happening at architects' offices: The phones are ringing.

After a long recession-induced downturn that caused massive layoffs and agony for architects and designers of all stripes, potential clients are starting to ask about new or iced projects, they say. This could boost the real estate market and construction activity -- if those tentative inquiries lead to commissions, that is.

Any glimmers of hope are helpful, like those found in the American Institute of Architects' Billing Index, which tracks activity in the industry. The index has trended upward over the past four months, suggesting that the situation is at least not as awful as it was. While the index remains stuck below 50, which means it's in negative territory, the AIA's chief economist, Kermit Baker, wrote in a press release that the industry could be "nearing an actual recovery phase."While tentative, the index and anecdotal evidence indicate some confidence returning to the market, and that clients interested in new residences are seriously considering building and buying land after a long period of skittishness and worrying about mortgages and budgets. Developers also appear to be looking again to see what's out there, checking out sites and financing opportunities. Even talking to architects is a good sign, since this contact usually comes a long time before anything ever happens.

In turn, that bodes well for real estate. There's nothing like the sight of new homes going up, and money being spent on architects, to restore faith in the long-term value of housing. But we're certainly not out of the woods yet.

Although the calls are coming in, there still are some commitment issues.

"People are asking a lot of things about the possibilities, and putting out feelers," says Charles Thanhauser of New York's TEK Architects. But he adds, "They're still not charging ahead full-steam."

It all depends on the market. Architects say that federal projects are booming while residential, commercial and retail remain in a slump. There is obviously some new work around: We hear via our friends at The Architect's Newspaper that Gensler, the big architecture firm that builds skyscrapers and airports, is looking to fill 63 positions -- quite a turnaround around from the gloomy days of staff reductions.

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Green Prefab Homes: Will They Save You Money?

Ernest Beck — 2010-05-26T12:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Design, News, Economy

Would home buyers be enticed to invest in a prefab house over a custom-made one if the home had all they ever wanted in a sustainable home: from solar panels to a green roof and LEED certification?

As the greening of the real estate market continues, and buyers scale down their square footage and focus on energy-efficient living, prefabs are entering a new phase of potential popularity.

But these aren't the cheesy, cookie-cutter prefab (aka modular) homes of the 1970s and 1980s.

Consider Nationwide Homes' Eco-Cottage, a 523-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bathroom dwelling that boasts bamboo floors and a tankless water heater. It has a base price of $59,500. Then there's the solar-ready mkGlidehouse from Blu Homes, with its formaldehyde-free cabinetry, for between $250 and $350 per square foot.

Good prices, to be sure, for all those premium green extras that can jack up prices on any house. But are these prefabs a bargain -- and greener -- than custom-built homes?
That's tough to answer. According to SmartMoney, a custom-built green home can cost up to 20 percent more than prefab. Blu Home's website says that a custom green home costs up to $400 a square foot.

But with prefab, don't forget about its extra costs. You have to tack on the expense of land, and of excavation and utility hookups. And the overall price will vary, according to the size of the prefab you chose, its location, layout and any extra features.

Today's prefabs come in a wide variety of designs, from the pared-down Eco-Cottage to more contemporary styles that resemble mid-century modern masterpieces. And prices can escalate to as much as $4.2 million for star-architect Daniel Libeskind's 5,500-square foot Villa, a recent topic in The New York Times. The home is billed as a sustainable prefab made of wood and aluminum, and accented with zinc ribbons. It includes thermal insulated walls and solar thermal system.

Prefab builders argue that their way of construction -- piecing together factory-made modular forms -- is greener than onsite building, because it is so precise and therefore wastes fewer materials. But building from scratch can also be sustainable if local products are used and recycling and reclaiming techniques are employed.

Green prefabs are certainly coming of age, and if you're house-hunting, they're worth considering for their sophisticated design and sustainable amenities.

But whether green prefabs are cheaper than custom will depend on where you dig your foundation and how many solar panels are up on the roof. In the long term, however, you'll definitely save some green.

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Viking Stove Sales Reduced to Simmer

Ernest Beck — 2010-05-20T15:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Economy

Viking Range, the company that makes the $10,000 trophy stoves found in so many luxury homes, may be running out of gas. Should you still consider paying more for a house with a kitchen that has one? No way, not even if you've got money to burn.

