Monthly Archives: November 2013

Where the Next Huge Real Estate Bubble May Be Building | Cross River Real Estate

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The 2000s real estate bubble—which burst in 2007 and precipitated a once-in-a-century financial crisis and recession—is not something most folks are excited to see a sequel of. But five years of declining or stagnating housing prices, the market turned around big time in 2012, making some analysts worry that we’re seeing the beginnings of Housing Bubble 2.0.

As you can see, home prices in most of the country are far from the bubble levels of mid-2000s, but if you drill down deeper to look at individual markets, one sees a different picture. Jed Kolko, housing economist with the real estate site Trulia, has been tracking home prices across the country to see which markets are over and undervalued. In a forthcoming “Bubble Watch” report, he finds that while most of the U.S. real estate market remains significantly undervalued, there are certain markets that are straying into bubble territory.

According to Kolko’s analysis, which looks at several factors like price-to-income ratio, the price-to-rent ratio, and prices relative to their long-term trend, markets in Orange County California and Los Angeles are more than 10% overvalued. Kolko also pegs the Austin, Texas market at 10% overvalued, while 7 other markets range from 4% to 7% overvalued. Those include:

San Antonio, TX;

Honolulu, HI;

San Francisco, CA;

Houston, TX;

Riverside-San Bernandino, CA; and

Oakland, CA

Unsurprisingly, these markets — concentrated in Texas and California, have also seen double digit home appreciation over the past year, with Orange County real estate appreciating a whopping 23.4% since October of 2012.

So are we in danger of another housing bubble like we experienced last decade? Not quite yet, at least nationally. According to Kolko, the market remains roughly 4% undervalued overall. And in some markets, like Cleveland, Ohio and Palm Bay-Melborne-Titusville, Florida, home prices are still 20% below their fundamental value. Furthermore, even the most frothy markets are less overvalued than the national market was in 2004, when home prices were 24% overvalued nationally.

 

 

 

Read more: Where the Next Huge Real Estate Bubble May Be Building | TIME.com

Even as Housing Prices Rise, Mortgage Rates Should Stay Low | South Salem Real Estate

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The real estate market is stabilizing, as more foreclosures and short sales leave the market, and mortgage rates look fairly low going forward.

One fly in the ointment: Home prices may be rising, so buyers don’t want to wait too long to lock down a good property before prices rise too high next year — a real possibility.

The evidence? Two reports out signaling lower mortgage rates but higher home prices.

First up is data from the California Association of Realtors, which reports that housing affordability in California has fallen for a sixth-straight quarter.

That could lead to many homebuyers being locked out in a state that includes three of the most visible housing markets in the nation — San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.

According to the association, only 32% of Golden State homebuyers can afford to buy a median-priced single-family residence. That’s down significantly from the third quarter of 2012, when that figure stood at 49%.

What does it take to handle a median-price home in California these days? The association estimates it takes at least an income of $89,000 for a new home valued at $433,940. The monthly payment would clock in at $2,230 after a 20% down payment and an interest rateHYPERLINK  \l “” of 4.36%.

Compare that with the third quarter of last year, when the median home price in the state wa$339,930 and the bottom-line annual incomeHYPERLINK  \l “” to buy a property in that price range was only $65,828.

The association says every major regional housing market in the state saw home prices rise by 10% or more from last year to this year.

That sobering news is countered by data from Toronto’s RateSupermarket.com, a home mortgage Web exchange that shows mortgages rates in the U.S. and Canada should remain low well into next year.

“Canadian and U.S. bond yields remain low due to assurances that economic stimulus will remain for the longer term in both countries,” the company says in a report out this week. “This will lead to continued downward pressure on yields and, as a result, moderate discounts to fixed mortgage rate options.”

 

 

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12106829/1/

Long Island Estate With a Royal Connection Asks $11M | Katonah Real Estate

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Location: Glen Head, N.Y. Price: $11,000,000 The Skinny: The Sunninghill estate, a historic property in one of the toniest hamlets on Long Island, is now on the market for $11M just three years after it was dragged into a bruising and embarrassing (there were extremely anatomically correct bronze statues involved) legal battle involving its owner, the flamboyant and controversial Prince Jefri of Brunei. The 10,000-square-foot six-bedroom, eight-bathroom Georgian manor was built in 1928, and features none of the outré décor you might expect (hope?) to find in the home of a man who once auctioned off his set of gold-plated hot tubs and gilded toilet-paper holders. The mansion sits on 26 acres of rolling lawns, and comes complete with a tennis court, a quarter-mile track, and a swimming pool, which, at nearly 2,000 square feet, is bigger than some homes. The location is hard to beat: Manhattan is 26 miles away, and closer to home there’s the North Shore and a bewilderingly dense agglomeration of country clubs.

· 873 Cedar Swamp Rd, Glen Head, NY [Zillow] · Sunninghill [Sotheby’s International Realty]

Puppy’s YouTube adventures net Corcoran Group 1M views | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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What happens when you make a French bulldog puppy the star of a series of YouTube videos depicting the adorable canine’s search for an apartment — using your brokerage’s website, of course?

