Then you walk through the front door and dive right into the owner’s imagination.
A retired artist, Marten Griego, has lived in the house for 21 years and has added his personal touch to most of the surfaces in the 1,430-square-foot home.
“He was just being artsy and creative with his own house,” says the listing agent, Alexandria Oberbeck.
Within the home, you’ll see murals, wall hangings, light installations, and much more.
Buyers must have liked what they saw. After a single weekend on the market, the home, which was listed for $265,000, had received multiple offers. Many of the folks interested were ready to keep it as is.
“Everyone who put in an offer loved it, and they weren’t going to paint the walls, or anything like that,” says Oberbeck.
Exterior of home in Albuquerque, NM
Darrell DeVantier
Exterior
Darrell DeVantier
Interior
Darrell DeVantier
Interior
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Interior
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Interior
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Oberbeck says the book Griego wrote about his battles with mental illness, titled “Leaving the House of Tears: A Memoir” inspired much of the home’s art.
“For example, when he was young, he was in a band—he played the drums. They did a lot of partying and whatnot, and sometimes, he felt like he was just really trapped in his mind,” she says.
As a result, Griego built a wall of steel in the living room.
“He kind of built that thinking it’s like being trapped in a prison of his own mind. The wall directly across from it has an outer space theme. It’s just showing that life is limitless, and there’s freedom. One side is like being trapped, and on the other side is freedom.”
Dance mural
Darrell DeVantier
Kitchen
Darrell DeVantier
Light installation
Darrell DeVantier
Light installation
Darrell DeVantier
Griego did many of the art installations himself, but a friend of his painted the murals, including one in the hallway which depicts two dancers. One of the dancers wears a real bowtie, and the other has diamond jewelry.
“When [Griego] retired, he got into swing dancing. He would hold dancing classes at his house, so that’s what inspired the mural,” Oberbeck explains.
The kitchen has yellow cabinets, purple countertops, and updated stainless-steel appliances.
Nestled between the kitchen and the main living space is a one-of-a-kind installation.
“It’s a really unique light thing that he built, called ‘power source’,” Oberbeck explains.
Using mirrors and a projector, it creates what Griego calls a futuristic kaleidoscope. It projects an array of colors, patterns, and shapes throughout the house.
Dining room
Darrell DeVantier
Dining room
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Bathroom
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Bedroom
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Bedroom
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The dining space is anything but ordinary, with murals on every surface and wall cutouts looking into other rooms, creating sightlines directly from one bedroom to the other.
Both bedrooms and the home’s two bathrooms also boast creative touches.
Backyard
Darrell DeVantier
Backyard
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Backyard
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Backyard
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Outside, the home’s backyard is also extremely expressive. It’s decorated and landscaped with a mural, plants, a fountain, and intriguing light installations.
Oberbeck said she knew she had something special the first time she saw the house. She admits she wasn’t sure what kind of interest the home would generate, because it isn’t exactly what most buyers are in search of.
“As soon as we listed it and had the pictures up, people were going crazy. We were pleasantly surprised to see how many people loved it,” she say
With five offers after a few days, Oberbeck says Griego was able to handpick the person he wanted to buy his house. He picked candidates who bought the place completely furnished and will share it with others.
The agent says the tale of the quirky Albuquerque art home has a happy ending.
“The people who actually have it under contract are planning to make it a bed-and-breakfast or an Airbnb,” she says.
Inspired by the homes of Tuscany, this grand estate in Napa Valley comes with a tie to Gucci.
Maria Manetti Shrem—the owner of this $26.5 million compound, known as Villa Mille Rose—helped to bring Gucci products to the United States from her native Florence, Italy. In Italian, Villa Mille Rose translates to “villa of a thousand roses.”
“She was the main source for Gucci accessories in the U.S., to department stores,” says the co-listing agent, David Costello of Compass. “That’s how she made her fortune.” Costello is co-listing the property with Andy Ardila.
