Category Archives: Mount Kisco

Historic Miami Teardown Gives Way to $37M Modern Manse | Mt Kisco Homes

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Location: Miami Beach, Fla. Price: $37,000,000 The Skinny: Built on the site of a historic Maurice Fatio-designed manse that was the subject of a heated debate over preservation in Miami, this bayfront spec home (which had to be redesigned by architects Choeff + Levy when the original plan was rejected by the city) has just hit the market. At one time the Swiss-born Fatio was so famous that Cole Porter wrote a lyric singing his praises, but his reputation wasn’t enough to save the lot’s original home—a red brick manor that dated from 1935—from the wrecking ball. The ultra-modern home that replaced it weighs in at a whopping 13,000 square feet, features Miami skyline and Biscayne Bay views, and comes with an asking price of $37M. Jill Eber of Miami real estate power duo The Jills is handling the listing.

 

 

http://curbed.com/archives/2014/04/21/historic-miami-teardown-gives-way-to-37m-modern-manse.php

IRS will let quite a bit slide past April 15 | Mount Kisco Real Estate

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As you probably know, your income taxes are due on April 15. However, this is not really the final date to file your 2013 return. You can get a six-month extension to file, meaning that your return won’t be due until Oct. 15, 2014. Filing for an extension couldn’t be easier.

All you have to do is file Form 4868, Application For Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Tax Return. You can do this electronically or by postal mail. For filing details, see my article “Need more time for taxes? File an extension.

”You might be thinking: “This sounds too easy. What’s the catch?”There is one catch. Extending your time to file your return does not extend your time to pay your income and self-employment taxes. These taxes remain due in full on April 15.

So, if you do owe the IRS money, you’ll need to estimate out how much and pay the amount before April 15. If you pay late, you’ll be charged a late payment penalty on the outstanding balance of 0.5 percent per month and interest at a rate of 3 percent per year.

Although filing an extension doesn’t increase the time you have to pay your taxes, it does give you — and your tax pro, if you hire one — ample extra time to ensure that you file a complete and accurate tax return.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/04/14/irs-will-let-quite-a-bit-slide-past-april-15/?utm_source=20140414&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.qXXn7Lzx.dpuf

Fixed Mortgage Rates Tick Down | Mt Kisco NY Realtor

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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 down slightly as we head into the spring homebuying season.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.34 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending April 10, 2014, down from last week when it averaged 4.41 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.43 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.38 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.47 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.65 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.09 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.12 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.62 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.41 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.45 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.62 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 eased a bit following the decline in 10-year Treasury yields. Also, the economy added 192,000 jobs in March, which was below the market consensus forecast but followed an upward revision of 22,000 jobs in February. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate held steady at 6.7 percent.”

Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Today Freddie Mac is making home possible for one in four home borrowers and is one of the largest sources of financing for multifamily housing. Additional information is available at FreddieMac.com, Twitter @FreddieMac and Freddie Mac’s blog FreddieMac.com/blog.

 

 

 

Shadow Inventory Down 23 Percent, Foreclosure Inventory Shrinks 35 Percent | Mt Kisco Homes

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The numbers of foreclosures and potential foreclosures have fallen dramatically over the past 12 months as the foreclosure picture rapidly returns to pre-2006 levels.  The decline in foreclosures in the pipeline has important ramifications for real estate investors and local markets that are returning to health as they recover from the foreclosure flood that produced 4.9 million foreclosures since 2008.

CoreLogic reported today that as of February 2014, approximately 752,000 homes in the United States were in some stage of foreclosure, known as the foreclosure inventory, compared to 1.2 million in February 2013, a year-over-year decrease of 35 percent. Month over month, the foreclosure inventory was down 3.3 percent from January 2014. The foreclosure inventory as of February represented 1.9 percent of all homes with a mortgage, compared to 2.9 percent in February 2013.

At the end of February 2014, there were 1.9 million mortgages, or 4.9 percent, in serious delinquency, defined as 90 days or more past due, including those loans in foreclosure or real estate owned (REO) that there were 43,000 completed foreclosures in the United States in February 2014, down from 51,000 in February 2013, a year-over-year decrease of 15 percent. On a month-over-month basis, completed foreclosures decreased 13.1 percent from 50,000 in January 2014.

