Monthly Archives: February 2014

How’s The Real Estate Market? | Bedford Corners NY Homes

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One of the most (if not the most) asked question of a real estate agent is regarding how the market is doing.  The answer depends largely on the intent behind the question.  If you are simply making conversation, you may get more of an answer than you counted on.

Many people in the real estate industry rely on trends to gauge how the market has been performing.  Since trend data looks at what has happened over time, they may also serve as an indication of where the market may go – but no one knows the outcome for certain, until it has happened.

The picture accompanying this article shows a snapshot of the South County residential sales market during January 2014 in terms of how many homes were sold, how many were in escrow and how many were actively for sale; the total dollar value by community is also shown.  The information included in the snapshot was obtained from our local MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and does not include rental properties, private sales or activities conducted outside the MLS.

We’ve all heard the national and state news address the housing market, but they do little to explain what we’re experiencing in Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Martin.  In evaluating the real estate market, one must take into consideration not only the community, but also the neighborhood of interest.    For example, the Eagle Ridge real estate market differs from CordeValle housing.  Similarly, Holiday Lake Estates real estate is substantially different than Castlewood Park.

South County real estate sells year round; there’s always a market.  It becomes a seller’s market when there are very few homes available for sale, and a buyer’s market when there is a surplus of homes and very few buyers.  Local statistics document we were predominately in a seller’s market during 2013 and suggest we will continue in that direction until more sellers make the decision to sell.

 

http://www.gilroydispatch.com/blogs/real_estate_round-up/how-s-the-real-estate-market/article_f4945f80-642e-5f25-81fb-9d2f406d024e.html

 

Real Estate agents turn to video to shoot for a marketing edge | Pound Ridge Realtor

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Steve Dao spent a recent Friday rushing from the office to the gym, picking up some freshly-rolled sushi and, back home as the city lights came up, impressing his date with the view of Toronto’s skyline from the terrace of his King Street East loft.

All the while, a camera crew was capturing the lifestyle of a successful, thirtysomething loft owner and single dad. Mr. Dao is an actor and on that day he was the star of a video designed to show off the amenities of the loft and the surrounding King and Parliament neighbourhood to prospective buyers. Taking on the role of his date was real estate agent Karyn Filiatrault of Bosley Real Estate Ltd., who also commissioned the video.

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/real-estate-agents-turn-to-video-to-shoot-for-a-marketing-edge/article16726182/

 

Young professionals hold the key to London’s property market | Bedford NY Homes

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Young professionals make up a significant proportion of the capital’s workforce and where they’re living is shaping London’s housing market.

According to recent figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), 60% of inner London’s working age population are graduates. This is more than twice the number in the North East (29%) of England and considerably higher than both Wales (33%) and Scotland (41%).

Young professionals make up a significant proportion of the capital’s workforce and where they choose to live is helping shape London’s housing market. While proximity to work and amenities play an important part in determining where they live, house prices and rental costs are considerable drivers too. The pattern is a familiar one. As an area becomes established, so prices rise, forcing would-be incomers into cheaper, neighbouring postcode districts. And so the cycle begins again.

Research not only illustrates the point, but shows just how marked an influence young professionals have had – and continue to have – on defining London’s housing market.

Looking at the age profile across all London boroughs there are six that stand out. These are boroughs where over 50% of residents are aged between 20 and 44 – the London average is 43%. In ascending order they are Hackney, Lambeth, Islington, Hammersmith & Fulham, Wandsworth and Tower Hamlets.

 

http://metro.co.uk/2014/02/07/young-professionals-hold-the-key-to-londons-property-market-4290527/

Things to Watch in China’s Housing Market in the Year of the Horse | Bedford Hills Homes

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Growth in China’s housing market is expected to slow this year even as it becomes more uneven across the country. This comes as the world’s second-largest economy is grappling with overly high housing prices in major cities festering resentment among people who can’t afford a home, as well as huge amounts of worrisome shadow-banking debt linked to questionable property deals and infrastructure.