You get more than 1 million views at a cost-per-view of $0.13 and a click-through rate of 0.85 percent The Corcoran Group’s Matthew Shadbolt tells The Real Deal.

“While a million is a small number for a large brand, it’s a massive milestone for us as a local brand, and cements our investment in promoted video,” Shadbolt said.

 

Source: therealdeal.com. –

 

See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/now-whos-laughing-puppys-youtube-adventures-net-the-corcoran-group-1-million-views/#sthash.MSEJ90wu.dpuf

Homebuilders may offer big discounts to goose spring sales | Bedford NY Real Estate

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Homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc. is prepared to offer big discounts to buyers if sales don’t pick up by the start of the spring selling season, and other builders might be forced to follow suit, the Wall Street Journal’s Kris Hudson reports.

Orders for new homes were down 10 percent in October from a year ago, the Journal reports, citing a Zelman & Associates survey.

 

 

Source: blogs.wsj.com – See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/homebuilders-may-offer-big-discounts-to-goose-spring-sales/#sthash.8quey4MM.dpuf

Real estate industry has never been better capitalized | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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In my talks I often preach that real innovation comes when we have the ingredients that got us to the moon: money, brains and passion.

In real estate today, these fundamentals are in place.

A new generation of passionate leaders is taking over — younger and better-educated agents, a new crop of innovative and fearless  brokers, and a slew of startup whiz kids. A recovering housing market and successful IPOs such as Zillow and Trulia are attracting supersmart professionals who want in on the largess.

Oscar Wilde said, “When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is.”

Indeed, capital has returned to the industry and that is a good thing. The largest real estate company, Realogy Holdings Corp. ($6.16 billion market cap), has put a big dent in its debt and gone public with a fresh dose of capital (raised $1 billion with its IPO).

Re/Max has capital to invest after raising $225 million with its successful IPO this fall. One of the richest men in the world, Warren Buffett, is doubling down on real estate services with his Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices franchise. Can Keller Williams be far behind, capitalizing its rapidly growing enterprise?

Then, there are the awe-inspiring IPOs of Zillow ($2.85 billion market cap) and Trulia ($1.25 billion market cap). These two alone have a staggering amount of capital to invest in innovation, and stock prices that are perfectly poised for a slew of acquisitions. Realtor.com operator Move Inc. ($630 million market cap) will also rely on acquisitions as part of its strategy for growth

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/11/13/time-for-an-industry-moon-shot/#sthash.hGLKG0oU.dpuf

How to Unclog Drains Without Chemicals | Bedford Corners Homes

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Drains are hidden heroes in your home. If you’re lucky, you can go for years  without thinking about them, but when dirty sink water suddenly won’t go away or  a toilet won’t flush, they can be a major frustration. A plugged drain certainly  demands attention, but fixing it is probably something you can do yourself.  You’ll get faster results than calling a pro, and you’ll save money, too.

Successfully unclogging drains depends on a few simple tools and knowledge of  the layout of pipes hidden in your home.

Each drain connects with horizontal pipes that meet a vertical section of the  system called the “stack.” The top of the stack goes through the roof, and acts  as an air vent. The horizontal pipes travel down and out of your home, taking  wastewater with them. Poor drain performance can be caused by problems in either  the drain side of the equation or sometimes, the vent side. Even if water is  free to flow through pipes, for proper performance the water must be replaced by  air drawn into the system through the rooftop vent.

Certain parts of every drain system are prone to blockage, so it pays to  understand where typical trouble zones might exist before an emergency  arises.

Three Hotspots for Clogs

Plugged drains are most likely to occur in three specific places: curved  sections of pipes called “traps” that exist underneath sinks, tubs and showers;  the internal passages within a toilet; or somewhere inside the main drainpipe  leading away from your home.

Before you spend a lot of time trying to unplug a sink or toilet, and  regardless of where the blockage seems to be located, start with a simple check:  Run some water down the other drains in your house. Do the others flow freely?  If not, your trouble probably involves more than meets the eye and could  actually be part of a systemic problem.

Before you try to clear what looks like a small, localized blockage, take a  quick look at the big picture. You’ll either know you’re on the right track or  save yourself from wasting time trying to solve the wrong problem.

 

 

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/print.aspx?id={B2F98965-6F47-4F55-859A-8AB35ED9BCB2}#ixzz2kXNbAqW4

10 Ways to Prepare Your Home for Winter | Chappaqua NY Homes

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By the time fall rolls around, most of us are ready to say ‘goodbye’ to the  summer heat, and hello to a few months of cool weather. However, autumn is more  than just a time to enjoy the changing color of the leaves and the dropping of  the mercury in the thermometer; it’s a time to prepare your home for the coming  ravages of winter. After all, if you don’t take care of potential problems now,  before they actually happen, you could find yourself stuck with some major  repair work right in the middle of the Holiday Season. Here’s a quick list of  things you need to do to prepare your home for the coldest months of the  year.

1. Prune back your hedges, shrubs, and branches.

When it comes to being covered in snow, the plants with less surface area are  less likely to get damaged. Trimming back your outdoor plants will help keep  them safe, and will give them a nice fresh start to grow from once spring  arrives.

