via housingwire.com
Chappaqua Realtor | Housing misery highest in swing states Florida and Nevada
Leave a reply
Daily Archives: October 18, 2012
Armonk Realtor | Housing starts increase by 15%
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reports privately owned housing starts increased 15% since August from an annual rate of 758,000 to 872,000 homes.
That is 34.8% above last year’s rate of 647,000. The single-family housing starts in September climbed 11% at a rate of 603,000 from August where it was at 543,000. The September rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 206,000.
Authorized building permits for privately owned housing grew 11.6% in September at annual rate of 894,000 from August’s annual rate of 801,000, and is a 45.1% increase from last year.
Single-family authorizations in September grew 6.7% in September at a rate of 545,000 from August’s rate of 511,000. Authorizations of units in building with five or more were at a rate of 323,00 in September.
The 15% increase in housing starts is a great thing, because this means that the household formation rates have grown. In 2011, they doubled for a positive housing demand, which means consumers are purchasing more property rather than renting.
Existing home and new home sales are also increasing at a 10% year-over-year rate, which mean demand is significantly higher, and mortgage rates are at an all time low. Since consumers are purchasing properties more now, the existing home inventory is down 20% year-over-year and at six months supply, which is back to normal for a good, healthy market.
Specifically, new home construction will make a fill comeback once the job market rebounds. With these current trends that we are seeing now, analysts expect a slow, but positive improvement in both markets.
via housingwire.com
California foreclosure activity reaches 5-year low | Mount Kisco NY Real Estate
The number of California homes landing in foreclosure reached a five-year low in the third quarter as home prices rose, home sales ticked up and more distressed borrowers obtained short sales.
DataQuick reported that 49,026 notices of default were recorded on homes in the state during the third quarter. That is down 10.2% from the 54,615 properties reported in the second quarter and a 31% drop from the 71,275 notices recorded a year earlier.
Short sales helped stave off foreclosures by allowing homeowners to escape without facing the distress that comes with a foreclosure. Short sales overall made up 26% of the state’s resale activity during the third quarter.
However, DataQuick says that may change when the New Year kicks-in since a temporary debt forgiveness feature to the tax code will expire without Congressional intervention. The feature encourages short sales for troubled borrowers, giving them a way out without having to pay a penalty on the debt forgiven.
Home prices also are rising giving homeowners more equity. The median price for a California home hit $300,000 last quarter, a 32% jump from the market’s bottom price of $227,000 in the first-quarter of 2009.
via housingwire.com
10 Tips To Make ‘Working From Home’ Work For You | North Salem NY Real Estate
Much like how freelancing isn’t for everyone, the idea of working from home is not really everyone’s cup of tea either. Sure, you get to work in your bunny slippers, no one steals your lunch from the fridge and if you hate office politics and traffic jams, it’s actually a godsend to be able to work from home. But that doesn’t mean that life’s going to be a bed of roses.
For starters, if you were to choose to work from home, most bosses would ask that you take a paycut (in lieu of not having to turn up at the office). Plus, you can absolutely expect your friends and family to take advantage of your newfound ‘freedom’. The working hours will become a blur, and sometimes if you are not careful, you’ll find yourself working 7 days a week just to catch up with all the time you’ve lost! But if you have decided that working from home is your only option, here are a few tips that may help you make the best of it.
Recommended Reading: 9 Things You Should Consider Before Freelancing Full-time
1. An Understanding Family
One of the hardest thing about working from home is setting boundaries with the people you share ‘home’ with. It’s definitely easier to understand that you are not to be disturbed when you are at the office than when you are in the back room.
Start setting boundaries from the first day you start work. Granted it will get some getting used to (about 66 days in fact) but your children, flat mates, siblings or parents must learn to give you your 8 hours (or more) a day so you can get things done.
2. Get Help
If you have very young children, you will need to get help. A 3-year-old would consider having to go poo an emergency and they expect you to treat it like one (drop everything and get me to the loo quick!). In this case, it would be helpful to have another adult in the house, or to drop your children off at daycare, or a babysitter’s to get a few uninterrupted hours to yourself.
(Image Source: Camilo Jimenez)
During busy periods, you can always get a cleaning lady to help straighten up the mess you call home. Give yourself the peace of mind required to get your work done.
3. Get Your Own No-Fly Zone
It will help to have a room, a workstation or at the very least a desk in a quiet area in your home. Here is where you keep your laptop or PC, fax machine or phone, work documents like reports and invoices, your stationery etc. And it would be good to ensure that no one but you are to use your equipment.
In case this is not possible, stock up on your essentials (e.g. always keep some ink stored away for emergencies).
