Real Estate

Apache is functioning normally

If you’ve always dreamt about walking a mile in Tom Brady’s shoes, an opportunity just came up — but you’d have to pony up some serious cash to afford it.

A glam apartment at the Fendi Chateau Residences in Surfside, Florida that the former New England Patriots / Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback rented after his divorce from supermodel Gisele Bündchen landed on the market, looking for a new owner to enjoy its unobstructed ocean views.

As expected, it has a price tag worthy of its former occupant’s deep pockets: the Fendi Chateau unit is listed for a hefty $15,900,000.

But it comes with the added perk of owning a space that served as a bachelor pad for the NFL’s most decorated and accomplished players, not to mention a whole suite of luxury amenities and upscale finishes that the Surfside building has gained a reputation for.

Photo credit: Become Legendary courtesy of Compass Florida

Inside Tom Brady’s former apartment at the FENDI Chateau Residences

Tom Brady reportedly lived here right after his widely-covered divorce from Gisele Bündchen, with media outlets dubbing it the NFL superstar’s “bachelor pad”.

He rented it during his final year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before announcing his retirement (for a second time) in February 2023.

See also: Tom Brady’s & Giselle’s Custom-Built Home in Brookline, Massachusetts

The unit is one of only 58 residences in the luxury residential development — which sets itself apart from nearby Miami’s soaring skyscrapers, rising only 12 stories high and adding a note of boutique living to its appeal. Mendel Fellig with Compass Florida holds the listing.

Key facts & numbers

  • Location: 9349 Collins Avenue, Surfside, FL
  • Bedrooms: 3
  • Bathrooms: 4.5
  • Square footage: 4,103
  • Year built: 2016 (building)
  • Amenities: White glove service (including full beach service), in-house salon and spa, state-of-the-art fitness center, resident-only restaurant, kid’s club, and more.
  • Asking price: $15,900,000

“The condo offers a sanctuary of privacy and luxury, boasting unobstructed ocean and skyline views and a highly desirable flow-through layout,” listing agent Mendel Fellig tells us. “With only 58 units, the building ensures an intimate and exclusive living experience.”

Photos

Photo credit: Become Legendary courtesy of Compass Florida
Photo credit: Become Legendary courtesy of Compass Florida
Photo credit: Become Legendary courtesy of Compass Florida
Photo credit: Become Legendary courtesy of Compass Florida
Photo credit: Become Legendary courtesy of Compass Florida
Photo credit: Become Legendary courtesy of Compass Florida

With its many wellness-oriented amenities, the Surfside building is a great choice for athletes

While Tom Brady was undoubtedly the Fendi Chateau Residences’ most famous resident, the building is known for attracting top earners.

Current and former residents reportedly include UnitedHealthcare CEO, Claudio Lottenberg, Founder of Naturhouse, Felix Revuelta, Founder and CEO of E&M Management, Irving Langer, and Software Chief of Totvs, José De Lucena Cosentino.

And it’s easy to see why.

Talking about the many amenities Fendi Chateau residents enjoy, Fellig lists upscale features like “full beach service, in-house salon and spa, business center, movie theater, and a resident-only restaurant, creating a lifestyle of pure luxury. It’s easy to see why a celebrity may be captivated by the privacy, luxurious amenities, and the stunning ocean vistas that this property provides.”

Photo credit: Become Legendary courtesy of Compass Florida

Standing out in its long roster of amenities are the building’s many wellness-oriented perks, which make it a great choice for athletes.

“Fendi Chateau is the perfect haven for athletes, with a focus on health and wellness,” agent Mendel Fellig confirms.

“The residence offers a state-of-the-art fitness center, a rejuvenating sauna, an invigorating steam room and a private massage room. These amenities make Fendi Chateau the ultimate destination for athletes looking to maintain their physical well-being.”

“The in-house facilities offer a comprehensive approach to fitness and recovery, making it the top choice for athletes seeking luxurious living that caters to their health and fitness needs.”

So it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see another athlete taking up residence here. Who do you think that might be?

The article You can buy Tom Brady’s former Miami apartment – But it won’t come cheap first appeared on Fancy Pants Homes.

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Mar-a-Lago neighboring mansion undergoing a massive renovation eyes $40 million sale

Source: fancypantshomes.com

Apache is functioning normally

Los Angeles-based rental management software provider RentSpree successfully passed an audit regarding its data protection strategy, obtaining the System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 Type II compliance. SOC 2 is regarded as the premier data security standard for Software as a Service (SaaS) providers.

Developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the SOC 2 Type II audit examines a company’s controls related to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy. RentSpree’s audit report received a “clean” opinion from national audit firm Sensiba LLP.

“This achievement is huge for us and was a top priority this past year as the integrity of our systems and the policies and practices we have in place to protect sensitive information is integral in today’s marketplace,” said Michael Lucarelli, CEO and co-founder of RentSpree. 

In addition to Sensiba LLP, RentSpree also worked with Drata, a leading compliance automation platform, to streamline its compliance efforts and monitor its security controls, the news release said.

RentSpree offers rental software solutions such as tenant screening, online applications, document automation, e-signatures, denial and approval communications as well as property landing pages. In October, RentSpree also added a rent reporting feature.

Security is top of mind for those in housing. Recent cybersecurity incidents in the industry emphasized the exposure of the sector to cyber threats. In the fall of 2023, title insurance companies First American and Fidelity National Financial suffered cyberattacks. So did non-bank mortgage lender and servicer Mr. Cooper, as well as data host for property listing information Rapattoni. According to security company Astra, there are 2,200 cyber attacks per day in the U.S. on average across all industries. The financial impact of those attacks is significant, costing companies an average of $9.44 million.

Source: housingwire.com

Apache is functioning normally

What should you avoid saying or doing on a listing presentation? Whether you’re presenting to a good friend, a referral client or a colder lead, there are some universal mistakes you must avoid if you want to take the listing. The good news is that all of these things are easy to remember:

1. Don’t arrive late

Early is on time, on time is late and if you’re late, you’ll lose. People have varying degrees of tolerance for an appointment showing up late, so err on the side of caution and always be early. If you miscalculate and get there too early, use that time to drive the neighborhood and become even more familiar with the streets, amenities, parks, other homes for sale and so forth. It’s better than being late!

2. Don’t park in their driveway

You’re either blocking someone in or taking someone’s spot. If their teenager has to drive to soccer practice and you’re blocking them from leaving, then your appointment mojo will be messed up with an awkward interruption. Park in the street.

3. Don’t discuss politics

Politics aren’t relevant to the sale of the home, and no matter what you say, you have a 50/50 shot of being in contention. This also applies to your social media. Don’t invite conflict!

4. Don’t make the appointment all about you

Always make it all about the client: their needs, motivation, time frame and priorities. Don’t talk about how busy you are, about a deal you’re trying to save, inspection and financing drama, or how you’re going to be out of town for two weeks. They don’t care about any of that. They care about your ability to solve their real estate needs.

5. Don’t forget to ask for the business

The definition of “close” is the logical ending to a great presentation. Assuming you did a great job presenting, closing is easy, conflict-free and results in a signed listing contract.

Create a reminder card with these 5 mistakes to avoid, plus your favorite affirmation for success. Keep it in your car and review it before every listing appointment. Sometimes even the smallest things can tilt the appointment in your favor…or away from it.

Seneca said that “luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity.” Be prepared and luck will be on your side!

Tim and Julie Harris host a podcast for real estate professionals. Tim and Julie have been real estate coaches for more than two decades, coaching the top agents in the country through different types of markets.

Source: housingwire.com

Apache is functioning normally

There’s no need for the Super Bowl LVII headliner to travel to Sin City for his hyped halftime show.

Usher has been calling Las Vegas home since mid-2022 when the eight-time Grammy Award-winner started his “My Way” residency and moved his family here.

I began to curate my own little world here, so much so that I’ve actually put a flag in the ground. I’ve actually moved here.”

Usher told The Hollywood Reporter

“For one year I’ve been here. I’m not saying that this is the end-all-be-all, but I have a place here so I can accommodate my family,” the R&B star added in a lengthy interview with the Hollywood Reporter at the beginning of 2023.

Usher Raymond IV next to his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Photo credit: Featureflash Photo Agency

And while he’s managed to keep all the deets about his Las Vegas house under wraps, the Confessions singer did let it slip that he lives in a sprawling apartment or penthouse in one of the city’s luxury residential buildings — calling it his “really cool mansion in the sky”.

We kind of live in this really cool mansion in the sky down here, so it’s pretty fun to be in the middle of all the action and then come right home and you’re with your kids.”

Usher

The artist wrapped up his Las Vegas show in early December 2023, in an emotional show that saw the 45-year-old overcome with gratitude and tears.

And that’s because Usher has long been planning his “phenomenal show” if he ever landed a Las Vegas residency, as this 2004 clip would indicate:

Now whether or not Usher will continue to live in Las Vegas after his Super Bowl performance, that remains to be seen.

