Category Archives: Bedford Corners NY

Foreclosure timelines reach record lengths | Bedford Corners NY Homes

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Foreclosure timelines are growing more bloated, largely due to sustained government intervention in the housing market, according to RealtyTrac’s March U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. At the same time, foreclosure activity continues to subside, drifting closer to pre-meltdown levels, RealtyTrac reported. 

“Although the overall national foreclosure trend continues to head lower, late-blooming foreclosures are bolting higher in some local markets where aggressive foreclosure prevention efforts in previous years are wearing off,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “Meanwhile, more recent foreclosure prevention efforts in other states have drastically increased the average time to foreclose, which could result in a similar outbreak of delayed foreclosures down the road in those states.”

via inman.com

Housing market on the rise | Bedford Corners NY Homes

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For several years, people in Kokomo and Howard County have been hesitant about purchasing or building a home. Foreclosures flooded the market as the recession hit hard, and the real estate market collapsed.

That’s old news. The Indiana Association of Realtors recently announced that the local housing market is on the mend. In fact, housing prices are up about 16 percent from a year ago. The median price of a home sold in February was $65,500.

The news was welcomed by Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight.

“The home sales gain is positive news for home sellers and buyers who are in the market during a period of historically low interest rates,” said Goodnight. “The recent census data identifying Kokomo and Howard County as gaining 119 new residents, business expansions, and this real estate market report are evidence of a growing local economy.”

According to Amy Pate, executive vice president of the Realtors Association of Central Indiana, there are a number of reasons why this recovery is taking place, but the top reason is also the most obvious one — jobs.

“Overall, the increase in meaningful jobs in our community has more to do with it than anything else,” said Pate. “That, paired with the fact that there is a decrease in inventory and the number of foreclosures are going down, means it is a little less of a buyer’s market than it has been.”

Pate explained that there are certain home price ranges or niches that are so lean on inventory that offers are being made just days after a home hits the market. For sellers in that range, the recovery is paying off immediately. However, it will take time, she said, before appraisals reflect the full impact of the recovery.

In other words, prices are bound to go higher. But even with the increase, Kokomo is a still a bargain.

“In Kokomo, the price increase is relative,” said Pate. “Compared to the rest of the U.S., we’re still an extremely affordable area. Interest rates are still excellent, so the key is what your financial condition is, coming out of the last few years.”

via kokomoperspective.com

Housing Is Back! Best Moves for Homebuyers | Bedford Corners NY Real Estate

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By Beth Braverman

Real estate has finally started to bounce back across the country — even roar back in some places. Low mortgage rates and pent-up demand have coaxed buyers back into the market, and homeowners who list their houses are seeing more traffic. That quaint relic of the bubble, the bidding war, has even started to re-emerge in some cities. Consider the mounting evidence that the long national real estate nightmare is over: During the past year, home prices increased in 92 of the country’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, according to data provider CoreLogic, with prices rising as high as 23 percent in Phoenix and 17 percent in San Francisco. Sales volume rose in 69 of the top 100 markets, and 35 of those showed double-digit gains.

Yet while most economists agree that the bottom is behind us and the five-year outlook for housing is on solid footing, the shorter term is shakier. “2013 and 2014 are going to be transition years,” says Mark Fleming, CoreLogic’s chief economist. “The market’s improving, but it’s not totally healed.”

Related: Find Homes for Sale in Your Area

Thinking about buying a home? For the first time in more than half a decade, the economics of the market are working against you in most places. Inventory is tight, and bidding wars are back in some parts of the country. To snag your dream home, you’ll have to pay up and contend with continuing strict loan requirements. The bright side: Despite rising prices and mortgage rates that are edging upward, buying a home is still cheaper than renting in the majority of the top 100 markets.

Don’t Waste Time With a Low-Ball Offer

Yes, home prices are still way down from their highs, but the days when you could scoop up a house for 20% less than the list price are long gone. The typical home sells for pretty close to what the owners asked for, and even in shaky markets, sellers have gotten more realistic about pricing. The median sales-to-list-price ratio in Detroit, for example, is 98 percent; the national number is 97 percent. (To find the figure for your market, go to zillow.com/local-info and click on “More metrics.”)

