Weekly Roundup: New development sales, eccentric buyers, agents’ frothy remarks, free mortgage tutorial, economics of price changes

With inventory tight and prices climbing, sales of new condos plunge

Yet developers, marketers designing ever more spectacular penthouses, townhouses in buildings old and new

Recent law change could make maintenance-free apartments less rare

Buyers do the darndest things

New Yorker magazine lets you click on subway stops to gauge wealth

Beachfront homeowners in Southampton building ramparts against storms

No, says New York magazine, it’s not a bubble again

Disgraced athlete latches onto quarter-acre Texas compound in gated community after dumping old Austin home

Artist makes mark in SoHo with purchase of $5.95 million loft

Actor’s $2.1 million sale of Chelsea apartment is no joking matter

Performance artist buys $2.65 million apartment in Philip Johnson’s Urban Glass House

What impact will actress have on Upper West Side building where $5.1 million co-op is new home?

Agents’ description of markets today bubble with reminders of years past

And techniques used during frothy times reappearing

February prices up 6.1 percent from year earlier, 28-month high but off 29.1 percent from peak

Housing construction rises, permits slide and what to make of the numbers

Fed’s Beige Book records continued improvement in real estate activity in most districts

Apartment industry ‘operating on cruise control,’ expects unabated expansion

Forbes: luxury housing continues to thrive in face of economic uncertainty

The bigger the loan, the tougher the requirements

Rates dip even closer to record

Drop in home loans takes toll on banks

Freddie Mac offers free online tutorial for borrowers

Volume of loans for purchase jumps 5 percent in a week, at high point since mid January

743 average FICO score for mortgages approved in March lowest since August 2011

Buying vacation homes of late requires plenty of cash on hand

After organizing information and identifying right loan, consider six way to shop for best rate

A cogent Robert Shiller explains why house prices change, or don’t

Advocacy group’s report calls for updating federal laws against housing discrimination

U.S. developers increasingly designing for global audience

Fair Housing Month reminder of expanded rules affecting loan servicers

It takes only money to rent an island

When neighbor undertakes major  renovations, you can protect yourself and sanity

Survey by company not uninterested in results finds that homeowners into color these days

There goes the. . . master bedroom

Milan’s International Furniture Fair foretells ‘year of the pouf’

France’s gift to molding still admired today

Heed 47 tips, tricks to ensure perfect paint job

More homeowners installing modern interiors in old homes

Higher cost of materials, concerns about developed lots and labor cause decline in already anemic builder confidence

Fed economist attributes housing downturn to disproportionate drop in wealth of young householders

Assessing buyer regrets in survey, Trulia counsels against moving too fast

With gold’s glitter tarnished, respondents in Gallup survey say real estate ties that metal as best investment

Analyst contends that hard data refutes fears of  new bubble

Unexpectedly high price increases, enduringly short supply leads Fannie Mae to forecast robust sales of existing homes

CNNMoney provides three reasons housing recovery may not last

You have the option to search privately for all New York City properties here, 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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