But so far, it would seem that both he and his family — Usher shares daughter Sovereign Bo and son Sire Castrello with current girlfriend, Jenn Goicoechea, and also has two boys, Usher V and Naviyd Ely, with his ex-wife, Tameka Foster — are loving life in the desert oasis.

Usher’s houses throughout the years

And while we’ve already answered the most pressing question (where does Usher live now), we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a look at the R&B artist’s previous homes — especially since they’re a refreshing change from the sprawling, ultra-modern Cali mansions other A-listers call home.

That’s not because he lacks the funds.

A defining figure in the music industry for over two decades, Usher has amassed an impressive net worth estimated at a whopping $180 million. He just doesn’t need to flaunt it or splurge on eight-figure houses.

Looking at the houses he’s bought — and sold — over the years, we see a pattern: the man knows how much space he needs, and settles on beautiful homes that meet his family’s wants without going for “status purchases” that would consolidate him as a ‘baller’, real estate-wise. Don’t believe us? See for yourself:

His Atlanta homes

Born on October 14, 1978, in Dallas, Texas, and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Usher’s journey to stardom began at an early age.

His mother, recognizing his natural talent, moved the family to Atlanta, Georgia, a move that proved pivotal in launching his career.

See also: The Biggest Celebrities that Live in Atlanta & their Million-Dollar Mansions

It was in Atlanta where Usher’s velvety voice and charismatic presence caught the attention of LaFace Records’ co-founder, L.A. Reid, leading to the release of his self-titled debut album in 1994.

And the rest is, as they say, history.

Usher went on to become one of the most influential figures in contemporary R&B and pop music. But despite his impressive net worth of $180 million, the Yeah singer kept it fairly down to earth with his home purchases.

#1 A three-bedroom house he sold for $775k

He owned a three-bedroom, three-bath house not far from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, that he bought in June 2007 for $970,000.

A three-bedroom house Usher owned in Atlanta. He sold in 2019 for $775,000. Photo credit: Mychal Jaymes

Right before filing for divorce from his second wife, Grace Miguel, he listed the 2,908-square-foot home for sale, with a buyer paying him $775,000 for the Atlanta house in 2019.

#2 The Alpharetta house he fell in love with at age 13

Early in his career, Usher (whose full name is Usher Raymond IV) stayed true to a promise he made to his younger self: when he’d make it big in the music industry, he’d buy his music producer L.A. Reid’s house, which left an impression on him at the tender age of 13.

I came into this house … and I remember walking through it, just being mesmerized by everything I saw, and it was like, ‘One day, I want to own a house like this.’”

Usher recalled in a 2003 episode of “How I’m Living“

An 8,000-square-foot home with 7 bedrooms, 8.5 bathrooms, a climate-controlled treehouse, a yoga studio and a private dance studio, L.A. Reid’s house is impressive — but pales in comparison to some of suburban Atlanta’s megamansions.

Luckily, he didn’t see Evander Holyfield’s former home in the nearby Atlanta suburb of Fayetteville, a 109-room behemont which later became rapper Rick Ross’s mansion.

“I ended up buying this house. There’s history in it. My history lies in this house.”

But despite the history, the U Remind Me hitmaker (who’s not one to hoard properties, it would seem), sold the Alpharetta house formerly owned by L.A. Reid for $1.5 million back in 2018.

His former villa in Los Angeles

Usher also owned a Spanish-style estate in West Hollywood set on the same block as the landmark Chateau Marmont Hotel.

The property, which he first listed for sale in early 2018 for $4.2 million (it ended up selling for only $3.3 million), was originally built in 1926 and has been “artfully restored” to accommodate the artist and his growing family, retaining original details like stenciled beams and handcrafted ironwork.

But the artist sold that 5-bedroom house too in 2018, one of three homes he offloaded in the span of a single year.

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Now, with his Las Vegas residency over and his net worth balooned by his Sin City shows plus his Super Bowl performance, Usher might be in the lookout for a new place to call home. Looking forward to seeing where he settles next.

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Source: fancypantshomes.com

Apache is functioning normally

The 2023 housing market faced one of the same roadblocks we saw in 2022: mortgage rates were too high for home sales growth. Now that we’re in 2024, the Federal Reserve‘s rate hike cycle is over, so let’s look at what that means for housing demand and home prices. However, a yearly forecast has limitations and in this crazy housing and economic cycle, if people give you a yearly forecast without guidance as variables change, you’ll be dealing with stale data. Every Saturday I publish a weekly housing market tracker with forward-looking data and insights so you can adjust quickly to market conditions.