Here’s how to figure out how much to offer initially: In places where homes are still selling below list price but deals are being made in less than two months, come in no more than 2% to 3% below the asking price, says Michael Murphree, a realtor in Birmingham, Ala. Where homes are selling above the listing price, make your first offer the asking price.

Be the Winner in a Bidding War

In January and February, 73percent of agents with broker Redfin said their clients’ offers faced rival bids, up from 56% who said so in the fall of 2011. You win bidding wars, of course, by raising your price; it also helps to have few contingencies and to move quickly, since today’s sellers don’t want multiple go-rounds. “You have to give your best offer,” says Dallas real estate agent Mary Beth Harrison. “Step up to the plate or walk away.”

Be flexible about closing too: Quick deals — the median time on the market for homes is 71 days, down from 99 a year ago — have left many sellers scrambling for alternative housing. Leave the closing date blank on your contract for the seller to fill in, or negotiate a leaseback if the seller needs to stay put for a while.

Read the rest of this story on CNNMoney.

See more on CNNMoney:
Selling Your Home? The Cards Are In Your Favor
Own a Home? Take Advantage of Rising Home Equity

More on AOL Real Estate:
Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.
Find homes for sale in your area.
Find foreclosures in your area.
Find homes for rent in your area.

Follow us on Twitter at @AOLRealEstate or connect with AOL Real Estate on Facebook.

via realestate.aol.com

Construction job growth hits 7-year high | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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While today’s job’s report was disappointing on nearly all fronts, there was one bright spot that shone through the dismal numbers: sustained construction-job growth.

“The solid increase in construction employment in March, which brought the average monthly gain during the first quarter to 30,000 jobs, the biggest in seven years, supports the view that the housing recovery will continue to march on despite headwinds from fiscal drags,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan in a statement. 

Indeed, the economy continues to add construction jobs at a fast clip. At 3.8 percent year over year in March, the growth rate of residential-construction jobs towers over the overall jobs growth rate of 1.4 percent. In the last two years construction has added 317,000 jobs to the economy, with over half of that increase occurring in the last six months, the White House said in a statement on the jobs report. 

Even still, the rate of construction job growth lags far behind growth in actual home construction — which was a whopping 28 percent year over year in February, according to the Census Bureau. Today, Trulia economist Jed Kolko offered an explanation for why this is:

“A key reason for this seemingly slow rebound in construction jobs is that construction activity (in units or dollar value) fell much more than employment did after the housing bubble burst. Economists point to “labor hoarding”: firms often hold on to more workers than they need in temporary downturns if the cost of firing, rehiring, and retraining is high relative to keeping them on,” Kolko wrote in a blog post. “That means jobs declined less than construction activity during the bust and are therefore now rebounding less.”

The number of construction jobs for every housing unit actually appears bloated, Kolko found. In February, there were about 3.7 jobs per unit, up 40 percent from a February 2001 level of 2.6 per unit, he said. 

via inman.com

Bob Vila’s 5 ‘Must Do’ Tasks for April | Bedford Corners NY Real Estate

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Spring is officially underway, and while our focus has swung toward outdoor projects, it’s not all daffodils and sunny skies for homeowners this season.

Avoid basement flooding

The past couple of years — certainly last November with Hurricane Sandy — we’ve seen that in order to undergo serious storm damage, a house does not necessarily have to be located in a flood zone. This spring, water issues are top of mind for many homeowners discovering leaks that developed over the winter. Snowmelt, in combination with seasonal rain showers, can result in overwhelmed culverts, backed-up sewers and flooded basements.

Of course, there’s little you can do about the weather, but you can take some steps to ensure your basement or crawl space remains dry. Having cleared your gutters of debris, position downspouts away from the house and foundation. The goal is to drain storm water at least 3 feet away, so consider running extensions or troughs. If you have below-grade basement windows, install window well covers made of a strong acrylic that will fasten securely to your home’s foundation.

Inspect the exterior foundation and your basement’s walls and floors. Use epoxy to fill any foundation cracks and if warning signs are detected, apply masonry sealer to basement walls. If the problem appears more serious, call in a professional.

If you haven’t had your sewer inspected or your septic tank cleaned, April is a good month to address those concerns. And if you’re operating a sump pump, be certain it’s free of blockage, correctly positioned and connected to a power source. Since a sump pump won’t run if your electricity goes out, a generator may be a long-term investment worth considering.

via zillowblog.com