Don’t Be Discouraged!

Life is for living.

ART

If you can afford one expensive thing…make it art. Art makes a big statement!

COVID – 19

I’M HERE for you. I am just a phone call away. Thanks!

 

Beauty at Home

Stay safe, stay home. Enjoy your beautiful home and rest without fear.

Chandlier Love

A chandelier can make any room special.

Glamorous

This is a beautifully designed room loaded with glamorous pieces. Bravo.

BOLD statements

I love people who are not afraid to make bold statements when it comes to decorating their home.

Are Homes Under $250,000 Nearing Extinction?

NEW YORK – According to a recent report by economic research consultancy Capital Economics, the number of vacant single-family homes on the market priced under $250,000 has halved since 2012.

There were only 550,000 vacant homes on the market nationwide priced under $250,000 at the start of the third quarter of 2019.

Capital Economics attributes this to two things: a lower overall housing inventory and a shortage of cheaper homes in particular. It also notes that the number of vacant single-family homes for sale dropped 25% since 2012, and while the homeowner vacancy rate rose slightly in the third quarter, it was up from a 40-year low in the second quarter.

A lack of affordable homes could hamper the home buying prospects of the younger generations. Capital Economics expects that rental vacancy rates will stay fairly low, preventing a sharp fall in rental growth as the economy slows. However, the report also notes that household formation rates are strong, as 2.9 million new households were formed in the last two years, up from 1.9 million households formed in the two years to the third quarter of 2017.

Household formation could lead to more people being ready to buy a home, but the report warns that new households will find it increasingly difficult to find an affordable home. The report also notes that tight credit conditions will make it more difficult for potential home buyers to stretch their budgets until home builders ramp up production of cheaper properties.

Source: HousingWire (11/06/19) Smith, Maleesa

Home prices continue to rise, albeit at a slower pace: FHFA

Prices were up 0.2% month-over-month in August and 4.6% year-over-year, according to data released Wednesday

Single-family home prices climbed 0.2 percent month-over-month in August and were up 4.6 percent year-over-year, according to the latest data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Despite the increases, price appreciation is actually slowing across the country.

Prices increased annually in all nine census divisions that FHFA tracks, with the Pacific division reporting the highest increase at 6.5 percent and the Middle Atlantic reporting the smallest increase at 3.9 percent.

Information courtesy of Inman.com

 

 

Iconic Bel Air estate becomes most expensive listing in America

An historic mega-mansion in Los Angeles just hit the record books as the most expensive property currently listed in the United States.

The Casa Encantada, an eight-acre Bel Air estate that translates as “the Enchanted House,” could well become the most expensive home ever sold in California if an interested buyer plunks down the current asking price of $225 million. As the Los Angeles Times reports, that perch is currently occupied by the Spelling Manor, which sold for $119.75 million in July.

Built in 1938, the Casa Encantada was designed to be the most opulent and extravagant mansion in Hollywood. Even during the Great Depression, building costs for the Bel Air estate ran up to $2 million (approximately $35 million in today’s dollars). Hotel magnate Conrad Hilton purchased the home in 1950 for $225,000.

Architect James Dolena designed the 40,000-square-foot mansion with a whopping 60 bedrooms. The mansion’s H-shape gives almost all of its rooms triple views of the city, the ocean and the park. T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbing, considered one of the most iconic decorators in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s, picked out the interior furniture and design. The listing is held by Jeff Hyland of Hilton & Hyland as well as Hilton’s grandson Rick Hilton and Shawn Elliott of Elite Real Estate Marketing.