Daily Archives: October 4, 2013

New-home sales rebound in August | Bedford Corners NY Homes

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Sales of new U.S. homes rose 7.9% — the fastest growth since the beginning of the year — to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 421,000 in August, with rising results in three of four regions, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected sales to climb in August to a rate of 420,000, compared with an original July estimate that pegged the rate at 394,000. On Wednesday, the government revised July’s rate to 390,000.

The new-home-sales series is volatile, and monthly results can be difficult to interpret. In August, the confidence interval for new-home sales was plus or minus 14.6%, meaning that government analysts think that sales growth likely fell somewhere within a range of negative 6.7% to positive 22.5%.

Looking at trends, over the three months through August, the average rate of new-home sales was 422,000, up 15% from an average rate of 368,000 during the year-earlier period.

Though there are signs that rising mortgage rates are slowing the housing market — the average rate for the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has climbed more than one percentage point since early May — Wednesday’s data point to a housing market that continues to gather steam. New-home sales in August were up 12.6% from the year-earlier period. Pent-up demand and mortgage rates that still are relatively low have been supporting sales.

While rising rates hurt some borrowers’ ability to buy homes, there’s evidence that others buyers are rushing to close deals soon before affordability declines further.

“The extent to which a rise in mortgage rates has affected momentum is still unclear,” said Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.

Indeed, home builders are reporting rising quarterly earnings and are the most confident in almost eight years. And economists expect the housing market to continue to add to economic growth this year. There’s certainly room to grow: New-home sales remain far below a peak rate of almost 1.4 million in 2005.

 

 

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-home-sales-rebound-in-august-2013-09-25?link=MW_pulse

Dreaming in Color: 10 Beautiful Blue Bedrooms | Chappaqua NY Homes

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ast week we looked at some gorgeous green bedrooms on Houzz; this week we turn to blue. Soft blues with a touch of green or gray remind us of the sea and sky and tend to bring in a tranquil vibe. Bolder blues such as aqua, turquoise and cobalt have a fun, youthful vibrancy and work well in modern bedrooms. Deep, dark shades of navy are cool and elegant — and play well with almost any other color and with all styles of decor.
Check out 10 transcendent blue bedrooms on Houzz along with some tips for how to use blue in your own bedroom.

by Jennifer Ott Interior Design

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Blue paint picks for bedrooms (clockwise from top left):
1. Dreamy Clouds 5002-5B, Valspar 2. Surf’s Up 042-3, Mythic Paint 3. Goddess 252-2, Pittsburgh Paints 4. Sleepy Blue SW6225, Sherwin-Williams 5. Tahoe KM3127-3, Kelly-Moore 6. Laguna Blue 2059-30, Benjamin Moore 7. St. Giles Blue No. 280, Farrow & Ball 8. Surfer 510D-5, Behr
modern bedroom by Morgan Howarth Photography

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Go minimalist without the starkness by painting a wall or the ceiling in your bedroom a soft icy blue. I like using white and blue hues in rooms that have wood floors and furniture. The wood tones add warmth and a nice contrast to the palette. It’s clean, crisp and cool, yet inviting and comfortable.
contemporary bedding by Hotel Collection

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I love this particular blue hue — a not-quite-navy blue that has a bit of gray to tone it down, despite how deep it is. It reminds me of half-faded blue jeans and works well as a neutral background. This is a color that can take dashes of other bolder colors, similar to how you can pair any colored T-shirt with your favorite jeans.

Price and Rate Hikes Hit New Homes | Armonk NY Homes

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Both the price of new homes and the cost of mortgages to buy rose in August.  New home prices rose an average of $6,000 and loans rose 26 basis points.

In August, both the contract and effective rates on new home loans were higher than they’ve been at any time since September of 2011.  Interest rates on conventional mortgages used to purchase newly built homes increased for the third month in a row, according to data released last week by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).  After rising by roughly 1 tenth of a percentage point in June and roughly 4 tenths in July, the average contract interest rate on conventional loans for newly built homes increased by another 26 basis points in August, to 4.20 percent.

The average initial fee on the new home loans dipped slightly, from 1.11 to 1.06 percent.  That was  not nearly enough to offset the increase in the contract rate, so the effective rate on the loans (after amortizing the initial fees) also increased by 26 basis points, to 4.33 percent.  Meanwhile, the average term on conventional new home loans continues to hover around 28 and half years.

After two months of declines, the average size of new home loans and price of the homes purchased with the loans both increased in July.  The loan amount increased for the second month in a row, to $308,300, while the loan-to-price ratio remained relatively constant at 78.7 percent.  As implied by those numbers, the average price of new homes purchased with conventional loans increased by $6,000, to $400,400-marking only the second time in 2013 that the price has been as high as $400,000.

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/09/price-and-rate-hikes-hit-new-homes/