Monthly Archives: April 2014

Cuomo Presents State Budget To Westchester County Association | Bedford Corners Homes

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo presented his 2014 state budget to the Westchester County Association Wednesday at the Marriott Hotel calling it the “Grand Slam” for being a fourth consecutive on-time budget.

An upbeat Cuomo used a Powerpoint Presentation to tout his administration’s three-year run of tax reduction, spending cuts and political and private sector coalitions that he said were key in getting the state back its fiscal credibility.

“The state budget is much more than a planning device, it basically answers the questions who are you going to tax, how much, and where are you going to spend the money, down to the finest detail,” Cuomo said. “Government gridlock happens when we do the budget because this is here the money is.”

More than 300 people filled the Marriott Hotel meeting room to listen to Cuomo as he explained how the state’s history of high property, income and corporate taxes had crippled the economy and burdened taxpayers.

Cuomo said the fiscal health of the state has improved over the last three years with implementation of a 2 percent tax increase limit.

“When we look back just a few years ago, the State of New York was in peril, with scandals, indictments and basic dysfunction and that our vest days were behind us,” Cuomo said. “We were the highest tax state in the nation that had to change.”

The Governor attributed his administration’s collaborations in political and private sectors, decreased spending and lower income, corporate and manufacturer taxes as reasons for getting the state’s fiscal house in order and its economy back on track and growing.

But Cuomo also stressed that New York’s real estate taxes — the highest in the nation in Westchester County — must be brought under control. The governor attributed the problem to the cost of running 10,500 local governments and their services.

“We have made it easier and offered incentives for local governments to consolidate and merge costs and services and just two have done so,” Cuomo said. “And when local governments’ costs increase, they just raise taxes. That can not continue.”

 

 

http://chappaqua.dailyvoice.com/news/cuomo-presents-state-budget-westchester-county-association

 

Five Westchester Events You’ll Want To Attend | Chappaqua Real Estate

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Here are five of the biggest events coming up in Westchester.

1. Aoife O’Donovan at Katonah’s Caramoor, Saturday, April 12 at 8 p.m.

Aoife O’Donovan is widely known as the lead singer of alt-bluegrass/string band Crooked Still, as a member of the folk noir trio Sometymes Why, and as the vocalist on the GRAMMY winning album The Goat Rodeo Sessions with Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer and Stuart Duncan. She will be visiting the Caramoor for a special solo acoustic performance. $15, $35, $45, $55. 149 Girdle Ridge Road.

2. Greenburgh Nature Center’s Spring Celebration and Egg Hunt, Sunday, April 13 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the Greenburgh Nature Center barnyard to meet their furry and feathered friends. Families will be able to take a tour with a naturalist to discover signs of spring from the forest to the pond to the Great Lawn, make seasonal crafts, and search for eggs in an egg hunt. Egg hunts and other fun activities will run continuously throughout the day. 99 Dromore Road.

3. Les Ballets Trockadero at Harrison’s SUNY Purchase, Saturday, April 12 at 8 p.m.

This all-male corps de ballet defies convention and cliché of classical ballet and proves that men can dance en pointe without hurting themselves too badly. These men are among the finest, classically trained dancers. Enjoy the beauty of ballet, and the proof that classical ballet can be totally hilarious. $49.50 – 70. 735 Anderson Hill Road.

4. Grow Your Own Bitters at Mount Pleasant’s Stone Barns Center, Saturday, April 12 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Master the art of bitters-making with expert Brad Thomas Parsons, author of Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All. Parsons will be taking seasonal crops, fresh from local farms, and turning them into bitters. He’ll also be sharing cocktail ideas and sending you home with your own batch of farm-fresh bitters. Ages 21 and up. $22.50 – $25. 630 Bedford Road.

5. One Night Only: The National Comedy Theatre at the White Plains Performing Art Center, Saturday, April 12, 8 p.m.

The National Comedy Theatre, New York’s acclaimed improvisational comedy show, is coming to the WPPAC for one night. Similar in style to “Whose Line is it Anyway,” the comedians will be performing a series of games and scenes all based on audience suggestions. $25. 11 City Place.

