Average rates in New York Metro, NY
| Loan Type | Today | Change | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 4.18% | 4.27% | |
| 15 yr fixed | 3.25% | 3.35% | |
| 30 yr fixed refi | 4.17% | 4.26% | |
| 15 yr fixed refi | 3.24% | 3.34% | |
| 30 yr jumbo | 4.39% | 4.41% | |
| 5/1 ARM refi | 3.47% | 3.62% |
Source: Bankrate.com
Mortgage originations are estimated to reach a total value of $1.2 trillion in 2014, a 32% drop from 2013 levels, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Tuesday.
The trade group elaborated on some of the trends expected next year:
“We expect mortgage rates will increase above 5 percent in 2014 and then increase further to 5.3% by the end of 2015. As a result, mortgage refinancing will continue to drop, and borrowers seeking to tap the equity in their homes will be more likely to rely on home equity seconds rather than cash-out refinances.”
“We will potentially see a small increase in refinances toward the end of 2015 as the Home Affordable Refinance Program 2.0 (HARP) expires but HARP activity during 2014 will still be low.”
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/27690-mba-mortgage-originations-to-drop-32-in-2014
This is the home’s narrowest point, 55 inches wide. Down the path on the left is the front door. Click to go to …
Did you spot the Spite House? It’s the wedge-shaped house in the upper left. Click to go to a slideshow.You might think that a little wedge-shaped house built explicitly to aggravate someone would be a tough sell.
Not in Seattle. Listed at $397,500, the home was just snapped up over the weekend, the real estate agent told Yahoo Homes, after spending only a couple of weeks on the market. “We had quite the interest!” she told us. (A local news story published Tuesday and picked up internationally might have helped the quick sale.)
Click here or on a photo to go to a slideshow.
Locals call it the Montlake Spite House. Legend has it that the home, on a mere sliver of a lot, was built by:
• A woman who won only a bit of yard in a divorce settlement, while her ex got the rest of the property, including the (normal-shaped) house they’d shared. Or …
• A landowner who was furious when the neighbor who owned the adjacent (normal-sized) lot made him a lowball offer on the sliver. Or …
• A traveler who, while visiting Germany, gave permission for someone to build on the lot — with the provision that enough land be left for a second house. When the traveler returned, he discovered that the new house took a lot more space than he’d expected, so, “out of spite, he [the landowner] built that funny little pie-shaped home” as an obstacle, the current homeowner told KPLU-FM’s Martha Kang. “I also heard that back when it was first built, the side that was facing the neighbor had been painted black.”
The house at 2022 24th Avenue East has 830 square feet, and it’s just 55 inches wide at its narrowest point. The house is shaped like a right triangle with its sharpest point slightly blunted — that’s the 55-inch-wide edge, where a mudroom and exit door lead into the yard. The longest side of the triangle (the hypotenuse) faces the street, with the entrance placed roughly at its center.
Click here or on a photo to go to a slideshow.
Lisa Horton, the current homeowner, told KPLU that the shape of the house was never much of an impediment, except when she was cooking: The kitchen is toward the narrow end of the house, so you can’t stand in front of the oven when you open it; you have to stand to the side.
http://homes.yahoo.com/blogs/spaces/montlake-spite-house-seattle-sells-231552209.html
It was 50 years ago today that demolition began on the New York icon that evokes intense nostalgia and mourning even today: the old Pennsylvania Station. To honor the day, Atlantic Cities rounded up some beautiful photos of the transit hub in its prime, but Curbed has opted to immerse us all in sad images of the de-construction process, as plans for Madison Square Garden loomed ahead. After all, it was the painful ripping apart of the soaring archways, domed ceilings, handsome columns, and more that lit a fire under the arse of the coalition that eventually made New York’s landmarks law a reality. The extensive demolition porn of yore comes to you courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York’s wonderfully extensive photo archives. Below, you’ll also find a handful of photos of Penn when it was still gloriously intact, which kinda intensifies the grief a little. While the site’s future remains uncertain—could we feasibly see a bonkers starchitect-designed railway station in our lifetimes?—the past is, sadly, a done deal.
Here now, what the pretty station looked like before the wrecking ball descended.
