Category Archives: Katonah

How hard is it to get a mortgage? | Katonah Real Estate

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Yes. And no. And mostly yes again. And maybe it should be.

And since January 10 when the CFPB’s Qualified Mortgage rule took effect, it is definitely harder. So yes.

But there’s more to the story than that, and it doesn’t mean only Patsy Pays Perfect can qualify anymore.

The Qualified Mortgage rule has definitely put the squeeze on would-be homebuyers seeking a mortgage. People with lower income, the self-employed, those with credit scores on the margin, and people whose income comes from tips, bonuses or other harder to document sources are definitely being are all facing an uphill battle.

Industry analysts say that anywhere from 10% on the low side to 20% on the high side of people who have a mortgage now would not qualify for a mortgage under today’s rules.

But the rules and standards for getting a mortgage were already tightening long before the CFPB put their screws to it. In fact, the industry had largely self-corrected – as if it had a choice – long before Washington put it in ink with heightened documentation and tighter standards.

Mortgage applications, the first step in the mortgage process, have been down this year almost consistently.

 

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http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/31082-how-hard-is-it-to-get-a-mortgage

 

Weak Home Sales, Falling House Prices | Katonah Real Estate

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Followers of the housing market got spooked a couple weeks ago by some data suggesting the market was in trouble. First, the recent pending home sales data from the National Association of Realtors showed a 1.1% decline, when economists had forecast a 0.5% increase. Second, the S&P Case-Shiller 20-city house price index declined 0.3% on a monthly basis, when economists had predicted a 0.4% increase. Is it game over for the U.S. housing market?

U.S. housing affordability and homeowner vacancy rates
There’s no doubt that the housing market has slowed from the strong growth it saw in 2013, but that doesn’t mean it’s about to crash. On the contrary, there are four key reasons the market is likely to improve.

First, despite the talk that rising mortgage rates will choke off demand, housing still remains relatively affordable. Take a look at the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing opportunity index — the higher the number, the more affordable housing is.

Source: NAHB/Wells Fargo.

Affordability fell in the second half of 2013, but on a historical basis, it’s still supportive of good growth in the housing market. Readers can see that, according to the index, housing is more affordable than it was for most of the 1992-2009 period.

Second, homeowner and rental vacancy rates suggest that the number of houses and rentals available is shrinking. Vacancy rates simply refer to the percentage of properties which are unoccupied. A look at the data from the U.S. Census Bureau demonstrates that rental vacancy rates are falling sharply, while homeowner vacancy rates remain low. The lower the number, the fewer properties there are available to rent or buy

 

 

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http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/08/11/weak-home-sales-falling-house-prices-game-over-for.aspx

 

Tread Lightly Around the Rickety Homes of Wilderness Dwellers | Katonah Real Estate

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6antoinebruy6.jpgPhoto by Antoine Bruy via Art the System

From 2010 to 2013, French photographer Antoine Bruy spent his life threading through the remotest regions of Europe, capturing the daily existence of the ultimate in civilization-eschewing people. His Scrublands series tells the stories of individuals and families whose extreme brand of self-reliance translates to, among other things, the most rudimentary and ramshackle of homes—think “The Burrow” from Harry Potter, but without all the magical bits holding it together.

 

 

 

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http://curbed.com/archives/2014/08/04/houses-wilderness-people.php

 

The Problem isn’t Student Loans, it’s Student Dropouts | Katonah NY Real Estate

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Student loans have been a problem for first-time buyers for generations, but they didn’t stop first-timers from buying 40 percent of the homes sold ten years ago. So what’s the whining all about?

One thing that’s different is the size and scope of the problem. Overall student loan debt recently breached the $1 trillion mark. There are more individuals with student loan debt, and more of it, than ever before. Compared to past generations, income growth for young people in the U.S. today is stagnant. Yet going to college still increases one’s earning potential.

“For those who had to finance college with loans, the burden of repayment relative to income remains the same today as in the 1990s. Which begs the question, if young people in the 1990s found a way to buy a home at the same time as having student loans, then why wouldn’t young people today, with the same relative burden, be able to do the same?” writes CoreLogic’s Mark Fleming in the firm’s blog

Research by Jeffrey P. Thompson, economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, shows that when carefully empirically modeling the level of educational attainment among those who have student loan debt, there is little evidence of a strong reduction in the likelihood of homeownership for those who complete their education. The research does find the likelihood of homeownership is reduced for those who have student loan debt, but do not complete their education. Accumulating the debt, but not earning the degree, results in the burden without any benefit. Research still shows that, on average, getting a college degree results in higher earnings.

 

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http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2014/07/the-problem-isnt-student-loans-its-student-dropouts/

Refinance share of mortgages reaches four-month high | Katonah Real Estate

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Mortgage applications increased 2.4% from one week earlier, after a series of drops and a few peaks over the last few weeks, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 18, 2014.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 2.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.

