A residential marvel designed by architect Roger Ferris just splashed onto the market in Water Mill, NY, for $27.5 million.
The five-bedroom stunner on 1.6 acres serves up gorgeous views of Mecox Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
“It’s an extraordinary property,” says listing agent Enzo Morabito, of Douglas Elliman – Sag Harbor. “It’s located in a very top-of-the-line spot near the village of Southampton.”
The lot was purchased in 2014 for $4.3 million, and the steel-frame, 9,700-square-foot home was custom-built in 2017.
Perched above a striking landscape and conservation area, the dramatic design boasts four levels with “walls of frameless structurally glazed glass units,” according to the listing. The modern abode is crowned with a rooftop terrace and an outdoor kitchen.
A boring glass box it is not. Color is employed boldly throughout the home.
The modern interiors are designed to offer views from nearly every room—particularly from the spectacular, glass-walled living room.
A bright-hued kitchen is outfitted with glossy cabinets, solid-surface countertops, and a glass backsplash.
Underfoot, a white resin, gloss-finish flooring is used—a perfect contrast to the home’s vivid palette, which includes a vibrant light fixture, banana-yellow statement wall, and a pop-art-inspired bath.
A spacious primary suite features double bathrooms, including one with a soaking tub and an office. Wall-sized, sliding glass doors capture the views and open to a private terrace.
From the gardens and the pool area to the decks and terraces, there are plenty of spaces to soak in the surroundings.
Just above the heated, illuminated pool is a sleek glass bridge that connects the home’s two wings.
“Whoever buys this house will likely own two or three homes,” Morabito says. “It was built to the highest standards and has always been used as a secondary home.”
The property’s luxurious amenities include a wet bar, gym, media room, elevator, four-car garage, pool cabana, and private dock.
“Its proximity to the ocean and Southampton and being close to New York [City] are what someone will be looking for,” Morabito adds.
In addition to the main gated estate, a renovated guesthouse on a separate parcel is available for $7.5 million.
The three-bedroom dwelling was built in 1956 but underwent a full renovation just three years ago.
Average mortgage rates jumped to 6.79% this past week as the U.S. debt ceiling deal cleared the House.
“Although there has been a steady flow of purchase demand around rates in the low- to mid-6% range, that demand is likely to weaken as rates approach 7%,” says Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater. Not everyone can afford to buy as rates rise.
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Say you’re buying a $500,000 home. Assuming you have a 10% down payment of $50,000 and lock in a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 6.79%, your monthly payment will add up to about $3,700.
Considering that most lenders want you to keep your housing expenses at or under 30% of your gross income, you’d need to earn at least $148,000 a year to afford that $500,000 home.
30-year fixed-rate mortgages
The average 30-year fixed rate jumped to 6.79% this week, according to the latest data from Freddie Mac, compared to last week’s average of 6.57%. A year ago at this time, the rate averaged 5.09%.
“With rates closer to the 7% benchmark, nearly 5.5 million households continue to be priced out of the market compared to a year ago,” says Nadia Evangelou, senior economist at the National Association of Realtors.
“Although there are fewer buyers, more than one-third of properties are sold above their list price due to limited inventory, especially of homes that first-time buyers can afford to buy.”
15-year fixed-rate mortgages
The average rate on a 15-year home loan also climbed from 5.97% to 6.18% this week. This time a year ago, the 15-year fixed-rate averaged 4.32%.
The national median list price also grew to $441,000 in May, up from $430,000 in April, according to a report from Realtor.com.
“Higher mortgage rates and home prices compared to May of last year increased the monthly cost of financing 80% of the typical home by roughly $280.96 (+15.5%) compared to a year ago,” says the report.
However, while this figure still exceeds recent rent growth and inflation, it’s under last month’s growth rate of 19%.
Read more: Warren Buffett gets gloomy: America’s ‘incredible period’ is coming to an end. Here’s what nervous investors can do right now
Investor home purchases plunged a record 49%
Spooked by elevated interest rates and decreasing rent and housing values, real estate investors purchased 48.6% fewer homes in the first quarter of 2023 than they did last year — marking the biggest annual drop on record — according to a report by Redfin.
Although the report notes many investors buy homes with cash, they’re often hit by high interest rates when they take out loans to cover renovations and other expenses.
That said, investors are “still scooping up a bigger share of homes than they were before the pandemic, which can create challenges for individual buyers at a time when there are so few homes for sale,” says Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari.
“Investors have gravitated toward more affordable properties due to still-high housing costs and rising mortgage rates, which has left first-time homebuyers with fewer starter homes to choose from.”
Mortgage applications remain on a downward trend
Demand for mortgages fell 3.7% from last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
“Inflation is still running too high, and recent economic data is beginning to convince investors that the Federal Reserve will not be cutting rates anytime soon,” says Mike Fratantoni, senior vice president and chief economist at the MBA.
He notes some lenders were quoting mortgage rates above 7% on 30-year loans last week.
What to read next
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Gone are the days of sub-3% 30-year fixed mortgage rates.
