| Mt Kisco NY Weekly Real Estate Report | 2/27/2014 | |
| Homes for sale | 38 | |
| Median Ask Price | $750,000.00 | |
| Low Price | $339,000.00 | |
| High Price | $4,900,000.00 | |
| Average Size | 3136 | |
| Average Price/foot | $326.00 | |
| Average DOM | 107 | |
| Average Ask Price | $1,059,995.00 | |
In the month of January, 48,000 U.S. home foreclosures were completed, down 11.8% month over month and down 19% from 59,000 in January 2013, according to research firm CoreLogic. While an improvement, the number of foreclosures is still well above the 2000 to 2006 average of 21,000 foreclosures per month. CoreLogic notes that since September 2008, some 4.9 million foreclosures have been completed in the United States.
The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures in the past 12 months were Florida (116,000), Michigan (52,000), Texas (39,000), California (38,000) and Georgia (35,000). The five states with the fewest foreclosures in the 12 months through January were District of Columbia (60), North Dakota (427), Hawaii (526), West Virginia (543) and Wyoming (732).
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/home-foreclosure-numbers-improve-still-133053522.html
There’s no getting around it: It’s been a brutal winter in many parts of the country. And much of the negative economic data we’ve seen recently has been driven by the unusually harsh weather.
This is especially true in housing, where new mortgages have declined and housing starts have fallen considerably. However, I think there may be a very positive spring on the horizon for real estate as built-up demand and favorable buying conditions create a “perfect storm” (pun intended) of real estate activity.
Housing starts At first glance, the recent housing-start data looks atrocious, dropping by 16% from December to January. The rate of housing starts is lower than a year ago, even though the market improved throughout 2013.
Even the number of new housing permits — a good indicator of the building activity to come over the next couple of months — dropped. January’s rate of housing permits was 5.4% lower than it was in December, which indicates that February’s housing starts data might be even worse.
This makes sense, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the actual number comes in much worse than even the lowest estimates. February’s weather has been terrible, and of the permits that were initiated, weather delays may have prevented the actual construction from commencing.
On the other hand, once the weather gets nicer, homebuilders may have a backlog of new homes to build that they haven’t been able to start. Along with that, they could see more buyers coming into the market simply because better weather makes it more enjoyable to go out and shop for a house. After all, who wants to shop for a house in a foot of snow?
Mortgages are lower despite decent interest rates Although interest rates on mortgages are higher than they were last year, they definitely seem to have stabilized as a result of the Federal Reserve’s long-awaited taper at the end of 2013.
However, despite the stabilizing rates, mortgage applications fell by 8.5% in a recent report. However, a good chunk of the drop in mortgage applications is due to the 11% drop in refinancing applications, which is included in the total number. This makes sense since as rates rise, there’s progressively less of a financial case for refinancing.
Buying a home is still cheaper than renting one in every one of the top 100 metro markets, but rising home prices and mortgage rates are making the equation more complicated.
Nationally, it’s 38 percent cheaper to buy than to rent a home right now, according to a new report from Trulia, the real estate online marketplace. The report assumes that owners receive a 4.5 percent mortgage, stay in their home for at least seven years, and are in the 25-percent income tax bracket. Last year, it was 44 percent cheaper.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-buying-home-still-beats-171700965.html
The herky-jerky real estate market — recovering here, lagging there and nearly reaching a bubble in some cities – has buyers, sellers and homeowners all scratching their heads. Uncertainty is the word.
It’s risky to delve into lavish home improvement projects that are unlikely to earn back what you put into them. Even if you’re in one of the markets where CNN Money expects the greatest increases this year – Oakland, Calif.; Tampa, Fla.; Fort Worth, Texas; New Orleans; Richmond, Va.; Hartford, Conn.; Baltimore; Birmingham, Ala.; New York; and Memphis, Tenn. – don’t go hog wild.
The payback on remodeling is up, says Remodeling magazine, which each year publishes a report on the resale value of 35 home improvement projects. But that’s “up” from years of decline. “This trend signals an end to the long slide in the cost-value ratio, which began to fall in 2006 and didn’t begin to rebound until last year,” the magazine says.
Some improvements can raise your home’s value quite a bit, but getting your entire investment back is rare.
The best city for return on your remodeling dollar is Honolulu, Remodeling says. The top 10 cities, in order, are:
You can easily end up pouring money down the drain by launching into a home remodeling job without learning what the payback might be. Ask several local real estate agents what a particular project might do to your home’s value. You might go ahead anyway. But you’ll do it with your eyes open.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/don-t-waste-money-5-211851621.html
Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average mortgage rates mixed with the fixed-rate products moving higher for the fourth consecutive week, while adjustable rate mortgages eased.
