Mortgage Rates Fall to 3-Month Low as Flight to Safety Rolls On

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Rates for home loans slid for the third straight week as investors flocked to the safety of the bond market.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.52% during the July 5 week, down from 4.55%, mortgage provider Freddie Mac said Thursday. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.99%, down five basis points. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.74%, down from 3.87%.

Those rates don’t include fees associated with obtaining mortgage loans.

After a fierce sell-off in the wake of the December tax cuts, bonds have become more attractive as investors remain concerned about unsettled geopolitics and the prospect of a global trade war. Mortgage rates track along the 10-year U.S. Treasury note.

Bond yields fall as prices rise.

That turmoil is offering a small lifeline to mortgage borrowers. The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has declined in five of the past six weeks and now stands at its lowest since mid-April.

Meanwhile, ferocious demand keeps pushing home prices higher. On Tuesday, real estate data provider CoreLogic said that its nationwide home price index was 7.1% higher than a year ago in May.

Far from moderating, as most analysts have anticipated, prices are accelerating. Over the past 12 months, CoreLogic’s home price index has decelerated just once. Put another way, at this time last year, home prices were rising at a 5.8% annual pace.

CoreLogic conducted a consumer survey alongside its pricing report which clearly showed the challenges facing the housing market. Nationally,15% of homeowners and 28% of renters have indicated a desire to buy a home in the next 12 months, the survey found, while only 11% have indicated a desire to sell.

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NBA All-Star Chris Bosh Drops Price on Miami Mansion by $2M—a Sign of Moves to Come?

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Possibly retired NBA star Chris Bosh just slashed $2 million off the price of his marvelous Miami Beach mansion, cutting the ask on the waterfront property to $15.95 million.

The discount comes as good news not just to buyers eyeing prime Sunshine State property, but to basketball fans hoping that the former All-Star is planning a return to the hardwood with his ex-teammate LeBron James in Los Angeles.

First, the freshly discounted real estate.

Envision a P. Diddy-White Party manifested into a mansion, and Bosh’s swanky pad is the result. Stylish, sophisticated, and sexy, the flawless modern home was built in 2009, and offers almost 12,000 square feet of living space on a half-acre of prime waterfront property.

The home is decorated almost exclusively in white, letting the gorgeous bay and city views pour in through expanses of windows and provide all the decoration. Ultrahigh ceilings add an airy feel to the home.

Most surprising is the warmth of the ultramodern space. Bosh, married to Adrienne and father to six kids, managed to create a home that’s just as functional as it is formal, and the result is the best of all worlds. No shoes on the white sofas, though.

The mansion initially landed on the market last December for $18 million. Bosh bought it in 2010 for $12.33 million after joining forces with James and Dwyane Wade on the Miami Heat.

Exterior

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Entry

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Foyer

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Living

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Master bed

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Master bath

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Pool

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The move to discount his Miami home may mean that Bosh is ready to get back on the court. After LeBron’s ballyhooed deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, rumors swirled his former teammate Bosh might make a comeback and join him on another run at an NBA championship in SoCal.

Bosh last played during the 2015-2016 season. He left the NBA after developing blood clots, but vowed to return one day. Reports say Bosh is prepared to face the rigors of pro basketball.

Does the real estate price reduction mean Bosh is ready to cut ties with Miami for good and portend a return to his former glory? If we spot him shopping for beach houses in Malibu, we’ll let you know.

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Zephyr Real Estate Agent Bonnie Spindler Featured in Realtor Magazine - Markets Insider

Zephyr Real Estate is a member of the international relocation network, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World; the luxury real estate network, Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate; global luxury affiliate, Mayfair International; the local luxury ... and more »

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Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea Lists Lovely Los Feliz Home for $3M

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Michael Peter Balzary (way better known by his stage name, Flea) and his wife, the model Frankie Rayder, have listed their Los Feliz home, Variety reports. 

The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist purchased the Los Angeles property in 2014 for $2.47 million, according to property records. The couple is now offering the 3,500 square-foot gated estate on a quarter-acre for $3 million.

As Variety described it, the home is “modest by rock star standards,” but it still rocks, starting with the purple door.

