Former first lady Michelle Obama believes that the “white flight” she experienced growing up on Chicago’s South Side is continuing to destroy neighborhoods today. Speaking at the annual Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago on Tuesday, she recalled how white families abandoned her once-diverse, middle-class Chicago community and others like it as more black families came into the neighborhood. And she warned that it’s still happening today as immigrants move into communities, spurring some white residents to pack up and leave. “There were no gang fights, there were no territorial battles. Yet one by one, they packed their bags and they ran from us,” she said at the event. “And they left communities in shambles.” White flight often results in lower property values, more vacant homes, and the general decline of the neighborhood. Yet the communities that experience it typically start out as middle-class, according to an academic article published last year in the journal Social Science Research. “Whites are willing to tolerate a certain level of diversity, but once it crosses a threshold, white flight becomes likelier to occur,” said Samuel Kye, who carried out the study, in a statement accompanying his article. Kye is an Indiana University Bloomington sociology doctoral candidate. “Once the nonwhite groups become 20% to 25% of the population, that’s when it flips.” That was what Obama experienced growing up on Chicago’s South Side. The city is the fourth most segregated metropolitan area in the nation, according to a recent report from 24/7 Wall St. “You were running from us and you’re still running, because we’re no different than the immigrant families that are moving in … the families that are coming from other places to try to do better,” Obama said. Her brother, Craig Robinson, an executive with the New York Knicks, was also in attendance. But statistics show that having immigrants move into a community decreases crime rather than boosting it. With every 1% increase in the foreign-born population, there were 4.9 fewer crimes per 100,000 people, according to a 2016 Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice study. However, a 1% increase in immigrants in a community is met by a 1% rise in rental prices, according to a 2006 Journal of Urban Economics paper. On the other hand, home prices tend to rise faster in areas with low numbers of immigrants—presumably because some people are willing to pay more to live in a neighborhood with fewer foreigners. “We were doing everything we were supposed to do—and better,” Obama said. “But when we moved in, white families moved out.” The post Michelle Obama Says ‘White Flight’ Destroyed Her Community—Is She Right? appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/michelle-obama-white-flight/
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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may stop offering certain mortgages as they prepare to privatize, but borrowers won’t be left behind, the companies’ chief regulator said Monday. When the Trump administration released its plans for housing finance reform in September, one key element was to identify overlaps between the loan products offered by Fannie and Freddie and those insured by the Federal Housing Administration.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency put that recommendation into action Monday when it released its new strategic plan and “scorecard” for Fannie and Freddie. Through the scorecard, the FHFA outlined the priorities for Fannie and Freddie for the next year. For the first time, the agency is requiring the two enterprises to come up with plans for how they will exit conservatorship. In 2020, the FHFA will require Fannie and Freddie to assist regulators in determining what overlaps exist between the two enterprises and the FHA. “Thoughtfully addressing these overlaps makes sense for both the Enterprises and FHA because they were created to perform different roles in our housing finance system,” FHFA Director Mark Calabria said. “In order to prepare to responsibly exit conservatorship, Fannie and Freddie must not repeat the mistakes of the crisis by stretching to serve borrowers who are better served by FHA.” But Calabria argued that having Fannie and Freddie move away from this market wouldn’t result in prospective borrowers having fewer options for home financing. “The intention is that there are no gaps,” he told reporters during a separate briefing. “The intention is to take a holistic view point, rather than have an approach where Fannie, Freddie and FHA are all fighting for market share.” Historically, Fannie and Freddie have competed for market share with the FHA, and in recent years the two enterprises have offered more mortgages with low down payments and to borrowers with high debt-to-income ratios, similar to the types of loans the FHA was designed to offer to lower- and moderate-income Americans. Those loans are riskier for lenders however, because the borrower has less equity in the property and more debt to grapple with, which can cause problems in an economic downturn.