“Ms. Manetti is 80 years old and has a home in Italy and a place in San Francisco,” says Costello. “She’s still traveling. She’s a busy woman, running around all the time. She said, ‘I just want to simplify my life and sell this property.’”
This is the first time the palatial spread of 19.2 acres, on two parcels, has been on the market in its current form.
When Manetti Shrem scooped up the home in Oakville, CA, in 1995, she built her dream home, working with the architect Dante Bini.
“She basically tore it down and built this amazing Tuscan estate,” says Costello. “It’s right in the heart of the most expensive real estate in Napa.”
The 7,900-square-foot villa comes with a four-car garage, two barns, horse stables, landscaped gardens, organic vegetable gardens, guest lodging, a caretaker’s cottage, wine cellar, 100 fruit trees, as well as 6.5 acres of Bordeaux-varietal vineyards and olive trees. There are a total of 11 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms and an outdoor pool.
Manetti Schrem produced balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil on a small commercial scale, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Exterior of home in Oakville, CA
Matthew Momberger
Living room
Matthew Momberger
Kitchen
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Fireplace
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One of the bedrooms
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One of the bedrooms
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One of the bathrooms
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Another bathroom
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Pool
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For an additional fee, the home’s furnishings and antiques—curated by the interior designer Steven Volpe—can be included in a purchase.
Costello has his eye on a potential Asian buyer and even modified the Villa’s address to include the numeral eight, considered the luckiest number in Chinese culture.
If not a buyer attracted to the number eight, another avenue might be enticing a wine collector to acquire the property. After all, two of the world’s most esteemed wineries—Screaming Eagle and Opus One—are adjacent to the property, which is also in a fire-free zone.
“It could either be a tech titan or a Chinese national or a winery owner, or this house could be repurposed into a wine club that’s extremely exclusive,” says Costello. “We’ve had two or three people interested in reconfiguring [the property in that way].”
To help market the estate, Costello and Ardila rented a luxury convertible, borrowed a Labradoodle from a friend and horses from a local animal-rescue group, and hired actors to create this lifestyle-oriented video.
President Biden’s new economic plan would eliminate a tax break for many real-estate owners that has enabled them to defer paying capital gains on property sales.
Closing that tax loophole, which has existed since 1921, is part of his $1.9 trillion spending package for new social programs. The current law allows investors to defer paying tax on real-estate gains if they reinvest the proceeds in other properties within six months of the sale.
The deals are known as 1031 exchanges, named for the section in the U.S. tax code. The Biden proposal would abolish 1031 exchanges on real-estate profits of more than $500,000.
In theory, capital-gains tax from these deals eventually gets paid. But on the advice of estate planners, many real-estate investors continue to buy and sell properties this way until they die, passing the capital gains on to their heirs tax-free at death. Mr. Biden seeks to close the death loophole, too, by taxing capital gains on inherited assets.
A U.S. congressional tax committee estimated that the 1031 tax break would save property investors more than $41 billion between 2020 and 2024.
In the plan released by the White House on Wednesday, the Biden administration argued the real-estate loophole is one of many on the books that disproportionately allow the very wealthy to avoid taxation. “Without these changes, billions in capital income would continue to escape taxation entirely,” the administration said.
Mr. Biden’s proposal would also raise the top rate paid on capital gains and dividends to 39.6% from 20%, and it would increase taxes that hedge funds pay on carried interest.
Real-estate investors say that the 1031 tax treatment encourages businesses to expand, creating jobs and pumping more money into the economy, especially during times of lower overall economic activity, such as recessions.
Most 1031 deals are done by individuals, rather than by corporations, according to a report from the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. They have been popular with wealthy investors who have pooled money to buy small apartment buildings, motels or other types of less expensive commercial real estate.
They are also favored by privately held commercial real-estate firms. Publicly traded real-estate investment trusts, or REITs, have less need for the exchanges because they enjoy other tax benefits.
