Monthly Archives: December 2013

Chris Brown seeks $1.92 million for his home, (in)famous for its graffiti-style artwork | Bedford Hills NY Homes

Good news, Hollywood Hills parents: It’s safe to let your babies out again.

Not only has pop star Chris Brown removed the “monsters” that he’d painted along Rinconia Drive, he’s leaving the neighborhood and has put the whole darn house on the market.

Back in May, neighbors told the Los Angeles Times that his murals — which you can see in the June news video below — were scaring their kids. “There are lots of babies, lots of children, and they’re literally frightened. It’s like devils on the wall,” Hollywood Dell Civic Association President Patti Negri said.

The creatures’ “bulging eyeballs and giant fangs loom over the canyon,” the Times wrote.

He removed the mural after — but not because of, his lawyer hastened to say — much-publicized complaints. The lawyer told the Times in July that Brown took down the monsters because he was prepping the house for sale. And now here it is!

We’re happy to report that you can still appreciate Brown’s handiwork in listing photos of the interior. He treated a couple of walls as a giant canvas, with more of his sharp-toothed gremlins grimacing over what appears to be the living room.

Other distinctive touches in the home — which is “tailored for the most demanding in high design and quality,” according to the listing — include “spectacular custom LED site lighting and a colored LED light show in the saltwater pool and spa,” a sand pit, a “shower massage system,” “stone waterfalls,” fire pits (plural!), and “walls of glass and exotic stones.”

The asking price for this three-bedroom, three-bathroom, 3,000-square-foot fantasy? $1,920,000.

 

 

http://homes.yahoo.com/blogs/spaces/chris-brown-seeks–1-92-million-for-his-home—in-famous-for-its-graffiti-style-artwork-074531181.html

Irish House Prices Rise for Eighth Month | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate

Irish home prices rose for the eighth successive month in November, led by increases in Dublin, according to official data released Monday, providing evidence that the country’s six-year housing slump is easing in the capital at least.

The government sees the rising prices as one more sign the country is recovering from the devastating economic crisis that erupted with the bursting of its housing bubble. The government exited its 2010 bailout this month and now relies on bond markets for funding.

Nationwide, residential prices rose 0.6% in November and were 5.6% higher than a year earlier, the Central Statistics Office said. In Dublin, residential prices increased by 1.3% in November and were 13.8% higher than a year ago.

Outside the capital, prices were flat on the month and 0.6% lower than in November 2012.

On average, home prices are 46.5% lower than at their 2007 peak, and prices won’t match those of the boom years any time soon. At best, property price gains will help damaged banks cut some of their huge losses.

The European Union plans to carry out scenario-specific bank audits next year, known as stress tests, to determine whether lenders in countries including Ireland have enough funds.

 

 

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20131223-702373.html

Rising mortgage rates, closing costs joining higher home prices | Bedford Corners NY Homes

Home prices are higher in metro Atlanta, and so are mortgage rates and closing costs.

All three are signs that the local housing market continues to roar  back from the meltdown just a few years ago as the economy continues to  strengthen with more homeowners and prospective homeowners finding jobs  and a paycheck.

The strengthening economy was a primary reason that Federal Reserve  policymakers signaled recently that they will do a little less in trying  to stimulate economic activity by influencing interest rates.

In interviews with Biz Beat, analysts at Zillow, the online housing  listing service, and Bankrate, which tracks loan rates in Georgia and  nationally, say consumers can expect to see mortgage rates trending  higher in the new year even if they are still at historically low  levels.

Erin Lantz, director of mortgages at Zillow, said weeks of  anticipating that the Fed would “dial back” its influence on interest  rates and the actual announcement that changes in its economic stimulus  program would begin in January have already begun to push rates higher.

“The stimulus program was meant to keep interest rates lower,” Lantz said. “The economy is getting back on its own footing and doesn’t need to rely on federal stimulus as much.”