Fannie and Freddie tend to serve borrowers with better credit scores, even when offering products similar to the FHA’s. That’s left the FHA, which is fully taxpayer-backed, with a riskier pool of loans. “That decreases the credit quality of FHA and forces FHA in the long run to raise premiums,” Calabria said. “If you do that long enough, you don’t have anybody left except the worst credit risks.” Separately, Calabria once again raised the alarm regarding the risk that Fannie and Freddie could fail again. Currently, the dollar amount in loans that the two enterprises own or guarantee is roughly 500 times larger than the amount they have in capital reserves. As a result, timing is posing the greatest challenge to the FHFA’s efforts to get Fannie and Freddie out of conservatorship, Calabria said. If either of the housing or equity markets softens in the near future, that would make it much harder for Fannie and Freddie to raise capital. “We’re not forecasting a downturn, but if we do have a downturn in the next couple years, they will fail,” Calabria said. “They will become insolvent, and they will run out of capital.” The post Borrowers Won’t Be Left Behind as Fannie and Freddie Privatize, Regulator Says appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/real-estate-news/borrowers-wont-be-left-behind-as-fannie-and-freddie-privatize-regulator-says/ The founder of GoPro, Nick Woodman, is having a go at selling his home in Woodside, CA. The farmhouse-style estate with resortlike amenities is available for $20 million. Woodman purchased the property for $12.5 million in 2011, and is seeking a decent return on his investment. It’s possible he could get it. The upscale Silicon Valley enclave is known as one of the wealthiest communities in the country, and this estate is only the fourth most expensive listing for sale in the tony town. With Woodside’s median list price of $1.8 million, homes in this desirable and pricey locale spend an average of just 47 days on the market before being snapped up, according to realtor.com® data. Woodman’s spacious spread was built in 2003 and features five bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms, and 8,165 square feet. It is set on almost 3 acres, and the grounds include a detached gym and guesthouse, a pool, gardens, and lawns. Inside, the contemporary structure is light and airy, with vaulted ceilings and access to the patio outside. The public rooms include a living room, dining room, and kitchen, with a large center island, plus built-in seating. Adjoining the kitchen is a screened-in dining area that flows out to the patio and pool. The master suite, with wood-paneled ceiling, includes a built-in sitting area. Other amenities include a home theater, an office, and a Zenlike outdoor area with a hot tub. There’s also a serious green thumb in the family, with raised planters and vegetables growing on one part of the property. In a serene spot, the privately placed home is nevertheless centrally located, minutes to downtown Woodside, and is also easily accessible to surrounding tech hubs. Woodman, a surfer who grew up in nearby Menlo Park, started his action-video-camera company in 2002, prompted by his desire to film himself while on his surfboard. In 2014, Woodman took GoPro public, and continued to put out new products. In 2015, the popular camera and his majority stake in the company placed him on the Forbes billionaire list, with an estimated net worth of $1.75 billion. However, by 2016, he was no longer a billionaire. The company faced a drop in stock prices, with lower than expected sales, job layoffs, and a failed drone product. Despite GoPro’s continued challenges as a public company, its wearable and waterproof cameras are in use everywhere, including by Olympic athletes like snowboarder Shaun White, director Michael Bay, and the NFL. The post GoPro Founder Nick Woodman Selling $20M Woodside Estate appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/gopro-founder-nick-woodman-selling-woodside-estate/ At the dawn of his NBA career, Russell Westbrook made a smart off-court move and purchased a starter home. Eleven years later, the eight-time All-Star is now looking to dish the modest house in Edmond, OK, to a buyer for $429,500. By baller standards, the Edmond home is a far cry from where the Houston Rockets point guard lives now, a multimillion-dollar Brentwood, CA, mansion, near neighbor LeBron James. He also owns a much larger Oklahoma home he purchased in 2012. Even a decade ago, Westbrook had a keen eye for real estate. He purchased this place in 2008 for $383,500, just months after joining the Oklahoma City Thunder. The suburban abode measures 3,011 square feet and has three bedrooms and 2.5 baths. Boasting an updated interior, the traditional-style home comes features an open layout and neutral palette. The remodeled kitchen and bathrooms have quartz counters. The living room is lined with large windows, and the kitchen comes with a breakfast nook. Adjoining the kitchen is a family room, which opens out to the backyard. Out back, the quarter-acre lot features a grill, a fire pit, and a pool with two basketball hoops and a waterfall. Westbrook has been making headlines in real estate of late. He recently lowered the price of his Beverly Hills, CA, home from $6 million to $5.69 million. The Southern California native bought the luxury abode in 2015 for $4.65 million from reality TV star Scott Disick, according to the Los Angeles Times. Westbrook recently upgraded to a brand-new $19.75 million, 9,000-square-foot