| Pound Ridge NY Weekly Real Estate Report | 8/19/2013 | |
| Homes for sale | 90 | |
| Median Ask Price | $999,000.00 | |
| Low Price | $285,000.00 | |
| High Price | $5,700,000.00 | |
| Average Size | 3720 | |
| Average Price/foot | $349.00 | |
| Average DOM | 117 | |
| Average Ask Price | $1,332,516.00 | |
Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes rose three points to an August index score of 59, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.
This is the fourth consecutive monthly gain, bringing the index to its highest level in nearly eight years, the association noted. Any number over 50 suggests the majority of builders view conditions in a particular segment of the market as “good”.
“Firming home prices and thinning inventories of homes for sale are contributing to an increased sense of urgency among those who are in the market,” NAHB Chairman Rick Judson said.
“Builder confidence continues to strengthen along with rising demand for a limited supply of new and existing homes in most local markets,” noted NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe.
“However, this positive momentum is being slowed by the ongoing headwinds of tight credit and low supplies of finished lots and labor,” he added.
Additionally, two of the three components of the index posted gains in August.
The component gauging current sales conditions increased three points to 62.
Meanwhile, the index gauging sales expectations in the next six months gained a single point to 68.
The traffic index for prospective buyers stayed frozen at 45.
Builder confidence reaches highest level in eight years | 2013-08-15 | HousingWire.
The annual rate of inflation in the U.K. fell in July and is likely to continue cooling, but house prices are heading in the opposite direction, stoking fears of a new housing market bubble.
The Office for National Statistics said annual inflation slowed to 2.8% in July from 2.9% in June, aided by smaller rises in prices for items including airfares and clothing than a year earlier.
Economists said inflation is likely to continue falling this year and next, easing pressure on household budgets that have been squeezed for several years as wage growth has failed to keep pace with price increases.
Slowing inflation should help put a fledgling recovery in the U.K. economy “on a firmer footing,” said Rob Wood, chief U.K. economist at Berenberg Bank.
Economists added the anticipated slowdown in inflation toward the Bank of England’s 2% annual target should help Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney stick with a pledge to keep the central bank’s benchmark interest rate at a record low of 0.5% until joblessness falls to 7%, unless inflation looks poised to accelerate.
Unemployment averaged 7.8% in the three months to May, and the BOE doesn’t expect unemployment to hit the 7% target until 2016, a sign that it intends to keep British borrowing costs low for another two to three years to support recovery.
Yet even as price pressures in the economy overall are retreating, house prices are rising more sharply and broadly than in more than six years.
In the latest sign of housing market strength, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ monthly house prices balance surged to 36 in July from 21 the previous month, the highest since November 2006 when it reached 42.
The balance is calculated by subtracting the proportion of surveyors reporting house prices falls from those who say prices rose. The rise in the balance indicates that the increase in house prices is becoming sharper and broader based.
While it remains some way below the peak in the series of 68.6 in September 1999, what is striking about the pickup is its speed. After a 32nd straight negative or flat balance in March this year, house price growth has surged sharply in just four months.
U.K. Inflation Cools, But House Prices Race Ahead – WSJ.com.
Mortgage rates remained largely unchanged from last week after bouncing around from July to August on market uncertainty as to whether the Federal Reserve will taper its bond-buying program.
Mortgage rates for the week ending Aug. 14, changed very little from the previous week, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.
The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage came in at 4.40%, unchanged from last week, and up from 3.62% last year.
In addition, the 15-year, FRM averaged 3.44%, up from 3.43% last week and also up from 2.88% a year earlier.
The 5-year, Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage came in at 3.23%, a slight jump from 3.19% last week and a substantial increase from 2.76% last year.
The one-year Treasury-indexed ARM reached 2.67%, up from 2.62% a week earlier and not far from the 2.69% rate reported a year earlier.
“Fixed mortgage rates have been bouncing around over the past few weeks on market speculation that the Fed will taper some of its monetary stimulus,” said Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft. “In fact, 65 percent of economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the Fed to reduce the amount of bond purchases at its September 17th and 18th monetary policy committee meetings.”
He added, “Currently, mortgage rates on 30-year fixed mortgages are 1.1 percentage points above their all-time low set on November 21, 2012, which translates into $125 more per month in mortgage payments on a $200,000 loan.”
Bankrate also noted that fixed mortgage rates were little changed.
In its weekly national survey, Bankrate reported that the 30-year, FRM rose to 4.57%, while the 15-year, FRM declined to 3.61%. In addition, the 5/1 ARM increased to 3.61%.
The Mount Kisco Coach Diner, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s favorite hangout, has begun construction on its expansion.
The diner is adding 1,250 square feet and 13 new parking spaces, along with providing a terrace for outdoor seating.
The project was approved by the planning board earlier this year after the Mount Kisco Village Board approved a zoning change in 2010.
Recently, the Paul Power’s structure, which exists south of the diner, was demolished, which was the first phase of construction.
Harry Georgiou, whose family owns the diner, said it will be much larger and more convenient for customers.
