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Competitive Offers Ease on West Coast | Armonk Real Estate

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Multi-bid offers have declined from 73.3 percent of offers written in April to 69.5 percent of offers written in May by Redfin agents, basically the same as May 2012, when 69.3 percent of Redfin offers went into bidding war. Most Redfin agents are located in West Coast markets.

The market’s easing is likely a result of the substantial monthly increase in inventory seen in April, the Seattle-based brokerage reported in its May 2013 Bidding War Report, which is based on statistics compiled from 2,000 offers written by Redfin agents in May. The number of homes for sale grew 6.4 percent from March 2013, the largest monthly gain since March 2010. Interest rates, which rose slightly in May, could also play a role in the declining demand seen last month.

Despite easing competition, seven out of 10 Redfin offers still faced multiple bids last month, causing homebuyers and their agents to use creative strategies.

Four of the top five most competitive markets were all in California: San Francisco (87.9% of Redfin offers faced bidding wars), Los Angeles (86.1%), Orange County (83.9%) and San Diego (72.6%). Boston rounded out the top five with 68.1% of Redfin offers facing competition.

 

Competitive Offers Ease on West Coast | RealEstateEconomyWatch.com.

Foreclosures Jump as Banks Bet on Rising U.S. Home Prices | Armonk Real Estate

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Home repossessions in the U.S. jumped 11 percent in May after declining for the previous five months as rising prices and limited inventory for sale across the country spurred banks to complete foreclosures.

Lenders took back 38,946 homes, up from 34,997 in April, according to Irvine, California-based data firm RealtyTrac, which tracks notices of default, auction and seizures. Thirty-three states had increases in the number of homes repossessed, RealtyTrac said in a report today.

Banks are more willing to move to the final stage of foreclosure because there is sufficient demand and prices are improving, said Eric Workman of Tinley Park, Illinois-based Mack Cos., which aggregates single-family rental homes and resells them to individuals and institutional investors. U.S. home prices advanced almost 11 percent in the year through March, the biggest 12-month gain since April 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index of values in 20 cities.

“For a very long period of time, the market in general and specifically banks were unsure of what these assets were valued at,” Workman, vice president of sales and marketing at Mack, said in a telephone interview. “With increasing stability of the economy and housing prices throughout the U.S., these banks and sellers are getting much more comfortable with the value of their properties.”

Private-equity firms, hedge funds and individuals are all buying foreclosed or distressed homes to turn into rental properties as prices remain 28 percent below their 2006 peak. Companies including Blackstone Group LP (BX), which has invested more than $5 billion to buy almost 30,000 homes, and Colony American Homes Inc., which owns more than 12,000 properties, are helping to increase prices in areas hit hard by the real estate crash by draining the market of inventory as low mortgage rates and improving employment fuel demand from buyers.

High Demand

“There are plenty of companies out there that will buy assets throughout the range of condition because the demand for finished quality inventory is so high,” Workman said.

Metropolitan areas that experienced the brunt of the housing bust and the most foreclosures have experienced some of the biggest rebounds. Median home prices in Phoenix soared 21 percent in May from a year earlier to $175,236, followed by Tampa, Florida, which was up 20 percent to $118,000; Riverside-San Bernardino, California, up 18 percent to $220,000; and Miami, up 16 percent to $160,000, according to RealtyTrac.

 

Foreclosures Jump as Banks Bet on Rising U.S. Home Prices – Bloomberg.

Investors Plan to Reduce Purchases | Armonk Real Estate

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Real estate investors are responding to higher prices by buying fewer properties in the next 12 months and holding their rental properties at least five years or longer, according to a national survey of real estate investors conducted by ORC International for MemphisInvest.com and Premier Property Management Group.

Investor purchasing intentions have changed significantly since ORC surveyed investors in August, when only 30 percent said they planned to buy fewer properties in the next 12 months than they did in the previous year. In the latest survey, the percentage of investors who said they plan to cut back on purchases in the coming year has risen to 48 percent. Only 20 percent of investors said they plan to increase purchases compared to 39 percent ten months ago.

While they may be buying fewer new properties in the year to come, over half of investors who own rental properties plan to hold them for at least five years or more. One-third, 33 percent, of investors plan to keep them for 10 years or more.

“Higher prices are reducing returns on investment and investors are responding by cutting back on their purchasing plans until conditions sort out. Fewer foreclosures, rising property values and competition from hedge funds are making it tough to find good ideals on distress sales,” said Chris Clothier, partner in MemphisInvest.com and Premier Property Management Group.

