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☆ NYC's famous Flatiron Building will be converted into luxury residences after sitting empty for years
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The iconic Flatiron Building will be converted from empty offices into luxury residences. The iconic Flatiron Building will be converted from empty offices into luxury residences, the owners announced this week. The Brodsky Organization, a residential real estate developer, bought a stake in the Flatiron building this month and will lead the conversion process, which will include moving the staircases and elevators. The Flatiron Building's redevelopment will be one of New York's most high-profile commercial-to-residential building conversion projects, something that's become a central part of the city's efforts to build more housing. The area — between 23rd and 40th streets and Fifth and Eighth Avenues — is just north of the Flatiron building.

Persons: —, It's, Jeff Gural, Brodsky, Louise Penny, Mark Levine, that's, Eric Adams, Dan Garodnick, Biden Organizations: Service, Macmillan Publishers, Broadway, New York Times, Brodsky Organization, New, New York State, Eighth, New York City's Department of City Planning Locations: Manhattan, New York, hasn't

☆ Opinion | There Is Another Paris
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Cole Stangler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Tourists visiting the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, the magnificent snow-white cathedral towering over northern Paris, tend to descend the Butte Montmartre the way they came up. But once they’ve had enough, they’ll most likely make their way down the south side of the hill, following the path of the funicular toward the recognizable sights of central Paris. This Paris exists mostly outside the gaze of tourists, the whopping 12.7 million people who visited the area this summer. But they refuse to abide by the half-theme-park, half-museum ambience that prevails in much of central Paris. Here, another Paris is alive and kicking.

Persons: they’ve Organizations: Coeur Basilica Locations: Coeur, Paris, Montmartre, Belleville, Eastern, Southern Europe, Maghreb, China

☆ Italy to Raise Taxes for Flat Owners Doing Multiple Short-Term Rentals
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government plans to hike taxes on short-term rentals by people letting out more than one flat, a draft of the 2024 budget seen by Reuters showed on Saturday. The move comes in the wake of criticism of Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms for contributing to a shortage of affordable housing for residents in the most popular tourist destinations. Italian legislation allows owners to rent out their apartments and pay a tax rate of 21% on earnings. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni intends to raise that band to 26% "in the case of the short-term rental of more than one apartment in each tax period," the draft showed. However, the government has scaled back its initial plans as previous drafts reported by Reuters envisaged increased taxation also applying to short-term rentals of single apartments.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Giuseppe Fonte, Keith Weir Organizations: Reuters Locations: ROME

☆ Italy to raise taxes for flat owners doing multiple short-term rentals
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Italy's government plans to hike taxes on short-term rentals by people letting out more than one flat, a draft of the 2024 budget seen by Reuters showed on Saturday. The move comes in the wake of criticism of Airbnb (ABNB.O) and other short-term rental platforms for contributing to a shortage of affordable housing for residents in the most popular tourist destinations. Italian legislation allows owners to rent out their apartments and pay a tax rate of 21% on earnings. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni intends to raise that band to 26% "in the case of the short-term rental of more than one apartment in each tax period," the draft showed. However, the government has scaled back its initial plans as previous drafts reported by Reuters envisaged increased taxation also applying to short-term rentals of single apartments.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Giuseppe Fonte, Keith Weir Organizations: Reuters, Thomson

I started working when I was in junior high, and I've always been glad to be able to earn money. I have chronic paranoid schizophrenia, and I haven't been able to work full-time since a 2006 episode. I've adapted as much as I can, but the limitations on when and how I can earn money are demoralizing. I've worked a variety of odd jobs since junior high. The hard truth is that I would have to seek housing with a family member without my husband's income.

Persons: I've, haven't, —, I'm Organizations: Service

☆ What China's slow-motion real estate crisis means for the global economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Christian Nunley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

China's real estate industry is collapsing in slow motion. And now the International Monetary Fund just cut its global growth forecasts for 2024 and called out China's real estate crisis as a big reason why. Youth unemployment is at record levels, gross domestic product forecasts have been lowered and the ongoing real estate crisis has been hitting consumer confidence and foreign investment in the country. "China's shrinking real estate sector over the coming years will really have a huge impact on heavy industry, on the commodity markets globally," he said. There’s going to be less cement being used — less glass, for example.

