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Luxury housing market lifts Hamptons | Waccabuc Real Estate

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Hamptons home prices ticked up in the third quarter over last year, according to two reports released Thursday, paced by a robust rise in the price of luxury homes.

However, the median sale price in the luxury market—defined in the Hamptons as anything above $2.8 million—hit $4.45 million this quarter, a 14% jump from a median of $3.9 million a year earlier, according to brokerage firm Douglas Elliman. That compares to a miniscule rise of less than 0.5% for the overall market, according to Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel, the firm that prepared the report.

But even as prices rose at the top end, so did shoppers’ urge to jump into the market, which drove the number of sales up to 52 in the quarter, a jump of 27%. In turn, the potent combination of rising sales as well as prices, prompted more sellers to put their homes on the market, driving inventory up 123% over the same quarter last year. Miller said that supply had been extremely low over the past few years, and the jump signified more of a return to normal.

But looking forward, the larger number of properties on the market should begin to temper the same rise in prices that kicked off the growth in the first place.

“The market is sort of self-correcting,” Mr. Miller noted. “The supply, in response to the rise in price, is keeping prices from rising too quickly and that is a good sign for market stability.”

The hottest neighborhood for Douglas Elliman was Wainscott. There two homes sold for an average of about $12 million, followed by East Hampton, where the brokerage closed deals on eight properties for an average of $10.5 million, according to the report.

In the broader market median prices were depressed in the quarter by the large number of homes that were sold on the lower end of the cost spectrum, contributing to the highest quarterly sales numbers in eight years.

Mr. Miller partially attributes the rush on the more affordable homes to a spike in interest rates in May, and fears they will climb even higher.”You had a surge of people come who were on the fence and entered the market to finally buy,” he said.

The Corcoran Group reported similar gains in its 3Q report. In the luxury market, the firm charted a 29% increase in average median sales prices, and broker Ernie Cervi said few factors lead him to believe the area will cool off any time soon. At the end of the third quarter last year, the median price tag was about $4.5 million, while this quarter it hit $5.8 million.

 

 

 

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20131024/REAL_ESTATE/131029946

Native Plants Inspire and Educate at NYC’s Botanical Garden | Waccabuc NY Real Estate

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If you’re planning a trip to New York City, make sure to see the Native Plant Garden, which opened earlier this year at the New York Botanical Garden. There’s something for everyone here.  Shade gardeners will find plenty to look at in the dappled layers beneath a canopy of river birch, dogwood and sugar maple. Farther along the path, beneath an open sky, plants that love sun sprawl in wispy cascades that catch the wind or offer up their blooms in rigid, colorful spikes. And there are places for sitting and listening. In the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world, the sound of bees and birds is very sweet.

