Miapolis would rise above Dubai's recently opened Burj Khalifa with a height of 3,200 feet.
Maybe you won't have to move to Dubai to live in the world's tallest tower after all.
You might have to be a little patient, though, if you'd prefer to live on Miami's Watson Island in one of the 1,000-plus condos planned for the proposed 3,200-foot-high Miapolis.
So far, the 160-story "city within a city" has been in the works for a decade, but according to World Architecture News, the project finally is making some headway on one of its first necessary steps: getting Federal Aviation Administration approval to build a tower that tall.
Here's what homebuyers are looking for in new home construction in 2010.
New homebuyers have spoken, and the builders are listening.
At the International Builders' Show this week in Las Vegas, consumer experts are sharing the changing desires of American homeowners, who are trading in their McMansions and home theaters for smaller digs and home offices.
Heather McCune, director of marketing for Bassenian Lagoni Architects in Park Ridge, Ill., said in MarketWatch:
"Buyers today want cost-effective architecture, plans that focus on spaces and not rooms and homes that are designed 'green' from the outset," she said. The key for homebuilders is "finding the balance between what buyers want and the price point."
New apartment buildings aren't being built fast enough to keep up with the expected demand.
Now really might be a good time to sign an 18- to 24-month lease to lock in that low rent price. The market is on the renter's side, with vacancies at a 30-year high and plenty of perks available for both current and new tenants, but it could all come to an end soon.
According to the National Association of Home Builders, experts at its annual convention in Las Vegas are suggesting that despite the high vacancy rate now, a slowdown in construction of multifamily housing could lead to a shortage of rental units as early as next year.
And once again, as with the New American Home that was supposed to be the centerpiece of this week's International Builders' Show, it all comes down to a lack of financing.
| Tags: | new constructionrentals |
Even the president's home isn't immune to problems plaguing the housing industry.
Well, happy anniversary Mr. President. Not only did you just get one vote closer to losing your Senate majority, but Zillow also estimates that your current home, the White House, has lost a whopping $15.6 million in value since you took office a year ago today.
At the time, when the nation was filled with hope and the belief that "Yes we can," Zillow estimated the value of the most important home in the nation at $308 million. It's now estimated at $292.5 million, a drop of 5.1%.
Ideally, I'd like to think that all that work you put into the 200-year-old structure to qualify it for LEED certification would have done something to the value, but can anything help in this shaky real-estate market?
| Tags: | homevalues |
As the virtual 'New American Home' takes the stage at the annual convention, the physical home, once estimated at $3.39 million, sells at foreclosure auction for $490,000.
It'd hard not to jump on the "it's a sign of the times" bandwagon after reading about the further woes of the New American Home that was supposed to be on display at this week's annual convention of the National Association of Home Builders in Las Vegas.
For the first time since 1984, the home that is built each year to showcase the latest and greatest building trends isn't available for tours and parties, but instead is simply the shell of a dream that's only three-quarters finished.
You already know why. The builder, Domanico Custom Homes, simply couldn't get financing for the project. And being in Las Vegas, you also know where the home ended up: on the auction block.
Although they held back on spending in 2009, 51% of investors believe that the U.S. will provide the most bang for their real-estate buck in 2010.
The painful drop in home prices may be good at making renters out of American men, but it's also doing a good job of getting foreign investors interested in U.S. real estate again.
A survey done in the fourth quarter of 2009 found that 51% of members of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (pdf) agree that property in the U.S. provides the best opportunity for capital appreciation, despite comparatively lower percentages of 37% in 2008, 26% in 2007 and 23% in 2006.
Let's hope this isn't the signal of another boom, since the last time the survey found the preference for U.S. real estate was this high was in 2003, when the percentage also reached 51%.
The asking price makes the 10-acre Stony Creek Ranch one of the most expensive homes in the nation.
Karen Davidson may be willing to part with her 10,000-square-foot vacation home in favor of something a bit smaller, but my guess is she won't be giving up the "Rocky Mountain luxury" decor.
"I just want to downsize," she told The Wall Street Journal, adding that she's looking in the area for a smaller property.
The new owner of the Detroit Pistons, who took over the NBA team after the death last year of her husband, Bill Davidson, listed the Snowmass, Colo., property in December for $47 million, making it one of the most expensive properties in the nation, The Journal said.
| Tags: | buyinghomevaluesselling |
Contemporary design is losing its edge as more traditional styles gain popularity.
If you're still in love with the kitchen and bathroom trends from 2009, don't worry about them going away before you get a chance to remodel your own digs this year.
According to a survey of designers by the National Kitchen & Bath Association, many of the existing kitchen and bathroom trends are sticking around in 2010, although the association is also predicting a few shifts in style.
We'll start with seven trends in the kitchen:
About Teresa Mears
Teresa Mears is a veteran journalist who has been interested in houses since her father took her to tax auctions to carry the cash at age 10. A former editor of The Miami Herald's Home & Design section, she lives in South Florida where, in addition to writing about real estate, she publishes Miami on the Cheap to help her neighbors adjust to the loss of 60% of their property value.
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