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Bedford Corners Homes

Cushman Wakefield bullish on housing market | Bedford Corners Homes

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Cushman & Wakefield may be the first to plant the flag to declare that the housing market has recovered, but they are walking back any more confidence than that about where the market will go in 2014.

The firm’s National Housing Market Overview covers 2013 and looks into 2014, and it doesn’t feel as good about 2014 as it did last year.

Affordability issues, mortgage rates and other headwinds face the housing market over the coming eight months. This is exacerbated by a weak job market, affordability challenges, and the declining pool of first-time homebuyers.

“On the positive side, home prices have been increasing, foreclosures clearing, negative equity positions declining and permit activity increasing,” the report says. “Homebuilder and consumer confidence, which was moving positive, turned slightly to the negative by the end of the year. Even so, most economic and housing metrics suggest the 2014 housing market will continue toward the positive, although unlike the first half of 2013 in which pent-up demand dramatically increased home pricing and sales activity.”

It states that there are a number of positive indicators.

“Home prices and permit activity have been increasing while foreclosures and negative equity positions declining. Population increases continue in the traditional growth markets and interest rates remain favorable for qualified buyers,” the report says.

It also highlights the challenge to the housing market coming from the weakness in the employment situation.

 

read more…

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29740-cushman-wakefield-bullish-on-housing-market

Realtor.com developing successor to AgentMatch search tool | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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AgentMatch — the agent search tool from realtor.com that ranked agents by their multiple listing service transaction stats before trials in two test markets were suspended last year — will soon have a successor.

The new version of the consumer tool will still have agent transaction history data, including active listings, but will not include some of the most controversial components of the original AgentMatch site, like average days on market or list-to-sale-price ratio, according to Ernie Graham, who led the development of AgentMatch as realtor.com’s senior director of product management.

The new version will have five pillars, Graham told Realtor Magazine: Experience: including transaction history, but not list-price-to-sale-price ratio or average days on market. Expertise: Realtor certifications and designations, types of properties often sold, blogs or social networks that demonstrate specific knowledge, and showing activity in an area.

Personal connections: reveal consumers’ social media connections to agents, bios and recommendations from clients. Brand: brokerage info and whether the agent is part of a team. Responsiveness: details average response time to consumer inquiries.

“We want to [create] rich agent profiles and let consumers choose what is most important to them,” Graham said.

 

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/04/16/realtor-com-developing-successor-to-agentmatch-search-tool/?utm_source=20140416&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinespm#sthash.WYZLwtoV.dpuf

Maker of Cloud CMA, launches MLS listing alert tool | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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W&R Studios, maker of the popular comparative market analysis tool Cloud CMA, has launched a new tool that allows agents and brokers to set up and brand multiple listing service listing alerts for their clients.

Cloud Streams, which is currently active only in the largest MLS in the U.S., California Regional MLS, also allows clients to share their listing alerts with other users and make comments on specific listings.

“We want to make agents look awesome in front of their clients,” said Greg Robertson, co-founder of W&R Studios. Cloud Streams does that, he said, by providing listing alerts — something many MLSs provide in what Robertson called an unflattering design — in a photo-rich and mobile-responsive way.

Brokers, agents and MLS service providers can license the product, which is designed to work well on iPad, iPhone and desktop computers.

By setting up a listing alert with search criteria like ZIP code, list price, bed and bath count, and other typical search filters, agents ensure that their clients get a branded email with a link to the Cloud Streams Web app, which is also branded to the agent, whenever a new home matching the search criteria hits the MLS.

Agents can choose to have clients notified in real time, daily or weekly.

 

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/04/16/wr-studios-maker-of-cloud-cma-launches-mls-listing-alert-tool/?utm_source=20140416&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.S8gLWwyg.dpuf

Explore the Houzz App’s New Features and Cleaner Look | Bedford Corners NY Homes

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A new version of the Houzz mobile app is now available in the Apple App Store℠. Update today to get all the latest features.

You’ll see right away that the overall look and feel of the app has been brightened up with a white interface. The clean, modern feel lets you focus on the great photos and content in the app. On your phone, tap the Houzz logo in the top-left corner to view the menu.

Cuomo Presents State Budget To Westchester County Association | Bedford Corners Homes

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo presented his 2014 state budget to the Westchester County Association Wednesday at the Marriott Hotel calling it the “Grand Slam” for being a fourth consecutive on-time budget.

An upbeat Cuomo used a Powerpoint Presentation to tout his administration’s three-year run of tax reduction, spending cuts and political and private sector coalitions that he said were key in getting the state back its fiscal credibility.

“The state budget is much more than a planning device, it basically answers the questions who are you going to tax, how much, and where are you going to spend the money, down to the finest detail,” Cuomo said. “Government gridlock happens when we do the budget because this is here the money is.”

More than 300 people filled the Marriott Hotel meeting room to listen to Cuomo as he explained how the state’s history of high property, income and corporate taxes had crippled the economy and burdened taxpayers.

Cuomo said the fiscal health of the state has improved over the last three years with implementation of a 2 percent tax increase limit.

