Category Archives: Pound Ridge

Mortgage rates drop near yearly lows | Pound Ridge Real Estate

Leave a reply

Mortgage rates slightly fell back down following the Federal Reserve’s latest tapering announcement, dropping down near their yearly lows, Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market survey results showed.

The 30-year, fixed rate mortgage declined from 4.19% last week to 4.12% and is significantly down from 4.23% a year ago.

In addition, the 15-year, FRM decreased to 3.30% after remaining frozen at 3.36% a week ago. This is close to 2013’s 15-year, FRM of 3.31%.

The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable rate-mortgage averaged 3.05%, compared to 3.06% a week prior and 3.05% a year ago.

The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM stayed unchanged at 2.42%. This is down from 2.64% last year.

“Fixed mortgage rates were down on a week filled with bleak forward projections from the Federal Reserve and concern over growth in Europe. Despite gloomy vernacular from the Fed, mortgage purchase applications were up 2% on the week and the labor market added 248,000 jobs, beating expectations and lowering headline unemployment to 5.9%,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist with Freddie Mac.

Bankrate reported similar results, with the 30-year, FRM dropping to 4.18% from 4.27% a year ago.

The 15-year, FRM fell to 3.37%, down from 3.44% a week ago, while the 5/1 ARM declined to 3.27%, down from 3.29% a week prior.

“Continued nervousness about slower growth in the global economy proved to be good news for mortgage rates, with mortgage rates pulling back to the lowest level since June 2013. This also takes mortgage rates out of the narrow band of approximately one-tenth of a percentage point that had prevailed since mid-May,” Bankrate said in a press release.

 

 

read more…

 

Freddie Mac: Mortgage rates drop near yearly lows

 

Home Prices are 3% Undervalued Nationally | Pound Ridge Real Estate

Leave a reply

Trulia’s Bubble Watch shows whether home prices are overvalued or undervalued relative to their fundamental value by comparing prices today with historical prices, incomes, and rents. The more prices are overvalued relative to fundamentals, the closer we are to a housing bubble – and the bigger the risk of a price crash. Sharply rising prices aren’t necessarily a sign of a bubble. By definition, a bubble develops when prices look high relative to fundamentals.

Bubble watching is as much an art as a science because there’s no definitive measure of fundamental value. To try to put numbers on it, we look at the price-to-income ratio, the price-to-rent ratio, and prices relative to their long-term trends. We use multiple data sources, including the Trulia Price Monitor, as leading indicators of where home prices are heading. We combine these various measures of fundamental value rather than relying on a single factor because no one measure is perfect. Trulia’s first Bubble Watch report, from May 2013, explains our methodology in detail. Here’s what we found this quarter. (This report contains larger-than-usual revisions of previous Bubble Watch estimates. See note.)

We estimate that home prices nationally are 3% undervalued in the third quarter of 2014 (2014 Q3). In 2006 Q1, during the past decade’s housing bubble, home prices soared to 34% overvalued before dropping to 13% undervalued in 2012 Q1. One quarter ago (2014 Q2), prices looked 5% undervalued; one year ago (2013 Q3), prices looked 6% undervalued. This chart shows how far current prices are from a bubble…

 

read more….

 

 

http://seekingalpha.com/article/2533125-bubble-watch-home-prices-3-percent-undervalued-with-few-metros-bubbling-up?ifp=0

10 Signs You Are Ready to Invest | #PoundRidge Real Estate

Leave a reply

When it comes to property investment, timing is everything. Ultimately, choosing the right time to enter the market will have a significant impact on the long-term success of your investment.

But how can you, as an investor, know whether the timing is right? Here are 10 tell-tale signs that now is the time to start building your investment portfolio.

1. You are financially ready. You have saved enough for the down payment and you have also established your emergency fund. You have taken into account home maintenance expenses. Your credit history is good and you are able to meet all the financial obligations.

2. You have set your long-term goals. You have a clear picture in your mind of your investment’s purpose and you are flexible enough to adjust to changing circumstances. You are not hesitant.  When the timing is right, you are able to adapt to the market needs and the development of technologies.

3. You have done your research. You know the neighborhood of your future property well enough to foresee the coming trends and the possible changes in the community. You have researched all the schools in the area as well as the best commuting means.

4. You have chosen a stable economy. The area is financially stable, economic trends are promising and equities are surging. No demographic fluctuation or no irregular variation of population have been recorded in the area.

5. You understand the country’s policies regarding real estate. The policies of the region promote and encourage a positive, innovative environment as well as drive further economic growth. The tax policy in the country is positive for homeowners. Global innovation index is rising in the area.

6. Infrastructure projects are underway and likely to lead to an increase in property values. The infrastructure of the area is being developed with a focus on: transport, energy, solid waste and water management developments.

