National market report

Columbus, Ohio

Downtown Columbus is in the midst of building boom. In early 2017, the Arshot Investment Corporation will break ground on the latest tower in the area — a 25-story mixed-use building known as Millennial Tower near a new shoreline promenade and park on the Scioto River, the New York Times reported. The $90 million development — which will include 100 residential units, 180,000 square feet of office space and 40,000 square feet of retail — will join five other buildings currently under construction (or recently opened) in the immediate neighborhood. Those five buildings are adding a total of 800 apartments, 275,000 square feet of office space and about 80,000 square feet of additional retail, according to the Times. The flurry of investment traces back to a plan adopted by the city in 2002. A controversial income tax increase imposed during the 2009 recession paid for three new parks that cost the city $63 million. Since 2000, the private sector has invested nearly $2 billion in Columbus’ Downtown. In that time, the neighborhood’s population has doubled to 7,500. “Our business leaders work closely with the public sector,” Mayor Andrew Ginther told the Times. “We’ve taken some big steps that worked.”

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico’s real estate market — already reeling from a debt crisis and recession — has been struck by a new threat: the Zika virus. Tourists have cancelled at least 42,000 hotel reservations through 2018, citing the mosquito-borne virus, Ingrid Rivera of Puerto Rico’s Tourism Co. told the Associated Press. That’s $28 million in lost revenue for the lodging, restaurant and tourism industries. “People just stopped coming,” said Luis Alvarez Perez, owner of a San Juan luxury travel company. While tourism only accounts for 7 percent of the local economy, the sector has grown increasingly important in recent years. To add salt to the wound, over 10 percent of the population has fled because of the poor job market, prompting discounts in real estate, CNN Money reported earlier this year. Among those hunting for deals is billionaire hedgefunder John Paulson, who has spent an estimated $1.5 billion on hotels, office buildings, a resort and vacation homes.

A residential street in Sugar Grove

Sugar Grove, West Virginia

Developers struggling to find investment opportunities in big cities, this one may be for you. The U.S. government is auctioning off an entirely vacant town in West Virginia. The 123-acre complex — known as Sugar Grove Station but informally dubbed a “spy” town by one real estate website — housed a military base until 2015. The compound includes 80 homes, a 106-room dorm-style building, fire and police stations, a retail complex, a daycare, a swimming pool, sports fields and a bowling alley. It also includes restaurants and bar-style venues, among other amenities. Minimum bids have been set at $1 million. The General Services Administration, the agency conducting the auction, said a buyer could repurpose the town into a training center, academic campus, movie studio, spa or resort. However, the compound doesn’t have cell reception or Wi-Fi because it’s located in a “quiet zone” near the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Owners must coordinate with the observatory to ensure communications do not interfere with research.

Seattle

Seattle’s residential market is on the upswing. Housing prices in the city surged 10.8 percent in March year over year, the most recent month on record, according to S&P/Case Shiller. That jump was twice as high as the national average, the Seattle Times reported. Prices are being pushed up by low inventory and rising employment, creating an environment ripe for new development. Vanke China Company, the largest publicly traded developer in China, entered into an agreement to develop its first Seattle project — a $200 million, 400-unit rental that it’s constructing with California-based Laconia Development, which owns the land. The tower is three blocks from the online retail giant Amazon. “Seattle kind of meets the demographics that [Vanke executives] want — with the millennials and the technology,” Laconia’s Bob Kagan told the Seattle Times. “Amazon being three blocks away was a big deal, too.”

A 400-unit rental tower in
Seattle

Los Angeles

A Los Angeles estate that counts Cher and Eddie Murphy as prior owners has been listed for $85 million, the Wall Street journal reported. The 16-acre property includes a main 20,000-square-foot home, a guesthouse, a stable, riding rings, a pool and a tennis court. Murphy bought the estate from Cher in 1988 and then sold it. The current seller, Vicky Walters, abandoned an in-progress renovation when her husband, real estate developer Raul Walters, died in 2009.

Washington, D.C.

A Washington, D.C. home where Jacqueline Kennedy briefly lived is listing for $9.8 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. The former first lady moved into the six-bedroom historic, Federal-style home with her children in 1964 — months after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. But she soon departed for New York. The 7,000-square-foot, 1790s house was also home to U.S. War Secretary Newton Baker during World War I.

Hoboken, New Jersey

“Today Show” host Natalie Morales is in contract to sell her five-bedroom Hoboken townhouse, according to Vanity Fair. Morales, who is moving to Los Angeles to co-host “Access Hollywood,” had listed the home for $3.1 million. The anchor gut-renovated the home in 2008. The property includes a garden with a retractable netting system and a custom-built “barbecue island.”

Minneapolis

A Minneapolis home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is on the market for about $1.5 million, Curbed reported. The three-bedroom was erected in 1960 shortly after the architect died. The owners, Paul and Helen Olfert, who are now in their 90s, worked directly with Wright on the design, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported. The brick structure is built into a hillside and has soaring wraparound windows, according to its Zillow listing.