Detroit celebrated the reopening of the Book Cadillac hotel in 2008. The circa-1924 property, designed by Louis Kamper and vacant since 1984, was renovated at a cost of $190 million. What was once a symbol of the city’s decline, is now a symbol of hope and rebirth. The Westin Book Cadillac Hotel and Residences features …
The deadliest pandemic in more than a century has failed to derail the housing market because of the lowest mortgage rates ever recorded coupled with a shift in how people use their homes. “The buyers are coming in because of the low interest rates – that’s the No. 1 reason,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist …
Continue reading “Why is the housing market thriving in a pandemic?”
Kathleen and Jimmy Flynn did something in June many would have thought unthinkable before the pandemic. The California couple placed a bid and signed a contract on a two-bedroom, East Aurora house without ever setting foot inside. Instead, they relied on their agent, Matt Lepovich of Century 21 Gold Standard, to take them on a …
Continue reading “Buying a $300,000 house sight unseen? It’s no longer unthinkable”
Northwest Bank plans to close about 20% of its branches in December – including three in the Buffalo area – amid a greater customer shift toward using technology. The Warren, Pa.-based bank will close a total of 42 of its 205 full-service branches. The bank will also close one free-standing branch drive-through and one business office. The local branches …
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Almost 2 million U.S. renters that currently can’t comfortably afford to buy an entry-level home in their current metro area could potentially afford the nation’s typical starter home if they took advantage of increased telework options and moved to a less-expensive locale. Zillow analyzed renter households for whom monthly payments on a starter home in …
Continue reading “Freedom to Telecommute Could Add Almost 2 Million Potential Buyers to the Market”
CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. — The owner of the Victoria’s Secret, Pink and Bath & Body Works stores in Walden Galleria says it doesn’t owe rent for the months the mall was closed during the Covid-19 pandemic. L Brands Inc. was responding to a trio of lawsuits alleging the company missed rent payments for the stores totaling …
TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. – Town Board members have settled three tax sessment cases with lower values on the properties without having to refund previous payments. The lawsuits were discussed during a meeting Thursday, with Supervisor James Quigley noting that two of the cases involved large commercial properties for Walmart and its adjacent business as …
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WASHINGTON (September 22, 2020) – Existing-home sales continued to climb in August, marking three consecutive months of positive sales gains, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Each of the four major regions experienced both month-over-month and year-over-year growth, with the Northeast seeing the greatest improvement from the prior month. Total existing-home sales,1 https://www.nar.realtor/existing-home-sales, completed …
Continue reading “Existing-Home Sales Hit Highest Level Since December 2006”
(The Center Square) – Taxpayers in New York turn over 13.8 percent of their income per capita to state and local governments, the highest percentage among the 50 states, according to an analysis by the website 24/7 Wall St. State residents pay $2,877 per capita annually in income tax collections, $2,902 in property taxes and $1,551 in general …
Over three days in late July, a three-bedroom house in East Orange, N.J., was listed for sale for $285,000, had 97 showings, received 24 offers and went under contract for 21 percent over that price. On Long Island, six people made offers on a $499,000 house in Valley Stream without seeing it in person after …
Continue reading “New Yorkers Are Fleeing to the Suburbs: ‘The Demand Is Insane’”
Most Americans are generally familiar that there is a “pecking order” when it comes to government. The federal government sits at the top, then come the states followed by the counties, and then all of the various forms of local government from towns to cities to villages and then school districts. In New York state, townships and …
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A single-family residence at the corner of Meadow and Middlesex roads has sold for $2.709 million, a city record. Amy and David Wilson bought the home from Lisann Jane Jacobs. The 7,900 sq.ft. home was constructed in 2007. The deal closed on August 27. The Buffalo News has the details: The buyers are David J. Wilson, …