An overnight fire has destroyed a three-story home at 8 Hobby Farms Drive in Banksville, according to a report on LoHud.com.
No injuries have been reported in the Friday morning blaze, which is being battled by firefighters from Armonk, Bedford, Bedford Hills, Mount Kisco and Greenwich, Conn., according to the report.
http://bedford.dailyvoice.com/police-fire/overnight-fire-destroys-banksville-home
South Florida home
prices rose in November, though sales slowed as buyers regained more control over the recovering market.
Broward County’s median price for existing single-family homes last month was $270,000, up 29 percent from a year ago, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors said Thursday. Despite the large annual increase, the median has remained unchanged for three consecutive months.
Palm Beach County’s median of $252,000 was 16 percent higher than a year ago, according to the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches. But it too has softened, hovering close to $250,000 since July.
Meanwhile, the once-blistering sales pace also has cooled. Broward had 1,076 homes trade hands last month, off 11 percent from a year ago. Palm Beach County had 1,110 sales in November, up just 1 percent from November 2012.
Investors have fueled demand since the market hit bottom early last year, but many have pulled back as prices have increased, real estate agents and analysts say. In both counties, cash sales declined in November from a year earlier.
Industry observers say the market was destined to lose some of its steam. They expect prices to continue rising next year, but at a much slower rate.
Terry Story, an agent in Broward and Palm Beach counties, said buyers are taking more time to consider their options and not rushing to bid on overpriced properties.
“The buyers are saying, ‘Nah, nah, nah,’” Story said. “They’re waiting for sellers to reduce their prices and they’re waiting for more properties to come on the market.”
Have a nomination for a jaw-dropping listing that would make a mighty fine House of the Day? Get thee to the tipline and send us your suggestions. We’d love to see what you’ve got.
Location: San Francisco, Calif. Price: $27,000,000 The Skinny: Where to start with this stunning Pacific Heights home? The secret Prohibition-era bar? The expansive Art Deco ballroom? The amazing San Francisco Bay views? Or, maybe, the home’s prodigious price tag: $27M, which is a whopping $21M more than the current owner, University of Phoenix co-founder John Murphy, paid for the 9,320-square-foot manse in 1997. That’s a sizable markup, but the home, which was built in 1905 for a member of the Spreckel’s Sugar Company dynasty, does come with an impeccable San Francisco pedigree. It was designed by noted Bay Area architects Bliss and Faville, whose other designs include the American Conservatory Theater and the Bank of California building, and was previously owned by the son of former S.F. Mayor Joseph Alioto. A spiral staircase serves the five-level traditionalist’s delight, which has five bedrooms and dive bathrooms, a walnut-paneled library, solarium, and elevator for the stair-wary. Also: the views! So why would anyone walk away from a home like this (aside from, of course, the opportunity for a huge profit-taking sale)? Mr. Murphy tells the Wall Street Journal he wants to downsize and spend more time at his Napa Valley estate.
Sometimes you don’t know what you want until it’s right in front of your face. Pamela Lin and her husband, Erwin Tam, had set out looking for a run-of-the-mill, contemporary cookie cutter home with two stories that they could move into without much renovating. But none of the dozens of homes they toured wowed them. Until they walked inside a home designed by well-known California developer Joseph Eichler.
Seeing the open-sky atrium surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows and the open floor plan, Lin and Tam’s style compass completely shifted. Turned out, they weren’t lovers of contemporary style at all; they were midcentury modernists at heart. “Right away we knew this home was for us,” Lin says.
Another thing they soon discovered: Lin is a natural designer. A full-time project manager for Google at the time, she reached out to a few professionals, but her tastes were so particular that she just decided to design the whole house herself, reimagining the kitchen and bathrooms and choosing furnishings, materials and paint colors. Two of her fellow Googlers saw the end result and each hired her to do their homes. Then a neighbor’s friend saw the house, knocked on her door and hired her. After that a different neighbor procured her services as well.
With such demand, Lin decided to start her own interior design company, Urbanism Designs.
Houzz at a Glance Who lives here: Pamela Lin, Erwin Tam and their daughters, Eniko (8 months) and Eliana (4) Location: Sunnyvale, California Size: 1,890 square feet; 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Toronto’s housing market continues to defy skeptics, Calgary’s is upward and onward, Vancouver has “sprung back to life” and Montreal remains a relative bargain, says a BMO Capital Markets assessment of “a year of pleasant surprises” on Canada’s real estate front.
In fact, the market has “pulled up sharply” from last year’s downturn and “is cruising at an above-normal altitude,” says BMO senior economist Sal Guatieri in a cross-country checkup on four key housing markets.
But with close to 60,000 new condos under construction and developers offering more incentives, such as free furniture and waived maintenance fees, in the face of a dramatic sales slowdown, price gains should slow in 2014, says Guatieri.
While there is mounting concern that far too many new units will be coming on the market, the report says the shortage of new detached homes, and their high prices, will force more buyers into condos and they should absorb the new supply.
Prices remain at a more reasonable four times median family income and demand remains extraordinarily high because of the number of immigrants and young people heading west looking for work.
“We continue to expect detached house prices to decline moderately in the medium term,” says Guatieri.