Executives at the homegrown American company report that orders for their signature behemoths with acres of stainless steel are running at half their levels from their 2005 peak. It seems tight-fisted consumers -- including those in the upper-income brackets -- aren't going for Vikings like they used to.

Indeed, back in the real estate bubble -- remember? -- any kitchen worth mentioning in a real estate listing had to have a Viking hulking amid the custom-made cabinets and granite countertops. Like the flagship Viking 60-inch monster with 18,500-BTU burners and the largest convection oven in the industry. It costs upward of $13,000 and connotes good taste, refinement and top-quality design -- and was critical to help lure wealthy customers to closing.

But today there are plenty of lower-priced alternatives to the Viking that can be equally impressive and functional.
Mid-market competitors like GE have moved into the field, with models that pack enough BTUs to cook for an army in minutes and lots of metal and gadgets to attract buyers at half the price of a top-line Viking . That's attractive to anyone remodeling a kitchen (or looking to buy a house with an impressive one) who doesn't want to make a mega-investment.

Vikings, like almost everything else, are suffering in the recession retrenchment. Shipments of all cooking ranges dropped to 16.5 million in 2009 from 19.2 million the year before, according to the Association of Appliance Manufacturers. The best year on record was 2004, with over 25 million sold.

To stay afloat, Viking is moving in new directions, with a luxury hotel and spa in its hometown of Greenwood, Miss. It's also making kitchen cabinets and small appliances, and planning an overseas expansion.

Will Viking stoves go the way of the Hummer? Frankly, we can't imagine kitchen decor without a Viking, a brand name that signifies prestige and an excellent kitchen design. Even if most of their owners usually order in.

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Green Your Home With Award-Winning, Innovative Techniques

Ernest Beck — 2010-05-17T14:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Design

Going green when you design or furnish your home can be daunting these days. To be truly sustainable you have to know your LEED from your low-VOC, and how to stuff insulation made from shredded denim into your roof (especially if you want to reap a "green premium" when you sell).

So it's good to see that architects are taking up the challenge and leading the charge with innovative ideas on integrating the best of sustainable principles into residential design, often at low or moderate cost -- which has always been a challenge for homeowners.

So while the recently announced winners of the American Institute of Architects' annual Housing Awards aren't focused solely on green design, there's certainly a trend. A close look at the 2010 honorees suggests that the profession is thinking sustainable in in a big way -- from rainwater harvesting to airtight building envelopes and native, drought-resistant landscaping.

We picked some great examples of green design from around the country -- and from single-family homes to affordable multifamily complexes -- to help inspire your own transition to a sustainable home.

One- and Two-Family Residences

T42House
Minneapolis, Minn.
VJAA

A small 1939 Cape Cod house gets an addition that captures winter and summer breezes and is based on Passiv Haus criteria, the ultimate in zero energy goals -- all on a modest budget. (Click here for more info and images.)

Port Townsend Residence
Port Townsend, Washington
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Natural ventilation, sun-shading and rainwater harvesting give this rural retreat sustainable credentials, from the firm that designed Bill Gates' mega-palace. (Click here for more info and images.)

Spiral House
Old Greenwich, Conn.
Joeb Moore + Partners Architects
The front porch of this stunning wood-clad house terminates in a gray-water cistern, adding a cleverly sustainable element. (Click here for more info and images.)

Ferrous House
Spring Prarie, Wis.
Johnsen Schmaling Architects
This aging suburban home was reinvented as a contemporary one with green touches -- like low-VOC paint, recycled steel and locally sourced woods -- instead of becoming a teardown. (Click here for more info and images.)

Multi-Family Living

Safari Drive
Scottsdale, Arizona
The Miller/Hull Partnership
This mixed-use development adapts to the desert climate with a "cool tower" that passively cools the courtyard with a wind-driven technology popular in the Middle East. (Click here for more info and images.)

Gish Apartments
San Jose, California
Office of Jerome King
A 35-unit affordable housing complex (with special units for residents with developmental disabilities) is the first multifamily building in the U.S. to win LEED Gold for homes certification. (Click here for more info and images.)

For even more inspiring homes, check out all the award recipients of the 2010 AIA Housing Awards for Architecture.

