Emily Laura Blog's

Thursday, 22 July 2021

Thank You, Next: Posh NYC Apartment Once Rented by Ariana Grande Sells for $13.5M

Ariana Grande NYC rental sells — Taylor Jewell/Getty Images

A posh apartment once reportedly rented by the pop singer Ariana Grande and her former boyfriend, “Saturday Night Live” star Pete Davidson, has been snapped up for $13.5 million.

The price includes two parking spaces worth $700,000 each—well beyond the price of a house in most areas of the country.

Phillip Salem of Compass brought the buyer. The listing agent, Steve Gold with Corcoran, represented the seller.

“This residence is truly special, because it is located in prolific designer Dame Zaha Hadid’s first residential building in New York City, situated along the High Line, in the city’s most coveted neighborhood,” Salem says.

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Grande's rumored former living space (James E Smolka / @james_smolka)

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Balcony (James E Smolka / @james_smolka)

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Kitchen (James E Smolka / @james_smolka)

“When it comes to the type of homes celebrities and stars want, it certainly isn’t cookie-cutter or basic,” he adds. “This building is anything but that. The building’s distinct architecture and design, both inside and out, differentiates this condo from anything out there on the market. From high-end finishes to the curvy lacquer walls—every custom detail was brought to life to showcase the profound artistry of Ms. Hadid, and that has made this property into one of the most exclusive addresses in the world.”

On and off the market since 2015 with an unwavering $16 million price tag, the eye-catching apartment was rumored to have been rented by the pop star and the actor in 2018, during their brief relationship.

The couple’s former love nest included five bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms, on 4,023 square feet of interior space. There’s also a step-out, setback terrace, with views of the Empire State Building.

A loftlike living area features a large great room with views of the High Line from the private balcony, as well as a separate dining room or family area adjacent to the Boffi kitchen designed by Hadid.

The kitchen has a sculptural island with beveled marble, and sleek cabinets with Gaggenau appliances, double dishwashers, double refrigerators, a steam oven, and wine fridge.

Designed with a four-bedroom layout, with a fifth bedroom possible, and four en suite bathrooms, the master bedroom includes a giant dressing room. The unit also comes with a separate service entrance and utility room.

Designer details include such features as 10-foot-wide motorized windows, distinctive curved glass, 10-foot-high ceilings, and custom lacquered wall paneling.

Located directly over the High Line in West Chelsea, the building is only moments from Hudson River Park, and from the mix of cultural, shopping, dining, and parks at Hudson Yards.

The boutique property with 39 units boasts amenities that cater to a lifestyle in need of luxury and privacy, including a drive-in, automated garage, a skylit, 75-foot swimming pool, a fitness center, spa, and the city’s first private Imax theater.

Residents are pampered with a full-time concierge, door attendants, a live-in super, and hand-delivered mail.

In addition to Grande, the property has attracted other celeb residents including, at one point, Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler, who had also been renting there in 2018, before purchasing a $65.7 million penthouse on Central Park. The investor Wesley Edens, co-owner of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, scored a $20M penthouse in the Hadid building in 2020.

Grande has since moved on from the apartment, and her relationship at the time. Now married to real estate agent Dalton Gomez, the 28-year-old superstar has amassed an impressive property portfolio.

On the West Coast, the “Positions” singer picked up a contemporary mansion in the Hollywood Hills, as well as a $9 million tear-down, also in Los Angeles.

Grande also owns a $6.7 million Montecito estate that she purchased from the serial home flipper Ellen DeGeneres.

In addition to owning an enviable number of homes, Grande is a two-time Grammy winner, and a chart-topping, record-breaking artist who has cash to lay out on upscale abodes. In 2020, she raked in $72 million.

The post Thank You, Next: Posh NYC Apartment Once Rented by Ariana Grande Sells for $13.5M appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/ariana-grande-former-nyc-rental-sells/

A Side Effect of COVID-19: Pandemic Homebuying Remorse

Pandemic home buyers remorse — Illustration by Erin Culton | Photos from Getty Images

When COVID-19 struck New York City, dietitian Lisa Moskovitz was living in a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan with her commercial banker husband and 2-year-old twin boys. They had no balcony, no rooftop—no escape from the panic unfolding around them.

After a few months staying with parents in suburban Long Island, they began shopping for a second home north of Manhattan, in the Hudson Valley. They didn’t want to leave the city for good. But they wanted a place to retreat to where they would have more space to ride out the pandemic.