· Museum of the City of New York Collections [official] · 10 Gorgeous, Nostalgic Photos of New York’s Old Penn Station [Atlantic Cities] · All Penn Station coverage [Curbed]
Location: Bolton, N.Y. Price: $14,800,000 The Skinny: In 1982, Upstate New York man John Lavender broke ground on a castle. In a promotional video, he explains that Highlands Castle “was born out of a promise to my three-year-old son, Jason. I told him I would build him a home where we could both live and create some nice memories. For some apparent reason, I made a promise to build him a castle.” The first part of that promise is very sweet, and the second part is maybe a little over the top (also, a three-year-old kid is definitely not going to remember what he was or wasn’t promised). But, to his credit, Lavender followed through and spent years painstakingly constructing this castle on Lake George, drawing up the plans himself, collecting castle-y items such as suits of armor and stained-glass windows, and putting 800 tons of stones in place, one at a time. “Dad, can we have a catch?” his son would ask. “Not now,” John Lavender would reply. “I have to build this castle so that we can create memories.” Once the castle was complete, Lavender and his wife began renting it out for weddings and honeymoons—rates start at $995 a night—but now the whole thing is also listed for $14.8M.
One year ago today, on Oct. 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit Westchester.
County residents recall the hurricane’s destruction with heavy hearts.
Westchester suffered three casualties during the hurricane – two of them children. Homes were damaged and destroyed, streets and parks were flooded, and power was lost for weeks.
Bill Gheduzzi of Irvington, who co-owns his family’s Mar-Vera Corp. construction company, spent 12 “dark and cold” days with his family following Sandy’s arrival. He kept his business going, but came home to flashlights and a chilly house every night.
“We were without power for almost two weeks and we own a property in Hastings where power was also out for a while,” Gheduzzi said. “My daughter was in California and came home to no power, even though we told her to stay there. Even the dog was going crazy. We’ve had storms before, but the (aftermath) was tough.”
Rob McCarthy of Peekskill recalls being fortunately exempt from the damage.
“We were actually one of the lucky ones up in Peekskill. We had an evergreen fall behind the house which landed on our deck but caused no damage – lost power for two days, but that was about it,” he said.
McCarthy added, “We really got away lucky. I just remember driving to work the next morning down Route 9, and seeing a lot of the devastation that occurred in the towns between Peekskill and Tarrytown.”
Sam Qunsel of Yonkers, co-owner of Madaba’s Deli in Hastings, left home on a family trip to his hometown in Jordan four days before Sandy hit. He was concerned about his family and business back home in New York.
“When we heard about the storm we were concerned because there was no power in the area,” Qunsel said. “There we were in Jordan with power, and back here my brother (Sal) had to connect a wire to the store next door to keep the business going. I was calling all the time.”
Fadia Ezaizat, who was living in Yonkers and working in Hastings-on-Hudson last tall, said her first experience with a hurricane was memorable.
“Hurricane Sandy was actually the first hurricane I have ever experienced,” said Ezaizat, who now lives in Kentucky. “I didn’t realize the severity of the storm until afterwards seeing all the debris and losing power for a week. I know next time I hear a hurricanes approaching I’ll be more prepared. But I don’t think I’ll have that issue in Kentucky.”
Susan Boland-Garcin of Yonkers vividly remembers the force of the storm.
“I recall being terrified of the high winds in the four large trees in my back yard and praying the didn’t fall on the house,” Boland-Garcin said. “I couldn’t find a place I felt safe except in the lower level of my house. We had roof damage with shingles flying off the roof. My house was literally shaking from the high winds.”
http://mtkisco.dailyvoice.com/news/one-year-after-sandy-westchester-residents-recall-dark-cold-days
Connecticut will receive an additional $65 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to bolster its Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts, bringing the total aid from the federal government over the last year to an unprecedented $500 million.
The aid was announced by Gov. Dannel Malloy in a statement Monday, the eve of the first anniversary of the hurricane. The $500 million will support recovery and relief efforts for residents, local education systems, small businesses, nonprofits and municipalities.
“Families across the state are still coping with the devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy last year,” said U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. “With the winter months again approaching, we need to ensure these families have the tools they need to fully recover and prepare for future severe weather.”
HUD had previously provided $71.82 million to help residents, businesses and communities recover and rebuild after the storm. The first allocation of funding was made based on unmet needs and applications for individual assistance from FEMA; this new funding allocation was distributed based on a formula driven by federal data and statistics detailing unmet need and public assistance, including damage to transportation infrastructure, in Sandy-affected states.