News Facts
Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following links for the Regional and National Mortgage Rate Details and Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.
Quotes Attributed to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac.
“Mortgage rates edged up with new home sales exceeding expectations and rising to a seasonally adjusted pace of 468,000 units in January, the strongest annual rate since July 2008. The 9.6 percent increase in new home sales for January followed an upward revision of 13,000 units in December. The S&P/Case-Shiller® 20-city composite house price index rose 13.4 percent over the 12-months ending in December 2013.”
Mortgage rates saw very little change this week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate inching lower to 4.48 percent, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.31 discount and origination points.
To see mortgage rates in your area, go to http://www.bankrate.com/funnel/mortgages/.
The average 15-year fixed mortgage stepped back to 3.50 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage climbed to 4.51 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages were slightly up this week, with the average 1-year ARM moving up to 3.29 percent and the 5-year ARM rising to 3.30 percent.
Mortgage rates have been in a docile state over the past few weeks, as uncertainty regarding global markets has receded. While the pace of the U.S. economic recovery is still an open question, things have transitioned to a wait-and-see mode that translates into tame movements in mortgage rates. The surge of monthly economic releases over the next ten days may answer some of those economic questions, and be a catalyst for renewed volatility in the bond market, and ultimately, mortgage rates. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government bonds.
On May 1, 2013, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 3.52 percent. At that time, a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $900.32. With the average rate currently at 4.48 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,011.00, a difference of $111 per month for anyone that waited too long.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/bankrate-mortgage-rates-show-little-123000542.html
The U.S. housing sector is likely to experience an uneven recovery over the next five years, with some local markets bouncing back faster than others, according to a study released on Wednesday.
By 2018, the median price of single-family homes will be close to the peak reached in 2006 before the national market cratered, according to the study from the Demand Institute, a nonprofit think tank operated by The Conference Board and Nielsen. But there will be winners and losers.
Among the 50 largest metropolitan areas where housing prices are expected to appreciate between 2012 and 2018, the top five will see rises on average of 32 percent, while the bottom five will average gains of only 11 percent.
The cities expected to report the largest increase in the median price of a previously owned single-family homes are Memphis, Tampa, Jacksonville, Milwaukee and St. Louis.
Those with the lowest projected price appreciation are Washington, D.C., Oklahoma City, Denver, Minneapolis and Phoenix.
“The strength of the local housing market is among the most telling metrics that helps us assess community health and well-being,” said Louise Keely, chief research officer at the Demand Institute and co-author of the report.
http://news.yahoo.com/u-housing-recovery-uneven-across-markets-study-finds-050129804–sector.html
A third of the houses on Britain’s second most expensive street are lying vacant, many abandoned for decades and left to rot.
Behind the padlocked gates and long driveways, up to 20 mansions stand empty on London’s The Bishops Avenue, despite a reported combined value of around £350 million ($582 million).
Dubbed “Billionaires’ Row,” the road’s average house costs over £6 million ($9.98 million), but many have been deserted by their wealthy owners.
Despite their dilapidated condition, the houses remain a safe place for wealthy foreigners to park their money because of London’s rocketing property prices, which rose 11% last year, and because of the road’s reputation as a magnet for the rich and famous.
Anil Varma, a property developer appointed by a hedge fund owner to manage six of the vacant homes, calls it one of “the most expensive wastelands in Europe.”
He’s hoping to get permission to convert decaying mansion The Towers into luxury apartments. Bought 25 years ago by a prominent Middle Eastern family but never lived in because of planning permission complications, the once-magnificent mansion was abandoned and has fallen into disrepair.
Varma showed CNN through the property, revealing animal skeletons lying on moss-covered floors, paint ripped off the damp-soaked ceilings and stairs which have partially collapsed.
Jersey House, 200 meters up the road, is on sale for £40 million ($67 million) and estate agent Trevor Abrahmsohn says investors aren’t put off by the numerous abandoned homes on the road because The Bishops Avenue “is an iconic road, like Rodeo Drive or Wall Street.”
Buying a house here “is a statement of wealth… a statement that you’ve arrived,” he told CNN. The street has long been a landing pad for wealthy investors in developing countries undergoing geopolitical chaos: Iranians after the 1979 revolution, eastern Europeans after the collapse of the Berlin Wall and most recently, Chinese oligarchs, he said.
But, as Britain faces a housing shortage and soaring property prices, The Bishops Avenue’s empty mansions are likely to add to debate over taxes payable by overseas property buyers — particularly if they remain empty.
However, Richard Cornelius, who heads the local government branch of Barnet Council, told CNN he “would rather spend public money bringing family houses back into use than getting involved in battles with the lawyers of billionaires.”
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/24/business/the-derelict-mansions-on-britains-billionaires-row/index.html