Here’s my forecast for 2024:

10-year yield and mortgage rates

For 2024, the 10-year yield range will be similar to 2023, but with a few different variables to watch.

  • 10-year yield range: 4.25%-3.21%
  • Mortgage rates: between 7.25%-5.75%

A key level to watch for the 10-year yield is 3.37%. To go below this level last year, labor would need to break, so I borrowed Gandalf the Grey’s catchphrase: “You shall not pass.” And the 10-year yield did not pass that level in 2023!

However, if the labor or economic data gets weaker, we can break through that Gandalf line, which means 2.72% on the 10-year yield is in play for 2024. This could mean sub-5% mortgage rates if the spreads get better — a win for the housing market.. If the spreads are still bad, mortgage rates will be between 5%-6%. If the 10-year yield gets above 4.25%, the U.S. economy has outperformed again, as it did in Q3 when it grew at 5% and jobless claims fell.

Here is a chart of the 10-year yield with the inflation growth rate data tied to it for 2023:

Now let’s talk about mortgage rates!

The spread between the 10-year yield and mortgage rates can get better in 2024, which means mortgage rates could be 0.625% to 1% lower next year. For example, mortgage rates would be under 6% today if the spreads were normal. Instead, they closed 2023 at 6.67%. If the spreads get anywhere back to normal and the 10-year yield gets to the lower end of the range in 2024, we can have sub-5 % mortgage rates in 2024.

With the Fed no longer in hiking mode, any economic weakness on the labor side is a better backdrop to send mortgage rates lower. Unlike 2023, this year there are more positive variables that could send mortgage rates lower rather than higher.

Home prices

If everything stays constant, 2024 home-price growth levels will repeat what happened in 2023: low single-digit national home-price gains.

What could make home prices grow faster than low single digits? If I am wrong and mortgage rates go lower for longer and we don’t get more new listings in 2024, then home prices can grow faster in 2024 because we will have the same issue as before: too many people chasing too few homes.

What could make home prices decline? This would happen if we saw a surge of stressed inventory and mortgage rates didn’t go low enough to handle that much new supply into the market. We had mortgage rates in a solid range between 3.75% and 4.75% for most of the previous decade, but that hasn’t been the case recently. So, this is something to consider only if we see an increase in stressed inventory. 

To give an example of what I am talking about, from 2008 to 2011, new listings data ran between 250,000 and 400,000 each week, with the peak seasonal data at 370,000 and 400,000. We haven’t had new listings data break over 90,000 in the peak seasons of 2021, 2022 or 2023. So if we do see a push in stressed new listings we have to be on it right away and see how the supply and demand equilibrium works.

However, we won’t have this conversation until we see it in the weekly data. In this episode of the HousingWire Daily podcast I explain how fast the housing dynamics shifted after Nov. 9, 2022, with prices returning to all-time highs in months. This is why weekly data is important!

Existing home sales

When we saw mortgage rates fall from 7.375% to 5.99% early in 2023, we got one of the most significant existing home sales prints ever, going from 4 million to 4.55 million. We need lower rates to get more consistent sales growth and to have one or two monthly existing home sales prints of 4.72 million or more, it’s going to take sub-6% mortgage rates with duration.

We will track the purchase application data weekly, however, I am only focused on that 4.72 million monthly print number for 2024 because the lack of affordability with rates still this high is impacting sales.

New home sales

As long as mortgage rates go lower, the builders can sell homes because they can lower mortgage rates even more than the existing home sales market and they have a pipeline of homes to sell. They have 106,000 homes that they haven’t even started construction on yet, and only 78,000 new homes have been completed and are ready to sell. They will manage their supply slowly.

Economic outlook

Looking at the economic cycle and the housing economy, we have a similar playbook going into 2024 as we did in 2023. Let’s look at that dynamic.

I raised the final flag in my six recession red flag model on Aug. 5, 2022. However, by Nov. 9, 2022, I saw that housing market dynamics had shifted and if I was right, the builders were about to get more positive about their business. Sure enough, the builders confidence survey started to grow again going into 2023.

As mortgage rates started rising toward 8%, the builders survey started to go lower, mostly due to smaller builders feeling the pinch. Now that rates have fallen again, this is a positive for the single-family housing market. The new home sales market means more to the economy because of construction jobs and big-ticket item purchases. In contrast, the existing home sales market is more about the transfer of commission and moving trucks.

