The 234 Apartment

One district dominated San Francisco ’s luxury market when it came to both apartment and single- family home sales over the past year, according to a report out Monday from Paragon Real Estate Group . It’s an L-shaped stretch of four neighborhoods on the northern edge of the peninsula, including Pacific Heights , Presidio Heights , Cow Hollow and Marina. The tony area rises up on a ridge that overlooks the landmark Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island and is home to celebrities and historic mansions . More:  Check Out News from San Francisco ’s Luxury Market This area had the most single- family house sales over $3 million in the 12 months ending July 31 —a total of 77 deals at an average price per square foot of nearly $1,500, according to the report. It also dominated the city’s ultra- luxury transactions with nine sales for mansions priced over $10 million. The Pacific Heights- Presidio Heights district also led in the luxury apartment market . Over the past 12 months, there...

Chesterfield County again led the region for single- family home sales last year, but faces challenges when it comes to housing affordability.  That's according to Laura Lafayette, chief executive officer of the Richmond Association of Realtors, during her presentation to the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors this week. In the county, 5,460 single- family homes sold in 2016, a 13.5 percent increase from 2015 when Chesterfield again led the region. Sales in Chesterfield outpaced Henrico County , the second hottest housing market in the region last year, by 1,805 homes. The average sales price in Chesterfield was $266,484. Lafayette said she expected the number to be the same, if not slightly higher, by the end of 2017. "This is obviously a sellers market. If you want to purchase a house, you’ve got to bring a full-price offer," Lafayette said. While Chesterfield led the region for single- family home sales , Henrico came in first for condo and town home sales ...

DEVELOPMENT Apartment tower in Bay Village wins approval An apartment tower in Boston’s Bay Village neighborhood cleared a key hurdle this week when it was approved by the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals. Despite concern from some residents that the 199-foot building was out of scale with the low- slung brick neighborhood behind it, ZBA members voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the project. Transom Development wants to put 133 apartments on what’s now a surface parking lot and empty lot alongside the Revere Hotel. They hope to start construction in spring of 2018. — TIM LOGAN TRANSPORTATION Peter Pan reaches settlement in disabilities discrimination case A Massachusetts bus company accused of discriminating against passengers with disabilities has reached a settlement with federal prosecutors that resolves the allegations. The US attorney’s office in Boston said Wednesday that Peter Pan Bus Lines Inc. violated federal law by failing to ensure its motor coaches were access...

SEATTLE — And now, A Western folk ode to some newish Western folks : OH, GIVE ME A HOME … The first space Steven Rinella and Katie Finch shared didn ’t have much space at all: an 800-square-foot apartment in Brooklyn, outfitted with “hand-me-down furniture, from stoop sales,” Finch says. Her job with Amazon blazed their trail West, where they initially rented a Tudor in Madison Park before discovering a new, unmistakably modern option in Magnolia. “We had never thought about a modern home,” Finch says. Once they did, Rinella says, “I was opposed to it.” The vista is spectacular, though, and with three levels, 3,400 square feet and four bedrooms, there’s plenty of wide-open territory for a family (they have three kids, ages 2, 4 and 7). They staked their claim, then mapped out a plan to balance the modern aesthetic with “warm and cozy” furnishings, materials and finishes. Step One: They hired interior designer Joy Rondello of J+Studio, whom they met through the national, customized ...

WASHINGTON — Homebuilders pulled back sharply on construction of apartment complexes in July, causing housing starts to tumble to a three-month low. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that housing starts fell 4 .8 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.16 million. Groundbreakings for multi- family buildings such as apartments slumped 17.1 percent, while single- family house construction slipped 0 .5 percent. Home construction has increased 2.4 percent year-to-date, but the gains have done little to offset the dwindling number of homes listed for sale. The shortage of properties for sale has pushed prices up at a faster pace than income growth, making home ownership less affordable for many would-be buyers. Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities , said that because of the lack of homes on the market "builders are attempting to meet that need but are hamstrung to a degree by shortages of skilled workers" and land restrictions...

Another big development in St. Johns County is getting rolling. The three builders in Bannon Lakes have already been building in individual neighborhoods. But now the amenity center and entrance are complete, and it’s ready for a grand opening. Bannon Lakes is big at 580 acres and has plans for up to 849 single-family homes, 150 townhomes, 15,000 square feet of office and 105,000 square feet of commercial/retail. The three neighborhoods: Southshore at Bannon Lakes, KB Home, $220,000-$260,000. Bridge Bay at Bannon Lakes, Pulte Homes, $240,000-$300,000. It’s a gated, 55+ community. The Grove at Bannon Lakes, AV Homes, $285,000-$350,000. The grand opening is from 1 to 4 p.m. Sept. 16 and will feature food trucks and live music. Bannon Lakes is at the northeast corner of the Interstate 95 and International Golf Parkway interchange . That’s across the street from Markland, a 345-lot community and just west of Twelve Mile Swamp Conservation Area , which has no homesites for sale. Bannon Lak...

Johnson Chrome was a notorious big spender with a taste for bottle service , bespoke suits and $10,000 shoes. The source of his wealth? A sophisticated identity theft scheme that may have conned Torontonians out of millions. The untold story of the city’s most wanted fraudster Photographs: All portraits via Facebook; background by iStock T he fraudster who called himself Johnson Chrome liked to sit on a bench at the intersection of Hazelton and Yorkville, smoking a Montecristo Edmundo robusto and talking about fashion, cars and cigars to anyone who’d listen. He was charming and handsome, with a neatly trimmed beard , a shaved head and perfect teeth. The perch placed him at the centre of the rarefied universe he’d come to inhabit. His condo, in the former Four Seasons hotel, was steps to the west, and he parked his black Jaguar at the Hazelton Hotel opposite . His gym, the sleek Equinox, was a minute’s walk northwest; his preferred cigar shop , La Casa del Habano , was to the sout...

MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds SCHONDELMAYER, Chad et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union , Crystal Springs Plat No. 3, Lot 136, $315,875 KIRBY, Catherine J. et al, Quicken Loans, Walker, 2-7-12, $245,600 DAY, Eric G. et al, ChoiceOne Bank, Condo-Knockadoon Condominiums, $316,033 LOWE, Nathan et al, AmeriFirst Financial Corp ., Eastwood Plat, Lot 22, $223,250 KARCZEWSKI, Scott et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union , Grattan Twp., 17-8-9, $274,500 HAGA, Scott et al, Mercantile Bank Of Michigan, Princeton Estates No. 16, Lot 618, $219,600 SCHMIDT, Nancy A. et al, Finance Of America Reverse, Apple Valley Plat No. 3, Lot 31, $324,000 MULLINS, Lawrence H. et al, Independent Bank, Cascade Twp., 20-6-10, $256,410 COXON, Brad et al, ChoiceOne Bank, Solon Twp., 15-10-11, $260,000 3015 DORMAX LLC, Economic Development Foundation , Grand Rapids Gravel Industrial Park No. 2, Lot 37, $225,000 FASSETT, Brennan et al, Quicken Loans, Vergennes Twp., 31-7-9, $368,475 S...