Category Archives: Westchester NY

‘Prima Luce’ and its Two-Story Playhouse Want $23.5M | Bedford NY Real Estate

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Location: Montecito, Calif.
Price: $23,500,000
The Skinny: Built from hand-chiseled sandstone quarried from the two-acre estate on which it stands, Prima Luce is a beautiful example of a modern luxury home that successfully (and tastefully) echoes golden age Mediterranean-style California architecture. Built in 2001 from a design by Robert Webb, this 11,440-square-foot Tuscan villa is wonderfully laid out, from the pleasing symmetry of the manse to the expansive grounds that feature a mix of formal gardens, ponds, and even a “Kid’s World” with a two-story, 310-square-foot playhouse built in the same style as the main house. The inside of the home is also top-drawer, with travertine marble, distressed wood floors, and tremendous ocean and valley views, complemented by interiors by Los Angeles designer Mark Weaver, and decorative paintings by Elisa Stancil Studios of San Francisco. Rounding out Prima Luce’s literal embarrassment of riches is a swimming pool and cabana, a guest house, and a seven-hole putting green. It’s asking $23.5M.

 

 

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http://curbed.com/archives/2014/06/02/montecitos-prima-luce-and-its-two-story-playhouse-want-235m.php

Good News for Sellers: Listings Sell Faster Despite Weak Sales | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Despite weak demand and an infusion of new listings over the past two months, listings are selling nearly as fast as a year ago and prices are still rising.

Realtor.com reported this week that in April the total U.S. for-sale inventory of single family homes, condos, townhomes and co-ops rose by 8.56% over March, from 1,841,844 units in March to 1,999,548 units in April. As a result, the median age of the inventory dropped by 15.69% over the month, although it remains 6.17% higher than it was a year ago. Yet the median list price rose significantly over the month, from $199,900 to $207,500 despite soft demand. On a year-over-year basis, the median list price and the size of the for-sale inventory were up by 6.46% and 14.21%, respectively.

NAR reported that, with little inventory relative to demand, in April properties sold faster for the fifth straight month. Listings typically sold in 48 days compared to 55 days in March, falling to nearly the same level as 43 days a year ago. NAR’s monthly survey of Realtors found that short sales were on the market for the longest, at 96 days (112 in March), and foreclosed properties were on market at 56 days (55 days in March). Non-distressed properties were on the market at 45 days (53 days in March). Conditions varied across areas. Approximately 41 percent of respondents reported that properties were on the market for less than a month when sold, and about 6 percent were on the market for more than six months

 

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http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2014/05/good-news-for-sellers-listings-sell-faster-despite-weak-sales/

Freddie Mac: Housing Markets Lay an Egg | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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Housing markets overall are largely flat compared to a month ago and especially since last year at this time. Of those markets that are improving or experiencing a stable range of housing activity, most are benefiting from the energy boom taking place along the country’s mid-section.

Freddie Mac’s Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi) reports that:

  • The national MiMi value stands at -3.06 points indicating a weak housing market overall with only a slight improvement (+0.03 points) from February to March and a 3-month flat trend (+0.05 points). However, on a year-over-year basis, the U.S. housing market has improved by 0.66 points. The nation’s all-time MiMi low of -4.49 was in November 2010 when the housing market was at its weakest.
  • Ten of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia are in their stable range with North Dakota, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, Alaska, and Louisiana ranking in the top five and unchanged from last month.
  • Four of the 50 metro areas are in their stable range, San Antonio, New Orleans, Austin and Houston.
  • The five most improving states month-over-month are Ohio (+0.12), Rhode Island (+0.11), Illinois (+0.10), Texas (+0.10) and South Carolina (+0.09). From one year ago the most improving states remained unchanged: Florida (+1.83), Nevada (+1.60), South Carolina (+0.99), California (+0.97) and Texas (+0.96).
  • The five most improving metro areas month-over-month are Cincinnati (+0.11), Columbus (+0.11), Houston (+0.10), Riverside (+0.10), and San Antonio (+0.10). From one year ago the most improving metros remained unchanged: Miami (+2.37), Orlando (+1.91), Las Vegas (+1.71), Tampa (+1.57), and Riverside (+1.44).
  • Overall, in March, 13 of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia are improving based on their three month trend, and 20 of the 50 metros show an improving trend.

