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Thursday, 27 February 2020

Supermodel Rachel Hunter Finally Sells Los Angeles Home for $3.45M

David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Supermodel Rachel Hunter has still got it going on. She recently sold her Los Angeles home for $3.45 million, according to the Los Angeles Times. Located minutes from the Sunset Strip and Chateau Marmont, the property was on the market for $3.5 million.

The home was initially listed for $5 million in 2016. It was relisted in 2018 for $4.5 million. Last fall, the price was dropped again, to $3.5 million.

The model, who has a keen eye for real estate, bought the charming country manor in 2004 for $2,425,000.

Built on a quarter-acre lot in the 1930s, the updated English-style residence is hidden behind hedges. It measures 4,500 square feet and has five bedrooms and five baths.

The main level features an oversize living room with a beamed ceiling, fireplace, and French doors. The formal dining room has a fireplace and dainty chandelier. The recently remodeled eat-in kitchen includes stainless-steel appliances and an apron sink. Two bedrooms and a bath complete the main level.

Upstairs, the generous master suite comes with a walk-in closet and a loggia with city views. The light-filled master bath features a vaulted ceiling, a steam shower, and a tub.

The finished basement offers a number possibilities—perhaps a future home theater or game room. The grounds provide plenty of space for dining and entertaining, and includes a pool and spa. The property includes a gated driveway to the garage.

Hunter is the host of the reality TV show “Rachel Hunter’s Tour of Beauty.” As a model, she’s appeared on the covers of Vogue, Elle, Rolling Stone, and Sports Illustrated. And, yes, she was the fantasy mom in the 2003 Fountains of Wayne music video for “Stacy’s Mom.”

The post Supermodel Rachel Hunter Finally Sells Los Angeles Home for $3.45M appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/supermodel-rachel-hunter-finally-sells-los-angeles-home-for-3-45m/

Haunted No More, Barnes Mansion Shines and Comes With a Cute Literary Backstory

A mansion that beloved author Beverly Cleary once said was haunted is now available for $5 million. The large home on Klickitat Street in Portland, OR, was once an eyesore but is now a showplace—and it’s definitely not haunted.

Built in 1914, the three-level home fell into disrepair in the mid-20th century and was further damaged during a 1962 storm. That’s why Cleary mentioned it as haunted in several of her books. Fictional characters Ramona Quimby and her big sister Beezus lived on Klickitat Street, and they were very afraid of the imposing house. Many of their high jinks took place in this neighborhood.

“As most children do when they’re young, they think of [a neglected house] as a very scary, noninviting house,” says listing agent Tim Walters.

Cleary grew up on nearby Hancock Street, with Grant Park sitting between Hancock and Klickitat streets. The park features a Beverly Cleary sculpture garden, with bronze figures representing three of her fictional characters: Ramona, Henry Huggins, and Henry’s dog Ribsy.

Walters lives in the same neighborhood, in a home he bought from one of Cleary’s friends, he says. “I see it all day, every day, Klickitat Street and all of these different streets that she writes about.”

The Barnes mansion, named after original owner Frank C. Barnes, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Sept. 1, 1983, prior to restoration work by the current owners.

“It’s pretty phenomenal. The house has its own sense of drama and personality when you walk through it,” says Walters. “It’s things you just don’t normally see every day, and yet it’s still very warm and livable, not cold at all. You feel immediately comfortable in your walk in the door.”

Barnes, the original owner, made his fortune in the salmon industry, like many others during his time.

“Fishing and lumber are where our income was derived from when Portland was settled and was pretty much the economy up to the early ’80s or late ’70s,” Walters explains.

Barnes built the 9,830-square-foot home in the Alameda-Beaumont area using fine materials.

“Some of the original wallpaper is still in the house in the living room,” Walters says. “We had it confirmed with a wallpaper historian, that it indeed is the original wallpaper.”

Living room with original wallpaper
Spencer Redford

There’s also mahogany wood and stained-glass windows throughout.

“They are just beautiful. They’re really well-preserved and have been restored,” Walters adds.

Wood floors and paneling and stained-glass windows
Spencer Redford

The current owners bought the home in 1997, after one of them grew up next door to it.