Heck, even 4% 30-year fixed mortgage rates are a thing of the past, despite being available as recently as February.
Today, you might even be hard pressed to obtain a rate in the low-5% range, depending on your particular loan scenario.
This hasn’t noticeably slowed down the housing market, though Realtor.com recently listed a top-10 list where home prices are falling.
The bigger concern at the moment is housing affordability and a surge of mortgage layoffs. But why exactly are mortgage rates going up so fast?
Inflation Is One Part of the Story
The government was very accommodative over the past decade to ensure the economy didn’t derail again just a decade after the Great Recession.
In a nutshell, this meant interest rates at zero, at least with regard to the federal funds rate, which is what banks charge one another on an overnight basis.
This basically dictates what these banks then charge consumers for all types of loans, whether it’s a credit card, auto loan, or home loan.
After all, if they can borrow cheap money, they can lend out relatively cheap money too.
But after years of very generous lending terms, the Federal Reserve has begun raising rates to combat inflation, which had loomed for years.
As to why inflation got so bad so fast, it was these years of loose lending combined with the pandemic, which dislocated the global supply chain.
That meant fewer goods and a lot of money chasing those goods, which significantly increased prices.
Imagine 100 people with fat wallets and only 10 bicycles for sale. They all really want them, so the price skyrockets.
With regard to mortgage rates, it’s more complicated because banks need to offer a product that is still profitable in the future with inflation-adjusted dollars.
If the dollar is expected to be worth less in the near future due to inflation, they need to charge a higher rate of interest to make up for that.
The Bigger Driver Might Be the End of Quantitative Easing (QE)
While the Fed kept bank-to-bank lending cheap via the federal funds rate, it wanted to do more to impact consumers directly.
It accomplished this via Quantitative Easing (QE), which involved the purchase of hundreds of billions in long-term Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities (MBS).
In short, the value of these securities went up in price because there was a willing and able buyer called the Fed.
As the price of these bonds went up, the associated interest rate (yield) fell, which led to record low mortgage rates for consumers.
Unfortunately, the Fed couldn’t keep this up forever as it was beginning to lead to major inflation concerns. Too much cheap money leads to higher prices.
They actually “tapered” these purchases back in 2013 as the economy seemed to be getting back on track.
By taper, I mean reduced purchases, as opposed to selling off what they had. This caused the 30-year fixed to rise from around 3.5% to 4.5% in the span of six months.
Here’s why mortgage rates are going up so fast right now; the Fed announced Quantitative Tightening (QT), which is a huge step up from tapering.
It’s the actual sale/runoff of all these bonds and mortgage-backed securities. In other words, not only are they not buying more, they ditching the ones they own.
As such, banks and mortgage lenders can’t keep doling out ultra-cheap mortgages. Why? Because the Fed ain’t buying the underlying mortgages anymore.
Investor demand for home loans has essentially plummeted.
Will Mortgage Rates Go Back Down?
Imagine if you always had a buyer for the products you offered that was willing to pay a huge premium. And they couldn’t get enough of what you sold.
Now imagine that buyer tells you one day that they’re out of the business for good. And to boot, they’re selling their entire supply!
This is what has happened to mortgage lenders seemingly overnight. Most lenders don’t keep the home loans they originate. They sell them and/or package them as securities.
When demand is strong, they can offer low interest rates. When supply is high, they can’t.
These mortgage lenders now have to be a lot more cost-conscious. Simply put, this means charging much higher mortgage rates to their customers.
This explains why your 30-year fixed mortgage rate is no longer 2.75%, but instead closer to 6%!
Because lenders and their investors now have to turn to the open market to sell the mortgages and underlying bonds.
And the prices are a lot lower than what the Fed was willing to pay. They make less, you pay more, end of story.
We can basically kiss the record low mortgage rates goodbye. That is, unless the Fed brings back QE again in the future, which seems unlikely.
The other piece of the puzzle is inflation. If it turns out to be transitory in nature, aka short-lived, mortgage rates could improve, perhaps as soon as late 2022.
We’re basically in a worst-case environment right now where no one wants to offer low rates and get burned.
But as the inflation picture becomes clearer, mortgage rates could go down.
Will they return to 3% again? Highly doubtful. However, they could fall back into the mid-4% range if it turns out we overshot the mark.
This could mean better mortgage rates in the second half of 2022 and early 2023. But it’s going to take a while for mortgage lenders to feel comfortable lowering rates by any meaningful amount.
Californians looking to buy a house face some of the country’s most expensive real estate prices and wildfires that threaten scores of housing tracts. Now there’s another obstacle: finding an insurer willing to cover their dream home.
State Farm General Insurance Co. said it’s no longer accepting new applications for property and casualty coverage in California last week, a year after Allstate Corp. also paused new policies, worsening what FAIR Plan, a state-mandated insurance pool, called a “looming insurance unavailability crisis.”
“We have a lot of people going naked, which means they have no insurance,” said Bill Dodd, a Democrat state senator representing fire-scarred Napa County and other parts of Northern California. “What my constituents want is insurance.”
