Category Archives: Pound Ridge

Chinese Buyers Flood U.S. Housing Market | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Flush with cash, Chinese homebuyers are flooding into the U.S. housing market, and paying top dollar.

“The Chinese came out really huge in the past year,” said Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel, a New York-based appraiser. Chinese buyers accounted for 18 percent of the $68.2 billion that foreigners spent on homes during the 12 months ended March 31, according to the National Association of Realtors.

At a median price of $425,000, the Chinese are also buying more expensive homes than otherforeign buyers, who spent a median of nearly $276,000 on U.S. homes. And nearly 70 percent of those pricey Chinese deals were made in all cash.

Nowhere is the influx of Chinese homebuyers felt more strongly than in California, where more than half of the homes sold to foreign buyers went to Chinese nationals.

Sally Forster Jones, an agent with Coldwell Banker International in Los Angeles, said Chinese are snapping up many of the trophy properties on the city’s Westside. She estimates that she’s sold about 10 multimillion dollar homes to Chinese nationals over the past 12 months.

“The uptick in sales to Chinese buyers started several years ago but it has increased dramatically lately,” she said.

Most of her Chinese clients are wealthy industrialists or real estate tycoons, many of whom spend less than half the year in the States.

“Some have children going to school in Los Angeles and use the homes as residences for them and [as a place] to stay at when they visit their kids,” said Jones.

China’s gross domestic product has grown by high single-digit, sometimes double-digit rates for the past 10 years, producing a lot of cash for the country’s top business people who view U.S. real estate as a safe and stable investment.

Rick Turley supervises real estate offices for Coldwell Banker in eight counties in and around San Francisco, including Silicon Valley. Many of his Chinese clients work in technology.

“The current hot spots are Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Cupertino, near Apple headquarters,” he said.

Most purchase the homes to raise their family and they pay special attention to the local school systems. Turley also has Chinese clients who buy homes for their kids. Last year, a family from Shanghai bought a condo for their daughter who was attending Stanford. The daughter has since graduated and now works at Google, he said.

 

Chinese Buyers Flood U.S. Housing Market | AOL Real Estate.

Real estate market looking up in county | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate

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San Luis Obispo County’s housing market is on the rebound.

 

The median price — the point at which half of residences sell for more and half for less — continues to rise, sales have picked up and foreclosures have fallen.

 

A strengthening economy has played a key role in the housing market’s comeback, and real estate will be a significant contributor toward economic growth this year, economists say.

 

“It’s on an upward trend,” said Jordan Levine, economist for Beacon Economics, a Los Angeles-based independent research and consulting firm.  “The economy is improving, tourism is doing well and more people are back to work, and there’s not a lot of inventory.”

 

California traditionally suffers from an undersupply of housing, Levine added. That lack of housing supply has kept prices higher in California relative to other states, and has resulted in pent-up demand.

 

“The supply issue is starting to express itself,” he said. “It wasn’t as big an issue when the housing market was in the doldrums. But now, it has become more obvious as demand rises.”

 

The unsold inventory index for San Luis Obispo County, which indicates the number of months needed to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate, was 3.5 in May, according to the California Association of Realtors. A six- to seven-month supply is considered normal.

 

But some inventory relief should come in the second half of this year, as homeowners who had been holding back decide it’s time to sell, said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the association.

 

“There are people that are still underwater; over 20 percent of the mortgages in California are underwater,” she said. “But that’s changing rapidly as prices go up. More will be above water and will either stay or list their home.”

 

The all-home median price for the county, which includes new and resale single-family detached homes and condos, was $421,500 in May, 12.4 percent higher than the same month in 2012, according to DataQuick, a Southern California-based real estate tracking firm. May marked the 13th consecutive month in which the county’s median home sales price saw a year-over-year increase.

 

However, the May median sale price was still 23.4 percent lower than the peak May median of $550,000 in 2006.

 

A total of 394 homes were sold in May 2013, up from 361 sold in May 2012, a 9 percent year-over-year increase.  Most of the homes sold in the county are existing, single-family homes.

 

The median price for resale homes was $435,500 in May, a 13.1 percent year-over-year increase. Sales for existing, single-family homes grew to 325, a nearly 5 percent year-over-year increase.

 

Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2013/07/06/2574290/real-estate-market-looking-up.html#storylink=cpy

 

 

Real estate market looking up in county | Local News | SanLuisObispo.com.

Housing: Home equity numbers rebound as market heats up | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate

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You’ve probably seen some of the reports during the past week about home sales and prices. Housing is hot.

