Category Archives: South Salem

Nearly Half of Renters Lack Insurance | South Salem NY Real Estate

Leave a reply

Some 46 percent of renters are uninsured even though renters are more satisfied with their insurance than homeowners, according to a new JD Powers study released today.

Price is the leading driver of the satisfaction gap: price satisfaction is a significant 45 points higher among renters than among homeowners.  Satisfaction with insurers is higher among renters than among homeowners (809 vs. 787, respectively, on a 1,000-point scale), the study found.

State Farm captures the largest share of the renter insurance market (26%), followed by Allstate (12%) and USAA (10%).

Customer retention rates with their current insurer are higher among renters who bundle an auto policy (91%) compared to renters who do not bundle an auto policy (67%).

“Many insurance agents focus their time selling high-dollar products, such as auto and homeowners, with higher commissions instead of the average $200 per year renters policy,” said Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the global insurance practice at J.D. Power. “This is shortsighted because agents who satisfy the large renter population today are more likely to retain and service their growing household insurance needs over time” (learn more in the review of SuperMoney).

Rankings
Overall Customer   Satisfaction Index ScoresJ.D. Power.com Power   Circle Ratings
(Based on a   1,000-point scale)For Consumers
Homeowners Segment
Amica Mutual

842

5

State Farm

813

4

Auto-Owners Insurance

812

4

Erie Insurance

811

4

Automobile Club of   Southern California

808

4

Encompass

798

4

American Family

797

4

Progressive

796

4

COUNTRY

795

3

Allstate

789

3

GEICO

789

3

The Hartford

787

3

Homeowners Average

787

3

NCNU Insurance   Exchange

786

3

Nationwide

780

3

MetLife

778

3

Safeco

778

3

Automobile Club Group

776

3

CHUBB

768

2

The Hanover

766

2

Farmers

763

2

Liberty Mutual

762

2

Travelers

756

2

__________________________
USAA*

894

5

*USAA is an insurance   provider open only to U.S. military personnel and their families and   therefore is not included in the rankings.
Homeowners Segment:   Included in the study but not award-eligible due to localized availability   and/or not meeting minimum sample requirements are Alfa Insurance, Allied,   Cincinnati Insurance, Fireman’s Fund, Homesite, Mercury, North Carolina Farm   Bureau, Shelter and Tennessee Farm Bureau.

Mortgage refinance activity picks back up | South Salem NY Real Estate

Leave a reply

Mortgage applications shot back up this past week as the market corrected itself in the wake of the Labor Day weekend, analysts said Wednesday morning.

Despite seasonal factors having an impact on applications, other factors remain. The market overall continues to readjust as interest rates fluctuate and analysts wait to see whether the Federal Reserve will slow down its acquisition of mortgage-backed securities and Treasurys. An update from the latest Federal Open Market Committee Meeting is expected this afternoon.

Looking at the data, mortgage applications increased 11.2% from a week earlier, the MBA said. Refinance activity also came back, growing 18% from the previous week, while the purchase index rose 3%.

Collectively, the refinance share of mortgage activity inched back up to 61% of total applications this week, up from 57% a week earlier.

Mortgage analysts are attributing the rebound in refinance applications to a recent drop in mortgage rates and a natural pick-up resulting from the end of a holiday.

“However, refinance volume remains almost 70% below the peak in early May,” explained MBA vice president of research and economics Mike Fratantoni.

He added, “The decline and rebound were also caused to some extent by the slowdown around the Labor Day holiday. Although we included an adjustment for the holiday, it did not precisely capture this slowdown.”

Handling such a volatile market, it becomes difficult to discern what happens week-over-week in the mortgage space, explained Quicken Loans chief economist Bob Walters.

“The week before, you had people on holiday, so when consumers reengaged back into their every day life a lot more people were making more decisions on their homes,” Walters noted.

He added, “Additionally, the industry had a ton of people out on vacation, which also effects such a volatile series.”

On a similar note, Ellie Mae noted that purchase loans continued to gain share in August, climbing 4% to represent 57% of all loans analyzed by Ellie.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/26898-mortgage-refinance-activity-edges-back-up

Completed foreclosures fall 34% | South Salem NY Real Estate

Leave a reply

Completed foreclosures dropped 34% year-over-year in August 2013, according to data from CoreLogic (CLGX). As a whole, August’s completed foreclosures hit 48,000 filings, down from 72,000 filings in August 2012.

From a month ago, completed foreclosures grew a slight 1.3% from 47,000 actions in July 2013.

Overall, the nation has experienced 4.5 million completed foreclosures across the country since the start of the financial crisis in September 2008.

Through August 2013 this year, approximately 939,000 homes were in some stage of foreclosure, compared to 1.4 million in August 2012, a year-over-year decrease of 33%.

