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U.K. Home Prices Cap Best Year Since 2006 as Mortgages Surge | Mt Kisco NY Homes
U.K. house prices rose and mortgage lending surged more than forecast as the property market’s momentum continued to build at the end of 2013.
Nationwide Building Society said home values increased 1.4 percent in December, taking their gain last year to 8.4 percent, the biggest annual increase since 2006. Separate reports in London showed mortgage approvals are now at the highest in almost six years and growth in construction is being led by homebuilding.
The housing revival, fueled by an improving economy and government measures, has prompted a response from the Bank of England. It ended incentives on mortgage lending in a credit-boosting program and will focus on corporate credit. The need for such a move was highlighted today by data showing business lending fell the most in at least 18 months in November.
“Surveys consistently show markedly rising buyer interest and strengthening activity so house prices look set to see further strong increases,” said Howard Archer, chief U.K. economist at IHS Global Insight in London. The decision “to end Funding for Lending support for lending to households looks a highly sensible decision, although in itself it is unlikely to act as a major brake on housing market activity.”
Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
Balconies sit on the exterior of white stucco residential terrace properties on Eaton… Read More
In contrast to the increase in home loans, the BOE data showed that business lending fell 4.7 billion pounds ($7.7 billion) in November, the biggest drop since the data series began in May 2011. Lending to manufacturers has fallen 3.1 percent in the past year.
Home-loan Surge
Home-loan approvals rose to 70,758 in November, the most since January 2008, compared with 68,029 in October, the Bank of England said today. The median forecast of 15 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for 69,700 approvals. Mortgage lending increased 910 million pounds.
“A large part of the pickup in the housing market can be attributed to further improvements in the labor market and the brighter economic outlook,” said Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide. “Policy measures also played an important supporting role.”
Gardner also said “ultra-low” borrowing costs were fueling demand for property.
The BOE’s Monetary Policy Committee has pledged to keep its key interest rate at a record-low 0.5 percent until unemployment, now at 7.4 percent, falls to 7 percent. The MPC will leave the rate unchanged when it announces its next policy decision on Jan. 9, according to a Bloomberg News survey.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-03/u-k-house-prices-rise-as-property-caps-best-year-since-2006.html
Dubai property prices show annual rise of 22.4% | Mt Kisco Real Estate
Property prices in Dubai have risen by more than 22 percent so far this year, according to the REIDIN.com Sales Price Indices.
The index, which aims to measure the average change in house prices in certain districts and communities in Dubai, showed real estate values in Dubai rose 2.44 percent in November compared to the previous month.
On an annual basis, REIDIN said prices have increased 22.4 percent.
Apartment sales prices registered an increase in November of 2.90 percent month-on-month and were up by 24.5 percent on an annual basis, the index showed.
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/dubai-property-prices-show-annual-rise-of-22-4–532866.html
Mount Kisco Tax Bills Are Due On Dec. 31 | Mt Kisco Real Estate
Mount Kisco is reminding residents that the second half of 2013-14 village tax bills are due on Tuesday, Dec. 31.
In order to make a payment without any penalties, a U.S. postmark of Dec. 31 or earlier is required.
Click here for additional information concerning tax bills and payment schedule
http://mtkisco.dailyvoice.com/news/mount-kisco-tax-bills-are-due-dec-31
Bitcoin now accepted by RentHop | Mt Kisco NY Realtor
Rental listing site RentHop thinks it can entice landlords and real estate brokers into using Bitcoin by slashing its listing advertisement fee if they pay with the digital currency.
Users must currently pay $2 to post listings on RentHop, which covers New York City, Boston and Chicago, and has plans to expand nationally.
But as of this week, if brokers and landlords use Bitcoin, they’ll have to pay only 0.833 milli-citcoin (1/1000th of a bitcoin), or $0.76 at today’s exchange rates. That represents a 60 percent discount off the rate that RentHop will continue to charge advertisers who pay in dollars. Find more details at https://de.thebitcoinscode.com/.
“RentHop has always catered to early adopters exploring innovations in real estate,” said RentHop CEO Lee Lin in a statement. “Over the years we’ve noticed the most successful landlords are the ones who proactively seek out and embrace new and disruptive platforms. Bitcoin users are exactly the type of participant we welcome to our marketplace.”
RentHop intends to reduce the exchange-rate volatility of owning Bitcoin for customers by maintaing the exact number in bitcoins that it charges unless Bitcoin’s dollar value changes by more than 30 percent.