The FAIR Plan, which offers minimal coverage and high rates is meant to be a provider of last resort, but enrollments have surged 70% since 2019 to 272,846 homes in 2022.
It’s a blow for the nation’s most populous state, which is already struggling with an exodus of residents, many of whom are escaping the high cost of living.
The Golden State is grappling with a roughly 1 million-unit housing shortfall, in part fueled by rising costs and zoning restrictions that have choked off new construction projects. On top of that, a series of catastrophic wildfires in recent years have increased calls from insurers to weaken the state’s consumer-friendly policies that have held down rates for decades.
Rate Increase
The average homeowners’ policy is $1,300 in California compared to over $2,000 in other states with wildfire risk and $4,000 in hurricane-prone Florida, according to Insurance Information Institute.
But new home buyers could be forced to pay more, regardless of their home’s proximity to wildfire dangers. Before State Farm’s announcement, the company requested a 28% rate hike on homeowners’ insurance, while Allstate has filed for a 39.6% increase.
The insurance crunch is affecting buyers across the state already, even in areas where the wildfire risk is low. In San Francisco, realtors say they have seen deals fall through because would-be buyers couldn’t get insured.
“What we’re hearing is that now, when buyers present an offer on a property we’re not only asking them for pre-approval for a lender, we’re also asking them if they’ve spoken to their insurance agent if they’ll insure the property,” said Joske Thompson, a realtor at Compass Inc. with 40 years experience in the area.
Home insurance is an essential step of purchasing a home. Mortgage lenders generally require proof of insurance before approving the transaction to protect their investment in the property. Without insurance. buyers would be forced to make an all-cash purchase in most cases.
Finding a Compromise
As the state’s insurance woes accelerate, the industry is taking aim at California’s marquee consumer protection law, Proposition 103, a ballot measure voters approved in 1988. The law has saved consumers tens of billions of dollars in reduced insurance rate hikes, according to the state’s insurance regulator.
“In the last six years, we lost 20 years’ worth of underwriting profit, and that was due to the catastrophic wildfires that we’ve faced,” said Janet Ruiz, a spokesperson with the Insurance Information Institute.
Harvey Rosenfield, the author of Prop 103 and founder of the Consumer Watchdog advocacy group, said climate change might require insurance companies to raise rates, but he argued that companies are using wildfire impacts to gouge customers.
“Insurance companies are very opportunistic,” he said. “They have seized on climate change as an excuse to escape from the regulatory protections that voters enacted.”
State lawmakers and industry representatives must find a compromise that would keep the insurance market viable while protecting consumers from excessive rate hikes, but that may mean Californians will have to pay more for home insurance in the future, said Dodd.
“You bite the bullet and you move forward,” said Dan Dunmoyer, president of the California Building Industry Association. Without rate increases, more insurers may leave the state, affecting everything from mortgage lending to housing supply, he said.”You have a market that is teetering on collapse.”
If you are in a relationship, you know how easy it can be to pass on having a date night due to kids, too much going on, or even finances. However, it is essential to your relationship to spend some quality time together. How do you do that? By having a date night, of course!
We’ve come up with some cute date night ideas that are fun and affordable ways to have a date night with your partner. We’ve kept them budget-friendly so you won’t have to spend a lot of money.
CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE AND GET YOUR DATE NIGHT CARDS
To make this even more fun, we’ve created date night cards! Print them out and toss them into a box or a jar and draw one out and let fate determine what you will do for date night this week! With 50 ideas, you will always have something you can do together. And, some of these ideas may inspire some of your own!
FUN & CHEAP DATE NIGHT IDEAS
1. Make s’mores over your fireplace fire or home campfire. You can also try your hand at this fun s’mores dip recipe too!
2. Teach one another something new. If you know how to paint, teach your partner. Maybe he or she can show you how to build a shelf.
3. Take in the stars. Watch for shooting stars or try to find constellations.
4. Movie Night at home. Cuddle up on the floor with a few pillows and a blanket. Share a bowl of popcorn and your favorite beverage. If you have a great backyard, put the movie on your laptop and head outside.
5. Go on a bike ride around a local park or lake. Take time to stop along the way and take in the nature around you.
6. Take a nice long day hike up a local trail. Identify trees or plants along your trip.
7. Create an ice cream bar. Don’t forget the hot fudge!
8. Play a card game. You can play something as simple as Go Fish or learn a new game. Or, there is always a game of poker, to which you can add some “spice” if you wish.
9. Go for a nice long scenic drive together. For more fun, try to make only left (or right turns) and see where you end up.
10. Play a game of Mini Golf. Just check for coupons before you go!
11. Rent a movie or TV series. Watch all of the Harry Potter movies or every season of Grey’s Anatomy (which will last a few date nights).
12. Play a game of Red Neck Golf. For more fun, you could find plans to make it yourself!
13. Check out your local farmer’s market. You can also play the alphabet game and see if you can’t find products for every letter.
14. Visit your local aquarium. Don’t forget to take fish face selfies!
15. Play a game of “Chopped Challenge.” Have the kids put a few ingredients into a box for you and see what you can create together.