(Image Source: apartment therapy)
For some inspiration, check out the Modern Office Designs from Around the World
4. I’m Working, Honey!
Within these four invisible walls, you are working and you are to treat it like how you would treat your old office. Coming to work is merely a hop into your ‘cubicle’ and going home is ‘hopping out’. Everything else should remain as it was – keep problems, issues and matters that have to do with home outside of your no-fly zone. If you can convince yourself to compartmentalize like this, it will be easier to convince everyone else.
5. Deliver the hours
Depending on what has been ironed out in the clauses of your contract (or discussed over two cups of coffee) you will be expected to deliver certain working hours for your work-from-home job. The good news with working from home is that nobody is keeping track; the bad news is nobody is keeping track (let that sink in for a bit).
(Image Source: Fotolia)
Don’t think that you can prop up your feet and catch a whole season of your sitcoms in one afternoon and try to work it back during the weekends.
Do it often enough and it will turn into a habit in the long run. Have some self-restraint and keep the entertainment to after hours or the weekends.
Read also: Time-tracking App for Freelancers [Mac]
6. Have a Routine (and Breaks)
Apart from the reason that we are just tired of commuting, another reason to work from home is because of other responsibilities you have that require you to be home. It could be because of your children, your old nana or your spouse who had suffered a broken leg from an accident. In this case, you will need to set a routine that will ensure that you can be there for them and for your company.
For the rest of us, the routine will help with keeping up with house chores – and the breaks you schedule in will help you keep your sanity. It’s also great to help you recharge for the next project or refuel your inspiration. If you get breaks while you’re in the office, there is no reason you can’t take breaks when you are at home.
7. Open Up, Be Reachable
The problem most managers have with their employees working from home is that they can’t keep an eye on them. Make it easier for your boss by being reachable whenever possible. Let them know when you are not around like when you are heading out to the bank or post office, and when you will be back.
(Image Source: Fotolia)
Keep yourself in check at all times so your boss doesn’t have to. After a while once a routine is set in, the reins will loosen and you will have the freedom to roam about freely… which could lead to another problem.
8. Deliver the goods
One thing that should always be at the back of your head is that your productivity should not diminish when you work from home. If it is counterproductive for you to be working from home, what’s to stop them from making you brave traffic and parking wardens to turn up at the office again?
(Image Source: Fotolia)
Set quotas for yourself and discuss roadblocks or problems that you have with your colleagues or managers while working on a project. Consider joining in brainstorming sessions via conferencing tools, but stay away from the office politics or gossip.
Read also: Best of Online Meeting and Web Conferencing Tools
9. Get out of the house
Moderation is key. Working in solitude has its disadvantages but only because humans are social creatures. Hence, getting out of the house is very important. If you don’t have to go back to the office to have meetings or deliver progress reports, you can bring your laptop and work at a coffee shop or meet a friend during lunch.
The idea is to break the monotony of working with your shadow and your reflection.
10. Stay healthy
Get plenty of fluids and eat healthy, and if you aren’t a fan of exercise, just try to move around whenever you can. This gets oxygen into your blood circulation which can be the cure to that dullness you’ve been feeling after looking at the same project day in, day out for months! Relax with music, some light reading or make lunch for yourself.
(Image Source: Fotolia)
Also you should pamper yourself for being able to keep away from online distractions and for getting the job done with minimal (or no) supervision. Not everyone can do it, so when you do, reward yourself for it!
via hongkiat.com
Every Picture Tells a Story; A Beginning, a Middle, and NEXT | Cross River NY Real Estate
Sept. 27 was a new beginning for me. It was the day I walked into Inman News to start my new position as social media director, and the day I met my new teammates. Katie Lance had just come off an extremely busy week of travel, and like old friends she welcomed me with a warm hug. With a deep breath, we were off.
Katie introduced me to everyone, and I received my first tour of the offices. In the back of the main office, something caught my eye: a row of vintage typewriters placed neatly next to one another. When I asked Katie why they were there, she said they belonged to Brad Inman.
Brad is Inman’s founder, and right away I wanted to know more about not only where I was going, but what got Inman News HERE. So much has changed in the years since Inman News started, so I asked Brad if I could get a starting point, a foundation. I wanted a place to spring from, in context, history, and Brad’s personal story. Every business starts with a vision, a passion, a need to serve, the love of someone or something. I asked Brad to add some of his words to my story. I asked the questions, and Brad shared his answers. The result is a connection, and an understanding.
A Beginning – The Love of a Craft … and Typewriters
Q: The typewriters: What do they mean to you?
