Category Archives: Katonah

New Home Sales Surge | Katonah Real Estate

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Builders signed contracts on more homes in February 2015 than any time since early 2008 according to the Census Bureau and HUD. February seasonally-adjusted annual new home sales topped out at 539,000, up 7.8% from a healthy 500,000 in January. Sales increased a whopping 153% in the Northeast region but that was a make-up from an overabundance of snow in January that slowed the rate of sales to its lowest level in the 43 year history of the series. Sales were up 10.1% in the South to the highest level since early 2008. Sales were down 6% in the West but back to the level established in the fourth quarter of 2014. The Midwest saw a slight softening in sales (down 12.9% monthly and 3.6% annually) but still within the range of sales in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Regional New Home Sales
Inventories dropped slightly to 210,000, which with the increased sales rate, dropped the month’s supply to 4.7 months. Builders were able to sell an increased share of their homes from inventory in December and January. Along with the rise in sales suggests an improved starts picture in the future.
Share of New Homes Sold While Under Construction

Prices rose 2.6% from last February to a median of $275,500. The shift is due to more sales at the upper end of the price spectrum as fewer first time buyers continue to push the only new sales more to the repeat buyer market. The share of homes sold for more than $500,000 increased from 11% in February 2014 to 15% in February 2015.

 

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http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/03/new-home-sales-surge/

 

WaterNest Floating Home | Katonah Real Estate

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WaterNest 100 eco-friendly floating home

Meet the WaterNest 100 floating home. Designed by architect Giancarlo Zema and developed by EcoFloLife after years of research, the WaterNest is intended for use on any calm body of water and is built from materials that are 98% recyclable.

The 1000-square-foot floating pod-shaped home measures 40 feet in diameter and 14 feet tall. Its curved body is constructed from recycled glued laminated timber atop a recycled aluminum hull. It is self=powered by a roof mounted, 600 square foot solar display that generates 4 kW of electricity. The solar panels are framed by generously sized skylights on either side. Large windows and balconies wrap around the unit to give users to unobstructed views of the water. The glazing also lets in plenty of sunshine to light the interior. If you want to use solar power for your home, you have options, taking advantage of clean energy doesn’t need be complicated. As a full-service electrical contractor and solar energy specialist, Artisan makes the entire process seamless and easy for you, for more about Artisan Electric. You may be able to buy or lease a system or sign a power purchase agreement. Your choice can affect how much you spend up front and over the life of the system, whether you get certain tax breaks or not, and your responsibilities when you sell your home. Evaluate the company, product, costs and your obligations before you make a commitment.

WaterNest 2The developers created a “sophisticated system of internal natural micro-ventilation and air conditioning” to classify the building as a “low-consumption residential habitat.” The WaterNest 100 also features a flexible interior design that can be changed to suit different uses. If the owner doesn’t intend to use the unit as a home, the floating ecological pod could easily be reconfigured into an office space, lounge bar, restaurant, shop, or exhibition space.

On its website, EcoFloLife describes its mission as follows:

The world around us is becoming increasingly chaotic and conformist, requiring fully eco-friendly and recyclable housing units which allow us to live in complete independence and in harmony with nature while respecting and admiring it.

The ongoing climate changes and the resulting sea- and river-level rises force us to ponder on the eco-sustainability of our housing choices. EcoFloLife is committed on the topic of environmental sustainability with its floating and eco-friendly residential units.

The WaterNest 100 seems to embody that philosophy perfectly and is a truly inspired representation of what an environmentally friendly home of the future could look like.

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http://greenbuildingelements.com/2015/03/16/

Manhattan Studios Rentals Set Record | Katonah Real Estate

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Manhattan’s smallest apartments are fueling big gains in rents.

The median rent in the borough jumped 8.9 percent last month to $3,375, according to a report Thursday by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Costs for studio apartments climbed 10 percent to a median $2,351, while rents for one-bedrooms rose 9.4 percent to $3,400, both the highest in more than seven years of record-keeping.