• New home sales in May were almost 30 percent higher than a year ago, and average prices jumped by about 10 percent during the past 12 months to $308,000.

• Resales of homes were up by 13 percent in May over May 2012. Median prices increased by 15.4 percent, the sixth straight month of double-digit gains and the largest monthly advance since October 2005.

• Median prices of new listings in some cities where inventories of homes listed for sale are tight and multiple bidding situations are routine have gone off the charts. In the Los Angeles-Long Beach area, list prices were nearly 28 percent higher in May than the year before, according to data compiled by Realtor.com from local multiple listing services. In San Diego, median list prices were 21 percent higher. Washington D.C., 18.8 percent. Seattle, nearly 18 percent. Charlotte, N.C., 11 percent.

But one key housing number that hasn’t gotten as much attention – yet directly affects the financial health of millions of Americans – is home equity. Thanks to the big gains in home values, total home equity balances have grown by more than $2 trillion within the past 12 months to nearly $9.1 trillion, a 28.6 percent gain, according to the Federal Reserve.

That’s $2.5 trillion above where it was at the end of 2011, but still below the $10 trillion it hit in 2007, on the eve of the market crash. During the last three months of 2012 alone, total home equity grew by a stunning $816 billion.

Numbers like these may be hard to get your head around, but they can be distilled down to the personal level: Home equity is the value of your home minus all the debt you have against it – generally first mortgages, junior liens and equity credit lines. If your house is worth $400,000 and your mortgage is $200,000, you’ve got positive equity of $200,000. If your home is worth $200,000 and your debt is $400,000 you’ve got $200,000 of negative equity.

If you were at $60,000 negative equity three years ago, and the resale value of your home has gained by $70,000 plus you’ve paid down $5,000 in principal balance on your mortgage, you now have positive net equity of $15,000. That’s what’s happening across the country as real estate markets rebound from five years of recession.

Not everybody is sharing equally in the realty wealth boom, however. New data from a study by realty information firm CoreLogic reveal that current equity holdings vary widely around the country. In some metropolitan areas, just about every owner has positive equity. In Dallas and Houston, and on Long Island, N.Y., more than nine out of 10 homeowners have positive equity. Pretty much the only people with negative equity are those who overpaid on their last purchase and mortgaged the house to the hilt. In Seattle, 87 percent of owners have positive equity. In Los Angeles, just under 84 percent do. And in Washington, D.C., and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs, it’s 78 percent.

In other metropolitan areas, the economic rebound hasn’t replenished equity quite as fast. In Miami and Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., more than 40 percent of owners are still in negative territory; just under 60 percent have positive equity. Chicago also has been a relative laggard in the recovery – with just 65.8 percent of homeowners having positive equity, 34.2 percent with negative.

Nationwide, roughly 57 percent of all homeowners have at least 20 percent equity in their homes, but another 23 percent are what CoreLogic calls “under-equitied” – they’ve got less than 20 percent. As of the first quarter of 2013, 19.8 percent of all homes with mortgages continued to have negative equity, but that’s falling fast – down from nearly 22 percent at the end of 2012. If home prices rebound another 5 percent nationally, says Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, another 1.6 million homeowners will regain positive equity.

So the overall outlook on home equity appears to be encouraging. But last week another research organization, Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, sounded an alarm for one segment of owners: seniors. More and more owners in their 60s are carrying heavy mortgage debt loads. Between 1989 and 2010, the share of owners aged 60 to 69 with mortgage debt rose from just 32 percent to 60 percent.

 

Housing: Home equity numbers rebound as market heats up.

The buyers are back, Canada housing market defies doomsayers | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Daniel DiManno sold his Toronto house for less than he had hoped and wanted to see if prices would cool before he bought a new one. But Canadian mortgage rates are rising again and that’s spurring DiManno and others to jump back into the market, cutting short an already brief housing downturn.

“I saw that they are going to increase rates, so I called my bank last Friday and locked in 2.5 percent for 120 days,” said the 31-year-old accountant, starting the clock on a four-month search for a new home before borrowing gets more expensive.

After nearly a year of cooling sales and plenty of concern that Canada could head for a U.S.-style housing crash, demand has roared back in key markets. What’s still unclear, however, is whether the recent surge is a reinflation of a real estate bubble, a final rush of buyers before rising rates choke off demand, or just a sign of market resilience.

The rise in mortgage rates comes after North American bond yields jumped on fears that an improving U.S. economy will cause the Federal Reserve wind down its monetary stimulus program, known as quantitative easing, more quickly than expected.