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Record-Breaking Picasso or Its Former Home: What's the Better Deal?

Ernest Beck — 2010-05-07T10:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Design, News

If you are the anonymous oligarch or hedge-fund honcho who shelled out $106.5 million for a Picasso painting this week at a Christie's auction, will you please identify yourself?

Thanks, because if you have any money leftover in your Cayman Islands account, a few eager real estate brokers would like to sell you a place to hang your trophy picture.

And not just any house: It's the mid-century modern masterpiece in L.A.'s ritzy Holmbly Hills neighborhood which was owned by the late art collectors and patrons, Frances and Sidney F. Brody. Their estate was selling the picture.

That would be cool. Oh, by the way, the house is listed at $25.9 million -- chump change when compared to the price of the painting.

So what's a better deal, the painting or the house?
The 11,500-square-foot house has 5 bedrooms, a floating staircase, a pool (with guesthouse) and a tennis court on 2.3 acres. Designed in 1949 by architect A. Quincy Jones, it's considered a modernist icon -- and the place, of course, where your painting, "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust," hung for more than 50 years.

At least you'd know your painting would feel at home.

Nice pedigree to be sure, but at that price it's expensive, considering that some mid-century houses in the area are going unsold or are being discounted.

The painting, which set a new auction record, isn't a bargain either. And it's always uncertain how high an artist's work (even blue chip artists like Picasso) will sell for, because the art market -- much like the real estate market -- can be fickle and unpredictable.

But at least with the house, you'll have a roof over your head. The artwork is a late Picasso, a period that is hot right now but might not be in years to come.

There's also the chance you could harm the value of your Picasso by accidentally jabbing your elbow into it, while your house wouldn't feel a thing. So if you've got the down payment, I say go for it.

The house wins this time, but never underestimate the value of a Picasso. In case you didn't know, he's a pretty well-known artist.

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Housing Supply Sales Through the Roof: Sign of a Quick Recovery?

Ernest Beck — 2010-05-04T14:00:00 00:00

We're all in a quandary about where the real estate and housing markets are going. Is it up or down or sideways, double-dipping or stuck in neutral? A welter of statistics -- from the Case Shiller Home Price Index to anecdotal stories on the street -- suggest movement in any number of directions.

Intrigued by a report that a Pleasanton, Calif., company you probably never heard of had a surprising surge in sales in the first quarter of 2010, HousingWatch dug a little deeper around the edges to see how the nuts-and-bolts industries related to housing are faring,

Simpson Strong-Tie, a subsidiary of Simpson Manufacturing, just reported sales of its structural connectors; anchors and other products for new construction; retrofitting; and D.I.Y. markets had grown by 13.4 percent over the same quarter a year ago.

Growth was strongest in the Midwest and West (excluding California) and the Northeast, but flat in California and the Southwestern states.

This must be good news for the housing market, right? Not so fast.

"Its probably an aberration," says Kermit Baker, senior research fellow at Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies. Although privately owned housing starts were up slightly in March over the previous month and up 20.2 percent over a year ago, according to the Census Bureau, "there's still not a lot of construction out there," Baker adds.

The Simpson Strong-Tie sales increase probably relates more to pent-up demand for materials after a prolonged downturn, as well as leaner inventories and higher prices for construction products. In other words, the market for these materials has been stagnant for so long that even the slightest uptick looks more auspicious than it actually is.

In fact, companies that supply building materials for home and office construction would be happy to just see some signs of stability, according to the Wall Street Journal.

For example, USG, the nation's largest distributor of drywall, lost $110 million in the first quarter compared to $42 million in the first quarter compared to a year before. At the same time USG hiked prices on drywall 20 percent in March, and so did Eagle Materials, which makes wallboard. Framing lumber prices are also going up -- part of moves by companies to balance low volume with higher revenue.

The bottom line is that housing starts and construction remain weak by historic standards. There are signs of recovery, but not enough, no matter which tea leaves you want to read.

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Garage Makeovers Go Glam

Ernest Beck — 2010-04-29T15:15:00 00:00

Filed under: Design

Garages have always been useful for so many things -- like storing your car, of course -- but also as a space for your kid's punk band to practice and for that great high-tech startup.