Dozens of organizations have registered to lobby the federal government against repealing 1031 exchanges, according to Senate lobbying disclosures, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Association of Realtors and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association.
Sandy Sigal, a Southern California-based owner of shopping malls, oversees a $2 billion real-estate portfolio. Over the course of his 35-year career, he said he has completed about 50 exchanges, which have given him more cash on hand to grow his business.
He sold a shopping center in Baldwin Park, Calif., last year, then reinvested the proceeds by buying and redeveloping another shopping center. He said that during difficult times like the pandemic these tax exchanges helped him generate more business and hire more workers than he would have otherwise.
“Would we have done that without [a 1031 exchange]? No, we would have held on to the cash,” Mr. Sigal said.
An entire cottage industry of brokers and advisers also exists to facilitate these niche transactions, who would also be threatened by a change in the law. The obscure line in the tax code even has its own lobbying group, the Federation of Exchange Accommodators.
“Section 1031 encourages real-estate transactional activity, and in doing so, is a powerful stimulator of the U.S. economy,” said Suzanne Baker, a co-chair of the group, which opposes the Biden proposal.
The tax treatment also applies to residential sales, enabling home sellers to defer capital gains by reinvesting sales proceeds in a home other than their primary residence. The Biden proposal would continue to allow 1031 exchanges of less than $500,000, meaning many homeowners and smaller investors could still take advantage.
Originally, the exchanges applied to other forms of personal property, such as artwork or machinery. Those property types were eliminated by Congress and President Trump in 2017, in an effort to offset the other large tax cuts they enacted. Real-estate exchanges were preserved.
The number: Pending home sales rebounded after two straight months of declines, but challenges remain as the housing market heads into the popular spring home-buying season.
The index of pending home sales from the National Association of Realtors increased 1.9% in March. Compared with a year ago, pending home sales were up 23%, though year-over-year comparisons reflect the onset of the coronavirus pandemic last year.
“The increase in pending sales transactions for the month of March is indicative of high housing demand,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said in the report. “With mortgage rates still very close to record lows and a solid job recovery underway, demand will likely remain high.”
The index measures where contracts have been signed but the transaction has yet to close. As a result, it is viewed as a forward-looking indicator for existing-home sales.
What happened: The Northeast saw the largest regional increase in contract signings, with a 6.1% uptick. The West and South both saw higher levels of home-buying activity, but pending home sales fell in the Midwest.
The National Association of Realtors now projects that existing home sales will rise 21% in 2021 to 6.2 million units sold.
The big picture: The demand is there. Millennials are growing older, and as they get married and start families, many are in the market for a home right now. Plus, the effects of COVID-19 continue, and demand for properties with more outdoor space and a dedicated home office is strong. It also doesn’t hurt that mortgage rates have dropped back below 3%.
The trouble is with inventory. The supply of homes is not meeting demand. Most of this is because home builders maintained a slow pace of construction activity for many years after the Great Recession, leading to a supply shortage. But existing homeowners have also stayed out of the market more than usual — some are likely dismayed by COVID-19’s health risks, while others are worried about being able to find somewhere to live after selling their home.
Either way, the low levels of inventory will inevitably constrain sales activity. And with home prices continuing to rise, many Americans are growing more anxious about the health of the housing market.
What they’re saying: “Today’s increase signals plenty of homebuyer demand, and suggests that where buyers can find sellers, home sales will happen,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com.
Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were both up in Thursday morning trading.
The former NBA player Evan Turner is ready to let go of his Portland, OR, home, the Oregonian reported.
After landing on the market earlier this month for $3.2 million, the baller mansion quickly attracted an offer and is already in pending sale status.
Now that Turner is an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics, the former guard with the Portland Trail Blazers has moved into a new phase of his career. He’s also moving on from his jaw-dropping contemporary residence.