 

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http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2014/05/freddie-mac-housing-markets-lay-an-egg/

Pending home sales plunge 9.2% in April | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

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Pending home sales for the month of April plummeted 9.2% compared to April 2013, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

Contracts signed to buy existing homes increased 0.4% in April compared to March 2014, but that’s coming off three months of flat sales blamed on cold weather.

The expectation had been for at least a 2% gain month-over-month.

Optimistic economists expected that there was a swathe of pent-up demand that would flood the market at the start of the spring buying season. That didn’t happen.

“Higher inventory levels are giving buyers more choices, and a slight decline in mortgage interest rates this spring is raising prospective homebuyers’ confidence,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR. “An uptrend in closed sales is expected, although some months will encounter a modest setback.”

Sales have arrested despite mortgage rates now being at a near nine-month low after five straight weeks of steady declines. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage this week was 4.12%. Even refinancings have dropped to 37% of all mortgage activity, meaning borrowers are staying away despite historic lows.

Which means it could get worse, as Yun projects the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to trend up and average 5.5% next year.

“The extent to which higher mortgage interest rates will impact housing affordability and sales depends on income growth, ongoing improvement in the labor market and any change to mortgage underwriting conditions,” he said.

This comes as the economy is looking at more bad news.

The nation’s domestic economic output for the first quarter was revised downward Thursday, posting a contraction of -1.0% from a meager positive 0.1% initially reported.

 

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http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30140-pending-home-sales-plunge-92-in-april

PoMo ’90s Time Capsule Wants $5.5M in South Florida | North Salem Real Estate

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Location: Tequesta, Fla.
Price: $5,499,900
The Skinny: The early 90s are very much alive and well in this South Florida waterfront estate: from the all-white PoMo exterior to the smoothest of smooth jazz that provides the soundtrack to the listing site’s photo slideshow, this mansion is the architectural equivalent of high-waisted acid wash jeans with an electric blue skypager clipped to the belt. Enter through the custom woodwork double front doors and you’ll experience (per the brokerbabble) “warm, Florida modern allure draped in sophistication and delights, while conveying an unmistakable sense of strength, volume, and boldness”, which sounds more like the copy for a shampoo ad than a listing description, but does manage to communicate the fact that the place is huge. The expansive open plan ground floor is a case in point, with features that include three crystal chandeliers (natch), a sky-bridge, marble floors, and walls of floor-to-ceiling windows with pretty spectacular views of the Intracoastal Waterway. Sadly, the home’s special brand of conspicuous gigantism is not to everyone’s taste, as it’s been on and off the market since 2009, and has recently suffered a PriceChop of $400K. It’s now asking $5.499M, which you’ll be happy to know includes a “pool deck adroned [sic] with a massive custom bronze sailfish”.

 

 

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http://curbed.com/archives/2014/05/29/pomo-90s-time-capsule-wants-55m-in-south-florida.php

10 beautiful homes in the middle of nowhere | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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A home is a retreat — a place to escape the outside world, to be alone, to recharge, to relax with friends. For some, one apartment among many in a building wedged into a sea of other buildings provides all the sanctuary they need. But for others, true escape means getting as far away as possible from the rest of the world, to a beautiful and remote residence in a stunning location — with nobody around for miles. Such retreats try very hard not to be found, but we’ve hunted down a few of them for your voyeuristic pleasure, searching high, low, and far to find a collection of lovely, unusual, and isolated homes that truly stand alone. (Just don’t go knocking on their doors.)

 

 

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http://realestate.msn.com/10-beautiful-homes-in-the-middle-of-nowhere

China Price Declines Spreading as Buyers in Less-Developed Cities Hold Back | Waccabuc Real Estate

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China’s housing prices fell in May for the first time in nearly two years, as fresh data indicate more cities with price declines and weaker sales.

Average new-home prices fell 0.3% in May from April, a turnaround from the 0.1% monthly gain recorded for April and the first decline since June 2012, data provider China Real Estate Index System said.

Year to year, average new-home prices rose 7.8% in May, decelerating for the fifth straight month, after April’s 9.1% increase and March’s 10% rise, CREIS said, citing data from its survey of 100 Chinese cities.

Prospects for China’s property market, an important engine of growth for the country’s economy, are souring. More Chinese cities recorded a month-to-month fall in housing prices in May. Out of the 100 Chinese cities surveyed, 62 showed a decline in home prices, compared with 45 in April.

Many home buyers outside more-developed cities, such as Shanghai and Beijing, have shied away from the market in anticipation of further price cuts and difficulties in getting mortgages.

