Weekly Roundup: Landlord confession, piece of Portugal, April building permits, pocket listings, air purifiers, timely Lotto win, recovery threats

Penthouse pursuit is costly contagion to attain height, light, unobstructed views

Airbnb gears up for Albany initiative that would regulate short-term apartment rentals

City plans sale to debt collectors of tax liens against Sandy-hit homeowners

Cost of rent, price of property actually moving in sync

New York region’s borrowers way below average of homeowners who deduct mortgage interest

Stuyvesant Town tenants told pay up and up or move out this summer

Onetime Sinatra apartment sells after steep price cut

Lease confessions of small landlord make for compelling reading

All it takes is money, but there’s still rental inventory in the Hamptons

Investment group identified as purchaser of most expensive Manhattan residence, One 57 penthouse

Nascar superstar lists trophy condo on Central Park West for $30 million

Dancing queen

Weekly Roundup: Condo inventory, rents, pet scams, best markets for sellers or buyers, retirees’ downsizing, consumers’ outlook

Next Weekly Roundup Jan. 4

Tastes downtown changing from industrial lofts, glass boxes

More evidence that developers adding to supply of condos

There’s nothing like decisions on art to stir the pot of acrimony in condos, co-ops

Real estate licensees rebound to 27,000 in the city alone

Manhattan’s median rent edges up in November

When buildings bar a pet, lawyers say, residents suddenly claim disabilities

High living costs cause half of population to contemplate leaving Long Island

Southampton home owned by TV news personality and actress wife goes quickly to contract

Author achieves perfect sale of Manhattan condo

Pair finds buyer of Upper East Side one-bedroom apartment in amazing time

 

Strongest sellers’ markets in

Weekly Roundup: Storm effects, U.S. price and sales trends, credit scores, timing of rate locks, buyer rebates and growing optimism. Much more!

Daylight Savings Time Ends Saturday Night

Firm cost of storm’s damage to area homes long way off, but total will be astronomical — perhaps as much as 64 percent of $50 billion total

Sandy ravages Long Island’s East End, decimating homes of the rich and famous

Storm could shape how residential housing along the water is built, marketed, sold

Buyfolio collaborative service for consumers and agents finds deep-pocketed buyer

‘Prewar’ speaks volumes

Boards may promise buyer applicants one thing, then do something else

World Series pitcher lists California mansion for $11.45 million

Buyer of late pop star’s estate so eager to move in that he’ll occupy the place before sale closes

Actress takes substantial loss on her sale of Hollywood Hills house fit for a queen

Late Oscar nominee’s duplex overlooking Central Park on the market for $13.95 million

Case-Shiller records continuing upward price trend

Homewnership, rental vacancy rates

Weekly Roundup: Cautious optimism prevails in NYC, prices up and supply down in the nation

Brokers expect sales to continue outpacing 2011 levels and for prices to rise or remain stable

Long Island’s East End increasingly becomes sought-after place to live year-round

July prices in region post 3.4 percent gain from same month last year

Growing number of city’s apartment buildings fall short of lenders’ standards

When it comes to property taxes, the city giveth relief and taketh it away

Pioneering figure in music industry tries once more to sell penthouse in Financial District for $11 million

Fashionista rents 2,500-sf West Village apartment for

Weekly Roundup: Tax abatements, NYC’s worrisome Q2, U.S. recovery, gay neighborhoods, outdated decor, 30 richest cities and much more

Cuomo says he expects legislature to act in fall, so city retaining abated property tax levels

And appeals of property tax assessments near record number

Manhattan market verges on worried in second quarter

When seeking roommate on Craigslist, the details really matter

Landmark body approves one of three Riverside-West End Avenue historic districts, but others yet to face votes

Region’s foreclosure rate continues to grow

Neighbors rally to save historic Dutch Kills farmhouse

Condo boards

Weekly Roundup: U.S. stats sadden economists, Big Apple market seems stable, so much more!

