Roundup: What $42 Million Buys You

• June 17th 2010

by UrbanTurf Staff

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• New York’s Curbed reports on a $42 million penthouse triplex that just hit the market. As if its five bedrooms, Upper East Side location on 5th Avenue, and stunning views of Central Park weren’t enough, the mansion-in-the-sky also sports a private elevator and a 1,200-square-foot terrace — roughly equivalent to a generously-sized two-bedroom in DC. Despite all this glory and glamour, New York’s real estate gurus don’t think it will sell any time soon. After all, says the agent, “At this price, there aren’t that many buyers.” Really?

• Alexandria’s city council approved a rezoning plan of the Potomac Yard stretch along Route 1. The plan envisions a high-density, mixed-use corridor with a new Metro station as its anchor. It will occur in three phases over the next 15 to 25 years. Reception to the plan is generally enthusiastic. Beyond DC wrote: “Redevelopment in Potomac Yard will finally stitch together the walkable nodes of Crystal City and Old Town Alexandria into one continuous 5-mile long corridor of urbanity. By just about any measure, this new conglomeration will be the largest mass of walkable urbanism in the region, after central DC.”

• To the certain delight of Apple fans throughout the District, the city’s first Apple store opens tomorrow in Georgetown. Look for the first photos of the store on UrbanTurf tomorrow.

• The Wall Street Journal wonders whether home builder Lennar’s most recent offer of 3.25 percent mortgages is a sign that aggressive advertising by builders is coming back. Industry watchers consider Lennar a leader in marketing and pricing, rolling out offers that the rest of the industry soon copies. Its current offer applies to already-built homes and is 3.25 percent for five years, after which the rate can rise by as much as one percent annually to a maximum of 8.25 percent. For unbuilt homes, Lennar is offering a 30-year fixed at 3.99 percent.

• Lennar’s promotion aside, mortgage rates stayed essentially the same this week (4.82%). But other barometers of the national home market were negative: both housing starts and new building permits saw big declines, reinforcing the view that much of strength seen in the real estate market this spring went away with the tax credit.

Finally, here are UrbanTurf’s three most popular posts of the last week in case you missed them:

1. Room & Board Finally Arrives on 14th Street
2. Sold: The Kalorama Digs of Top Chef DC
3. Rosedale: Ripe for Investment Right About Now

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/roundup_what_42_million_buys_you/2179.