16. Visit your local museum. You can also check out a local art exhibit. Add more fun by having a scavenger hunt in the museum to find items like a blue shirt, tree, etc.
17. Get tickets to a local concert, performance, or show. Grab dinner at home before you go so you can save a few bucks
18. Visit your local zoo. Walk around imitating the animals you just saw. You’ll be guaranteed to laugh.
19. Attend a local sports game. Check out a high school or college game. If you live near a minor league team, tickets to these games are much less expensive than professional teams.
20. Spa Night. Give each other a massage, pedicure, or facial and soak in the tub.
21. Candlelight dinner. But, don’t make it! Try a fun fast food restaurant by soft candlelight.
22. Go to the driving range. FORE!!
23. Shopping trip. Make it more fun by buying something for one another that you like.
24. Plan your dream house. Go online and look on Pinterest for ideas. For even more fun, visit your local home improvement store and select your carpet, appliances and more.
25. Have a fondue night. Find some fondue recipes and make your dinner and dessert at home.
26. Play board games. See if you can finally finish a game of Monopoly.
27. Hit the playground. Push one another on the swings, go down a slide and get dizzy on the merry-go-round (if they have one).
28. Coffee talk. Go to your favorite coffee store and grab a cup and just talk. Set rules such as no mention of the kids!
29. Check out the bookstore. Skip the electronic books and go to a bookstore. Sit and read together or listen to an author reading from his or her book.
30. Bowling. Check out your local alley to find out when they might have rock and bowl or blacklight bowling.
31. Slip-n-slide. Dig out the kiddie pool or the slip-n-slide and have some fun!
32. Beer or wine tasting. If you live near a brewery or vineyard, go on a tour, and don’t forget the samples!
33. Volunteer. Find a charity you both love and volunteer your time to help out. You’ll get to spend time together while being able to help someone else.
34. Tour an open house. If your city offers a tour of homes, take in a few of them. Dream about what you would do or pretend to be a realtor selling it to one another.
35. Scavenger Hunt. Create a list of things you need to find around your neighborhood. You could turn it into a mini food drive for a local charity too!
36. Feed the ducks. Stop by the park and feed the ducks. People watch and come up with your own story about their lives.
37. Fly a kite. Bonus points if you make it yourself!
38. Build a fort blanket. Then, spend the night inside eating snacks, telling ghost stories, or watching a movie.
39. Take a class. Check with your local parks and rec department and take a class together. You can also take a DIY class at your home improvement store (and then make improvements at home).
40. Glamour shot. Get out the makeup and accessories and dress one another up. Don’t forget to take photos!
41. Strip games. Enough said.
42. Store hunt. Have fun at Walmart finding the craziest items on your list.
43. Nerf gun war. Borrow the kids’ guns and have some fun!! Make sure you have plenty of ammo!
44. Geocaching. Such a great way to have some fun outside.
45. Roller skating. Make sure you wear a helmet.
46. Backyard camping. Set up the tent and make a campfire (in your grill or fire pit).
47. Test drive vehicles. Not just any though, try your dream car!
48. Visit an arcade. Play the games your kids love. Or, pull out the Wii, classic Atari, or Sega and have fun at home.
49. Play the newlywed game. Create 10 questions and write down your answers. See if your partner can answer them correctly.
50. Love notes. Write a note or poem for one another. It is important to know how much you mean to the person you love.
There you go! Fifty fun ways to spend a day or night with your favorite person! Money won’t be an excuse for not doing something together with these cheap date night ideas!
After capping the 2021 season with a Super Bowl win for the Los Angeles Rams, cornerback Jalen Ramsey‘s performance seemed to justify the five-year, $105 million contract he signed with the team in 2020.
But that same contract spelled salary-cap trouble, following a woeful 2022 season for the Rams. As such, Ramsey was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a draft pick in March. And while the trade means a change of coasts, at least Ramsey will continue to reside in a sunny clime.
As a result of the deal, Ramsey is selling his knockout 10,100-square-foot mansion in Hidden Hills, CA, for $13,995,000. If he snags that amount, he’ll make out nicely. Ramsey bought the seven-bedroom home (which includes a recently added guesthouse) in 2020 for $9.5 million.
The property offers amenities galore, including a basketball court, home gym, sauna for post-workout aches, gaming room, move theater, wine cellar, and a training hill built into the backyard for sprinting practice.
Privacy and serenity are guaranteed in this swanky, guard-gated community—an area that’s famously populated by celebrities and captains of industry.
This masterpiece of a home features three levels of posh details, such as Italian marble and white oak floors. An open layout allows seamless movement from room to sun-filled room.
Watch: Former QB Ben Roethlisberger Is Selling a Pennsylvania Spread
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There are fireplaces in the living area and primary bedroom, which has a two-sided version with a mini living room on one side. The primary bath is immense, with a standalone soaker and walk-in shower.
But the outdoor spaces might be even more amazing than the house itself, thanks to the many full-sized trees, terraced gardens, huge pool, and built-in barbecue area.