The national residential shadow inventory was 1.7 million homes as of January 2014 compared to 2.2 million in January 2013, a year-over-year decrease of 23 percent.

“Although there is good news that completed foreclosures are trending lower, the bigger news is the impressive decline in the foreclosure and shadow inventories,” said Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Every state has had double-digit, year-over-year declines in foreclosure inventory, which is reflected in the $70 billion decline in the shadow inventory.”

“The stock of seriously delinquent homes and the foreclosure rate are back to levels last seen in the final quarter of 2008,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “The shadow inventory has also declined year over year for the past 3 years as the housing market continues to heal, including double-digit declines for the past 16 consecutive months.”

 

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2014/04/shadow-inventory-down-23-percent-foreclosure-inventory-shrinks-35-percent/

Russian sanctions have real impact on U.S. real estate market | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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It’s been easy to shrug off the U.S. sanctions against Russia as something that only impacts people half a world away. That could be changing. Anecdotal evidence suggests that wealthy Russians, who have become a big part of the luxury real estate market in places like New York and Miami, may be sitting on the sidelines while our two countries duke it out on the diplomatic stage.

Julie Satow, a contributor to The New York Times, took a closer look at the issue and told The Daily Ticker about a member of Russia’s parliament who “was looking for a $25 million-$52 million purchase and he sent [his realtor] an email after the invasion saying ‘I’m sorry. I’m pulling out.’”

The unidentified rich Russian isn’t the only one. Satow notes that anti-American propaganda runs rampant in Moscow and it may not be the best time for Russian citizens to flaunt the fact that they are making a big splash in the New York real estate market.

Gone are the days, perhaps, of record breaking buys like billionaire Dmitriy Rybolovlev’s $88 million condo purchase in 2011 (he purportedly bought it for his 22 year-old daughter). While that was the highest-priced example, Russians and other wealthy international clients have long used U.S. real estate as a shelter for their cash. Satow says 40% of the New York real estate market is made up of foreigners and 50% of new construction is snapped up by clients overseas.

So will frosty relations between Moscow and Washington send Russian money elsewhere for good? Probably not. While there may be a “momentary freeze” of such big purchases, Satow suggests the safety of the American market may soon bring in “more buyers…but they may not want to do the super high profile penthouses.” Instead, she says, they might opt for more “conservative” $2 million apartments that won’t make the papers here and back home.

 

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/rich-russians-bailing-out-of-luxury-real-estate-market-140506455.html

 

Steam Heat vs. Hydronic Heat | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Q: I’m doing a remodel on a home that is currently heated with steam radiators. The boiler is fairly new, but I’m wondering if I should stick with steam or convert to hydronic? And if I do keep the steam system, should I upgrade to newer radiators or keep the old, bulky, but classic-looking ones?

A: Keith Cappuccio, a licensed plumber in New York City, responds: Steam is a time-tested method of heating a home. Although it’s not as versatile as hot water (hydronic) heat, when installed correctly steam should provide decades of relatively maintenance-free operation. When asked about the feasibility of converting a steam system to a hydronic one, I usually point out the following items for general consideration.

First, many steam systems are one-pipe systems, with only a supply pipe and no return, so it might not be possible to re-use the existing steam pipes to circulate water through the house. Running new pipe would not be a problem if you are gutting the home’s entire interior. If you aren’t, though, you can anticipate having to remove and refinish a significant amount of plaster and trim to run those new lines, even though trusted PEX brands can be fished through the house more easily than the copper pipe of 20 years ago.

Next, hydronic systems use more pumps, valves, and relays than a steam system, so maintaining a hot-water system over the years may prove to be more parts-and-labor intensive.

But hydronic heat has its benefits. It is very versatile and can be used for radiant, baseboard convectors, or freestanding radiators—all in the same system. Plus you can combine a solar water heater with the boiler for a super-efficient design. There are other options such as a burner service company that provide boilers for rent. If you like your old inefficient boiler replaced, apply today for your free boiler grants. You may qualify under the Government’s ECO scheme in 2020.