A: “The vintage typewriters are beautiful, and, for me, symbolize the craft of journalism. I watched my father type in his retail store and wanted to be everything like him. I was a self-taught typist by about 6 years old. My dad’s typewriter is in the collection plus the one I had in high school when I wrote a weekly sports column for the local newspaper. My calculus teacher was the football coach. In 1968, he had a losing season and hated what I was writing about his lousy team. Though I was pretty good at math, he gave me a bad grade. It was my first lesson with angry story subjects. Now, what does that have to do with typewriters? Nothing.”
Article continues below–>
A Middle – Journalism Meets Real Estate
Q: What came first: the love of real estate or writing?
A: “Writing, then real estate. In the 1980s, I was part of a band of writers including Ken Harney, Lew Sicheleman, Bob Bruss, Corrie Anders, Bruce Koon and many others who were working to make real estate sections credible with serious journalism about a serious subject. Before that, real estate sections were often held hostage by advertisers who provided content in the form of advertorials. UGH.”
When asked about what triggered him to create Inman News, Brad said, “There was no big vision. I was a consumer real estate writer and stumbled upon a tech mess-up at the National Association of Realtors just as the commercial Internet came out in 1996. I began posting stories about these events at NAR on Inman.com. I even had a secret source inside the ranks of NAR’s leadership. Suddenly, I had industry readers on this free site and I was in the online trade publication business without any real plan. I got lucky. My continuing inspiration came from my industry readers who were starved for a new voice around technology and innovation and a publication that had no fear about covering whatever I came across. As Inman News rankled many, we were cheered on by many more.”
NEXT…
Technology moves fast. I believe that humans don’t. We’ve moved well past typewriters, but we hang onto the things that are important to us. They remind of us of who we are and what we love most, and remind us that nothing ever stays the same. The stories that connect us are important to listen to and to share. The technology we use to build and advance the real estate industry, and our businesses, are simply the tools we use to make those connections to consumers.
For me, what’s next is refining and perfecting the craft of building businesses that are custom made for your consumer. The differentiation we can provide in mobile, social media, and technology strategies must communicate with and anticipate the consumer’s needs. Adopting and implementing these strategies are skills that we can all work on together. My hope is to continue to build a community that is ready to do just that. I’m looking forward to what’s next, and to joining you in that journey. I’m ready to dig in.
“The real estate industry is a very important industry that needs to be taken seriously and must be encouraged to do right by the consumer.” -Brad Inman
via next.inman.com
Quick Tip: How to Add a Twitter Tab to Your Facebook Business Page | Waccabuc NY Real Estate
via next.inman.com
Top 10 Social Networking Sites by Market Share of Visits | South Salem NY Real Estate
via dreamgrow.com
Latest Housing Affordability Index Data | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate
The recent Existing Home Sales release published showed a sixth consecutive month of single-family home prices higher than a year ago. What does this mean for affordability? The answer may surprise you.
The August Existing Home Sales release published in late September showed a strong rise in home prices from a year ago – 10.2 percent for the median priced existing single-family home sold. This news is reassuring for owners who can expect that wealth they have accumulated in their property will maintain or increase, but at first glance this seems to be troubling news for potential buyers who have not purchased a home yet. Have they missed the best time to buy?
The Housing Affordability Index offers some reassurance for these would-be buyers. As it turns out, the Housing Affordability Index suggests that the national median priced home was actually more affordable for the median-income family in August 2012 than it was in August 2011 even though home prices are up.
How is this possible? While prices are up compared to one year ago, mortgage rates are nearly a percentage point lower and incomes are up. In fact, the release of American Community Survey data on family incomes led to a slight upward revision of 2011 income and a subsequent slight increase in NAR’s projections for 2012. If you’re surprised to hear that, it may be because you heard about a decline in REAL family income as measured by the Census bureau. Nominal family income, the data used in this series that measures dollars actually earned in 2011, actually rose by 1.4 percent from 2010 to 2011.
Since the Housing Affordability Index factors in the effect of house prices AND income and mortgage rates, it is the case that nationally, the median priced home is more affordable to the median income family than it was a year ago. At 185.0, the Housing Affordability Index shows that the median income family earns 85 percent more than the income needed to qualify to purchase the typical home that was sold in August. Regionally, affordability is improved over one year ago in every area except the West, where the more than 15 percent year-over-year price gain offset more moderate income gains and the benefit of lower mortgage rates. Still, even in the West, the median income family earns at least 40 percent more than is needed to qualify to purchase the median priced existing home. Check out the data release here.
The Housing Affordability Index calculation assumes a 20 percent down payment and a 25 percent qualifying ratio (principle and interest payment to income). See further details on the methodology and assumptions behind the calculation here.
