Tag Archives: South Salem Homes

California city looks to sea for water in drought | South Salem Real Estate

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This seaside city thought it had the perfect solution the last time California withered in a severe drought more than two decades ago: Tap the ocean to turn salty seawater to fresh water.

The $34 million desalination plant was fired up for only three months and mothballed after a miracle soaking of rain.

As the state again grapples with historic dryness, the city nicknamed the “American Riviera” has its eye on restarting the idled facility to hedge against current and future droughts.

“We were so close to running out of water during the last drought. It was frightening,” said Joshua Haggmark, interim water resources manager. “Desalination wasn’t a crazy idea back then.”

Removing salt from ocean water is not a far-out idea, but it’s no quick drought-relief option. It takes years of planning and overcoming red tape to launch a project.

Santa Barbara is uniquely positioned with a desalination plant in storage. But getting it humming again won’t be as simple as flipping a switch.

After the plant was powered down in 1992, the city sold off parts to a Saudi Arabia company. The guts remain as a time capsule — a white elephant of sorts — walled off behind a gate near the Funk Zone, a corridor of art galleries, wineries and eateries tucked between the Pacific and U.S. 101

 

 

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http://news.yahoo.com/california-city-looks-sea-water-drought-142629739.html

Step Inside the 1946 Offices of Architect Morris Lapidus | South Salem Real Estate

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Click here to view the full photogallery.

Despite being best known for speckling Miami with the Neo-baroque and Modern hotels that have since defined old Miami architecture, in the 1940s, architect Morris Lapidus actually had an office headquarters on New York City’s 49th Street. These photos, snagged from the Library of Congress’ Gottscho-Schleisner Collection, were taken years before Lapidus got his most famous commission, Miami’s (James Bond-approved!) Fontainebleau Hotel, and in fact the interiors are far from bold, a surprise coming from a man whose design philosophy was “if you create the stage setting and it’s grand, everyone who enters will play their part.” Sure, there may be no sweeping curves or layer-cake chandeliers, though the photos are far from boring. Have a look at the midcentury office delights—floating bookcases! wood paneling! glass partitions! a hand coming out of a wall!(??)—in the gallery below.

 

 

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http://curbed.com/archives/2014/05/02/step-inside-1948-offices-of-architect-morris-lapidus.php

Mortgage Rates average 4.29% | South Salem Real Estate

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Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates moving down slightly following the release of real GDP estimates for the first quarter.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.29 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending May 1, 2014, down from last week when it averaged 4.33 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.35 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.38 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.39 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.56 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.05 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.03 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.56 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.45 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.44 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.56 percent.

Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following links for the Regional and National Mortgage Rate Details and Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

Quotes
Attributed to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac.

“Mortgage rates were down slightly following the release of real GDP estimates for the first quarter of the year which rose 0.1 percent and fell well short of market expectations. Meanwhile, the pending home sales index rose in March ending eight consecutive months of decline and the S&P/Case-Shiller® 20-city composite house price index rose 12.9 percent over the 12-months ending in February 2014.”

Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Today Freddie Mac is making home possible for one in four home borrowers and is one of the largest sources of financing for multifamily housing. Additional information is available at FreddieMac.com, Twitter @FreddieMac and Freddie Mac’s blog FreddieMac.com/blog.

‘Rare and Mythical’ Cobble Hill Carriage House Asks $8M | South Salem Real Estate

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Is this Pacific Street home a unicorn? The listing’s brokerbabble seems to think so. Built in 1840, this “rare and mythical” former carriage and fire house is “what real estate dreams are made of.” The 25-foot-wide by 85-foot-deep three-story home is currently configured as two units, but can be combined to be a four- to six-bedroom single-family dwelling. The home’s layout skirts the “inconvenience of vertical townhouse living” with its 2,125-square-foot main floor, which has double-height ceilings, big skylights, and an impressively large fireplace. The brokerbabble goes on: “Add to that the drama of massive exposed wood beams, arched windows, a charming greenhouse, a perennial garden … 12-inch-wide wood-plank floors … a terrace off the second floor … and you have a one-of-kind property with the warmth and grandeur only found in historical homes, but the open layout of more modern living.” Unlike a unicorn, this carriage house can be bought for $7.995 million.

