Since late last year, industry experts forecast a drop in mortgage refinancings as rates rise and a revival of purchase mortgages as the housing recovery creates business for lenders willing to working with home buyers.  The spring housing market is here and now the mortgage market is following.

Purchase mortgages zoomed to their highest monthly market share since last August in Ellie Mae’s latest originations report, a sign that the mortgage business is shifting gears and the greatest boom in refis in recent years is ending.   Loans to home buyers made up 38 percent of all loans processed by the nation’s largest mortgage processing platform, up from 32 percent in February and 27 percent in January.

The Mortgage Bankers’ Association reported that the refinance share of mortgage activity was unchanged at 75 percent of total applications from the previous week. The MBA’s weekly Purchase Index increased 4 percent from one week earlier is at its highest level since May of 2010 and the adjusted Conventional Purchase Index increased 3 percent to the highest level since October 2009.  However, the MBA’s Refinance Index also increased 5 percent from the previous week and is at its highest level since mid-January of 2013.

The mortgage industry’s focus on refinancing loans rather than purchase loans has been a cause of the breakdowns is the lack of resources devoted to home buyers, according to some critics, especially Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke.  Last month the staff of the Federal Reserve found that the increase in the refinance workload during the past 18 months appears to be associated with a 50 percent decrease in originations among home buyers with credit scores between 620 and 680 and a 15 percent decrease among buyers with credit scores between 680 and 720.  New mortgages to purchase homes hit their lowest level since the early 1990s. Closing rates for all purchase loans fell to about 55 percent as recently as 18 months ago, and still today only about six in ten applicants are ultimately approved.

ZERO WASTE DAY
Saturday, April 20, 2013

9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Rain or Shine
North Castle Town Hall
15 Bedford Road
Armonk, NY   10504

Welcome to Zero Waste Day! In order to ensure a safe and efficient event for our residents and volunteers, we ask that you please follow these simple rules to responsibly dispose of your unwanted items:

	Drive slowly, and wait your turn.  Traffic flows one way only.
	Stay in your car and let our volunteers unload your items.
	Follow all traffic signs and obey our volunteers’ directions.
	To avoid bringing items that are not being collected, please carefully check the list below beforehand. Refer to Recyclopedia for alternative disposal options for items not being collected during Zero Waste Day.
	Our Zero Waste Day participating organizations will be present behind Town Hall in the order listed below.  Please consider this when loading your vehicle, so as to enable quick and efficient unloading.

Our Zero Waste Day collections change with each event. Please note the following:

	Furniture Sharehouse is returning. See below for more information.
	Stuffed animals and children’s books will NOT be collected.
	Bulk items will NOT BE COLLECTED. Arrange curbside pickup with Suburban Carting if you have bulk items.

Used Motor, Antifreeze and Cooking Oil Collection – collected by Enviro Waste Oil Recovery and American Alternative Energy

	Used motor oil, used antifreeze, used oil filters and oily debris (rags)
	Used vegetable oil (from a deep fat fryer)
	For more information about Enviro Waste Oil Recovery, go to www.envirowasteoil.com

Scrap Metal Collection – collected by Suburban Carting

	Metal file cabinets, metal bed frames, aluminum siding, outdoor grills, metal fence pieces, hot water tanks and heaters, treadmills, basketball hoops, antennas, metal appliances (washers, dryers, stoves, dishwashers, refrigerators*, freezers*, air conditioners*, toasters, coffee pots, mixers, microwaves, waffle irons, table top grills) and any other unwanted scrap metal items or pieces.
	*Freon does not need to be removed prior to drop-off.

E-waste Collection – collected by Suburban Carting for RCR&R

	Computers **(including laptops), TVs, CRTs, small scale servers, monitors (non-CRT), keyboards and mice, copiers and scanners, fax machines, printers, VCRs, DVRs, DVD players, electronic and video game consoles, portable digital music players, digital converter boxes, cable or satellite receivers, cell phones and PDAs, universal power supply battery back-ups, typewriters, telephones, telecommunications equipment, circuit boards, cables and wires, ink cartridges, electric motors, AV equipment, radios and speakers, cameras, rechargeable power tool batteries, lead acid and automobile batteries.
	** To prevent identity fraud, remember to remove any stored personal information before drop-off.  Simply deleting files does not completely erase the information on your computer’s hard drive. For more information about Regional Computer Recovery and Recycling, go towww.ewaste.com.

