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

Weekly Roundup: Basement apartments, seller’s market, plunging foreclosures, son of Lincoln’s house, trophy baths, Goldman Sach’s optimism

Manhattan luxury market unseasonably busy

Naturally occurring retirement communities populate Upper West Side

Condominium board gets TRO against Houston couple to prevent short-term stays

San Remo apartment offered for $29,750 in monthly rent went for $900 a month in 1940

Would changing rules for illegal basement apartments boost supply of affordable rentals? asks the Real Deal and Crain’s

Longtime home of Gershwin family goes on the market

Volume of property taxes kept increasing every year from 2005 to 2012

Residents of abutting buildings at war with developer of planned Fifth Avenue

Neighborhood group faults mayor’s plan for affordable housing

Fiercely competitive land prices forcing developers to build high-end condos

Sex symbol who has money troubles lists Malibu home for $7.75 million

6,800-sf TriBeCa penthouse wins undisputed approval of Brooklyn Nets star

New Jersey home was born to sell

Hip-hop star and reality spouse flip-flop Bel Air house handsomely

January numbers show 9.1 year-over-year sales growth, steady price gains so it’s a seller’s market

Supply of resale housing

Weekly Roundup: Condos pipeline, easing rents, rising values, foreclosure pitfalls, hiding places, credit reporting errors, moving tips and more

Real estate pros expecting best year since fall of 2008

They’re taking Manhattan but leaving it alone

Strong demand has developers raising prices of new condos month after month

Construction loans easier to obtain

Jumping 54 percent in 2012 from prior year, new residential construction more than doubles from 2010

With tenants choosing to buy, rental market cools a bit

Report says ‘affordable’ housing too costly

Attorney general to stop settling escrow disputes, send parties to court instead

Celebrity chef moves to 4,650-sf Harlem townhouse

His mission of selling 2,200-sf East Village condo proves to be possible

Onetime Heisman winner

Weekly Roundup: NYC adjusted prices, SoHo’s highs, upward trending rates, $117M record price, houseplant pointers, recovery skeptics

Housing prices below 2008 peak, sales 21.8 percent lower than 2007 peak

But 2012 median lowest since 2004 adjusted for inflation

Beachfront houses wrecked by Sandy being sold ‘as is’

Assembly, Senate pass renewal of co-op/condo tax abatement

Building in Williamsburg tops list of 10 best-selling new developments in 2012

Region’s foreclosures tick up in November

Boerum Hill beats out Dumbo as Brooklyn’s top neighborhood, while SoHo and TriBeCa priciest in Manhattan during 2012

Maintenance fees now average $1.70 per square foot, up 30 percent since 2008

Lawsuit aims to collect rents paid by tenants citywide who live in apartments made uninhabitable after Sandy

Multi-talented writer finally does good all by himself in sale of $11.25 million Hollywood home

Brooklyn Nets guard makes successful $15.8 million play for Tribeca penthouse

Barbara visits

Weekly Roundup: New. . . rent data, celebrity moves, U.S. market reports, interest rates, generation of investors, forecasts and more

November rents in Manhattan ease slightly as Sandy contributes to drop in inventory

Almost burned, one tenant unscathed after renting out apartment via Airbnb

Mayor calls for immediate redrawing of FEMA flood maps

Sunlight in apartments comes at a cost

NY Fed’s interactive tool provides housing market data

Insurance won’t cover loss in event of apartment misuse

Many of the city’s newest transplants favor Manhattan

His new home is, strangely, no fixer-upper

London house of singer who died tragically young sold at auction below original asking price

Retired Yankee’s condo sale long way from home run

Chef’s purchase

Buying in trust, foreigners can save on taxes

Part 2 of 2

(Flickr photo by allie_caulfield)

Foreign buyers who successfully cross financing hurdles then need to consider the most prudent way to hold title to real estate.

Lawyers often advise investors — whether foreign or domestic — to purchase property as a limited liability corporation (LLC).

The chief advantage is that LLCs shields their members from financial claims in excess of the value of the real estate.  In other words, an individual’s others assets are protected.

However,

Taxes can bite borrowers of home equity loans

Happy Thanksgiving!

(Flickr photo by The Suss-Man (Mike)

Home equity loans have regained some of their popularity in the wake of the housing crisis.

But borrowers need to be clear about the extent of their tax deductibility — at least until (and if) Washington completes wrangling over the deficit.  You’ll find the nitty-gritty in a 16-page PDF published by the IRS, from which I’ll try to furnish just the broadest of strokes.

In essence, you can deduct no more than $100,000.  Except. . .

Weekly Roundup: Reports reveal strong sales, weak supply in Manhattan despite increasingly tough standards for borrowers everywhere

Inventory plunges to seven-year low in Q3, sales strong, prices little changed

Streeteasy finds decline in price cuts, time on market compared with same quarter in 2011

Penthouse owner sues board president on claim she sabotaged $27.5 million co-op sale as revenge for rejected lowball offer

Managing agents say residential building in better shape than years ago, but watching pennies

Enduring family feud, Charles Rutenberg Realty has progressive business model making it Manhattan’s 6th largest brokerage

Life as a 20-percenter isn’t a bed of roses, resident of mixed-income building confesses

Landmarks subcommittee blesses expansion of Upper West Side historic district, clearing way for Council approval

Who will be able to claim credit for 95-story Park Avenue tower soon to be constructed?

Pundit frustrated by cable-TV news sells TriBeCa loft above $1.32 million asking price

Actor trades outer space for outside space in $2.5 million purchase of Park Slope duplex

Aerobic exercise fanatic

Weekly Roundup: Starters hot, U.S. prices rise, rates tick up, foreclosures drop, Houston’s cool

Weekly Roundup returns after Labor Day, but. . .

. . . you may want to check back here for occasional posts and keep current via Facebook or Twitter (below)

Wells Fargo provides mortgages to one-fifth of the city’s borrowers

July sales of starter apartments grow 30.5 percent over previous year

Sales of new Manhattan condos up in second quarter, but median price sinks

Lesbian couple get both names on lease after months-long battle, threatened lawsuit

Report suggests property tax evasion widespread

Swimmer whose name rhymes with ‘hike’ selling Baltimore condo

Singing couple proves that money talks with their $400,000 Hamptons rental

Actress orders purchase of Upper West Side townhouse for $10.7 million

Grammy winner’s condo on the Bowery finds buyer after 5 percent markdown

Late pop artist’s lofty domain goes on the market in SoHo

One of late heiress’ Fifth Avenue apartments is under contract — again

Case-Shiller records significant price gains from year ago

Strength of apartment sector

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