A super-tall apartment complex for Oklahoma City, bad news for California’s housing market and a historic lovers’ rendezvous for sale. From the wild and wooly world of real estate, here are the Hits and Misses for the week of Dec. 18-22.
Hit: Thinking Big. California developer Scot Matteston was in the news this week with his proposal for a 134-story apartment tower in Oklahoma City. This proposed building would not only be more than twice as high as the city’s tallest building, the 50-story Devon Energy Center, but it would also be second tallest American structure behind One World Trade Center in New York City. Whether Matteson’s idea comes to fruition remains to be seen, but it is difficult not to admire his audacity and imagination.
Hit: Feeling Good About Things. This week, builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes inched up by three points to 37 in December, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This uptick ended a four-month decline for the HMI. NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey was optimistic about the 2024 market, greeting the data news by observing, “With the nation facing a considerable housing shortage, boosting new home production is the best way to ease the affordability crisis, expand housing inventory and lower inflation.”
Miss: Unhappy News from the Left Coast. New data from the California Association of Realtors revealed the state’s existing home sales activity plummeted to its lowest level since the Great Recession. Sales remained below the 250,000-unit pace for the third consecutive month while the annual decline was the 29th straight drop – albeit the smallest decline in the last 20 months. Even worse, nearly two-thirds (31) of the state’s 50 counties registered declines in active listings from last year. Here’s hoping that 2024 brings California a much-needed housing turnaround.
Hit: A Place for Historic Lovers. The most notable historic property currently being listed must be Rudhall Manor, located near the English market town of Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire, not far from the Welsh border. The residence dates back to the 14th century, but its fame comes from being the place where Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson romanced Lady Emily Hamilton away from their respective spouses and ahead of his victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. According to the British real estate website The Space, the property is now available for sale for £2.75 million, or roughly $3.5 million. However, there have been a few updates since the famous lovers visited, including a heated indoor pool and a gym.
Hit: Saying the Right Thing: At this time of year, almost everyone is posting holiday greetings. But few seasonal messages are as moving and sincere as the video shared by Casey Crawford, the co-founder and CEO of Fort Mill, South Carolina-based Movement Mortgage. Crawford looked to the season and declared that “people are hungry for relationship. They are hungry for community, and they are hungry to know that they are not alone. So, give the gift of community to somebody in yours this Christmas season.” You can find his full message on his Instagram page.
Editor’s Note: Weekly Real Estate News is taking Monday off. We would like to wish our readers a very Merry Christmas, and we hope to reconnect with you on Tuesday, Dec. 26.
Phil Hall is editor of Weekly Real Estate News. He can be reached at [email protected].
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California’s’ huge decline is needed to adjust the affordability to majority of buyers in the age group between 30-40. $900,000 shack in Anaheim is ridiculous. Most buyers don’t make $300k a year to afford a home and high taxes.