After a long cold spring that dampened house hunting, May sales of existing homes rose 3.6 percent, the biggest monthly gain in almost 2-1/2 years, returning the market almost to where it was before Canada’s Conservative government tightened lending rules in mid-2012 to stave off a housing bubble.

 

Analysis – The buyers are back, Canada housing market defies doomsayers – chicagotribune.com.

Realtors Report Rising Home Prices In Fairfield County | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Fairfield County Realtors say they have not seen the double-digit yearly gains in home prices reflected in the Case-Shiller Index released Tuesday. But area homes are moving, and prices are escalating, Realtors said, which are encouraging signs for homeowners.

Tuesday’s report showed that existing home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas increased 12.1 percent from the same month last year. Home prices rose 2.5 percent in April in the in the Case-Shiller report. New York, the closest metropolitan region to Fairfield County, showed only a 3.2 percent jump from April 2012 and a 1.1 percent jump from March to April.

“We’re seeing prices creep up,’’ said Brad Kimmelman,office manager at William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty in Southport. “The market is shifting from a very clear buyer’s market and becoming a much more even playing field, but the buyers still have the advantage. We believe prices are going to keep creeping up, and that’s a good thing.”

Higgins Group Chief Executive Officer Rick Higgins said prices are rising but still have a long way to go.

“We’re probably up to 2004 prices, maybe 2005,’’ he said. “We haven’t hit 2007 when we peaked. I don’t think we’ll reach that level until 2014 or 2015.”

Many homes are now getting multiple offers, Kimmelman and Higgins said. “Five or six years ago, I never had heard the term ‘short sale’ [when the proceeds from selling the property fall short of the balance of debts] and I hear the term multiple offers a lot,’’ Higgins said. “They’re not plentiful, but I do hear about them.”

The price increases in New York, and by extension Fairfield County, have not been as dramatic because the values did not fall as much compared with other communities in the Case-Shiller Index, Kimmelman said. San Francisco, for instance, saw a 23.9 percent increase in home prices in the past year, and Las Vegas saw a 22.3 percent increase. The increase in New York was the smallest among the 20 metro areas in the index.

“We’re not seeing increases like they are seeing in Phoenix and Florida,’’ Kimmelman said. “That would be insane. We didn’t fall quite as hard as they did. Now that there’s activity, they’re increasing at a higher rate, so that makes sense.”

Pamela S. Pagnani, an attorney with Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan LLC in Greenwich, said that as prices rise, buyers should be prepared to do their homework. Although mortgage rates are still low, it has become harder to borrow.

“Sometimes I have to manage my client’s expectations,” Pagnani said. “Banks are going to want to see your income, 401K, pension, anything they can look at. They’re digging down and asking for everything. Some people are disappointed by that, but it can’t be like it was before where they’d give you money if you were breathing. The reality is you’ll go from bank to bank, you’ll see the same situation.”

 

Realtors Report Rising Home Prices In Fairfield County | The New Canaan Daily Voice.

Purchase loans increase even as interest rates spike | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Applications for purchase loans increased last week, even as interest rates skyrocketed to their highest level in nearly two years on news that the Fed may begin to wind down its stimulus program this year, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported today.

 

Despite market volatility, “applications for conventional purchase loans picked up by more than 3 percent over the week, and total purchase applications were 16 percent higher than one year ago, indicating that homebuyers are not yet dissuaded by the increase in mortgage rates,” said Mike Fratantoni, vice president of research and economics at the MBA, in a statement.

 

“Government purchase applications dropped again, likely a function of the recent increase in FHA mortgage insurance premiums,” he added.

 

The increase came as the average interest rate for a 30-year-fixed-rate mortgage with a loan balance of $417,500 or less spiked to 4.46 percent from 4.17 percent a week earlier, according to the MBA’s latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

 

That was the highest rate recorded since August 2011, the MBA said.

 

“Interest rates moved up sharply following the Federal Reserve press conference last Wednesday where it was indicated that the Fed could begin tapering their asset purchases later this year,” Fratantoni said. “Mortgage rates increased by the most in a single week since 2011, and refinance application volume dropped to its lowest level in almost two years.” Source: MBA

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/purchase-loans-increase-even-as-interest-rates-spike/#sthash.Xu7JOtZU.dpuf

 

Purchase loans increase even as interest rates spike | Inman News.

Report: Bill Gates Buys FL Equestrian Estate for $8.7M | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Seattle-based Microsoft founder Bill Gates — and second richest man in the world — remarkably, doesn’t own an excess of properties. Previously, when his horse-loving daughter competed in Florida, the multi-billionaire rented homes for his family rather than buying.

