Daily Archives: December 18, 2013

US homebuilder confidence surges in December | North Salem NY Real Estate

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Tuesday climbed to 58. That was up from 54 in November and matched an eight-year high reached in August. Readings above 50 indicate that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor.

In addition, builders’ view of current sales conditions jumped this month to the highest level in eight years. And their outlook for sales heading into next year’s spring home-selling season also improved.

The index has stayed above 50 now for seven straight months after being below that level since May 2006. This month’s reading is 11 points higher than a year ago. It reflects a U.S. housing market fueled by steady job growth and still-low mortgage rates.

The latest index suggests that builders remain optimistic that the housing recovery will endure even though mortgage rates have risen in recent months.

“The recent spike in mortgage interest rates has not deterred consumers as rates are still near historically low levels,” said David Crowe, the NAHB’s chief economist. “We continue to look for a gradual improvement in the housing recovery in the year ahead.”

Mortgage rates peaked at 4.6 percent in August and have stabilized since September, when the Federal Reserve surprised markets by taking no action on starting to reduce its bond purchases. Its bond purchases are intended to keep long-term interest rates low, including mortgage rates.

 

 

 

http://news.yahoo.com/us-homebuilder-confidence-surges-december-150049424–finance.html

Mortgage applications plummet heading into the FOMC meeting | Mt Kisco NY Homes

Mortgage applications filed in the U.S. plummeted 5.5% as both the refinance index and home purchase index declined ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee.

The Mortgage Bankers Association pointed to the meeting as a fear factor for the market since talks of a potential mortgage-backed securities or Treasurys tapering could come out of the Fed today.
If the Fed decides to begin tapering this month, the market will know by this afternoon.

The refi index alone fell 4%, while the purchase index declined 6% ahead of the meeting.
“Mortgage applications fell further last week, with the market index falling to its lowest level in more than a dozen years,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics. “Both purchase and refinance applications fell as interest rates increased going into today’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting.”

The refi share of mortgage activity increased to 66% of total applications from 65% the prior week. Meanwhile, the adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity remained unchanged at 8% of total applications.

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/28336-mortgage-applications-plummet-heading-into-the-fomc-meeting

 

Housing starts jump to near 6-year high in good sign for economy | Waccabuc NY Homes

U.S. builders broke ground on homes at the fastest pace in more than five years, strong evidence that the housing recovery is accelerating despite higher mortgage rates.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that developers began construction on houses and apartments in November at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.09 million. That’s 23 percent more than October’s pace of 889,000 and the fastest since February 2008, just a few months after the recession began.

Construction of single-family homes jumped 21 percent to an annual pace of 727,000, also the highest in more than five years. Apartment construction soared 26 percent to a 354,000 annual pace.

Permits for future building slipped 3 percent to just over 1 million, down from 1.04 million in October. The drop reflected a decline in apartments, which can be volatile. Permits for single-family homes rose.

“Evidently, builders in the field are genuinely confident about the outlook for sales of new single-family houses, despite the rise in mortgage rates,” said Pierre Ellis, an economist at Decision Economics.

The housing market has been improving steadily since early last year, but construction had leveled off this summer after first reaching a 1 million annual pace in March. Last month’s surge comes as mortgage rates remain about a percentage point higher than they were in the spring. That suggests home building will boost economic growth in the final three months of the year.

 

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/bitcoin-price-plunges-china-clampdown-escalates-2D11765766?ocid=msnhp&pos=7#housing-starts-jump-near-6-year-high-good-sign-economy-2D11765607

 

7 Housing Trends for 2013 | South Salem NY Real Estate

As 2013 comes to a close and real estate experts predict where the housing market is headed in 2014, a look back reveals several trends.

“In 2012 we saw the housing market recover and, going into 2013, we expected continuing recovery,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors. “Instead, the recovery accelerated a lot faster than we anticipated, which was great for sellers and for the 75 million homeowners who saw their home values appreciate.”