7. The region is moving toward sustainable development. The region’s awareness of global and local environmental issues is increasing, the demand for eco-friendly homes as well as for sustainable rural and urban development is rising. As more and more people head toward sustainable living, investing in sustainable property will increase its value in the future.

read more….

http://blog.realestatebook.com/2014/09/23/10-signs-you-are-ready-to-invest-in-real-estate/

Housing starts nosedive 14.4% in August | Pound Ridge Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

Privately-owned housing starts plunged 14.4% in August, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Starts were expected to drop after a strong July but not by this much.

Housing starts for July jumped to an annualized pace of 1.093 million units-up from 0.945 million units the prior month. July was up a sharp 15.7%.

Housing starts printed at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 956,000, well below analyst expectations, but 8% above the August 2013 rate of 885,000.

Single-family units remained largely flat as they have for the past 20 months, multifamily starts fell from 396,000 to 343,000, or 13.4% for permits, and an incredible 31.5% for starts.

Single-family housing starts in August were at a rate of 643,000; this is 2.4% below the revised July figure of 659,000. The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 304,000.

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 998,000. This is 5.6% below the revised July rate of 1,057,000, but is 5.3% above the August 2013 estimate of 948,000.

Single-family authorizations in August were at a rate of 626,000; this is 0.8% below the revised July figure of 631,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 343,000 in August.

Privately-owned housing completions in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 892,000. This is 3.2% above the revised July estimate of 864,000 and is 16.9% above the August 2013 rate of 763,000.

Single-family housing completions in August were at a rate of 591,000; this is 8.2% below the revised July rate of 644,000. The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 292,000.

 

 

read more….

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/31404-housing-starts-nosedive-144-in-august

Fresh mortgage price war breaks out | Pound Ridge Real Estate

Leave a reply

A fresh mortgage price war has broken out with a string of major lenders slashing their rates in recent days.

Metro Bank, Halifax, Barclays, Nationwide Building Society, HSBC, Virgin Money, Skipton Building Society and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society are among those who have sharpened up their ranges.

The tussle for homeowners’ business has seen several lenders once again drop their rates below 3% for people looking for a five-year fixed rate mortgage.

Meanwhile, Virgin Money has taken the unusual step of launching a new range which allows people to fix in for one year longer than the usual five-year deals and protect themselves against the prospect of interest rates rising for a prolonged period.

Virgin’s new six-year fixed rate deals, which are available at the same price as its five-year fixes, include a product available for people with a 30% deposit with a rate of 2.99% and a fee of £995. Alternatively, people can opt to go fee-free and pay a higher rate of 3.59%.

Metro Bank also slashed its five-year fixed rates today. The new products, which carry a fee of £999, include a five-year fix at 2.99% for someone with a 40% deposit and one at 3.79% for a borrower with a 15% deposit to put down.

The announcements came as Norwich and Peterborough Building Society unveiled a 0.20% interest rate reduction on first-time buyer deals.

The society has shaved a fee-free two-year fixed rate deal for people aspiring to get on the property ladder down from 5.19% to 4.99%, as well as chopping product rates for people with 25% and 35% deposits.

 

 

read more…

 

 

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/fresh-mortgage-price-war-breaks-124034052.html#5iZUafw

 

Meet an Adorable Updated Cape in Springs Asking $1.295M | Pound Rdige Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

We’re crazy in love with this super-cute ivy-covered cape. The plot is a good size, with 1.5 acres, so you get complete privacy, including around the saltwater pool out back; there’s also a spa and outdoor shower. Inside, the house offers four bedrooms and two baths in about 2100sf. The interiors are stylish and updated yet modest and cottagey; we love some of the decorative touches like the vintage Erica Wilson crewel picture in a bedroom. The bathrooms aren’t pictured—we wonder if they’re the original 1957 ones, which we personally would love but many others wouldn’t. Anyway, with a reasonable price, the new owners can afford to put in new bathrooms if they choose.
· Chic Vintage Cape [Halstead]

 

 

read more….

 

http://hamptons.curbed.com/archives/2014/09/08/meet_an_adorable_updated_cape_in_springs_asking_1295m.php

 

Charlotte seeing its homes sell quickly | Pound Ridge Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

There may be fewer listings on the Charlotte, North Carolina, housing market today than there were a year ago, but what is for sale is selling faster. Closed sales rose nearly 6 percent in July from July of 2013, according to the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association; that, as the inventory of homes for sale fell nearly 5 percent.

“The market is strong, though not everything is selling at the prices the sellers want,” said Bonnie Papandrea, a real estate agent with Wilkinson & Associates Real Estate in Charlotte. “Closer to town, those properties are doing fabulous and getting the price point back to almost 2006.”

 

The median price of a Charlotte-area home that sold in July rose 5.5 percent from a year ago, and sellers are getting on average about 95 percent of their list price. Sellers have been getting a bit more realistic, at least on a national scale, lowering their list prices and negotiating more, according to a report from Redfin, a national brokerage.

Charlotte had been a target of large-scale investors in single-family rental homes, but that demand is easing, especially as home prices rise. Investors need to get bargain-priced homes in order to make the investment work, and there are fewer and fewer distressed homes coming onto the market. There is also more competition in the market.

 

 

read more…

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/charlotte-seeing-homes-sell-quickly-153933644.html