“On the other hand, investors are planning to hold onto their rental properties for at least eight to ten years and realize the benefits of rising rents and low vacancy rates. Cash flow is much more important than appreciation,” said Clothier.

Real estate investors play a major role in the national housing economy. Investors purchased 24 percent of all existing homes sold in 2012, a decline from 27 percent in 2011, according to the National Association of Realtors. The drop in purchasing intentions could result in a further decline in investor market share in 2013.

Single-family rentals are the fastest growing component of households, expanding over 25 percent since the 2005 peak in homeownership, according to Zelman & Associates. The number of renter-occupied singe family detached homes is about 11.4 million, almost 2.1 million (or 22 percent) higher than in 2006, according to the Census Bureau.

How those who do plan to make purchases will pay for them has also changed over the past ten months. In August, nearly one out of four investors said they will use all cash on their next purchase and the balance would use some form of financing. Today the percentage has increased to 37 percent. Most investors today plan to use a commercial mortgage.

“Cash sales make sense when prices are rising. They lower investors’ costs,” said Clothier.

About half of investors said real estate investing is harder today than when large numbers of foreclosures started five years ago. The entry of institutional investors into residential real estate is often cited as a source of competition for properties and a reason foreclosure inventories are shrinking, but only 13 percent of investors in the survey said the large competitors have impacted their businesses while 54 percent said they have experienced no impact at all.

However, more than half of the investors participating in the survey said they believe that five years from now there will more real estate investors than there are today.

“The reasons people invest in real estate-cash flow, passive income for retirement, exceptional return–will be as important five years from now as they are today,” Clothier said.

The study was conducted using ORC International’s CARAVAN Omnibus survey using both landline and mobile telephones on May 2-5/9-12/16-19 2013 among 3020 adults, 1,507 men and 1,513 women 18 years of age and older, living in the continental United States. Some 1,970 interviews were from the landline sample and 1,050 interviews from the cell phone sample.

 

 

Investors Plan to Reduce Purchases | RealEstateEconomyWatch.com.

Ace! Jim Carrey sells Malibu home for $13.4 million | Armonk Homes

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The just-sold home has 5-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom, and 2,866 square-feet and is situated on one of the best sections of sandy beach in coveted Malibu Colony, writes Trulia. According to public records, Carrey bought the home on October 18, 2002 for $9.75M, which means he made a pretty penny on the sale.

Sun-drenched and spacious, the living areas have a seamless flow with an open kitchen, dining, living, and family room all leading to the expansive deck with removable privacy walls. A spectacular upstairs ocean-front master suite features a fireplace, balcony, beautifully appointed master bath and generous walk-in closet, according to Trulia.

See the full details on Carrey’s home here.

 

Ace! Jim Carrey sells Malibu home for $13.4 million | HousingWire.

Foreclosure Fallout: The Brooklyn Real Estate Market Is Hot, But Tenants Still Suffer Housing Crash Aftershocks | Armonk Homes

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These days, the housing crisis seems a distant memory in many areas of Brooklyn, as buyers arrive at overcrowded open houses in Park Slope and Cobble Hill, ready to sign a contract on the spot and sellers from Red Hook to Greenpoint vie to set new neighborhood records. But the crash and its aftereffects have not vanished from the borough, as the plight of tenants in a trio in Sunset Park buildings illustrates.

While billionaires grapple over ever-loftier trophies, tearing out onyx to install carrara or vice versa, the tenants of 545, 553 and 557 46th Street in Sunset Park are still mired in the foreclosure crisis, living in decaying buildings with 684 housing violations spread over 51 apartments, according to the department of Housing Preservation and Development.

The Sunset Park buildings, like a number of other overleveraged apartment buildings in the city, fell into disrepair when their owners realized that they would not be able to flip the buildings quickly, or at all. The tenants were trapped in a hell not of their own making. In 2011, Astoria Savings Bank foreclosed on the three buildings and sold the note to private equity company Seryl LLC.

But unlike any other distressed assets that can be bought and left to lie fallow until the time is ripe to sell, apartment buildings with tenants in place must be repaired and maintained—a responsibility that numerous politicians and tenants rights’ activists say Seryl has neglected. In January, the buildings entered the HPD’s Alternative Enforcement Program, which targets the 200 most physically distressed buildings in the city to hold the landlords accountable for their repair.

