Wednesday, November 24, 2010

FORMER SEA HORSE BATH & TENNIS CLUB IN GULF STREAM AREA WILL HAVE NEW CONDOS



The first new planned condo in Palm Beach County is set to begin construction at 4001 North Ocean on A1A along the beach.    This is prime beachfront   property and only 2 ½ miles north of the bustling dining, arts, cultural and entertainment trendy downtown Delray Beach’s Atlantic Avenue, and near Gulf Stream.

The builder will use in-house contractors and local subcontractors as well.  There will be 34 condo units in the 6-story building, each about 3000 sq ft and priced betweent $1.4MM and $3MM.  Four separate villas will be built on the west side of A1A priced similarly but 4000 sq ft with 2-car garages.

Featured will be 10’ ceilings, glass and hurricane-resistant constructions, and delivery is expected in early 2013.  The Grand Opening is planned for mid-January 2011 and needs 10 to 12 contracts to”go vertical.”  Three are reported already sold.  

DELRAY BEACH ART & JAZZ ON ATLANTIC AVENUE





C’MON ALONG and listen to live music and prowl the art galleries for a new piece of artwork to fall in love with and take home.  Delray Beach boasts a vibrant, bustling art scene in its trendy downtown with almost 20 galleries  clustered among boutiques, nightclubs and many of Florida’s best restaurants.


Thursday, December 2nd, here are the open galleries, 6-10 pm
Gallery Stroll:
  • Avalon Gallery - 425 E Atlantic Ave
  • Blue Coast Art Exhibit - 110 E Atlantic Ave
  • Blue Gallery - 600 E Atlantic Ave
  • Boca Raton Museum of Art Artists Guild - 512 E Atlantic Ave
  • Cacace Fine Art Studio & Gallery - 135 E Atlantic Ave
  • DeBilzan Gallery - 38 E Atlantic Ave
  • Delray Art & Framing - 321 E Atlantic Ave
  • Ford Fine Art - 235 NE 4th Ave #101
  • Forms Gallery - 415 E Atlantic Ave
  • Kevro's Gallery, Media Studio & Art Bar  - 166 SE 2nd St
  • Ora Sorensen Gallery - 445 E Atlantic Ave
Entertainment:
  • Jim Kolvacik - 110 E Atlantic
  • Groove Merchant - Worthing Park
  • Demian Bell - 300 E Atlantic
  • South Groove - 400 E Atlantic
  • Jazz Survivors - 500 E Atlantic
  • Southern Dance Theatre - 600 E Atlantic
Many great eateries… try sidewalk dining… or inside.  Pick your ethnic food choice.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

LATEST HOUSING MARKET NEWS


·        Palm Beach - There were 517 sales of houses and condos for $1MM+ in the first 9 months of 2010, up 13% from the same period in 2009 – buyers are driving hard bargains and sellers are selling!

·        October statewide year-to-date existing home sales in Florida were u p 7% and condo sales up 33%

·        NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said what is slowing down the housing market recovery includes:
o   Recent foreclosure moratorium
o   Tight credit
o   Appraisals coming below a negotiated price
·        Yun also said the good news is:
o   Low mortgage interest rates
o   Favorable affordability conditions
o   Pentup demand by buyers may soon be unleashed
·        Economists forecast 1 million new jobs in Florida over the next 7 years

·        Foreclosure Shadow inventory (not yet on the market) poses a threat to market values going up

·        Proposed limits on mortgage interest tax deductions are slowing sales

·        Should some of the savings from earmarked money being canceled be put in the form of a new tax credit to help home buyers?

Saturday, November 20, 2010

REMOVE MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION?


NAR Chief Economist and GURU
Lawrence Yun, said,
According to the
WALL STREET JOURNAL,
that removing the mortgage
interest deduction completely
could cause home prices to
fall by about 15%,
should it be wiped away
entirely.

“”That is,” he said, “an ugly 
scenario, particularly given 
housing’s fragile state.”

While the chances of the 
deduction going away 
are slim, he painted
a grim picture of
what could happen.

“Housing is critical 
to the economy,”
he said in an interview.
“In my view, 
[losing the deduction]
that will surely put us in a
broader economic 
recession.”

Saturday, November 13, 2010

THE BAD NEWS... MAYBE THE GOOD NEWS WILL SOON COME OUR WAY


ZILLOW REPORTS ALMOST HALF OF ALL SEPTEMBER SALES IN SOUTH FLORIDA SOLD FOR A LOSS.
 The tri-county area has a 42% rate of underwater mortgages for single family homes.  Home values have fallen since the 2006 peak by 53% with price levels what they were in July 2002.  In October foreclosures increased with one in every 155 Florida housing units receiving a foreclosure filing, 2nd   behind California and 17% of all US foreclosures.

Monday, November 08, 2010

IF THE ART MARKET EMERGES FROM A SLUMP THANKS TO INTERNATIONAL BUYERS… CAN THE HOUSING MARKET BE NEXT?