Flared pots showcase native plants outside the entrance pavilion — you won’t find geraniums or begonias here. Instead, ornamental grasses welcome you to this state-of-the-art landscape with plants indigenous to eastern North America.
More than 100,000 plants cover this 3½-acre USDA zone 7a location, inspiring anyone looking for ways to develop a sustainable landscape or combine plants in new ways. On a recent visit, I found a new baptisia that I’d like to try — the short purple cultivar ‘Purple Smoke’ (Baptisia australis ‘Purple Smoke’), because I love anything with purple spikes.
Winding paths take you through a woodland and connect to other distinct areas. There’s a glade, wetland, wet meadow, dry meadow, native border and promenade walk that runs along an angular 230-foot-long water feature that cuts through the center of the landscape.
“The whole site is a tribute to the rich, diverse flora of the Northeast,” says principal designer Sheila Brady of Oehme, van Sweden. “We pivoted the design around the geology, all the beautiful rock outcroppings, the wet meadow and the mature forest nearby.”
One of the project goals was to integrate a sustainable water feature. “We capture all the surface runoff in a system that utilizes biofiltration and minimizes potable water usage,” Brady says. Storm water is filtered through plants like sweetflag (Acorus sp) and stored in cisterns belowground.
In the specially designed wetland, a pump recirculates rainwater, moving it through layers of gravel, sand and plant roots that filter and clean the water through this natural biofiltration system.
Slender blue flag iris (Iris prismatica ‘Exeter’), one of only three iris species native to New York, can be found along the boardwalk. If you’ve got wet soil, a pond or stream, you’ll be interested to know that this tough perennial naturally occurs in these types of areas and has a lovely spring bloom.
In the dappled light of the woodland, clumps of wild columbine (Aquelegia canadensis) mingle with prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis), a delicate grass with wand-like seed heads.  Aquilegia canadensis ‘Little Lanterns’, called Canadian columbine, is mixed into the displays and is more intensely colored than the species.
Red Northern lady fern (Athyrium ‘Lady in Red’) forms a ground cover, along with eastern teaberry (Gaultheria procumbens) and Appalachian sedge (Carex appalachica).
Prairie dropseed cascades along the edges of walkways and adds a tactile element.
“What really intrigued me was how, even with a simplified plant palette, a very strong sense of place for each habitat area was communicated,” says garden photographer Karen Bussolini.
Grasses abound on rocky slopes, where they soften the hard contours of boulders.
For Bussolini, who also works as an ecofriendly garden coach in northwestern Connecticut, the plantings are inspirational. “The garden is full of really great plants, any one of which would be an asset in any garden, but here grown in community,” she says. “The patterns of intermingling plants were endlessly fascinating, and I left inspired to try quite a few of them.”

Drop $4.35M on This Modernist Glass House in Switzerland | Waccabuc Real Estate

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20 images

Hot off the tipline is this modernist glass villa asking $4.35M in Brusino Arsizio, Switzerland. Designed by Milan-based architect Jacopo Mascheroni, the Lake Lugano House glows atop a hillside near the Italian border. In all, the house, including that kind of gorgeous U-shaped glass pavilion, measures 6,456 square feet and boasts two bedrooms, a rainwater irrigation system, a studio, a “big hobby room,” and—hark!—garden access from every room. The photos, below.

Kitchen of the Week: Paring Down and Styling Up in a Pennsylvania Tudor | Waccabuc Real Estate

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ill Unruh’s 80-year-old Tudor was designed by renowned Philadelphia architects Wallace and Warner, but you wouldn’t have known it from the kitchen. Dark granite and other 1980s touches belied the home’s style heritage, which Unruh was eager to restore.
With help from contractor Kyle Lissack, Unruh stripped the kitchen of all of its finishes and started from scratch. The new space focuses on streamlined simplicity, with the contents limited to what the family uses on a daily basis. “The more space for junk you have, the more likely it is that you’ll keep it,” Unruh says.
Kitchen at a Glance Who lives here: Jill Unruh, her husband and their 2 young sons Location: Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Contractor: Kyle Lissack, Pinemar Size: 308 square feet

transitional kitchen by Pinemar, Inc

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Simple subway tile covers the entire back wall from floor to ceiling. Even the range hood is wrapped in drywall and tiled over. “I didn’t want the eye to see all this stainless steel,” Unruh says.
The tile makes for easy cleaning, particularly around the cooking area.
Backsplash: Daltile; range: Wolf; countertops: statuary marble; cabinetry: custom by Pinemar
transitional kitchen by Pinemar, Inc

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Despite the kitchen’s spaciousness, Unruh and Lissack limited themselves to minimal counters and cabinets. This simple approach to storage prompted Unruh to get rid of all unnecessary items.
The open shelves are painted a custom navy blue to add dimension to the neutral room.
transitional kitchen by Pinemar, Inc

