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Your paperless office may soon be printing plastic | South Salem NY Real Estate
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Monthly Archives: February 2013
Use ‘sharing economy’ to help pay your bills | Cross River Real Estate
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The Facts and Figures on YouTube in 2013 | Bedford Hills NY Realtor
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Mortgage rates settle back down | Bedford NY Real Estate
Mortgage rates settled down this week at levels well below historic norms after surging during the last week of January.
Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.53 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending Feb. 7, unchanged from last week and down from 3.87 percent a year ago, Freddie Mac said in releasing the results of its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans hit a low in Freddie Mac records dating to 1971 of 3.31 percent during the week ending Nov. 21, 2012.
For 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, rates averaged 2.77 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from 2.81 percent last week and 3.16 percent a year ago. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate loans hit a low in Freddie Mac records dating to 1991 of 2.63 percent during the week ending Nov. 21, 2012.
Rates on five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans averaged 2.63 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from 2.7 percent last week and 2.83 percent a year ago. Rates on five-year ARM loans have never been lower in Freddie Mac records dating to 2005.
For one-year Treasury-indexed ARM loans, rates averaged 2.53 percent with an average 0.4 point, down from 2.59 percent last week and 2.78 percent a year ago. Rates on one-year ARM loans hit a low in records dating to 2005 of 2.52 percent during the week ending Dec. 20, 2012.
Looking back a week, a survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association showed demand for purchase loans during the week ending Feb. 1 was up a seasonally adjusted 2 percent from the week before, and 16 percent from a year ago, to the highest level since May 2010.
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‘Mysterious architecture’ creates drama, suspense | Pound Ridge Real Estate
How many of us, as kids, could resist the temptation to climb the stairs in a strange house to see what was “up there”? Now that we’re grown, we suppress these kinds of urges for the sake of propriety, but they still exist in our subconscious minds, and can be drawn upon quite subtly by a clever designer.
In architecture, spaces that draw on the human sense of curiosity are said to have mystery — they foster the creation of drama or suspense by alluding to architectural spaces or features while keeping them partially concealed.
Mystery can subtly entice us toward a particular space. Let’s suppose there are two hollow 8-foot-square cubes about 10 feet away from you. The front of one is open, so that the interior is completely visible. The front of the other has only a 2-foot-square aperture at the center, so that the interior is largely concealed. Which cube will attract you more?
Most people will approach the enclosed cube precisely because they can’t see what’s inside. Likewise, an architectural space that’s immediately comprehensible presents little challenge to the mind — it simply isn’t as interesting as a space that keeps us guessing. And although entertainment is not a designer’s primary charge, an intriguing space is inevitably more memorable than one that simply functions.
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Referral site for global listings grows in the US | Bedford Corners NY Homes
A Los Angeles-based referral site with more than 200,000 overseas property listings is expanding into the U.S., with exclusive partners in seven states so far.
The International Multiple Listing Service (IMLS) calls itself a “commission share platform” that offers all agents and brokers a free, unbranded search widget for their websites.
The IMLS tracks when a search through the widget leads to a sale, and takes a referral fee from the listing broker. IMLS then shares the referral fee with the agent who placed the widget on his or her website.
“Everything is tracked, and no work is required by the agent with The IMLS search to earn a share of the commissions,” said Daniel Nussbaum, founder and CEO of The International Realty Inc., which created IMLS. “You cannot drive a client to Italy or write the agreement. The Italian agent cannot drive to your area and write an agreement.”
Screen shot of IMLS search widget on Real Living Five Corners website.Agents and brokers can prevent listings in their own market from appearing in the widget’s search results in order to complement agents’ own Internet Data Exchange (IDX) property search, he said.
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Pent-up demand fuels home sales: NAR | Chappaqua NY Real Estate
The national median home price saw the strongest year-over-year increase in seven years as a growing number of metropolitan areas posted higher median values in the fourth quarter of 2012, the National Association of Realtors said.
Favorable affordability conditions, increasing rent rates, demand for housing and job creation are some of the drivers leading to solid home price performance, said chief economist Lawrence Yun at NAR.
“Home sales are on a sustained uptrend, mortgage interest rates are hovering near record lows and unsold inventory is at the lowest level in 12 years,” he said. “Our population has been growing faster than overall housing stock, so supply and demand dynamics are very much at play.”
The median existing single-family home price rose in 133 out of 152 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) based on closings in 4Q12, compared with the previous year. Additionally, 19 areas had prices drop, NAR said.
The national median existing single-family home price hit $178,900, up 10% from last year. This is the strongest year-over-year price increase since the fourth quarter of 2005, when the median price rose 13.6%.
A contracting market share of lower priced homes continues to account for price growth.
For instance, distressed homes accounted for 23% of fourth quarter sales, down 30% from the previous year, according to NAR.
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How To Select an SEO Company | Armonk NY Realtor
Obama Scorecard warns economy remains fragile | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate
Data released in the Obama administration’s January Housing Scorecard show signs that the housing market is continuing to strengthen, with the number of underwater borrowers declining while home prices improve.
Officials warn that, while the recovery is in full effect right now, there is regional variation and the overall U.S. economy still remains fragile.
“The Obama administration’s efforts to speed housing recovery are showing continued progress as the January scorecard indicators highlight clear forward momentum in the housing market,” said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs Kurt Usowski.
Broken down, the housing recovery looks promising. The inventory of existing homes for sales continued to decline, dropping from a 4.8 months’ supply on the December scorecard to a 4.4 months’ supply, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. The significance of this is highlighted when looking back at the November scorecard, when there was a 5.3 months’ supply of housing.
With fewer homes on the market, fewer homes are being sold. The number of existing homes for sale dropped from 415.8 million in December to 411.7 million in January, according to NAR, U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. 10.67
The number of underwater borrowers continues to be chipped away, with 10.67 million borrowers still underwater, down from 10.78 million in the previous quarter, according to the CoreLogic ($28.50 0.2%).
Mortgage aid continues to keep foreclosure fillings down, with 3.2 million foreclosure completions since April 2009, according to RealtyTrac.
“The housing market has clearly bottomed out nationally and is turning a corner with new home construction increasing to a level not seen since June 2008 and home prices showing strong annual gains. But with so many households still struggling, we have important work ahead,” added Usowski.
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Guide to Monitoring Your Online Reputation | Bedford Corners NY Realtor
The good folks at Trackur have put together this infographic on how to monitor your personal or your brand’s reputation online. The steps they specify:
- Identify your reputations – monitor names brand names, company names, product names and variations.
- Quantify your audience – who has a stake in your online reputation?
- Understand your goals – how are you going to measure the whether your reputation is improving?
- Specify your needs – what tools do you require and what sources do you need to monitor?
- How will you monitor? – what processes are in place to be alerted and respond to issues?
- Who will monitor the conversations? – who are you entrusting with managing and responding to online reputation issues?
