1. Just what the world needs… “It’s finally here. A glitzy 1 million square feet of retail space opens at the Hudson Yards development in New York on Friday, promising to offer city dwellers and tourists alike a shopping experience unlike your traditional neighborhood mall.” CNBC reports on A massive new mall just opened in New York. Here’s what it’s like to shop there. If you like malls, this one may be worth checking out. See photos of the completed project in the above link.
2. $150 MILLION HACK JOB
Housingwire reports “Zillow slapped with $60 million lawsuit over hacked listing of Bel Air mansion. The listing – for a $150 million property in Bel Air, California – was hijacked by someone using a Chinese internet protocol address who posted false sales information about the property, according to an article in The Washington Post.” The hackers somehow got past Zillow’s security questions and it may cost them a bundle.
3. STAGING WISDOM
“When it comes to selling a house, appearances are everything. That’s why more and more homeowners hoping to impress buyers are investing in home staging. But between decluttering, styling, and making your house look it’s absolute best, this process can make you want to pull your hair out.” Read Realtor.com’s Home Seller Secrets: ‘The Best Home-Staging Advice I’ve Heard, Ever’. Don’t just hide the clutter and call it a day!
4. CLOSING THE GAP
“So where are homes selling the fastest—and the slowest? To find out, our data team looked at how long it took homes to sell in the 250 largest metropolitan areas* on realtor.com® from March 2018 through February 2019.” Take a look at some good graphics and more data in Spring Housing Slowdown? No Way! Here’s Where Homes Are Flying Off the Market.
5. MO MONEY
“Collectively, homeowners with mortgages saw their equity increase by just over 8 percent last year, according to CoreLogic. That is from a combination of home value gains and borrowers paying down their mortgages.” CNBC asks the question, Are you a homeowner? Here’s how much richer you are now. The article does add context reminding us “all real estate is local, and so were the gains. Homeowners in Western states saw the biggest annual increases in home equity.”
6. AMAZON’S BELLEVUE EXPANSION
A My Northwest Report: Bellevue in for ‘real estate frenzy’ as Amazon moves in. “Amazon already has office space leased in Bellevue to accommodate 7,000 employees, with Redfin’s report citing “speculation” that the company is looking for a location to put over 25,000 additional workers.” We’ve seen the Amazon effects in Seattle, what will become of Bellevue?
7. SANDY PIPES
“The U.S. Geological Survey says roughly half a million Californians and $150 billion in coastal real estate are at risk of flooding by the end of the century. The problem — rising sea levels and erosion.” Eyewitness News reports on a USGS report: Half million Californians, billions in coastal real estate at risk of flooding.
8. PRICE, PRESSURE, AND PERSISTENCE
Ryan Serhant wrote an article for Forbes this week. Three Pro-Negotiating Tips That Will Keep Any Real Estate Deal Alive. “Negotiating is about bringing hope to a difficult situation and ending in a place that is mutually beneficial for all. Getting people to see your point of view and guiding them into making different decisions is one of the best skills you can have as a realtor.” I can’t stress enough the importance of hiring a top agent who is an adept negotiator. He/She can potentially save buyers and sellers a boatload of time and money.
9. JUST DESERT?
Revealed: Over 8,000 jobs open in Dubai in one month; industries hiring include real estate, construction, hospitality. “Nearly a third of them (26.8 per cent) are in real estate, leasing and business services, while 14.7 per cent are in building and construction, 10.7 per cent are in community and personal services, 4.4 per cent in the hospitality, 3.4 per cent in transport, storage and communications and 3.4 per cent in manufacturing,” the Gulf News reports. Seems like quite a big jump in a month for a city of slightly over three million people.
10. HANGING ON
From the NYT, The Building Inspector as Action Hero. “The city requires that of the approximately 1 million buildings in New York City, those taller than six stories — more than 14,500 structures — have their facades inspected every five years, to ensure the safety of passers-by below.” I’ve never given this type of inspection much thought but it’s a really good idea. Climb on!