 

 

 

http://armonk.dailyvoice.com/events/five-westchester-events-youll-want-attend-2

North Castle Hosting Zero Waste Day | Armonk Real Estate

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The Town of North Castle is showing why it is one of the most environmentally friendly towns in Westchester.

The town is hosting its 10th Zero Waste Day on Saturday, April 26 behind North Castle Town Hall from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Residents can donate gently used items to be reused and also recycle scrap metal and electronic waste. A shredder will be on hand to shred personal papers.

Groups like the Community Center of Northern Westchester, Adopt-a-Dog, Recycle-a-Bicycle and Furniture Sharehouse.

The event used to be held twice a year, but the recycling committee decided to hold it once a year to increase participation.

“This is all for a good cause,” Linda Trummer-Napolitano, the co-chair of the North Castle Recycling Committee said. “It keeps things out of the waste stream.”

 

 

http://armonk.dailyvoice.com/news/north-castle-hosting-zero-waste-day

House price boom ripples out of London, across Britain | Waccabuc Realtor

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The housing boom is spreading across the country, with rapidly rising prices   and long queues of buyers no longer restricted to London, experts are to   announce.

Property sales in the first three months of 2014 reached a six-year high as   the market recovered on a “truly national” scale, according to the Royal   Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).

Activity is at levels last seen in early 2008, before the banking crisis took   hold, and is spreading to the Home Counties and beyond, figures suggest.

The trend is “striking in that it is clearly broadening out”, said Simon   Rubinsohn, a Rics economist. “There has been a sense that it was one story   for London and a very different outlook everywhere else, with perhaps a few   other city centres edging ahead. But that is not the case any longer,” he   added.

“Now that the housing market recovery is well and truly under way and mortgage   finance is more readily available, buyers seem to be looking to test the   market right across the country, not just in the usual hotspots of the South   East.”

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/houseprices/10756343/House-price-boom-ripples-out-of-London-across-Britain.html

 

Fixed Mortgage Rates Tick Down | Mt Kisco NY Realtor

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Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates moving down slightly as we head into the spring homebuying season.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.34 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending April 10, 2014, down from last week when it averaged 4.41 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.43 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.38 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.47 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.65 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.09 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.12 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.62 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.41 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.45 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.62 percent.

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 eased a bit following the decline in 10-year Treasury yields. Also, the economy added 192,000 jobs in March, which was below the market consensus forecast but followed an upward revision of 22,000 jobs in February. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate held steady at 6.7 percent.”

Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Today Freddie Mac is making home possible for one in four home borrowers and is one of the largest sources of financing for multifamily housing. Additional information is available at FreddieMac.com, Twitter @FreddieMac and Freddie Mac’s blog FreddieMac.com/blog.

 

 

 

Who Pays America’s Highest (and Lowest) Property Taxes? | South Salem NY Homes

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The second biggest cost of home ownership — following the mortgage — is usually property taxes. In 2012, U.S. homeowners paid an average of about $2,800 in property taxes, according to a recent Zillow study. And if you live in New York, New Jersey, or Colorado your taxes were in some cases five times more than the national average. The numbers are based on an average of real estate taxes paid on single family housing in 2012.

The residents of Westchester County in New York pay more in property taxes than the typical resident of any other major American county. The average property tax bill for a single family home in Westchester County comes to $14,829 a year.

Want to know how your county stacks up against the rest of the country? Check out our rankings below.

 

https://homes.yahoo.com/news/pays-america-highest-lowest-property-taxes-163136546.html

 

Plunge in refinancing hits mortgage applications | Cross River Homes

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The volume of mortgage applications fell last week despite a steady average rate on the commonly used 30-year fixed mortgage.