 

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http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/04/22/rare_and_mythical_cobble_hill_carriage_house_asks_8m.php

Building a Foolproof Low-Slope Roof | South Salem Homes

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Carolyn Wood is building a house 80 miles north of Vancouver, British Columbia, and if nothing else she’d like to get all the details in the roof assembly right, since in her last home, she had to get several hail damage roof repair services throughout the years. The question is whether the house is too far along to let her reach that goal.

The roof, with a 2-in-12 pitch, is framed with I-joists, strapped with 2x4s, and sheathed with 1/2-in. plywood. Above the roof sheathing, the roofers plan to install NovaSeal roofing underlayment and standing-seam metal roofing.

Below the sheathing are two layers of Roxul mineral wood insulation, providing a total of R-36. Wood plans to finish the ceiling with 1×6 tongue-and-groove boards. Against her builder’s advice, there will be no polyethylene vapor barrier in the ceilings or in the walls, but Wood would like to know whether, as she has recently heard, there should be a layer of drywall between the T&G ceiling boards and the insulation.

As currently built, an experienced tampa roofing company says the roof assembly has 1-inch-high ventilation gap between the top of the insulation and the underside of the roof sheathing, Wood writes in Q&A post at GreenBuildingAdvisor, but the question is whether 1 inch will be adequate. That’s the topic for this Q&A Spotlight.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/qa-spotlight/building-foolproof-low-slope-roof

How will school-boundary changes affect the DC real estate market? | South Salem Real Estate

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Homebuying just got a little more complicated in the District of  Columbia.

Many buyers, whether or not they have children, want to know they’re moving into  an area with good schools. For those with children, it’s an immediate concern. For  those without children, it’s a question of resale value.

This week, Mayor Vincent Gray unveiled a proposal to overhaul school boundaries,  including changes to the way school assignments are determined. It’s the first  proposal to change the boundaries in decades, and it comes as the D.C. real estate  market has heated up, including in neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River.  Darrin Davis, owner of Anacostia River Realty, says, “The D.C. market is hot. I  just sold five houses this week.”

So will changes to school boundaries cool that market?

Eldad Moraru, with Long and Foster, says D.C. has become a desirable place — not  just for young career-minded singles, but for families too. And the proposed  school-boundary changes raise questions.

“Some of them — I won’t say all of them, but some buyers are holding off on  making decisions until this plays out to its completion.”

Moraru, who is licensed in D.C., Virginia and Maryland, says the uncertainty  created by Gray’s proposals could send buyers elsewhere. “I’m sure there are some  people who’ve opted to go ahead and purchase in other school districts like  Maryland and Virginia because of this, but others are taking a wait-and-see  approach.”

Davis says buyers who are looking to Anacostia, where the housing stock is  plentiful and the prices are within reach for many priced out of other  neighborhoods, tend to be young singles. Schools may not be a major consideration  for those buyers right now, but he says, “I do see that being an issue five to ten  years down the line.”

 

 

http://www.wtop.com/109/3600068/How-will-school-boundary-changes-affect-DC-real-estate

3 reasons you should be rationally exuberant on housing | South Salem Homes

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Have you noticed that there is a cacophony of opinion and conflicting information on the health of the housing market this spring?

Rising rates and regulation will stifle demand. Housing is suddenly unaffordable and there is risk of another bubble.

Aren’t these contradictory arguments?  If demand is going to be stifled, then how can we have another bubble?

After all, an asset bubble is defined by irrational exuberance as exhibited by excess demand. Isn’t the rule, you can’t have your cake and eat it too?

Either demand is stifled or there is a bubble, but not both.

Instead, here are the three things that, in my mind, really matter this spring.

1. Availability of Credit

The housing market runs on the availability of credit. Most of us can’t buy a home without it. Analysis of the credit profiles of recent purchase transactions tells us that the only real dimension in which credit availability is “tight” right now is with credit scores. Under more normal circumstances in the early aughts, a little more than 10 percent of purchase originations had credit scores below 620.