Ramsey starred in college at Florida State before he was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016. His seven seasons in the NFL have been impressive: He’s garnered 375 solo tackles, 77 assists, 19 interceptions, and one Super Bowl ring.
It’s getting tougher for house hunters to find a home to buy, particularly in large cities, as the housing industry faces a dearth of inventory.
The number of homes for sale in 2023 decreased in 21 of the 50 largest metropolitan areas compared to this time last year, according to a new report from Realtor.com. San Jose, California, saw the steepest decline, with 35% fewer homes listed for sale this year. Sacramento, California, ranked second highest, with a decline of 27%; followed by Hartford, Connecticut, where listings were down 26%.
Real estate agents in those cities told CBS MoneyWatch that in addition to inventory declines, elevated home prices and mortgage rates have changed the way buyers shop and quelled sellers’ eagerness to sell.
“In Sacramento, homes under $500,000 are moving very quickly because buyers in that price range don’t have a lot of options,” said David Orr, an agent for Redfin in Sacramento. “The inventory is really tight because sellers are hesitant to list their current home when they have such a low interest rate.”
according to Realtor.com.
While competition for houses is intense in California’s capital city, Orr said buyers are being cautious about their bids and asking sellers to help with closing costs or to pay for a lowered interest rate.
“I am seeing multiple offers, but it’s not like last year, when everyone was like ‘Hey I’m going to give you a first-born child along with this offer,'” he said “Now, people are making offers a bit above or below the asking price.”
Bidding wars are new norm
Braxton Warren, a real estate agent at Compass, said Sacramento homes are priced lower than nearby Seattle and San Francisco, which is also fueling hot competition there.
“House hunters have acknowledged the shortage of options but have come to accept the reality of the situation,” Warren told CBS MoneyWatch. “Homes are under a bidding war with 20-30 buyers all in line for the same home.”
Meanwhile, in Connecticut, the Hartford area “has witnessed a significant decrease in inventory, resulting in a transformative market shift,” said David Krasnoff, a realtor at Compass.
“Bidding wars have become the norm as every reasonably priced home brings in multiple offers, often exceeding the listing price,” Krasnoff said.
Other cities that saw year-over-year inventory declines are:
San Diego (26%)
Milwaukee (23%)
Cincinnati (23%)
San Francisco (20%)
Chicago (18%)
Washington, D.C. (16%)
Rochester, New York (13%)
Seattle (11%)
Providence, Rhode Island (11%)
New York City (10%)
Los Angeles (10%)
Baltimore (8%)
Philadelphia (6%)
Detroit (5%)
Boston (4%)
Virginia Beach, Virginia (2.5%)
Minneapolis (2%)
Riverside, California (1%)
Cleveland (.5%)
Cities where the number of homes for sale increased were mainly in the South, including Austin, Texas; Birmingham, Alabama; Jacksonville, Florida; Nashville; and San Antonio.
A nationwide lack of inventory has become a major headline in the housing market with homebuyers now facing a triple whammy of higher mortgage rates, elevated asking prices and few options from which to choose.
Inventory overall grew in May when compared to a year ago but the rate of growth has slowed over the past three months, according to Realtor.com. A shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry is partly to blame for the decline in new homes for sale, the National Association of Home Builders has said.
Despite higher prices, more than 4.2 million people bought houses in April, according to the National Association of Realtors.
“The good news for sellers is that buyers are still out there and this month’s slower growth in the active inventory of homes for sale indicates that shoppers are in the market and actively searching for homes that fit their needs and budget,” Danielle Hale, Realtor.com’s chief economist, said in a statement.
Khristopher J. Brooks
Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering business, consumer and financial stories that range from economic inequality and housing issues to bankruptcies and the business of sports.
Here’s the story, of a house named Brady. HGTV has put the famous “Brady Bunch” house in Los Angeles, with its instantly recognizable street view, on the market.
The saga of this house has a new storyline, and it’s a real cliffhanger: Will HGTV be able to recoup its investment in the famous home, which was used only for exterior shots on the iconic ’70s TV show?
The home has since been rebuilt, inside and out, as a replica of the set piece from the show. The $5.5 million list price is on the high end of the suburb of Studio City. The area has a median list price of $1.9 million.
But this is a very special home—especially since HGTV got its hands on it in 2018.
A very Brady abode
Locals have long known about the iconic home, and longtime fans visit frequently to take photos of the exterior. The exterior has essentially stayed much the same way it had appeared in “The Brady Bunch,” which aired from 1969 to 1974, then entered into perpetual syndication.
Some say it’s the most photographed private residence in America, right after the White House.
The owners thought that the notoriety would add some value, so they listed their famous split-level in 2018 for an ambitious $1,885,000. It was built in 1959.
What they didn’t expect was HGTV entering a bidding war with former ‘N Sync member Lance Bass and several others. The network prevailed, paying $3.5 million for the home. It had big plans to put the house back on TV.
‘A Very Brady Renovation’
The network taped a limited series, called “A Very Brady Renovation,” in which show hosts Drew and Jonathan Scott worked alongside other HGTV stars to re-create every detail of the iconic home. Joining them were the now-grown cast members who played the six Brady kids.