“We felt trapped. We felt like we had nowhere to go in case we wanted to get out of the city,” says Moskovitz, 34. “We thought this was the best compromise at the time.”

They found a new development next to a lake in Montgomery, about 90 minutes north of the city, where they could customize their yet-to-be-built home. Their four-bedroom, four-bathroom house on 1.5 acres is slated to be finished by the end of the year. Down the street from the 3,300-square-foot new home are neighbors who have llamas grazing on their property.

But now that the couple are locked in to a contract, at a significantly higher price than that area would have fetched just a year ago, they have begun to second-guess their pricey purchase. And it’s not just the money. Although COVID-19 hasn’t gone away, the availability of vaccines means that travel is an option again, so they don’t think they’ll be using it as much as they had anticipated. Plus, they’ll need to buy a car to commute to the new property, and figure out where to park it in the city.

Pandemic homebuying remorse has emerged as one of the secondary consequences of COVID-19. Amid fears of forced proximity to others and the need for more space at home for work and kids’ classes, many people snapped up property at the height of a juiced market, often waiving inspections and contingencies to make their offers more competitive. Others bought homes far from the city center, where they could get more space for less money.

That remorse is expected to rise as reality settles in, society returns to a semblance of normality, and those buyers face longer commutes, discover problems with their new abodes, and grapple with hefty monthly payments.

“Making the biggest financial decision of your life under duress is rarely the recipe for a good outcome,” says Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. “The novelty of that new home will wear off. The mortgage payments will not.”

Moskovitz admits that she would never have considered purchasing a home so far from the city if not for the pandemic. But she and her husband now plan to use it for holidays and to get out of the city some weekends. The rest of the time they plan to list it as a short-term rental to make some extra cash.

“We were totally feeling claustrophobic in the city. We were acting out of a little bit of panic,” says Moskovitz. “We went a little nuts. We didn’t think it through.”

More people made impulsive decisions during the pandemic, says Jelena Kecmanovic, a clinical psychologist based in the Washington, DC, area.

Purchasing a home during a public health crisis, social unrest, and political turmoil offered a sense of control, she says. It allowed buyers to feel like they were protecting their families. There was also an element of peer pressure, as many saw their friends and neighbors buying larger homes or moving out of the cities.

“We were constantly in this state of anxiety for a long time. The part of the brain that helps us make more deliberate decisions just wasn’t working as well,” Kecmanovic says. “No wonder we made decisions we deemed imperfect later.”

Buying a home under pressure can be a costly mistake

Thomas Jepsen, 29, found himself in a race against time when he learned he had to move in a hurry.

When the pandemic hit, he was living in a small home in Raleigh, NC, he owned with his wife and was working on launching an architectural startup. A venture capitalist was eager to fund the project, called Passion Plans, on one condition: Jepsen would need to relocate to Atlanta.

In March, he and his wife went to Atlanta to look at homes. They found two they liked and put in offers over the asking price. Their real estate agent seemed confident they would get one of them. But in this highly competitive market, where the shortage of homes for sale has led to record-high prices, Jepsen “underestimated the craziness of the market,” he says. They lost out on both.

The couple found a listing for a four-bedroom, three-bathroom house in the Atlanta suburbs at roughly 2,800 square feet—more than double the square footage of their Raleigh home. Jepsen worried if he waited to see it in person, it would be gone by the time he got to Atlanta. So he pored over the listing photos and asked his real estate agent to do a walk-through.

Once the agent gave him the green light, he put an offer in for $30,000 over the asking price—without ever setting foot on the property. He waived the inspection to make his offer more competitive, since his agent assured him everything looked good. They closed on May 1 of this year and moved in shortly after.

But as Jepsen walked around the home for the first time, he spotted obvious cracks in the foundation. Had he toured the property in person, he says, he would never have made an offer for the house. It will cost him about $50,000 to fix.

“I arrived at the house and thought, what did I get myself into? … It was bad,” says Jepsen, who plans to have the foundation fixed in spite of the cost. “I’m severely being punished for poor planning.”

Others are regretting moving far away from their jobs

One of real estate agent Brian Mason‘s clients bought a home in the Virginia exurbs about 40 miles outside of Washington, DC, during the pandemic—and regrets it so much that he already plans to put the home back up for sale.