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Unruh keeps her most-used items on display for easy access; everything else is tucked away in cupboards and the mudroom pantry. Pullout shelves next to the refrigerator store after-school snacks; the sliding function makes it easy for the kids to find what they need without getting in the way of dinner prep.
Sink: Cotswold, Just Sinks; wood countertops: edge grain maple, Grothouse Lumber; flooring: flat-sawn white oak; faucet: Waterstone; refrigerator: Sub-Zero
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The kitchen cabinetry used to loop all the way around the kitchen, leaving just a small spot for a 30-inch oven. Eliminating the cabinetry in this corner created room for a little workspace with appliance garages and an area for a Wolf range.
transitional kitchen by Pinemar, Inc

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This nook on the back wall once opened to a servant’s staircase to the second floor. But the steps were so steep and narrow that Unruh knew her family wouldn’t use them. So she and Lissack closed off the top of the staircase and replaced the door at the bottom with a custom bar. The cupboard beneath opens to reveal the steep original stairs, which the family uses for bar storage.
Wine cooler: Liebherr

Fastest Markets are in Low Gear | Waccabuc Real Estate

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Home-selling speeds fell for the fourth month in a row. In August, 27.9 percent of homes went under contract in less than two weeks, down from 29 percent in July and 33.7 percent in April, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

The competitive landscape in the housing market has changed drastically since spring, due to elevated home prices and mortgage rates. Many buyers have slowes or paused their buying plans over the past four months according to Redfin’s latest Bidding War Report/

San Jose remains the fastest-moving market in August, with 43.6% of listings under contract within two weeks despite slowing slightly from 46.1% in July. Across 23 markets, San Jose has been the fastest every single month since December 2011.

The slowest-moving market was again Philadelphia, which saw 7.0% of homes under contract within two weeks, down from 7.3% in July.

San Diego slowed the most from July to August. In San Diego, the rate of homes going under contract within two weeks slowed from 36.1% to 31.6%.

Las Vegas sped up the most from July to August. In Las Vegas, 24.7% of homes went under contract within two weeks in August compared with 18.3% in July.

Compared to a year earlier, Atlanta sped up the most. The rate of homes going under contract in 14 days moved from 1.2% to 22.7% between August 2012 and August 2013.

Sacramento slowed the most in the year, dropping from 40% to 34.1%.

Despite the slowing trend throughout summer, market speed could see a slight increase in September as some buyers react to reduced mortgage rates. After surpassing 4.7 percent in mid-August, 30-year fixed mortgage rates eased to about 4.3 percent in September in reaction to the Federal Reserve’s decision on September 18 to keep its stimulus program unchanged for now. Although the rates have dropped only slightly, Redfin agents in Seattle, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles in recent days have reported a boost in urgency among buyers to find a home.

 

 

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/09/fastest-markets-are-in-low-gear/

This Mobile Micro ‘Blob’ Has All the Comforts of Home | Waccabuc Real Estate

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defbefb.pngPhoto via Architizer

When Belgian architectural firm dmvA—no strangers to oddball projects—came up against harsh local building regulations while building a home-office extension, they did what anyone would do: they built a giant white bean. Naturally. The Blob vB3, as it’s been unceremoniously named, is mobile and, at just 215 square feet, micro—double trendiness points there—but packs a lot of punch for such a small space, as micro homes manage to do. Inside is a bathroom, kitchen, bed, plenty of storage, and even a fold-out wing that acts as a make-shift porch.

The structure, which took 18 months to complete, has a sturdy timber frame covered with polyester that’s been sanded down to give it its, well, egg-like exterior. Though it has no windows, the sides flare out to let sunlight in. The firm suggests it be used as a home office, garden house, or guest bedroom, but for now, it’s on display at the Verbeke Art Foundation in Belgium. Do have a look at more photos over on Design Boom.