From August to July, the foreclosure inventory declined 3.2%. In August, the foreclosure inventory represented 2.4% of all homes with a mortgage, compared to 3.3% in August 2012.

By the end of August, 2.1 million mortgages, or 5.3% of loans survyed, were seriously delinquent, the lowest level since December 2008.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/27288-foreclosure-inventory-plummets-34

 

Claims Cause Hefty Hikes in Homeowners’ Premiums | South Salem NY Real Estate

Leave a reply

Insurance claims can cause significant increases in on homeowners’ policies according to the state where they are located according to a new study commissioned by insuranceQuotes.com

Using a hypothetical two-story, single family home covered for $144,000 with a $500 deductible, the study revealed that how much annual premiums can rise following the filing of a claim for  fire, hail, liability, medical, theft, vandalism, water (non-weather related), weather (except for hail and wind) and wind.

According to the study, U.S. families who file a single homeowner’s insurance claim can expect their annual premium to increase 9 percent (or about $150). However, premium increases varied greatly by state.  Homeowners who file a single claim in Minnesota can expect their annual premium to increase, on average, by 21 percent. Conversely, filing a single claim in Texas won’t result in any premium increase.

According to the latest data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the average cost of home insurance increased 36 percent between 2003 and 2010, which is almost twice the rate of inflation.   The study’s findings come at a time when most U.S. families are already experiencing an increase in their homeowner’s insurance premiums across the board.

The following five states showed the greatest average premium increase as a result of filing one claim:

1. Minnesota – 21 percent increase

2. Connecticut – 21 percent increase

3. Maryland – 19 percent increase

4. California – 18 percent increase

5. Oregon – 17 percent increase

Meanwhile, the following five states, on average, showed the smallest percentage premium increase as a result of filing one claim:

1. Texas – 0 percent increase

2. New York – 1 percent increase

3. Florida – 2 percent increase

4. Vermont – 2 percent increase

According to the study, premiums in 31 states and the District of Columbia increased by an average of 10 percent or more after filing a single claim. What’s more, only 18 states fell below the national average increase of 9 percent. 5. Massachusetts – 2 percent increase

“For homeowners in states where premiums are going up by more than 10 percent for a single claim, that’s a bit troubling,” says Bob Hunter, former Texas Insurance Commissioner and current director of insurance at the D.C.-based Consumer Federation of America, a consumer advocacy organization.

The reasons behind why there is such a disparity from state to state are varied and nuanced, says Chris Hackett, director of personal lines policy at the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, an insurance trade association. According to Hackett, rate swings between states come from several factors, including the nature and severity of claims filed in a given state, as well as the different ways in which insurance is regulated from state to state.

 

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/10/claims-cause-hefty-hikes-in-homeowners%e2%80%99-premiums/

Westchester CSEA endorses all Democrats | South Salem Real Estate

Leave a reply

Here’s the statement of the union. All the candidates are Democrats:

WHITE PLAINS – Leaders of CSEA, the largest union representing public employees across Westchester County, today announced the union’s full list of endorsements for county-level races.

The endorsements were made by the CSEA Southern Region Political Action Committee.

“We are excited to endorse a strong slate of qualified individuals who have worked and will continue to work to preserve a strong middle class in Westchester County,” said CSEA Southern Region President Billy Riccaldo.

The endorsements are as follows:

• County Executive: Noam Bramson

• County Clerk: Tim Idoni

• Board of Legislators, District 1:Duane Jackson

• Board of Legislators, District 2: Peter Harckham

• Board of Legislators, District 5: Ben Boykin

• Board of Legislators, District 8: Alfreda Williams

• Board of Legislators, District 9: Catherine Borgia

• Board of Legislators, District 10: Mary Jo Jacobs

• Board of Legislators, District 11: Stavros Pantelis

• Board of Legislators, District 12: Mary Jane Shimsky

• Board of Legislators, District 13: Lyndon Williams

• Board of Legislators, District 14: Rachelle “Rocky” Richard

?• Board of Legislators, District 16: Ken Jenkins

CSEA is New York’s leading union, representing employees of the state and its counties, towns, villages, school districts, library systems, authorities and public benefit corporations. Together with a growing population of private sector members and retirees, CSEA is the largest affiliate of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which is one of the largest affiliates of the AFL-CIO.

 

 

http://northernwestchester.lohudblogs.com/2013/09/25/westchester-elections-csea-announces-endorsements/

 

Mortgage relief fails to provide as much promised aid | South Salem NY Real Estate

Leave a reply

While the five giant mortgage firms signed a landmark $25 billion mortgage settlement last year, the real relief did not fulfill most borrowers expectations. Just 20% of the aid dished out under the settlement covered forgiveness of first-mortgage principal. Per the Los Angeles Times:

“We all wish there had been more principal reduction, which is what is most helpful in keeping people in homes,” said Kevin Stein, associate director of the California Reinvestment Coalition, a 300-member alliance that lobbies on behalf of low-income and minority neighborhoods.

