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Teatown Lake Reservation news | Chappaqua Real Estate
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Daily Archives: October 1, 2014
Inventory still short of what market needs; median sale of luxury units now at $5M | #CrossRIverRealtor
A one-bedroom at 33 Riverside Drive listed at $900,000 Nearly half of the Manhattan properties sold during the third quarter traded at or above their listed price, and at the highest level in six years, according to Douglas Elliman’s quarterly report released Wednesday. Despite a 27.6 percent uptick in inventory during the quarter, the report found that nearly half of sales closed for the asking price or more. “The implication is that… inventory is still falling short of what the market needs,” said Jonathan Miller, president of appraisal firm Miller Samuel and author of the report. Overall, the number of listings during the third quarter is still 18 percent lower than the 10-year average. But the condo market saw a 52.5 percent increase in listings, with resale inventory rising by about a quarter (to 1,578 listings from 1,258) and new development inventory doubling (to 1,409 listings from 701). But even with more product on the market, the number of sales during the third quarter dropped 13.3 percent year over year. Miller pointed out, however, that the number of sales has hovered around 3,300 for the past four quarters, which is 29 percent higher than the 10-year average. “There’s still unusually heavy volume,” he said, citing continued momentum in the market related to the release of pent-up demand in 2013.
read more….
http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/10/01/half-of-apartment-sellers-in-3rd-quarter-got-their-price-or-higher/#sthash.MIpPSVow.dpuf
17 Unexpected Things Converted Into Minimalist Homes | #WaccabucNY Homes
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For an architect, there’s something undeniably god-like about synthesizing the old and the new. Adaptive reuse—in this case turning non-residential buildings into houses—lessens the physical proximity of the past to the future by sublimely juxtaposing sterile white voids with, say, a primal industrial exoskeleton. Modernizing doesn’t simply mean adding a kitchen island and green roof; it often comes with the responsibility of intense and demanding site concerns. A Victorian water tower comes with six-foot-thick walls, while the façade of a medieval castle is relegated to mere ornament in the pursuit of both safety and functionality. Inspired by Curbed’s avid Pinterest community, here’s a look back on a wide array of completely insane projects that (seemingly sane) architects have chosen to take on. Intrigued? Find some examples below, and visit the Pinterest board to see the ones that didn’t make the cut.
↑ A Seattle boat house comes back to life as a vacation cottage.
↑ Our favorite thing about this minimalist retreat by Bosworth Hoedemaker? It still serves as a boat shed.
↑ This sleek home is cut From a 150-Year-Old water tower.
↑ The couple had to contend with Gothic six-foot-thick walls, a veritable graveyard of pigeons, and steel water tanks. However, it was worth it because that view.
↑ Former Netherlands church reborn as svelte modern home.
↑ The main spatial void is broken up into miniaturized rooms with pristine wide modular volumes that create a ghost-like presence within the church.
↑ A Run-down garage is reborn as an illuminated lakeside cabin.
↑ Seattle firm Graypants, Inc. describe the task as, “reinvigorating a tired, post World War II structure (aka: shitty garage).”
↑ This minimalist open-plan abode was once a drab cabin. Third-generation architect Takaaki Kawabata subtly transforms an upstate N.Y. log cabin into a sublime meditation on Japanese communal living.
↑ Revamping a Montreal storefront into a peekaboo apartment.
↑ The pristine white surfaces of this former storefront juxtapose purposefully with exposed I-beams and unrefined brick walls.
↑ There’s a glossy home inside this Netherlands church.
↑ Ruud Visser Architects build a generic single family home and delicately place it within the gutted exoskeleton of a former church.
read more…
http://curbed.com/archives/2014/09/30/for-an-architect-theres-something.php
Bedford Town Board Opts Not To Object To Proposed Katonah Group Home | Katonah Homes
Following a legal opinion from Bedford’s counsel, the Town Board approved countersigning an agreement of assurances from the provider of a proposed Katonah group home instead of making an objection to it.
The unanimous vote on Monday, Sept. 29, came following a review from Town Attorney Joel Sachs of state case law and correspondences from provider Cardinal McCloskey Community Services giving assurances for its plan. A letter from CMCS, dated Sept. 29, includes a signature from Chief Operating Officer William Ursillo and space for a town signatory.
Sachs explained that if the supervisor were to countersign, then the letter would be a legally binding agreement. The board’s approval was for Supervisor Chris Burdick to give his signature.
Ursillo, in his letter, mentions that the assurances are applicable if there is no objection filed and if there is no litigation that would seek to stop or delay the facility’s opening or closing on the property. Sachs also noted that the assurances would not be binding if there is an objection.
read more….
http://bedford.dailyvoice.com/news/bedford-town-board-opts-not-object-proposed-katonah-group-home
Removing Wall to Wall Carpeting by Bob Villa | Katonah Homes
Source: charlesandhudson.com
I am moving to a new house where the living room and dining area have wall-to-wall carpeting. I asked the previous owner, and he told me there is hardwood flooring underneath. Could you please tell me how to remove carpet?
Even with regular vacuuming, carpeting accumulates a great deal of dust, dirt and debris. So if and when you finally decide to rip it up, be sure to give the floor covering one last good vacuuming. Empty the room of furnishings, open the windows and don your dust mask — then get to work!
