Weekly Roundup: Condo sales spike, rents don’t quit, U.S. prices flat to up, rates once again set record, refi activity grows, media rooms fading

Condo sales volume spikes in May, listing prices fall as Manhattan inventory dwindles

With supply plunging 17.7 percent from May 2011, contract activity for Manhattan condos and co-ops soars 36 percent over a year earlier

Manhattan’s dollar volume of residential sales swamps other boroughs together at 62.5 percent of city’s total

When it comes to buying a home, the superrich are decidedly different from rest of us

Ease of finding a short-stay apartment is linked, of course, to how much tenant will pay

Buyers besieging brokers in Brooklyn neighborhoods

Applications for some affordable housing are starting to appear online

Compared with Grand Central and the Empire State Building, residential architecture often gets short shrift, magazine says

NYU expansion plan moves step closer to reality

Rents again establish record in Manhattan

Young singer’s family regretfully lists family’s home where she died

Beverly Hills estate of a late Italian fashion mogul goes on the market

Emmy-nominted couple aiming to sell so-called SoHo loft for $6 million

TV show host and athletic husband in contract to sell UWS condo for move to suburbs (3rd item)

Onetime Versace residence in South Beach can be yours for $125 million

April price index 1.1 percent higher than a year earlier

Three-month gauge ending in May shows prices up for first time over both prior three months and year

Asking prices unchanged last month

Some regions in the Northeast and Southeast still face deteriorating markets

Fed’s beige book cites improved real estate activity

Multifamily index hits highest point since 2005

Value of household real estate grows by $372 billion to $16.05 trillion in Q1

Bigger homes making comeback

Interest rates drop to new record of 3.67 percent for 30-year-fixed loan

SCOTUS says ‘unearned’ fees permissible if lenders don’t split them with others

Refinance activity grows, but purchase applications slip again

And low rates, big spread encourage refinancing from 30-year to 15-year loans

Consumer agency effectively postpones issuance of restrictive lending regs (register free after linking)

Asking for your lenders’ preapproval advantageous to borrowers

Then, avoid nine common mistakes prior to purchase

Feds widen probe into lenders

Three reasons provided for boom in super high-end sales

Brazil, Estonia, India, Austria show double-digit price increases from a year ago, U.S. in 31st place with decrease

Meadowlands Xanadu inches toward revival

Falling rates and a milder summer may help, but homeowners can use other tricks to cut electricity bills

Vern Yip likes bold colors, tropical décor right now

So much for media rooms

Double meaning of some product names raises eyebrows around the world

Certain renovations must drive you from home

Expecting 1.4 percent price rise over 12 months, Americans opt to wait and see before buying homes

Census Bureau tabulates square footage, myriad other housing stats

Survey of 18 metros finds buyers frustrated by low inventory, rising prices

Recent conflicting housing data confuses consumers and economists alike

Some experts see mismatch between boomers seeking to sell homes and millennials fixed on renting

Journal considers what to make of disparity among housing scorecards

Slowing in labor market could stifle housing demand once again

Especially for single-family houses, optimism rises despite overall shaky market

You have the option to search all New York City properties privately, though I encourage you to be in touch with me for assistance and advice. You also may want to see my critiques of properties that I visit in Out and About, which I plan to post on Tuesday or Wednesday next week because of auction news on Monday.

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Malcolm Carter
Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker
Senior Vice President
Charles Rutenberg Realty
127 E. 56th Street
New York, NY 10022

M: 347-886-0248
F: 347-438-3201

Malcolm@ServiceYouCanTrust.com
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