Bullish bids for important works of Impressionist and Modern art came in this past week from Russia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Quatar, Abu Dhabi and Singapore as well as other corners of the world.  The money comes from fortunes made in oil, gas, gold and other commodities.  Sotheby’s sold $227MM worth of impressionist and modern art last week.  Between $800MM and $1BB of art has sold or is planned for sale last week and this week by Sotheby’s and Christie’s, both prominent auction houses.   

The last major auction was in May 2008 before the financial crisis stemmed the tide, when the art market was down 30% according to Mei Moses All Art index which tracks publicly sold art.  2009 was described as “rocky” in the art market.  In the first half of 2010 returns were up 13%.
Recent “big time” art sales that set records included:

MATISSE: Monumental bigger-than-lifesize bronze sculpture of a woman’s back set a new record at Christies for this artist by selling for almost $49MM ($48,802,500).   Sale estimates were between $25-$30MM and a global bidding wear sent the price up. The piece, “Nu de dos, 4 etate (Back IV)” measures 74.5”.  This work was conceived by Matisse around 1930, but cast in 1978, 24 years after his death.  The piece is No.oo in a collection of 12, the first three versions conceived in 1909, 1913 and 1916-17 are at the Museum of Modern Art. Matisse’s "Danseuse dans le fauteuil, sol en damier," sold for $20.8MM.  Photo is from Christie’s Images Ltd.

MODIGLIANI: A life-sized painting sold at Sotheby’s for $69MM, and Modigliani’s circa 1917 seductive canvas, titled “Nu assis sur un divan (La Belle Romaine),” ["Nude Sitting on a Divan (The Beautiful Roman Woman),"] catapulted beyond a pre-sale estimate of about $40MM.  It sold back in 1999 at Sotheby’s for $16.7MM, which was a record at the time.  His previous record was $52.6, sold earlier this year in Paris.  

GRIS: “Violon et guitare” a cubist oil painting on canvas done in September 1913, sold for $28.64MM after estimates for $18-25MM.  It was sold by Marilyn Arison, wife of late billionaire Ted Arison and sold to benefit the nonprofit YoungArts.  In 1998 they paid $9.9MM for this work of art.  Gris regarded this Cubist still life as his ultimate masterpiece, according to Christie’s.

MONET’s: “Le Bassin aux Nympheas,” part of his iconic water lilies series, sold for $25.7MM.  Its format is awkwardly elongated.  Most of his coveted water lily paintings are in museums and some consider them, painted during the last 20 years of his life, his ultimate achievement.

ROTHCO: abstract painting, off the market for 40 years, could sell this week at Sotheby’s, estimate is between $20-$30MM.  PICASSO: “Man with a Flag” sold for $5.3MM. LEGER: His “Femme sur fond rouge, femme assise”, the stylized figure of a woman seated cross-legged, in black and white on a red background sold for $6.35MM. SEURAT: A black Conte crayon study of a woman standing is seen from the back with a feeling of time suspended and profound mystery as the shadowy figure seems about to enter an invisible world brought $4.3MM. GIACOMETTI: “His “Femme de Venise V,” a craggy, jagged elongated fiture case in 1958 in an edition of 6 brought in $10MM.

This week, Christies hopes to get $240MM from sales of works by Warhol, Lichtenstein, Koons, Richter and Rothco.

Both Christie’s and Sotheby’s had predicted a surge in demand ahead of this year’s autumn auctions, with the art market emerging from a slump triggered by the global financial crisis.

The jewelry market has surged ahead as well. The Bulgari Blue Diamond, designed in the 1970’s as a gift from a European collector to his wife on the birth of their first son, was bought for about $1MM at in 1972. It features two triangular-shaped diamonds, one colorless at 9.87 carats, the other a “fancy vivid” blue diamond is 10.95 carats.  The blue diamond is one in about 10 in existence with a color pure enough to qualify as “fancy vivid.” This is the largest blue diamond to have sold at auction. Photo credit: Reuters/CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. 2010/Handout/.

Sunday, November 07, 2010

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION RELEASES OCTOBER HOUSING SCORECARD


The latest housing figures show continued signs of 
stabilization in house prices and 
high home affordability due in part to 
record low interest rates. 
The housing scorecard is a comprehensive report 
on the nation’s housing market.

Monday, November 01, 2010

EXISTING HOME SALES ARE HEADING ON UP


September showed an increase in home sales, causing NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun to say, “A housing recovery is taking place, but will be choppy at times depending on the duration and impact of a foreclosure moratorium.  But the overall direction should be a gradual rising trend in home sales with buyers responding to historically low mortgage interest rates and very favorable affordability conditions.” 

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this path upwards will continue.  Is now the best time in the near term to put your property up for sale?  Now may be the best time to buy in Florida.

Interest rates have fallen to about half what they were nearly a decade ago, causing, in some cases, monthly mortgage payments to be less money than renting.  About 35% of the September sales were distressed sales.  According to reports, there will be more to come for some time into the future, while the government struggles to clear up a review of banking agency practices, looking at irregularities and weaknesses.