Jobless Claims for the Real Estate Market | Bedford NY Real Estate
Bedford NY jobless claims report
Housing industry recovering faster than many economists expected | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate
Housing is snapping back faster than many economists had expected, with home builders stepping up production of new homes nationally and fresh foreclosures in California falling to their lowest level since the early days of the bust.
Demand for housing has surged as interest rates have plummeted and home prices in many markets appear to have bottomed, particularly in states such as California where inventories of foreclosures and other lower-priced homes have sunk. The turnaround in prices and record-low supply of newly built homes also are luring builders back after six years of pain.
“The numbers are strong in September, and that is definitely a positive sign,” said Celia Chen, a housing economist with Moody’s Analytics. “It is confirmation that housing is lifting off the bottom.”
- Also
Residential construction starts rose 15% nationally last month from August to their highest annual rate in more than four years. A separate report showed that the number of troubled California borrowers entering foreclosure hit its lowest level in the third quarter since the dawning of the mortgage meltdown.
If the gains in housing hold, they could give consumer confidence a boost and help the broader economy recover. Housing has played an important part in lifting the nation out of past downturns but was hampered this time by the severity of the Great Recession and the huge number of vacant and foreclosed homes dragging down the market for years.
Now rising prices are helping homeowners in properties that for several years have been underwater, in which the house wouldn’t bring enough in a sale to pay off the mortgage. Rising values could play a role in lifting household finances if families feel more secure about the direction of the economy.
Any positive economic news presumably would be a boost for President Obama‘s reelection campaign, though both he and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have largely avoided a detailed debate on housing policy. Many on the left have said that Obama’s tepid and patchwork response to the housing downturn resulted in a slower recovery while the right has decried his policies as interventionist failures.
Michael D. Larson, a housing and interest rate analyst for Weiss Research, said the Federal Reserve‘s policies to keep mortgage interest rates low and Obama’s foreclosure prevention efforts have played some role in the recovery — but the improvements can mostly be attributed to natural market dynamics.
“It is certainly encouraging; housing has been this lead anchor around the economy’s neck,” he said. But “most of this is just the passage of time. I think if the Fed or the government had done absolutely nothing … we still would have seen some demand return.”
Several recent trends have underscored improvement in housing. Nationally, home builder stocks are up, prices have begun a modest recovery, and sales of newly built and previously owned homes have risen.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that construction of houses and apartment buildings rose in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 872,000, marking the third straight month of improvement. The figures surpassed economists’ expectations of about a 770,000 annual rate.
September had the best monthly performance since July 2008, when housing starts were on an annual pace of 923,000. Compared with September 2011, new housing starts jumped 34.8%, the Commerce Department said.
Last month’s growth was “surprisingly strong,” said David Crowe, chief economist at the National Assn. of Home Builders. “As consumer confidence rises and jobs return, more local markets and more consumers will join the buyer market, and I expect housing construction to continue a modest but fairly steady rise throughout 2013 and into 2014.”
The annual rate of new home groundbreaking still is far below the peak of more than 2.2 million units reached in early 2006 during the housing bubble. But the pace has picked up dramatically from the low of 478,000 in April 2009, and is up sharply from the 706,000 annual rate in May. Building permits for private housing construction, a sign of future activity, also jumped in September, up 11.6% from August and 45.1% from a year earlier. The annual rate in September was 894,000 building permits.
Patrick Newport, an economist with IHS Global Insight, said the increases were likely due to gains in household growth after years of people doubling or tripling up to wait out the worst of the downturn.
“What’s kicking in right now is simply the demographics,” Newport said. “We have been building at too low a rate for four years, and so demand has been suppressed because of the recession, and now it is starting to kick in.”
On the other side of the housing pipeline, the shortage of cheaply priced homes in California appears poised to continue. The number of Californians entering foreclosure dropped in the third quarter to its lowest level since early 2007, according to a report from real estate firm DataQuick. Foreclosure filings have fallen as banks work toward completing more loan modifications and short sales. An improving economy and rising prices have also helped.
“Prices in most areas today are up significantly from their low point in early 2009,” said John Walsh, president of DataQuick. “Additionally, during the past year, we’ve seen short sales overtake the foreclosure process as the procedure of choice to deal with homeowner distress.”
Notices of default fell 10.2% from the prior quarter and 31.2% from the same period last year, DataQuick reported. A total of 49,026 notices of default — the first stage of foreclosure in California — were filed on homes in the Golden State last quarter.
That was the lowest number since the first quarter of 2007, and a 63% decline from the first quarter of 2009, when notice of default filings peaked in the state.
The number of homes lost to foreclosure rose 5% from the prior quarter and dropped 41% from a year earlier. A total of 22,949 homes were lost to foreclosure last quarter.
via latimes.com