1. Housing Prices Rose Faster Than Expected

The national median listing price was $179,900 in January 2012 and rose to $180,000 by December 2012, according to realtor.com research. The pace of price appreciation accelerated quickly over the year to reach a median list price of $199,500 by September 2013.

2. Mortgage Rates Rose but Remained Low

“We expected mortgage rates to rise in 2013, and they started to increase in the late spring, but they’re still very affordable when you look at rates on a historical basis,” Yun said. “They just aren’t at the super-low point we saw earlier.” According to Freddie Mac, 30-year fixed-rate loans were as low as 3.45 percent in December 2012 and rose to 4.49 in September 2013. Barry Habib, co-owner and chief market strategist for Residential Finance Corp., said mortgage rates are likely to stay low and perhaps even drop between now and March 2014.

3. Bidding Wars Returned

The combination of rising prices, low mortgage rates and low inventory led to a sense of urgency among buyers and the return of bidding wars, said Don Frommeyer, president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. According to realtor.com research, inventory in 2012 reached a high of 2,083,710 homes on the market, then steadily declined to a low of 1,583,497 homes in February 2013. At the end of September 2013, 2,210,000 homes were for sale, approximately a five-month supply.

 

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/realtorcom/7-housing-trends-for-2013_b_4460914.html

Home Values in Metro Chicago Real Estate Market | Bedford Corners NY Real Estate

Regional Spotlight—Home values in the seven-county metro Chicago real estate market extended their upswing in November, according to an analysis by RE/MAX. The median sales price of all attached and detached homes closed in November was $170,000, a 10 percent increase over the median price a year earlier. That compares to a gain of 15 percent in October and 16 percent in the July-September quarter.

The number of homes sold this November dipped 1 percent to 7,551 units from 7,606 units in November 2012. The average time a home sold in November spent on the market before going under contract was 97 days, or 39 days less than a year earlier. The RE/MAX analysis is based on sales data gathered by MRED LLC.

“One likely reason for the reduced sales activity was a marked reduction in the inventory of homes listed for sale. The November inventory in the seven-county area was 19 percent below its level one year earlier,” says Laura Ortoleva, media spokesperson for RE/MAX in northern Illinois.

Sales of distressed properties, which include foreclosures and short sales, accounted for 35 percent of November sales this year compared to 43 percent last year. Foreclosures remained in demand, accounting for 24 percent of all home sales. The average market time for a foreclosure was 78 days, and the median sales price was up 6 percent from a year earlier to $84,000.

The November median sales price increased in all seven metro counties – Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will – as well as in Chicago.

Kane County reported gains in both closed sales and median price. The 556 units sold there represented a 6 percent increase in transactions from November 2012, and the median price of $160,250 was 17 percent higher.

Among the six other counties, only Will also registered November increases in both transactions and median price. Sales there totaled 656 units, a 2 percent increase, and the median sales price was $164,400, 4 percent higher than in the prior November.

 

 

http://rismedia.com/2013-12-17/home-values-in-metro-chicago-real-estate-market/

 

Exploring Fisher Island’s Historic, Restored Vanderbilt Mansion | Chappaqua NY Homes

46 images

[Photos by Silvia Ros]

Last Thursday, the historic Vanderbilt Mansion on Fisher Island, heart of the Fisher Island Club, emerged from an extensive restoration, part of a $60 million upgrade of the hotel and club facilities, for a gala theme party like a grand, old dowager queen, pristine and glowing. The house was originally designed by Maurice Fatio for Rosamond and William K. Vanderbilt II, who famously traded Miami Beach developer Carl Fisher a yacht for seven acres of the island. The restoration is by Richard Heisenbottle, with interiors by Hirsch Bedner & Associates. Curbed photographer Silvia Ros checked out the restored mansion and grounds.