compound on a half-acre with a 38-foot lap pool in posh Brentwood, according to the Times. Now 30, Westbrook starred for the Thunder for 11 seasons until being traded to the Rockets this summer. The 2016-17 MVP led the league in scoring in 2014–15 and 2016–17. The post Russell Westbrook Selling His Modest Oklahoma Starter Home for $430K appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/russell-westbrook-selling-oklahoma-starter-home/ Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz has rocked a sale on his Spanish-style home in Encino, CA. The musician accepted a $2,262,500 offer in mid-September after listing the property for $2,395,000 in June. Wentz bought the home located in the San Fernando Valley’s posh Amestoy Estates in 2015 for $1,965,000. Originally built in 1958, the residence underwent a major renovation and expansion in 2009. The spacious home sits on a half-acre lot and has five bedrooms and 4.5 baths. “The home is a single story, so it really lives bigger than the 4,100 square feet,” says Thomas Atamian of Compass, who co-listed the property with Deedee Howard of The Agency. The place features an open floor plan, combining the living room, dining room, media alcove, and kitchen with light and ease. Wood floors, beamed ceilings, and arched windows and doorways emphasize the Spanish style. The kitchen is now decked out with custom cabinetry, granite countertops, and stainless-steel appliances. The grounds are described as “perfect for entertainment,” according to Atamian. The gate and walls offer privacy factor, but it’s the amenities that turn the fun factor up to 11. “The backyard even has a zipline setup in the back, a sport court, pool, and grass area,” he adds. Earlier this year, Wentz and his partner, Meagan Camper, moved into a six-bedroom mansion in Beverly Hills. They paid $5.5 million for their 90210 residence, according to Variety. The post Pete Wentz Sells Spanish-Style Estate in Encino for $2.26M appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/pete-wentz-sells-encino-estate/ Do you adore living in a city, but cringe at the sky-high cost of housing there—or even whether you’ll be able to find a nice place for dinner and drinks? Then the perfect compromise may be to steer clear of the big cities and head toward a small city instead—starting with Leawood, KS. Located about 10 miles south of Kansas City, Leawood, with a population of just under 35,000, was recently ranked 2019’s best small city in America by WalletHub. More than 1,200 cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 were analyzed based on 42 elements of livability, including economic health, education, quality of life, safety, plus the existence of amenities typically associated with big cities (e.g., the density of restaurants and coffee shops). And while small cities might not stand up to massive metros like New York City or Los Angeles in terms of nightlife of five-star restaurants, they do have one distinct advantage many will appreciate: a lower cost of living. “The best thing about getting a home and moving to a small city is affordability,” Jill Gonzalez, an analyst at WalletHub, told realtor.com®. “The cost of living in these smaller cities can be as low as half of that in large metropolitan areas.” And housing is a huge part of that affordability: “Small cities are a great place to buy a home for those who appreciate a quainter life and shorter commutes,” Gonzalez says. Why Leawood is the best small city in AmericaSo what are the housing prices like in Leawood, anyway? Realtor.com data shows that the median listing home price in Leawood is $525,000; that said, prices span a wide range among the 389 homes currently for sale in the area, from a mere $60,000 up to $4.4 million. Leawood may be its own city, but it has a relaxing suburban vibe, a highly ranked school system, and plenty of parks, restaurants, and cafes. And for those who assume the eating-out options are subpar to bigger cities, get this: Leawood’s Rye restaurant just made a national ranking by Eater and People magazine as having one of the best apple pies in the country. “Pie has always been America’s dessert. But it is getting a lot of attention right now, which is really fun,” reported Rye’s chef and co-owner, Megan Garrelts, who has been a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef from 2017 to 2019. What other small cities made the list?Another small-city option is Brentwood, TN, which was ranked No. 2 on the WalletHub list. “Brentwood has a low crime rate and offers many great outdoor amenities with more than a dozen family and pet-friendly parks and a well-developed greenway network that spans more than 75 acres,” says Jeff Checko, a real estate broker with Ashton Real Estate Group in Nashville, TN. Brentwood is about a 20-minute drive to downtown Nashville, has a bustling restaurant and retail scene on Franklin Road, and is home to top-rated schools. But, Checko says, it’s also one of the more expensive areas in the greater Nashville area. Brentwood’s median home listing price is more than $671,000, with 436 active home listings. Checko says Brentwood features a variety of homes, including high-end subdivisions, new construction, and luxury homes. The Seattle suburb of Sammamish, WA, placed third on the best small-cities list. Homes in the area come with a median listing price of $926,500, and there are more than 300 available. Popular properties include single-family homes, condos, and townhouses. Sammamish is home to Lake Sammamish State Park and offers lots of outdoor activities. The city also has a low unemployment rate, highly rated schools, and very little crime. Here’s the full rundown of the top 10 best small cities in the U.S.:
