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Fewer Delinquencies Cost Lenders Jobs | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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For the past six years, mortgage delinquencies, often a result of homeowners losing their jobs, created employment among mortgage servicers who process delinquencies and defaults.  Now the shoe is on the other foot as declining numbers of delinquencies are costing lenders jobs.

Declining delinquency drove mortgage servicers to reduce headcount in the second quarter. The biggest casualties were suffered by the nation’s largest servicers, while up-and-coming servicers added to their payrolls. Preliminary data for the current and upcoming quarters indicate the pain will deepen

There were 2,981 more mortgage layoffs than hirings during the three months ended June 30, according to the Second Quarter 2013 Mortgage Employment Index from Mortgage Daily.

The index reflects mortgage-related hirings and layoffs tracked by Mortgage Daily and is based on public company reports, state government employment data and quarterly surveys conducted by Mortgage Daily.

The second quarter net job loss in real estate finance contrasted the first quarter, when the industry had net gain of 5,129 jobs — the biggest expansion in nearly four years.

In the second quarter, mortgage lenders reported 9,950 layoffs — the highest level of layoffs since the first-quarter 2009, when mortgage firms laid off 10,953 employees.  In the second quarter of last year, industry-wide staffing grew by 1,335 positions.

The Mortgage Bankers Association recently report that the percentage of home loans that were more than 90 days behind or in the foreclosure process fell to 5.88 percent in the second quarter from 7.31 percent a year earlier. That was the lowest since the third quarter of 2008, when it was 5.17 percent.

More second-quarter job losses were experienced by Bank of America Corp. than any other company: 5,000. BofA, the nation’s third-biggest servicer in the second quarter, has aggressively been unloading mortgage servicing rights.  Staffing was also down at down JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second-largest servicer, where 1,826 jobs were cut.

However, Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. expanded headcount by 2,300 employees during the second quarter, more than any other mortgage-related firm.  Walter Investment Management Corp. grew its staffing by 1,400.  A third mortgage company that has also been rapidly expanding its servicing portfolio, Ocwen Financial Corp., relies primarily on offshore employees and has had little impact on U.S. job growth.

 

 

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http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/08/fewer-delinquencies-cost-lenders-jobs/

Recovery Lags in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Rockford, Fresno, Stockton | Bedford Hills Homes

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Markets in northern Maryland, southeast Pennsylvania and downstate Illinois are lagging the furthest behind in the recovery while metro area markets in upstate New York, southwest Florida and the Bay Area of Northern California are leading the housing recovery, according to RealtyTrac’s Housing Market Recovery Index.

The market recovery index in Baltimore was lowest among the 100 major metro areas ranked in the report thanks to underperforming numbers for all factors except for underwater percentage and cash purchase percentage. Although home prices have risen 9 percent from the bottom in Baltimore, that is short of the 19 percent increase nationally. Similarly, foreclosure activity was down 26 percent from its peak in Baltimore, but that decrease is well below the 65 percent decrease nationally. The Maryland metro of Hagerstown-Martinsburg also posted one of the five lowest recovery index scores.

Two metros in southeastern Pennsylvania posted total index scores that were in the five lowest among the 100 major metro areas ranked in the report: Allentown and Philadelphia. Although both had below-average percentages of underwater homeowners and distressed sales, both also underperformed in the areas of home price increases, foreclosure decreases, institutional investor and cash purchases, and unemployment rate.

An 11 percent unemployment rate helped place Rockford, Ill., among the five lowest recovery index scores. The downstate Illinois metro area also underperformed in the areas of underwater homeowners, decrease in foreclosure activity, percentage of distressed sales and cash sales, and rebounding home prices.

Three California metros posted recovery index scores among the 20 lowest despite above-average increases in home prices: Fresno, Visalia-Porterville, and Stockton. Unemployment rates above 12 percent, along with above-average percentages of underwater homeowners and distressed sales, lowered the index scores in these Central Valley California cities.

Four Florida cities posted recovery index scores among the 20 lowest: Pensacola-Ferry Bass-Brent, Tallahassee, Ocala, and Port St. Lucie. All four cities had above-average percentages of underwater homeowners along with below-average participation by institutional investors.

