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Category Archives: North Salem
No Jobs Market Recovery Since Recession | North Salem NY Real Estate
Homeowners Recover 13.5 Percent of Lost Equity Through Q3 | Pound Ridge Real Estate
Rising home values have brought homeowner equity to its highest level since the third quarter of 2008 and helped lift 1.3 million families above water. Homeowner equity jumped $406 billion, or 5.9 percent, to $7,275 billion in the second quarter of 2012, according to the Obama Administration’s September Housing Scorecard.
After a sharp first quarter rise, total equity has grown to $863 billion, or 13.5 percent, since the end of 2011. The number of underwater borrowers has declined by 11 percent since the end of last year, from 12.1 million in the 4th quarter of 2011 to 10.8 million in the second quarter of 2012.
Nearly 1.3 million homeowner assistance actions have taken place through the Making Home Affordable Program, while the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has offered more than 1.4 million loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions. The Administration’s programs continue to encourage improved standards and processes in the industry, with HOPE Now lenders offering families and individuals more than three million proprietary mortgage modifications through July.
As of August, more than one million homeowners have received a permanent HAMP modification, saving approximately $539 apiece on their mortgage payments each month, and an estimated $15 billion to date. In August, 81 percent of homeowners with eligible non-GSE mortgages benefitted from principal reduction with their HAMP modification. Eighty-seven percent of homeowners entering the program in the last two years have received a permanent modification.
“As the September housing scorecard indicates, our housing market is showing important signs of recovery – with homeowner equity at a four-year high and summer sales of existing homes at the strongest pace in two years,” said HUD Acting Assistant Secretary Erika Poethig. “The Administration’s efforts to keep housing affordable and refinances strong are critical with so many households still struggling to make ends meet. That is why we continue to ask Congress to approve the President’s refinancing proposal so that more homeowners can secure the help they need.”
Rising home values have brought homeowner equity to its highest level since the third quarter of 2008 and helped lift 1.3 million families above water. Homeowner equity jumped $406 billion, or 5.9 percent, to $7,275 billion in the second quarter of 2012. After a sharp first quarter rise, total equity has grown to $863 billion, or 13.5 percent, since the end of 2011. The number of underwater borrowers has declined by 11 percent since the end of last year, from 12.1 million in the 4th quarter of 2011 to 10.8 million in the second quarter of 2012.
The Administration’s foreclosure programs are providing relief for millions of homeowners as we continue to recover from an unprecedented housing crisis. Nearly 1.3 million homeowner assistance actions have taken place through the Making Home Affordable Program, while the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has offered more than 1.4 million loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions. The Administration’s programs continue to encourage improved standards and processes in the industry, with HOPE Now lenders offering families and individuals more than three million proprietary mortgage modifications through July.
Homeowners entering HAMP continue to benefit from deep and sustainable assistance. As of August, more than one million homeowners have received a permanent HAMP modification, saving approximately $539 on their mortgage payments each month, and an estimated $15 billion to date. In August, 81 percent of homeowners with eligible non-GSE mortgages benefitted from principal reduction with their HAMP modification. Eighty-seven percent of homeowners entering the program in the last two years have received a permanent modification
The Most Dangerous Room in Your Home? The Bathroom | North Salem NY Real Estate
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The 3 E’s of Social Media – Traffic Boosting Secrets Revealed | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate
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Commercial Real Estate Prices Rising | Mount Kisco NY Real Estate
Goldman CEO Blankfein: fiscal cliff puts dollar’s reserve currency status at risk | North Salem Realtor
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Housing starts up 24.5 percent from a year ago | North Salem NY Real Estate
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California Foie Gras Ban Can Remain in Effect, Judge Says | North Salem NY Real Estate
U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson at a hearing today in Los Angeles denied the request by Canadian and American foie gras producers for an order to halt enforcement of the law that went into effect July 1. Wilson said he would explain his reasons in a written ruling later.
The ban on foie gras, French for “fat liver,” was signed into law in 2004 by then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Enforcement was postponed for almost eight years to let producers find an alternative to force-feeding. No substitute method has come to light.
The law bans force-feeding ducks or geese to make foie gras within California and bars sales of foie gras produced elsewhere “if it is the result of force feeding a bird for the purpose of enlarging the bird’s liver beyond normal size. Violators can be fined as much as $1,000 a day.
The plaintiffs include a Canadian association of producers who supply 100 percent of Canada’s imports of foie gras to the U.S., and Hudson Valley, the largest U.S. producer of foie gras. They want to stop the state from enforcing the measure on the grounds it interferes with interstate and foreign commerce and is too vague.