Sales of luxury apartments buoy Manhattan market, suggesting Q3 reports will document ‘remarkable stability’

Before suing your co-op, it pays to get the facts right

Rents edge up again this month

But at least now you can find no-fee apartments on a cool map

Or check out a cool statistical infographic on our ‘city of renters’

Unless you have $1,600 to spare, think twice about renting out your apartment for less than a month

Seven tips for finding a great general contractor merit a look

Downtown Manhattan loft market is up a bit over 2007, the strongest full year in Manhattan residential real estate history, says broker/blogger Sandy Mattingly

In fraught market, buyers are still buying. . . with frayed nerves

The verdict is in: Only the most innocent buyers would fail to hire a lawyer for their purchase of property

Long Island mansion finally sells after high-profile owner hacks price

If he really collects 50% more than he paid in 2009 for his newly listed condo, this guy will be the stuff of legends

Still out of England, comedian

The Big Apple: Rentals hot, Hamptons too. More!

Employment posts gain in June, but jobless rate continues to stall

The city’s unemployment rate in June went to 8.7 percent from May’s 8.6 percent, the state Department of Labor reported.

The one-month rise was not itself a significant increase, but after falling consistently each month for nearly a year starting last spring, there have now been four consecutive months without a noticeable decline in the city’s jobless rate.

Most of the drop in the rate from its 10 percent peak has come not from significant job gains but as a result of discouraged job seekers leaving the work force.

The city added 51,400 private sector jobs in the 12 months ending in June. The 1.6 percent growth rate, “is pretty good by historical standards,” according to James Brown, principal economist at the labor department.

Rental rigmarole challenges prospective tenants

With a vacancy rate in Manhattan of under 1 percent, apartments sometimes rent in hours, not days or weeks. Good tenants are not that hard to find. On top of that, evicting problem tenants can be expensive and time-consuming.

So, as the New York Times observes, most landlords here require a lot of information.

They want to see a prospective tenant’s tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements, proof of employment, photo identification and, sometimes, reference letters from previous landlords.

Everyone will run a credit check (many Manhattan landlords look for a score above 700) and just about all, from big management firms to small-time landlords, want to know that your gross income is somewhere between 40 and 50 times the monthly rent.

Luxury sales in the East End

The Big Apple: Rents up, condo owners sinking

Luxury markets pulls up Q2 average price, though volume declines

Overall sales volume of condominiums and cooperative apartments in Manhattan has been off about 11 percent so far in the second quarter compared with same period last year, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of the city’s data.

A year ago, the market was bouncing back strongly from the after-effects of the financial crisis.

Prices have remained flat. Data on closings show that median prices in the second quarter were 1.2 percent below prices during the year-earlier period, while average prices rose by 1.5 percent.

The average price for a Manhattan apartment was about $1.39 million in the latest period. The figures are based on closings filed with the city as of 15 days before the end of each quarter.

Russians are invading

Weekly Roundup: Price indices are down, or up

Here’s your chance to catch up with news included to inform, enlighten and perhaps even entertain you. To read about The Big Apple, check out the other of today’s posts and look for Out and About, which I postponed to bloviate on pressing news, early next week.

Scraping up cash, convict’s brother puts his Long Island mansion on the market

He directs that his Los Angeles home be sold for $10.9 million

Case-Shiller has single-family house prices dropping to mid-2002 levels, a new  low since then

A Wall Street Journal writer puts the numbers in perspective

Monthly index of home prices increases 0.7 percent in April

30-year mortgage dips to new low of

For $100, you can bid on Alicia’s stuff at auction

Alicia Keys defends herself in the magazine's interview.

Although Alicia Keys says in a new interview that she is no home wrecker, the contents of her 9,000-sf Long Island estate are headed for auction on May 22.  Doesn’t that make the home into a mere house?

Virtually everything in the Syosset mansion — from a trampoline to a billiards table and the Grammy winner’s collection of dolls — is going on the block starting at noon.  Attendees have to fork over a nonrefundable $100 to be admitted to the sale.

Among other items to be sold are sofas, rugs, lamps, fitness equipment, flower pots, coffee tables, electronics and a carved wooden wall unit with wine bar refrigerator.

The house itself has