“It really takes you back in time, [but] with all of the modern conveniences of today,” says listing agent Lisa Kartz. “It’s like nothing else; [it’s] one of a kind.”
Built in the Mediterranean Revival style in 1926 by John M. Beasley, the Beasley House is on the market for the second time in five years, this time for $775,000. It last changed hands for $525,000 in 2015 and has undergone significant renovations since then.
“The floors are original, a lot of the tile is original,” says Kartz. “The kitchen was completely remodeled just three years ago, but keeping with the same theme throughout the entire house.”
There are updated appliances in the kitchen, a modern bathroom, and new windows throughout the home. Or “all the comforts of today,” adds the agent.
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The home is on a third of an acre and has three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.
“From various areas in the house, [there are] peekaboo views of Sarasota Bay,” Kartz says. “What I think is unique about this house is, for a period house the rooms are very large and generous.”
Interior
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There’s also a three-car garage along with a private courtyard and pool. Architects Pringle and Smith designed this home and other buildings in the Sarasota area, including the Orange Blossom Hotel and the Sarasota Terrace Hotel.
Based in Atlanta, Frances Palmer Smith and Robert Smith Pringle had one of the leading Southern architecture firms of the early 20th century.
Pool and courtyard
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In 1996, the home was listed on the National Register of Historic places, a designation that protects its integrity and reinforces its significance.
“It must maintain its original exterior for it to remain on the National Register of Historic Places,” Kartz says.
Historic designation
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The Beasley House sits alongside other historic homes in the city’s Whitfield Estates neighborhood.
“People want something that is unique, something that is different, and something that is not cookie-cutter and that really explains Whitfield Estates,” Kartz explains. “Every house is different. You’ve got everything from historic, to modern, to 1950s midcentury, to brand-new construction. You’ve got a little bit of it all.”
And thanks to this home’s location, new owners can choose to join the nearby Sara Bay Country Club, which features one of the oldest golf courses in Florida, designed by Donald Ross.
The perfect buyer “would be somebody who appreciates the grandeur of the ’20s and the workmanship of the roaring ’20s,” Kartz says. “It is absolutely like stepping back into the 1920s. It has been maintained and restored to what we think would be how it originally was.”
Football Hall of Famer Lynn Swann wants to catch a buyer for his beautiful Los Angeles home. Located in the middle of the city, it’s on the market for $3,595,000.
Swann scooped up the place in 2017 for $3,080,000, right after the former wide receiver was named athletic director at the University of Southern California, his alma mater.
After three tumultuous years at USC, Swann resigned from the position. Now, he’s ready to move on from his home.
The residence was built in 2014, but Swann left custom touches the next owner can enjoy.
“You have a really well-built home that the Swanns have taken to the next level with their designer,” says listing agent Eric Lavey with Sotheby’s International Realty Beverly Hills Brokerage. “Their style is wonderful.”
Open living space
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Dining area
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Staircase
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A bedroom
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Upstairs patio
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Outdoor pool and living space
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The open and airy home now features built-in cabinetry, and a modern outdoor space with a kitchen was added next to the pool and spa. The furnishings are available for an additional cost.
Set on a 6,757-square-foot lot, the five-bedroom home has glorious indoor-outdoor flow thanks to disappearing glass walls, which open to the pool and patio. Privacy is ensured thanks to mature hedges surrounding the exterior.
The open layout includes a sleek kitchen, dining area, and living area. A dual-sided fireplace adds warmth to the minimalist space. A floating staircase leads to the bedrooms and additional patio space overlooking the yard.
Located near the Hancock Park and Beverly Grove neighborhoods, the home is an easy walk to local cafes and restaurants, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Swann, 67, has had a legendary career. At USC as a football player, he was an All-American for the Trojans. With the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1974 to 1982, he won four Super Bowl championships and was named Super Bowl MVP. In 2001, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
WILMINGTON, Del.—The purchase of an abandoned 10,000 square-foot DuPont mansion in an affluent Wilmington suburb may have been a stretch for a 32-year-old widower and father of two commuting daily to Washington for his job as a U.S. senator.