Lawrence Zhou, co-founder of RentHop, breaks it down for us:
– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/12/16/bitcoin-now-accepted-by-renthop/?utm_source=20131216&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinespm#sthash.UtWNx7SJ.dpuf
Fed taper remains guessing game | Mt Kisco Real Estate
Monday Morning Cup of Coffee takes a look at news coming across HousingWire’s weekend desk, with more coverage to come on bigger issues.
Looking forward to the week ahead, one of the most anticipated events will be the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday, where Ben Bernanke will give his last press conference as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Most observers expect no major change in interest rates. There is, however, speculation about the Fed’s Treasury and bond-purchase policy. Decisions on whether or not to continue at the same pace is decided in FOMC meetings. While many economists expect the Fed’s bond-buying program to remain unchanged until January or even March, there is growing sentiment that Wednesday might see some announcement.
It is important to note, that for every report showing a sentiment to taper this year, there is another suggesting otherwise.
“Fed officials face a more difficult decision at their meeting next week, as the employment and growth data have picked up since the October meeting” said analysts at Goldman Sachs in a weekend note to clients. “But our central forecast for the first tapering move remains March, with January possible as well.”
In a Reuters poll last week of 60 economists, about half expected the Federal Reserve to wait until March to start the tapering program, but 12 economists — almost one fourth — now see this week as more likely. That’s a steep increase from the three who predicted that in a poll a month ago.
The November drop in unemployment to 7% is certainly a factor in considering tapering, but there are still plenty of signs that the U.S. economy is not strong enough for a cutback in the stimulus.The positive affect on the housing market of that lower unemployment number may be offset by the expanded unemployment benefit that expires at the end of this month.
In the two-year budget deal that the House of Representatives reached this week, that benefit — which has been providing the unemployed with an extra 14 weeks of help — was not renewed. That will immediately affect 1.3 million Americans who are receiving that help now, along with another 3.6 million who would have qualified in 2014.
And although the unemployment rate declined for young workers — 16 to 24 year olds — from 15.1% in October to 14.1% in November, that number is still double the national average. As HousingWire reported last month, the decline in the overall homeownership rate to 63.9% this year shows that there are still significant barriers to first-time buyers — including that Millennial market that will be key for the future of housing.
Home prices in Bay Area return to bubble peaks | Mt Kisco Homes
10 Affordable Big Cities for Renters | Mount Kisco Real Estate
Homeownership isn’t for everyone. Some, including many young adults, simply don’t have the money for a down payment on a house. Others covet the flexibility of renting, which makes it easy to move across town for a better apartment or cross-country for a better job.
Renting is an especially popular option in big cities, where career, social and educational opportunities tend to be clustered and populations tend to be more transient. In fact, renters outnumber homeowners in six of the ten most populous cities in the country, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. But not all rental markets are created equal. An apartment in Manhattan goes for an average of $3,350 a month, more than triple the typical American’s mortgage payment.
That’s why we went in search of the most affordable big cities for renters. To pinpoint these promising places, we started with the nation’s 75 largest metropolitan areas and ranked them based on average monthly rent, median household income for renters, residential rental vacancy rate and overall cost of living. Our top ten cities exhibit an appealing combination of affordable living expenses, including rent, relative to the typical earnings of renters. Take a look.
Despite uncertainties, homebuilders remain optimistic | Mount Kisco Real Estate
Despite some recent wobbling in economic and housing indicators, more homebuilders still view market conditions as good than poor, the National Association of Home Builders said today.
The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market index remained at 54 in November unchanged from October after a downward revision.
“Given the current interest rate and pricing environment, consumers continue to show interest in purchasing new homes, but are holding back because Congress keeps pushing critical decisions on budget, tax and government spending issues down the road,” NAHB Chairman Rick Judson editorialized in a statement accompanying the release of the latest index.
“Meanwhile, builders continue to face challenges related to rising construction costs and low appraisals.”NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe said that uncertainty about government policies and economic uncertainty is undermining consumer confidence, but that builder confidence remains above 50 “is an encouraging sign, considering the unresolved debt and federal budget issues cause builders and consumers to remain on the sideline.
”The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months, and asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers. Scores from each component are used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index, with any number over 50 indicating that more builders view conditions as good than poor.
The HMI index gauging current sales conditions in November held steady at 58. Expectations for future sales fell one point to 60, and traffic of prospective buyers dropped one point to 42.
Source: nahb.org – See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/despite-uncertainties-homebuilders-remain-optimistic/#sthash.5wFo8nm7.dpuf