In 2013, housing prices in major Chinese cities shot up quickly as homebuyers returned to the market after concluding the central government is unlikely to impose further property curbs that had a limited effect in reining in runaway housing prices. Housing sales in China rose 26.6% in 2013, accelerating from the 10.9% growth in 2012, but the consensus view is that pent-up demand for homes has been digested, and growth in housing sales would moderate this year.

Strong demand and a lack of new homes in downtown areas in major cities are pushing prices up, while sluggish demand and oversupply in smaller cities threatening to drive home prices and the local economy down.

 

http://blogs.wsj.com/five-things/2014/02/06/5-things-to-watch-in-chinas-housing-market-in-the-year-of-the-horse/

30-year-mortgage rate falls to 4.23% | Armonk NY Homes

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The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.23% in the week that ended Feb. 6, hitting the lowest level since November, from 4.32% in the prior week, according to a Thursday report from federally controlled mortgage buyer Freddie Mac/quotes/zigman/226335/delayed/quotes/nls/fmccFMCC-1.69%. A year ago, the 30-year rate was at 3.53%. “Mortgage rates fell further this week following the release of weaker housing data,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie’s chief economist, citing a recent drop in a gauge of upcoming home sales, among other reports. The average rate for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 3.33% in the latest week from 3.40% in the prior week. Meanwhile, the rate for a 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 3.08% from 3.12%. The rate for a 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM fell to 2.51% from 2.55%.

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/30-year-mortgage-rate-falls-to-423-2014-02-06-9915956?siteid=yhoof2

 

Mortgage Rates Fall For Fifth Straight Week | Mt Kisco Realtor

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The bond rally of 2014 continues to carry over into mortgage rates, which fell for a fifth straight week. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate dropped to 4.23% this week from 4.32% a week ago and 4.53% in the first week of January, according to Freddie Mac’s (FMCC) latest weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey. A year ago that rate stood at 3.53%. The average 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rate also fell to 3.33% from 3.40% a week earlier, up from 2.77% a year ago.

A similar 30-year mortgage rate measured by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest weekly survey fell to 4.47% from 4.52%, a week earlier. That survey also showed mortgage applications increased by 0.4% in the week.

 

http://blogs.barrons.com/incomeinvesting/2014/02/06/mortgage-rates-fall-for-fifth-straight-week/?mod=yahoobarrons&ru=yahoo

Spain Property Market Outlook 2014: Home Price May Fall By Another 15% | North Salem NY Real Estate

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After five years of double-dip recession, Spain’s economy seems to have stopped sinking. But the recovery will be a prolonged one. Despite having fallen almost 40 percent since the housing bubble burst in late 2007, home prices in the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy are expected to drop by another 10 percent to 15 percent before they stabilize.

“Recovery in the housing sector in Spain hinges on an improvement in employment and access to credit, both of which are prey to uncertainty,” Souheir Asba, an analyst at Societe Generale, said in a note.

Here are the reasons why Asba thinks Spain’s property market has yet to hit the bottom.

While a recent trend indicates an improved appetite for distressed Spanish real estate assets, it’s not significant enough to call for a revival of the market.

Spain has finally overcome a slump triggered by the end of the real estate boom. The country emerged from recession in the third quarter of last year and its economy expanded 0.3 percent in the final three months of 2013, the fastest rate of quarterly growth in almost six years.

The Spanish government expects gross domestic product in Real Estate to grow by about 0.7 percent this year, and for job growth to resume in the second or third quarter, including the buying and renting market. You can even check out villas to rent in Spain here on this website and get to live your life in the most comfortable way ever.

The fact that investors are once again buying up Spanish government bonds is a big vote of confidence. As a result, the government is now paying much lower interest rates to borrow money. Yields on 10-year treasury bonds are down to 2006 levels.

http://www.ibtimes.com/spain-property-market-outlook-2014-home-price-may-fall-another-15-1553610

Swiss Housing Market Bubble Looms Closer | Waccabuc NY Real Estate

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Switzerland’s property market is at greater risk of overheating, raising the question as to whether authorities have done enough to curtail the boom.