Then again, Joe Biden readily acknowledges that his passion for real estate occasionally overtook his common sense.
The son of a car salesman who was under frequent financial duress, Mr. Biden has seen up close what it looks like to scrape by. He also knows what it feels like to be worried about his mortgage payments.
As Mr. Biden faces a make-or-break moment for his presidential campaign Saturday in South Carolina, he has emphasized that background, trying to draw a contrast with primary rivals who include two billionaire businessmen.
The former vice president has cultivated a decadeslong brand as “Middle Class Joe” and often referred to himself as “one of the poorest members of Congress.” But Mr. Biden’s financial struggles, compared with many of his colleagues, weren’t just a product of his reliance on a government salary. They also stemmed from his penchant for buying stately houses, a Wall Street Journal review of public records and interviews with his current and former associates found.
Mr. Biden’s efforts to live like some of his wealthier Senate colleagues at times led him to borrow money against the value of his homes and life insurance policies, and he routinely reported a negative net worth.
Unlike many of his former colleagues who left office after a term or two and joined the private sector, Mr. Biden, 77 years old, served 44 years in office. After his vice presidency ended, he earned more than $15 million in two years from speeches, teaching positions and book deals.
“Money to him was to provide for his family, to have a nice house, to pay for his kids’ school,” said Ted Kaufman, a top aide to Mr. Biden starting with his 1972 Senate run who was appointed to Mr. Biden’s Senate seat when he became vice president.
Boyhood move to Wilmington
Scranton, Pa., the working-class town where Mr. Biden was born, figures prominently in his campaign speeches. “Look, I’m running because so many people are being left behind,” Mr. Biden said in the Las Vegas debate last week. “People I grew up with in Scranton—when my dad lost his job, lost his house—had to move.”
The family resettled in Wilmington by the time Mr. Biden was 10. The Delaware city showed the young Mr. Biden what real wealth looked like: New housing developments like the one his family moved to were filled with professionals at the DuPont chemical company, and its namesake founders and heirs had scattered their stately homes throughout the area.
Mr. Biden lived at 1114 Wilson Rd. in Wilmington, Del., as a youngster and later purchased it.
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Fresh out of law school, Mr. Biden established his spending pattern. He borrowed money to start a law practice and held office on the New Castle County Council while supporting his wife, Neilia, and their growing family.
Mr. Biden’s 2007 autobiography, “Promises to Keep,” chronicles his predisposition for real estate he could barely afford. By the time he and Neilia were ready to buy a house, he wrote, “I’d thought about houses quite a bit already. My idea of Saturday fun was to jump in the Corvette with Neilia and drive around the Wilmington area scouting open houses, houses for sale, land where we could build.”
“Even as a kid in high school I’d been seduced by real estate,” he wrote.
Mr. Kaufman recalled how Mr. Biden carried issues of Architectural Digest with him on his near-daily Amtrak commutes between Delaware and Washington and on campaign planes. “He’s interested in real estate the way I’m interested in the Philadelphia Eagles.”
By the time he was 28, Mr. Biden had purchased four different properties in quick succession, juggling a loan from his father-in-law and three mortgages at times. “I was in constant danger of falling behind,” he wrote in his book.
His first big commission as a lawyer paid him $5,000, he wrote in his autobiography. He cashed the check and bought a massive wooden desk, a dining set and a four-poster bed, spending “maybe more than the check” he had earned.
“A more practical young family might have played it safer,” Mr. Biden wrote. “But this was our adventure, and Neilia was so sure of our future.”
Mr. Biden bought this home at 228 North Star Rd. in Wilmington, when he was a young lawyer and county council member.
Julie Bykowicz/The Wall Street Journal
Mr. Biden bought a centuries-old Colonial home on North Star Road, which he could afford only after selling off his three other properties “in a hurry to raise cash for the down payment,” he wrote. The property came with a big political problem: It wasn’t in his council district. His solution was to move his parents into the grand new property and live in their home instead, he wrote.