Still, Stein said, the program set a good precedent, demonstrating that debt forgiveness can benefit lenders and borrowers alike without causing a wave of intentional defaults, as critics had warned.

                    Source: LA Times

Many Markets Still Underpriced and Primed for Growth | South Salem NY Homes

Leave a reply

Prices in half the 315 markets covered by Local Market Monitor were flat through the first half of the year, but the slow takeoff only means most homeowners can expect steadily higher home prices during the next few years.

Part of the reason is that many markets are still under-priced relative to local incomes, some by 25 percent and more. In these markets, prices fell too far and buyers can now get a lot of house for their money.

Foreclosures still cloud the data in places like Phoenix, Las Vegas, and a good number of California and Florida markets. The value of the average home bears little relation to the bidding wars for cheap foreclosed properties.

 

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/09/many-markets-still-underpriced-and-primed-for-growth/

 

Scoop leads off the street with storefront touch screens | South Salem Real Estate

Leave a reply

Editor’s note: This post explores a marketing tactic submitted by Halstead Property, the most recent winner of #madREskillz, a weekly Inman News Twitter competition. Every Thursday, Inman News invites real estate professionals and companies to tweet offbeat marketing tricks using the tag #madREskillz. After reviewing the submissions (and retweeting many in the process), we select two finalists and put them to a vote on Facebook. Then we feature the winner in a story.

Interactive ads have proliferated on the Internet for a simple reason: You grab more eyeballs online if your ads move around and actively engage people.

Acting on the fact that the same is true in the real world, Halstead Property, winner of the latest #madREskillz competition, is using interactive storefront displays provided by tech company imageSurge to poach leads right off the street.

“Storefronts get hundreds of thousands walking by them on a regular basis,” said Matthew Leone, director of Web marketing and social media at Halstead. “It’s just taking advantage of that.”

With motion graphics and calls to action, the street-side displays invite pedestrians to search online listings at any hour and connect with agents.

They also offer videos and virtual tours with “through-window” audio. And they track analytics, including the number of people who use the display and which properties they view the most. That way, brokers can gauge return on investment and tweak the content featured in the displays.

 

 

read more…

 

 

http://www.inman.com/2013/09/19/halstead-property-scoops-leads-off-the-street-with-storefront-touch-screens/#sthash.7elKhwjk.dpuf

Wells Fargo originations may be off by 30% | South Salem Homes

Leave a reply

Wells Fargo (WF) Chief Financial Officer Tim Sloan says mortgage originations are projected to be off by 30%, while refinance volumes will be off by an estimated 60%.

Seeking Alpha elaborated on Sloan’s statements:

Still, he reminds business remains strong and those percentages are based on very strong comparables.

One bullish stat shows mortgage payments to disposable income is just 18% vs. a fifty-year average of 27%. At the height of the bubble it was 30%. Amid the high interest rates of the early 80s, it was about 50%.

                    Source: Seeking Alpha

Wayne Newton’s Las Vegas Ranch Hits Market for $70 Million | South Salem Real Estate

Leave a reply

Casa de Shenandoah, a 36-acre ranch once owned by Wayne Newton, just hit the market for a whopping $70 million. Newton and his family have lived at the ranch since the 1960s, but in 2010 it was purchased by CSD LLC for the purpose of turning the home into a Wayne Newton museum. Unfortunately the project failed due to legal disputes, and the LLC went bankrupt. The Newton family owns 20 percent of CSD, but not enough to keep the home.

The home is also a zoo; Newton used the home to keep his prized Arabian horses and a few other animals, and CSD acquired even more animals for the museum, including sloths, wallabies, penguins, lemurs, and more than 100 birds. The animals have since been sold to the Zoological Wildlife Conservation Center and the Sloth Captive Husbandry Research Center in Rainier, Ore.

And that’s not the only wild thing about this house. There’s a jumbo jet terminal that allows the plane to pull right up to the home. There’s not just a garage, but a “car museum,” with seven double doors. In addition to the main house, which has three bedrooms and 3.5 baths, there are seven additional homes on the property. Other details include 37 stables, an “equestrian pool,” acres of corrals, a gaming room, green room, and tennis court. According to the listing, CSD LLC has invested in excess of $15-20 million in improvements. It is listed by Dale Thornburgh, Synergy Sothebys International. For photos and more information, check out the listing on Redfin.com.

 

http://blog.redfin.com/blog/2013/09/wayne-newtons-las-vegas-ranch-hits-market-for-70-million.html#.Ui8vBmRATsn