But now, thanks to the recession and a crappy real estate market that makes everyone just want to stay put forever, garages are emerging as the next room of the house to renovate for added living space.

If you have one, it's cheaper to remodel a garage than building an extension because the structure already exists (with some oil stains, but still) and as a garage is often detached from the house, it makes for a nice studio, guest room or office with some privacy. What's more, if the real estate market ever recovers and you want to sell, you can describe the garage as an outbuilding on the family compound. Or if you want to make some cash, you can rent out the big house and retire to the garage (which also works if your spouse throws you out).

Shelter publications are taking note of the trend. So after you clear your clutter, what can become of your ugly duckling garage?The New York Times tells the story of a performance artist named Michelle de la Vega who transformed her 250-square foot garage in back of her Seattle home into a cozy dream space, complete with a sleeping loft and wood-burning stove, all for $32,000. The kitchen is minimal, though, with only a small camping stove and a blender, so big dinner parties might not be on the agenda.

Sunset magazine details a classy garage conversion by an architect in San Francisco. A two-car garage was repurposed into a guest room, office and bathroom under a new gabled roof - and surprisingly, there was room left to squeeze in one car.

Just so you know, the garage-storage industry is worth upward of $1.5 billion annually, according to a market study quoted in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The shed-organization sector (there is such a thing) brings in another $520 million or so, according to the study's source, the market-research firm Specialists in Business Information.

That means we're hoarding lots of stuff and willing to invest in innovative ways to stash it.

So even if your garage will remain as a storehouse, you can still dress it up -- at least from your neighbor's perspective. Ever consider weather-resistant photo-murals that you attach to the door with Velcro?

At Style Your Garage, 'the world of garage billboards," you can chose from an array of images such as wild horses, a wine cellar, a garage for racing cars or "sexy go-go girls." Your garage will look great -- or at least be a conversation piece -- and your neighbors will certainly wonder what's inside. Only you will know it's just junk.

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Buckle Up: Private Jet Tours of Vegas' Foreclosed Properties

Ernest Beck — 2010-04-08T18:45:00 00:00

Filed under: News

The rich are skittish about buying foreclosed properties - and with good reason. Who wants to join those crowded bus and boat tours that ferry hordes of bargain hunters to abandoned homes, where you have to traipse through discarded furniture and overgrown lawns?

Now foreclosure tourism is aiming for a higher market with - wait for it - trips on a private jet to tour million-dollar bank-owned properties in the hard hit Las Vegas real estate market. What a way to go: you're picked up in Los Angeles in a new four-passenger Embraer Phenom 100 plane outfitted with BMW-designed leather interiors, flown to an executive airport in Vegas, and taken by limo to a number of ultra-luxury properties that are on sale for up to half their original price.

And you're back at the end of the day, none the worse for wear.
"Think of it as an affluent, wealthy version of the bus tour," says Ken Lowman, broker and owner of Luxury Homes of Las Vegas, who has organized the real estate fly by with JetSuite Air, a private jet charter service. Pairing private jets and property (even the foreclosed kind) makes sense "because a guy who can buy a $4 million home will also want to fly in a private jet," explains Lowman. Before you strap yourself in, though, your credit will be checked to see if a multimillion dollar residence is in your budget.

On the tour are a number of homes in high end, gated golf communities about 25 minutes from the strip. Consider the 10,692-square foot residence in Tournament Hills at Summerlin, with 7 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, an outdoor oasis pool and spa overlooking the 4th hole and a full basketball court. It's a bargain at $4.6 million, knocked down from $9.2 million in 2007, and a good example of just how far the Las Vegas real estate market has tumbled.

It's not clear if jet forays to foreclosed homes will become a new sport for the rich, or lure them back into property investing, even with prices at rock bottom. One thing is for sure: prospective buyers won't be rubbing elbows with other tourists in the jet's spacious cabin. On these junkets, it's only one buyer per plane. "These are the kinds of people who don't want to share a plane with others," Lowman says.

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West Coast Tops in Green Building

Ernest Beck — 2010-03-30T17:15:00 00:00

Filed under: Design, News

Here's a question you might be pondering: why does one market tend to have more LEED-certified (green, that is) buildings than another?