The widowed senator
Mr. Biden’s surprise win of a U.S. Senate seat at age 29 in the fall of 1972 meant the end of his brief foray in the private sector. He sold his law firm to his law school friend, Jack Owens, who would later marry Mr. Biden’s sister, Valerie. The terms of the sale weren’t disclosed.
Mr. Biden’s wife and baby daughter died in a car crash in late 1972. A few years later, while on a Senate salary of $42,500, he sold the house on North Star and bought the DuPont mansion for $185,000. Financial advisers often suggest buyers shouldn’t pay more than 2½ times their annual income for a home, though many Americans do.
The house, dubbed “The Station,” served as Mr. Biden’s political hub for years, including during his short-lived 1988 presidential run. His aides saw him pump cash and time into keeping up the home and its grounds.
“Whatever he gets, the house eats for breakfast. That house loves cash,” Richard Ben Cramer wrote in the 1992 presidential campaign book “What It Takes.”
In 1996, Mr. Biden, by then married to Jill Biden and with a teenage daughter, sold The Station for his asking price, $1.2 million, to the then-vice chairman of credit-card company MBNA. Media analyses found the price was in line with other properties in the area.
Mr. Biden built this lakefront house on 1209 Barley Mill Rd. in Wilmington after selling ‘The Station’ in 1996.
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He bought 4 acres of lakefront property on nearby Barley Mill Road and built a house secluded from public view. While vice president, he rented out a cottage on the property to the Secret Service for $2,200 a month, government contract records show. He still owns it.
The family elder
Mr. Biden’s economic struggles are displayed in his years of personal financial-disclosure forms that show he frequently owed more money than he had in cash and assets. His wife has been a community-college instructor since 1993.
“My net worth was zero a couple of times,” Mr. Biden said at a debate this month in New Hampshire. “I’ve never focused on money for me.”
In 2007, his final year as a Delaware senator, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics ranked Mr. Biden as the least wealthy senator.
Family issues added to the financial stress. In 2014, as his oldest son, Beau Biden, was suffering from terminal brain cancer, Mr. Biden told then-President Obama that he might need to take out a second mortgage on his house to help Beau’s family make ends meet.
Mr. Biden’s finances in his second-to-last year as vice president looked especially precarious. He reported between $291,000 and about $1 million in assets and income outside his vice-presidential salary of $230,700, and between $780,000 and about $1.6 million in liabilities, according to his 2016 personal financial disclosure form, the last one he filed in office. Leaving the government sparked a financial turnaround, subsequent financial documents show.
With their annual income now in the seven figures for the first time in their lives, the Bidens increased their charitable giving and started foundations. They also bought a $2.7 million beach house on the Delaware shore.
Speaking to voters Wednesday in Georgetown, S.C., Mr. Biden said that after leaving office and making more money, “I kept a commitment that I made to my wife who was raised on the Jersey Shore that one day we would have a place in Rehoboth Beach. I had no idea what the hell it cost! And so I was able to just, with the money we made, I was able to buy her a house.”
—Ken Thomas in Georgetown, S.C., and researcher Jim Oberman contributed to this article.
Everyone, it seems, is finally coming to grips with the threat posed by the rapidly spreading coronavirus. The stock market drops reflect investor panic over the possible effects on the global economy, and are causing regular folks to worry about their retirement funds. And would-be home buyers and home sellers? Well, they’re buckling in for a bumpy ride with plenty of blind corners.
The World Health Organization warned—again—on Friday that the virus that causes COVID-19 could soon reach most, if not all, countries around the world.
So what will be the impact of this mounting crisis on the American real estate markets?
Already, mortgage interest rates have fallen as investors take their money out of the stock market and put the cash into safer U.S. Treasury bonds. When bonds are strong, mortgage rates typically go down.
While this is a short-term boon for buyers on a budget and sellers trying to drum up offers on their homes, a prolonged stock market plunge could put the brakes on home sales, especially in luxury markets. If the stock market continues its slide, that could help usher in a recession—and that could drag down the housing market by sidelining potential buyers, low rates or no.