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Evan Turner's Portland mansion (realtor.com)
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Living room (realtor.com)
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Dining area (realtor.com)
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Kitchen (realtor.com)
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Lower-level lounge and bar (realtor.com)
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Turner purchased the gated hilltop property while playing for the Trail Blazers in 2016. He paid $3.15 million, a discount from the original asking price of $3.5 million.
In 2017, his home made headlines when a semitruck hauling dirt crashed while navigating the steep street, and landed in his swimming pool.
Built in 2003, the dramatic design offers three levels, 7,890 square feet, and enviable city and Mount Hood views.
From the entrance, step down into the great room, which is surrounded by walls of windows that offer expansive views, as well as a fireplace and dining area. The kitchen dishes out an island with seating, light wood cabinets, and stainless-steel appliances, including a wine fridge. A breakfast nook adjoins the cook-prep area.
On the lower level, find a stylish lounge and wet bar with seating that adjoins a glassed-in wine room.
A master suite on the main level includes a fireplace and views. The home has three other bedrooms, and a total of 6.5 bathrooms.
Other features include a wood-paneled office, a home theater, mirrored gym, and multiple outdoor spaces. Both the living room and downstairs bar and lounge open onto sleek patios.Set on 0.67 acres, the perk-packed, resort-style space includes a pool and spa, as well as a sport court. The property also includes a two-car garage.
The Chicago-born athlete, who is 32, attended the Ohio State University, and was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2010 draft as the second overall pick. He also played for the Indiana Pacers, Celtics, and Atlanta Hawks, before retiring from the game in 2020. He currently serves as assistant coach for the Celtics.
Terry Sprague with Luxe Christie’s International Real Estate holds the listing.
Just in case you haven’t heard, snagging a well-priced home in today’s real estate market can feel a bit like winning Powerball. It’s all about beating sky-high odds. Scant inventory, worsened by a pandemic-crush to buy new homes, has led to prices reaching new records and competition bidding them up even higher. All-cash bids and multiple offers way above asking are pricing many would-be homeowners right out of the market, or leaving them feeling hopeless.
“Demand has actually been growing stronger than supply going all the way back to 2014,” says Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae. “It’s just that in 2020, incredibly low interest rates augmented that demand.”
In other words, we’ve found ourselves in an extreme seller’s market.
But not everywhere. The Realtor.com® data team found the places where buyers could actually have the advantage. Buyers in these spots—which tend to be smaller cities and college towns—have more properties available to choose from, and prices haven’t risen too much (if at all) compared with where they were at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This doesn’t mean home prices haven’t risen and the competition isn’t fierce in these cities—they’re just better than the rest of the country.
Looking ahead, buyers may get some more relief in the coming months as sellers become more comfortable listing their homes. Rising mortgage rates and the increase in inventory could slow down price gains. And while prices likely won’t drop, or at least by much, it could lead to a bit less competition.
But where can buyers get at least a little relief right now? To come up with our list of places, we looked at cities where home prices had not risen more than 10% in the past year (compared with 16% nationally) and calculated the number of homes for sale per 1,000 households—the more the better. All of the cities had at least 50,000 residents, and we limited the list to one city per state to achieve geographic diversity.
To be clear, this doesn’t mean there are a ton of homes on the market in these places—it’s just that the situation isn’t as tight as it is in other areas. Only Miami Beach, FL, which snagged our No. 1. spot, has a higher number of homes per 1,000 households than the historical national average. That’s thanks to builders putting up lots of condos, which can be lower-priced than single-family homes in some cases.
So let’s take a look at the best markets for buyers right now.
Median listing price in March: $495,000
Year-over-year price change in March: -5.7%
Listings per 1,000 households: 50
The reason Miami Beach tops this list is because of condos. Lots and lots of condos.