Mason’s client thought he would be able to work remotely indefinitely when he bought a home farther out, where he could get more square footage for less money. But after being called back to the office three times a week, the recent homebuyer realized just how bad the traffic is. So Mason’s client hopes to sell the home early next year, once he can do so without taking a financial hit, and buy something closer to his job.

Mason, who has seen about half of the buyers he worked with in the past year move to outer-ring suburbs and exurbs, expects to see more people regret their decision once the dust settles.

“It’s still pretty early,” he says, noting that many people haven’t returned to their offices yet. “It hasn’t hit everyone yet.”

But many of those suffering from buyer’s remorse may be stuck—at least for a while. Selling a home isn’t cheap and the market, while still hot, is a little less competitive than it was even a few months ago. So someone who bid well over the ask price could be out tens of thousands of dollars if they turn around and put the home back on the market.

“There are significant transaction costs to changing your mind and reversing course,” says Bankrate.com’s McBride. That’s particularly true for those who have less equity in their new abodes. “If you made a modest down payment, you may not have the equity to get out of that place.”

Kecmanovic cautions unhappy homeowners to wait until daily life gets closer to normal before making the big decision on what to do with their new abodes. She encourages them to test out the commutes and discover things they love about their homes. Otherwise they could regret those decisions as well.

“So many things are still shifting,” she says. “Give it some time.”

The post A Side Effect of COVID-19: Pandemic Homebuying Remorse appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/pandemic-homebuying-remorse/

Wednesday, 21 July 2021

Legendary Hollywood Hills Home of Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford for Sale—or Rent

Taylor Hackford and Helen Mirren Selling Hollywood Home — Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Getty Images

Here’s your chance to live like Academy Award-winners in the Hollywood home of Helen Mirren and her director husband, Taylor Hackford. Interested parties can either buy—or try.

Their elegant estate is on the market for $18.5 million—or $45,000 per month if a lease is more appealing.

The Spanish-style estate is legendary for both its history and its location, sitting on the edge of famous Runyon Canyon. It’s a favorite dog-walking and hiking spot for some of Hollywood’s most rich and famous, including Mirren and Hackford.

Set on 6.5 acres, the property offers 10,199 square feet of living space shared between a main residence and a three-bedroom guesthouse. An estate of this size is a unicorn in this historic and popular Hollywood Hills neighborhood.

The Hollywood estate of Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford
Realtor.com

“A residence of exquisite style and exceptional privacy, this remarkable compound abuts Runyon Canyon, at the top of a private winding drive with gorgeous landscaping, mature trees and Hollywood sophistication,” said Joyce Rey, who is listing the property with Stephen Apelian, both with Coldwell Banker Realty.

“With its celebrity pedigree, expansive grounds, and gracious indoor-outdoor design, this gated enclave is both a private sanctuary and a distinguished setting for lavish entertaining,” Rey continued.

Brimming with Hollywood history, the estate was built in 1911. It’s has only had four owners over the past century, including Mirren and Hackford. It was constructed for Dustin Farnum, one of Hollywood’s first movie stars, who starred in Cecil B. DeMille‘s “Squaw Man,” the first feature film shot in Hollywood.

The journalist, columnist, and film producer Mark Hellinger, whose short story inspired “The Roaring Twenties,” starring Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney, purchased it from Farnum. Then came Gail Patrick, an actress who was also one of the first female producers, and was an executive producer on the original TV series “Perry Mason.”

Mirren and Hackford purchased the property, with its glittering views of Los Angeles and beyond, in the 1980s, and have enjoyed it ever since. It’s a sublime example of Old Hollywood architecture, restored and renovated.

The main residence spans 6,600 square feet, and has distinctive pops of color, with teal shutters, a red front door, and lavender wisteria when in bloom.

Inside the home, the refined features include a grand staircase, a gallery above the double-height entryway, a cozy paneled bar, and French doors galore.

Living room with French doors
Realtor.com

There are also six fireplaces—even one in the kitchen, which also features a center island and a large butler’s pantry.

The main residence has five bedrooms, one of them a spacious master suite with a fireplace, luxe bathroom, and a balcony with city views.

Outside, the manicured gardens include trees that are over a century old, a classic swimming pool, and a wide terrace for lounging, dining, and entertaining.

In addition to a guesthouse, the five-car garage includes an office and apartment above. An entire entourage or extended family could be accommodated with ease.