The state Department of Housing will develop an action plan to disburse the new funding, which will require approval from both the state legislature and HUD.
“One year later, it’s clear these communities continue to be challenged by the sheer scale of this devastating storm, requiring further investment to make certain these needs are met,” HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said. “These resources are making a difference helping individuals, families, and businesses to get back on their feet and come back stronger and more resilient than ever.”
Projects in Fairfield, New London, New Haven, and Middlesex counties and the Mashantucket Pequot tribal area are eligible for assistance. Eligible expenses are those not covered by insurance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or any other sources of funding. Specific work that is eligible includes:
“We continue to plan—and meet—aggressive timetables in order get these funds out to homeowners and businesses as fast as possible,” said Evonne Klein, housing commissioner. “We continue to accept applications and encourage those impacted by the storm to visit one of our intake centers or visit the Web site to learn about the many ways we can help.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said: “I commend the efforts over the past year to restore and repair our shoreline communities, but much work remains to ensure homeowners, businesses and municipalities have the resources they need to fully recover from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy.
“As storms like Sandy become the new normal, it is vital that we continue to invest in mitigation efforts to reduce future damages, emergency costs, injuries and hardships. Further, we must work to improve our systems and processes so that those in need receive the assistance they need when they need it most.”
The state recently opened four intake centers in East Haven, Fairfield, Milford and Norwalk to provide one-on-one assistance to homeowners. (Read more about the centers here.) The state’s official CT Recovers website provides information on assistance available to homeowners and businesses impacted by Superstorm Sandy from all state agencies.
Hundreds of shoppers enjoyed Pleasantville’s thriving Farmers Market on Saturday as the local market enjoys the final weeks of its first outdoor season under the village’s control.Photo Album
Pleasantville Farmers Market Grows And Thrives In Village
“We’ve grown the market, included all 12 of the varieties of vendors our shoppers prefer and enlarged the footprint this year,” Market Executive Director Steve Bates said. “And this tear we’re moving inside for the winter season at the Pleasantville Middle School on Dec. 7.”
The Pleasantville Outdoor Farmers Market is in its 15th year and runs Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Nov. 23 at the Pleasantville train station in Memorial Plaza.
The Farmers Market is the largest in Westchester County and is home for 50 vendors providing regionally-grown produce, humanely raised meats, wild-caught Atlantic seafood, prepared foods sourcing farms for ingredients, and many other new offerings.
“We enjoy the atmosphere, the convenience and the variety of locally grown produce,” said Pleasantville’s Steve Jacobs, who shops the market with his wife, Jean. “It’s great to have products come directly from local farms and producers each week.”
Bates said the outdoor market has grown over the years as live music, children’s events and vendors came on board.
“The three goals are the bring the community together, attract visitors to our downtown and provide great local farm-to-table products,” Bates said. “We’re having a great year and we welcome everyone to visit.”
The winter indoor market begins Dec. 7 and will run through May 23, 2014, Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Have you been putting off finishing your bedroom? Had it with procrastination, and just need a push to get the decorating job done? Then you’ve come to the right place. The following 14 steps will walk you through the decorating process from start to finish, leaving no detail overlooked. Let’s get started.
List each detail separately: “nailhead trim” and “upholstered headboard” each get a separate line. The reason: If you get too specific, you can get stuck trying to track down one item from your wish list (an upholstered headboard with nailhead trim); this way you can create your own look that still contains your favorite elements.
You might find an upholstered headboard and pick up a bench or chest with nailhead trim, for instance. Or the marble lamps shown in the room here may translate into a marble-topped dresser in your finished room. Browse thousands of bedroom photos by style
Yes, there’s a castle facing foreclosure in Northern Virginia. Try finding that sentence anywhere else this year. But hey, for those who have always wanted to live in royal digs and missed out on this Dupont option, Melrose Castle in Warrenton, VA is asking a mere $1.5 million. To be fair, here are some of the amenities included in the lofty price: eight fireplaces, an inground pool, 50 acres of land, a tennis court and a barn with two paddocks. Most five bedroom “single family homes” do not come with all of that. Plus, it’s a castle! Check out the gallery to see photos of such fairy tale-esque things like the spiral staircases leading to the roof. · 8871 Rogues Road , Warrenton, VA 20187 [Colgan Real Estate]