New York’s smaller apartments are luring new tenants entering an improving job market in the city, as well as those who can’t afford bigger homes. Would-be buyers who have been shut out of owning because of high prices and tight credit are also lingering as renters of studio apartment options.

“The studio and one-bedroom market is the more common jumping-off point for first-time buyers,” said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel and a Bloomberg View contributor. Rents are rising “because of the logjam that has been created by people who have either been priced out of the purchase market or don’t qualify for a mortgage.”

Manhattan apartment prices jumped to the highest since their 2008 peak in the fourth quarter as buyers competed for a limited supply of homes. Demand was greatest for one-bedroom apartments, which accounted for 38 percent of all sales last quarter, Miller said.

A strengthening job market is also fueling housing demand. New York City’s private sector added 112,300 jobs in the 12 months through January, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.1 percent that month from 8.3 percent a year earlier, the New York State Labor Department said Tuesday.

More Affordable

While employment is improving, incomes aren’t rising as fast as Manhattan rents, leading tenants to seek affordability by finding smaller spaces, Gary Malin, president of brokerage Citi Habitats, said in an interview.

“Smaller apartments are drawing more attention because there’s more of an appetite for those price points if there’s only a certain amount of money you can afford to spend,” Malin said.

Citi Habitats, which also released a report today on the Manhattan rental market, said the average rent for a studio increased 5 percent in February from a year earlier to $2,150. Rents for one-bedroom units climbed 3 percent to $2,893.

Rents declined at the higher end of the market. Two-bedroom units fell 2 percent to $3,957, and three-bedrooms dropped 1 percent to $5,133, Citi Habitats said.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-12/manhattan-studios-set-rent-record-as-tenants-go-small

1.8 Million Bubble-Era HELOCS Could Bust | Katonah Real Estate

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More than half, 56 percent, of the 3.3 million Home Equity Lines of Credit scheduled to reset over the next four years with fully amortizing monthly payments replacing interest-only payments are on properties that are seriously underwater, according to a new report from RealtyTrac.

With no equity remaining in the Bubble-era HRLOCs, the risk is high that the resets will trigger widespread foreclosures as owners struggle to meet the higher monthly payments.

A total of 3,262,036 HELOCs with an estimated total balance of $158 billion that originated during the housing price bubble between 2005 and 2008 are still open and scheduled to reset between 2015 and 2018. Of these, 1,834,588 (56 percent) are on residential properties that are seriously underwater, meaning the combined loan to value ratio of all outstanding loans secured by the property is 125 percent or higher.

“Homes purchased or refinanced near the peak of the housing bubble between 2005 and 2008 are much more likely to still be underwater despite the strong recovery in home prices over the last three years,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “Furthermore, many homeowners with HELOCs who have positive equity likely already refinanced to mitigate the payment shock from a resetting HELOC — an option not readily available for homeowners still underwater.

“While these underwater homeowners experiencing payment shock from resetting HELOCs are at higher risk for default, the good news is that we’ve already seen a large wave of more than 700,000 resetting HELOCs in 2014 without a corresponding wave of defaults,” Blomquist noted. “The bad news is that a much lower 40 percent of those 2014 HELOC resets were on seriously underwater homes. We are entering a period of higher risk over the next four years when it comes to resetting bubble-era HELOCs — especially given slowing home price appreciation that offers underwater homeowners less hope of recovering their equity in the short term.”

 

HELOCS

States with most HELOC resets are California, Florida, Illinois, Texas and New Jersey

With 645,872 HELOCs scheduled to reset over the next four years, California led the way among the states in terms of sheer volume of resetting HELOCs. A total of 423,706 (66 percent) of those resetting HELOCs in California are on homes still seriously underwater, and the average monthly payment increase on HELOCs resetting in California over the next four years is $215.

Florida had the second highest number among all states of resetting HELOCs over the next four years, with 513,229, followed by Illinois with 158,199. In both Florida and Illinois, seriously underwater homes backed 71 percent of the resetting HELOCs over the next four years.