Not any longer. According to South Florida’s Gossip Extra and property records, Gates now owns a place in Wellington, FL, paying $8.7 million in cash. The Mediterranean-style residence is vastly different and much smaller than Gates’ high-tech and modern compound spanning over 5 acres with 50,050 square feet of living space on Lake Washington, about 8 miles east of Seattle.

The home Gates just purchased in Wellington is reportedly a residence he and his family rented last year in January while his teenage daughter competed in the Winter Equestrian Festival. Built in 2010, the estate has 4 beds and 4 baths with a 7,234-square-foot, open floor plan. Horse-friendly features like a 20-stall barn and show-jumping arena were likely part of Gates’ decision to buy the home.

Gates isn’t the only business man buying in Wellington. New York City Mayor and Bloomberg Founder Michael Bloomberg has a home there as well as the former owner of the L.A. Dodgers, Frank McCourt.

 

Report: Bill Gates Buys FL Equestrian Estate for $8.7M | Zillow Blog.

Mountain Penthouse on Aspen’s Main Street Asks $8.75M | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Location: Aspen, Colo.
Price: $8,750,000
The Skinny: In most mountain towns, spending close to $9M would earn a buyer a substantial piece of property and a sprawling mansion, but not so in the favored mountain playground of the rich and famous, Aspen, Colo. This newly built penthouse on Main Street is asking $8.75M and measures just 3,200 square feet. Aside from the high price, the location is prime for those looking for easy access to Aspen’s many bars and restaurants—nevermind the annual Food & Wine Classic, which just wrapped up—and offers a short walk to the lifts at Aspen Mountain. The modern interior is home to four bedrooms, three bathrooms, “wide-planked European rift-cut white oak floors, custom cabinetry, diamond finish plaster walls, and slab stone countertops,” while 1,250 square feet of outdoor space and a three-car garage round out this low-maintenance offering.

Mountain Penthouse on Aspen’s Main Street Asks $8.75M – House of the Day – Curbed National.

Top 10 Tips for Home Sellers | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Top 10 tips for Home Sellers

1) Know what comparable homes in your area have sold for.

Knowing what other homes in your area have sold for will help you get top dollar for your home at sale time.

Keep an eye out for homes that are similar to yours. Watch the sales prices of homes that are similar models, have the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms, finished basements, garages, decks or patios, additions, and other similar features to your home.

Home sales prices are public information, you can consult your county or state to find out this information.

2) Learn the lingo.

The process of selling a home brings with it a host of terms that you may have never heard before. Click here for the definitions to some important words you’re likely to encounter.

3) Landscaping can add as much as 10 to 15 percent to the value of your home.

Add a few trees and shrubs to your landscape and you’ll not only improve the view, attract birds and wildlife, but also make your home more energy efficient. And that’s attractive to potential buyers.

Properly positioned deciduous trees (trees that shed their leaves in the fall) can save you up to 25 percent of your typical energy bill for heating and cooling. These trees provide cooling shade in the warm summer months; and in the cold winter months block chilling winds, yet let through precious sunlight that warms your home.

Computer models from the Department of Energy have predicted that just three trees, carefully placed around the house, can save an average household between $100 and $250 in heating and cooling energy costs annually.

Well-planned landscaping can reduce your energy costs by as much as 50 percent. And you don’t have to just use trees. Fences, walls and rows of shrubs can block winter winds and shade during the summer, and vines grown on trellises can shade windows or the entire side of a house. To deflect winter winds, plant evergreen trees and shrubs on the north and west sides of your house. To deflect summer winds, plant on the south and west sides of your house.

Make sure when you select your trees, shrubs and other plants, that you choose plants that are suitable for your environment. For example, in warm climates that lack significant rainfall, choose specimens that are drought-tolerant. If you choose the wrong plants, you’ll end up spending in plant maintenance and water what you saved on the energy costs.

Not sure what trees to plant? The Arbor Day Foundation (www.arborday.org) has a “Tree Wizard” that you can consult to determine the best trees and shrubs for your region of the country.

4) A shiny coat of paint and a little straightening up go a long way

Spend a day of your time and a few dollars for a new can of paint, and not only can you give an old room a new look, but you’ll add some value to your home come sale time.

Not sure what color to paint? Flip through some magazines or watch the many home improvement programs in television. There are excellent redecorating ideas out there that can make a drastic improvement in your home for little money.