In a weekly report, Bankrate said the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in metro  Atlanta rose to 4.54 percent most recently, from 4.47 percent in the previous report and  3.76 percent at the start of 2013. The average 15-year fixed rate  rose to 3.59 percent from 3.48 percent.

Greg McBride, Bankrate’s senior financial analyst, said closing  costs, which lenders charge to process a loan, are up 6 percent from  last year in metro Atlanta. By comparison, inflation is up less than 2  percent.

McBride said lenders, who are paying out billions of dollars to  settle claims they botched loans and wrongly foreclosed on thousands of borrowers, are  facing higher costs in complying with new regulations designed to  prevent the problems that led to the housing crises. The due diligence now includes verifying  applicants’ employment, income and debt obligations multiple times before closing on a loan.

Those higher loan processing costs are being passed on to borrowers.

“Secondly, there is no wiggle room in terms of fees quoted by a  lender on the good-faith estimate of costs,” McBride said. Lenders are  required by law to provide borrowers with a written best estimate of  what a loan will cost, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise if they go with the higher end of a range. “Once they put that number on the form they are  locked in. It can’t be a penny more,” McBride said

 

http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/biz-beat/2013/dec/23/mortgage-rates-closing-costs-joining-higher-home-p/

Foreclosure Settlement: Ocwen Agrees to $2 Billion in Mortgage Relief | Armonk NY Homes

Ocwen Financial Corp. will reduce struggling borrowers’ loan balances by $2 billion in an agreement with federal regulators and 49 states over foreclosure abuses. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and state attorneys general announced the deal Thursday with the Atlanta-based company, one of the largest U.S. mortgage servicers. The regulators said Ocwen pushed borrowers into foreclosure through illegal actions, such as failing to promptly and accurately credit mortgage payments.

The company also miscalculated interest rates and charged borrowers improper fees, the regulators said. “We believe that Ocwen violated federal consumer financial laws at every stage of the mortgage servicing process,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray (pictured above) said in a conference call with reporters. “We have concluded that Ocwen made troubled borrowers even more vulnerable to foreclosure.”

Under the agreement, Ocwen also will refund a combined $125 million to about 185,000 borrowers who had been foreclosed upon from 2009 through 2012. It also agreed to change the way it manages mortgages. The company must stop “robo-signing” of documents, the practice of automatically signing off on foreclosures without a proper review. The agreement must be approved by a federal court in Washington.

 

http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/12/20/ocwen-foreclosure-settlement-reduces-mortgages/

 

South Florida home prices rise, but sales soften | Armonk NY Homes

South Florida home prices rose in November, though sales slowed as buyers regained more control over the recovering market.

Broward County’s median price for existing single-family homes last month was $270,000,  up 29 percent from a year ago, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors said Thursday. Despite the large annual increase, the median has remained unchanged for three consecutive months.

Palm Beach County’s median of $252,000 was 16 percent higher than a year ago, according to the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches. But it too has softened, hovering close to $250,000 since July.

Meanwhile, the once-blistering sales pace also has cooled. Broward had 1,076 homes trade hands last month, off 11 percent from a year ago. Palm Beach County had 1,110 sales in November, up just 1 percent from November 2012.

Investors have fueled demand since the market hit bottom early last year, but many have pulled back as prices have increased, real estate agents and analysts say. In both counties, cash sales declined in November from a year earlier.

Industry observers say the market was destined to lose some of its steam. They expect prices to continue rising next year, but at a much slower rate.

Terry Story, an agent in Broward and Palm Beach counties, said buyers are taking more time to consider their options and not rushing to bid on overpriced properties.

“The buyers are saying, ‘Nah, nah, nah,’” Story said. “They’re waiting for sellers to reduce their prices and they’re waiting for more properties to come on the market.”