Texas had the fourth highest number of resetting HELOCs with 158,017 over the next four years — 36 percent of which were on seriously underwater homes, and New Jersey had the fifth highest number of resetting HELOCs with 145,312 over the next four years — 47 percent of which were on seriously underwater homes.

 

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http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2015/03/1-8-million-bubble-era-helocs-could-bust/

Mortgages Rise in 2014, Should Increase Further in 2015 | Katonah Real Estate

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According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s latest Household Debt and Credit Report, total household debt outstanding rose by $306 billion, 2.7%, between the fourth quarter of 2013 and the fourth quarter of 2014.

At the end of 2014 there was $11.8 trillion in house debt outstanding. By virtue of its size, the increase in mortgage debt outstanding over the year, $121 billion, accounted for much of the increase in total household credit outstanding. Auto loans, $92 billion, student loans, $77 billion, credit cards, $17 billion, and other consumer debt, $18 billion, also contributed to increase in total household debt outstanding over the 2014. The outstanding amount of home equity lines of credit fell by $19 billion. However, in year-over-year percentage growth terms, auto loans, 10.7%, and student loans, 7.1%, led the way. Outstanding credit card debt rose by 2.5% and mortgage debt increased by 1.5%. The amount of home equity lines of credit outstanding fell by 3.6%.

Although the year-over-year growth in mortgage credit outstanding, 1.5%, was below the 2.7% growth in total household debt outstanding, it represents acceleration from the rate of growth recorded over the year of 2013. As Figure 1 below illustrates, following four successive years of declines, 2014 marks the second consecutive year of growth. The rate of growth in 2014 was 1.3 percentage points greater than the rate recorded in 2013 and is similar to the rate recorded in 2008, the last year that mortgage debt outstanding registered annual growth.

Presentation1

Despite the presence of some risks, mortgage debt outstanding should expand further in 2015. Part of the reason that mortgage debt outstanding should rise in 2015 is because the serious mortgage delinquency rate is returning to its pre-recession level. At the same time, mortgage originators expect their mortgage business to grow. According to Fannie Mae’s Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey, and as illustrated in Figure 2 below, 88% of respondents expect to grow their mortgage origination volume going forward, while 12% expect to maintain their mortgage origination volume. No respondent expects to either downsize their mortgage origination volume or exit the mortgage origination industry.

 

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http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/02/mortgages-rise-in-2014-should-increase-further-in-2015/

Mortgage applications tumble 13.2% as rates climb | Katonah Real Estate

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Mortgage applications decreased 13.2% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 13, 2015.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 13.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 12% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 16% from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 7% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 2% compared with the previous week and was 1% higher than the same week one year ago.

“Mortgage rates increased to their highest level since the beginning of the year last week, and application volume dropped sharply as a result, particularly for refinances. The market index declined to its lowest level since the week ending January 2nd as purchase application activity decreased seven% and refinance applications decreased 16%. Refinance volume fell particularly for larger loans, as evidenced by the decline of almost $25,000 in the average loan size for a refinance loan,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Chief Economist.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 66% of total applications from 69% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 5.3% of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 15.2% this week from 14.1% last week. The VA share of total applications decreased to 8.0% this week from 8.3% last week. The USDA share of total applications increased to 0.9% from 0.7% last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) increased to 3.93% from 3.84%, with points increasing to 0.35 from 0.31 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) increased to 3.92% from 3.90%, with points increasing to 0.28 from 0.19 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 3.73% from 3.72%, with points decreasing to 0.12 from 0.13 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate remained unchanged from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.24% from 3.15%, with points increasing to 0.35 from 0.29 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

 

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http://www.housingwire.com/articles/32970-mortgage-applications-tumble-132-as-rates-climb