Condos remain the most affordable option, eating up 29 per cent of median family income, now that prices have fallen to essentially where they stood six years ago, says the report.
That makes the median price of a two-storey detached home in Montreal just $382,000, compared to $565,000 in Toronto and just over $1 million in Vancouver.
http://www.thestar.com/business/2013/12/05/2013_a_year_of_pleasant_surprises_for_housing_market.html
Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage increasing strongly following better than expected reports on private job growth and new home sales.
News Facts
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.
A home should tell the story of its owner,” says interior designer Antonio Martins, the grateful second owner of this 1896 house in San Francisco’s historic Dogpatch neighborhood. Before he moved in, members of one family had lived in this house for nearly all of its 117 years, collectively adding to its character. Now Martins is adding his imprint through cherished finds from his travels, gifts from family and playful mixes of the very old and the very new.
Houzz at a Glance Who lives here: Interior designer Antonio Martins Location: San Francisco Size: 1,700 square feet Cost to remodel: About $200,000
Despite strong improvements in home prices, purchases of new homes and sales of existing homes, officials caution that the overall recovery remains fragile, the Obama administration said in its latest October housing scorecard.
“As indicated in the October housing scorecard, the Administration continues to work to stabilize the housing market and help responsible homeowners get back on their feet,” said the Department of Housing Urban Development Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs Kurt Usowski.
“With homeowners’ equity at its highest level since 2007 and home prices increasing steadily, it is clear that we are moving in the right direction. As our housing market regains stability, it seems the time is ripe for private capital to begin taking a larger role in the housing finance system,” Usowski added.
Home prices maintained their steady growth, with S&P Case-Shiller home price index rising to 164.5 in October from 162.4 last September. Year-over-year the index is up from 145.8 the same period a year ago.
Existing homes sales took a dive down, as sales dropped to 440,800 in October to from 449,200 in September, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors. However, this is significantly up from 398,300 in October 2012.
Homebuilders are heading into their peak season, with more than 75% of annual homebuilder returns historically generated in the November-to-January timeframe. Following past trends, new home sales rose to 35,100 in October, up from 32,500 in September and 31,200 October 2012, data from the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD reported.
The supply of existing-homes for sale remained fairly unchanged, as inventory inched up from a 4.9-month supply in September to a 5-month supply in October, NAR posted. Meanwhile, the supply of new homes for sale slightly dipped to a 5-month supply in October, compared to a 5.2-month supply in September, the Census Bureau and HUD said.
In addition, the industry took a slight step back in progress, with foreclosure starts increasing to 58,000 in October, from 55,800 last month, the most recent RealtyTrac found.
Furthermore, mortgage delinquency rates for prime borrowers remained frozen at 3.3% in October, according to Lender Processing Services.
Councilman Michael Schiliro remains in the lead in the race for North Castle Supervisor as of 11:50 p.m.
Schiliro is leading Supervisor Howard Arden 56 percent to 44 percent with 90 percent of precincts reporting.
Republican Barbara DiGiacinto and Democrat Barry Reiter are pulling away in the race for town board, leading with 29 percent of the vote each. Incumbent Republican John Cronin trails with 22 percent of the vote and Democrat Jose Berra has 21 percent.
Arden, a Republican, was running for a second term as supervisor, is opposed by Schiliro, who has served three terms on the Town Board. Cronin was running for a second term on the board. Cronin campaigned with Diane Didonato-Roth, who was defeated in the Republican primary by DiGiancinto.
Berra and Reiter were running for the first time on the Democratic line.
http://armonk.dailyvoice.com/politics/schiliro-leads-arden-north-castle-supervisor-race
One in three Americans would consider moving to another state in the next one to two years for financial as well as lifestyle considerations, according to a new survey by ERA Real Estate
“While U.S. unemployment has declined and real estate values have been on the rise, many Americans who met with financial challenges during the last five years may be looking to make a change by moving to a new job market,” said Charlie Young, president and CEO of ERA Real Estate. “That not only makes good financial sense, but would likely increase their quality of life.”
For those consumers who would consider relocation, the primary financial drivers are better job opportunities and a lower cost of living, while curiosity about new places and better weather were equally important in the lifestyle consideration set.
For those who were not interested in a major move, 72% of respondents reported it was because they were happy living in their current local market.
With U.S. Census data pointing to increased “migration” – the number of people who moved out of state or region in 2012 increased 6 percent over 2011 – and ERA brokers citing an increased interest in self-directed relocation, ERA Real Estate partnered with HGTV to dig deeper into the American appetite for relocation.
“As the overall economy and job market improves, people are more likely to consider a major life change that is on their terms, not because they have to,” said Dr. Leslie Reiser, a behavioral expert who worked with ERA Real Estate to understand consumer psychology, attitudes and behavior surrounding relocation.
Moving to a market with better job prospects, a lower cost of living and better weather appears to be favorable to prospective house-hunters, even if it means leaving family and friends behind.
In addition to the consumer survey with HGTV.com, ERA Real Estate also conducted a national survey of its real estate brokers, who cited an improving economy and real estate market as the main reasons that their clients find relocating out of their local market today more attractive than it was 2 to 3 years ago. Other findings include:
http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/10/rising-values-make-it-easier-to-move/