 

 

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-12-19/business/sfl-south-florida-home-prices-link-20131219_1_south-florida-home-prices-large-annual-increase-terry-story

 

Inside A-Rod’s Pristine Beach Condo, On The Market For $3.2M | North Salem NY Real Estate

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Alex Rodriguez’s pro baseball career may be in one hot mess, but his Miami housing situation isn’t exactly clear and simple either. After selling his minimalist, palatial North Bayshore Drive manse for a grand $30 mill, and buying an oceanfront condo at Midbeach’s Mei building for less than a tenth of that price, A-Rod has popped the crash pad back on the market for $3.2 million, just over a million more than what he paid for it. Chump change one would think for a guy used to the big, eight figure, leagues. But hey, a million bucks is a million bucks. Curbed National has more details about the condo’s redone interior, which just like the house is basically a white box. Hey, the man likes lots of white.

Where Is Content Marketing Headed in 2014? [INFOGRAPHIC | Waccabuc NY Realtor

As the year 2013 comes to an end, marketing experts and internet professionals are taking a look forward to what the marketing terrain will be like in the year 2014, especially in the area of content marketing.

2013 has experienced a lot of innovative changes as far as marketing is concerned. There were a whole lot of new tools and conventions to deal with. But in all of these content marketing stood out! Today, content marketing is not just a buzz word but something that every business now takes as a MUST.

For example, in a recent survey conducted by MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute, it was revealed that 93% B2B organizations now use content-based tactics for their marketing campaigns while 73% indicated they now produce more content than the previous year!

These are not mean figures. They are definitely an indication of what to expect in content marketing trends for 2014. The following infographic from Uberflip gives a concise view of what the trends will be like in content marketing in 2014.

So, whether you are a B2B or B2C business and you are among those who intent drive out-standing results for your content marketing spend in  2014 then you need to study this infographic very carefully because you will definitely get something from it!

Content Marketing Trends For 2014

So, how are you preparing to make good use of what the experts say about the content marketing in 2014?

 

 

 

http://socialmediatoday.com/okesteady/2002261/where-content-marketing-headed-2014-infographic?utm_source=smt_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&inf_contact_key=4e31d2e7346a5924bb28ec66a4887c9d1df030b8e5d58a3e790461ece08da544

 

 

 

 

Latest Figures Show New Home Sales and Prices Decline in New York | Cross River Real Estate

In August, the New York, NY market saw a decline year-over-year in new home closings, and with a percentage decline steeper than July 2013, there were suggestions the market may be worsening. Closings sank 29.5% from a year earlier to 665. This was after the housing market saw a 25.0% fall year-over-year in July.

A total of 7,252 new homes were sold during the 12 months that ended in August, down from 7,530 for the year that ended in July.

Out of all housing closings, new home closings made up 4.8%. This is down from the 7.5% of closings a year earlier. Closings of new and existing homes increased year-over-year in August after also rising in July year-over-year.

 

 

 

http://www.builderonline.com/local-housing-data/mid-atlantic/new-york-northern-new-jersey-long-island-ny-nj-pa.aspx?cid=lmkt:new-york-northern-new-jersey-long-island-ny-nj-pa:20131215&rdrnum=1000073719

 

 

 

Existing home sales decline 4.3% in November | South Salem NY Homes

Existing home sales fell 4.3% for November to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.9 million, according to Thursday’s report from the National Association of Realtors, although median prices show strong growth year-over-year.

That’s down from 5.12 million in October, and 1.2% below the 4.96 million-unit pace in November 2012.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the market is being squeezed.

“Home sales are hurt by higher mortgage interest rates, constrained inventory and continuing tight credit,” he noted. “There is a pent-up demand for both rental and owner-occupied housing as household formation will inevitably burst out, but the bottleneck is in limited housing supply, due to the slow recovery in new home construction. As such, rents are rising at the fastest pace in five years, while annual home prices are rising at the highest rate in eight years.”

HousingWire will have detailed analysis of this, as well as today’s coming report on jobless claims for the week and where mortgage rates stand, and how it all ties into the Fed’s announcement Wednesday that it will begin tapering its purchase of mortgage-backed securities and Treasurys in 2014.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/28356-existing-home-sales-decline-43-in-november