fbef.pngPhoto via Architizer

Gorgeous Sagaponack Six-Bedroom is Yours for $10.95M | Waccabuc Real Estate

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This house really is beautiful. We love all the white, which contrasts beautifully with the piano-finish floors (hopefully the new owners will have staff with Swiffers on standby). The kitchen and bathrooms are faultless, the pool and landscaping are perfection. There’s 1.6 acres in a great location, and six bedrooms and 7.5 baths inside. As for the artwork, we’re on record in favor of Damien Hirst dot paintings, but the Beatles? Unless you were actually in the Beatles (and that guy lives in Amagansett, not Sagaponack), come on. Also, photographers gotta be more careful with the wide-angle lenses. Yes, they can make the rooms look bigger, but they can also give a funhouse-mirror effect that’s offputting. Again, minor complaints in a stunning house. · Sagaponack Sanctuary With Style [Saunders]

Three Cents Worth: Manhattan Unit Sizes No Small Change | Waccabuc Real Estate

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After last week’s rental market report release, I thought I’d take a look at the average size of a sale and a rental over the past 20 years. Sales (blue line) represent co-ops and condos that closed during each period.  Rentals (pink line) represent rentals that closed during each period.

The chart shows continued decline in the average size of rentals over the period with a weird blip around the collapse of Lehman.  The sales market showed less variation.  While size fell over the first decade, likely as sharply rising prices pushed shift towards smaller unit sales, the trend began to rise again as the market peaked in 2007-08.

With the micro-unit phenomenon seemingly gaining traction (anecdotally), I’m not sure we’ll see the average size of rental units grow in the near future despite the strength of the current luxury rental market. · Matrix [matrix.millersamuel.com] · Three Cents Worth archive [Curbed]

 

 

 

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/09/17/three_cents_worth_manhattan_unit_sizes_no_small_change.php

 

 

 

 

90 Stories Above Manhattan, This Pad Has a 30′ Waterfall | Waccabuc Real Estate

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ODAapt.jpg
[All renderings by ODA.]

This apartment, located somewhere 90 stories above Manhattan, is apparently “one of the largest private apartment residences in the United States,” according to the blurb from ODA-Architecture, which handled the apartment’s interiors. We’re not sure exactly when the renovation took place, but we stumbled on it yesterday courtesy of one helpful Curbed tipster, and it’s the kind of apartment that’s worth our attention regardless of timing. The property is 18,000 square feet, with six bedrooms and 12 bathrooms. Then there are the quirkier features, which include a theater and music room, private spa and gym, teahouse, 2,000 bottle wine room, sculpture garden, and 30′ waterfall with reflecting pool. Each of those amenities deserves to be followed by an (!) or two. And the archibabble reveals a little bit more:

With a perimeter of 16′ foot floor- to-ceiling windows, the essence of the apartment is the sculpture garden at its entrance. The garden features a spectacular 30′ water wall and reflecting pool overlooking the famed United Nations headquarters along the East River. This superlative dwelling also features a 75′ expanse of living and dining area along with a Italian kitchen, library, game room, day spa, home theater and professional grade listening room with recording studio.

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The ODA listing for the project does not, of course, disclose the apartment’s owner. Our tipster wonders if the apartment in question is the three-unitpenthouse duplex at Trump World Tower, which sold back in 2007 for $33.654 million. The square footage doesn’t quite add up, though—anyone have any insight?
· Private Residence [ODA]
· Trump World Tower coverage [Curbed]

 

 

90 Stories Above Manhattan, This Pad Has a 30′ Waterfall – Renovations – Curbed NY.

5 unexpectedly hot housing markets | Waccabuc Real Estate

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Five housing markets in which home prices, building permits and employment growth have increased at impressive rates since their troughs between 2007 and 2011 are not all found in warm, sunny locales, according to the NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI).

The five markets, in which home prices have gained an average 28.4 percent since their recent bottom, permits are up an average 17.8 percent, and employment has increased an average 12.8 percent, are:

Phoenix, Ariz.

Odessa, Texas

Bismarck, N.D.

Boise, Idaho

Detroit, Mich.

 

Source: InvestingAnswers – See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/5-unexpectedly-hot-housing-markets/#sthash.dGyrV7Uk.dpuf