The post America’s Top Small Cities Will Blow Your Mind: Can You Guess Where’s Best? appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/real-estate-news/10-best-small-cities-of-2019-wallethub/ Home prices grew more quickly in August, a sign that lower mortgage rates are providing a bit of a lift to the housing market. Average national home prices grew 3.2% in the year ending in August, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, up slightly from 3.1% the prior month. After a weak start to the year the housing market gained some momentum in the summer but it is unclear if that will prove sustainable. The pace of existing home sales accelerated in July and August only to fall back in September, the National Association of Realtors reported last week. Average rates for a 30-year mortgage fell to 3.75% last week after hitting nearly 5% last November, according to Freddie Mac. But low mortgage rates aren’t boosting the housing market as some economists expected, in part because they say homes are so expensive buyers are still struggling to afford them. Home prices are still growing roughly half as quickly as they were a year ago. The regional picture is also mixed, with more affordable cities continuing to see strong price growth but expensive coastal cities struggling. More than half of the 20 metropolitan areas in the Case-Shiller index reported slower home-price growth in August than in July. Price growth remains strongest in some of the more affordable markets in the country. Phoenix led the country with a 6.3% annual home-price increase, followed by Charlotte, N.C., with a 4.5% increase and Tampa at 4.3%. Meanwhile, prices on the West Coast remain stagnant. Prices grew just 0.7% in Seattle compared with a year earlier, after three consecutive months of falling prices. San Francisco was the only metropolitan area to see prices fall in August, with a 0.1% decline compared with a year earlier. The post Home Price Growth Ticks Up, Raising Hopes for Rebound appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/real-estate-news/home-price-growth-ticks-up-raising-hopes-for-rebound/ The numbers: Pending home sales rose for the second straight month in September, helped by lower mortgage rates, a trade group said Tuesday. The National Association of Realtors said pending home sales climbed 1.5%. Economists expected a 0.7% gain, according to a survey by Econoday. Compared to 12 months ago, sales jumped 3.9%. In August, sales rose a revised 1.4%. The index captures transactions where a contract has been signed, but the home sale has not yet closed. What happened: The four major regions were split last month, as the Midwest and South showed gains but the Northeast and West reported declines. The Case-Shiller home-price report also released Tuesday showed a drop in house prices in August. Big picture: The Federal Reserve’s two interest rate cuts this year is starting to impact the housing sector. Low mortgage rates played a role in the two straight months of gains in pending home sales, said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist, in a statement. He said that national buying power has increased by 6% because of better interest rates. Contract signings would be higher if more housing was available, he added. Market reaction: Stocks were mixed in early trading with the Dow Jones Industrial Average showing slight gain while the S&P 500 index was lower after hitting a record high on Monday. The post Pending Home Sales Rise for the Second Straight Month in September appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/real-estate-news/pending-home-sales-rise-for-the-second-straight-month-in-september/ Charles Schwab—who founded the brokerage firm that bears his name—is offering up a great investment opportunity for a home buyer. His San Francisco residence has landed on the market for $15 million. Designed by the noted architect Gardner Dailey in 1941, the property in the Pacific Heights neighborhood is located on a secluded double lot and set back around 60 feet from the street. Passers-by on one of the city’s liveliest streets can’t really even see the place—it’s mostly obscured behind a mature Chinese elm. Schwab purchased the home in 2012 for $11 million. He’s now looking to secure a hefty return on his investment. Inside, there are three bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, and 5,400 square feet of living space. Dramatic touches include wide hallways and doors, walls of windows, and well-framed views of gardens, the Bay, and the Golden Gate Bridge. The expansive footprint offers a living room with walls of windows that open out to the deck, a family room that also opens outside, a formal dining room, and an eat-in kitchen. A curved staircase leads up to the second floor and the master suite, which offers city views. Additionally, the home includes an office with a fireplace, an attached garage, and an elevator. “Forward thinking for 1941 but ever relevant today, stewardship of this home is a distinction held among prominent San Francisco families, each taking the gravitas of the property to the next generation,” according to the listing description. And when this extraordinary property goes to a new steward, Schwab won’t be without a home. He’s one of the local luminaries with mansions in the wealthy Silicon Valley suburb of Atherton, CA, known as one of the priciest towns in the