“Isn’t that cool? She always wanted to live in that house, and they have taken care of it—above and beyond,” Walters says. “They have preserved it and restored it to what it was originally. They had exterior railings and millwork done to what it was originally, and they saved a couple of bad pieces to demonstrate how it was copied and reproduced.”

There are seven bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, and plenty of other rooms, including a former ballroom.

“It’s been converted to more of a TV room,” Walters explains. “It was a lower-level ballroom. … It was brilliant to put it down there because it doesn’t get hot. You know, on the third floor they used to just roast [during a party].”

The current owners are selling the mansion because they want to downsize. Walters says there has been a lot of interest in the home.

“I’m sure it will be a family because of the size of the house, but anybody can buy it.” Except Ramona Quimby.

The post Haunted No More, Barnes Mansion Shines and Comes With a Cute Literary Backstory appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/fictional-haunted-house-barnes-mansion-portland/

Mortgage Rates Fall to Three-Year Low Amid Coronavirus Fears—Here’s Why They May Not Hit an All-Time Low

Mortgage rates dropped once again to the lowest level since October 2016, as investors fretted over the threat posed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.45% during the week ending Feb. 27, a decrease of four basis points from the previous week, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit its all-time low back in November 2012 in the wake of the recession, when the average rate fell to 3.31%.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also dropped four basis points to 2.95%, according to Freddie Mac. The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage slipped five basis points to an average of 3.2%.

The previous two weeks, mortgage rates had rebounded after dropping to the lowest level since October 2016. That’s because mortgage rates generally follow the direction of the 10-year Treasury note’s yield.

The 10-year note had rebounded prior to this week as investors sensed that efforts to contain the coronavirus seemed successful. However, in recent days a large number of new cases emerged outside of China across the globe, including in Italy, South Korea and Iran. With many of these cases, it was unknown how the individuals had contracted the virus, suggesting that “community spread” of the illness is occurring outside of China.

This pushed Treasury yields to all-time lows, as investors sought a safe return amid turmoil in stock markets and hedged against an economic slowdown, said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com.

However, the decline in mortgage rates was muted compared with the decline in Treasury yields, an indication of the power lenders have when it comes to setting rates.

“Generally, lenders tend not to keep up with volatile movement in Treasurys like those seen in the past few days, particularly with rates as low as they currently are, opting instead to quote conservative rates and wait until the storm passes,” said Zillow economist Matthew Speakman.

Whether mortgage rates eventually drop to all-time lows or rebound will depend on how long the outbreak lasts, real-estate experts said.

“The longer virus concerns linger and the bigger impact economists and analysts estimate it will have on economic activity the lower we are likely to see rates go,” Hale said. “If evidence were to surface that suggests containment of the virus is improving or that the human or economic impact may not be as large as now-feared, then that would cause rates to rise.”

(Realtor.com is operated by News Corp subsidiary Move Inc., and MarketWatch is a unit of Dow Jones, which is also a subsidiary of News Corp.)

Either way, Americans are taking advantage of the ultra-low interest rate environment. In the week ending Feb. 21, the number of refinance applications lenders had received was more than double the volume from a year ago, according to the most recent loan application data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, and that figure is expected to rise. “Last week appears to have been the calm before the storm,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist.

The post Mortgage Rates Fall to Three-Year Low Amid Coronavirus Fears—Here’s Why They May Not Hit an All-Time Low appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/real-estate-news/mortgage-rates-fall-to-three-year-low-amid-coronavirus-fears-heres-why-they-may-not-hit-an-all-time-low/

Pending Home Sales Rebounded 5.2% in January as Low Mortgage Rates Boost the Housing Sector

Real estate listings in Brooklyn, NY — Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The numbers: The index of pending home sales increased 5.2% in January following a decline the month prior, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. This was the second strongest monthly increase in over two years, but came off a significant decline in December.

The index measures real-estate transactions where a contract has been signed but the sale has not closed, benchmarked to contract-signing activity in 2001. It serves as an indicator for existing-home sales reports in the coming months.

What happened: Compared with January 2019, contract signings were up 5.7% nationally.

On a monthly basis, pending sales increased in every region across the country, except the West, where they fell 1.1%. In the South they increased 8.7% month over month, followed by the Midwest (up 7.3%), and the Northeast (up 1.3%).

