Category Archives: Lewisboro

Use Pinterest Web Analytics to Jumpstart Your Social Media Marketing | Katonah NY Realtor

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Pinterest Web Analytics gives site owners insights into how people are interacting with pins that originate from their websites.

use pinterest analytics to jumpstart your marketing Use Pinterest Web Analytics to Jumpstart Your Social Media MarketingWith more than 48 million users, Pinterest is one of the most popular social networks on the Web. Rather than telling people about your products, Pinterest makes it possible to show what you have to offer. Companies are increasingly using the platform to reach new audiences, increase visits to their websites, and generate leads and sales — and it’s working.

As I noted in a previous post, Pinterest users spend more money, shop more frequently, and purchase items more often and in larger quantities than users on any other social network. Women are about five times as likely to use the site as men. Unlike other social bookmarking sites, content shared on Pinterest is driven entirely by visuals — it’s impossible share something on Pinterest unless an image is involved. You can reach millions of people if your pinned content — a picture or video — goes viral. If your business relies on driving website traffic, you should create a company presence on the site.

via pamorama.net

Fed warns about lenders ability to handle higher interest rates | Katonah Real Estate

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The Federal Reserve voiced concerns over whether banks can withstand an eventual increase in interest rates after a long, low-interest-rate environment, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. 

A panel of federal regulators charged with observing market risk met on Thursday and warned that a sudden surge in interest rates could have a destabilizing effect on financial markets, the WSJ said.

The Fed’s chairman, Ben Bernanke, sits on the Financial Stability Oversight Council. Using detailed data that the central bank started collecting after the financial crisis, Fed officials are regularly running big banks’ portfolio holdings through models to gauge their exposure to various changes in interest rates, according to Fed officials.

via housingwire.com

Housing Prices: What Can You Expect To Get? | Katonah Real Estate

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The size and features of houses in the different price ranges can vary widely in towns throughout Hartford County. Indeed, they can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood in the same town or city. And, what is standard in West Hartford or Glastonbury may not be found in Southington or Newington.

Ed Sutton, an agent from RE/MAX in East Hartford prepared a report for the Courant of what features you’ll likely get in different price ranges around greater Hartford. The prices ranges we looked at are: starter ($150,000-300,000), mid-range ($300,000-450,000), high end ($450,000-600,000) and luxury ($600,000+).

Click through the gallery to see what you might expect to get in each price range.

via courant.com

NAHB calls on Congress to support housing tax incentives | Cross River NY Real Estate

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The National Association of Home Builders called on Congress Thursday to maintain its support for vital housing incentives in order to meet the nation’s growing need for affordable rental housing and homeownership opportunities.

The housing incentives include the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, the mortgage interest deduction and real estate tax deductions. 

“Homebuilding is an industry dominated by small businesses, so the idea of simplifying the complicated tax rules related to business has great appeal,” said Robert Dietz, an economist and assistant vice president for NAHB. 

Dietz added, “At the same time, our industry remembers painful lessons from the 1986 Tax Reform Act, when the commercial and multifamily sectors experienced a downturn due to unintended consequences.”

When housing is doing well, it spurs jobs and contributes to economic growth, notes Dietz. “For these reasons, we urge Congress to be cautious and thoughtful when it comes to housing and tax reform.”

via housingwire.com

Westchester housing conflict heats up; county could be held in contempt | Katonah NY Homes

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A residential desegregation conflict between the United States Justice Department and Westchester County was ratcheted up when the department threatened to ask that the county be held in contempt of court, according to a report by ProPublica.

The four-year dispute pits Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino against the Justice Department, and stems from a 2009 settlement in which the county agreed to pass a law aimed at ending discrimination against people receiving government subsidies to pay rent, the report said. However, Astorino vetoed that legislation, leading to a federal court decision earlier this month that he had violated the settlement, and included an order to sign the legislation, ProPublica said.

In its letter to the county, the Justice Department gave Astorino until Thursday to enact the legislation, ProPublica reported, and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development added that it would withhold $7.4 million in federal grants if the county does not comply with the court order by Thursday

via bizjournals.com

New-home sales jump in March from a year ago | Cross River Real Estate

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Sales of new single-family homes in March rose 18.5 percent year over year, according to a monthly report from the U.S. Census Bureau released today.

March’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of 417,000 homes represented a 1.5 percent increase from February’s revised rate of 411,000. In January, new-home sales hit a four-year high of 431,000. 

The Census Bureau estimated that 153,000 homes were for sale in the U.S. at the end of March. That represents a 4.4-month supply at the current sales rate, the same as February’s supply level. 

On Monday, the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales were up 10.3 percent from a year ago in March, but down 0.6 percent from February. 

Experts including NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun say that low inventory is preventing larger increases in home sales. The supply of homes for sale is down 16.8 percent from last year, when the months’ supply of inventory stood at 6.2 months, according to NAR data. 

via inman.com

Mortgage applications slightly increase | Katonah NY Real Estate

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Mortgage applications slightly inched up, escalating 0.2% from one week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Also posting a meager increase, the refinance index rose 0.3% from the previous week, for the week ending April 19. 

The seasonally adjusted purchase index continued to rise and similarly increased .3%, posting its highest level since May 2010.

For the second week straight, the refinance share of overall mortgage activity remained at 75%.

The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity sank down to 4% of total applications.

Meanwhile, the average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with a conforming loan balance decreased to 3.65% from 3.67%.

The average 30-year, FRM with a jumbo loan balance fell to 3.75% from 3.77% last week. 

The average contract interest rate for the 30-year, FRM backed by the FHA remained at 3.37% compared to a week prior. 

Additionally, the 5/1 ARM swung back up to 2.62% from 2.57% last week. The 15-year, FRM decreased from 2.91% to 2.89%.

via housingwire.com