The big news this week was the Obama administration’s budget proposal, which takes on what has long been considered a sacred cow by trying to reduce the mortgage-interest tax deduction for top earners. Meanwhile, Iceland’s government has started selling off real estate to stay afloat. Here’s what else was going on:
LOCAL NEWS
Condo auctions come to New York City (New York Times) Some New York buyers, meanwhile are walking away from six-figure deposits on apartments. (NYT)
The population of Maricopa, Ariz., soared during the housing boom, rising to 37,000 last year from 1,400 a decade ago, making it one of the nation’s fastest-growing towns. Now the town is struggling as many homeowners are trapped in houses that are worth less than their mortgage and others are walking away. (The Wall Street Journal)
Boston’s luxury condo market headed down. (Boston Herald)
$10,000 state tax credit for buyers of newly-built homes in California goes into effect Sunday. (L.A. Land) Meanwhile, home sales in California jumped 100% in December, according to the state’s association of Realtors. (Hot Property)
BUYING AND SELLING
One blogger suggests it’s time to encourage renting to keep Americans more mobile and to discourage sprawl. One idea: tax incentives that get people to live closer to their place of work. (Greater Greater Washington)
Meanwhile the relative cost of owning versus renting is swinging back in favor of homeownership in some U.S. markets, buoyed by several quarters of sharp declines in home prices. (WSJ)
The economic stimulus bill contains provisions to compensate service members who sell their home at a loss or have been foreclosed upon because they were forced to move after a base closure, reassignment or a combat wound required them to be relocated near a health facility. (Washington Post)
Boomer wealth is evaporating due to housing bust. The homeowner in 2009 will have less–not more–wealth than their non-home-owning counterparts, according to a new report out from economists David Rosnick and Dean Baker. (Center for Economic Policy and Research)
HIGH-END LISTINGS
Strapped for cash, Iceland’s government puts its ambassador’s homes up for sale in Washington, D.C., New York and London. (WSJ)
A Denver couple build their home and an apartment building next door to an art museum in Denver. (WSJ)
Where Nixon once dwelled. Just hitting the market: a house newly built on land that was formerly part of the so-called ‘Western White House’. (WSJ/House of the Day)
Ten priciest listings in Los Angeles. (The Real Estalker)
Good deals on luxury vacation homes. (NYT)