Law’s Vagueness
The statute defines force feeding as using a process that causes a bird “to consume more food than a typical bird of the same species would consume voluntarily,” according to the lawsuit. “In practice, the vagueness of this purported standard makes it impossible for anyone to know at what point a particular bird has been fed more food than the Bird Feeding Law allows,” according to a court filing.
Canadian producers had been selling about $4 million to $5 million of foie gras to wholesalers and distributors in California, who in turn sold it for “tens of millions” to restaurateurs and gourmet stores, said Michael Tenenbaum, a lawyer for the foie gras producers. He questioned whether the law would also apply to sales of down, duck meat and other byproducts of ducks used in foie gras production.
Tenenbaum declined to comment after the ruling.
Brian Pease, an attorney for the Animal Protection and Rights League, said “It’s not a question for the courts to second guess a political branch of government” that enacted the law.
via businessweek.com
Shrinking inventory bolstering many housing markets | North Salem NY Real Estate
Shrinking inventory bolstering many housing markets
The number of homes for sale nationwide fell 18.68 percent from a year ago in August, to 1.84 million, Realtor.com reported today, continuing a trend that’s manifested itself every month so far this year.
Year-over-year trends in median list price and median age of inventory, particularly in California, also indicated many housing markets are beginning to stabilize.
The median age of inventory was down in August (11.65 percent) from a year ago to 91 days while the national median list price was up a slight 0.5 percent from last August to $190,000. For-sale inventories declined on a year-over-year basis in August in all but two of the 146 metros Realtor.com tracks.
Annual change in listings, inventory and median list price
Data point Percent changefrom year ago 2012 August 2012 Number of listings -18.68% 1.84 million Median age of inventory (days) -11.65% 91 Median list price +0.05% $190,000 Source: Realtor.com
“We’re beginning to see the earliest signs of recovery,” said James Gaines, a research economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, pointing to an increasing number of sales. “The market’s beginning to overcome the psychological malaise that infected it, particularly in California.”
Source: Realtor.com
While shrinking inventory is a sign of a stronger housing market, the lack of supply doesn’t necessarily correlate with strong demand, Gaines said.
Gaines said important factors keeping supply low include:
- A low (but rising) number of housing starts.
- A continued backlog of homes in foreclosure.
- A reluctance or inability of would-be sellers — some of whom may be underwater on their mortgage — to list their homes because they’re anticipating home prices will rise.
- Sales of higher-priced homes that aren’t listed for sale.
Source: Realtor.com
California was home to eight of the top 10 metros for year-over-year inventory reductions and five of the top 10 metros for year-over-year list price increases in August were. But Gaines said large drops in inventory and increases in list prices, while indicating much healthier markets than a couple of years ago, can give a deceiving picture of the strength of the recovery in California, Gaines said. The market was so down, he said, that there was no place to go but up.
Top 10 markets for annual inventory declines, August 2012
Percent change -58.35% -45.03% -43.13% -42.24% -41.75% -41.36% -41.10% -41.07% -40.15% -37.02% Source: Realtor.com
Oakland, Calif., for the sixth month in a row, has the lowest for-sale inventory of any of the 146 metros Realtor.com tracks with 3,205 listings and a minuscule median age of inventory of 20.
Leah Tounger, a Coldwell Banker Real Estate based in Oakland, says she noticed the Oakland market switched from a buyer’s one to a seller’s one sometime in March or April this year. She no longer holds two open houses for her listings, she said. One is enough. Often, buyers try to pre-empt the sale by making offers before they’re officially accepted, she said.
Tounger has sold six homes so far this year, and the last few were scooped up within 10 days and went for from five to 15 percent over list price.
On the flip side, representing buyers has been a challenge, Tounger said. One home in the nearby Berkeley, Calif., hills that she put an offer on for a client had 17 offers and eventually sold for over $300,000 above list price.
The demand for “good” inventory is high in these nation-leading turnaround markets in California. Oakland ranks No. 6 for year-over-year median list price increase (13.56 percent to $385,000) in August. San Francisco Bay Area neighbors, San Francisco and San Jose rank No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc, Calif. tops the list with a 38.96 percent increase in year-over-year median list prices to $749,000.
Top 10 metros for annual list price increases
Percent change 38.96% 25.00% 16.97% 16.10% 13.71% 13.56% 12.63% 12.51% 12.51% 12.20% Source: Realtor.com
via inman.com