“People don’t make big decisions in a vacuum, and buying a home is a big one,” says realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “If the stock market is flashing a sign that an economic slowdown is on the way, that’s when Main Street will feel it. And it could lead to a slowdown in home sales.”
The plunge in the financial markets is particularly concerning because there’s no end in sight, says Jonathan Way, a self-employed investment consultant based in Los Angeles. The market has had a good run, he says, rising for about a decade, and 2019 was a particularly good year. But the recent fall “was a sign that this [virus] was really going to have a serious impact,” he says.
China is the world’s second-largest economy and the largest exporter of goods. So all the quarantines, travel bans, and disruptions to the supply chain were bound to be felt worldwide.
“The economy has been chugging along pretty good. But the virus is a wild card that could slow things down,” says Way.
Luxury real estate is the most vulnerable to a stock market drop
The luxury real estate market is generally the most vulnerable to stock market drops. The reason is simple: Wealthy buyers who can afford $1 million-plus homes generally have more money invested in stocks. When markets are down, it takes a bite out of these folks’ net worth.
“If you’re feeling less wealthy, you’re less likely to make a large purchase,” says Hale.
In addition, fewer Chinese buyers, who have made up a significant chunk of luxury buyers, are touring properties in the U.S. these days, thanks to the temporary travel ban enacted to prevent the spread of the virus.
“With stock market volatility, the market is going to remain slow,” says Ali Wolf, director of economic research at Meyers Research, national building consultants based in Costa Mesa, CA. “If the stock market continues to fall, there’s going to be a lot of luxury homes for sale and not a lot of buyers looking for them.”
New York City–based luxury real estate agent Dolly Lenz says it’s still business as usual for now, but that another precipitous drop in the stock market might change things in the luxury market, where homes always take the longest to sell due to their high prices.
“Real estate is a confidence play in the economy. If people lose their confidence, they’re going to think twice about what they’re paying for something,” Lenz says. “It doesn’t mean they won’t buy it, but they may [not want to pay as much] for it.”
Buyers may dive in to the market—or sit it out
The stock market drops and the spread of the virus could also affect the number of homes sold. For now, the lower mortgage rates, which are likely to continue ticking down, seem to have given sales a boost.
The pending sales index for January jumped 5.2% over the past month and was up 5.7% compared with the previous year, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The index measures purchases of existing homes that haven’t closed yet. It does not look at new construction.
Lower mortgage rates equal lower monthly payments, which means buyers can afford more expensive properties. Rates ticked down to 3.45% for 30-year fixed-rate loans as of Thursday, according to Freddie Mac.
“Buyers right now are trying to juggle whether or not they should jump in when mortgage rates are this low,” says Wolf, of Meyers Research. “What looks like a home that’s out of reach may actually be very affordable on a monthly payment schedule.”
Plus, all this uncertainty may make some folks long for security. And what’s more secure than owning your home?
“We may see a bit of a boost in home sales in the short term,” says realtor.com’s Hale. But depending on what happens, “it’s possible we could see sales slow down later in the spring.”
An additional complication: If the virus spreads significantly in the U.S., buyers may become uncomfortable mingling with strangers at open houses or signing all that paperwork in person.
“At the very least, the coronavirus could cause some people to put home sales on hold,” says Hale.
Depending on just how bad things get, home prices could flatten, dip, or even drop by as much as 10%, says Wolf. But sellers shouldn’t freak out and buyers shouldn’t hold their breath.
“That’s the worst case,” says Wolf. “We’re not there yet. It’s only been a week of this kind of turmoil [in the stock market]. It could rebound.”
Legendary stock car racer Dale Earnhardt Jr. is speeding away from his historic Key West, FL, home. He’s asking $3.7 million for the spread.
The “one-of-a-kind house” in the heart of Old Town “is steeped in rich and mysterious history,” the listing description explains.
Built in 1863, during the Civil War era, the structure retains much of its original architecture, and has been “lovingly” maintained ever since. Records show the home last changed hands in 2009, for $2.4 million.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Key West home
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Front porch
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Kitchen with a pirate ship theme
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Dining room
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Living room
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One of five bedrooms
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With five bedrooms and 3.5 baths, the home includes some quirky details, such as a secret hidden hatch door that enables you to spy on people in the parlor. Along with one of the largest and deepest pools in Key West, there’s a gate from the second-floor porch that opens to allow brave souls to jump from the elevation into the water.
