Category Archives: Mount Kisco

Mt Kisco Mortgage Rates | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing mortgage rates little changed after initially easing slightly higher from the previous week which was largely fueled by a better than expected jobs report showing labor markets improving.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.15 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending July 10, 2014, up from last week when it averaged 4.12 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.51 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.24 percent with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.22 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.53 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.99 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.98 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.26 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.40 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.38 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 increased for the week as the labor market appears to be improving. Based on the employment report, released last week, the U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in June, gained 224,000 in May and increased by 304,000 in April. Also, the unemployment rate in June fell to 6.1 percent from 6.3 percent in May.”

Foreclosure declines reverse as starts surge 9.5% in May | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Foreclosure starts unexpectedly reversed course and climbed 9.5% in May, according to Black Knight Financial Services, countering an eight-month streak of declines.

The survey found that more than half of these foreclosure starts were repeats, rather than new foreclosures, and almost 80% were on loans from 2008 or earlier.

Click the graphic to enlarge.

“While foreclosure starts did rise over 9% in May, it’s important to remember the historical trend is still one of improvement,” said Kostya Gradushy, Black Knight’s manager of Loan Data and Customer Analytics. “On a year-over-year basis, January through May foreclosure starts were still down 32%, and we are still looking at the lowest level of foreclosure starts in seven years.

“Additionally, over half of these starts are repeat foreclosures, rather than new entries into the pipeline, That is, these are loans that had been in foreclosure, shifted back to either current or delinquent status by way of modification, repayment plan or some action by the borrower, but have now fallen into foreclosure once again,” Gradushy said.

 

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http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30533-foreclosure-declines-reverse-as-starts-surge-95-in-may

Mark Cuban talks housing and student loan bubbles | Mount Kisco Real Estate

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Billionaire Mark Cuban (who may or may not be Batman) talks about the student loan bubble, which he says will burst and end badly for colleges, just like the housing bubble. These collapses, he says, will put colleges out of business.

“It’s inevitable at some point there will be a cap on student loan guarantees. And when that happens you’re going to see a repeat of what we saw in the housing market: when easy credit for buying or flipping a house disappeared we saw a collapse in the price housing, and we’re going to see that same collapse in the price of student tuition, and that’s going to lead to colleges going out of business.”

HousingWire’s favorite CNBC reporter turns her attention and her fabulous deltoids to the surge in apartment rentals, which is driven in large measure by the aforementioned student debt problem, housing affordability and tighter lending standards.

National apartment occupancy in May soared to the highest level in at least six years, according to Axiometrics, an apartment data and research company. Ninety-five percent of all units are filled, even as thousands of new units are becoming available.

“It’s a pleasant surprise because it’s coming at a time when new supply is flooding the market,” said Stephanie McCleskey, Axiometrics‘ director of research. “One reason occupancy is rising is that, not only are people moving into these new units, but they’re also moving into Class B units at a lower price point.”

 

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http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/30392-mark-cuban-talks-housing-and-student-loan-bubbles

Public Reacts To Proposed Mount Kisco-County Police Merger | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Public reactions from multiple viewpoints came at Monday’s meeting for the proposed police consolidation for Mount Kisco and Westchester County.

The merger agreement has some village police support.

Mount Kisco Sgt. Joseph Spinelli, who is president of the local PBA, endorsed the proposal on behalf of the union and its membership. He noted benefits for police that include better pay and benefits, along with greater opportunities for career advancement. Spinelli also supports the increase in staffing that the merger would entail, along with increased supervision of officers.

Mel Berger, a resident who is involved with the local drug and alcohol council, said he was “extremely happy” for the contract but had concerns including keeping relationships between people and officers, and about police involvement with the council.

County police officials cited examples from the Town of Ossining and the Town of Cortlandt, which also have county policing contracts.

George Longworth, who is commissioner for the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, noted that programs in Ossining remained in place and explained that any program working in Mount Kisco would be maintained. Another county police official noted involvement in a Cortlandt group. That organization is called the Cortlandt Community Coalition, which deals with underage drug and alcohol usage, according to the town’s website.

The merger plan also involves having officers in regular assignments, and county police officials denied that there would be frequent personnel turnover.

Addressing the issue of turnover, Longworth brought up how it can already happen with local police, citing retirement and injury examples.

 

 

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http://mtkisco.dailyvoice.com/police-fire/public-reacts-proposed-mount-kisco-county-police-merger

Mount Kisco Residents Get County Police Merger Overview | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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The proposed consolidation of Mount Kisco’s police force with Westchester County’s was discussed in detail for the public at a Monday meeting.

The presentation, given by county police Sgt. Jeffrey Weiss, included data and the reasons for a merger.

The consolidation would come due to a contract between the village and the county, which would require a level of policing services dedicated to Mount Kisco. Current village police would join the county police and keep their current titles and civil statuses. The Mount Kisco Police Department has 28 members but lacks a permanent chief.

Mount Kisco’s police station would continue to be used by county police, including as a base for officers on patrol and for detectives. Members of the public would also be able to visit county police at the village station and the local non-emergency police number may be kept by the county.

In the presentation, several problems with small police departments were cited. They include manpower shortages, injuries leading to prolonged absences and vacancies leading to backfill overtime and undesired patrol staffing. The manpower gap is also blamed for burn out of police. Also cited as issues were under utilization of supervisory resources, personnel cost and the fact that only one person is responsible for dispatching officers and taking calls.