At the moment, only 0.3% of purchase mortgage originations have credit scores below 620. There are good signs this spring, however, that standards are relaxing in this dimension as lenders are announcing reductions in minimum credit score requirements. Before you lament the resurgence of the disastrous subprime loan, remember that lending to borrowers with lower credit scores can be done successfully if you don’t also layer on payment shock risk and high leverage.

2. Pent-Up Supply

Most homebuyers are also first home sellers. Even in the best of times, first-time homebuyers account for well less than half of home purchases. The existing homeowner who sells and then buys (we call this housing turnover) is the lifeblood of the housing market. Yet, many still are under-equitied, meaning they’re underwater or have less than a 20% equity stake.

The impressive gains in home price appreciation in many of the hardest hit markets have created a virtuous cycle though, relieving more homeowners’ under-equitied situations and putting them in the position to become sellers and then buyers again this spring.

 

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/29594-corelogic-economist-3-reasons-you-should-be-rationally-exuberant-on-housing

Eroding home affordability carries housing bubble concerns | South Salem Real Estate

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As home prices and mortgage interest rates rise, potential homebuyers are finding that fewer homes are within their financial grasp, prompting parallels to the most recent housing bubble.

A study by real estate portal Zillow has found that, for a full one-third of homes for sale nationwide in the fourth quarter, buyers would pay a larger percentage of their income toward a mortgage than in the pre-bubble era.

Zillow analyzed fourth-quarter income, mortgage and home value data. The company measured affordability by comparing how the share of an area’s median household income needed to cover the mortgage payment of a median-priced area home in the fourth quarter measured relative to the income-share needed to make a mortgage payment on a median-priced home in the same area between the years of 1985 and 2000.

While two-thirds of U.S. homes for sale were affordable in the quarter compared to the pre-bubble years, Zillow expects affordability to wane as interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages continue to rise toward an expected 5 percent over the next year. Rates on that type of mortgage have jumped close to 1 percentage point from 3.54 percent in April 2013 to 4.41 percent this week, according to Freddie Mac.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/04/04/eroding-home-affordability-carries-housing-bubble-concerns/?utm_source=20140404&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinespm#sthash.BZUVApUm.dpuf

L.A.’s ‘Unsellable’ Fleur de Lys Just Sold for $102M… in Cash | South Salem Real Estate

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Nobody freak out, but it seems that Los Angeles’ Fleur de Lys, the estate that broke records when it hit the market in 2007 for $125M and, despite years of floundering, stuck stubbornly to its exorbitant ask, has sold for $102M, a record for L.A. county. What’s more, the “trophy estate,” as the L.A. Times dubs it, apparently sold amid a bidding war that engaged three billionaires, with the winner (previously reported to be businessman and “junk bond king” Michael Milken) agreeing to pay all cash for this 100-room mansion, as well as its rare Louis XIV and Louis XV antiques.

Designed by Richard Robertson III and completed 2002, Fleur de Lys comes with 35,000 square feet of marble walls and spindly furnishings, all spread across 12 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, accommodations for a 10-person staff, a 50-seat screening room, and a three-bedroom caretaker’s house. As the Los Angeles Times writes, “The 3,000-square-foot wine cellar and tasting room is larger than most American houses, as is the manager’s house.” The jumbomanse was built for billionaire David Saperstein and his then-wife, Suzanne. After David’s much-publicized affair with their Swedish nanny, the two went through a much-publicized divorce that left his ex with the palace. This, of course, all went through in 2007, when a recession made it extremely difficult to sell megalomansions.

Much like the largest private residence in the country, Fleur de Lys took inspiration from Versailles—practically a requirement for homes of this stature, apparently. The property first hit the market in 2007, slinked off the market in October 2009, and again listed for its original ask—a staggering $125M—in July 2011.

Thought it was once rumored to have sold to Formula One heiress Tamara Ecclestone, it seems Fleur de Lys actually went to Milken, a businessman/philanthropist and onetime so-called “junk bond king.” The buyer was initially identified as an anonymous French billionaire, but the paper has since uncovered that “taxes will be mailed to the Milken Institute in Santa Monica.”

 

 

http://curbed.com/archives/2014/03/31/las-unsellable-fleur-de-lys-just-sold-for-102m-in-cash.php