The space has also clearly received a tuneup from its current owner. The driver artfully redesigned the kitchen with a pirate theme, featuring skull-and-crossbone decor and a ship wheel. As for the style of the rest of the home, the decor gives off a casual island vibe, with multiple access points out to the pool, dark wood, and aqua-blue plantation shutters.
Plus, the property also includes a one-bedroom guesthouse, which can be converted into a two-bedroom, one-bath residence.
This isn’t the first time the NASCAR star has put his spin on a Key West abode. In 2018, he and his wife, Amy, placed a home they’d fixed up on the DIY network for a multipart series, “Renovation Realities: Dale Jr. & Amy.” On the market for $2.6 million, it sold quickly.
When not wheeling and dealing in real estate, the 45-year-old, semiretired driver,is also a team owner, author, and analyst for NASCAR on NBC. Before retiring as a full-time driver in 2017, the two-time Daytona 500 winner had racked up 26 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series, a total that puts him in the top 40 in NASCAR history.
Bob Cardenas with Ocean Sotheby’s International Realty holds the listing.
An elegant piece of Omaha history is this week’s most popular home on realtor.com®. After a complete exterior face-lift, the national landmark known as the Edgar Zabriskie Home landed on the market and racked up tons of clicks.
Built in 1889 by a Civil War veteran, Edgar Zabriskie, the blue Queen Anne beauty offers oodles of timeless charm. At 131 years old, the historic home was one of the first built in the city’s Bemis Park neighborhood. Its gingerbread-style good looks impressed folks from coast to coast, who couldn’t help but click on this stellar example of Victorian style.
Besides this ultra-nice house in Nebraska, you also clicked on a family compound in Louisiana with two separate homes and a 14-car garage, a rugged cabin in the remote Alaskan shipping village of Port Protection, and an empty (and spooky!) Gothic building in Indiana.
Of course, you couldn’t resist another look at the grooviest, greenest 1970s throwback condo, which is now pending sale.
While we attempt to finagle an invite to the housewarming party at the green time capsule, we invite you to scroll through the entire list of this week’s 10 most popular homes…
Why it’s here: Party at this place! This family compound is built for a big crowd, with a 14-car garage, two separate residences, and nearly 14,000 square feet of living space. Sitting on 4.5 acres, the main house features six bedrooms, while the additional home on the property offers an additional three bedrooms.
Why it’s here: Some folks are fascinated by the idea of living in Port Protection. The National Geographic reality TV show about a few hardy souls who live in the area recently returned to the air, and spurred a wave of searches on the remote town. This place is tucked on over an acre, far, far away from the rest of the world in this remote fishing village, which is accessible only by boat or plane. The rustic cabin needs a lot of work, and since living in Port Protection means essentially living off the grid, extensive DIY and remote living skills are essential.
Why it’s here: This luxury 5.5-acre estate outside Waco is being sold by former Baylor head coachMatt Rhule. He’s now headed to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and no longer needs a Texas residence. The 8,100-square-foot house has a ton of upgrades, and the recent poolhouse and gym addition was undertaken by local home design royalty Chip and Joanna Gaines.
Why it’s here: Fully remodeled and priced to move, this three-bedroom home from 1960 isn’t expected to last long, according to the listing details. It boasts modern interiors, and a new kitchen, windows, and bathrooms. The location is close to freeways, shopping, and dining, so it’s sure to check plenty of boxes for house hunters in the hot SoCal housing market.
Why it’s here: Inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright‘s Prairie style, and custom-built in 2006, this massive 15,000-square-foot home is filled with light. Walls of windows bring views of the backyard creek inside, to be enjoyed all year long. Custom highlights include 20-foot-high ceilings and oversized rooms for large-scale entertaining.