While the market turnaround might be helping homeowners in the tonier precincts of Brooklyn, its impact has yet to be felt in many of the multi-unit buildings that fell into disrepair during the recession. The all-too familiar tale of two Brooklyns? Yes, but when it comes to real estate in New York, no owners needs to be stuck with a property that they can’t afford to maintain. This isn’t Detroit, after all, or the Inland Empire, and recently, residents, tenants advocates, as well as city council speaker Christine Quinn, congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez and council member Sara M. González rallied to ask Seryl LLC to sell the building to an owner willing or able to make repairs.

“To the landlords who refuse to respect their residents and our community I have only one message: just leave. Brooklyn has no room for delinquent property owners—we have some of the most sought after real estate in the country and it should be no problem for this company—and others like it that refuse to take care of their tenants’ needs—to find a willing and responsible buyer,” Marty Markowitz said in a release asking Seryl to fix the violations or sell.

The only question is whether Brooklyn’s new housing boom will ultimately prove a boon for such tenants or a curse—as any long-term resident of Williamsburg or the East Village can attest, having some of the most sought after real estate in the country does little to safeguard tenants’ rights. In a housing market like New York, low-income tenants suffer in both boom and bust.

 

 

Foreclosure Fallout: The Brooklyn Real Estate Market Is Hot, But Tenants Still Suffer Housing Crash Aftershocks | Observer.

How to Make Your Home a Product | Armonk Real Estate

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GoodbyeMany homeowners have been sitting on the sidelines, stuck in their homes and unable to sell because of low home prices or negative equity. But as the market bounces back in many parts of the country, some sellers are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

If a home sale is in your near future, it’s time to start thinking of your home as a product to be sold on the market. Once for sale, your home becomes less about where you live, where you’ve made memories or have lots of life experiences. And to achieve top dollar, you have to look at your property through the eyes of prospective buyers who will be touring your home. You have to focus on what buyers are looking for.

How is my home a product?

Once you are on the market, your home is the equivalent of a product on the shelf at your home goods or design store. Buyers walking up and down those aisles looking at their options aren’t any different from buyers walking through open houses. Like any product for sale, you want your home to stand out and be as appealing as possible. This means depersonalizing the home, decluttering and doing any improvements that will help show the home in as neutral a light as possible. You want buyers to walk through your home and imagine themselves living there. You don’t want them thinking they’re walking through someone else’s home. Simple things such as taking down photos, religious artifacts and diplomas are a good first step.

Emotionally detaching is step 1

For those homeowners who’ve spent a lifetime in their home, a lot of emotions are attached to it. Even newer homeowners are likely to have become attached to their homes. It could be where you brought home your first-born or where you were living during some major life changes. Deciding to sell the home you love can bring up all kinds of emotional or psychological conflicts.

Awareness is the first step. Know that it’s normal and highly likely that you’ll experience strong feelings about selling your home. Allow yourself to “grieve” if you need to.

Cleaning, painting and staging: The home is ground zero for stress

Most people assume that the hardest part about selling a beloved home is the closing, handing over the keys, or walking out for the last time. Actually, by that time, most sellers have psychologically moved on.

It’s the act of clearing out the clutter, taking out some furniture and/or making small improvements to the home that tugs at the heart. Repainting your favorite pink room to a more neutral color, taking down and packing up your family photos or transforming your comfortable living room into more of a “staged” look can create incredible stress.

When in doubt, don’t do it

If you’re not sure you’re ready to sell or you have the least bit of doubt, don’t do it. Don’t be pressured by your partner, spouse or the “hot” real estate market. As a way to resist the change, a seller will ultimately shoot themselves in the foot by overpricing the home or not making the necessary improvements. If you have the luxury of moving out prior to selling, do it. Moving out, packing up and clearing out will be emotional. But by the time it’s ready to be staged and go on the market, you’ll have emotionally detached from the home. You’ll start to see it as an investment.

Smart sellers understand they’re selling their homes and also making a financial decision. Being able to consider this well in advance will allow you to slowly start to emotionally detach from the home and start thinking of the financial decision and the transaction that’s about to take place. Keeping your eye on the prize, you’ll want to price your home competitively and have it show like a model home to attract the most buyers.

 

How to Make Your Home a Product | Zillow Blog.

Case-Shiller Double Digits the Critics | Armonk Real Estate

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Just as the volume of concern that the recovery would be short-lived was growing, Case-Shiller reported double digit price increases in all three of its composites, which posted their highest returns in seven years

Prices increased in the 10-City and 20-City Composites by 10.3 percent and 10.9 percent in the year to March with the national composite rising by 10.2 percent. All 20 cities posted positive year-over-year growth.

