Morning Briefing: Carolina sales up 16.9 per cent

Carolina sales up 16.9 per cent… Murdoch set for $4 million real estate profit after 5 months… San Francisco to consider building affordable homes… Cindy Crawford doubles her money on Malibu flip…

Carolina sales up 16.9 per cent
Sales of homes through the Carolina MLS were up by 16.9 per cent year-over-year in July, although down 1.2 per cent from June. The Charlotte Regional Realtor Association reports that there were 4,383 properties sold in the month with an average sales price of $255,125, a rise of 5.6 per cent from a year earlier. The median sales price was up 5.5 per cent from July 2014 to $202,500 and the average list price increased 4.8 per cent to $274,811. New listings were also higher, up 6 per cent from a year earlier while inventory declined by 22.1 per cent.
 
Murdoch set for $4 million real estate profit after 5 months
Rupert Murdoch has listed the New York townhouse he bought 5 months ago for $29 million. If he achieves the asking price he’ll pocket a $4 million profit - $800,000 for each month he’s owned the West Village townhouse. The New York Daily News says that Murdoch has seemingly changed his mind on two new homes in recent months having bought a quadraplex at Madison Square Park last year before opting for the brand new townhouse instead. He stands to make a hefty profit on the first home too having bought at $57.25 million it’s listed at $72 million.
 
San Francisco to consider building affordable homes
The Mayor of San Francisco says that the city is considering taking on debt in order to build affordable homes. With high demand from the surging tech sector rents in the city are higher than anywhere else in the US, averaging $3,500 per month. The Mayor is up for re-election and could announce the city’s largest ever housing bond. The $310 million debt sale would go against the national drive to reduce municipal housing debt but would allow the city to build or renovate 30,000 homes over the next five years.
 
Cindy Crawford doubles her money on Malibu flip
Cindy Crawford has doubled her money on a Californian home she bought last year. The Malibu estate on 1.4 acres was bought by Crawford and her restaurateur husband Rande Gerber for $6 million and having renovated the 1958 home they listed it for $15.45 million. Zillow reports that it has now been sold for just shy of the asking price, at $13.341 million.