The Year the Bubble Didn’t Burst in Manhattan

The Year the Bubble Didn’t Burst in Manhattan

Pity the poor Manhattan housing market in 2006; it missed out on so many adjectives.

As markets around it melted—Miami, Phoenix, Boston, pretty much the whole of flyover country—Manhattan’s remained utterly, stubbornly successful.

You’ll have heard another story: that Manhattan’s housing market was red-hot in 2005 and was in 2006, like so many cities nationwide, slowing or cooling or bursting (or whatever-ing). But it’s largely untrue based on the numbers.

Sure, it took longer to sell a home if you tried in the last 12 months, but sales closed fairly evenly compared to last year—and prices were way up in some cases.

A tale of two renters: Apartment hopper

A tale of two renters: Apartment hopper

Although I’ve been a serial renter over the years, my housing experience in Los Angeles is similar to that of many homeowners.

We’re all building.

The problem is they’re building equity. I’m building debt.

Since 9-11, I have moved five times. For the most part, the rent hasedged up a little every time, forcing me to scratch out my previous budgets and convince myself that I can afford a few hundred more dollars per month.

Avalon leaves homes unbuilt [South Florida]

Avalon leaves homes unbuilt [South Florida]

Another Southwest Florida home builder has exited, leaving dozens of customers with unfinished homes and regulators dealing with a third-party contractor who qualified the company’s permits.

Sarasota-based Avalon Homes left its offices at 379 Interstate Blvd. unfurnished, unlocked and deserted several weeks ago, its former landlord says.

Meanwhile, the small builder has 56 open permits with the city of North Port and officials there have been in touch with Venice-based contractor James Leake — who qualified the Avalon homes for permits — to try to get the houses finished.

Title company stays busy during slump

Title company stays busy during slump

The tight real estate market has meant tough times for title insurance companies throughout South Florida.

For Equity Land Title LLC of Boca Raton, keeping busy during slow times meant thinking ahead, figuring out niches to create within the industry, or finding ways to set itself apart from the competition in a crowded field.

Equity Land Title did both.

The 17-year-old company offers customers a service in which they can track their property closings and complete deals online, and in the past few years worked with developers to close complicated condominium conversion projects throughout the state.

Family, friends in on real estate plot

Family, friends in on real estate plot

Web of fraudulent flips leads to prison for Todd Kolbe, problems for many others

For almost 10 years, Todd Kolbe was the mastermind of an effort to defraud banks of millions of dollars by inflating the value of Southwest Florida real estate.

Kolbe, a mortgage broker by trade, drew family and friends into the effort.

He created a series of home building companies that collapsed, one after another, destroying the reputations of those closest to him, distorting the local real estate market and frustrating dozens of home buyers who had trusted Kolbe and his associates.

Robert Bruss: The pros and cons of flipping property

Robert Bruss: The pros and cons of flipping property

Are you a real estate “flipper” or a “keeper”? Most home buyers are keepers, owning their houses and condos for five or more years. However, even as residential sales prices currently “stagnate” or “plateau” in most cities, according to the latest statistics from the National Association of Realtors and other sources, flippers continue to profit.

There is no official definition, but a real estate flipper is a buyer who acquires a property and holds title less than 12 months. Other names for property flippers are “quick turn specialists” and “speculators.”

“Buy low, sell high” is the motto of flippers.

There’s nothing wrong, illegal, immoral or fattening about that. However, buying low and selling high isn’t always easy.