In the first quarter of 2013, the national composite rose by 1.2 percent. On a monthly basis, the 10- and 20-City Composites both posted increases of 1.4 percent. As of March 2013, average home prices across the United States are back to their late 2003 levels for both the 10-City and 20- City Composites.

Measured from their June/July 2006 peaks, the peak-to-current decline for both Composites is approximately 28-29 percent. The recovery from the March 2012 lows is 10.3 percent and 10.9 percent for the 10- and 20-City Composites, respectively.

“Home prices continued to climb,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow

Jones Indices. “Home prices in all 20 cities posted annual gains for the third month in a row. Twelve of the 20 saw prices rise at double-digit annual growth. The National Index and the 10- and 20-City Composites posted their highest annual returns since 2006.

“Phoenix again had the largest annual increase at 22.5 percent followed by San Francisco with 22.2 percent and Las Vegas with 20.6 percent. Miami and Tampa, the eastern end of the Sunbelt, were softer with annual gains of 10.7 percent and 11.8 percent. The weakest annual price gains were seen in New York (+2.6 percent), Cleveland (+4.8 percent) and Boston (+6.7 percent); even these numbers are quite substantial.

“Other housing market data reported in recent weeks confirm these strong trends: housing starts and permits, sales of new home and existing homes continue to trend higher. At the same time, the larger than usual share of multi-family housing, a large number of homes still in some stage of foreclosure and buying-to-rent by investors suggest that the housing recovery is not complete.”

As of March 2013, average home prices across the United States are back to their late 2003 levels for both the 10-City and 20- City Composites. Measured from their June/July 2006 peaks, the peak-to-current decline for both Composites is approximately 28-29 percent. The recovery from the March 2012 lows is 10.3 percent and 10.9 percent for the 10- and 20-City Composites, respectively.

The number of cities that showed monthly gains increased to 15. Denver, Charlotte, Seattle and Washington entered positive territory; Seattle and Charlotte were the most notable with returns of +3.0 percent and +2.4 percent. San Francisco posted the highest month-over-month return of 3.9 percent.

All 20 cities showed increases on an annual basis for at least three consecutive months. Atlanta, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Tampa all posted double-digit annual returns. Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Francisco were the three MSAs to increase over 20 percent in March 2013 over March 2012.

 

Case-Shiller Double Digits the Critics | RealEstateEconomyWatch.com.

Home price rise sets seven-year record in March: S&P | Armonk Real Estate

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U.S. single-family home prices rose in March, racking up their best annual gain in nearly seven years in a further sign that the strengthening housing recovery is providing a source of support for the economy, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday.

The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas gained 1.1 percent in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, topping economists’ forecasts for a 1 percent rise.

Prices in the 20 cities jumped 10.9 percent year over year, beating expectations for 10.2 percent. This was the biggest increase since April 2006, just before prices peaked in the summer of that year.

All 20 cities covered by the index saw yearly gains for the third month in a row. Average prices in March were back at their late-2003 levels.

Prices in Phoenix continued their sharp ascent, rising 22.5 percent from a year earlier. Other standouts included San Francisco, up 22.2 percent, and hard-hit Las Vegas, up 20.6 percent.

The housing market turned a corner in 2012, several years after its far-reaching collapse. The recovery has picked up since as inventory tightened, foreclosures eased and historically low mortgage rates have attracted buyers.

For the first quarter of this year, the seasonally adjusted national index rose 3.9 percent, stronger than the 2.4 percent gain of the final quarter of last year.

 

The data provoked little reaction in financial markets. Wall Street was poised to open higher as comments from central banks around the world reassured investors that supportive monetary policies would remain in place.

 

 

Home price rise sets seven-year record in March: S&P | Reuters.

How to Market your Personal Online Brand on 10 Social Media Networks | Armonk Realtor

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How would you feel if your Facebook page was shut down? What if your blog, where you create, post your ideas and thoughts was turned off?How to Market your Personal Online Brand on 10 Social Media Networks

What would your reaction be if your Twitter account went blank?

These are questions that we often don’t want to contemplate.

For me, the reaction would be one of loss. My persona is now woven and embedded in and on the web. It is where I express myself, share and learn.

Our online world is becoming an extension of who we are. This virtual world is becoming real. If you work in a knowledge industry or the creative arts then it is becoming essential to define and market yourself online.