On that original seven acres, later extended to 13, Vanderbilt commissioned Fatio to design a somewhat small, but magnificent house, replete with many outbuildings including a cottage for his stepdaughter Rosemary and a large boat slip for his other yacht, the 264 foot long Alva, probably named after his mother, Alva. Vanderbilt would then name his Fisher Island estate Alva Base. Two more cottages were for the servants, a larger building housed the crew for the yacht, and finally there was an airplane hangar. The cottages now make up hotel rooms and suites, and the hangar is now the spa. · Fisher Island coverage [Curbed Miami] · Historic Vanderbilt Mansion gets a new life on ultra-private Fisher Island [Miami Herald

Home building surges | Armonk NY Homes

Builders rushed to start homes in November, with that key measure of the housing recovery enjoying a huge one-month jump.

Housing starts grew at an annual pace of 1.09 million, up nearly 30% from a year ago. The issuance of building permits was also strong, up 7%.

Still the pace of housing starts was less than half of the peak levels during the housing boom in the middle of last decade, and was even 25% below the monthly average over the course of the last 50 years.

“Because of this, the impressive acceleration in residential investment which has occurred in 2013 should extend through 2014,” said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, in a note Wednesday.

A survey by the National Association of Home Builders released Tuesday showed builders reporting the best sales conditions for single family homes in eight years.

 

 

http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/18/news/economy/home-building/

Blue is the new cool kid on the backsplash block | Katonah NY Real Estate

Continuing our series on colorful backsplashes, we turn to blue. Blue kitchens are, er, red hot right now. After years of our being advised to not use blue in a kitchen (it’s thought to be appetite suppressing), cool shades of the color are showing up more and more in kitchen tools, accessories and, yes, backsplash materials. Here’s a small glimpse at some of the many blue backsplash options, along with a few tips for working the color into your own kitchen.

One of my favorite kitchen color trends is a palette consisting of black, white and shades of gray and watery blues. The blue glass subway tile backsplash here adds just the right punch of color. Mix in a wooden or natural cork floor for added warmth and texture.
Backsplash: 3- by 6-inch glass subway tiles in Frosted Ocean Grey from The Five Elements
Cobalt blue becomes fashionable every 15 years or so and is currently enjoying an upswing in popularity. But I would never advocate using a color for your backsplash just because it’s trending, as the expense and hassle of changing it once the trend passes is much too great. So if you aren’t sure you’d want this color in your kitchen for very long, paint it on a wall instead. It’ll be much easier (not to mention affordable) to swap out down the road.
If you truly love this color — ever-changing color trends aside — and want to use it for a backsplash, I say go for it. It’s close enough to the indigo color of blue jeans, which we are used to seeing accessorized with any and every color, that it functions as a neutral, giving you flexibility with the palette.
Backsplash: Classic field tile in Opal Blue from Heath Ceramics
It’s tough to compete for attention with this fantastic range, vent hood and stone arch but, boy, the backsplash sure does a good job of it. These beautiful Moroccan blue tiles are hand made in Casablanca. You can mix and match the patterns to create a unique backsplash in your own kitchen.
Backsplash: 4-inch square Fez tiles from Moorish Architectural Design
Navy blue is an elegant, dramatic backsplash color choice. It looks superb when paired with medium to dark wood tones as well as shades of orange, its complementary hue on the color wheel. Backsplash: 2- by 8-inch Debris Series field tile in Navy Gloss from Fireclay.

Tower Home Rises in Downtown Toronto | Bedford Hills Real Estate

When passersby looked at a small, overgrown lot in downtown Toronto, most just saw a dilapidated shed. But Julie Dyck saw sky-high potential. Dyck lived nearby and often fantasized about the neglected parcel. In 2004 she and her partner, Michael Humphries, took the plunge and purchased the lot for a modest $50,000 Canadian (about U.S.$47,270). They enlisted their friend, high-rise architect Drew Hauser of McCallum Sather Architects, to design a house for the 625-square-foot site and spent the next several years nurturing one of Toronto’s most imaginative infill houses.
Houzz at a Glance Who lives here: Julie Dyck and Michael Humphries Location: Corktown, Toronto Size: 2,000 square feet; 5 floors including garage; 1 bedroom, 2 studios and 3 bathrooms

