Empty Nesters Flock To Inner City

Babyboomers whose children have left home, commonly known as "empty-nesters" are buying inner city apartments in record numbers.

Director of Acton Special Projects, Marc Drexel says the trend is towards quality rather than mass developments.

"The empty-nest market is growing and expanding with people wanting to reward themselves with a quality lifestyle property".

Typically this group of buyers is seeking 2 big bedrooms, rather than 3 small ones with generous open plan living areas. These developments often include lifestyle features such as a gym, coffee shop, resident caretaker and even a rooftop library!

Drexel says Acton has 15 different developments under way at the moment worth in excess of $500 million with prices for individual apartments ranging from the low $200,000 mark to over a million dollars.

"The major inner city renewal has spurred the market on," he said.

With this growth many investors are also speculating by purchasing "off the plan". A 2.5 % depreciation against the structural cost of the building is an incentive and savings can be increased to between 5 and 10 % through discounts offered by the developer.

But Drexel also warns "be careful, selective and look for a point of difference, something unique such as location or architectural integrity so it stands out from other projects".

Drexel believes negative gearing is no longer popular with a new trend towards "neutral gearing".

This trend is supported by Trevor Hoddy a partner with West Perth accountants, HLB Mann Judd.

"We don't see at lot of negative gearing compared to five years ago and we're seeing more a move into managed funds, such as property trusts, where there is greater liquidity and less risk."

He says the reason for this is low inflation, generating poor capital growth and soft rental returns.

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More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

The talk show host pays $12 million for the 4,088-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with beach access.

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore lists for $2,875,000.

A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.