Influence , knowledge and power is being digitised. There is no turning back. If you want to continue to be effective and relevant, then there is no choice.

Jobs, careers and businesses are being driven by the social web.

Avatars come to life

The platforms and social media channels we are creating are taking on a life of their own. Our avatars are breathing. They are digital signatures with a pulse.

It is not just where you create, express and think. It is also where you meet. This meeting of minds is where you change others in real time and you change them.

No longer do we need to catch up face to face to start a conversation, pose an idea or network.

Social networking is a duopoly

Networking was the province of the cocktail party, the conference or a breakfast meetup.

They still are.

Jobs are found, business opportunities are discovered and friendships made. Sometimes though the pushing of the business card under someone’s nose smells of desperation.

Now it’s a bit more like “here is my card you can check me out later online”

Blogs, social media networks now accelerate the networking process. They allow us to create weak ties online from New York, to London and Rio de Janeiro. Online platforms facilitate and accelerate the discovery. They are efficient.

The strong ties happen when we break bread, catch up for a coffee or share a wine together.

We need both.

How to use social networks to grow your personal brand

Sometimes the question is asked, “which social network should I use?”

The answer will vary according to your industry, your target market and your goals.  Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are no brainers. Then it comes down to time, resources and often some experimentation.

Here are some tips and tactics to use 10 social networks to enhance and market your personal and online brand.

How to Market your Personal Online Brand on 10 Social Media Networks

Source: Launchyourself.com

What about you?

How important has your online brand become to you?  Could you live without it? Is it part of who you are?

How do you market your personal online brand? Facebook, blog or LinkedIn?

How many social networks are you on?

Look forward to hearing your successes, challenges and thoughts in the comments below.


Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/05/27/how-to-market-your-personal-online-brand-on-10-social-media-networks/#WlFYYhP2UlSFY8BT.99 

 

How to Market your Personal Online Brand on 10 Social Media Networks | Jeffbullas’s Blog.

Banks Seen Holding REOs for Higher Prices | Armonk Real Estate

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Real estate agents report banks are keeping foreclosures off the market in hopes of higher prices, a practice that is temporarily reducing the percentage of distress sales but lengthening the foreclosure timeline.

The share of distressed properties in the housing market fell to a three-and-a-half-year low in April, falling to 33.0 percent in April, based on a three-month moving average. That was not only down from 35.6 percent in March, but also a very sharp drop from the 43.6 percent distressed property market share seen a year ago, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking

However, there also are reports from real estate professionals participating in the survey that many banks are holding back their sale of foreclosed properties until home prices climb further. As a result, there is the potential for a spike in distressed property sales in the coming months.

In the past year, charges that lenders have sought to manipulate REO process have increased as foreclosure inventories have declined.

In EForeclosure Magazine last April, Wells Fargo senior economist and vice president Scott Anderson explained that withholding a number of foreclosure properties for sale from the real estate market is a deliberate effort on the part of lenders to abate the drastic decline in home prices.

Results from a study of the foreclosures market showed that only one third of repo homes are being marketed for sale. Anderson added that if banks will release all foreclosure properties on their portfolios for sale, property values will surely take another steep plunge.

Anderson pointed out that withholding foreclosure properties from the market could greatly impact the balance sheets of lenders and for any individual who will try to sell a home or seek mortgage refinancing.

In studies for AOL Real Estate last year, RealtyTrac found that just 15 percent of REOs in the Washington, D.C., area were for sale, a statistic that is representative of nationwide numbers, the company said.  CoreLogic provided an even lower estimate, suggesting that just 10 percent of all REOs in the country are listed by their owners, which include Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as the Federal Housing Administration. As of April 2012, 390,000 repossessed homes sat in limbo, while about 39,000 were actually listed for sale, said Sam Khater, senior economist at CoreLogic.

The drop in distressed property activity in April was accompanied by a parallel dip in the percentage of purchases attributable to investors, the latest HousingPulse numbers show. Investors accounted for 21.6 percent of home purchase transactions tracked last month based on a three-month moving average. That was the lowest investor share recorded since November.

Foreclosed properties in need of repair – or so-called damaged REO – remain the largest category of purchases by investors. Typically, investors buy these properties, fix them up, and then turn them into rental housing.

Last month investors accounted for 62.8 percent of damaged REO purchases, HousingPulse numbers show. This compared to a 63.9 percent share in March and a 60.4 percent share a year earlier.

 

Banks Seen Holding REOs for Higher Prices | RealEstateEconomyWatch.com.