Persons: Frederic Neumann, Neumann Organizations: International Monetary Fund, HSBC, CNBC Locations: China, Asia, Beijing

☆ 'Is everyone alive?' Our family WhatsApp is where 17 relatives confirm they're OK
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Abeer Ayyoub | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

A week into the bombardment of Gaza, I set up a WhatsApp group for my Palestinian family to confirm each morning they're all still alive. Fatin, a Hebrew/Arabic translator, lives in the Al-Burij camp, very close to the Israeli border, and she's the only one outside of Gaza City. From Istanbul, Abdullah and I watched on Al Jazeera as places with cherished memories in Gaza City were destroyed live on air. AdvertisementAdvertisementMy parents live in a five-story building in the middle of Gaza City that my father had built 40 years ago. She told me that Israel had announced that 1 million civilians in northern Gaza, including Gaza City, should evacuate within 24 hours.

Persons: Ne'ama, I've, Abdullah, Siham, Yazmina, squinting, Maria, Ascia, Fatin, Tal Al, it's, Muhammad Ghanem, — Hussam, Hatem —, Hazem, we'd, Israel, —, Hazam's, Farah, Yasmeen, Sophia, Hammoud, he'd, Hanadi, Waleed Organizations: Hamas, Al, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Gaza, Gaza City, Europe, Jordan, Turkey, Istanbul, Israel, Jazeera, Al Jazeera, Al, Hawa, Gaza's, Siham

☆ The ‘Total Stranger’ Who Wants You to Relive Your Dating Disasters on Camera
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Gina Cherelus | More About Gina Cherelus | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One woman confessed to slashing tires and taking bank information. Mr. Carter, 25, who goes by J.C., said that he doesn’t come at the interviews with the sole aim of going viral. “I’m a total stranger, so I’m not going to judge them,” he added. The internet has never been more saturated with videos of people brandishing microphones and cameras in strangers’ faces, recording guerrilla interviews on the street. In cities across the world, creators are asking to tour strangers’ apartments, see their bank accounts, or reveal information about their dating lives and relationship issues.

Persons: “, Chris Carter’s, ”, Carter, J.C, I’m, ’ Organizations: YouTube Locations: Washington, Manhattan

☆ Apartments in these 24 cities are getting cheaper fastest, leaving landlords and real estate investors in shambles as rent growth heads toward negative territory
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Rent is rising at a slower pace in the US and is even declining outright in some markets. Here are two dozen US cities where rent was at least 5% lower this month compared to October 2022. Rent growth continues to decline across the country, and in dozens of cities, apartments are cheaper now than they were last year. The one-bedroom unit's month-over-month drop was the largest of 2023, Zumper researchers noted. Only a quarter of the nation's 100 largest markets saw one-bedroom prices rise from the prior month compared to 59 that fell and 16 that were flat.

Persons: they've Locations: Zumper

There is a new poster child of China’s protracted real estate crisis — Country Garden. Country Garden has not responded to requests for comment by phone or email. Here’s what to know about the rise and fall of Country Garden, and the future of China’s once red-hot property sector. Until last year, Country Garden was China’s biggest real estate developer, specializing in residential property. While confidence in China’s real estate sector has been shaky since the collapse of Evergrande, Country Garden reignited fears in August when its liquidity crisis burst into public view.

Persons: Evergrande, Yang Huiyan, Krishna Srinivasan, ” Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Bloomberg News, Financial Times, Citigroup, Hong Kong, Country Garden, Seng, International Monetary Fund, National Bureau of Statistics, Pacific Department Locations: Hong Kong, Foshan, Guangdong province, China, United States, Evergrande, Beijing, Asia

☆ What it will take to make homes affordable again for millions of Americans
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

"At the current 8% mortgage rate, mortgage payment[s] are 38% of median income," Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi said. The National Association of Realtors measures affordability through its 34-year old Housing Affordability Index, or HAI. And even if home prices do the decline, that trend won't be sustainable unless America builds millions of more homes. And spreads will likely remain extra-wide until short-term interest rates drop below the rates on longer-term treasuries, Duncan said. "Mortgage rates will not go back to 3% – we'll be lucky if we get back to 5," Yun said.