Flea’s home in L.A. — with purple door

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Living room with bay windows

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Cook’s kitchen

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Breakfast room leads to patio

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Swimmer’s pool and spa

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Built in 1939, the five-bedroom home sits on a large corner lot and offers privacy from the road. The formal entry features magnesite floors and a double foyer. Large bay windows allow for a light-filled living room and formal dining room. The cook’s kitchen adjoins a breakfast nook with French doors that open to a covered patio with a built-in grill. A casual family room includes wood paneling and a fireplace. 

There’s a single guest suite downstairs. The master suite is on the second floor and includes a walk-in closet, spacious bath, office, and terrace. Two more bedroom suites can be found on the upper floor.

The grounds are surrounded by gardens, plus a lap pool and spa. The property is close to Griffith Park and the lively diversions of the Los Feliz neighborhood.

In 2016, the Red Hot Chili Peppers put out its 11th album, “The Getaway,” and concluded a world tour in 2017. The Grammy-award winning musician has also appeared in multiple movies, including, most recently, “Baby Driver.” His memoir, “Acid for the Children,” will be released this fall.

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Home Prices Are Plummeting in Puerto Rico—What Buyers Need to Know

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Hurricane Maria exacerbated problems for Puerto Rico’s already-struggling real estate market — creating opportunities and pitfalls alike for would-be home buyers.

The storm, which devastated much of the Caribbean last fall, caused home prices to drop 15%, to an average median home price of $116,750, according a recent report from real-estate website Point2 Homes. In some areas though, the storm left the housing market in even more dire straits.

In the town of Humacao, the median home price fell from $250,000 in 2016 to just $97,250 as of March. A similar situation can be seen in other popular parts of the territory, including the capital of San Juan, where prices have dropped nearly 50% over the past two years.

“With the devastation there, it’s going to take as long as the recovery from the Great Recession or possibly even longer for a market like that to recover,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at real-estate data provider Attom Data Solutions.

Home prices could very well continue to track downward across Puerto Rico in the months, or even years, to come. A major natural disaster like Hurricane Maria can trigger a vicious cycle in a housing market that depresses prices, Blomquist said.

Homeowners may find it difficult to afford monthly mortgage payments. Meanwhile, other owners may sell their homes to escape the disaster-stricken area. Those homes, combined with the foreclosed properties, drive home prices down.

Puerto Rico is already well into this cycle: Hurricane Maria resulted in an extra 57,000 mortgages going into delinquency, according to a February report from real-estate data provider Black Knight.

Some housing markets fare this cycle better and recover more quickly. The housing market in Houston took a hit following the flooding produced by Hurricane Harvey last August, but the market has already rebounded, said Danielle Hale, chief economist with Realtor.com.

Why low prices might be here to stay in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico’s recovery from Maria will look a lot different from Houston’s post-Harvey rebound. Prior to the storm, Houston had a thriving local economy — and it still does, adding 84,500 jobs between April 2017 and April 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Puerto Rico, meanwhile, was suffering from a major economic crisis that had already caused home prices to fall as residents moved elsewhere in search of better opportunities. “We weren’t looking at a very resilient market before the hurricane,” Hale said.

Indeed, investors were gobbling up swaths of Puerto Rican real estate and distressed mortgages before the storm. Now, it’s unclear if these low prices will attract enough interest from investors. “There is going to be some patience involved on the part of the buyer,” Blomquist said.

There are other factors holding back house prices and sales activity as a result of the island’s financial crisis. Owner-occupants may encounter more difficulty getting a home loan, said James Westfall, broker and owner of Island West Properties, a real estate firm located in Rincon, a town on Puerto Rico’s western coast. “The banks are now a little more hesitant to pull the trigger,” Westfall said.

Buyers need to know what they’re getting into

Not every part of Puerto Rico is facing the same difficulties. The median home price in Rincon, in the western part of the island, fell 4.3% between 2016 and 2018, according to Point2 Homes.

Rincon is known for its surfing and the local economy benefits from the resulting tourist industry, Westfall said. “Investors may be more comfortable going into a town that has that kind of mix,” Westfall said.

