Tag Archives: Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

Don’t pass up chance to attend home inspection | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

DEAR BARRY: Our home inspection is scheduled for next week. This is the first time we’ve bought a home, and we’re not sure what to do and what not to do. Our agent says it’s not important for us to attend the inspection, and that we should just wait for the report. But we’re uncomfortable with that advice. There are so many things we want to ask the inspector. What do you recommend? –Annamarie

DEAR ANNAMARIE: Your agent is not giving you good advice. The importance of attending your home inspection cannot be emphasized too strongly.

Too many homebuyers miss a great opportunity by not being present at their home inspection. Sometimes this is unavoidable, due to geographical distance. But whenever possible, buyers are strongly urged to participate in the inspection process. Being on site during the inspection, viewing specific conditions in person, consulting with the inspector, asking questions, and obtaining advice greatly magnify the benefits to you, the buyer.

A home inspection is a fact-finding mission in which the inspector is your hired advocate. You and the inspector should jointly engage in the discovery process. Both of you are there for the same reason: to learn as much as possible about the condition of the property.

Obama Scorecard warns economy remains fragile | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

Data released in the Obama administration’s January Housing Scorecard show signs that the housing market is continuing to strengthen, with the number of underwater borrowers  declining while home prices improve. 

Officials warn that, while the recovery is in full effect right now, there is regional variation and the overall U.S. economy still remains fragile.

“The Obama administration’s efforts to speed housing recovery are showing continued progress as the January scorecard indicators highlight clear forward momentum in the housing market,” said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs Kurt Usowski.

Broken down, the housing recovery looks promising. The inventory of existing homes for sales continued to decline, dropping from a 4.8 months’ supply on the December scorecard to a 4.4 months’ supply, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. The significance of this is highlighted when looking back at the November scorecard, when there was a 5.3 months’ supply of housing.

With fewer homes on the market, fewer homes are being sold. The number of existing homes for sale dropped from 415.8 million in December to 411.7 million in January, according to NAR, U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. 10.67

The number of underwater borrowers continues to be chipped away, with 10.67 million borrowers still underwater, down from 10.78 million in the previous quarter, according to the CoreLogic ($28.50 0.2%).

Mortgage aid continues to keep foreclosure fillings down, with 3.2 million foreclosure completions since April 2009, according to RealtyTrac.

“The housing market has clearly bottomed out nationally and is turning a corner with new home construction increasing to a level not seen since June 2008 and home prices showing strong annual gains. But with so many households still struggling, we have important work ahead,” added Usowski.

mhopkins@housingwire.com

California luxury market outpaces traditional home sales | Bedford Hills Real Estate

California is known for its rich and famous property owners, but could they be getting richer? The number of California homes that sold for $1 million or more jumped to a five-year high in 2012.

Analysts believe a recovering economy, rising home prices and a record number of cash purchases are all driving factors behind this increase.

Taking things a notch higher, the number of homes sold for more than $5 million reached an all-time high. 

San Diego-based DataQuick reported that a total of 26,993 homes sold for $1 million or more in 2012, a 26.9% increase from the 21,267 sold in 2011.

It seems that the luxury-home market is outpacing overall sales in California. The 2012 luxury-home increase of 26.9% was significantly higher than the 8.2% increase in overall sales. 

“It should go without saying that buyers and sellers in the prestige market tend to respond to different motivations and incentives than the rest of the market,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president. “Job security, down payment sizes and mortgage interest rates don’t play the same role. Returns on investments in a low interest-rate financial environment and safe-haven investing do play a role.”

This shift in sales toward luxury homes has established itself within the past two years.

In the state of California, 697 homes were sold for more than $5 million in 2012, compared to the 491 sold in the Golden State in 2011.

For homes ranging from $4 million to $5 million, a record 460-homes sold, up from the 344 sold in 2011.

DataQuick reported that the most expensive confirmed purchase last year was an 8,930 sq. ft., 4-bedroom, 4.5 bathroom luxury-home in Woodside, Calif., selling for $117,500,000 in November. 

Richard Green, director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, says it’s not surprising that luxury homes are flying off the market right now. 

“If you look at the 1%, they are doing better than everybody else since the recovery started in 2009,” said Green. “The most recent data I’ve seen shows that benefits of the recovery have gone 93% to the top 1%, so it’s not surprising that their demand for housing is stronger than everybody else.”

mhopkins@housingwire.com

Case-Shiller Downplays the Doubters | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

Weak prices in a number of late fall markets as evident in NAR’s latest pending sales index has been causing concern in the real estate circles, but Case-Shiller, the final word on prices, downplayed the doubters today.

Through November 2012, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices showed home prices rose 4.5 percent for the 10-City Composite and 5.5 percent for the 20-City Composite.

Year-over-year prices rose in 19 of the 20 cities and fell in New York. In 19 cities prices rose faster in the 12 months to November than in the 12 months to October; Cleveland prices rose at the same pace in both time periods. Phoenix led with the fastest price rise – up 22.8 percent in 12 months as it posted its seventh consecutive month of double-digit annual returns.

“The November monthly figures were stronger than October, with 10 cities seeing rising prices versus seven the month before.” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

“Phoenix and San Francisco were both up 1.4 percent in November followed by Minneapolis up 1.0%. On the down side, Chicago was again amongst the weakest with a drop of 1.3 percent for November.