Actually, I was thinking about that this week as I'm in Portland, Oregon checking out design and sustainability projects, and you can't get through a rain-soaked day without being impressed with this self-proclaimed green capital's green commitment. Consider, for example, the Oregon Sustainability Center, a $100-million project to design and build the world's most sustainable large-scale building in the world.

So it came as some surprise to learn that goody-goody green San Francisco had snagged the number one spot on the Green Building Opportunity Index - a study that ranks top U.S. office markets on the basis of real estate fundamentals and green development considerations - while Portland pulled in at a measly 12th.
The index - by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance's BetterBricks initiative and real estate company Cushman & Wakefield, is a very serious look at the primary factors that influence development, retrofitting, leasing and sales of investment grade green office buildings.

These include everything from investment outlook to "green culture" - a city's green attitude and dedication to all things green. That's where Portland quite rightly was ranked 2nd but lost out on office market conditions and investment outlook, which of course, doesn't dovetail much with green and sustainable.

After San Francisco came Oakland and midtown Manhattan (who knew?), followed by L.A., Chicago and Orange County, and then downtown N.Y. You can see all the details on the Green Building Opportunity Index and its analysis. But more importantly city planners, policy makers, architects, and building owners can see the results and use it as a tool to make progressive changes in their own green building activity.

Take it all with an ounce of grey water. All cities want to be green these days and the green marketing push is in full swing now to include commercial buildings - but as usual, what green means is often in the eye of the beholder.

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Wealthiest Home Buyers Say Size Doesn't Matter

Ernest Beck — 2010-03-29T15:30:00 00:00

Filed under: Design, News

If you're a real estate agent with fabulously wealthy clients, the next time you have a potential buyer traipsing through a home don't blather on about the flowing square footage of the place.

They don't care.

Or not that much, anyway. That's right: despite all we hear about the super-sized palaces of corporate honchos and celebrities and legal battles over those zillion-room mansions in Greenwich, Conn. and Silicon Valley, it appears that size isn't the most important consideration to the rich when they're buying a primary residence, according to an annual report on such matters from real estate-brokerage firm Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank Wealth Report 2010, as relayed by the Wall Street Journal's Wealth Report.

What do the wealthy care about?For the rich, there's nothing more important than being in the right place, so "reputation of the area" comes up first when they consider where to live. Then, not surprisingly, it's security and design, in that order. Size ranks a mere fourth, with price (money is no object here) and proximity to good schools trailing (I suspect their kids are packed off to boarding school).

The report also looks at the prospects for property investment in major global markets, including New York. It concludes that the brief uptick in residential sales in 2009 might not last. "We ought not to get too excited," it says, as that reflected pent up demand rather than a real resurgence. So while sales might be up prices have been moving sideways, and that many buyers are foreigners taking advantage of the weak U.S. dollar.

Now that we've sussed out what the rich want in their primary residence, let's ask what the wealthy want when buying a vacation home where they can kick back and relax?

The view!

Yes, they just want to have a nice view of some mountains or ocean or whatever, that's all, to de-stress after contributing to the worst economic crisis since the Depression. Looking out the window at something pretty and soothing is more important than climate, the reputation of the area, price and size as well, the report notes.

As the WSJ Wealth Report notes, this information was unearthed by a brokerage firm, so add in a big grain of salt. Of course, if the rich start looking for a primary residence in a reputable neighborhood with good security, it goes without say that the homes are likely to be bigger and more gated, anyway.

But it's always good to know how to handle the clients. So if you're a real estate agent trying to sell some small, shabby ski chalet in a nice but run down ski resort in say Bulgaria, target the list of global millionaires and billionaires and you might close a sale - if the place has a rip roaring view, that is.

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NY Real Estate Bust Spells School Waiting Lists

Ernest Beck — 2010-03-26T16:25:00 00:00

Filed under: News

Before you start worrying about college waiting lists, you can prepare by worrying about your kid landing on the waiting list for the local public elementary school -- if you live in New York City, that is.

Thanks to the real estate boom and bust, the little red school house around the corner -- in the neighborhood you set your sights on because it had a good public school -- can no longer guarantee a seat for your child, the New York Times reports. For the second year running, the paper says, hundreds of families are now on waiting lists for elementary schools in their own neighborhoods.

