Category Archives: Lewisboro

Home prices were up 12% in September year over year but growth is slowing | Cross River Real Estate

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Home prices were up 12% in September year over year but growth is slowing, market researcher CoreLogic says.

From August, home prices were up just 0.2%, marking the smallest month to month gain since January.

Price gains will slow further, to 0.1% from September to October, CoreLogic says.

Slower appreciation of home prices was expected by many economists given very rapid gains earlier this year, which fueled fears of housing bubbles forming in some markets, along with higher interest rates since late spring.

Year over year, the states with the highest home price appreciation in September were Nevada, up 25.3%; California, 22.5%; Arizona, 14.6%; Georgia, 14.4% and Michigan, 13.9%, CoreLogic says.

September marked the unofficial five-year anniversary of the start of the housing crisis. Given the strong home price gains for more than a year, average home prices in nearly half the states are now within “striking distance” of their pre-downturn peaks, says Anand Nallathambi, CoreLogic CEO.

Still, it may take longer to make up the rest of the ground.

Asking prices, whose trends lead sale prices by several months, were up 0.6% in October from September, on a seasonally adjusted basis, shows data from market researcher Trulia. That’s the second-slowest monthly gain in seven months.

Despite smaller monthly gains, prices are still rising because the inventory of homes for sale is still tight in many markets. Also, buying still looks cheap relative to renting in many markets, Trulia says.

 

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/11/05/corelogic-september-home-prices/3435687/

 

 

 

 

August Prices Rise to 12.8 Percent Over 2012 | Katonah NY Real Estate

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S&P Dow Jones Indices released for its S&P/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices showing that the 10-City and 20-City Composites increased 12.8% year-over-year. Compared to July 2013, the annual growth rates accelerated for both Composites and 14 cities.

On a monthly basis, the 10-City and 20-City Composites gained 1.3% in August. Las Vegas led the cities with an increase of 2.9%, its highest since August 2004. Detroit and Los Angeles followed with gains of 2.0%.

In August 2013, the 10- and 20-City Composites posted annual increases of 12.8%.

“The 10-City and 20-City Composites posted a 12.8% annual growth rate,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Both Composites showed their highest annual increases since February 2006. All 20 cities reported positive year-over-year returns. Thirteen cities posted double-digit annual gains. Las Vegas and California continue to impress with year-over-year increases of over 20%. Denver and Phoenix posted 20 consecutive annual increases; Miami and Minneapolis 19. Despite showing 26 consecutive annual gains, Detroit remains the only city below its January 2000 index level.

“The monthly percentage changes for the 20-City composite show the peak rate of gain in home prices was last April. Since then home prices continued to rise, but at a slower pace each month. This month 16 cities reported smaller gains in August compared to July. Recent increases in mortgage rates and fewer mortgage applications are two factors in these shifts.

“Denver and Dallas again set new highs. All the other cities remain below their peaks. Boston and Charlotte are the two MSAs closest to their peaks with only 8-9% left to go. Las Vegas is still down 47.1% from its peak level.”

As of August 2013, average home prices across the United States are back to their mid-2004 levels. Measured from their June/July 2006 peaks, the peak-to-current decline for both Composites is approximately 20-21%. The recovery from the March 2012 lows is 22.1% and 22.7% for the 10-City and 20-City Composites.

All twenty cities posted monthly gains in August, although most cities showed deceleration compared to July. Las Vegas was at the top of the range at +2.9% and Seattle was at the bottom with a return of +0.5%. Month-over-month, San Francisco has been losing momentum as prices increased 4.9% in April 2013 and 0.9% in August 2013.

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/10/august-prices-rise-to-128-percent-over-2012/

 

Free FICO credit scores offered to millions | South Salem Real Estate

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Millions of credit card customers of Barclaycard US, the payments business of Barclays in the U.S., and First Bankcard, the credit card division of First National Bank of Omaha, can now access their FICO credit scores for free.

The two banks are the first to participate in the FICO Open Access Program, which in addition to offering free FICO Scores, allows customers to see the two most important factors affecting their score and provides them with FICO educational materials to help them better understand credit scoring and what behaviors impact their FICO Score. The program is open to all consumer lenders, including mortgage lenders.

“This new program provides individuals with the specific FICO Score used by lenders to make credit decisions regarding an individual customer,” said James Wehmann, executive vice president of scores at FICO, in a statement.