The Refinance Index increased 4% from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 0.3% from one week earlier.

“Consumers took action on the lowest mortgage rates we’ve seen since the beginning of 2013,” said Quicken Loans vice president Bill Banfield. “The jump in application volume is a welcome change after a few sluggish weeks of mortgage activity.”

 

 

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http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30750-mortgage-applications-rise-24-as-roller-coaster-continues

China Posts Sharper Fall in Home Prices in June | Katonah Real Estate

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Average new home prices in 70 Chinese cities declined for a second straight month in June and fell more sharply as property developers stepped up discounts to lure home buyers amid a housing market downturn.

Home prices slid 0.47% in June, compared with a 0.15% fall in May, according to calculations by The Wall Street Journal, based on data released Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics. May’s drop was the first month-over-month decline in two years. On an annual basis, the average price in June rose 4.05%, compared with 5.35% in May.

Excluding subsidized low-income housing, prices fell 0.48% in June from May, compared with a 0.16% decline in May. Home prices fell in 55 of the 70 cities in June, a broader range than the 35 cities that posted declines in May.

Real estate and construction are important drivers of the Chinese economy, accounting for more than 20% of growth in the world’s second-largest economy when cement, steel, furniture and other related industries are factored in, analysts estimate.

To arrest the slide, property developers—many of them holding large inventories of unsold units and facing tight credit—have been offering discounts, though some analysts expect prospective buyers to wait for lower prices.

“The price cuts have only just started, and now that the discounts are getting bigger, I would think it’s better for homebuyers, if they can wait, to hold off purchasing a home now,” said Song Huiyong, research director of Shanghai Centaline Property, a real-estate consultancy. “The price cuts could last for as long as a year this time, since there is little prospect for a broad-based stimulus.”

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http://online.wsj.com/articles/new-home-prices-fall-in-chinese-cities-1405650237

Count the Bison in NYC’s Most Taxidermy-Filled Apartment | Katonah Real Estate

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For some, the wonders of nature are too majestic not to have stuffed, mounted, and hung above the chaise longue. For an especially committed subset of that worldwide fraternity of taxidermy lovers, there’s no need to put away one’s collection of fauna when shooting listing photos. After all, who’s to say that a roaring catamount can’t bring together a living room? Recently profiled in the New York Times is the Upper West Side apartment of author, journalist, and socialite Gregory Speck, which gives the most taxidermy-filled home in Brooklyn a run for its money. Apparently there are over 200 dearly departed furry friends decorating the place— acquired from “museum liquidations, taxidermist castoffs and hunters whose wives wouldn’t allow them to hang their trophies in the house”—so many that, rather than go through the hassle of taking them down to document the place for its $3.395M entrance onto the market, Speck had the Halstead Property marketing team digitally remove them. Behold the rest of this menagerie below, and head to Curbed NY for the retouched, fauna-scrubbed glamour shots:

 

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http://curbed.com/archives/2014/07/07/gregory-specks-taxidermy-filled-apartment.php

3 reasons all is not lost in housing | Katonah Real Estate

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When mortgage rates jumped in anticipation of the start of Fed tapering back in June 2013, the inherent cracks in the foundation of the housing industry became apparent.

Seriously, how healthy is a housing market that relies on artificially capped interest rates and literally tens of billions of dollars a month of fiat money pumped into Treasurys and bonds?

Now it’s a full year later and despite the fact that interest rates are nearly back to where they were a year ago, housing has stalled out.

Worse, unless you believe the happy-happy-joy-joy analysts on CNBC or anything on Business Insider, it’s been pretty apparent for, oh, the past 12 months.

That’s not to say that it’s doom and gloom. There are some strengths showing, despite the top-line numbers showing year-over-year drops in everything from sales and construction spending to price increases and mortgage originations.

 

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http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/30519-reasons-all-is-not-lost-in-housing

Fixed Mortgage Rates Lower Than Same Time Last Year | Katonah Real Estate

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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 lower following the release of the first quarter real GDP final estimate. Fixed mortgage rates are lower this week than at the same time last year when Fed remarks spurred market speculation that it could begin tapering its bond purchases causing mortgage rates to spike.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.14 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending June 26, 2014, down from last week when it averaged 4.17 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.46 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.22 percent with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.30 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.50 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.98 percent this week with an average 0.3 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.00 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.08 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.40 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.41 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.66 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 were down following the release of first quarter real GDP final estimate, which fell at a 2.9 percent annualized rate, a steeper than expected decline and the worst reading since the first quarter of 2009. Also, the seasonally-adjusted S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index was up only 0.2 percent in April from the previous month. On a year-over-year basis, prices remained strong in April up 10.8 percent, but slower than the 12.3 percent in March.”