Adult and Children’s Bicycles – collected by Recycle-a-Bicycle

	Adult and children’s used bicycles in good condition, free of rust and major structural damage.
	Bike parts and bike tools. For more information, please go to www.recycleabicycle.org.

Paper Shredding  – collected by USA Shred

	Up to 6 total boxes of papers and/or hardcover books per household for shredding and disposal. Box size must not exceed 10”x12”x15”. Staples and paper clips need not be removed but metal clasps and binder clips are not permitted.
	For more information about USA Shred, go to www.usashred.info

Dog and Cat Supplies – collected by Adopt-a-Dog

	Wire dog crates, airline kennels , dog and cat beds and toys.
	Linens in any condition (sheets, towels, comforters, blankets).
	Balls (basketballs, footballs, soccer balls, tennis balls).
	For a complete listing of items acceptable for donation, go to www.adoptadog.org.

Spring and Summer Clothing, Shoes and Linens – collected by Community Center of Northern Westchester

	Clean, gently used spring and summer clothing and shoes for men, women and children.
	Clean, gently used linens (sheets, towels, blankets, comforters).
	For more information, please go to www.communitycenternw.org.

Household Furniture – collected by Furniture Sharehouse

	Sofas (no sleeper sofas and no sofas over 80” long), armchairs (no stains, excessive fading or rips), metal bed frames (no king-sized), mattresses and box springs (no stains, no kings and in good condition only), tables and chairs, dressers, occasional tables, lamps, mirrors, clean area rugs (vacuumed, no larger than 10’ x 12”), TVs (no larger than 27”, no older than 5 years), artwork
	Small electric appliances in working order (microwaves, toasters, coffee pots) For a complete list of items that are acceptable and not acceptable, please go towww.furnituresharehouse.org.

Please note these items will NOT BE COLLECTED during this Zero Waste Day.

	Bulk Items. There will not be a container for bulk items.  Arrange cubside pickup with Suburban Carting if you have bulk items.
	CFLs (compact fluorescent bulbs)
	alkaline batteries
	button cell batteries
	paint cans
	tires
	hazardous household chemicals
	medications

This event is sponsored by the North Castle Recycling Committee and the Town of North Castle.  We are in need of volunteers!  Interested in helping as a committee member?  Want to volunteer for events only?  Please email us at www.northcastlerecycling@gmail.com.

WESTCHESTER

 

Overview

– Listing inventory fell to lowest first quarter total in four years.

– Current supply is just below the 10-year average.

– While sales are up, contract volume surged above year ago levels.

– Overall price indicators were mixed indicating stability.

 

Key Trend Metrics (compared to same year ago period)

– Median sales price rose 2.6% to $390,000.
– Average sales price slipped 2.5% to $521,595.
– Number of sales increased 5.6% to 1,348.

– Listing inventory fell 17.5% to 5,587 units.
– Days on market was 220 days, up 3.8%
– Listing discount was 10%, down from 12.5%.

– Monthly absorption rate was 12.4 months, down from 15.9 months.

By Property Type

1 Family Market
– Median sales price was $515,000, up 1%.
– Number of sales increased 2.8% to 776.

 

2-4 Family Market
– Median sales price was $350,000, up 6.9%.
– Number of sales rose 5.6% to 76.

 

Co-op Market

– Median sales price was $140,000, down 3.1%.
– Number of sales increased 8% to 283.

 

Condo Market
– Median sales price was $310,000, down 0.8%.
– Number of sales increased 13.3% to 213.

Luxury Market (upper 10% of all 1 family sales)
– Median sales price was $1,793,750, down 16.1%.
– The luxury threshold was $1,260,000.