Big picture: The decline in December was largely the result of depleted supply in the market. The job market and interest rate environment are such that buying a home is a much more affordable prospect for many Americans who had been forced to the sidelines in recent years due to rising home prices.

Now that those people are back in the market, there are far from enough homes to meet this high demand. While that is a boon to new home sales, experts have argued it could keep existing home sales volumes lower for the foreseeable future.

“We are still lacking in inventory,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. “Inventory availability will be the key to consistent future gains.”

What they’re saying: “Low mortgage rates combined with a strong labor market and rising wages are no doubt providing support to the housing sector,” Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, said in a research note.

Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the 10-year Treasury yield all dropped in Thursday morning trading, amid concerns regarding the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

The post Pending Home Sales Rebounded 5.2% in January as Low Mortgage Rates Boost the Housing Sector appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/real-estate-news/pending-home-sales-rebounded-5-2-in-january-as-low-mortgage-rates-boost-the-housing-sector/

Ducey Downsize: AZ Governor Sells Mansion for $8.1M After Buying Fixer-Upper

Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images; realtor.com

Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona and his wife, Angela, recently sold their sprawling mansion for $8.1 million. They can now spend those millions on a much smaller fixer-upper just down the street, which they bought last year.

The couple listed their enormous 11,412-square-foot estate in Paradise Valley, AZ, for $8.75 million in December 2019, and they were able to sell the grand six-bedroom home relatively quickly. The mansion sale closed a couple of weeks ago, leaving the Duceys with plenty of dough to plow into upgrading and updating their other home.

They purchased an older ranch with exquisite views in the same ritzy suburb in early 2019, for $1.375 million.

The Duceys decided to downsize once their children left home and are apparently now ready to take on a remodel (or rebuild) project.

The 3,100-square-foot house they bought last year covers a quarter-acre in the well-heeled Mountain Shadows East neighborhood. Its chief highlight is the jaw-dropping, unobstructed view of Camelback Mountain.

The three-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom home was built in 1958 and shows some age. The kitchen, fixtures, and bathrooms need to be brought into 2020. But you can’t put a price on the location—an owner’s suite with picture-perfect mountain views might be worth preserving.

It does pale in comparison to the immaculate French farmhouse interiors of the Duceys’ massive desert estate. But the location, bones, and smaller footprint make sense for the governor.

Exterior Ducey home in Paradise Valley AZ — Exterior
realtor.com

Living room Ducey hyome in Paradise Valley — Living room
realtor.com

Kitchen Ducey home in Paradise Valley AZ — Kitchen
realtor.com

Fireplace Ducey home in Paradise Valley — Fireplace
realtor.com

View Ducey home Paradise Valley AZ — View
realtor.com

The Duceys’ previous estate, where their three sons, Jack, Joe, and Sam, grew up, was custom-built for the family in 2009.

Ducey amassed a fortune serving as the CEO of Cold Stone Creamery for more than a decade. He entered politics in 2007, was elected State Treasurer in 2010, and won the governorship in 2014.

The post Ducey Downsize: AZ Governor Sells Mansion for $8.1M After Buying Fixer-Upper appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/doug-ducey-arizona-gov-sells-mansion-buys-fixer-upper/

Iconic $125M Beverly Hills Estate Returns as Our Most Expensive New Listing

Paging all billionaires! A legendary Beverly Hills, CA, estate that has starred in movies and played host to many historic figures has once again claimed the title of most expensive new listing on realtor.com®.

Known as the Beverly House, the property has bounced on and off the market over the years. It’s now available for $125 million—or nearly 25% less than what Jeff Bezos recently paid for the Warner estate just a mile down the road.

In 2018, the Beverly House landed on the market for $135 million, which earned this enormous estate the title of most expensive listing at that time. And these stratospheric prices could be almost considered a discount of sorts—the storied residence was offered for as much as $195 million in 2016.

Called “the most important and iconic Mediterranean estate in California,” according to the listing on The Agency’s website, the grand mansion was built by Gordon Kaufmann, the architect of Hoover Dam, in 1927.

The residence was later a home for the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst and the actress Marion Davies. The estate also served as a destination on Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy‘s honeymoon, and later, as Kennedy’s West Coast presidential election headquarters.