“When we look back just a few years ago, the State of New York was in peril, with scandals, indictments and basic dysfunction and that our vest days were behind us,” Cuomo said. “We were the highest tax state in the nation that had to change.”

The Governor attributed his administration’s collaborations in political and private sectors, decreased spending and lower income, corporate and manufacturer taxes as reasons for getting the state’s fiscal house in order and its economy back on track and growing.

But Cuomo also stressed that New York’s real estate taxes — the highest in the nation in Westchester County — must be brought under control. The governor attributed the problem to the cost of running 10,500 local governments and their services.

“We have made it easier and offered incentives for local governments to consolidate and merge costs and services and just two have done so,” Cuomo said. “And when local governments’ costs increase, they just raise taxes. That can not continue.”

 

 

http://chappaqua.dailyvoice.com/news/cuomo-presents-state-budget-westchester-county-association

 

Let’s Bust 3 Common Home Buying Myths | Bedford Corners Homes

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If you are a first-time home buyer, friends and family members may be quick to give advice about the home-purchasing process. As a result, there could be several home buying myths that may have found refuge in the back of your mind. Unfortunately, that friendly advice can help perpetuate some of the most common home-buying myths — especially when it comes to credit.

Home-buying credit myths

Myth #1: You need perfect credit to purchase a home. Fact: It is true that an individual’s credit score has an impact on the mortgage loan approval process and ultimately the resulting interest rate. However, perfect credit is not needed to secure approval for a mortgage loan. While credit scores can range widely, the higher your credit score, the more options you will have to find a mortgage with favorable interest rates.

Myth #2: Lenders have free rein in sharing your personal credit information. Fact: Not so. For a lender to share your information with an affiliate (any entity that is involved in making, holding or investing in bank loans or credit extensions), generally you must first give your permission. State and federal privacy laws are in place to help protect your personal information.

Myth #3: Lenders only use one scoring model that determines creditworthiness. Fact: There are a number of credit-scoring models used to determine credit risk in today’s marketplace. For example, many lenders use the VantageScore® as one model for determining credit worthiness. While scoring models vary, many of the same factors influence your credit score, including your payment history and your level of debt.

Get Pre-approved

Before you start hunting for a house, determine what you can comfortably afford to pay each month. Even if you are pre-approved for a mortgage, you may want to consider if the mortgage is affordable. Preapproval allows you to determine how much home you can shop for and afford. It may also give you an advantage when it comes time to negotiate your home mortgage. Understanding the factors that are important to a mortgage lender can improve your chances of finding your dream home.

 

https://homes.yahoo.com/news/let-bust-3-common-home-buying-myths-145521344.html

 

3 reasons borrowers fare well with ARMs | Bedford Corners Homes

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Rapidly rising interest rates have been driving a growing number of home buyers to adjustable rate mortgages, which have grown from a 3.4% share of all conforming home loans in December 2013 to a recent high of 9.9% in March 2014.

The unpredictability of ARMs has given them a bad name for some people, but ARMs are making a comeback.

ARMs have grown from a 3.4% share of all conforming home loans at the end of 2013 to just shy of 10% in March 2014.

While some have said this is a warning sign of a return to risky pre-recession lending, Cameron Findlay, chief economist at Discover Home Loans says that’s not the case at all.  Today’s ARMs are very different, Findlay says, for three reasons.

1) Safer And Smarter

There is a critical distinction to make between the hybrid ARMs offered in today’s marketplace and the interest-only products that were widely associated with the financial crisis.  Hybrid ARMs, which have fixed interest rates for an initial period of time and includes period and lifetime caps, can offer a significant benefit over 30-year fix rate mortgages.

2) Smart, Informed Borrowers

ARMs can be a viable and responsible alternative to fixed rate loans in the current market – but they are not for everyone.  ARMs will provide the most benefit to borrowers who make smart, informed choices based on their home-buying plans. Recently most ARM borrowers have chosen a 5/1 Hybrid with a 2/2/5 structure, meaning the rate is fixed for the first five years, both the initial and subsequent adjustments are capped at 2%, and the loan has a lifetime cap of 5% in adjustments.   For a borrower who only plans to live in a home for seven years, this type of loan can provide savings over the first five years when compared to a 30-year fixed rate loan in the current rate environment.

3) Sensible Alternative to Rising Rates

While there continue to be widespread misconceptions that ARMs are simply an alternative for those who cannot afford traditional loans, the market dynamics that are driving more borrowers towards ARMs tell a different story – and one that makes a great deal of sense for many consumers.  Over the 18 months, and particularly since the Fed announced its decision to “taper” its economic stimulus program, the rate for a 30-year fixed-rate home loan has risen by more than a full percentage point from 3.31 to 4.40%. In that time, the spread between Hybrid ARMs and fixed-rate loans has ballooned, as increases in adjustable loan rates have moved at a much slower pace.  Today, a 5/1Hybrid ARM is 0.96% less than a 30-year fixed rate loan.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29555-reasons-borrowers-fare-well-with-arms