Weekly Roundup: NYC condos, U.S. inventory, all-time low rates, Airbnb, pet furniture, most diverse metros, housing forecasts and much more

Brownstones increasingly go mod

Number of new listings of new condos turns up in Manhattan along with prices there and in Brooklyn, Queens

Causing 15 percent increase in materials and monopolizing workers, Sandy raises construction costs

Buyers of lower Manhattan apartments so far unmoved by storm

Rents continue to climb as vacancies reach 32-month high, and biggest October increases hit smaller units

Report suggests that multiple bids for renovations may encourage homeowners to overpay

And don’t expect financing for renovations to be a breeze

Five brokers investigated on complaints that they demanded extra fees from HIV renters

Region remains least-affordable major housing market in nation

Foreclosure filings surge in metro area, more than anywhere else

With her Georgia home foreclosed, she has reason to sing the blues

Media mogul pays record $54 million

Weekly Roundup: Supply in U.S. and NYC dwindles, rates keep falling, Oprah takes bath, hell is hoarder at home, Shiller’s glass half empty

Obama slept here, and so can you for $2,400 a month

Median price of new condos up 15.4 percent from year ago, inventory down 19.1 percent

Q2 prices in Brooklyn, Queens edge up as inventory plunges

With prices falling in the Hamptons, sales pick up

Boards only set policies and six other surprises that rookie members may confront

New rental units in the city undergoing shrinkage

New handful of properties set to come on market at $90 million or more

Retired detective names safest, riskiest units in apartment building

Sales volume, property values remain well below peak levels, says NYU’s Furman Center

Number of residential building permits skyrockets, especially in Manhattan

Super rich

Weekly Roundup: NYC quarterly reports out, U.S. rents and prices rising, loan rates reach new lows

Because of the Independence Day holiday, this abbreviated post contains only the past week’s most essential news.

Manhattan market holding steady, Times reports

It’s taking a breather, says Wall Street Journal

City, state officials say they plan ‘landmark’ legislation to cut apartment owners’ taxes

The Real Deal maps out all major Manhattan, Brooklyn for-sale buildings with at least 5 sponsor units still listed

Wells Fargo dominates mortgage market

Confidentiality can be an exercise in futility at high end

Gap between market-rate and rent-stabilized apartments makes them harder than ever to snag

Wife of composing wizard closes on 1BR unit in Trump building

Are you buying from me?

Home prices

Weekly Roundup: Rent control, record low, rates, renovations, rosier forecasts. . . much more!

Three-year extension of rent control becomes law

Area single-family homes experience 2.9 percent drop over 12 months

South Bronx burns no more

Trulia says it’s cheaper to rent than buy in Queens

Selling condos to moms and dads often comes down to child’s play

Harlem’s renaissance enjoys revival

Following reports of rent scams by Queens man, attorney general issues Craigslist alert

NYU’s Furman Center documents plunge in

Weekly Roundup: Inventory shrinks, rates steady, renters outspend owners, landlords thrilled

Upper West Side zip code is second only to Las Vegas in federal tax liens–again

Scientifically suspect survey by biased group finds 74 percent of brokers expecting Q4 to be better than Q3

Schools snap up at land at a heady pace

Luxury rental building at Broadway and 77th Street to contain 181 units

Construction industry loses jobs in September as the real estate sector gains

You can make an appraiser’s life–and yours–easier by preparing for inspection

Auction set for condo in which Credit Suisse broker endured house arrest overlooking Madison Square Park

Did you miss purchasing one of the 10 Manhattan’s properties with lowest price per square foot?

Pricier Hamptons homes enjoy rebound in sales, in part thanks to foreign buyers

Biggest income inequality occurs in Morningside Heights-Hamilton Heights, lowest is in Bellerose-Rosedale in Queens

Scant respite seen for renters in latest report

Purchasing a new condo can have its drawbacks

It took a while, but

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

The Big Apple: Will investors drive up prices?

Construction activity rises, but new starts of residential building dip below previous two years

The value of construction projects commenced in New York City rose 15 percent in 2010 thanks to non-residential and public sector building, while new residential construction starts continued to slide, according to the New York Building Congress.

Residential projects worth $2.21 billion began last year, which was down from $6.03 billion in 2008, at the tail end of the construction boom, and $2.58 billion in 2009, according to the analysis.

Unsurprisingly, federal tax credit caused spike in last June’s sales

The U.S. tax credit for first-time homebuyers had more

Guest post: 10 rules for renting your condo right

by Ron Gitter

What appears to be the beginning of a beautiful landlord-tenant relationship can turn ugly faster than you think.  So notes lawyer Ron Gitter, whose sage advice has graced this blog before and whose Web site contains much more valuable information.

Perform your due diligence when you intend to hand over your precious property to a stranger, or even a friend or relative, he counsels.

For your peace of mind and financial security, consider all the issues that might have an impact the tenancy.  Be upfront about any conditions in the apartment that may be of concern to the tenant.

At the same time, there is no reason for your relationship with your tenant to be of the love-hate variety: He or she gets to live in a great apartment in the Big Apple and you receive a significant and, sometimes, obscene amount of rent.

Where we live, that’s peaceful coexistence.  The 10 or so suggestions below should ensure that war doesn’t break out:

(Flickr photo added by Mr. Wright)

1. Comply with all condo rental requirements: You must submit a rental application to the managing agent.  Even before the lease is signed, make sure that your proposed tenant understands that financial disclosure, various documentation and a background check may be required prior to the building’s approval of your tenant.

2. Check the creditworthiness of your tenant:

My friend Cora lives in a studio, has three animals

Flickr photo by SkyWideDesign

A week or two ago, my friend Cora adopted a fluffy calico cat she named Blanche.  Perhaps a year old, Blanche joins Jiggy the pug and Derwood the gray-and-white American short-hair cat in the rent-stabilized studio that Cora has called home for decades.

Cora happens to be 66, and she is hardly alone–among humans as well as animals.  In fact, a new survey commissioned by AARP has found that 40 percent of Americans 65 and older own a pet.  Of those, 27 percent have a dog and 19 percent, a cat.