Refis and purchases see big declines | #Katonah Real Estate

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A week after rising 1.3% and about four weeks after a 49% jump, mortgage applications decreased 9% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Feb. 6, 2015.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 9% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 7% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 10% from the previous week.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 7% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 1% compared with the previous week and was 1% higher than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 69% of total applications from 71% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity increased to 5.7% of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 14.1% this week from 13.1% last week. The VA share of total applications decreased to 8.3% this week from 8.5% last week. The USDA share of total applications increased to 0.7% from 0.6% last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) increased to 3.84%, the highest level since Jan. 9, 2015, from 3.79%, with points increasing to 0.31 from 0.29 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) increased to 3.90% from 3.82%, with points decreasing to 0.19 from 0.22 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 3.72% from 3.69%, with points increasing to 0.13 from 0.07 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

 

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http://www.housingwire.com/articles/32896-mortgage-applications-drop-a-hefty-9-after-strong-january-gains

Down to Earth Markets | Katonah Real Estate

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Bake Up the Love: Valentine Baking Class with Christiane’s Backstube on Feb. 11th;
Brand New Vendor Debuts at Mamaroneck Farmers Market;
Ossining Winter Market Hosts Music with Shovel Ready String Band + More

February 5-11th, 2015
DowntoEarthMarkets.com
BrooklynWinterOffer
What’s New, In Season, and On Sale This Week
Dark Chocolate Challah Bread
Perfect for Valentine’s Day – offered
only once a year!
Orwasher’s Bakery
Pork & Ale Pub Pie
Stone & Thistle Farm

SALE: Save $2 when you buy two items incl. Chutneys, Frozen Samosa, Kofta, Saag, & Rajma
Bombay Emerald Chutney Company
 Valentine’s Day Cookies & Cupcakes
Regular and gluten-free
Meredith’s Bread
Click on a market to see all vendor and event details…

Ossining Winter
​
Saturdays
9:00 am-1:00 pm

Claremont Elementary School
Van Cortlandt Avenue, off of N. Highland (Rte. 9)

Mamaroneck Winter

Saturdays
9:00 am-1:00 pm

St. Thomas Episcopal Church
168 W. Boston Post Road

Headed to the city? We’ve got markets there, too. CLICK HERE for details. 

Announcements
Mamaroneck: Armelle for Kids Plays this Saturday
Calling all kids who like to dance and sing: You are in for a treat.
Larchmont-based singer, Armelle Gloaguen, and her band, The Hand Jive Tribe, know how to get kids moving and grooving to music from around the world. She sings in English, French, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, and in a Sierra Leone dialect. They’ll play from 10 am to noon – see you there!

Ossining: Shovel Ready String Band Lights Up the Stage

This Saturday, join us for the Shovel Ready String Band! This local band knows how to celebrate the joy of bringing people together at the market. They play bluegrass, country blues, snappy good time tunes – and more – so make sure to stop by between 10 am to noon to enjoy their sound.

Ossining: The 2015 Learning Center at Down to Earth Markets

Down to Earth Markets is delighted to announce our 2015 Learning Center series. Once a month, we’ll invite local food makers to share their secrets to a class held in our office at 173 Main Street, 3rd Floor, in Ossining. The kick-off event is “Bake Up the Love with Christiane’s Backstube” on
Wednesday, February 11th from 7-9 pm. Each class is $15 or $40 for three.
Click HERE to learn more and buy tickets!

For additional events, visit our Down to Earth Markets Event Calendar.

Stay tuned to all market happenings via our Down to Earth Markets Facebook page
and follow us on Instagram and on Twitter @DowntoEarthMkts.

Rotating* Vendors This Week
*Vendors who rotate through various markets during the season.
They enjoy getting to know many communities. Here’s where to find them this week:

Mamaroneck – Saturday, February 7th

Calcutta Kitchens
Hudson River Apiaries
Kontoulis Family Olive Oil
**NEW TO MARKET!** – LizBeth’s Dessert Boutique

Ossining – Saturday, February 7th

Bombay Emerald Chutney Company
Kontoulis Family Olive Oil
Taiim Falafel Shack
Wave Hill Breads