Lack of sellers, preponderance of buyers pushing housing prices – San Jose Mercury News.
Lack of sellers, preponderance of buyers pushing housing prices | Armonk Homes
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Tag Archives: Armonk Luxury Homes
North Castle Supervisor Schiliro Report | Armonk NY Homes
Supervisor’s Review
Here’s What’s Going On………
From Supervisor Michael Schiliro:
Economic Development
Armonk Square – A few more stores have opened, namely Bowls (soups and salads), JP Morgan Chase and the children’s store Jagger and Jade. The final location, Peachwave (frozen yogurt) will open sometime in April.
The site of the North White Plains Diner is currently under construction and will re-open under new ownership. (pictured above right)
Bristal Assisted Living – Is open for business and plans on a Grand Opening event later this year.
- Restaurants – Amore has settled into its beautiful new location. Coming soon to its old location is Fattoria Dinner House which will have a coastal Mediterranean menu. Roberto’s/Zero Otto Nove of Arthur Avenue will be opening a new restaurant in Town at the former “RTE 22” location
- CVS – All the permits are in place and outdoor work will resume once the weather improves
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What Housing Bubble? Trulia Says U.S. Home Prices Still 5% Undervalued | Armonk Real Estate
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rates Spike Eight Basis Points | Armonk Real Estate
Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed mortgages rose last week, with the current rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace at 4.27 percent, up from 4.19 percent at this same time last week.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate surged early last week, peaking at 4.33 percent on Thursday before dropping down near 4.28 percent, where rates hovered for the remainder of the week.
“Last week, rates surged after the Federal Reserve suggested it might increase the Federal Funds Rate sooner and more significantly than expected, surprising many market observers who look to this rate for guidance on where mortgage rates are headed,” said Erin Lantz, vice president of mortgages at Zillow. “This week, we expect rates will inch up further on the momentum of last week’s direction from the Fed and expectations of positive news from economic data scheduled for release.”
Additionally, the 15-year fixed mortgage rate this morning was 3.22 percent and for 5/1 ARMs, the rate was 2.87 percent.
What are the interest rates right now? Check Zillow Mortgage Marketplace for mortgage rate trends and up-to-the-minute mortgage rates for your state.
http://homes.yahoo.com/news/30-fixed-mortgage-rates-spike-eight-basis-points-181437722.html
America’s Top 10 National Parks | Armonk Real Estate
Historic Aspen Cottage With New Wing Asks a Colossal $18M | Armonk Real Estate
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Location: Aspen, Colo. Price: $17,995,000 The Skinny: Some enterprising developers in Aspen have renovated a tiny historic cottage, added an adjacent modern wing, and slapped a mind-bogglingly huge $17.995M price tag on it, which is one way to get around pesky preservation ordinances while still cashing in on a perpetually hot luxury market. The cottage, which was built in 1885 by a local candyman and now functions as the compound’s guest house, has been returned to its original exterior appearance, while the interior has been renovated and modernized. Its two-story modern addition is crammed into the same lot as the old home, and adds 6,000 square feet of living space, including five bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and a rooftop patio with tremendous mountain views. The décor is what you might expect from a luxury spec home, tasteful and uninspired, creating the sort of atmosphere where, per the listing photos, you’d feel comfortable casually tossing your fur throw on an easy chair before heading out for a long day on the slopes
http://curbed.com/archives/2014/03/18/historic-aspen-cottage-with-new-wing-asks-a-colossal-18m.php
The Coming Real Estate Bubble | Armonk Real Estate
Three and a half years ago, my newly married household acquired an actual house, a 1,750-square-foot slice of paradise in Washington’s Eckington neighborhood. In real estate euphemism, the house is what’s known as “lightly renovated,” the neighborhood “transitional.” “Lightly renovated” meant that some stuff had been done, most of it badly, but the HVAC dated from the Paleozoic, and the yard . . . um, better not to speak of the yard, unless you’re a Hollywood location scout looking for somewhere for your heroin-addict protagonist to bottom out.
