A report from Bloomberg. “New York City’s struggling luxury condo market is providing a prominent developer with an opportunity to expand the lending unit it launched last year. Silverstein Properties Inc., looking to double its lending business to more than $1 billion in 2020, is eyeing so-called inventory loans in Manhattan neighborhoods like Gramercy, Tribeca and Midtown East, according to Michael May, president of Silverstein Capital Partners. ‘You’re seeing some projects that are completed that have just had very, very slow sales,’ May said.”
“New York’s luxury developers, who financed projects during a more optimistic era for high-end condos, are bumping up against rosy loan repayment projections in a slowing market. ‘We think that there’s still demand for units that are priced well, but in many cases, the owners of these projects have not adjusted their expectations to where the price would sell in the market yet,’ May said. It recently signed its first West Coast deal in Los Angeles and has plans to expand to markets including San Francisco and Seattle.”
From Boston.com in Massachusetts. “In Greater Boston, the single-family and condo markets ‘struggled,’ according to the Greater Boston Association of Realtors. The single-family home market saw its lowest October sales total in more than 20 years, according to the report, and the condo market was met with a 31 percent decline. ‘The days of steady appreciation in home values are nearly over. At both ends of the market, and in most communities, selling prices have either peaked or plateaued,’ said Jim Major, association president. ‘For those homeowners who are thinking about listing their home for sale, now would be a good time to do so, before rising mortgage rates and inventory levels potentially cut into equity gains.’”
“Central Middlesex County: Acton, Bedford, Boxborough, Concord, Hudson, Lexington, Lincoln, Maynard, Stow, Sudbury, Wayland, and Weston. These communities saw a sharp drop (16 percent) in the median single-family selling price, from $815,000 in October 2018 to $685,000 in October 2019.”
From The Real Deal on Florida. “English singer-songwriter Craig David may be singing the blues now that he sold his Miami Beach condo. David sold the 1,895-square-foot tower suite 5 at the Mondrian South Beach for $4.3 million, or $2,269 per square foot, said Alexander Goldstein of Miles Goldstein Real Estate. Goldstein and Adi Amuial of the same firm represented the seller. Property records show the unit last sold in 2009 for $4.68 million, which means David sold it at a loss. The two-bedroom unit hit the market in July for $5.75 million, and sold for 25 percent off that asking price.”
The Orange County Register in California. “This year’s cheaper mortgage rates are finally boosting local homebuying. Deals for 20,761 residences — new and existing — were closed in October in six Southern California counties, up 8.2% in a year. Still, SoCal’s latest sales count is 9% off the October average of 22,912 since 1988.”
“Newly built: Local builders sold 1,841 new homes, up 12% in a year. Median: $561,250 — a 10.2% decrease over 12 months. Builder share: 8.9% of SoCal sales vs. 8.6% a year earlier. Between 1998 and 2018, new homes have accounted for 13.4% of all homes purchased.”
The Associated Press on California. “With the recent purchase of actor/neighbor/friend, Jeff Bridges’ house, Oprah Winfrey now owns three homes in the Montecito neighborhood, which lies on the western tip of Santa Barbara. Oprah waited to buy the property until the price dropped from the original $7.495 million asking price, to $6.85 million, which is the exact same price Bridges and his wife paid for it five years ago.”
The Classic Car Journal. “If you do nothing but crunch the numbers, they’ll scrunch your car-collecting spirit: Sales at major collector car auctions down 23 percent. Average sales price per car down 17 percent. Number of cars sold for $1 million or more down 29 percent. Cars offered at auction down 3 percent. Cars sold at auction down 6 percent. Sell-through rate down 3 percent.”
“After five consecutive years of major global auction sales of more than $1 billion, the Classic Car Auction Yearbook reports that sales plummeted to $931 million for the 2018-2019 buying and selling season that concludes with the annual Monterey Car Week. But as you know, there’s more to this hobby than collector cars as investments. ‘We have clearly witnessed an adjustment in the market and we are now firmly in a buyers’ market,’ Philip Kantor, head of Bonhams Motor Cars Europe, writes.”
“‘To sum up the situation, ‘sanity’ returned to the market last year,’ he noted, adding that such ‘stabilization is truly good news not only for real enthusiasts but also the market in the long term.’ The market, he adds, ‘does seem to be trending away from purely financial interest, which over the long term can only be good.’”
“Another big change during the past year involved cars offered at no reserve. In other words, the cars sold to the highest bidder regardless of what the consignors thought they were worth. No-reserve cars — a record 1,623 of them — represented 30 percent of auction dockets. The number of cars offered at no reserve in the last 3 years has increased by 55 percent, the authors add. Among the no-reserve cars in 2018-19 were 5 of the top-10-priced vehicles sold at auction in 2018-19.”
“And what advice do the authors share? ‘Buy the car you like, which is the achievement of a dream or reminds you of happy moments, drive it and do not let the investment mirage misguide you. By doing so, you may or may not earn a financial return, but we guarantee you that you will enjoy it and it will improve the quality of your life.’”