“We almost became home-mortgage slaves last week,” said Ou Yibao, a 29-year-old software engineer in Shenzhen, using a term for those paying off mortgages on expensive homes.

Mr. Ou, who told The Wall Street Journal two years ago that he was opposed to buying a home, said he was succumbing to family pressure to make the leap. But after realizing housing prices may fall, he said this week that he pulled back on the purchase of a 90-square-meter (969 square feet) apartment. “We tore up the contract,” he said.

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http://online.wsj.com/articles/china-home-prices-slip-for-first-time-in-two-years-1401442956

Home Prices Start Easing, to the Relief of Experts | South Salem NY Homes

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A steep gain in home prices in many markets that helped lift millions of Americans out of the red on their mortgages is now markedly slowing, with new data from the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller national home price index on Tuesday showing that the annual growth in prices had eased in March to 10.3 percent, from the previous year’s increase of 11.4 percent.

But analysts said that the softening of price gains, rather than a worrisome trend, may actually be welcome news. Double-digit increases cannot go on forever, and many economists are using words like “sustainable” and “stable” to describe the slowdown, saying the market is becoming healthier.

Foreclosures make up a smaller percentage of sales, and the higher prices have caused investors to back off, leaving the bigger question of whether housing is affordable and mortgages are accessible to average families that want to buy. First-time home buyers still make up less than 30 percent of the market, according to the National Association of Realtors, while the number of all-cash buyers — not just investors, but older people who are downsizing after the sale of a larger home — has remained elevated.

OPEN Interactive Graphic

Interactive Graphic: Home Prices in 20 Cities

Those factors will help curb any potential new bubbles, said Mark H. Goldman, a real estate expert at San Diego State University. “Here in San Diego, we have a real shortage of inventory, yet prices are softening,” he said, adding that houses in the area may have been priced too aggressively. “A big factor on home price appreciation is affordability.” Prices in San Diego rose 18.9 percent between March 2014 and March 2013, according to Case-Shiller. More moderate increases may give buyers’ incomes a chance to catch up.

Of the 20 cities that Case-Shiller tracks individually, all had double-digit price increases in that time period except Boston, Charlotte, Cleveland, Denver, New York and Washington, which had single-digit increases. In some cases, the cities hit hardest in the housing bust had the biggest gains. Las Vegas, where home prices rose 21 percent, led the list. Cities where demand has accelerated and housing supply is sharply limited by geography and other factors, like San Francisco, also posted large gains. Prices soared there by 21 percent, according to the measure.

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Gracious Old-School Southampton Equestrian Estate for $9.5M | Katonah Real Estate

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437 North Sea Mecox Road Southampton
9 images


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The price for this property, which includes the lovely c. 1913 house and about ten acres of land, has been all over the place, depending on whether an extra 12 acres of land was added. Originally it was listed at $11.45M back in 2011, then it was $19.5M in May 2012, when the additional land was included. By April 2013, the price was $16.75M with the extra land and $9.75M without it, then the price was increased to $9.95M by autumn. Now the ask is $9.5M.

So what do you get for your nine and half large? The main house, which is 5500sf and six bedrooms, needs some work. But there’s stabling and a tack house, a pretty pool and pool house, two ponds where the owners’ children used to skate in the winter, and 65 acres of conservation land to the west. What do you think the property will finally trade for?

 

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http://hamptons.curbed.com/archives/2014/05/28/gracious_oldschool_southampton_equestrian_estate_for_95m.php

Fixed Mortgage Rates Lower for Fifth Straight Week | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates falling for the fifth consecutive week and hitting new 2014 lows. The average for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is at its lowest point since the week of October 31, 2013.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.12 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending May 29, 2014, down from last week when it averaged 4.14 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.81 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.21 percent with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.25 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.98 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.96 percent this week with an average 0.3 point, unchanged from last week. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.66 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.41 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.43 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.54 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.

“Fixed mortgage rates eased a bit for the fifth consecutive week as reports that existing home sales are up 1.3 percent but not as much as expected. However, new home sales rose 6.4 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000, which followed an upward revision of 11,000 units for the prior two months.”

“Also, as the spring home buying season continues, we see stronger consumer confidence as house prices remain on the rise. The Conference Board reported that confidence among consumers rose in May after dipping in April. Meanwhile, the S&P/Case-Shiller® 20-city composite index rose 0.9 percent in March, above the consensus forecast.”