Month: July 2020

Fredrik Eklund (Getty) Italy’s picturesque Tuscany region is apparently getting a lot of attention from potential homebuyers from abroad amid the pandemic. Among the first foreigners to go shopping when the country opened up to foreign travelers was Douglas Elliman agent and “Million Dollar Listing: New York” star Fredrik Eklund, according to the Wall Street…

The Golden Girls cast and the mid-century home (Getty, Redfin) You could call this house a Golden opportunity. The mid-century Los Angeles home that appeared in the hit sitcom “The Golden Girls” is on the market for $3 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. The ranch-style home appeared as the exterior of the Miami…

Uncertainty, the very thing that helped drive down the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage to 2.98 percent this week, will likely prevent millions of prospective homeowners from pulling the trigger on a purchase. “The rates are great,” said Al Fazio, a real estate attorney in New York City. “Although everyone remains concerned about…

Knock CEO Sean Black (Getty) Knock, a home-buying startup, is switching to bridge loans and working with agents, rather than directly with consumers. The company, which offers a platform for consumers who want to buy and sell homes at the same time, will now offer mortgage, bridge-loan and concierge services, Inman reported. The program, Knock…

Jon Bon Jovi and 230 North Ocean Boulevard (Credit: RE/MAX and Theo Wargo/Getty Images) UPDATED, July 17, 4:15 p.m.: Rock star Jon Bon Jovi sold a new oceanfront home he built in Palm Beach that was listed for $22.9 million, and is said to be the buyer of a larger mansion nearby. Bon Jovi and…

In the office market, the pandemic has proved the “great accelerator.” That’s according to Susan Freeman, a London-based partner in the real estate department at Mishcon de Reya, who joined Nelson Mills of Columbia Property Trust to discuss the future of office for a recent episode of TRD Talks Live. The executives said that in…

The W Hotel at 8 Albany Street (Google, Facebook) The W Hotel in downtown Manhattan is the latest to close its doors for good. The 217-key hotel at 8 Albany Street, which boasts suites with walk-in rainforest showers and reflective snakeskin tiles, will shut down Oct. 13, Bisnow reported. According to a notice filed with…

Spencer Rascoff and Nick Daze (Credit: John Lamparski/Getty Images) A rental listings platform backed by Zillow co-founder Spencer Rascoff went live in Los Angeles this week. PocketList launched with 20,000 units listed on its platform, the company said this week. The platform is designed to speed up tenant turnover by allowing renters to share with…

Bridge Investment Group’s Robert Morse Bridge Investment Group said it plans to raise another $600 million through its Opportunity Zone funds between now and the end of this year. The company announced this week that it had already raised $1.3 billion through the funds since launching in October 2018 with a $500 million target. Most…

Hotels’ recovery appears to have stalled. From mid-April through June, occupancy rates climbed steadily following their historic coronavirus plunge. But they fell in the week ending July 4 and last week they were essentially flat, according to newly released data from industry tracker STR. Occupancy rose by 0.3 percentage points to 45.9 percent in the…