“In 2012 approximately 10 billion FICO Scores were bought by lenders for risk management purposes, and we are prepared to allow all of them to be shared with bank customers without any additional score fee charged by FICO to lenders.”

FICO expects more than 25 million Americans to have access through the program within 12 months.

Source: FICO

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/free-fico-credit-scores-offered-to-millions/#sthash.mMbN7TKy.dpuf

Katonah Credit Score Tips for November | by Tracey Becker | Katonah Real Estate

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CREDIT SCORE TIPS FOR THOSE WHO ARE PURCHASING A PROPERTY OR APPLYING FOR FINANCING:

  • Check your credit scores at least a year or two prior to looking for properties.
  • If you are purchasing your scores online buy them from the MYFICO.com site.  Other sites may have totally different score ranges then the score the banker is using for loan approval.  There are Fico, Vantage, Plus, Equifax, Credit Karma, and many more scores available online.
  • Lenders usually take the “middle score” not the “median or average” of the three credit bureau Fico scores.  Order all three Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax Fico scores from the site to find out what your  middle score is.
  • A FICO score of a 740 plus is considered excellent.  If you have a score under a 740 talk to a credit expert and get advice on how to improve it.  Do not get credit advice from a Dentist, Uncle, Parent, or anyone who is not credit qualified.  Sadly so many do and wind up hurting their credit.
  • Pulling your own credit scores at the MYFICO site will not drop your scores at all.
  • Keeping balances low “under 10% of aggregate and individual limits” on revolving credit for at least 2 months prior to mortgage application will give creditors enough time to make sure balance updates are posted to the three credit bureaus.  This will reflect a higher score when the banker pulls credit.
  • Do not co-sign for any credit if you are not in full control of making timely payments or prepared to pay the full debt yourself.
  • Do not open credit or close credit since scores can drop dramatically.  Opening credit can reduce the average age of credit.  Closing credit can take away from a well balanced credit portfolio or reduce aggregate limits on revolving credit which can drop scores dramatically.   In some cases credit needs to be opened for loan approval but only your banker can advise you of this.
  • Make sure all payments are paid on time and if you set up auto pay write down/file confirmation numbers.
  • If you change bank accounts or close a credit card make sure ALL auto pay’s associated with the account are transferred to the new account immediately.  Many consumers forget to put E-Z pass or their gym payments on the new bank account or credit card and wind up with new late payments or collections on credit.
  • Remember the higher your Fico score the more options you will have as a borrower.  Even .25%  more of an interest rate can mean higher payments costing hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of a 30 year loan.  A higher credit score can also give a buyer the ability to qualify for a larger mortgage if needed.

 

 

Tracy Becker

 

What’s the best way to use leaves in the garden? | Cross River Real Estate

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What’s the best way to use leaves in the garden?

Leaves are one of the main ingredients of the dark, rich humus that covers  the forest floor — nature’s compost. A gardener can replicate that humus by  mixing carbon-rich leaves with nitrogen-rich manure or grass clippings to make  compost.

Maintaining an active compost pile in winter can be a challenge, however. An  easier alternative is to use leaves in the garden in fall, says Abigail Maynard,  associate agricultural scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment  Station, who has studied the use of leaves as a garden soil amendment for more  than 10 years.

If possible, shred your leaves first with a chipper-shredder or mower; the  smaller pieces will break down faster. Spread the chopped leaf mulch over your  garden soil, then incorporate it with a tiller or spade. “By spring, almost all  of the chopped leaves will be completely decomposed,” Maynard says.

Maynard’s research has shown that amending soil with maple or oak leaves  alone probably won’t boost yields the way adding finished compost does, but she  says using leaves in the garden does add organic matter to the soil. Organic  matter improves soil structure, holds nutrients and moisture that are released  slowly to plants, and provides food for beneficial soil organisms.

Maynard suggests adding a nitrogen-rich fertilizer, such as aged manure, in  spring. (Nitrogen added in fall could leach away by spring.)

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/print.aspx?id={152934F3-D318-4D8E-BF1C-9830C170F43A}#ixzz2jPEnYvbY

Doctor Gives End Of Daylight Saving Time Tips | Katonah Real Estate

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We’ll all be “Fall”-ing back this weekend. You can get ready for it now.

Changing the clocks back at the end of Daylight Saving Time can throw your body for a loop, but there are ways to help you ease into that one-hour change.

Dr. Praveen Rudraraju at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco has five tips to help adjust to the end of Daylight Saving Time.