“We wanted to provide more space for clients and a nicer atmosphere,” Georgiou said. “We wanted to modernize the restaurant. It was time to expand.”
Plans for expansion have been in the works for five years. During that time, despite the recession, the diner’s business has remained steady, giving Georgiou confidence expansion was the right idea.
Georgiou’s father, Frank, a Somers resident, purchased the diner 18 years ago. Harry Georgiou, who lives in Queens, said it is in the family’s blood to provide service, hospitality, and good food.
“We’re very meticulous and we have very high standards,” Georgiou said. “We strive for perfection. We strive to the have the best service and the best quality food. We are open 24 hours, so no matter what time you come, you will have a great experience.”
Georgiou said he loves working in Mount Kisco and meeting all the nice people. He said many customers have become part of his family.
The cuisine is thought up by Michael Lombardi, who crafts exotic or unique specials daily, along with his burger of the week. The restaurant has an organic menu and Georgiou recommends the short ribs, prime meats or lobster rolls.
“We’re not your standard diner, we’re an upscale diner,” Georgiou said.
Cuomo, a Mount Kisco resident, named the diner his favorite hangout spot after he was elected governor and regularly stops by when he’s in the area. Singer Rob Thomas also is a regular.
During construction, the restaurant will be closed for two weeks, as it adds new booths, new tables and a new exterior. If all goes according to plan, the restaurant’s expansion will be finished before the new year.
The Mount Kisco Coach Diner has become an institution in the community and Georgiou said they get customers from all over Westchester and even Greenwich and Stamford. Georgiou said many customers from out of state will come via Interstate 684, and come back every year as a tradition.
“We get people from all over,” Georgiou said.
Mount Kisco Diner Begins Expansion | The Chappaqua Daily Voice.
The Katonah Museum of Art will debut an ambitious new exhibit, “Eye to I: 3,000 Years of Portraits,” starting Oct. 27.
The show, which will run through Feb. 16, will feature 60 portraits ranging from an Egyptian bust of Amenhotep III from 1,300 B.C. to a marble sculpture of a Roman priest from 120 A.D. to a 16th-century oil painting by Lucas Cranach of a German aristocrat posing as Mary Magdalene and Louis-Leopold Boilly’s 1823 self-portrait titled “Grimacing Man.”
The exhibit also will feature Pablo Picasso’s 1964 Cubist crayon drawing, “Tete d’homme barbu à la cigarette.”
Exhibited with each artwork is interpretive copy from a range of contributors — from a U.S. poet laureate to a local policeman. Scholars, poets, politicians, actors, doctors, filmmakers, and recording artists all offer their personal responses to particular works. Meanwhile, through interactive video touch screens, visitors can contribute their own critique to compare and contrast.
“This unique exhibition combines the time-honored and rewarding tradition of looking at great art first hand with today’s emphasis on the voice of the individual,” the museum’s Interim Executive Director Belinda Roth said in a statement. “We invite our community and visitors to become part of a network of art interpreters. It is very exciting to be at the center of a project that will truly take on an unpredictable, organic, and, hopefully, playful life of its own.”
The Katonah Museum of Art, at 134 Jay St., in Katonah, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
Admission is free to members and children and $10 for non-member adults and $5 for non-member students and seniors
Katonah Museum Of Art Turns Its Eyes On Portraits | The Chappaqua Daily Voice.
The red-hot Southern California housing market finally got a dose of cold water.
The region’s median home price in July remained flat from a month earlier, at $385,000, real estate firm DataQuick said Wednesday. The figures followed a record-setting June, when the median price rose 4.6% over the previous month and 28% year-over-year, the highest percentage since DataQuick started tracking the statistic in 1989.
The cooling off came with a surge in the number of sales to an eight-year high, indicating a growing supply of homes that could steady the market after this year’s frenzy. Rising mortgage rates may also have propelled more buyers to close deals, fearful that rates could climb higher, the San Diego research firm said.
“We are slowly moving toward a normalized market,” said Stuart Gabriel, director of UCLA‘s Ziman Center for Real Estate.
The market nonetheless remained strong, with the median price up 25.8% from July 2012.
Prices have risen at a breakneck pace this year with an improving economy, a short supply of homes and heavy investor demand. The gains have frustrated many would-be buyers who found themselves on the losing end of bidding wars and raised questions about whether the market is getting overheated.
Many economists say the increases should moderate as the inventory crunch loosens. Rising prices, many have predicted, will spur new-home construction and lure more sellers into the market.
Rising mortgage rates should also eventually help cool the market. But rate increases could also spur more sales and price increases in the short term, as buyers look to get into the market before rates go up further. Mortgage rates have risen about 1 percentage point since the beginning of May.
Inventory has increased in all six Southern California counties last month from June, according to Realtor.com. Los Angeles County, for instance, saw 7.8% more home listings in July than a month earlier. Orange County inventory rose 8.4% last month.
Southern California home market cools; prices remain flat – latimes.com.