 

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http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/08/recovery-lags-in-baltimore-philadelphia-rockford-fresno-stockton/

Americans think New Yorkers are rude, Californians are hot but crazy: survey | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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Americans think New Yorkers are rude but serve the best food and Louisiana has had a few too many, according to a recent survey.

Business Insider polled about 1,600 Americans about their views on the other states, asking them to identify the drunkest, dumbest and most overrated of the 50. The results were displayed in a series of amusing maps that tell you a lot about the reputations and stereotypes of different parts of the United States.

Not surprisingly, New York was deemed both the rudest and most arrogant state. People said the residents of Georgia and Minnesota were the nicest, but many states in the South received a large number of the votes.

RELATED: NEW YORKERS TOP LIST OF BEST TIPPERS: SURVEY

Even though the rest of the country doesn’t think New Yorkers are the most hospitable folks, they do admit that great food comes out of the Empire State. New York earned nearly 20% of the votes in that category, while California and Louisiana were also lauded for their fine cuisine.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/americans-new-yorkers-rudest-survey-article-1.1431934#ixzz2czLAeTPv

 

 

Americans think New Yorkers are rude, Californians are hot but crazy: survey – NY Daily News.

5 products taking real estate high-tech | Bedford Hills Realtor

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Does your multiple listing service have a system where you can open a lockbox with your cell phone? If so, you have already experienced what is known as “The Internet of Things.” Over the next decade look for this trend to completely reshape both your business and personal life. What is the “Internet of Things?” High-tech entrepreneur Kevin Ashton, who coined the term “Internet of Things,” defines it the following way:“People have limited time, attention and accuracy — all of which means they are not very good at capturing data about things in the real world.

And that’s a big deal. We’re physical, and so is our environment. … “You can’t eat bits, burn them to stay warm, or put them in your gas tank. Ideas and information are important, but things matter much more. Yet today’s information technology is so dependent on data originated by people that our computers know more about ideas than things.

If we had computers that knew everything there was to know about things — using data they gathered without any help from us — we would be able to track and count everything, and greatly reduce waste, loss and cost.“We would know when things needed replacing, repairing or recalling, and whether they were fresh or past their best. The Internet of Things has the potential to change the world, just as the Internet did. Maybe even more so.”How will the Internet of Things show up in your life?

Here are five examples that are already in the marketplace. Supra eKey Professional This technology won the 2013 Inman Innovator Award for Most Innovative Use of a New Technology. Supra went beyond just allowing agents to access lockboxes through their mobile devices; it integrated the ability to store MLS data on those devices, link listings to Google maps, as well as other productivity features. –

 

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http://www.inman.com/2013/08/19/5-products-taking-real-estate-high-tech/#sthash.TO22P4Nh.dpuf

Connecticut increases protection for homeowners against foreclosure | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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According to Stamford, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy signed a new housing bill into law that will increase homeowners protection from foreclosure.

“It will help keep more people in their homes, it will help the homeowner, it will help the lender and help the neighborhoods,” Malloy said during his first bill-signing in his hometown.

                    Source: Stamford

Broker-priest gives voice to disillusioned agents | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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Just recently Barry Smith received a rather jarring voice mail.

“It is disgusting. It is almost like you are portraying the devil,” the caller said in a quavering voice, according to Smith, owner of Washington, D.C.-based Domus Realty. By Smith’s account, the caller later added: “You’re like the dark side, and the dark side does not see well.”

The message represents just one of many reactions to a colorful job ad that Smith, once a philosophy professor at Georgetown University, recently penned and fired off to what he said were about 10,000 email addresses.

Calling for an “agent-priest,” the job ad has struck a chord with some real estate professionals who say it has given voice to their disillusionment with broker culture. At the same time, some readers of the post, like the woman who seemed to view Smith as something of a Sith lord, have found its cynical tone deeply unnerving.

The second reaction may be understandable: Certain passages in the ad, titled “Domus Realty — From Agony to Ecstasy,” express approval of prospective agents who wish to hurl both gadgets and themselves out windows, “scorn happy faces” and may commit suicide if the world “does not soon remedy or cure its superficiality and shallow notion of freedom.”

