The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Homeowners in NOLA are suing Brad Pitt and his foundation for design, construction defects

Posted: 20 Jan 2019 01:00 PM PST

Brad Pitt’s foray into charitable homebuilding has taken a turn fit for a Hollywood drama and a real life nightmare for residents. The actor launched a nonprofit foundation to build homes for residents of New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, which was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, more than a decade ago and now those homeowners are suing him for poor construction and design defects, according to the New York Post. The 109 homeowners behind the […]

Foreigners emerge as the new heavyweights in China’s commercial property market

Posted: 20 Jan 2019 12:00 PM PST

Foreign investors in China’s commercial property market are on a buying spree as high borrowing costs restrain domestic investors. The volume of commercial real estate acquisitions in China by foreign buyers jumped 62 percent last year to 78 billion yuan, or $9.1 billion, according to brokerage firm CBRE. That was the largest amount since CBRE began tracking foreign investment in Chinese commercial real estate in 2005. China has been trying to deleverage its economy, which […]

Houston, we have a reservation: First luxury hotel in outer space set to open in 3 years

Posted: 20 Jan 2019 11:00 AM PST

Instead of flying out of town and checking into a hotel, wealthy travelers someday may check into a high-flying hotel that orbits Earth every 90 minutes. Tech company Orion Span is developing a modular space station, called Aurora Station, as the world’s first luxury hotel in outer space. Aurora Station will fly 200 miles above earth, allowing guests to see an average of 16 sunsets and sunrises every 24 hours. The space hotel will be […]

Fewer sales, more supply and Millennial ‘X’ factor: Housing experts forecast 2019 market

Posted: 20 Jan 2019 10:00 AM PST

National experts predict Chicago will have the worst housing market in the country in 2019. But some local experts and industry observers say the situation is much more complicated than that. Chicago is not the only housing market that will experience pains this year. Nationally, home prices are expected to grow modestly, but sales figures will fall, Danielle Hale, economist with Realtor.com, said at the Chicago Association of Realtors’ 2019 Market Outlook forum this week. […]

Miami condo belonging to Trump friend, billionaire Agalarov, hit with foreclosure

Posted: 20 Jan 2019 09:00 AM PST

The ripple effect from the Trump-Russia investigation led to a problem for the Miami real estate holdings of Azerbaijani-Russian oligarch Aras Agalarov, a friend of President Trump. Morgan Stanley is suing Agalarov in a $2.8 million foreclosure action tied to a condo on ritzy Fisher Island, the wealthiest ZIP code in the U.S. Morgan Stanley was one of three banks that froze Agalarov’s U.S. bank accounts last fall due to concerns over millions in transfers […]

Mortgage lenders face mass foreclosures due to extreme weather in under-insured areas

Posted: 20 Jan 2019 08:00 AM PST

Floods, wildfires and other types of extreme weather are threatening not only the real estate industry but also the mortgage industry. Mortgage lenders are unprepared for widespread foreclosures as natural disasters increasingly hit areas where few borrowers have insured their properties against fire or flood damage, according to former Freddie Mac executive Ed Delgado. Assessing credit risk is a fundamental function of the mortgage industry, but lenders lack an understanding of “weather risk and where […]

Brexit bonus? More first-time buyers enter the UK housing market

Posted: 20 Jan 2019 07:00 AM PST

The pace of home sales in the U.K. to first-time buyers accelerated in November, a financial trade association reported. The number of mortgage loans to first-time home buyers rose to 36,200 in November, 5.8 percent more than in November 2017, according to UK Finance, a trade association that represents nearly 300 firms in the banking and financial services industry. The volume of mortgage loans to first-time U.K. home buyers increased to £6 billion (US$77.2 billion) […]

Miami couple sue after seller refuses to close $2M sale

Posted: 20 Jan 2019 06:00 AM PST

When it comes to buying one particular five-bedroom, five-bathroom waterfront house in Gables by the Sea, one Miami couple isn’t taking no for an answer. On Jan. 8, Juan Carlos and Natalie Mederos sued the property’s current owner, Douglas Gallagher, for backing out of a deal to sell them the house for $2.19 million last month. The Mederos are seeking a court order to force Gallagher to close and turn over the property. “He wants […]