  • Try to change one of the clocks on Friday and start following that clock to eat meals, sleep and wake according to that clock. When Monday comes, you will be better adjusted.
  • Exercise early in the day not too close to the bedtime.
  • Give ample time to digest your dinner before you go to bed.
  • Try to spend time outside during the daytime if weather permits, Dim the lights in the evening, so that your body understands that it’s time to wind down.

 

 

http://mtkisco.dailyvoice.com/lifestyle/nwh-doctor-gives-end-daylight-saving-time-tips

Why Home Sales Fell Last Month | South Salem NY Real Estate

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Home sales fell significantly from August to September, and real estate industry experts are pointing to higher interest rates and skittish consumer sentiment for the decline.

The National Association of Realtors is out with data this week showing its benchmark Pending Home Sales Index fell from 107.6 in August to 101.6 in September.

The NAR says that “higher mortgage rate and higher mortgage prices curbed buying power” in September, and the lead-up to the federal government debt standoff Oct. 1 didn’t help matters, either.

“Declining housing affordability conditions are likely responsible for the bulk of reduced contract activity,” says Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist. “In addition, government and contract workers were on the sidelines with growing insecurity over lawmakers’ inability to agree on a budget. A broader hit on consumer confidence from general uncertainty also curbs major expenditures such as home purchases.”

Yun is fairly bearish on sales of existing homes, although residential home prices should weather the storm – at least for the next 60 to 90 days or so.

Overall, he says, pending home sales are at a 2.5 year low on a year-to-year basis. And that’s a troubling sign for the near-term future on home sales.

“This tells us to expect lower home sales for the fourth quarter, with a flat trend going into 2014,” Yun says. “Even so, ongoing inventory shortages will continue to lift home prices, though at a slower single-digit growth rate next year.”

One factor that could derail that prediction are U.S. mortgage rates, which fell last week. According to the BankingMyWay Weekly Mortgage Rate Tracker, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 4.37% to 4.26%. Those numbers are roughly supported by Freddie Mac, which has 30-year rates falling from 4.57% in early September to 4.13% in late October.

Historically, lower mortgage rates lead to stronger home sales, not weaker home sales.

But in a residential home sales market with myriad moving parts, lower interest rates alone — if they remain low, which is no guarantee — may not be enough to propel the housing market forward. A stronger jobs picture, more robust consumer sentiment and some stabilization among warring political factions in Washington, D.C., would all also have to round into form to keep home sales churning.

That may still happen, but after some solid numbers coming out of the real estate market (see here and here), the NAR report is a sobering one for the real estate market.

 

 

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12087307/1/why-home-sales-fell-last-month.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

Mighty Bal Harbour Luxury Tower Bankrupt, Selling Itself Cheap | Cross River Real Estate

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one-bal-harbour-building%2A600.jpg[Photo via SFBJ]

Another one bites the dust! The luxury beachfront condo/hotel building known as One Bal Harbour in (duh) Bal Harbour has officially filed a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to schedule an auction and begin bidding procedures to sell off itself. The debtor, Elcom Hotel and Spa, owns 51 condo-hotel units and 41,047 square feet of the hotel portion of the building at 10295 Collins Ave, and is apparently over $20 million in debt. Oh, and the building’s practically falling apart.

The 300 room, $225 million luxury resort was all the rage back in 2004, when developer WCI Communities claimed to have sold 87% of the building’s units to high-profile buyers.  The high didn’t last long.  In May 2006, three construction workers died when a concrete wall collapsed, and allegations of structural problems and massive flooding have been plaguing the building ever since.  WCI filed for bankruptcy in 2008, and an unlikely duo (a Virginia lumber mogul and a Colombian businessman) Tom Sullivan and Jorge Arevalo swooped in to save the day.  Or so they thought. Long story short, problems arose between Arevalo and both the residential and the hotel associations, then came a seriously detailed and damaging audit report, followed by a hell of a lot of construction defect lawsuits. And here we are!

Opening price is set at $13 million, with Stoneleigh Capital acting as stalking-horse bidder.  Elcom is hoping for an auction before the end of the year, and we’re all hoping someone can get this mess in order before the building starts to look dated. Oh wait, too late. —Margina Demmer · One Bal Harbour trustee seeks bankruptcy auction [SFBJ] · One Bal Harbour: Swanky high-rise address or big condo hotel mess [SFBJ] · One Bal Harbour coverage [Curbed Miami]