2. Check around your doors and windows.

With the cold fast approaching, now’s the time to locate any areas of your  home through which heat could escape. Make sure that the caulking around you  windows is solid and free from cracks, and check around your doors to make sure  that they shut securely without leaving gaps.

3. Give the heater a test run.

Replace your furnace filter, open your vents, and kick the heater into high  gear, because you’ll want to make sure that your heater works before you get  trapped inside during a blizzard. If you notice any problems, call a repairman  and get it sorted out quickly.

4. Clean and cover the AC outdoor condensing unit.

This is good idea especially if your area drops into low temperatures or has  heavy snowfall. Use a high pressure hose to clean any debris out of the condensing unit, and then cover  it up for the winter. If left open, the harsh winter weather could damage your  system, leaving you without a cooling system once things begin to heat up  again.

5. Clean out your gutters.

If you have any trees near your house, then chances are that once all the  leaves have fallen, you’ll have rain gutters that are absolutely full of debris. Clean these  out before the weather starts to get any worse, otherwise you could have to deal  with water buildup and ice damage.

6. Check the roof.

If you have any missing or damaged shingles, you should hurry to get them  replaced before winter arrives. Also check to see if you have any significant  air leaks coming up through the roof, and have them repaired if you do.

 

 

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/green-homes/prepare-home-winter-zbcz1310.aspx#ixzz2kXN8svX7

Ancient and New Tell a Story in San Francisco | Armonk NY Homes

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A home should tell the story of its owner,” says interior designer Antonio Martins, the grateful second owner of this 1896 house in San Francisco’s historic Dogpatch neighborhood. Before he moved in, members of one family had lived in this house for nearly all of its 117 years, collectively adding to its character. Now Martins is adding his imprint through cherished finds from his travels, gifts from family and playful mixes of the very old and the very new.
Houzz at a Glance Who lives here: Interior designer Antonio Martins Location: San Francisco Size: 1,700 square feet Cost to remodel: About $200,000

“This neighborhood was full of Irish and Italian immigrants who worked the nearby shipyards and canning factory. The last resident, a man who lived alone, was born in this house,” says Martins, a Brazilian who lived in Hong Kong before settling in California.
By the time he found it, the house was in disrepair, and nothing had been renovated in the last 70 to 80 years, he says. But the home’s good bones were still there.
Martins moved forward with his professional hat on to stretch his budget as far as he could to rehabilitate this old Victorian and start a new chapter.
A 17th-century Italian statue from his mom welcomes guests in the long entryway. Scott Adkins of ProFab Metal Designs made the floating metal shelf, as well as other metal shelves throughout the house.
Martins collected the three metal designs hanging on the wall, created by Yutaka Toyota, years ago. “Toyota was big in Brazil in the 1970s and is making a comeback today as people are wanting to revisit that era,” Martins says. “I’m not interested in the trend; I simply love mixing different eras together.”
The living room is “my life’s story,” Martins says. The small white sofa in front of the bay window was a pickup in Hong Kong, where it furnished the compact apartment he lived in for 10 years. Flanking the sofa are two industrial benches used as petite end tables.
His grandmother’s traveling trunk now serves as a handsome coffee table around which two reproduction French chairs sit. The recamier is from France and was bought by Martins at an auction, as was the Chinese 18th-century side table. “It’s not about designing with what’s fashionable,” says Martins. “This room as well as the entire home is about what’s me — where I’ve been, who I am.”

Dodgers Ex-Co-Owner Jamie McCourt Buys In Napa for $11.25M | Armonk Real Estate

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Jamie McCourt, former CEO and co-owner of the Dodgers with ex-husband Frank McCourt, spent $11.25 million on the sweeping Napa Valley estate at 40 Auberge Road. Situated on over 21 acres next to the Auberge du Soleil resort, the property boasts a 4 acre working vineyard that yields between 6.6 to 10 tons per year, a 3,500-square-foot 2-bedroom main house, an architecturally renowned 2-bedroom guest house, and a show-stopping lap pool.

The main house was designed by Scott Johnson of Johnson Fain Partners. It contains two bedrooms, an office, a gym, and views of both the valley and the property’s outdoor space, which was designed by Roger Warner and Jack Chandler. The guest house, designed by Stanley Saitowitz, won an AIA Award for design.

The property’s former owner was attorney Robert Lieff, founder of the law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein. He reportedly purchased the land in 1998 for $805K, and built the house and guest house over the next three years. He used the vineyard to produce a highly-regarded private-label Cabernet Sauvignon. He listed the property in April 2012 for $17 million, and then reduced the price to just under $15 million.

McCourt’s broker in the purchase was Ginger Martin, who has the current record for closing the sale on the most expensive Sonoma County property on record ($35 million). Martin was at one point the broker for the seller of 40 Auberge Road, and it’s not clear if she represented both sides of this transaction. Regardless, McCourt got the property for well under the original asking price, and now plans to split her time between LA and Napa. · Former Dodgers CEO Pays $11.25 Million for Napa Vineyard Estate [WSJ] · A Glass House In Napa Wine Country [WSJ] · 40 Auberge Road [Ginger Martin & Co.]