 

 

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http://mtkisco.dailyvoice.com/police-fire/mount-kisco-residents-get-county-police-merger-overview

 

France’s Palatial 740 Park Pad Sells for $70M, Way Over Ask | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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6 images


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An 18-room duplex in the richest, fanciest apartment building in the world—owned by the government of France, no less, and used as the ambassador to the UN’s residence—reportedly just sold for $70 million. That’s a whopping $22M over the 740 Park Avenue apartment’s initial ask of $48 million. Apparently, three prospective buyers pushed the price up in a bidding war. France bought the apartment in 1979 for $600,000, but whatever, because that’s like $1,959,272.73 in today’s dollars. So just a 3,400 percent profit for the nation’s coffers, no big deal.

 

 

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http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/06/17/frances_palatial_740_park_pad_sells_for_70m_way_over_ask.php

Here Now, 7 Lovely Houses For Sale in World Cup Country | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Today, on the opening day of the World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, we celebrate some of the realms Brazil rules: soccer—they’ve got the most World Cup wins, after all—and architecture. (There are other things—string bikinis, coffee, the largest rainforest in the world, for example—but let’s not touch those for now.) There’s a jumble of architectural styles on the luxury market right now in the Cidade Maravilhosa: French Neoclassical, contemporary, and Imperial dwellings, to name a few. The most intriguing of the Rio listings? Well, if one’s discounting the Airbnb offering listed by soccer stall Ronaldinho, it’s just too hard to choose, so, below, find eight mansions in the running.

 

 

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http://curbed.com/archives/2014/06/12/rio-de-janeiro-mansions-for-sale.php

Why renters are ending up in the suburbs | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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At the Atlantic, they’ve taken note of something we’ve been tracking for a while at HousingWire: namely the growth of single-family rentals, and the reversal of migration to urban centers and back towards the suburbs.

The magazine reports on how the bulk of residential construction in the first half now of 2014 has been in multifamily, and the rise of REO-to-rental.

The magazine makes the standard urbanist complaint about the “dreaded” suburbs, but it at least recognizes and quotes someone saying the obvious – eventually, all the hip urban dwellers (most anyway) will get tired of ironic mustaches, get married, and have children – and they will want something more than high-density living with mediocre public schools.

As Census Bureau data show, growth in cities is tilting ever so slightly back toward the suburbs. Yet multifamily housing, mostly situated in urban centers, is still driving the American housing market. Are developers out of step with demand?

…

In McKinney (Texas) and other fast-growing suburbs and exurbs, rentals are the major force driving growth—just not multifamily rentals. Abundant stock left over from the single-family housing boom whose bust fueled the Great Recession are being opened to a new generation of suburban renters by major private-equity firms such as the Blackstone Group.

This transformation of the suburbs is a new and not-altogether-welcome development. The single-family homes being bought up, rehabilitated, and then rented out again by investment units such as the Blackstone Group’s Invitation Homes—in the suburbs and exurbs outside Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and other cities—are leftovers from a housing boom characterized by cheap construction and easy credit. The conversion of unsold or foreclosed single-family homes creates fewer jobs than new construction. From an urbanist perspective, single-family home rentals come with all the drawbacks of large-plot suburban development and none of the benefits.

 

 

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http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30290-why-renters-are-ending-up-in-the-suburbs

 

Mount Kisco Seeks $400,000 Grant For County Police Merger Plans | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Mount Kisco’s government is seeking $400,000 in state grant funding to pay for transitional costs in connection with a potential local police consolidation with Westchester County law enforcement.

At its June 2 meeting, the Village Board of Trustees voted unanimously to give authorization to apply for the grant under the state’s Local Government Efficiency Program. Westchester County is intended to be a co-applicant.

Under the proposed consolidation, Mount Kisco would enter into a contract with the county government so that the Westchester County Department of Public Safety would provide a specific number of police officers dedicated to the village.

Local police would resign and become county officers, according to Mayor Michael Cindrich. The village’s police station would also be converted into county police office space and would be used for report writing and the Detective Division. Cindrich also does not feel that response time would be slower.

The contract would result in an estimated savings of around $2.4 million over a five-year period, although Cindrich said the agreement would be “cost neutral.”

The mayor, who calls the estimated savings “significant,” noted that more police would be on patrol.

If county police assume law enforcement duties, Mount Kisco would join Cortlandt and the Town of Ossining as among those who receive such support. The Village of Ossining has its own police force.

 

 

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http://mtkisco.dailyvoice.com/police-fire/mount-kisco-seeks-400000-grant-county-police-merger-plans

3 make-or-break things single-family housing investors get wrong | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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More than four in 10 residential property sales in the first quarter this year were all-cash sales, the highest level since 2011, and increasingly these are smaller, mom-and-pop real estate investors rather than big companies.

The problem – some of these newer rental home investors may not know about common pitfalls that institutional investors already know about.

According to RealtyTrac, institutional investors — entities that have purchased at least 10 properties in a calendar year — accounted for just 5.6% of all U.S. residential sales in the first quarter, down from 6.8% in the fourth quarter of 2013 and down from 7% in the first quarter of 2013 to the lowest level since the first quarter of 2012.

But cash buyers still represented nearly four in 10 home sales this year.

“Strict lending standards combined with low inventory continue to give the advantage to investors and other cash buyers in this housing market,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, referring to the company’s April report. “The good news is that as institutional investors pull back their purchasing in many markets across the country, there is still strong demand from other cash buyers — including individual investors, second-home buyers and even owner-occupant buyers — to fill the vacuum of demand left by institutional investors.”

In a note to clients, the latest Bryan Ellis Investing Letter warns smaller housing investors about three common mistakes and misconceptions that newer and smaller operators often face.

1) You Can Only Buy through Realtors and Brokers

“This is simply untrue. The best deals in your local market will never make it onto MLS, but you can connect with motivated sellers ready to sell right now and dirt cheap by using a few simple, savvy strategies that will enable you to buy quickly and at rock-bottom prices that will set you up in ideal investing scenarios.”

 

 

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http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30206-make-or-break-things-single-family-housing-investors-get-wrong