People correctly keep an eye on the builder’s survey. However, the builder survey and new home sales rebounded to growth in 2023, and now, with rates almost down 1.5% for 2024, lower rates will help the builder survey again. 

This is only for the single-family housing market, not the apartment market, which is heading into a decline in activity. This is something to watch on labor, as certain builders will not need as many people to build apartments. When rates stay too high for too long, you eventually impact future production.

We will only start talking about a recession when jobless claims break over 323,000 on the four-week moving average. We won’t talk about a recession today, or next year or even this decade until that happens. The history of economics has shown us that we need the labor market to break to have a job-loss recession. If you followed my work during COVID-19, you know my critical two takes about the labor market and how household balance sheets are much better now than ever. When jobless claims break that critical level, we will have a good discussion about the economy and the housing market, just not yet.

If the economy doesn’t have a credit event where lending gets tighter, the consumer should hold up in 2024, especially with lower mortgage rates. This means the homebuilders can sell more homes and keep construction workers employed longer. Falling construction employment is a staple of all job-loss recessions, and we have avoided that so far.

For 2024, I want to stress that the economic data can turn on a dime — both positive and negative — in ways that weren’t the case in the previous decade. Following the weekly tracker will be essential for the housing market and the economy. I track this stuff daily so you don’t have to!

The existing home sales market has spent the last 18 months with sales near great recession levels. Now it’s time for the Fed to give up on its covid-era housing economic policy and be pro-housing once again. It’s time to get U.S. housing off the COVID-19 policy and get sales growing.

Source: housingwire.com

Apache is functioning normally

As companies gradually enforce back-to-the-office policies, the share of homebuyers trying to relocate to a different metro area decreased in November for the third month in a row. The share dropped to 23.9%, the lowest level seen in a year-and-a-half, according to Redfin.

Compared to November 2022, the share of homebuyers trying to relocate fell 20 basis points from 24.1%. It was the first annual decline ever recorded since 2017. It is also down from this summer’s peak of 26%.

For this report, Redfin monitored the searches of about 2 million Redfin.com users who viewed for-sale homes online across more than 100 metro areas from September 2023 to November 2023.

Some Americans are still chasing affordability

In November, all of the 10 most popular migration destinations posted lower prices than the most common origin of buyers moving in.

Sacramento, Las Vegas and North Port Sarasota, Florida were the three most popular destinations for net migration. Meanwhile, Spokane, Washington, landed on the list of popular destinations for the first time, ranking number 10.

The largest number of homebuyers moving to Spokane were from Seattle, followed by Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon. According to Redfin, the typical Spokane home sold for $416,000, compared to $775,000 in Seattle.

Homebuyers are leaving Los Angeles more than any other metro area in the country

For the first time, Los Angeles topped the list of metros homebuyers want to leave. San Francisco and New York came in second and third position, respectively. San Francisco fell from the top spot for the first time in two years.

Even if home prices increased in popular migration destinations during the pandemic, the median sale price for a home in Los Angeles ($1,025,000) remains twice more expensive than that of Las Vegas ( $411,000).

Source: housingwire.com

Apache is functioning normally

The nation’s second largest title insurer, First American, as well as some of its subsidiaries, remain offline as of Wednesday morning in the wake of the title firm’s Dec. 20 cybersecurity incident. The systems outage has derailed closings across the country over the holidays for homebuyers and sellers using the company’s title services in more than 2,000 locations.

First American announced the incident mid-day on Thursday. On Friday, it notified clients that it had taken its email system offline and that recipients should be wary of any emails that come through from FirstAm.com. In addition, the title firm filed a document with the Securities and Exchange Commission last Friday, stating that it was “working diligently” to restore systems it had taken offline, but could not estimate “the duration or extent of the disruption at this time.”

The firm has been providing updates through a new website it created. No new updates or filings have been shared since last Friday.

Homebuyers, sellers and appraisers have been responding to the company’s LinkedIn announcement on the cybersecurity incident, asking for clarification. One buyer commented: “We wired in full payment for a home that was supposed to close last week. Now our funds are not accessible and we are on track to miss our close date.” In another comment, a home seller said they had been waiting on disbursement for 6 days.

The First American Financial umbrella includes First American Title Insurance and First American Title Guaranty, as well as nearly two dozen subsidiaries. As of Wednesday morning, the websites for DataTrace and ACI, a valuation technology subsidiary, remained offline. However, ServiceMac, First American’s mortgage servicer subsidiary, had come back online after being offline through Tuesday afternoon.