Persons: —, John Burns, maven Mohamed El, Lawrence Yun, Yun, Mark Zandi, That's, Doug Duncan, Fannie, Duncan, Daryl Fairweather, They've, Fairweather, they've, Freddie Mac, –, Zandi, it's Organizations: Nurphoto, Getty, National Association of Realtors, John Burns Real Estate Consulting, NAR, Redfin, Allianz, America, Federal Reserve, realtors, Builders, Fed Locations: Florida, Austin , Texas, Boise , Idaho, Fannie Mae, America, New York, California, Phoenix, Tampa, Louisville, Indianapolis, Chicago

☆ New York City Has a Bold Plan to Fix Its Housing Crisis. Will It Work?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Mihir Zaveri | More About Mihir Zaveri | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Upgrading basements and building up bodegas. The plan is a combination of different strategies. One component would also make it easier to build smaller apartments, like for single-room occupancy, that could be relatively cheap to rent. Other parts of the plan would apply only in less crowded areas outside of Manhattan, where a hodgepodge of zoning rules often prevent the development of anything other than single- or two-family homes. These changes, which could also increase the supply of lower-cost homes, include:● Allowing the construction of two- to four-stories of apartments above laundromats, shops and other businesses along certain commercial strips;● Allowing the construction of modest apartment buildings on big lots near subway, bus and other transit stations;

Locations: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens

☆ Why China's 1 trillion yuan debt plan isn't necessarily such a big deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Kim Kyung-Hoon | ReutersBEIJING — Chinese authorities late Tuesday announced one of the biggest changes to the national budget in years, along with the issuance of 1 trillion yuan in ($137 billion) in government bonds. Chinese state media said the 1 trillion yuan in central government issuance is set to be transferred to local governments in two parts, half for this year and half for next year. "It is roughly around 5% of transfer revenues or 2% of total revenues for the local governments," Yin said. "Note a special program has already been started since October, allowing local governments to issue special refinancing bonds to swap their outstanding hidden debt. Goldman Sachs analysts estimated the early issuance could be as much as 2.7 trillion yuan, based on prior government practice.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Hoon, Larry Hu, it's, Ting Lu, Yin, Nomura's Lu, Ricky Tsang, they're, Tsang, —, Goldman Sachs, Macquarie's Hu, It's Organizations: Reuters, Macquarie, Monetary Fund, People's Bank of Locations: Beijing, Reuters BEIJING, China, Hong Kong, People's Bank of China

☆ As Bombs Fall in Gaza, History Hangs Over a Family Fighting to Survive
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Declan Walsh | More About Declan Walsh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

An Israeli airstrike had crushed an apartment block in the Jabaliya refugee camp, in northern Gaza, killing 45 members of his extended family. Mr. Abujayyab and his siblings argued about her next move: Stay at her grandmother’s apartment? Mr. Azmi, the Crisis Group researcher, had moved his family to a friend’s house in southern Gaza. It fractured his skull and crushed his chest, Mr. Azmi said by phone. They had no power, limited internet and more bombs were falling, his sister said in a voice message to her family.

Persons: Nathan Thrall, “, Abed Salama, ”, —, Abujayyab, Mr, welling, Azmi, Azmi Keshawi, Abujayyab’s, Nurit Cooper, Yocheved Lifshitz, Nir Oz Organizations: Crisis Group, Ministry Locations: Israel, Gaza, Gaza . Credit, Egypt

☆ I'm an American teaching at a university in Tokyo. College life is much different in Japan, from admissions to housing.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Darryl Wharton-Rigby | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

I've witnessed firsthand the nuances that set education in the United States and Japan apart, especially with colleges and universities. I've been fortunate to teach at Morgan State University, Art Center College of Design in Baltimore, and I'm now an assistant professor at Temple University Japan in Tokyo. It's a system designed to identify potential — whether one's destination is a public university or a prestigious private college. Students here are bound by a singular choice; they can only apply to one public university for admission. AdvertisementAdvertisementI've found there typically aren't dorms on college campuses in JapanIn the United States, dormitories foster a spirited campus community.

Persons: I'm, I've, —, It's Organizations: Service, Baltimore City Public School System, JET, Morgan State University, Art Center College of Design, Temple University Japan, NCAA, American, College Locations: American, Tokyo, Japan, United States, Baltimore, It's

☆ Thanks to Big Data, Landlords Know How to Squeeze the Most Out of Renters
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Will Parker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

If you want to know why apartment rents got so high, some people say look to big data. Many landlords outsourced their pricing decisions to software that told them what rents to charge. Then they direct landlords on how much to increase rent for each lease renewal, or what to ask for newly vacated apartments. Algorithms and other big data have changed the way many landlords do business. Many building owners also once believed keeping their apartment buildings as full as possible was the best way to maximize profits.