Why it’s here: Uninhabited since 2010, this Gothic building built in 1931 needs a full renovation and could be reimagined into lodging, apartments, or converted for commercial use. Sitting on more than 6 acres close to town and behind a golf course, the property is being sold as is and includes the main building and a pole barn.
Why it’s here: A sale is now pending on this retro green time-capsule condo, which was professionally decorated when it was built in 1974, and has largely sat empty ever since. It’s unclear whether the new owners intend to keep the funky fresh interiors inside the three-bedroom residence or to give it a modern makeover, but we sincerely hope they consider keeping everything intact.
Why it’s here: Custom-built in 2016, this luxurious, four-bedroom country retreat offers more than 3,200 square feet and sits on 5 acres. Loaded with upgrades like cathedral ceilings, plantation shutters, heart of pine floors, and custom-tiled bathrooms, the home epitomizes refined farmhouse living, with every modern convenience.
Why it’s here: We love a storybook residence! Striking fairy-tale architecture is the hallmark of this roomy five-bedroom home. It was built in 1925 and sits on more than an acre. Highlights include a sunken living room, large, private deck, stone foyer, fireplaces, and arched doorways.
Why it’s here: This classic from 1889 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is well-known throughout Omaha. The Edgar Zabriskie home still has its original gas-light fixtures and a bell system intended for the servants that still works. Inside, you’ll also see exquisite woodwork, including pocket doors, mantles, intricately carved railings, and banisters.
It’s filled with beautifully carved wood features throughout its spacious eight bedrooms, three bathrooms, and 4,300 square feet. Exterior paint, cedar siding, and a recently upgraded new roof have given this old lady a graceful, colorful makeover.
The owners of a distinctive Palo Alto, CA, home are moving on after just three years. Though their tenure was short, they undertook a massive, thoughtful restoration of this Queen Anne Victorian from 1900. The 4,500-square-foot home is now on the market for $5,488,000.
“The owner did a great job keeping the home in [the] Queen Anne style,” says listing agent Michael Repka of DeLeon Realty, who notes that they added “features people are looking for in a modern home.
“She has an incredible sense of design. She fell in love with it the moment she saw it,” Repka says of the owner.
Queen Anne style rose to popularity from 1880 to 1910, during the Victorian era. Key elements of the style are a wraparound porch, bay windows, carved woodwork on the staircase, doorplates, stained-glass windows, coved and coffered ceilings, embossed wall coverings, and arched and wide doorways.
Such historic homes are rare in the affluent city, Repka says. “Land in Palo Alto is so valuable. Over the years a home tends to get remodeled or rebuilt.” This means vintage architecture like this is hard to find.
Woodwork
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Kitchen
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Repka and his team are using an unconventional strategy to market the home. They produced a video with guests (surprise: it’s them!) in period costume and period-style music, complete with a “Downton Abbey” vibe.
“We really wanted to play up the style,” says Repka. “A couple of years ago, we hired a creative director to look at the houses and showcase their best features.”
The video also highlights updates to the home, including new light fixtures, updated baths, and restored wall treatments and wood flooring. The renovated kitchen also stands out with its luxury range, ivory and ebony cabinets with gold hardware, apron sink with gold faucet, built-in window seating, and island.
Two bedrooms were combined into a bonus suite on the top floor; it comes with a bath, bar, kitchen, and sitting area.
“The homes of this age often have very small bedrooms,” says Repka, noting the need to create larger bedroom spaces for today’s buyers.
Bonus suite
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Bar in bonus suite
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Bath in bonus suite
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One of the bedrooms
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One of the bedrooms
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Closet
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One of the baths
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When the owner acquired the property in 2017 for $4.1 million, Repka says, “it was pretty rough. There were a lot of problems with the foundation. In addition to the aesthetics she fixed, they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the foundation.”
Located on Forest Avenue in Crescent Park, the home is close to downtown’s University Avenue, which is lined with shops, bars, and restaurants.
“This is the most desirable part of Crescent Park. People like Forest Avenue because there’s a median in the middle about 30 feet wide that gives a neighborhood feel,” says Repka. “You have more architectural variety. You get more of the feeling of a luxury suburb than an urban neighborhood.”