Mirren and Hackford are ambivalent about letting go of their longtime love nest, according to the Wall Street Journal—which explains their “sale or rent” listing. They’re currently spending most of their time in a residence on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe.

Hackford, 76, won an Oscar for his live-action short film “Teenage Father” in 1979, and then went on to direct “An Officer and a Gentleman,” “Against All Odds,” and the Ray Charles biopic “Ray,” which garnered him an Academy Award nomination for Best Director.

Mirren, 75, is an award-winning star of stage and screen. Among her numerous awards are an Academy Award (for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in “The Queen”), four BAFTA Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and one Tony Award. She was most recently seen in “F9.”

The post Legendary Hollywood Hills Home of Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford for Sale—or Rent appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/helen-mirren-and-taylor-hackford-hollywood-home/

We Went Inside a $15.3M Fixer-Upper in San Francisco’s Exclusive Sea Cliff Neighborhood

Sea Cliff mansion in San Francisco — Realtor.com

Heading to a Sea Cliff home on the market for $15,375,000 involves a trip to the northwest edge of San Francisco. The quiet neighborhood boasts stately homes that sit over the water, offering some of the best views of the city.

Confused tourists sometimes wander through the streets of the posh neighborhood in an attempt to find the beach access they can see peeking from the back side of the many mansions. (It is possible to go in on foot, but entry is hard to find.)

It’s an exclusive enclave where notable neighbors have included Robin Williams, Sharon Stone, and Metallica’s Kirk Hammett. Cheech Marin is said to have lived in this very house while filming “Nash Bridges.”

Entering from the front gate, the mansion’s allure is immediately evident. A picture window allows views straight through the house to the ocean. The day I arrived to tour the home, the gloomy gray weather had lifted, and the afternoon light shone through just enough to showcase the jaw-dropping vistas of the Golden Gate Bridge, Marin Headlands, and Baker Beach, some of the most iconic city vistas imaginable.

The dramatic views aren’t the only drama surrounding the home, which had once reportedly been owned by Luke Brugnara, a real estate investor who faced legal troubles and served prison time.

The property debuted on the market in 2016 for $19.7 million, but its price has steadily dropped over the years. Last year, the 7,170-square-foot home surfaced for $17.5 million. And now, it’s come back with over $2 million chopped from the price.

Although it will require some work, the property might be considered a bargain, given the comparables. A home next door, which was totally renovated and featured such modern amenities as a home theater and a glassed-in basketball court, sold last year for $24 million.

But this home from 1926 will need quite a face-lift before it can command that type of price. Still, as fixer uppers go, this one has a lot going for it.

“It’s a trophy house,” says the Compass listing agent, Mark Levinson. “When we were kids, we would call these homes ‘movie star homes.’”

The vacant abode, which had once faced foreclosure, is currently owned by a bank.

“It’s a good value,” Levinson says of the newly lowered price.

But the ask acknowledges that extensive work will be needed to bring this aging beauty back to its former glory.

Levinson estimates that a minimum of $3 million would be required to bring the home up to date. A true gut renovation would cost millions more. But with a complete makeover, a buyer could reap a great reward.

In the agent’s eyes, “This is a $25 million house when done,” he says.

One of the most striking features of the property is the private walled path down to the beach, which takes about a minute on foot to descend, either to lapping waves or a sandy beach, depending on the tide. For those who have ever walked along Baker Beach, the distinct copper color of the walls and the house perched on the cliff stand out.

Picture windows with ocean views in the San Francisco home
Claudine Zap

The outdoor space includes multiple terraces and even a lookout to take in the pelicans overhead and views of the water below.

As for the interior, the home has been refreshed for its close-up with potential buyers. It’s been cleaned, painted, the floors have been finished, cracked windows replaced, and the kitchen has been updated with stainless-steel appliances and granite counters.

Levinson told us that the next owner will probably replace everything in the place, from top to bottom. The four-level floor plan with an elevator includes what Levinson calls a “pentroom” on the top floor. It features beamed and vaulted ceilings and opens out to a terrace.

The main living area includes a wood-burning fireplace and those awe-inspiring views of the Pacific. A formal dining room is adjacent to the wet bar and kitchen, which includes a butler’s pantry and breakfast nook. The master suite with ocean views comes with a marble bathroom and custom closet.

On the lower level are a game room and wine cellar, as well as a bedroom suite. Other features include a two-car garage, as well as an elevator that connects to all levels.