Persons: wasn’t

☆ Israel releases video of captured Hamas militant saying the group offered $10,000 and an apartment for each hostage taken to Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Hamas offered a $10,000 reward and apartments to militants who brought Israeli hostages to Gaza. That's according to an interrogation video of a Hamas militant released by Israeli authorities. The footage, shared by Israel's security agency Shin Bet and the country's police force, features what it says are several detained Hamas militants being interrogated about the events of October 7. In the video, an unnamed Hamas militant stated that he was given orders to "kidnap as many as possible" during the terror attacks. AdvertisementAdvertisementHe says in the video that Hamas operatives were incentivized with a "stipend" for every Israeli hostage they brought into Gaza.

Persons: —, Shin Bet, Al, António Guterres, Joe Biden Organizations: Reuters, Service, Brigades, Al, European Union, . United Nations, Gaza Ministry of Health Locations: Gaza, That's, Jerusalem, Israel

☆ New York City has lost 100,000 apartments because people in rich neighborhoods keep combining units
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

New York City is facing down a housing shortage, all while some apartments disappear. Around 50,000 multi-family row houses have been consolidated to become one- or two-family homes. Combining apartments isn't necessarily a bad thing, but is concerning during a housing shortage. AdvertisementAdvertisementNew York City, famed for its residents stacked upon each other, is actually quietly losing density in some places — and you can blame people expanding their apartments. AdvertisementAdvertisementSome developers are aiming to ameliorate both the housing shortage and post-pandemic glut of office space in the city.

Persons: —, preservationist Adam Brodheim, I'm, Brodheim, Matthew Pietrus, Eric Adams Organizations: Service, New York Times, Big Apple, — Locations: York City, New York City, The City, New, New York, Manhattan

☆ Affordable apartments are getting snapped up quickly — but rental units in these 18 cities are significantly cheaper now than they were last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rent is steadily sliding in the US, but great deals on apartments are still few and far between. A new report from Realtor.com revealed that rent growth was negative for the fifth straight month in September. That problem is slowly getting addressed as 445,000 new multi-family units come online, though they're selling very quickly. Nearly 70% of new affordable apartments got filled within three months of completion in the second quarter compared to a 57.2% rate for more expensive units, Realtor.com found. The trend was pronounced across all the four major US regions, though less pricey Midwest markets had the most dramatic rise in so-called absorption rates of new rental units.

Persons: Realtor.com, Realtor.com's Jiayi Xu, Danielle Hale, Xu, Hale, shouldn't Organizations: shouldn't Locations: Midwest, Austin , Texas, California, San Francisco, Los Angeles

☆ I was drowning in student-loan debt, so I bought a house and flipped it. I used the profit to pay off my loans.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Ryan Crawley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Since I couldn't pay down my debt, I bought a house, flipped it, and then sold it. I used the money I made to pay off all of my student loans, and now I feel free. Between rent, utilities, car insurance, and student loans, I was breaking even every month. I wondered how I could pay back my student loans within a few years instead of decades, and I started brainstorming ways I could save money. I immediately paid off all of my student loansWith the money from the sale, I brought my student-loan debt down to zero.

Persons: Sallie Mae, I'd, I'm Organizations: HGTV Locations: Lake Thunderbird , Illinois

Some are bouncing from hotel room to hotel room, in some cases to make way for the return of tourists who are crucial to the local economy. That’s trickier on Maui, an island of about 150,000 people that's a 30-minute plane ride from the nearest major city, Honolulu. She signed a lease on Wednesday, paying the first month's rent and a deposit using aid money and $2,000 from a cousin. Some landlords wanted as much as $8,000 to $10,000 a month, saying they could get that from tourists, Jachowski said. The agency has identified four sites — three in Lahaina and one in central Maui — near power, water and sewer infrastructure.