Materials & tools
- Large contractor trash bags
- Nail puller pliers
- Steel putty knife
- Flat pry bar (at least 15 inches)
- Hammer
- Utility knife (or tin snips)
- Leather work gloves
- Carpet padding adhesive remover (optional)
- Scraper (optional)
Step 1
Was your carpeting installed under shoe molding? Assuming it was, the first thing to do is remove that trimwork with your putty knife and pry bar. Check the molding for damage: If it remains in good shape, save it for reuse. Chances are the trim is full of nails; when pulling them out, take care not to inflict any avoidable damage. If the molding looks a little worse for wear, consider giving it a fresh coat of paint prior to re-installation.
Step 2
Now that there is no obstruction between you and the carpeting, use a utility knife or a sharpened pair of tin snips to cut the material into three- or four-foot-wide strips. (Cut all the way through the backing but stop short of the flooring beneath.) Once complete, begin pulling the carpet away from the tack strips on the perimeter. Roll up the sections as you remove them, placing them into heavy-duty trash bags ready for disposal.
read more…
http://www.zillow.com/blog/remove-wall-to-wall-carpeting-160890/
Historic Home Gets Youthful Update | Bedford Hills Real Estate
The home is a classic and stately building but designer Jamie Beckwith wanted to bring “youthfulness and glamour” to the home, which reflected the homeowners’ lifestyle and worked with the architecture.
The challenge
This space was once a formal dining room with dark wood paneling. The dining room moved to another location, and this space was transformed into a contemporary living room.
“We covered the paneling with a soft gray paint color that modernized the space,” explained Beckwith. “We added mirrors for more light in the room and reworked the seating arrangements for a new layout.”
Bold colors
“My favorite part of the room is the unexpected strong color combinations,” said Beckwith. “The silk chartreuse drapery panels are out of this world!”
The rug and the furniture are shades of gray and the chartreuse and hot pink are merely accents, which is what makes the room work. The chairs are custom-upholstered with color stripes.
read more….
http://www.zillow.com/blog/historic-home-gets-youthful-update-160738/
Prepare for a better home inspection | Bedford Real Estate
Every agent learns early in his or her career that home inspections can be rough. But there are ways to smooth out the process.
First, get your seller to have an independent inspector give the house a once over before it is listed. That way, problems can be spotted — and corrected — before a would-be buyer ever gets wind of them.
Beyond that, prepare your clients for the buyer’s inspector and encourage the seller to fix those items he knows are broken — the little things every owner learns to live with — before they become bargaining points.
Many inspectors provide agents with pre-inspection checklists so all parties can be as sure as possible that the house is inspection-ready. There are a lot of things sellers can do, but if they are not skilled at certain repairs, even the simplest ones, they should call a professional such as when an air conditioner repair is needed . Not only can inspectors spot amateurish, sub-par work, they will wonder about the quality of repairs that are less visible.
When repairs are made, either by the seller or a professional contractor, it’s a good idea to have paid receipts and warranties on hand for the inspector and buyer.
Finally, on the day of the inspection, sellers should give the examiner full access to the attic, crawlspace, electrical panels, furnace, air conditioner and water heater. Get the clutter out of the way, and then take the kids and the dog and go out for a few hours so the examiner can do his job efficiently and without interference.
read more…
https://agentresources.bankofamerica.com/monthlyagentnewsletter?nbk=NBKJDBM#101402
Home Prices are 3% Undervalued Nationally | Pound Ridge Real Estate
Trulia’s Bubble Watch shows whether home prices are overvalued or undervalued relative to their fundamental value by comparing prices today with historical prices, incomes, and rents. The more prices are overvalued relative to fundamentals, the closer we are to a housing bubble – and the bigger the risk of a price crash. Sharply rising prices aren’t necessarily a sign of a bubble. By definition, a bubble develops when prices look high relative to fundamentals.
Bubble watching is as much an art as a science because there’s no definitive measure of fundamental value. To try to put numbers on it, we look at the price-to-income ratio, the price-to-rent ratio, and prices relative to their long-term trends. We use multiple data sources, including the Trulia Price Monitor, as leading indicators of where home prices are heading. We combine these various measures of fundamental value rather than relying on a single factor because no one measure is perfect. Trulia’s first Bubble Watch report, from May 2013, explains our methodology in detail. Here’s what we found this quarter. (This report contains larger-than-usual revisions of previous Bubble Watch estimates. See note.)
We estimate that home prices nationally are 3% undervalued in the third quarter of 2014 (2014 Q3). In 2006 Q1, during the past decade’s housing bubble, home prices soared to 34% overvalued before dropping to 13% undervalued in 2012 Q1. One quarter ago (2014 Q2), prices looked 5% undervalued; one year ago (2013 Q3), prices looked 6% undervalued. This chart shows how far current prices are from a bubble…
read more….
http://seekingalpha.com/article/2533125-bubble-watch-home-prices-3-percent-undervalued-with-few-metros-bubbling-up?ifp=0
Mortgage applications decreased last week | Mt Kisco Real Estate
Mortgage applications decreased 0.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 26, 2014.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 0.4 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 0.3 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index remained unchanged from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 1 percent compared with the previous week and was 11 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted conventional purchase index increased 1.3 percent to the highest level since July 2014.
The refinance share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 56 percent of total applications from the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 7.6 percent of total applications.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased to 4.33 percent from 4.39 percent, with points decreasing to 0.31 from 0.35 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) decreased to 4.28 percent from 4.30 percent, with points decreasing to 0.15 from 0.22 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 4.07 percent from 4.08 percent, with points decreasing to 0.04 from 0.09 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.55 percent from 3.56 percent, with points remaining unchanged from 0.26 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
read more….
http://www.mortgagebankers.org/NewsandMedia/PressCenter/89532.htm