The massive interiors are old-money classic, ideal for today’s tycoon. The spacious spread features a dizzying 18 bedrooms and 22.5 baths.

Now recognized as “an emblem of Hollywood’s Golden Era,” as Architectural Digest notes, the H-form architecture is characterized by “long colonnades, wide balconies, arched floor-to-ceiling windows, and cavernous spaces.”

This Beverly Hills, CA, estate is the most expensive new listing this week.
realtor.com

Notable details include a two-story library with hand-carved paneling and a wraparound walkway, a coved ballroom, a billiard room with intricate ceiling and fireplace, and a tiled formal dining room. The formal living room is decorated with a 22-foot, hand-painted ceiling.

The home’s hallways could easily double as bowling alleys: The one on the main level stretches a mind-boggling 82 feet; the one upstairs, 102 feet.

Aside from the original features, the property also includes a “substantial addition” from 1995. The extensive and manicured grounds include walkways, fountains, waterfalls, tennis court, as well as a swimming pool and poolhouse.

Although privately set behind wrought-iron gates, the property is just blocks from the Beverly Hills Hotel—which would be convenient should there not be enough bedrooms under this massive roof. As it is, the spacious spread can easily host parties for hundreds.

The seller, Leonard Ross, purchased the property for less than $2 million over four decades ago, according to The Real Deal. He renovated it in the 1990s, and had been renting it out for events. The real estate investor first tested the market in 2007, when he asked $165 million.

For those who recognize the place from the silver screen, the glamorous estate played a part in both “The Godfather” and in “The Bodyguard.”

Mauricio Umansky and Santiago Arana both with The Agency, represent the listing.

The post Iconic $125M Beverly Hills Estate Returns as Our Most Expensive New Listing appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/iconic-estate-beverly-hills-returns-most-expensive/

Wednesday, 26 February 2020

In Search of a Distinctive Desert Dwelling? Arizona’s Ramada House Is a Southwest Star

Ramada house in Tucson, AZ — realtor.com

When people hear the word “ramada,” a hotel chain usually springs to mind.

But eons before Ramada Inns dotted interstates, Native Americans built shade structures with roofs but no walls. These ingenious buildings (rama means “branch” in Spanish) constructed from poles and branches were designed for maximum airflow.

Now you can own one of the most architecturally significant examples of a ramada in the entire Southwest, plus the large, luxurious home it shades. Ramada House, built by architect Judith Chaffee, in the Catalina Foothills of Tucson, AZ, is on the market for $1,995,000.

Listing agent Scott Jarson is in love with the desert design and the practical nature of the ramada.

“Nestled beneath a slat canopy of wood posts and beams, the ramada offers shelter from the sun, but keeps the views completely unobstructed,” he notes.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the home was built in 1975 and designed for maximum privacy and views of its 8.75 acres.

The ramada was designed to cast intriguing shadows at different times of the day.

The home beneath the canopy appears to be made of adobe, but it’s actually built with mortar-washed slump block, which, like adobe, keeps the air inside cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Floors in the four-bedroom home are tile and concrete, and natural wood is used for accents throughout the house.

The sellers are the original homeowners, and they’ve thoughtfully updated the 3,797-square-foot home. Most spaces offer a blend of classic Southwestern features.

Unique details include a library with 10-foot-tall bookcases, an office with fireplace (there are two fireplaces total), and plenty of built-in storage throughout the home.

The modern kitchen features stainless-steel appliances, tile flooring, and pale wood cabinetry, plus easy access to the formal dining room and another dining area.

There are multiple patios, decks, and oversize windows providing lovely vistas, connecting the indoors and out. Outside, there’s a pool finished with an earth-colored plaster, the better to blend into the scenery and reflect the night sky.

All this, plus a tax break thanks to the home’s historical designation? According to the agent, it’s worth it for a buyer in search of a distinctive desert dwelling.

“For those seeking a truly remarkable home with architectural provenance and integrity, the Ramada House offers something completely unique and authentic,” says Jarson.

The post In Search of a Distinctive Desert Dwelling? Arizona’s Ramada House Is a Southwest Star appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

source https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/ramada-house-tucson-arizona/