What can distraught parents do? Well, there's going to be a lottery.Here's how it happened. During the housing market boom, developers built and buyers bought, especially in neighborhoods with reputable institutions of learning, of which there are many in the city. The idea was, don't bolt for the 'burbs, but stay in the great city and get the best of all possible worlds - including a good school.

Schools were filling up but were not overcrowded. But then came the bust. Many of the well heeled parents who so easily wrote annual checks for $30,000 or so for fancy private schools are now battening down the hatches and sending their kids to the local P.S., which is now OK for their kids to attend.

The result: too many kids and too few seats in many school zones and everyone mad at the city for not keeping up with demographics and expanding schools earlier to meet the changing needs. The Education Department says that, in fact, on the Upper West Side -- where a lot of the wait listing and hand wringing is taking place -- school buildings are underutilized as a whole and that kids should be distributed more evenly by adjusting local school zones, the Times says.

Don't know if that will go down well among the parents who bought or rented their places specifically within a tightly regulated school zone, where the cut off on a street can sometimes mean those on the north side attend the equivalent of Yale and the south side kids go to Ramapo State.

Interestingly, it's not just the fancy zip codes on the Upper East and West sides and select downtown locales that are in trouble. The Times says there are overcrowded schools and waiting lists in Sunset Park and Bay Ridge in Brooklyn due to an an influx of middle-class immigrant families.

What's happening now is a lot of kvetching and complaining and meetings to discuss overflows, shifting students around, and who should go where. Oh, and maybe building a few new schools.

You'd have better luck with the lottery before that happens.

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The Rich Get Richer. But Will They Buy Houses?

Ernest Beck — 2010-03-18T16:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Economy

In case you are worried about America's millionaires and billionaires and how they are faring in the recession, fear not. All is well with the rich, who are doing what they do best -- getting richer.

Two reports - from Forbes and the Spectrem Group, which tracks High Net Worth Individuals - suggest that the wealthy bounced back in 2009 from some short term reversals the year before.

The number of millionaires in the U.S. rose 16 percent to 7.8 million in a year of wrenching economic misery for most of the population. And Americans still dominate the list of global billionaires at 40 percent. True, that has slipped from 45 percent a year ago, Forbes estimates, but they do control 38 percent of the $3.6 trillion global net worth of all the billionaires.

So what are they doing with their riches? Trickle down theory has it that they are helping us by... well, I guess by buying yachts and luxury baubles and such. What about pumping some money into the jittery real estate market?Warren Buffet, who still lives in the modest residence he bought in the 1950s for $31,500, could use an upgrade. But a billionaire spending spree isn't likely, since most of the bigwigs already have huge homes (or compounds). Bill Gates -- who was unceremoniously ousted from Forbes' top spot by Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim Helu and his $53.5 billion war chest -- has a 66,000-square foot spread in Washington state. And Michael Dell (#25 on the Forbes list) lives large in a 33,000-square foot mansion in Austin (see great pics on Forbes). Why spend your hard earned money and time trying to carve out yet another multi-acre estate? You can always add on an extra bathroom to the existing palace.

But perhaps some of those newly minted mere millionaires, or the 17 percent who climbed into the over $5 million high net worth category last year, might want to splurge. They could add some extra buying power to the high end of the real estate market, which has been roiled by the economic downturn.

Then again, maybe not. It is believed that much of their increased wealth comes from savvy equity investments which soared as the stock market recovered in 2009. I don't suspect they'd want to cash out now to buy property, although they could pick up some bargains on homes -- or entire streets and towns -- as another 2 million Americans are expected to forfeit their homes this year to foreclosure.

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Current Housing Market Solution: Renovate, Renovate, Renovate

Ernest Beck — 2010-03-12T13:10:00 00:00

Filed under: Design

We know that the Great Recession and housing market collapse has made many homeowners very nervous. But it has also made them very practical. New statistics reveal that instead of seeking bigger, more expensive houses, homeowners are staying put, making the ones they have look nicer and more energy efficient, and doing it themselves. This can be gleaned from the numbers: Residential architecture inquiries and billings are still down, and profits at Home Depot and Lowe's are rebounding.