The renovation series drew in more than 28 million viewers.
The interior scenes of the TV series were actually shot on nearby sound stages, so it was quite a challenge to find period furnishings and finishes and to redesign the home so it looked exactly like the one on TV.
HGTV poured $1.9 million into the massive renovation, which added 2,000 square feet to the property’s original footprint. That included a full second story.
Including the renovation costs, HGTV’s investment in the five-bedroom, five-bath, 5,140-square-foot property totals $5.4 million, which is just about the current asking price.
What it looks like now
So what will the next owners get? Among the standout features added are the floating staircase, the burnt-orange-and-avocado-green kitchen, the kids’ Jack-and-Jill bathroom, and the backyard with a swing set, teeter-totter, and Tiger’s doghouse.
Customized pieces include the green floral couch and the credenza with a horse sculpture in the living room.
Fun fact: The show producers reached out to collectors to find the horse sculpture used on the set, and when one couldn’t be located, they ended up printing one in 3D.
Would you live there?
So, would anyone actually want to live in a home filled with shag carpeting, wood paneling, and pastel-colored walls in all the bedrooms and bathrooms?
How comfortable would you be in a $5.5 million home outfitted with appliances that were brand-new in the 1970s but not exactly state-of-the-art now, and a backyard that features a swing set rather than a pool?
And then, there are the caveats for potential buyers: “Fireplaces and some appliances/fixtures are decorative only. The home is being sold as is.”
The home is located in a lovely, mostly quiet neighborhood within walking distance of great shops and restaurants, and backs up on the L.A. River.
So, is this a house that’s made more for TV than real life?
Is it ready for a real-life bunch?
Though true to its TV counterpart, this home’s retro kitchen and bathrooms are no longer in vogue.
While the midcentury modern style is still popular, you don’t see a lot of people bringing back that 1970s style. After a while, those period rooms might become an eyesore.
There’s also the tourist problem.
Coldwell Banker luxury property specialist Gail Steinberg, who lives about a block from the famous home, has had intrepid fans stopping her on the sidewalk to ask, “Do you know where the ‘Brady Bunch’ house is?”
Interest in the house has gone up significantly since the HGTV show, and it draws a steady stream of people cruising by to snap pictures.
Still, Steinberg believes the $5.5 million asking price is not unrealistic.
“Look how far above the asking price it went for last time it sold,” she says.
Could the home become a short-term rental?
If the zoning permits short-term rentals, the new homeowners could fetch a pretty penny from folks who want to bask in the home’s nostalgic glory. But the remodeled interiors seem too valuable to risk exposing to careless renters.
It might have value as a location for photo, TV, and movie shoots. But Los Angeles puts limitations on that as well—for the wellbeing of the neighbors. So it’s also not a dependable source of income.
Also, consider security
“There’s security parked out in front 24/7,” Steinberg notes. Apparently, that’s been necessary ever since HGTV very publicly took over the property, as there are no walls or hedges protecting it from zealous fans.
That’s also an expense the new owners will have to shoulder.
So who is the most likely buyer?
Steinberg believes a high-rolling real estate collector—perhaps someone who would stay in the home occasionally for fun—would happily pay $5.5 million, or more.
Often, buyers at that level pay cash and aren’t affected by high-interest rates, she adds.
Also, a wealthy collector would be less likely to be intimidated by the caveats in the listing: “Intellectual property rights are not included in the sale. Buyer is advised to do their own due diligence to investigate the legal rights and usage of the home including zoning, permits, rental laws, etc.”
But, there’s always bragging rights.
“It’s an ego thing,” Steinberg says. “‘I own the ‘Brady Bunch’ house!’”
Win-win
Neighbors would be most likely OK with the “Brady Bunch” house going private. The street would no longer be a tourist magnet, and a home selling for upward of $5.5 million in the area would surely raise their property values.
Other very deserving people would also benefit from the house selling at a premium. HGTV plans to use a portion of the proceeds from the sale to help fight child hunger.
They say people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
But if you lived in the one on Fishers Island, NY, you could toss a few rocks right into Long Island Sound.
Showing more like a “livable art gallery,” according to the listing, the glass-and-steel, waterfront dwelling designed by Thomas Phifer is this week’s most popular listing on Realtor.com®.
Other real estate offerings that made our weekly popularity contest include a Queen Anne in North Carolina, a modern marvel in Indiana, and an Ohio home with an exotic waterfall in the basement.
For a full look at this week’s 10 most popular homes, keep on scrolling.
Price: $825,000 Why it’s here: Behold the Castle in the Pines! Here is the opportunity to live like royalty in your very own castle.
A wrought-iron gate opens to the four-bedroom home with a turret. The entire 3,435 square feet of space has been decked out in medieval style. From custom, arched doors and hanging candelabras, to a knight in armor at the entry, to a sitting room overlooking a mountaintop scene, this kingdom was designed to delight.
It is currently in operation as a short-term rental and is pending sale.
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Price: $575,000 Why it’s here: This ultramodern home is a pretty standout in Houston.