Before the 2008 housing crash, Miami Beach was one of the hottest markets for new construction. Then the bubble burst, shutting down most new builds. But the lull didn’t last for long, and more than 50 condo complexes were built in the area during a construction boom that lasted from 2012 to 2015. Meanwhile, in the past year, COVID-19 restrictions severely limited the number of international buyers coming into the area. All those condos and less competition from people abroad mean more chances a seller will accept an offer.
That doesn’t mean that there isn’t competition. According to Abraham Ash, a real estate broker at Multivest Realty, lots of the people who want condos right now are looking for units they can list on short-term rental sites like Airbnb. There are only a few buildings that allow that, so those units move quickly. The others? Not so much.
Locals and those who are looking to live in Miami full time are gravitating more toward other parts of Miami, like the Brickwell neighborhood downtown, where a one-bed, 1.5-bath condo can go for $242,000.
“Brickell offers newer buildings at the same price as old buildings in Miami Beach,” Ash says. “It’s more convenient, it’s central, and it’s only a 10-minute drive to the beach.”
Median listing price in March: $259,000
Year-over-year price change in March: -5.6%
Listings per 1,000 households: 12
Newburgh has gotten a pretty bad rap over the years. A decade ago, it was known as the “murder capital of New York.” But this historic, formerly industrial city on the Hudson River which had fallen on hard times is seen as an up-and-coming suburb, thanks to its scenic views, affordability, and access to New York City, about 75 miles north.
For those who love a project, Newburgh has plenty of historic homes dating to the 1800s, though those tend to move pretty quickly. A more modern single-family home with five beds and three baths will run buyers about $330,000.
When offices do open up again, the two-hour-plus commute may be a bit much for a daily trip. But those working in the office a couple of days a week can take a ferry (or drive) across the Hudson to the nearby arts destination Beacon, NY, where a train runs every hour to Manhattan.
Median listing price in March: $232,500
Year-over-year price change in March: -10.4%
Listings per 1,000 households: 11
Located in West Texas, Odessa is an oil town once home to former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. Because of its reliance on the oil and gas industries, the area has had its share of booms and busts over the years.
Pre-pandemic, in 2019, the price of oil dropped, leading to mass layoffs and devastating the local economy. The situation widened and worsened during the pandemic. Things are becoming more stable now, but the unemployment rate here is still nearly double what it is nationally.
That affects the demand for housing, as there aren’t as many people with good jobs moving in or who can afford homes. That leads to more inventory and lower prices.
Springfield, IL, has more homes for sale than the national average, making it a good option for buyers to consider.
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Median listing price in March: $121,450
Year-over-year price change in March: -4.2%
Listings per 1,000 households: 11
Once home to Abraham Lincoln, Springfield is a government town with most of its residents employed by the state or city. But it’s also home to the University of Illinois Springfield and three major health care facilities.
Like the rest of the state, Springfield has experienced a drop in population in recent years due to high taxes and retirees heading to the Sun Belt, where the weather is warmer and the cost of living is lower. From 2019 to 2020, Illinois recorded its largest population decline since World War II.
All this means there are more homes to choose from and prices are way below the national median. This recently renovated three-bedroom home is currently listed at $179,900, while a historic home in the Isles Park neighborhood is going for $122,900.
Median listing price in March: $309,950
Year-over-year price change in March: 8.8%
Listings per 1,000 households: 11
Iowa City recently ranked No. 2 on our list of best markets for first-time home buyers, thanks to its low unemployment rate and large population of young people. The median listing price last month was $305,000—significantly lower than the national average.
Students from around the Midwest flock to the University of Iowa, but some stay after graduation thanks to plenty of job opportunities. Walkable downtown neighborhoods with single-family homes are popular here, especially for young buyers.
Still, while there may be more homes on the market compared with other places in the country, prices have risen here year over year as white-collar workers who can work from anywhere have planted roots. This newly built four-bedroom home is currently on the market for $329,900.
Stamford, CT, offers quick access to Manhattan by train.