Despite the recent update to spiff up the place a bit, the listing details call the space a “blank canvas” and “a rare opportunity to create your dream home on one of the few oceanfront sites” of Sea Cliff.

And that one-of-a-kind oceanfront spot will be what finally clinches a deal.

“You are on the best location,” Levinson says. “You have the ocean. It’s like being on vacation.”

The post We Went Inside a $15.3M Fixer-Upper in San Francisco’s Exclusive Sea Cliff Neighborhood appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/fixer-upper-in-san-francisco-sea-cliff-neighborhood/

Ventriloquist Terry Fator Bets on the Sale of His $4.5M Las Vegas Mansion

Terry Fator Selling Las Vegas House — Michael Tran/FilmMagic

The ventriloquist and comedian Terry Fator, winner of “America’s Got Talent,” has put his Italian villa-style Las Vegas mansion back on the market. It’s now available for $4.5 million.

The grand home is located in an exclusive, gated desert community known as the Southern Highlands, where it occupies a half-acre lot.

The home, which was built in 2007, has been on and off the market multiple times in the past several years, at prices ranging from $3.2 million to $5.3 million.

There’s plenty of room for Fator’s dozens of puppets in the four-bedroom, 8,093-square-foot stone mansion.

Inside, numerous wrought-iron chandeliers hang on chains between the exposed wood beams that support the soaring ceilings.

Ventriloquist Terry Fator’s Las Vegas home.
Realtor.com

The enormous great room, which serves as the heart of the home, is a sight to behold.

It contains a floor-to-ceiling fireplace, reclaimed French hardwood flooring, an elaborate bar, and pocket doors that open out to the terrace.

At one end of the great room is a grand kitchen with two islands, plenty of bar seating, as well as marble countertops on custom, carved wood cabinetry. It has professional chef-grade stainless-steel appliances, and thanks to the soaring ceilings, feels extremely spacious.

Other fancy features include a formal dining room with a double-sided wine storage cabinet that also services the game room, a home theater, and a stately office/library.

There’s also an impressive spa room with an in-ground pool, a fireplace, and an elaborate hand-painted ceiling.

Outdoor spaces are just as elaborate as the showy interior spaces. Multiple covered patio areas are flanked by fireplaces, fountains, plus an outdoor kitchen with a barbecue. There’s also a sizable pool with a Baja shelf and a rock wall with cascading waterfalls.

Guests can enjoy their own private casita with a kitchen and a bathroom.

Fator, 56, catapulted to stardom when he won Season 2 of “America’s Got Talent,” which earned him a million-dollar prize and a gig in Las Vegas. He became so popular in Sin City that he became the headliner at The Mirage hotel and casino, with a five-year, $100 million contract. When his current Vegas booking at the New York-New York Hotel wraps up, he’s set to tour the country through the spring of 2022.

The post Ventriloquist Terry Fator Bets on the Sale of His $4.5M Las Vegas Mansion appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/ventriloquist-terry-fator-selling-las-vegas-mansion/

The Top Vacation Spots for Baby Boomers To Retire In

Looking for an affordable, warm-weather vacation destination to spend your golden years? It’s no surprise that retirees should look to the South, and a recent report homes in on the best places.

The top getaway for baby boomers and other seniors to make their permanent home is Georgetown, SC, about an hour south of Myrtle Beach, according to a recent report from personal finance website MagnifyMoney.

Eight of the top 10 vacation areas for baby boomers and other seniors to move to are in the South. These areas tend to be cheaper, have better weather, and offer more health care facilities and things to do.

The MagnifyMoney study looked at the metropolitan areas with significant numbers of second homes, from 5% to 30% of the total housing stock. These areas were then ranked based on the percentage of residents aged 65 and up; median monthly housing costs; percentage of seniors with incomes below the poverty line; availability of health care businesses; the share of businesses focused on the arts, entertainment, and recreation options; and average daily temperatures.

“For many people, retiring to a vacation spot is a way to go on a never-ending vacation,” says Jacob Channel, senior economic analyst for MagnifyMoney. “A place where there is a lot of retirees is attractive because of the social opportunities and an infrastructure set up to meet their needs.”

Retirees flock to coastal South Carolina

Georgetown, the No. 1 pick, offers buyers a mix of more affordably priced ranches, new-construction homes, and megamansions on the water. The median home list price there was $324,545 in June, according to the latest Realtor.com® data.