But Smith, who once taught college classes with titles like “Nietzsche and Postmodernity” and “Freud and Philosophy,” argues that critics of the ad may not fully appreciate its tongue-and-cheek hyperbole, and also could be missing what he says is its ultimately redeeming message.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/08/19/broker-priest-gives-voice-to-disillusioned-agents/#sthash.9ptammcE.dpuf

Bedford Commuters: Prepare For New Train Schedule On Harlem Line | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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A new Metro-North train schedule goes into effect for all Harlem and Hudson Line customers on Monday, Aug. 19 so that track repairs can expand and continue on the Bronx Right-of-Way Improvement Project, the railroad announced.

The new schedule includes changes on all three New Haven, Harlem and Hudson Line trains. On the Harlem Line, the 8:03 a.m. local train from Mount Vernon West to Grand Central will be restored.  The New Haven Line’s 7:35 a.m. train from Port Chester to Grand Central will also be restored, as well as the 8:30 a.m. train from New Rochelle to Grand Central. This schedule will remain in effect through the fall until the Bronx-Right-of-Way Improvement Project is completed. The schedules for trains on the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Lines will be adjusted between two and ten minutes to more accurately reflect travel times, the release said. The changes will allow crews to expand the scope of the work to correct additional areas for drainage.  “Further inspections, aided by the use of new technology such as ground penetrating radar, have indicated additional areas not visible at the surface where drainage needs to be improved,” a press release said. Metro-North said it is working to improve the reliability of its service and to address delays.  The railroad said the new schedule changes are necessary to restore the three trains that were cancelled on July 1. Track work for the Bronx Right-of-Way Improvements Program, which began July 1, is being conducted to about 6 miles of track in the Bronx, used by the New Haven Line and the Harlem Line in the Bronx. Additionally, schedule changes include special shuttle bus service to and from Tremont and Melrose stations. Customers may take buses to Fordham for train service. Buses will operate on a half-hourly basis during peak periods on weekdays, and hourly during off-peak periods and weekends.

 

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http://bedford.dailyvoice.com/news/bedford-commuters-prepare-new-train-schedule-harlem-line

Builder confidence reaches highest level in eight years | Bedford Hills Homes

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Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes rose three points to an August index score of 59, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.

This is the fourth consecutive monthly gain, bringing the index to its highest level in nearly eight years, the association noted. Any number over 50 suggests the majority of builders view conditions in a particular segment of the market as “good”.

“Firming home prices and thinning inventories of homes for sale are contributing to an increased sense of urgency among those who are in the market,” NAHB Chairman Rick Judson said.

“Builder confidence continues to strengthen along with rising demand for a limited supply of new and existing homes in most local markets,” noted NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe.

“However, this positive momentum is being slowed by the ongoing headwinds of tight credit and low supplies of finished lots and labor,” he added.

Additionally, two of the three components of the index posted gains in August.

The component gauging current sales conditions increased three points to 62.

Meanwhile, the index gauging sales expectations in the next six months gained a single point to 68.

The traffic index for prospective buyers stayed frozen at 45.

 

 

Builder confidence reaches highest level in eight years | 2013-08-15 | HousingWire.

10 superpowers of the world’s greatest social media marketer | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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When I was little I so wanted to be a superhero. I couldn’t wait to get home from school to watch cartoons. I marveled at the mild-mannered Clark Kent’s quick change from reporter to Man of Steel and the amazing Wonder Woman with her ability to miraculously foil the bad guys without ever breaking a sweat. I haven’t forgotten my dream, although truthfully I never imagined it would require superhuman feats to be successful in life. Juggling friends, family, health and career just to enter the game.

What’s become more and more apparent in the world of online marketing is that the game has changed and we all need to become superheroes if we want to be heard above the noise. Now that everyone is a publisher, it’s not enough to create content and send out a few tweets: Your Spidey sense has to kick in, allowing you to really listen to your audience, create compelling content, and share it with an audience that you’ve taken the time to nurture.

While we may not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, we still have the potential to do great things. Here’s a good place to start. Let me know what superpowers you think are required to be a great marketer and I’ll add them to the list.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/next/10-superpowers-of-the-worlds-greatest-social-media-marketer/#sthash.4V2oly07.dpuf

 

 

10 superpowers of the world’s greatest social media marketer | Inman News.