My advice? If the work you’re planning to do is more cosmetic, stick with the present steam system. If the house will be gutted, however, consider re-using the boiler block as a hot-water unit and install a radiant manifold with 3/8-inch PEX lines traveling individually to each radiator. The supply manifold includes balancing valves to control the temperature of each heating circuit. You’ll get a classic look, while saving money on radiators and a new boiler.

http://www.jlconline.com/heating/steam-heat-vs-hydronic-heat_o.aspx

Mortgage Rates Reletively Flat | Mt Kisco NY Homes

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Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates relatively unchanged from last week.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.41 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending April 3, 2014, up from last week when it averaged 4.40 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.54 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.47 percent with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.42 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.74 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.12 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.10 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.65 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.45 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.44 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.63 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 little changed amid a week of light economic reports. Of the few releases, real GDP was revised up slightly to 2.6 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2013. The private sector added an estimated 191,000 jobs in March, which followed an upward revision of 39,000 jobs in February according to the ADP Research Institute. Also, the Institute for Supply Management reported the manufacturing industry rebounded from a soft February but was still below market consensus.”

Big Boys Have Moved into Smaller Markets | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Big institutional investors — companies that have purchased at least 10 properties in a calendar year — accounted for 5.9 percent of all U.S. residential property sales in February, up from a revised 5.0 percent of sales in January but down from 7.2 percent of sales in February 2013. February was the third consecutive month where the institutional investor share of sales declined on a year-over-year basis after 19 consecutive months of year-over-year increases, according to the latest report from RealtyTrac.

Among metropolitan statistical areas with a population of 500,000 or more, cities with the highest share of institutional investor purchases in February were Atlanta (25.2 percent), Columbus, Ohio, (21.4 percent), Knoxville, Tenn., (18.2 percent), Phoenix (15.2 percent), and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. (14.8 percent).

“Since Fannie Mae inventory is mostly comprised of completed home foreclosures with FHA loans, investors target these properties because they tend to be smaller homes that make for better rental property investments,” said Sheldon Detrick, CEO of Prudential Detrick/Alliance Realty, covering the Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Okla., where the institutional investor share of purchases dropped from a year ago. “There is very little Fannie Mae inventory left, which coincides with the fact that institutional investors have slowly backed out of the market.”

Metros with the biggest year-over-year increases in institutional investor share were Knoxville, Tenn., (from 3.3 percent in February 2013 to 18.2 percent in February 2014), Little Rock, Ark., (from 3.2 percent in February 2013 to 12.1 percent in February 2014), Milwaukee, Wis. (from 3.5 percent in February 2013 to 9.2 percent in February 2014), San Francisco (from 3.9 percent in February 2013 to 9.5 percent in February 2014), San Antonio, Texas (from 4.6 percent in February 2013 to 8.3 percent in February 2014), and Columbus, Ohio (from 13.3 percent in February 2013 to 21.4 percent in February 2014).

 

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2014/03/big-boys-have-moved-into-smaller-markets-in-the-south-and-midwest/

4 reasons the Fed won’t raise interest rates anytime soon | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said early Monday that the economy and the job market are still ailing and that they will need “extraordinary” assistance from the central bank in the form of low interest rates “for some time.”

It was three words about short-term interest rate policy that sent out more reassurance for investors than her three words March 19 – “about six months” – which sent markets into a spiral.

After last week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Yellen said that the Fed could start raising short-term rates “about six months” after it completed its ongoing tapering of Treasury and bond purchases, which most expect to be unwound by the fourth quarter of 2014.

Speaking in Chicago Monday, Yellen also justified the change from a specific goalpost – 6.5% unemployment – to a more vague and subjective “quantitative guidance” needed given the slack in the labor market, despite the official unemployment rate now standing at 6.7%.

She gave four reasons why she thinks the employment market is still soft.

1) The large number of part-timers.

One form of evidence for slack is found in other labor market data, beyond the unemployment rate or payrolls, some of which I have touched on already. For example, the 7 million people who are working part time but would like a full-time job. This number is much larger than we would expect at 6.7% unemployment, based on past experience, and the existence of such a large pool of “partly unemployed” workers is a sign that labor conditions are worse than indicated by the unemployment rate. Statistics on job turnover also point to considerable slack in the labor market. Although firms are now laying off fewer workers, they have been reluctant to increase the pace of hiring. Likewise, the number of people who voluntarily quit their jobs is noticeably below levels before the recession; that is an indicator that people are reluctant to risk leaving their jobs because they worry that it will be hard to find another. It is also a sign that firms may not be recruiting very aggressively to hire workers away from their competitors.

 

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29497-reasons-the-fed-wont-raise-interest-rates-anytime-soon