Daily Briefing: April 21, 2016
Top Story
Billy Joel cuts price of Florida waterfront home by $2 million. The Piano Man is Movin' Out of his house in Manalapan, Florida. Maybe he's in a New York State of Mind, or just wants to Say Goodbye to Hollywood (Florida — an hour's drive south on Interstate 95). Don't Ask Me Why, but obviously, This is The Time, and he's showing some Honesty in the listing, cutting the price of the nine-bedroom, 9,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style home by $2 million to $29 million. (Curbed)
Talking Points
Vacation home sales in the Hamptons fall to lowest level in three years. Sales of luxury homes dropped 20 percent to 45 deals, with a median price of $5.5 million, as Wall Street bonuses shrank 9% and the stock market fluctuated. Wealthy buyers “view a pullback in the stock market as a buying opportunity for stocks, which makes them sit on the sidelines for vacation homes,” said a local broker. (Bloomberg) Impending Miami housing crash a mirage, says local analyst. A dip in single-family home sales and a slight rise in the number of unsold homes sitting longer on the market are not signs of a bubble about to burst, says Miami real estate analyst Anthony Graziano. Extra inventory means home buyers had the luxury of being selective last year while sellers were not being realistic with their pricing. “That’s why you feel like you can’t get a deal done,” he said. (The Real Deal) 'Woven' towers with carpet-like exterior planned for Abu Dhabi. Five residential towers on the Gulf waterfront being planned for Abu Dhabi by locally based architectural firm Avant Garde and developer Al Qudra Real Estate will have "vertical lines interlocking with horizontal lines" enveloping the base of each tower, replicating the elements of traditional rural weaving in the desert emirate. (Emirates 24/7) Londoners confident in home values despite possible Brexit. Parts of London's property market might be stumbling, but that's not stopping the city’s homeowners from being the most confident people in Britain. Foolhardy? Maybe. But a survey shows London's homeowners expect to see their home values rise 12.5%. (City A.M.)Hong Kong market slows as interest declines, hurting many brokers. Hong Kong home sales dropped 39% in the first quarter, compared with the previous three months, to an all-time low of 6,221, according to Jones Lang LaSalle. “The market is bad. There are fewer transactions and fewer foreigners coming to Hong Kong,” said one broker. (South China Morning Post)
The Shortlist
• How much Chinese money is really in the U.S. real estate market? (Mansion Global) • Australian nightclub figure Fadi Ibrahim selling house where he was shot (Telegraph) • Whoopi Goldberg's former home in California wine country for sale (Billionaire Report) • Sydney's Mosman waterfront suburb racking up multimillion-dollar sales (Financial Review) • Five mansions where you can live like J. Lo — for millions less (Mansion Global) • ‘Million Dollar Listing’ star Fredrik Eklund buys Connecticut colonial asking $3.5 million (Variety) • Eva Gabor's Holmby Hills home sees price slashed $4 million to $12.95 million (Los Angeles Times)
Listing of the Day