Designed by architect W. Irving Phillips Jr., the 3,032-square-foot concrete townhome is located within walking distance of downtown. Offering just two bedrooms, the open floor plan has industrial, loft-style beams and soaring ceilings, along with concrete and hardwood floors. The primary suite is on the third floor and has two oversized closets and access to a covered terrace.
A monthly homeowners association fee of $472 includes maintenance and use of the pool.
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Price: $965,000 Why it’s here: Attention, historic-home lovers: The stately Smathers-Gautier-Messer House is nestled between two mountain ranges.
The Queen Anne beauty built in 1898 boasts wavy glass windows and octagonal towers. Inside, there is a Colonial Revival staircase and paneled wainscoting. The six-bedroom estate also features high ceilings, custom millwork, nine fireplaces embellished with Italian tile, and pocket doors.
The 2.5-acre lot also comes with a barn and a small cottage.
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Watch: Hollywood Beginning: Movie-Themed Vacation Home in Florida Wows for $11.75M
Price: $134,900 Why it’s here: Calling all Hobbit fans! This triple-dome home offers eco-friendly living.
The three-bedroom abode boasts 1,593 square feet of unique space. Built in 2004, the domicile is in need of restoration, as the price reflects.
“Interior walls have been removed to the steel frame, allowing you to build your ultimate vision,” the listing notes.
The 3-acre lot also has a fenced dog run. The property is being sold as is and must be a cash sale.
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Price: $880,000 Why it’s here: This magnificent home in the middle of Bittner Woods was the work of award-winning architect Earl R. Flansburgh.
The four-bedroom residence offers stylish, one-level living. Built in 1970, the 2,584-square-foot home was “professionally redesigned in 2020 with the help of Susan Yeley Homes,” according to the listing.
Oak hardwood and terrazzo floors can be found throughout the open floor plan. A central, open-air atrium connects all of the rooms. Clean lines, natural materials, and lots of glass seamlessly blend the interior with the outdoor space.
The property is pending sale.
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Price: $799,000 Why it’s here: This A-frame beauty was built in 1964 as the personal home of local architect William Wayman. It has since been “respectfully remodeled,” the listing notes.
The sleek, 2,481-square-foot, four-bedroom home boasts wood paneling, skylights, and beamed ceilings. The two-story living room has a gas fireplace and lots of glass to take in the southern views. There are two separate living spaces; three bedrooms are upstairs, and one is downstairs with a full kitchen.
The property is pending sale.
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Price: $37.5 million Why it’s here: A venture capitalist is selling this ultraluxe mansion on the exclusive enclave of Star Island. The guard-gated island has been home to celebs such as Gloria Estefan, Shaquille O’Neal, and Jennifer Lopez.
This six-bedroom mansion on the waterfront boasts 9,747 square feet of living space. The foyer features a 30-foot ceiling and a custom staircase. Luxury finishes include custom millwork and travertine, marble, and wood flooring.
Built in 1992, the high-end home has a chef’s kitchen and a primary suite with access to the pool area.
The 1-acre lot includes a heated pool, outdoor kitchen, and a private dock.
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Price: $499,900 Why it’s here: Here’s the chance to own two homes and a chapel on nearly 50 acres overlooking a private lake.
This six-bedroom house has 5,600 square feet of living space and comes with a commercial kitchen and dining hall. The open floor plan also includes a spacious living room with a brick fireplace and four bathrooms.
The property offers a variety of potential uses, including as a church retreat, rental property, or bed-and-breakfast.
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Price: $519,999 Why it’s here: The Mansion on the Hilltop comes with an exotic waterfall in the basement!
This four-bedroom home looks like a traditional, stone-front dwelling from the outside. Inside, the 5,800-square-foot floor plan features a two-story entry with a dramatic staircase. Built in 2000, the home features arched doorways and an abundance of windows and glass doors to take in views of the 5-acre parcel.
The real surprise happens when you head downstairs, where you will find an unexpected waterfall and an impressive taxidermy collection. There’s also a hot tub.
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Price: $8,250,000 Why it’s here: From the outside, this mesmerizing mansion built of glass looks like a vast, open space.
The 4,744-square-foot estate sits prominently on Fishers Island and offers breathtaking views of Long Island Sound. Featuring one-story living at its best, the home was designed by architect Thomas Phifer. Built of glass and steel in 2008, this one-bedroom home boasts black bamboo flooring and white gallery walls.
The landscaped gardens on the 3-acre lot “allow one to live in a garden with art as the owner desired,” the listing notes.
To say that mortgage rates have been on a wild Mr. Toad’s ride in 2022 is an understatement. In less than a year, we went from 2.78% on the 30-year fixed to as high as 6.28%, then recently got as low as 5% — only to have another move higher this week to 5.30%. People thought the mortgage rate drama in 2013-2014 was a lot when rates went from 3.5% to 4.5%. However, as we all know, after 2020, things are just more intense.
The question is, can lower mortgage rates save the housing market from its recent downtrend? To understand this, we need to look back into the past to realize how different this period is from what we had to deal with in the previous expansion when rates rose and then fell.