About half of Georgetown real estate broker Will Davis‘ clients are baby boomers moving from the Northeast.

“I thought they would be coming here for golf, the beach, and the climate, but realized after I got here that the low cost of living, low taxes, and inexpensive housing are No. 1. Lifestyle factors are Nos. 2, 3, and 4,” says Davis, who’s with The Litchfield Company. “Buyers from New Jersey can’t believe they were paying $1,000 per month in taxes and are now paying $800 a year.”

Builders have put up lots of housing to accommodate these new residents. And unlike in the pricier Northeast, buyers can score a newly constructed home with a patio starting in the upper $100,000 to the mid-$200,000 range, says Davis.

Meanwhile, prices for more upscale properties have skyrocketed “in the crazy, post-COVID environment,” he says. Now properties priced over $1 million are getting multiple offers.

Top 10 vacation home areas for retirees

Georgetown, SC: $324,545 median home list price*
Sebring, FL: $224,950
The Villages, FL: $340,000
Punta Gorda, FL: $437,050
Myrtle Beach, SC: $259,950
Payson, AZ: $572,550
Sebastian, FL: $324,550
Naples, FL: $620,050
Homosassa Springs, FL: $287,050**
Salisbury, MD: $242,550

* Median home list prices from Realtor.com as of June 1

** Data for Homosassa, FL

The post The Top Vacation Spots for Baby Boomers To Retire In appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/the-top-vacation-spots-for-baby-boomers-to-retire-in/

The Shortage of Starter Homes Extends Beyond Major Cities

Homes and horizon — Mark Lipczynski for The Wall Street Journal

For first-time buyers looking for starter homes in this year’s hot housing market, a decadeslong trend could further delay this long-awaited money milestone.

The supply of entry-level housing, which Freddie Mac defines as homes up to 1,400 square feet, is near a five-decade low, and data on new construction from the National Association of Home Builders shows that single-family homes are significantly bigger than they were years ago.

Homeowners from previous generations had access to smaller homes at the start of their financial lives. In the late 1970s, an average of 418,000 new units of entry-level housing were built each year, according to data from Freddie Mac. By the 2010s, that number had fallen to 55,000 new units a year. For 2020, an estimated 65,000 new entry-level homes were completed.

“You can really draw a straight line from the 1940s down to the most recent years, which is really striking and also very concerning,” said Sam Khater, chief economist and head of Freddie Mac’s Economic and Housing Research division.

Mr. Khater said he initially expected to see this drop most acutely in historically expensive metropolitan areas such as New York and San Francisco. But looking across the country, he saw that house hunters in many different areas were facing the same problem.

“What was really striking to me was the consistency in the decline in the share of entry-level homes, irrespective of geography,” Mr. Khater said. “The thing that struck me the most was that really, it’s all endemic. It’s all over the U.S. It doesn’t matter where.”

This phenomenon is affecting real estate in 10 of the largest states, according to an analysis from Freddie Mac. In Florida, for example, the share of homes with living area up to 1,400 square feet was 58% of new housing supply in 1985. Thirty years later, the share plummeted to 12%.

Homeownership leads to greater wealth for those who buy earlier. An analysis from the Urban Institute estimates that those who became homeowners between the ages of 25 and 34 accumulated $150,000 in median housing wealth by their early 60s. Meanwhile, those who waited until between the ages of 35 and 44 to buy netted $72,000 less in median housing wealth.

When Kevin Crowder, a 52-year-old homeowner and economic-development consultant, bought his first starter home in 2003, he found a 1,000-square-foot apartment in the Miami area. In 2006, he bought what he said is his largest home ever: a two-bedroom house at 1,250 square feet.

“It’s insane what you see in the single-family market here with the pricing,” he said. “I would disagree that larger is needed. I think smaller is needed.”

Eager buyers have sparked bidding wars in many places, as remote work allows them to expand their house hunts. Further challenges—the crush of the student-loan crisis and ongoing wage stagnation—make it difficult for some to save a competitive down payment.

“We’ve got a record number of entry-level, demand buyers: the millennials coming into the market,” Mr. Khater said. “And yet we’ve had a seven- or eight-year decline in entry-level homes, and that’s not going to change.”

The post The Shortage of Starter Homes Extends Beyond Major Cities appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/the-shortage-of-starter-homes-extends-beyond-major-cities/