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Median listing price in March: $520,000
Year-over-year price change in March: -8.6%
Listings per 1,000 households: 9
Stamford, CT, is the headquarters of many blue-chip companies and home to their employees. It has good schools, low crime, beaches, and an easy train ride to Manhattan, all while having lower taxes than New York City.
But about half of the listings in this Fairfield County city are for condos or townhomes, which became less appealing during the pandemic than homes with big yards and room for an office. They also became less attainable for lower-income workers who may have lost their jobs during the pandemic.
During the first three months of this year, the number of listings for single-family homes in Stamford was about half of what it was the same time a year ago, according to a report by real estate appraiser Jonathan Miller and brokerage Douglas Elliman. As a comparison, condo listings fell by only 13%.
“We’re seeing less of a decline in supply at the lower price point than we are in the rest of the market,” Miller says. That means there’s less demand for condos, which are generally more affordable than single-family homes.
Right now, a two-bedroom condo near downtown is on the market for $289,000, while a renovated Colonial home in the Waterside neighborhood is listed for $489,000.
Median listing price in March: $241,120
Year-over-year price change in March: 5.1%
Listings per 1,000 households: 9
Though it’s the second-largest city in New Mexico, Las Cruces is considered a suburb of El Paso. This college town on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert is home to New Mexico State University, one of the largest employers here.
Enrollment declined last fall due to COVID-19 uncertainty and remote learning, and that dragged down the local economy. But area economists forecast schools will go back to full enrollment starting in the fall of 2022, so now may be the time to buy.
Single-family homes are most popular here, especially in the classic Southwestern Pueblo style, including this two-bed, one-bath starter home for $236,000.
Hoboken, NJ, is located just across the river from New York City.
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Median listing price in March: $784,500
Year-over-year price change in March: -12.5%
Listings per 1,000 households: 9
Hoboken is another city with easy access to New York City—and plenty of condos for sale.
But since the pandemic, employees who could work from home no longer needed that quick commute into Manhattan. So plenty of good housing options are up for grabs. Prices here aren’t cheap but certainly offer a more affordable alternative to Manhattan prices. And with plenty of bars and restaurants to choose from, there’s lots to do on the weekends or on days working from home.
Median listing price in March: $259,900
Year-over-year price change in March: 5.5%
Listings per 1,000 households: 9
Sioux Falls has become a desirable place to live in recent years, largely due to its strong economy and plenty of outdoor activities to choose from.
Prices have risen and demand is high since the start of the pandemic, but there are still more homes to choose from than in other parts of the country and better chances of finding a job. South Dakota’s largest city had an unemployment rate of 3.2% in February, compared with a national rate of 6.2%, thanks to its booming health care and banking sectors. At the end of last year, Amazon announced it would open its first South Dakota fulfillment center in Sioux Falls, which it says will add 1,000 full-time jobs by 2022.
To make up for demand, builders have been ramping up construction with a focus on condos and apartments, especially downtown. Still, there are many single-family homes to choose from, including this two-bed, two-bath for $240,000.
Median listing price in March: $248,700 Year-over-year price change in March: 3.2% Listings per 1,000 households: 8
A college town to its core, Tuscaloosa is home to the University of Alabama and the school’s more than 38,000 students. Enrollment has spiked in the past decade, thanks to the school’s stellar football team (Roll Tide!), so builders ramped up construction to keep up with demand.
“A lot of the country underbuilt over the last decade, but we didn’t,” says Alan Tidwell, a real estate and finance professor at the university.
Sales and prices did rise in March, while inventory is about a third of what it was the same time a year ago. But homes are sitting on the market for 46 days on average, higher than what we’re seeing in some other places across the country.
The problem is affordable housing, Tidwell says. Last fall, the city voted on a moratorium on putting up megacomplexes for student housing (buildings that accommodate 200 or more students) to focus on more traditional housing like single-family homes and townhomes.
