Homes, homes on the range

Homes, homes on the range [Central Florida]

In this sprawling county of nearly 1 million acres, recent sales of ranches and groves show up as specks on a map. But combined, they represent Central Florida’s next hot spot for growth.

The more than 50,000 acres sold in Osceola County for potential development since 2000 are enough to support more than 150,000 homes and 400,000 people. If that were to happen, the county’s population would almost triple.

“We just went from Mayberry to metropolitan,” said Todd Hoover, residential supervisor in the county Property Appraiser’s Office. “The last five years have been really, really fast.”

Selling the Air Above

Selling the Air Above – New York Times

On an island where there is often nowhere to build but up, the air in Manhattan can get pretty pricey. Air-rights deals, or the sale of unused development rights from one property owner to another, are generally considered the business of big-time developers. But in cheek-by-jowl Manhattan, homeowners, small-building owners and co-op boards can often find themselves involved, too. While potentially lucrative, such deals are complex and can even raise ethical quandaries for property owners.

Extell approached the town-house owners for their air rights because the properties all share at least 10 feet of lot line with the developer’s building site — a requirement for most air-rights deals. Several of the town-house owners said they were distressed over the idea of a tall building going up next door, one that would loom over their backyards and one that had been opposed by many people in the neighborhood because of its size. But they ultimately decided to band together and hire a lawyer to advise them and work out a contract with Extell.

Metcalf tower in Orlando is for sale [Central Florida]

Metcalf tower in Orlando is for sale [Central Florida]

One of downtown Orlando’s earliest “skyscrapers” — the 10-story Metcalf Building — is on the sales block for $12 million.

The owners are developer Cameron Kuhn and the four shareholders of the Alvarez, Sambol, Winthrop & Madson law firm, who bought the property at 100 S. Orange Ave. in early 2003 for $3.8 million.

More than $1.3 million was spent on interior renovations after that purchase to prepare the building for the law firm, which took over about 28,000 square feet of the property’s 36,000 square feet.

Hotel to go back up for sale [Farmingdale, NJ]

Hotel to go back up for sale [Farmingdale, NJ]

The 19th-century American Hotel, East Main Street, which operated as a banquet facility and restaurant for years before it was closed at the end of 2003, will be put on the auction block for a second time on March 23 at 1 p.m. The auction will take place at the hotel.

At the first public auction in October, the building and a liquor license connected to the facility were sold for a combined $4.35 million to Tran Dinh Truong, a hotel owner from New York City.

However, municipal officials were notified in November by Bankruptcy Trustee David Doyaga Sr., representing former owner Hoti Inc., that Truong had defaulted on the sale.

Thirteen dollars for $1.5 million property

Thirteen dollars for $1.5 million property

Reversing an appellate court’s decision, the Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that a Breathitt County woman should get more than $1 million in real estate that her uncle decided on his deathbed to give her in exchange for $13.

The property, intended not as an inheritance but as a gift from one person to another, has been at the center of a 71/2-year court battle.

At issue was property that John Raymond Turner, a prominent Jackson banker, intended to give to his niece, Louise Howell. Turner’s estate included property in Lexington, Breathitt County, Berea and Sarasota, Fla.

“Uncle John intended to do exactly what has happened,” Howell said Tuesday.

The boom is gone: Home sales fall 36% in Broward [South Florida]

The boom is gone: Home sales fall 36% in Broward [South Florida]

South Florida’s five-year housing boom is over.

Prospective home buyers are finding prices falling to more affordable levels. Sellers are waiting impatiently as their houses sit on the market for weeks and months, only to receive tepid interest before reducing their asking prices.

This is a dramatic shift from the sizzling market that had yielded sellers quick buyers willing to pony up top dollar for homes.