Also, try to look at your home the way a stranger might see it, and make some small improvements that could go a long way.

  • If there are kids’ toys on the floor, put them away.
  • Stains on the carpet? Hit them with some spot remover.
  • Have a cat or dog that sheds all over everything? Take a sticky lint remover to your chairs and drapes.
  • Remove light fixtures and clean them out, the brighter light will make your house look cleaner.
  • Burn scented candles to let off a pleasant aroma – but do not forget to blow them out if you leave and don’t leave them burning around small children.
  • Dust blinds, banisters and windowsills – these areas don’t always get caught by the duster.

5) Thinking of doing a remodeling project to add to your home’s value come sale time? Here are some important features homebuyers are looking for in the homes they buy today.

General features

  • Floor plans that reflect an open, casual lifestyle
  • Upstairs laundry rooms
  • Linen closets
  • Decorative moldings
  • Recessed lighting

Entertainment spaces

  • Big family rooms
  • Sunrooms and other areas that encompass the kitchen
  • Small living rooms

Kitchens

  • Natural wood cabinets
  • Hardwood floors
  • Solid-surface and granite countertops
  • Stainless steel appliances

Bathrooms

  • Large showers
  • Separate, compartmented toilets
  • Soaking tubs

Community

  • Tot lots and playgrounds
  • Parks and trails
  • Community swimming pools

*Compiled from multiple industry sources

6) Help your home sell faster by including features that will appeal to an older buyer.

These features can make your home more marketable to a wider variety of home buyers, which makes these features a better “bang” for your remodeling “buck”. Many of these features can be put in for little or no additional cost during your remodeling project.

General features:

  • Path lighting to front or rear doors
  • At least one entrance with no steps
  • A shelf by the front door
  • Handrails on any steps or porches
  • One-story layouts, should you be designing a new home
  • Improved lighting with recessed fixtures in common areas and hallways
  • Lever handles on doors and windows
  • Lower light switches and thermostats; raised outlets
  • Wider doorways

Kitchen/laundry room features:

  • Lever-handle faucets with pull-out spray
  • Rolling island that can be placed back under the counter
  • Revolving corner shelves and pull-out shelves
  • Lower, side-opening oven
  • Side-by side refrigerator with slide-out shelves and a water/ice dispenser
  • Cooking range with controls on front
  • Larger cabinet and drawer pulls
  • Front-loading washer and dryer

Bathroom features:

  • Two to three attractive looking grab bars in shower
  • Lever handles on faucets
  • Slide-bar-type hand-held shower, for sitting or standing
  • Inset shampoo nooks
  • Curbless showers – nothing to step over
  • Tub and Shower controls moved closer to entry point

*Source: National Association of Home Builders

 

Top 10 Tips for Home Sellers – AHAA – Association for Homeowners Across America.

Instagram Videos: This Week in Social Media | Pound Ridge Realtor

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What’s New This Week?

Video Now on Instagram: Instagram users now have another way to share stories: video. “When you go to take a photo on Instagram, you’ll now see a movie camera icon. Tap it to enter video mode, where you can take up to 15 seconds of video through the Instagram camera.”

Facebook Allows You to Attach Photos to Comments in Timeline:  You can now attach a photo directly when commenting on a post in the Facebook Timeline.

facebook comment photo

You can now attach photos to comments on updates in Facebook profile timelines.

Discussion From Our Networking Clubs: Thousands of social media marketers and small business owners are asking questions and helping others in our free Networking Clubs. Here are a few interesting discussions worth highlighting:

Facebook Updates Page Insights: Facebook is rolling out updates to the Page Insights tool and inviting a select group of Page admins to participate in this preview. “These global changes include improvements to the way Facebook organizes and reports the People Talking About This (PTAT) and Virality metrics.”

facebook page insights update

These new updates to Facebook Page Insights aim to give you “more insights about the people who interact with your Page content.”

Facebook Gives Developers New Open Graph Tags: The new Open Graph tags will “help people follow their favorite media publishers and journalists.”

facebook tags for pubishers

Media publishers can now “include Open Graph tags in their article’s HTML to generate better previews of their content when shared on Facebook.”

Facebook Enables Comment Sorting by Recent Activity on Business Pages: Mari Smith notes, “If you have the Replies feature enabled on your fan Page, you can now sort comments by Recent Activity.”

TweetDeck Makes it Easier to Arrange Columns: The popular Twitter management tool has made a few improvements to make it easier to use.

 

Instagram Videos: This Week in Social Media | Social Media Examiner.