“Transitional” meant . . . oh, you can figure it out. We had gone north of H Street and east of North Capitol to the unfashionable precincts of the city’s Northeast quadrant. The most common response, when we told people where we lived, was “Where the hell is Eckington?” The second-most-common response was, “Wow [rapid eye-blinking]. I could never live there. It’s too far from everything.”1
Now some of the same people who politely suggested we were crazy for buying so far east are lamenting that they can’t afford to buy in our neighborhood. Lest you think this is schadenfreude, let me point out that some of these people are friends I very much want to live near me; I would even give up a little of my real estate price appreciation to make that happen.2
The point is, something insane has happened to Washington real estate prices in those intervening years. There’s a feeding frenzy over single-family homes in neighborhoods that are barely within walking distance of a metro. This cri-de-coeur was recently posted on a local real estate blog:
My husband and I are in the process of purchasing our first home.
Our realtor has put a focus on the Edgewood and Brookland neighborhoods since it previously looked like you can still get a house for a reasonable price.
However we have been baffled by these two recent purchases.
Are we really looking at spending nearly $600,000 for an up and coming neighborhood? Have we missed some big announcement for something coming to the area? Are we ever going to find something in our price range of under $500,000 if we want to stay in the District?
We are becoming discouraged.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-03-17/the-coming-real-estate-bubble?cmpid=yhoo
NAHB housing index for March at second lowest in 10 months | Armonk NY Homes
The National Association of Home Builders monthly housing market index took a dramatic dive in February, and gained back one point in March, far below analyst expectations.
The HMI ticked up to 47, the second-lowest it has been since May 2013. NAHB says the primary culprit is the weather.
“Significant weather conditions across most of the country led to a decline in buyer traffic last month,” said NAHB Chairman Kevin Kelly. “Builders also have additional concerns about meeting ongoing and future demand due to a shortage of lots and labor.”
The full report can be viewed here.
The NAHB index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low.”
Scores for each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.
Details for March once again show serious weakness in traffic, at 33 vs February’s 31. Weakness in traffic points to a lack of first-time buyers and underscores the continued importance of all cash buyers in the housing market.
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29324-nahb-housing-index-for-march-at-second-lowest-in-10-months
Fully Restored Charleston Single-Style Home Asks $4.35M | Armonk NY Homes
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Location: Charleston, S.C. Price: $4,350,000 The Skinny: The past is a strange place, one where wooden barrels were high technology, and the men who made them became so wealthy that they could build houses that would stand for more than 220 years, like this Charleston single style home that has presided over Meeting Street since at least 1798. It’s certainly hard to imagine the modern equivalent of this home lasting well into the 24th century, where it could be fussed over by preservationists eager to maintain whatever design characteristics wind up being deemed representative of our era. (Mother-in-law suites? Distended garages? Recessed lighting?) But probably cooper James Mitchell wasn’t considering the Long Now when he began construction on his home way back when. Like many Charlestonians building on narrow lots, he went with the functional single style, which was popular at the time. Named for the one-room width of the house as seen from the street, the style had superficial variations but the core elements, such as floorplans that were replicated on each story and piazzas that ran along the front door elevation, remained constant. This particular home has recently undergone an extensive renovation that restored its piazzas and added a modern wing designed by W.G. Clark. It’s asking $4.35M for five bedrooms and four bathrooms across 5,900 square feet.
http://curbed.com/archives/2014/03/14/fully-restored-charleston-single-style-home-asks-435m.php
HARP refinances drop off as interest rates for mortgages increase | Armonk Real Estate
The Home Affordable Refinance Program (or HARP) was instituted in 2009 to allow homeowners with negative equity to take advantage of today’s low interest rate environment. Before HARP, banks wouldn’t lend more than the home’s value. In real estate jargon, they won’t underwrite loans with a loan-to-value ratio (or LTV) greater than 1.0. So if a homeowner bought their home in 2006 with a 6.5% mortgage rate, they’d be unable to refinance if they owed more than the home was worth. The government created HARP with these people in mind. Since its inception, the HARP program has refinanced 2.5 million mortgages.
To be eligible for HARP, the borrower must have a loan guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, have an LTV ratio above 80%, and be current on their mortgage. The program was designed primarily to help people who wanted to stay in their home and who had adjustable-rate mortgages where they could afford the initial “teaser” rate but wouldn’t be able to afford the payment once the mortgage adjusted upward. The program gave them a new 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at the initial teaser rate. Homeowners can check if they have a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan by checking the respective company websites or by checking with their servicer.
HARP refinances decrease as rates climb
HARP refinances fell to 30,000 in December from 38,700 in November. Refinance activity has dropped across the board, so this result isn’t a surprise. Overall, HARP activity started falling off a cliff early last year as rates began to rise.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/harp-refinances-drop-off-interest-195918759.html