Weekly Roundup: Killing rents, Rat Island langor, celebrity doings, strong resales, shrinking inventory, negotiation advice, Home Depot vs. Ikea, shared households, lots of guessing. More!

Townhouse sales on upswing

Divided board okays 2 percent increase for rent-stabilized units, 4 percent if for 2-year lease

There’s a right way to approach board members with complaints

It’s still mainly doormen, not doorwomen

Apartments selling faster than a year ago

State to spend $60 million on legal services, counseling for homeowners

For delinquent condo residents, the white gloves are off

29 percent of residents spend more than half of their income on rent

Winner of Rat Island auction off City Island in the Bronx settles in

Court rules that rent-controlled apartment can’t be distributed in divorce

Singer is gambling on absolute auction for sale of estate previously listed for $3.5 million

Performance artist doubles what she spent on SoHo loft in the 90s

‘Restaurateur who invented downtown’ wants to rent out Greenwich Village townhouse for $25,000 a month

Director/actress sells condo in Little Italy for $2.75 million and lives somewhere else in West Village

Parisian fashion designer unloads Chelsea apartment for tidy profit

Actor/screenwriter judges Park Slope townhouse a bargain

Her latest dubious achievement: Foreclosure

Injured Knicks guard sinks $9,200 a month in Manhattan pied-à-terre

Big boy cuts price of beach home residence he’s spurning for Lake Tahoe

Housing starts, building permits in May jump substantially over one year earlier and industry watchers remain hopeful for recovery, especially Calculated Risk

May resales slip from April, but increase 9.6 percent from May 2011, consequently pulling down inventory by 20.4 percent over the year

Residential property values up 06. percent in April

Naturally, New York City tops list of worst cities of renters

National housing market, what national housing market?

Homes in the West experience rebound

For first time in two years, delinquencies tick up in May

Increase in foreclosure filings said to be long overdue

Rates ease once again

And low mortgage rates aren’t expected to go away anytime soon

With purchase mortgages waning, banks follow the money

FHA rescinds disputed credit policy

Delinquencies rise in May

FHA refinancing activity explodes, conventional refi volume slumps, purchase applications slide

Worried lenders of reverse mortgages hope to survive problem of shrinking equity

Lawyer reminds buyers to negotiate anything they want, even low price

Shortage of land in desirable locations could thwart recent rise in home building

Experts suggest how homebuyers can avoid remorse

First-timers competing with cash, high downpayments, bidding wars

Know risks before waiving financing contingency

In three states so far, there’s insurance against falling prices

Homes growing in size

Bathroom remodels saturating the renovation marketplace

Experts offer advice on avoiding disaster when remodeling kitchen

Sit sleekly on these chairs

Computer programs allows users to bypass architects

Home decorators have been hitting the wall of resistence, thinning ranks

New York magazine gorges on home designs

Research into home’s history leads to pride of place

Does Ikea beat Home Depot for renovations

Technology need not be the enemy of sleep, but a friend

Edging up to highest level in five years, builder confidence remains in the basement

And industry watchers analyze the situation

Architects’ billings plummet

Number of shared household grows 11.4 percent from 2007 to 2010

Gap between sellers’ and buyers’ views of future home values may explain weak sales

Residential remodeling index increases 2 percent in April

Huge reduction predicted in homebuyer demand because of bad credit histories

‘Grave’ risk persists of more price declines

Fannie sees home price bottom in 2013 along with global risks ahead

Constrained supply together with robust demand from investors and first-time home buyers may create cycles of home value spikes followed by cooling periods

Decline in lumber future may be omen for recovery

Morgan Stanley analysts anticipate prolonged bottom with price declines at year’s end

Freddie foresees growing rental demand

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 post on Mondays or Tuesdays.

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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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