This latest cybersecurity attack at First American is unrelated to the May 2019 cybersecurity incident, in which it was recently asked to pay the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) $1 million as part of a cybersecurity violation settlement.

First American is not the only title firm to face a cybersecurity attack in recent months.  In late November, Fidelity National Financial became the victim of a ransomware attack that took its systems offline for a few days. Ransomware gang AlphV/BlackCat later claimed responsibility for the attack. On Tuesday, mortgage subservicer and FNF subsidiary Loancare informed authorities that the data of about 1.3 million customers was compromised following the November cybersecurity attack.

Source: housingwire.com

Apache is functioning normally

First American is the latest real estate firm to suffer a cybersecurity incident.

Sources told HousingWire the incident occurred Wednesday afternoon, with First American confirming the incident Thursday morning.

In a statement on the title company’s website it notes that First American has “taken certain systems offline” and that it is working to resume normal business operations as soon as possible.

Source told HousingWire that closings have had to be delayed as a result of the cybersecurity incident.

This attack comes less than month after First American was asked to pay the  New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) $1 million as part of a cybersecurity violation settlement.

Additionally, this is the second major cyber security incident to hit the title industry in less than a month. In late November, Fidelity National Financial became the victim of a ransomware attack that took its systems offline for a few days. Ransomware gang AlphV/BlackCat later claimed responsibility for the attack. On Tuesday, Teneika Tillis, a Loancare servicing client, filed a class action lawsuit against Fidelity and its subsidiary mortgage subservicer Loancare alleging that they were negligent with customer data.

Mr.Cooper, which became the victim of a cyber security attack in late October that exposed of nearly 15 million current and former clients, is currently facing four class action suits as a result of the attack.

Source: housingwire.com

Apache is functioning normally

Ye has had it with Malibu.

The rapper, who’s been spending most of his time in Europe as of late, with paparazzi following him and wife Bianca Censori relentlessly while on tour, has just listed his uber-expensive Malibu pad for sale.

Designed by Pritzker Prize-winner Tadao Ando, the Malibu Road house is one of the lauded Japanese architect’s few projects on American soil — another one being Beyonce and Jay-Z’s $200 million house, also located in Malibu.

When Kanye purchased it, the property was being touted as part beachfront residence, part modernist sculpture, making it a great choice for the artist whose minimalist-yet-daring style choices often grace the front covers of magazines.

But not much is left, as the structure has been altered considerably during Kanye’s ownership.

The Vultures rapper bought the roughly 4,000-square-foot beachfront house just two years ago, in 2021, for a whopping $57.3 million — though it’s worth noting that the property was once listed for $75 million.

Retired Wall Street financier Richard Sachs, best known as the ex-boyfriend of former Full House star Ashley Olson, sold it to the recording artist and Yeezy founder.

Now, Kanye West listed the 4-bedroom, 5-bath Malibu abode for $53,000,000, with Selling Sunset star and Oppenheim Group founder Jason Oppenheim landing the listing.

“I wanted to have a listing with such architectural pedigree,” Oppenheim told PEOPLE, adding that the property’s Malibu Road location is “one of the most desirable areas in the world.”

We don’t know whether that means that the rapper’s house will be featured in the upcoming Season 8 of Selling Sunset, but if you’d like to take a look inside Kanye West’s house in Malibu, Jason already put the pictures up on his Instagram (though it looks like he used the listing photos from the home’s last run on the market):

Ye’s crumbled plans for the property

The Malibu house was no impulse buy.

Kanye West had big plans for his beachfront spread.

First, he said he would work with businessman James Goldstein to make it more like his famous Sheats-Goldstein Residence — another concrete-heavy, modernist abode that bears the signature of lauded architect John Lautner.

Then, according to TMZ, he set out to turn the architectural property into a “bomb shelter from the 1910s,” removing all windows and electricity from the home. Here’s how it looks like now:

In fact, the rapper is even being sued by the former property caretaker and project manager he hired for the remodel.

Tony Saxon, who was reportedly hired in September 2021 as project manager, caretaker, and 24/7 security for the mogul’s Malibu home, is suing West, claiming he’s owed $1 million for the work he did on the property, which included several labor code violations.

“Tony worked as the construction project manager and 24/7 security guard when Kanye was having the home gutted, and Kanye put him through hell, violating numerous labor codes and employment laws in the process,” Saxon’s lawyer, president of West Coast Employment Lawyers Neama Rahmani, said in a statement released after news broke about Kanye selling his house.

