A major courtroom decision that may affect nearly every real estate transaction was made this week. The housing crisis has spread abroad. Another major lender has big problems. These stories and more in this week’s real estate roundup.
Celebrity Real Estate
Warren Christopher, Secretary of State under Bill Clinton, has listed his house in Beverly Hills for $3.259 million and has bought himself a condo in Century City. Christopher bought the Beverly Hills house in the 1970s, before he began his term as Assistant Secretary of State under Jimmy Carter, during which he negotiated the release of the hostages in the Iran hostage crisis. That house is a 1930s-style 3-bedroom house sitting on an 18,000 square foot lot. The new condo has only 2 bedrooms, so Christopher and his wife Marie may have felt the need to downsize in their old age.
Kenny Chesney has already listed his property in Malibu that he bought just recently. The property, which Chesney purchased for $7.4 million, has been newly listed for $7.95 million.
News
Wachovia cut its quarterly dividend payout 41 percent from last quarter. The company also released a report stating that it had raised $7 million in new capital by selling common and preferred stock. Wachovia’s stock has plummeted following these announcements, to levels not seen since 2000. The blame for the problem has been laid at the feet of the company’s decision to purchase Golden West Financial of California in 2006. Golden West was one of the first companies to issue adjustable-rate mortgages, which have now become a problem for Wachovia, among many other companies.
A New York Times report has shown that the American housing crisis has spread overseas, particularly to Europe. Spain and Ireland have been particularly hard hit. Both countries brought in huge influxes of foreign workers in the early part of the decade, bringing about a massive increase in property values. Prices are now falling precipitously, causing concern among analysts, some of whom fear the crisis may only deepen from this point forward.
In a landmark real estate case, a jury in Carlsbad found in favor of a real estate agent accused of misleading his clients into overpaying for the home they purchased in 2005. The plaintiffs, Vern and Marty Ummel, claimed that their broker, Mike Little, failed to tell them that other homes on their block had sold for as much as $175,000 less in recent years. They sued for $150,000 in damages, claiming that Little had misled them into paying too much, to which Little responded by saying that he had shown the couple more than 80 homes in their search and shown plenty of diligence. The jury agreed with Little.
Estate of the Week
The estate at 1108 Tower Road in Beverly Hills is this week’s top estate. Just north of Sunset, the home is Mediterranean-style villa designed to look like it was built in the 1930s. Its five bedrooms and seven and a half bathrooms sit on an estate with a citrus grove and waterfalls. The house also features a game room and gym.
Events
Mission Hills Heritage hosts its fourth annual Historic Home Tour this Saturday. The tour runs from 11 AM to 5 PM and will showcase a number of homes built between 1908 and the 1930s. Tickets to the tour are $25. More information can be found on the Mission Hills Heritage website.
The Windsor Square-Hancock Park garden party and tour will take place this Sunday from noon to 4 PM. On the tour, you will be able to see at least six gardens in the Hancock Park area, including a garden designed by well-known architect Francis Pierpont Davis in 1922. Tickets are $55 and all proceeds will go to increasing greenery in the neighborhood. More information can be found here.
images via Wikipedia
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