It seemed fitting that an architect well versed in high-rise buildings should design a house on a 25- by 25-foot parcel. The plot of land required a scaled-down tower, and that’s exactly what Hauser designed. Functional in its arrangement of spaces, the plan generally locates the living spaces to the south and a block of service spaces to the north.
The lot was zoned for commercial space, so a metal structural system was required by code. Hauser took advantage of this, proudly displaying the structure’s steel skeleton over four of its five floors. He installed balconies at every level to act as fire escapes, cladding the cutout in ipe to lend a sense of warmth and dynamism to the rectangular volume.
The material palette inside is fairly minimal. In the kitchen polished floors and marble countertops are warmed by flat-cut walnut cabinetry. Dyck’s parents originally had the bar stools in their basement; they’ve been a staple in all of Dyck’s homes ever since. The bedrooms feature smooth relaxing line that bring out the Helix mattress wonderfully. The master bedroom is a sanctuary for the residents here. Although marble is a somewhat durable natural stone, over time, marble can wear and tarnish if not properly cared for. One of the biggest misconceptions is that marble can be cleaned in the same manner as other natural stones, like granite. Marble is in fact a softer stone that is more susceptible to chipping, staining, and chemical etching. Go through https://www.moresurfacecare.com/ for more about the MORE™ AntiEtch™.
The marble used for the kitchen counters and backsplash was reclaimed from First Canadian Place, the tallest building in the country. A few years ago, the building’s marble cladding was replaced, and Dyck and Humphries selected some of the slabs for use in their home. Coincidentally, the head mason on their project helped install the marble in First Canadian Place back in the 1970s, when it was constructed.
Most of the floors are fairly open, with living spaces delineated by furniture. The kitchen is tucked underneath the floor above, while the side-by-side living and dining areas are located in the central atrium.
The atrium takes up a large part of the house; consequently, Dyck found it difficult to get an accurate quote for the construction costs. She now recommends pricing by volume (including any multiheight spaces) instead of by square footage, as that proved to be the most accurate.

Bedford home invasion: Queens man, 23, sentenced to 15 years | Bedford NY Real Estate

An illegal Polish immigrant who terrorized a Bedford family in a home invasion, barn-burning and extortion plot last year was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas went above the sentencing guidelines for Bartek Zajkowski, calling what the 23-year-old Queens man did “an exceptionally evil and cowardly crime.”

Zajkowski apologized, calling his crimes “the actions of a boy,” after hearing victim Leonardo LeBrun discuss the ongoing trauma his family is experiencing. LeBrun said his wife does not leave the house without their new guard dog and his youngest child, a 6-year-old daughter, does not walk around the house at night unattended.

“This is a deep and lasting emotional distress that’s really changed our lives forever,” said LeBrun, a former top executive at UBS Bank. “We’re suffering every day for what he’s done to us.”

Dressed in black, wearing a mask and carrying a BB gun, Zajkowski approached the Broad Brook Road mansion on the night of May 5, 2012. He encountered LeBrun in the driveway, tied his arms and legs and duct-taped his mouth. He took LeBrun’s wallet and watch, then went inside and confronted LeBrun’s wife, Lara LeBrun. She fought back and was shot in the stomach with a BB before Zajkowski tied her up as well.

She freed herself and triggered the alarm. Zajkowski fled the house without any of the expensive paintings or gold bullion that was inside.

But he didn’t stay away for long.

Two days later, a barn on the LeBruns’ property burned down. A week after that, the couple received a letter demanding they wire $3 million to a bank account in the Netherlands within five days or their three children would be harmed.

Zajkowski revealed how much he knew about the LeBruns’ children’s routines, like what time their son would get off the school bus. He also indicated he had been watching the property while the barn burned down, and said the fire was set in retaliation for Lara LeBrun’s feistiness during the home invasion.

“Your wife mess with me, she should let me do my thing,” he wrote. “For that she can consider her horses very lucky that they didn’t fry in that barn. Imagine running horses on fire …”

 

 

http://www.lohud.com/article/20131217/NEWS/312170048/Man-who-terrorized-Bedford-family-home-invasion-gets-15-years