“This house was ‘a Picasso on the water’ before Kanye ordered Tony to rip it apart. So, while we’re pleased Kanye may finally have the money to fulfill his obligations to Mr. Saxon, buyer beware.”

Now, what’s left of the Tadao Ando-designed home is a concrete shell exposed to the elements, per Robb Report.

How can Kanye’s house command such a high price in its current state?

If you’re wondering why anyone would consider paying over $50 million for a gutted house, or whether Kanye was completely off-base when setting the price, let us provide some context on how the property was priced.

#1 Location, location, location

We know all too well that location is the name of the game in real estate.

With enough funds, there’s almost nothing you can’t change about a house, except for location and lot size (and even the latter is debatable, as you can always purchase additional lots by convincing neighbors to sell).

But the location is the one fixed component that can command sky-high prices regardless of the state the structure is in.

And Kanye’s house is located on Malibu Road which is, like Jason Oppenheim said, “one of the most desirable areas in the world.”

The entire area is lined with million-dollar houses, often priced well above the $10 million mark. And Malibu in itself is prohibitively expensive, with the median listing price for homes in the area standing at a hefty $6.5 million.

#2 Architectural pedigree

Many million-dollar homes often come with name-bragging rights — and Kanye’s house excels here.

But there’s a whole other level of name-dropping that comes with owning a home envisioned by one of our generation’s leading architects.

Tadao Ando is an award-winning contemporary architect best known for his minimalist concrete structures, which have attracted some of the world’s biggest stars, from Beyonce and Jay-Z — who paid $200 million to buy one of Ando’s Malibu projects, setting a new record for the most expensive home ever bought in Califonia — to West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, who’s currently working with the architect to build a home on an undeveloped plot of land in La Quinta, California.

And Malibu’s architecturally distinct properties often command sky-high listing prices.

For proof, look no further than this $59M Ed Niles-designed house that combines glass, steel and Feng Shui principles or architect Harry Gesner’s former personal home, the $22.5M Sandcastle House in Malibu.

#3 Building costs

Beyond the design element, building the property on the beachfront lot was no easy feat.

Construction required 1,200 tons of concrete, 200 tons of steel reinforcement, and 12 pylons to keep it from sinking into the sand, a feat that undoubtedly required millions of dollars.

#4 Beach access & ocean views

The property has direct access to the beach and offers stunning views of the ocean.

It has three levels with the ensuite guest rooms on the lowest floor, the living room and kitchen on the middle floor, and the master bedroom and rooftop terrace on the topmost floor — all opening up to unobstructed ocean views, a luxury that commands a premium in any market.

Now, it remains to be seen whether Kanye’s listing price is realistic or not, and if his star power coupled with the highly desirable location and the house’s architectural pedigree will attract a buyer willing to pay top dollar for the Malibu pad.

Those of us who are hooked on Selling Sunset already know that Jason Oppenheim isn’t a fan of properties priced over the $50 million mark, so it’s unlikely that he would have taken on the listing if he thought the price was unrealistic.

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Featured image credit: Google Maps, inset Cosmopolitan UK, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Source: fancypantshomes.com

Apache is functioning normally

Last week’s DataDigest offered readers a host of housing forecasts from industry experts at banks, trade associations and more, the thrust of which was housing professionals should expect a modestly better year of sales thanks to retreating mortgage rates in the year to come.

A day after publication, Federal Reserve officials made several of their own forecasts – most importantly that the “appropriate policy path” for the Federal funds rate next year will be for it to decrease 0.75 percentage points, implying three cuts of 0.25 percentage points.

Those economic projections from the 19 members of the Federal Open Markets Committee show both a tighter consensus of opinions and a lower target Federal funds rate than the projections the FOMC made in September.

Following the Fed meeting last Thursday, mortgage rates dropped. Then they dropped. And then they dropped some more.

In fact, they dropped so much that they reached 6.69% on Dec. 15, just 0.07 percentage points above the average of four forecasts for the third quarter of 2024 and roughly 0.6 percentage points below the average forecast for the first quarter of the new year.

That drop – 0.3 percentage points from Dec. 11 to Dec. 15 – is hardly trivial for forecasters. In addition to predicting mortgage rates, they based their predictions for home sales and home starts largely on mortgage rates, as several experts have stated:

“The story this year and the story next year depend on two variables: mortgage rates and inventory.”

