Weekly Roundup: Foreclosure auction, DOMA effects, climbing prices and rates, millennials, home offices, housing affordability and more

Have a great holiday week! No more posts until July 8.

Foreclosure auction scheduled for co-op in posh River House at end of 18-year legal battle

Metro area’s foreclosures down in April but still above national average

6.2 percent growth in construction spending expected during the year

End of DOMA produces real estate tax benefits for New Yorkers, of course others as well

Analysis of Manhattan prices, sales suggests they’re flatter than apparent in Q2

Actress sees black, not red, in sale of Greenwich Village duplex for $7.45 million

Comedian who played TV psychologist, hotel owner lists Bel Air home again at new lower price of $15.5 million

Peripatetic former Dateline anchor settles on condo in Murray Hill

Vacation helped finance Mount Kisco property, where a family can, yes, vacation for $20,000 or $1,800 monthly

With husband no longer part of her life, actress chops price of Hollywood mansion meant to be love next

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to move into late Princess Margaret’s home following its £1 million renovation

Case-Shiller puts 12-month increase in April prices at 12.1 percent, beating forecasts handily

Another index has April prices up 8.1 percent from one year earlier

Sales of new homes rise in May along with inventory

And what respected blogger Bill McBride makes of it all

Contract activity jumps in May to strongest pace since the end of 2006

Prices increasing faster in cities than in suburbs, especially in ‘gayborhoods’

Housing recovery said to pass 60 percent for first time since crash

Rates for 30-year loans spike to 4.46 percent, highest level in nearly two years

Count on your credit being checked and checked again during loan process

Prominent D.C. consulting firm run by former top U.S. banking regulator paid $927.5 million for review of foreclosure files

Uncertainty about true loan costs plagues consumers trying to compare competing providers

It’s possible to avoid quagmire of documentation, prolonged approval time when refinancing

Jumbo borrowers shopping for offbeat homes may face challenges in getting loan

Did poor math skills cause subprime meltdown?

New index finds easing of mortgage credit

Refi loan activity nosedives as purchase volume edges up

Legislation would put energy cost savings into underwriting equation

FTC fines mortgage brokerage $7.5 million for violating Do Not Call law

International buyers favor some U.S. housing markets over others

But those international buyers scaling back purchases of homes in U.S.

Owners of vacant land may receive tax benefits

Foreign buyers, executives from other industries chase big returns by flipping luxury properties

Second-home industry shifting from desires of boomers to Gen Xers

Home sellers enjoy quirky tax breaks from Uncle Sam

Sales of apartments by divorcing couples can involve fake spouses, other illegalities

With rising house prices, condo sales surge in San Francisco

Basement-building boom in London eases space crunch, but noise, disruptions and debris may lead to stricter rules

Chinese investors hotly pursue purchase of U.S. properties

Improvements exist for cellphone calls at home

Nation’s electric bills expected to shrink this summer

Welcome to the new home office

Can artwork help sell a home?

GE plans September rollout of appliances designed for millennials by a millennial

Number of households struggling to afford any housing at all-time high

Long-term effects of rising interest rates unclear

But consensus of  ‘experts’ doubt much impact on housing’s recovery

And Fannie Mae economist worries that rates rising too fast

Economics research firm predicts slowing of year-over-year price gains

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’ll next post on July 8.

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Malcolm Carter
Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker
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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