Yes, we're nesting again and feathering our nests with modest, energy-efficient improvements -- from LED lighting to water saving toilets -- rather than opting for a Great Room and adding steam showers or simply moving into that coveted McMansion, according to the American Institute of Architects.

The AIA index, based on a percentage of respondents reporting increasing interest minus those reporting decreasing, shows that inquiries to residential architects for new projects in the fourth-quarter of 2009 at a net 45 percent (down from 46 in Q3) and billings at 32 percent (down from 38), "indicating that the housing market is not yet entering a full recovery phase," the AIA says.

While we're still not asking architects to design us a "move up" house (minus 31 percent on the index) or a vacation home (minus 71 percent), there's been an uptick in requests to architects about remodeling and renovations, focusing on kitchen and bath upgrades. And not just any old features and fixtures: we want functional stuff that saves energy and cuts utility bills, like renewable flooring materials and counter tops, and pantries to store all those canned goods.

Yes, it seems that when it comes to home improvements in the age of economic gloom it's out with the heated towel rack and in with a dedicated place to put all our recyclables.

Besides bigger pantries and a recycling center, we want computer charging stations in the kitchen and drinking water filtration systems, as well as an integrated kitchen-family space. For the bath, door-less showers and radiant floor heating are the most popular requests, the AIA survey says.

Not surprisingly, home improvers and remodelers are giving DIY retailers a boost. Profit at Home Depot reached $342 million in the latest quarter, compared to a $54 million loss a year ago. Lowe's profit was up to $205 million from $162 million the last time around. Customers were buying paint, flooring and kitchen and bath supplies -- and, we imagine, supplying most of the sweat equity.

All this offers a glimmer of hope for a housing market recovery, the AIA suggests, noting that an increase in remodeling jobs and alterations to existing homes are usually the bedrock of a broader improvement.

But that might be a long time off. The organization's overall (rather than just residential) architectural billings survey -- a leading indicator of construction activity -- showed another steep drop in activity in January from the month before, as the industry entered its third year of "negative conditions."

So let's keep scraping and repainting and flushing less and rejigging the kitchen and bath faucets with low flow everything, because green is good whether we're selling or not.

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Bank Branches in Retreat: Here Comes the Neighborhood!

Ernest Beck — 2010-03-10T13:30:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Cities

Just when you thought that every last mom-and-pop store in your neighborhood was succumbing to yet another garish, badly designed bank branch, comes good news: the Invasion of the Bank Branches is coming to an end.

A massive expansion in bank branches during the economic boom -- some 10,000 opened between 2004 and 2005 -- is giving way to closings, cost cutting and retrenchment after many banks merged or went belly up as the real estate market collapsed. In fact, the Wall Street Journal reports, the total number of retail bank branches in the country will decline this year for the first time since 2002.

If you're worried about not finding a local branch near your home, never fear: There are still 98,913 bank branches still open and ready to make you wait in line. The good news is that your neighborhood may just regain some of the diversity and vitality that once characterized our cities and towns before the boom priced out smaller merchants.
The recession wreaked havoc on banks, with 140 failing and 170 disappearing through mergers. Their combined profits in 2009 fell to just $12.5 billion from $100 billion in 2007, the WSJ says, noting that it costs $1 million to open a bank branch and two to three years to turn a profit.

In the go-go years, banks -- and Starbucks and Duane Reade, among others -- were taking over corner stores and forcing out local merchants who couldn't afford the high rents. Many neighborhoods became overloaded with such amenities, which was good for selling real estate and convenience, but made everyplace look like a mini-mall.

Now the banks are retreating and Starbucks is too. And that's a good thing. How many banks and 'Bucks do you need, anyway? My old neighborhood in Manhattan had at least four of each in a four-block radius, but over the years it lost the local butcher and a beloved bookstore. The number of bank branches you have nearby depends on where you live, of course. The AP reports that during the boom, 6 branches opened every day in up-market city locales and fast-growing exurban communities. But of those 10,000 new branches, barely 1 in 10 were in inner-city neighborhoods.

The recession sucks, but maybe there's a silver lining. Let's say a fond bye-bye to all those bank branches and hello to iPhone banking apps -- or walking out of our way to cash a check.

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