Daily Archives: September 4, 2012

Wall of windows overlooking Central Park: $20M | Bedford NY Homes for Sale

Click here to view the full photogallery.

Location: New York, N.Y.
Price: $20,000,000
The Skinny: Between the wall of windows overlooking the Natural History Museum and Central Park, the 24-foot ceilings, and the nearly 50-foot length, it’s understandable that the New York Daily News would term the grand salon in this Upper West Side penthouse the “greatest living room in the history of New York City.”

Set on the 13th floor of a Gothic-influenced “studio building,” the three-bedroom apartment is listed for $20 million, a huge, $13.5 million premium over the previous high sale for a three bedroom in this building. That world-beating living room, clearly the apartment’s key selling point, is decked out with a 17th-century stone fireplace imported from the Iberian peninsula, towering Corinthian columns, enough wall space for plenty of (assuredly pricey) art, and a ceiling hand-painted by Spanish artist Ramon Canet.

Sources: Elliman, Curbed NY

Architectural designs to cool summer heat | Bedford Corners NY Homes

Editor’s note: The following story excerpt is republished with permission of houzz.com. See the original article: Cool Architecture for Hot Summers.

With way-above-average temperatures kicking in throughout the country, it’s been another record-breaking summer. Seems that the real possibility of climate change, whether part of the earth’s natural cycle or caused by human activity, is something we’ll all have to deal with.

The good news is that for millennia people have been designing and building houses that can keep us comfortable no matter how uncomfortable it gets outside. So maybe it’s time to rediscover these age-old building techniques and incorporate more of them into our homes.

Here are a few time-tested heat-beating ideas — and some new ones — to consider.

Choose light-colored roofing

traditional exterior by Jonathan Parks Architect

Photo credit: Jonathan Parks Architect

We all probably learned in high school science class that the color black absorbs heat while white reflects it. This is why in the warmer climates a white or light-colored roof will repel the heat, keeping your home cooler.

Banks using short sales to meet robo-signing obligations | Chappaqua NY Homes

<a href="<a href=Short sale sign image via Shutterstock.

Banks are relying heavily on short sales to meet their obligations under the terms of a $25 billion settlement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers over so-called “robo-signing” practices. That’s according to a progress report from the settlement’s monitor detailing the first four months of implementation.

The terms of the settlement require the five servicers — Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial — to provide about $17 billion in homeowner relief, including short sales, loan modifications and principal reductions; and $3 billion to help underwater borrowers refinance.

As a group, the five banks reported providing a total of 137,846 borrowers with $10.56 billion in relief during the four months through June — an average of about $76,615 per borrower.

The vast majority of that relief was in the form of short sales, in which the servicer agreed to allow borrowers to sell their homes for less than the amount owed on the mortgage, or deeds in lieu of foreclosure, in which borrowers hand over all interest in the property to the lender to avoid foreclosure proceedings. Servicers waive any unpaid principal balance under either option.

  

See related stories:

States using robo-signing funds to plug budget gaps

Robo-signing settlement may boost short sales

  

A total of 74,614 borrowers received about $8.67 billion in relief, an average of $116,200 per borrower, in the form of a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure.

Because the settlement allows loan servicers to receive credit when they approve sales that include forgiveness of a portion of underwater homeowners’ debt, some industry observers predicted the settlement would boost the number of short sales offered by banks. 

Home prices post strongest growth in 6 years | Armonk NY Homes for Sale

<a href="<a href=Housing trend image via Shutterstock.

A home price index based on multiple listing service data showed national home prices were up 3.8 percent from a year ago in July, the biggest annual increase since August 2006.

Home prices were down from a year ago in 23 of the 100 largest markets tracked by data aggregator CoreLogic’s home price index, but that’s four fewer than in June.

And while the index showed national home prices are still off 27.2 percent from their April 2006 peak, CoreLogic’s pending home price index predicts home prices will post month-over-month appreciation of 1.3 percent in August, as they did in July. An increase like that in August would amount to 6 percent year-over-year growth.

The pace of price appreciation is moderating as markets transition to the off-season for homebuying, CoreLogic noted. But CoreLogic Chief Economist Mark Fleming predicted prices will post gains for the full year.

The five states with the highest annual price appreciation were Arizona (16.6 percent), Idaho (10 percent), Utah (9.3 percent), South Dakota (8.3 percent) and Colorado (7.3 percent).

Home prices in Arizona were still 42.8 percent below their 2006 peak. Only Nevada (-56 percent) and Florida (-44.2 percent) have fallen further. Other states with the largest peak-to-current price drops included California (-38 percent) and Michigan (-37.4 percent).

Is your local real estate market recovering? | Mt Kisco Real Estate

Surprisingly, economists generally agree that the housing market appears to be bottoming out this summer and should improve in 2013. Although home price increases are expected to be modest, and in some cities home prices are still declining, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price data, prices appear to be holding.

Despite Conference Board reports that consumer confidence dropped in August to the lowest level since late last year, a recent survey by Fannie Mae revealed that 73 percent of the 1,001 Americans asked believe that it is a good time to buy a home. Factors contributing to this are record low interest rates — in the mid-3 percent range in mid-July — and home prices at 2002 levels in some areas making housing more affordable.

Recent increases in rents and low vacancies also contribute to buyers once again favoring buying rather than renting. The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University recently released its “State of the Nation’s Housing” report, which reported that housing markets show “definitive signs of a turnaround.” With low housing affordability and increasing rents, it’s now cheaper to own a home in many markets than rent the same home, according to the study.

With recent speculation suggesting that we could be headed for a recession, many prospective homebuyers are still not convinced that now is the time to buy a home. However, if rents are rising and the inventory of rentals on the market is very low, buying becomes an attractive option even though the economy may stumble