Monthly Archives: February 2014

This modular wall unit holds an entire kitchen | Waccabuc Real Estate

It’s common to see a hideaway bed change a living room into a bedroom easily, but now Resource Furniture wants to make kitchens covert with its new line of Stealth Kitchen modules. Each unit contains full-size appliances hidden within seemingly normal cabinetry; some of the modules are as small as six feet wide and they all can hold a refrigerator, freezer, sink, dishwasher, microwave, oven, countertop, and extra drawers and cabinets for storage.

Modular furniture isn’t a new trend, but it has become even more popular for its space-saving qualities in the wake of the micro-apartment boom in major cities. Resource Furniture seems to get that, specializing in furniture that does much more than it seems to at first glance, such as a multi-use table that extends from 17 inches to 115 inches, and chairs that become stepladders. The company also made an entire micro-apartment exhibit called Launchpad for the Museum of the City of New York last year, but the Stealth Kitchen seems to be its first crack at an entire room in one piece that you can actually buy.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/25/5445358/resource-furniture-modular-stealth-kitchen

3 Huge Differences Between U.S. and Canadian Mortgages | Katonah NY Real Estate

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As housing reform continues to be part of the Obama administration’s agenda, differences between the mortgage market in the United States and that of other countries have come to light. For instance, how do domestic mortgage products differ from those offered in Canada, a country considered the most comparable to the Unites States?

Here are three critical differences between the home lending market here and in our closest neighbor to the north.

30-year mortgages? Never heard of them While the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage has become a staple in the U.S., Canada doesn’t offer anything remotely similar. The longest term for a home loan in the North Country is five years, with the amount amortized over a 25-year period. Canadian banks also offer fixed-rate mortgages for two-year, three-year, and four-year terms.

This means Canadians can never count on having a particular loan interest rate last more than five years. At the end of the loan’s life span, borrowers can refinance, but prepaying a loan early to take advantage of a drop in rates can cost mortgage customers dearly, as prepayment fees are quite hefty.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/23/3-huge-differences-between-us-and-canadian-mortgag.aspx

The Housing Market Is Plunging. Is It Time to Panic? | Chappaqua Real Estate

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The bottom just dropped out of the housing market. Or, at least, that’s what a report released this week by the government suggests.

According to the Commerce Department, the number of housing starts — new residential construction projects commenced during the month — plummeted by 16% in January compared to December.

It was the worst monthly decline in almost three years. The only recent month that even comes close was April of last year, when housing starts fell by 15%.

The general opinion is that unusually cold and snowy weather caused the dramatic decline, as many of the East Coast’s biggest cities have been bombarded by snowstorms since the beginning of the year.

According to the Associated Press, “U.S. home construction fell in January for a second month, but the weakness in both months reflected severe winter weather in many parts of the country.”

Yet, this appears to tell only half of the story, as housing starts in the hardest-hit region, the Northeast, actually increased by 62% compared to December. It was the Midwest that suffered the biggest blow, where new home construction fell by a staggering 68%.

“While we believe the weather did impact construction activity, we think this is just part of the story, as the new construction slowdown was more broad-based,” an economist at BNP Paribas wrote in a note to clients.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/23/the-housing-market-is-plunging-is-it-time-to-panic.aspx

Case-Shiller Home Rise In Line With Expectations | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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The Case-Shiller 20-City home price index was up 0.75% month-over-month in December, and up 13.42% year-over-year in December.

This compares with expectations for a 0.6% MoM and 13.4% YoY rise.

“The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index ended its best year since 2005,” David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices said in a press release.
“However, gains are slowing from month-to-month and the strongest part of the recovery in home values may be over. Year-over-year values for the two monthly Composites weakened and the quarterly National Index barely improved. The seasonally adjusted data also exhibit some softness and loss of momentum.”

Recent housing data suggests “a bleaker picture for housing,” he said. We’ve seen a decline in homebuilder confidence, existing home sales tumbled, housing starts missed expectations.

Meanwhile, FHFA home prices were up 0.8% in December, beating expectations for a 0.3% rise.

Home prices were up 1.2% in Q4, compared with expectation sfor a 1% rise.

FHFA’s November numbers were revised down to show a 0.1% MoM fall, compared with a 0.1% rise previously.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/comes-case-shiller-home-prices-134120159.html

Home prices slowing down: Case-Shiller | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

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U.S. home prices slowed down at the end of 2013, but posted the fastest calendar-year growth in eight years, according to data released Tuesday.

U.S. home prices ticked down 0.1% in December, declining for a second month, with 11 of 20 tracked cities posting drops, according to S&P/Case-Shiller’s composite index. After seasonal adjustments, home prices in December rose 0.8%, down a bit from 0.9% in November.

“Gains are slowing from month-to-month and the strongest part of the recovery in home values may be over,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “The seasonally adjusted data also exhibit some softness and loss of momentum.”

On a year-over-year basis, home prices rose 13.4% in December, the fastest calendar-year growth since 2005, supported by a low inventory of homes available for sale. However, December’s year-over-year growth is down from a recent peak of 13.7% hit in November.

Bloomberg

Enlarge Image

A home for sale in Princeton, Illinois, on Jan. 22, 2014.

Going forward prices may continue to slow down if inventories rise as more sellers become willing and able to place their homes on the market. Also, climbing mortgage rates could curb some demand, economists say.

But slower price growth isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Prices that run too high too quickly for an extended period would keep many would-be buyers from purchasing a home.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/home-prices-slowing-down-case-shiller-2014-02-25?siteid=yhoof2

Home price gains continue to slow | Bedford Corners NY Homes

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Home prices fell for the second consecutive month in December in another sign of a sagging real estate market, according to a closely-watched barometer.

December prices declined 0.1% from November based on Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city index.

Year over year, the index was up 13.6%, but that was less than November’s annual gain.

Home prices showed monthly gains in only six cities in the 20-city index — Dallas, Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco, Tampa and Washington, D.C.

“The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index ended its best year since 2005,” says David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “However, gains are slowing from month-to-month and the strongest part of the recovery in home values may be over.”

The market was affected by cold weather in much of the country, strong gains in prices earlier in the year and interest rates that were higher than in the first half of 2013.

But the report adds more color to a picture of a slowing housing market. The National Association of Realtors reported last week that existing home sales for January fell to the lowest level in 18 months. And home building fell 16% in January from December, the government reported.

Some highlights for cities in the Case-Shiller Index:

• Phoenix showed a 0.3% drop in December, its largest decline since March 2011, ending a 26-month string of gains.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/02/25/dec-home-prices-case-shiller/5803101/

Is real estate still a good buy? | Armonk Real Estate

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Buying a home is no longer a no-brainer, whether you are buying as an investment or to live in it.

That is the message to draw from current measures of value in many metropolitan markets.

The fundamentals have changed from six months ago, when some economists and analysts said that low prices and low mortgage rates made it a great time to buy a home in most of the U.S.

The latest thinking is a reflection of how far and how fast home values have climbed. In the year ended in November, home prices rose 14%, as measured by the most-recent S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite index.

Some markets, such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco, saw prices rise by more than 20%.

In general, “you can’t buy now and expect a big gain,” says Morris Davis, an associate professor in the real-estate department at the University of Wisconsin’s business school in Madison. “There’s more risk than there was.”

One widely tracked measure of housing costs is the average national home price divided by the average rent. That ratio stood at 14 in the third quarter, according to Moody’s Analytics, using the most recent data. That is above the average ratio of 12 between 1989 and 2003, which is considered a “normal,” preboom home market.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/real-estate-still-good-buy-193500720.html