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors

High mortgage rates depress not only homebuyer demand but home sellers’ willingness to put their homes on the market:

“High mortgage rates are the main reason for the low level of sales. Higher interest rates make it more expensive to purchase a home and more difficult to qualify for a mortgage. The sharp increase in the mortgage rate from its lowest level on record in 2021 to a 23-year high has caused the vast majority of homeowners to become ‘locked in’ to their existing mortgages.”

Cristian deRitis, deputy chief economist at Moody’s Analytics

So with mortgage rates so important to outcomes next year and mortgage rates now at levels that are far ahead of predicted levels, are forecasts for next year already off the rails?

What the Fed said

The Federal Reserve did not announce rate cuts or provide a schedule of future rate cuts.

Instead, the Fed kept the target Fed funds rate at 5.25-5.5% for the fourth consecutive time. It also provided committee members’ forecasts of what would be the appropriate rate in 2024, which was based on their forecasts of inflation, GDP growth and other economic indicators.

The median of these rate forecasts – 4.63% – is what implies three cuts next year, given that it is 0.75 percentage points below the current rate. But Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed that “these projections are not a Committee decision or plan.”

Powell further noted that although the FOMC believes “we are likely at or near the peak rate for this cycle” of rate hikes, the possibility of another rate hike has not been taken off of the table if inflation does not continue to moderate.

“No one is declaring victory,” he said. “That would be premature, and we can’t be guaranteed of this progress.”

Yet what the market seems to be focusing on is not Powell’s cautionary comments, but his statement that the FOMC had begun discussing rate cuts in their meeting last week, which sparked a wave of optimism across several market sectors.

However, while Powell said, “We’re sort of just at the beginning of that discussion,” New York Fed President John Williams said on CNBC two days after Powell’s comments, “We aren’t really talking about rate cuts right now.”

Cuts were expected

Forecasters were certainly not blindsided by the possibility of the Fed cutting rates next year. Rather, their forecasts are predicated on the assumption that rates will fall.

The National Association of Realtors, for example, made their quarterly predictions for 2024 on October 30, long before last week’s Fed meeting, and predicted three cuts to the Fed funds rate in 2024 – with the rate reaching 4.4% by the end of the year.

In NAR’s outlook summit held the day before the FOMC released its forecasts, NAR predicted four cuts next year.

The Fed’s median forecast of 4.6% for 2024, then, is both fewer cuts and a higher funds rate than NAR predicted when it forecast mortgage rates of 7.5-6.9% in the first half of the year and a full-year average mortgage rate of 6.3%.

Similarly, Wells Fargo noted in its forecast made on Nov. 9 that “we look for the FOMC to cut its target range for the federal funds rate by 225 bps [2.25 percentage points] by early 2025, which is more than both Fed policymakers and market participants currently project.” Wells Fargo predicted mortgage rates of 7.2-6.7% in the first half of next year.

In other words, the forecasters expected rate cuts that are more aggressive than the Fed has so far forecasted for 2024 when they predicted mortgage rates of 6.6-7.6% in the first half of 2024.

Mortgage rate movements

For those who regularly watch mortgage rates, this winter’s decline may look familiar. Since October 26, the weekly average rate for a 30-year mortgage has fallen from about 7.8% to just under 7%.

The drop is reminiscent of a similar period a year ago when the weekly average rate fell from about 7.1% to 6.1% from early November through early February.

The decline in rates last year was motivated in part by a market consensus that a recession was imminent, which could in turn prompt rate cuts to stimulate the economy. When the recession proved elusive, mortgage rates about-faced.

The current market consensus seems to reflect optimistic prospects for a “soft landing,” an inflation-crushing economic slowdown that doesn’t prompt a job-loss recession. Lower mortgage rates are just one signal of this optimism; stock prices for tech, banking, real estate and other companies that went out of favor when interest rates were expected to rise have now soared.

Will this year’s favorite market theory fare better than last year’s? Wall Street Journal’s senior markets columnist James Mackintosh, for one, is skeptical.

“What’s surprising to me is that there seems to be so little investor concern that a slow-growing economy will turn into something worse, or that inflation proves stickier than expected,” he wrote.

So where do forecasts stand?

Housing professionals can take heart that forecasters generally believe 2023 was rock bottom for this economic cycle and expect 2024 to be better – but modestly better. Most forecasters don’t expect significant improvement in home sales until mortgage rates fall to 6% or lower.

Although mortgage rates are currently well ahead of forecasters’ outlooks, they are not near 6%, and only time will tell if they continue on their current path or return to recent highs and descend more inline with forecasters’ expectations.

Forecasts can be useful for businesses planning for the year ahead, but only time will tell what 2024 will bring.

Source: housingwire.com