Higher rates and sales data
We can see that when rates rise, sales trends are traditionally lower. We saw this in 2013-2014 and 2018-2019. We know the impact in 2022, working from the highest bar in recent history.
The most significant difference now from what we saw in the previous expansion is that mortgage rates never got above 5% in the previous expansion. However, more importantly, we didn’t have the massive home-price growth in such a short time. It does make an enormous difference now that home prices grew above 40% in just 2.5 years.
This is why I focused my readers on the years 2020-2024, because if home prices only grew by 23% over five years, we would be ok. However, that got smashed in just two years, and prices are still rising in 2022. It’s savage man, truly savage with the mortgage rate rise. Yes, rates bursting toward more than 6% is a big deal in such a short time, but the fact that we had massive home-price growth in such a short time (and in the same timeframe) is even more critical.
While I truly believe that the growth rate of pricing is now cooling down, 2022 hasn’t had the luxury of falling prices to offset higher rates. So we can’t reference this period of time with rates falling as we did the previous expansion due to the massive increase in home prices and the bigger mortgage rate move. In 2018, sales trends fell from 5.72 million to the lows of January 2019 at 4.98 million. This year we have seen sales fall from 6.5 million to 5.12 million, and they are still falling.
Housing acts better when rates are below 4%
In the past, demand improved when mortgage rates were heading toward 4% and then below. Obviously, we are nowhere close to those levels today, barely touching 5% recently to only go higher in the last 24 hours.
Again, I stress that the massive home-price growth is different this time. However, with that said, considering the sales decline trends and that we have seen better-than-average wage growth, housing demand should act much better if rates head toward 4% and below.
I stress that higher and lower mortgage rates impact the market, but it needs time to filter their way into the economy. When I talk about the duration, this means rates have to be lower for a more extended period. People don’t throw their stuff down and buy a home in a second; purchasing a home is planned for a year. Rates would need to stay lower for longer into the next calender year to make a big difference.
Millions and millions of people buy homes every year. They have to move as well, so a traditional seller is a buyer most of the time when it’s a primary resident owner. Sometimes when rates go higher too quickly, some sellers can’t move, this takes a sale off the data line, but if rates fall quickly, they might feel much better about the process.
The downside of rates moving up so quickly is that some sellers pull the plug until rates are better. We see some of this in the active listing data as new listings are declining. Lower rates may pull some of these listings forward as people feel more comfortable with rates down; time will tell.
From Realtor.com
From Redfin:
Of course, a 1% move lower in rates matters, but keep in context where we are coming from and how much home-price growth we have had in just 2.5 years. This isn’t like the previous expansion where home prices were working from the housing bubble crash and affordability was much better back then.
When to know when lower rates are working?
The best data line to see this take place is purchase application data, which is very forward-looking as the fastest data line we have in housing. Let’s take a look at the data today. Purchase application data was positive week to week by 1% and down 16% year over year. The 4-week moving average is down negative 17.75% on a year-over-year basis.
This is one data line that has surprised me to a degree. I had anticipated this data to be much weaker earlier in the year. However, I concluded that 4%-5% mortgage rates didn’t do the damage I thought they would do. But, 5%-6% did, as I was looking for 18%-22% year-over-year declines on a four-week moving average earlier in the year. So, this makes me believe that if rates can get into a range of 4.125%-4.50% with some duration; the housing data should improve on the trend it has been at when rates are headed toward 6%. Again, we aren’t there on rates yet.
The builders would love rates to get back to these levels so they can be sure to sell some of the homes they’re finishing up on the construction side. Now assuming rates do get this low; what would the purchase application data look like? Keep it simple, the year-over-year declines will be less and less, and then when things are improving, we should see year-over-year growth in this index.
A few things about purchase apps: the comps for this data line will be much more challenging starting in October of this year. Last year’s purchase application data made a solid run toward the end of the year, which led existing home sales to reach 6.5 million. Next year we will have much easier comps to work with, so we need to keep that in mind. However, to keep things simple, the rate of change in the purchase applications data should improve yearly.
To wrap this up, lower mortgage rates should be looked at as a stabilizer first, but for them to change the market, we will need much lower rates for a more extended period. Also, we have to consider that rates moving from 3% to 6% is historical, and if rates fall, we have to look at housing data working from an extreme rise in rates that happened quickly. However, sales levels should fall if purchase application data shows negative year-over-year prints on a double-digit basis.
Since home prices haven’t lost this year, you can see why I used talked about this as a savagely unhealthy housing market. The total cost of housing had risen in a fashion that isn’t comparable to what we saw in the previous expansion when rates went up and down due to the massive increase in home prices. Also, we have to know that we aren’t working from a high level of inventory data as well. Traditionally, total inventory ranges between 2 to 2.5 million. We are currently at 1.26 million.
NAR total inventory data
We shall see how the economic data looks for the rest of the year and if the traditional bond and mortgage rate market works as it has since 1982, then mortgage rates will head lower over time. However, as of now, it’s not low enough to change the dynamics of the U.S. housing market.