United States. Schwab founded his company in 1971. Based in San Francisco, it’s one of the largest brokerage firms in the country. The Stanford graduate retired as CEO in 2008. At 82, he’s still the chairman and the largest shareholder. He has an estimated net worth of $7.9 billion, and Forbes ranks him as the 63rd richest American. The post Talk to Chuck? Charles Schwab Selling $15M San Francisco Home appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/charles-schwab-selling-san-francisco-home/ Meet the hottest renovation pair since Chip and Joanna Gaines: brother-and-sister remodelers Leanne and Steve Ford, the stars of HGTV’s “Restored by the Fords.” With two successful seasons under its belt, “Restored by the Fords” follows the duo around their native Pittsburgh as they turn run-down properties into gorgeous homes. And with about 30 places fixed up so far and many more to go, Leanne and Steve nonetheless found time to pen a joint memoir out this month, titled “Work in Progress: Unconventional Thoughts on Designing an Extraordinary Life.” “People were always asking us how we got on TV and how we work together, so we wanted to get it all down in this book,” Leanne explains. But a larger goal was to “inspire people to relax and know that the creative life is full of mess-ups—but if you keep it loose, you’ll be fine.” And as if the Fords weren’t busy enough, Leanne recently set up a fabulous three-bedroom rental in Los Angeles so she could be a bit more comfortable during her frequent work trips to the area. She finished decorating the place in record time—particularly since she wanted to be settled before the birth of her first child, a daughter named Ever. She completed the work quickly in part because she’d vowed not to do much heavy lifting, literal or otherwise. “There was a conscious decision made with this project to redo the decor only,” she explains. Curious to see her new digs? Check out these exclusive photos she shared with realtor.com®. She also spoke with us about why she made the choices she did. Consider it a virtual tour where you can glean some savvy design tips, too! Bring the outside inThe SoCal home vibe often mixes indoor and outdoor spaces, which is evident in Leanne’s living room. “My favorite things here are the windows and being surrounded by greenery,” she says. “We swapped out all the light fixtures in favor of lots of oversized ones and went with natural tones, layered rugs, and indestructible couches.” The working fireplace, framed by sculptural stacked wood on each side, is also a focal point, she adds. Display your treasures“There’s nothing I love more than bookshelves in the home, because they bring such life to your space,” she says. The tomes in the photo below are in the master bedroom, which also features a working fireplace. “My approach to designing a bookcase is about showing off books and trinkets and all the things you love,” Leanne adds. Go big—or go home“We took out all the ceiling fans when we moved in and replaced them with huge lights, which make such an impact in the room,” she says. As for her coffee table pick, she admits she’s open to all styles. “I do think almost anything can be a coffee table—this one’s actually for outdoor use, but the warm, casual look of it works here,” she explains. Mount mirrors to brightenLuckily for the Fords, the mirrored wall shown here in the dining space was already in place. “It helps reflect light and brighten the room,” she says. Layered rugs add texture—and hide a big flaw: “We didn’t love the floors in this house, so carpets on top fixed that fast,” she says. The table is an old one from Restoration Hardware, and the chairs, which she spray-painted, are from Safavieh. And the fun paper lantern is from Amazon, she explains. “There’s no wiring for electrical here so we just hung it on a hook.” Mix mainstream with vintageAnother Restoration Hardware table sits front and center in the home office, along with vintage Knoll chairs. “But my favorite piece here is the light, which is from a line I designed for Target called Project 62,” she says. Make art a priorityBlack and white line drawings are a theme throughout the Ford home. “I love to support my artist friends every time I can, including this piece by Elissa Barber,” she says. A vintage stool is an easy perch by the kitchen window—and it suits Leanne’s “wear black, paint white” motto. “It’s a color theory that’s timeless, classic, and no-fail,” she explains. Allow for occasional chairsSome designers frown upon the occasional chair as one that’s pushed to the corner and never really used, but not Leanne. “This chair by Jens Risom is a piece of art, and the midcentury style is perfect in this type of home,” she says. Pick the coziest bedding“The best thing in the bedroom are the bed linens from Matteo, which is an L.A. brand,” she says. Loads of books encircle the bed, and more art flank each side, represented by Carly Kuhn on the left wall and Alexandra Valenti on the right. Another enormous light fixture hovers above, in place of a ceiling fan that just had to go. “If you don’t love something—change it! Don’t say, ‘I’m going to move soon,'” Leanne advises. As for her, with the speed-makeover completed and no more work planned, she can focus on more pressing issues: “We’re just going to take care of the baby now.” The post An Exclusive Tour of HGTV Star Leanne Ford’s Gorgeous New Home appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/an-exclusive-tour-of-leanne-fords-gorgeous-new-home/ |
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