The UBS Swiss Real Estate Bubble Index rose to 1.23 points in the fourth quarter from 1.2 points in the third, according to a statement from UBS AG (UBSN) today.  A reading above 2 indicates a bubble.

“The potential for correction has increased further,”Matthias Holzhey and Claudio Saputelli at UBS in Zurich said.

The Swiss National Bank (SNBN)’s policy of zero rates, in place since August 2011, has kept down the cost of taking out a mortgage. Coupled with high immigration from neighboring European countries that has fueled a strong increase in real estate prices in Switzerland.

Growth in mortgages has exceeded that of economic output since 2009, and last year price gains of homes and apartments outstripped advances in incomes, according to the central bank.

Concerned Switzerland could fall victim to a real estate crisis similar to that of the 1990s, the government last year forced banks to build up a countercyclical buffer of 1 percent of mortgage-related assets. After that failed to prevent a further deterioration of the mortgage market, it last month doubled the requirement to 2 percent. Even so, it refrained from raising it to the maximum 2.5 percent. Banks have until June 30 to comply.

 

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-05/swiss-housing-market-bubble-looms-closer-ubs-says.html

China’s housing market is looking ugly | Cross River NY Real Estate

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China’s surging property market might finally have hit the skids.

Sales have “showed a sharp decline” (paywall) in January, compared to Dec. 2013, according to China Confidential, a Financial Times research outfit, even when controlling for softness due to the Chinese New Year holiday. Official data show prices still high in December (the last month for which data were available), but those will likely be dragged down in the coming months.

A big blow to global markets

Housing investment is a big engine of China’s economy. And though slower growth could help end China’s dangerous reliance on credit-backed investment, an abrupt slowdown will freak out global markets and throttle commodity prices.

 

Devastating for China’s financial system

Property-sector loans accounted for one-third of total loans last year, equaling $380 billion. A slowdown would mean that real estate developers, many of whom borrow through shadow finance channels, would struggle to pay back retail investors who effectively loaned to them via wealth management products (more on those here). A lot of that investment has flowed one way or another through China’s shadow banking system, the unregulated credit that allows banks to shunt loans to dodgy borrowers.

But the threat to China’s financial system is much broader than that. Untold billions in corporate borrowing are supported by property used as collateral. There’s a cottage industry of auditors willing to appraise unoccupied or under-development property at whatever value is deemed necessary to get a bank manager to extend a loan. (In many cases, the borrower will turn around and lend to another business at a higher interest rate.) The fact that prices keep going up means there’s nothing challenging those face-value assumptions. A slump in prices would put a big dent in the value of that collateral.

http://qz.com/174029/chinas-housing-market-is-looking-ugly-which-is-scary-for-its-financial-system/#174029/chinas-housing-market-is-looking-ugly-which-is-scary-for-its-financial-system/

Puget Sound area home prices up as much as 17% in January | South Salem NY Real Estate

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With more houses on the market and sales prices rising, the housing market is “definitely in full recovery mode” in the Puget Sound area, a Realtor said Wednesday.

The median price of King County houses and condos that sold in January was nearly $364,900, or 17 percent higher than in January 2013, according to the latest report from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Median sale prices in Pierce and Snohomish counties rose 12 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

“We are finally going to be looking at the ‘housing crisis’ in the rear view mirror,” said Mike Gain, CEO and president of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate. “In 2014 we are definitely in full recovery mode.”

The inventory of residences on the market, while improving, continues to be a source of worry, he said.

“Lots of buyers and not enough of the right inventory to satisfy our buyers’ wants and needs,” was how Gain described current conditions. “Following the worst year for inventory I have seen in my 35 years of practicing real estate locally, we are expecting the number of homes for sale to increase in 2014.”

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2014/02/05/puget-sound-home-prices-up-as-much-as.html