Persons: — Charles Nahale, Nahale, ” Nahale, Bob Fenton, ” Fenton, Gail McGovern, Josh Green, Tiffany Teruya, ”, Teruya, Matt Jachowski, Jachowski, —, Fenton, Richard Bissen, Roland Cazimero, Jennifer Sinco Kelleher Organizations: Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, Red, Catholic Charities, Maui, Associated Locations: LAHAINA, Hawaii, Lahaina, U.S, Maui, Honolulu, Green

He had arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Friday from Saudi Arabia after traveling there last week from London. He said Pakistan's economy and political situation both declined in recent years, according to multiple videos shared by his Pakistan Muslim League party on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. In 2020, an anti-graft court in Islamabad issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to return home. Another federal court has granted Sharif bail until Oct. 24, giving him protection from arrest until then. His party became hugely unpopular after Khan's removal when Nawaz Sharif's brother Shehbaz Sharif replaced Khan, a former cricketer turned politician.

Persons: — Pakistan's, Nawaz Sharif, Sharif, Allah, ”, Imran Khan, Khan, Sharif's, Nawaz Sharif's, Shehbaz Sharif Organizations: United Arab Emirates, Pakistan Muslim League, Twitter Locations: ISLAMABAD, Dubai, London, Lahore, Pakistan, Islamabad, Saudi Arabia, Sharif

☆ Canadian Trapped in Gaza Waits for Evacuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Canadian-Palestinian Shouq Alnajjar is among the North Americans waiting in the Gaza Strip for a safe passage out. The 27-year-old development worker said she escaped Gaza City after the Israeli army struck less than five meters from her home. She said she is now in Khan Younis, near the Egyptian border, with 200 relatives cramped in three apartments. An airstrike two days ago, 200 meters away, killed 15 and injured 30, Alnajjar said. Egypt and Israel have yet to reach a deal on the evacuation of foreign nationals through the Rafah border crossing in the south of the enclave.

Persons: Khan Younis, Alnajjar, ” Alnajjar Organizations: North Locations: Gaza, Gaza City, Egypt, Israel, Rafah

[1/5] A view of the residential apartments in Country Garden's Forest City development in Johor Bahru, Malaysia August 16, 2023. The group hired PJT Partners (PJT.N) as financial adviser to lead discussions with Country Garden, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Ratings agency Moody's said on Thursday it could downgrade Country Garden's (2007.HK) 'corporate family rating' if the recovery prospects for its creditors weaken further. Moody's said Country Garden's senior unsecured rating of C was already at the lowest of its rating scale. Country Garden and Frasers did not immediately respond for a request for comment on that sale.

Persons: Edgar Su, PJT, Moody's, Frasers, Houlihan Lokey, Sidley Austin, Yeung Kwok Keung, Yang Huiyan, Yeung, Yang, Cao Jianglin, Garden's, China Evergrande, Scott Murdoch, Xie Yu, Clare Jim, Anousha Sakoui, Liz Lee, Lewis Jackson, Kim Coghill, Christopher Cushing, Jamie Freed, Lincoln, Miral Fahmy, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, HK, PJT Partners, Garden's, Australian Financial, Reuters, China International Capital Corporation, Finance, HSBC, China National Agricultural Development, SOE, Thomson Locations: Garden's, City, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, China HONG KONG, Garden's Australian, Melbourne, China, Shunde, Guangdong province, Sydney, Hong Kong, London, Beijing, Sydndey

☆ Opinion: The people Olympic host cities don’t want you to see
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Opinion David Goldblatt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

A Japanese policeman checks the signs to be used during the opening parade at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, 1964. Police officers stand guard at the rowing and kayak competitions venue at Lake Lanier near Gainesville, Georgia, ahead of the 1996 Olympic Games. Helsinki, which built the first permanent Olympic Village in 1952, created a successful and architecturally distinguished neighbourhood of social housing. Barcelona’s 1992 Olympic Village became the epicentre of a process of beachside gentrification and soaring house prices. Until that changes, we can expect the staging of future Olympic Games to look the same.

Persons: David Goldblatt, Read, David Goldblatt David Goldblatt, Douglas Miller, Charles Platiau, dockets, Buda Mendes, Barcelona’s, Urman Lionel, Denis Organizations: CNN, Olympic, Hulton, Getty, LAPD, Atlanta, Police, Housing Rights, Pan American Games, Rio de, City Council, Melbourne Olympic Games, Asahi Shimbun, City, Games, International Olympic Committee, Olympic Games Locations: British, Paris, Berlin, Roma, Tokyo, Moscow, Los Angeles, Lake Lanier, Gainesville , Georgia, Atlanta, Seoul, Beijing, Rio de Janeiro, Rio, Brazil, Buda, Helsinki, Melbourne, Japan, Australia, Mexico, Athens, Portakabins, London

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