A large drop in refinances pushed the overall volume lower, but applications to purchase a home rose 3 percent from the previous week, on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Purchase applications, however, are still down 14 percent from a year ago, when mortgage rates were a full percentage point lower.

Refinance activity has been falling steadily since the rate rise early last summer. Applications to refinance fell 5 percent last week from the previous week and are now at their lowest level since the end of 2013. The average contract rate on the 30-year fixed conforming mortgage held steady last week at 4.56 percent.

 

 

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101566721

7 beautiful rooftop gardens | Katonah Real Estate

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    Charlie Dresen, SteamboatsMyHome.com

Want to add value to your home? Plant a garden in the sky.

Rooftop gardens are quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to wow buyers and shore up the value of your home, real estate agents say.

Homes in big cities benefit the most from a rooftop garden, where homeowners sacrifice yard space for the urban experience. But even suburban homeowners are taking advantage of deck and roof space to grow gardens with an elevated view.

“It’s just such a luxury to have somewhere you can go that’s outside of your four walls,” said Leslie Piper, consumer housing specialist for the Realtor.com and a real estate agent. “Buyers really see it as something indulgent.”

That’s actually part of the reason why for a time interest in outdoor spaces like roof gardens had been withering. But as the housing market recovers, buyers’ appetites for these unique outdoor havens have returned.

When Realtor.com surveyed 1,000 buyers about what makes them fall in love with a home, outdoor living spaces came out on top, beating out their desire for open floor plans and curb appeal. About 51 percent of those surveyed said that outdoor space was the most attractive quality in a home.

“It’s certainly cropping back up as something that’s becoming more important to homeowners,” Piper said.

Buyers are specifically looking for outdoor fireplaces, wet bars and a lounge area for entertaining, as well as a place to grow their own fresh herbs and vegetables, she added.

Most of the amenities for an outdoor space can be added by the homeowner, so they tend to be a relatively inexpensive way to add value to a home.

“You can go online now and look at all these great resources that are out there, and in the past you didn’t know where to start,” Piper said. “That kind of access to ideas is really spurring these spaces.”

If you are looking for an attractive roof garden built in to a new home, check out these seven homes.

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/media/7-beautiful-rooftop-gardens/

 

30-year FRMs drop for second week in a row | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

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Mortgage rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dropped for the second week in a row, according to Zillow (Z).

Borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace at 4.2%, down from 4.25% at this same time last week.

The 30-year, FRM rate peaked on Wednesday at 4.28% before falling to 4.2% over the weekend.

“Last week mortgage rates dipped after Friday’s job report which, while fairly strong, failed to meet the market’s expectations,” said Erin Lantz, vice president of mortgages at Zillow. “This week, we expect rates to remain about where they are now, and aren’t anticipating any market-moving surprises with the release of the Federal Open Market Committee minutes from the March meeting.”

The 15-year, FRM Tuesday morning was 3.17% and for 5/1 ARMs, the rate was 2.86%.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29604-zillow-30-year-frms-drop-for-second-week-in-a-row

 

Jumbo mortgages fill in lending gap | Bedford NY Real Estate

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Mortgage credit availability remains on the upward trajectory that it has been on since November 2013, a trade industry group said.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the mortgage credit availability index increased .44% from 113.5 in February to 114 in March.

The index was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012, and if the MCAI was tracked in 2007, it would have been at a level of roughly 800.

“Consistent with past months, many lenders and investors are providing borrowers seeking higher loan amounts with a broader range of financing options by introducing new jumbo loan programs,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s chief economist.

This trend in jumbo mortgages follows the recent mortgage application reports from the trade group, which show a growth in purchase volume for applications with higher loan amounts and contraction in home purchase application volume for lower-balance loans.

According to the most recent survey, the average contract interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances increased to 4.46% from 4.45%.

“Over the month, some lenders made a complete exit from wholesale lending operations, while other lenders moved to enter that space or expanded operations,” Fratantoni said.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29603-jumbo-mortgages-fill-in-lending-gap