Wherever the home is, a prospective buyer should take insurance into account when in the buying process. There are still big challenges to take into account. The cost of insurance in disaster-stricken Puerto Rico could rise, which would offset any dip in pre-hurricane prices.

Whatever deal a buyer might think they have, buyers should enlist a local expert to steer them away from damaged properties and to ensure the home is properly inspected, especially if they hail from the mainland U.S.

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Cut! ‘I, Tonya’ Director Craig Gillespie Slashes Price of His L.A. Home

David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage

“I, Tonya” director Craig Gillespie has directed that the price of his Los Angeles home be reduced. It’s now available for $5.9 million.

Gillespie, 50, first placed the 1930s mansion on the market in May for $7 million. Still in search of a buyer, the price of the Brentwood home has been lowered to its current ask.

The home was purchased in 2003 for $3 million, so it will fetch the director, who hails from Australia, a hefty chunk of money when it finally closes.

Craig Gillespie’s Brentwood home

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Living room with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves

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Kitchen with casual dining table

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Outdoor lounge space with fireplace

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Master suite

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Upstairs media room

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The stylish residence is certainly ready for its close-up. It’s an “extremely special” four-bedroom, 4.5-bath shingled retreat, which has been “restored and remodeled by the current owner,” according to the listing description.

It’s surrounded by “breathtaking gardens” and a tree-filled brick courtyard. The recently redone cook’s kitchen includes French doors. The spacious formal dining room is lined with windows. The light-filled living room features a fireplace, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and glass doors that open to a terrace with gardens, pool, spa, sport court, outdoor fireplace, and views. 

Upstairs contains the master suite, with extensive built-ins, plus three more bedrooms, an artist’s studio, and an upstairs media room with pitched ceiling and bath. The guest quarters with bathroom include a separate entrance. 

As for Gillespie, he’s already onto his next digs, which may explain his openness to dropping the sale price of his former home. 

The filmmaker recently plunked down $12.05 million for a custom-designed contemporary, also in Brentwood, Variety reported. The spacious upgrade boasts 5,233 square feet, with five bedrooms, and 5.5 baths.

Along with the recent Oscar-nominated flick about the life of Tonya Harding, Gillespie directed episodes of the TV series “The United States of Tara,” as well as the Disney movie “The Finest Hours.”  

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Barbara Sinatra’s Estate Is Renting Out Her Malibu Home for $110K a Month

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Malibu is known as a place for beach rentals, but it’s never been known as a spot for bargain beach rentals.

During the sunny summer months, rent prices tend to heat up even more. So it’s no surprise this spread that’s part of the Barbara Sinatra estate has a six-figure price tag. Per month.

Up for lease for the first time ever, the beautiful beachfront home is available for $110,000 per month.

The beach is just a few steps away.

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Measuring 5,824 square feet, the seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom house has a pool and spa and is located on Broad Beach, one of the town’s most glamorous beaches.

In addition to Barbara and Frank Sinatra, the beach has also been home to actors Pierce Brosnan, Goldie Hawn, and Dustin Hoffman, among others.

Malibu’s Broad Beach, famed for its celebrity residents

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Pool

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The house has a number of elegant amenities suitable for Hollywood elite, including a spacious master suite with two lavish bathrooms, a steam room, hair salon, and spa tub, plus an elevator to get you there and back when you’re just too sunburned to climb the stairs.

Master suite

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The outside space is perfect for parties, featuring a large patio with a built-in barbecue, an indoor-outdoor bar, and a grassy yard that leads to the ocean.

Indoor-outdoor bar

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The home is available with its elegant furnishings, which were designed to complement the breezy beach setting.

You can just imagine Ol’ Blue Eyes and his love lounging on the balcony, toasting each other and the spectacular view.

Great room

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Kitchen

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Barbara died last year, at age 90. She had inherited lavish homes in Palm Springs, Beverly Hills, and Malibu from her husband when he died in 1998. Frank was her third husband—she had previously been married to Robert Oliver and Zeppo Marx.

Her legacy includes founding the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center in Coachella Valley, a nonprofit that provides therapy and assistance for young victims of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.

Gate leading to the beach

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