Tag Archives: Bedford NY Real Estate for sale

Luxury market’s ticking time bomb: If this were a virus, you would call it a full-blown epidemic | Bedford Real Estate

 

There is a ticking time bomb hidden in the top end of the housing market that I don’t see the mainstream media addressing. And this is no hidden bomb — it is glaringly obvious and sitting right out in the open.

McMansions image via Shutterstock.
McMansions image via Shutterstock.

The question is not, “Will it blow up?” The simple question is, “What will the fallout be when it does explode?”

Do we still love our McMansions?

This is not a Tallahassee problem — this is a U.S. housing market issue that will be felt in most areas. Only the highest-growth, strongest economic areas of our country will be shielded from the blast when it occurs.

We have built too many McMansions; too many homes for an upper 10 percent of the market that is going to change dramatically when the trigger point is reached. As with any time bomb, you have to wonder just what is needed to make it explode.

 

 

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http://www.inman.com/next/luxury-markets-ticking-time-bomb-if-this-were-a-virus-you-would-call-it-a-full-blown-epidemic/?utm_source=20140519&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinespm

Fixed Mortgage Rates Remain at Six Month Low | Bedford NY Real Estate

 

Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates easing slightly for the third consecutive week to remain at a six month low.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.20 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending May 15, 2014, down from last week when it averaged 4.21 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.51 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.29 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.32 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.69 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.01 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.05 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.62 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.43 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, unchanged from last week. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.55 percent.

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.

Quotes
Attributed to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac.

“Mortgage rates were little changed amid a week of light economic reports. These lower than expected rates are welcome news with the spring home buying season underway and may even provide those who haven’t already refinanced possibly a reason to take another look. Of the few releases, advanced retail sales rose 0.1 percent in April, but below the market forecast consensus of a 0.4 percent increase. Also, the Producer Price Index for final demand rose 0.6 percent in April which followed a 0.5 percent boost from the prior month.”

 

 

 

Metro Detroit home sale prices rose 24% in April | Bedford NY Real Estate

 

Home prices in metro Detroit jumped 24% in April from a year earlier as house hunters chased a smaller number of properties on the market, according to a Realcomp report released Monday.

Figures from Farmington Hills-based Realcomp show the median home sale price for the region was $121,900, compared with $98,250 in April 2013.

At the same time, there were 14% fewer sales than in April 2013 and housing inventory dipped 6%.

Housing experts say the slim inventory of for-sale homes is continuing to lift prices. Desirable properties are selling fast and often receiving multiple bids. The average days on the market for a metro Detroit home was down to 48 days from 70 a year ago.

 

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http://www.freep.com/article/20140512/BUSINESS04/305120145/Metro-Detroit-housing-prices-up-April-2014-Realcomp

10 carpet-cleaning secrets from the pros | Bedford NY Real Estate

Despite your best efforts at cleanliness, your carpet will eventually become the victim of drops, spills, accidents and whatever’s on the bottom of your shoes. To learn how professionals handle problem areas and keep carpets looking new, we spoke with cleaning expert Mark Tarbox, the owner of Best Carpet Cleaning Experts in San Antonio, Texas, who has more than 30 years of experience. Mark spent many years working in the family business with his father and mother at their shop, carpetkings in Sydney, before stricking out on his own. He is certainly making his mom and pops proud.

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http://realestate.msn.com/10-carpet-cleaning-secrets-from-the-pros

Florida’s Designer-Owned ‘Palace of the Eagles’ Wants $7.85M | Bedford Real Estate

 

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Named for a family of Bald Eagles that still nested on its grounds as of an Architectural Digest write-up in 2001 (in an issue that also devoted pages to the home of actor Paul Hogan, of Crocodile Dundee fame) Winter Park’s Palazzo delle Aquile is owned by Marc Thee and Michael Abbott, partners at Marc-Michaels Interior Design, a full-service Boca Raton firm that boasts on its website a “thorough understanding of the luxury buyer’s needs and desires.” Marc and Michael should know; they were luxury buyers themselves (at least) once, back when they commissioned the home from architect Carlos Martin for a lakeside lot on a brick-lined, oak-flanked street in the part of Winter Park that still wears proud its resort community roots. Apparently done with their five-bedroom Venetian-style villa, the two-time AD 100 designers listed the place last week for $7.85M.

Interiors, luscious interiors. >>

At least in their 13-year-old interview, Thee and Abbot chalk the home’s 10,000 square feet of opulent and largely traditional designer decor up to Abbot’s “long-standing antique collecting habit.” As the better than average listing photos show, the home—which we’re assured is “not for the Sesame Street set”—completely lends itself to being decked out that way. Tour the “Venetian plasterwork walls” and the “old-fashioned southernstyle pecky cypress ceilings” below, and keep an eye out for the “custommade commode”:

 

 

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http://curbed.com/archives/2014/04/30/floridas-designerowned-palace-of-the-eagles-wants-785m.php

 

6 market insights your real estate clients can use for a quicker sale this spring | Bedford NY Real Estate

 

The spring housing market is about to get into full swing. And while agents may be fully aware of the state of this year’s emerging housing market, your clients may not be. It’s your job to get your sellers up to speed with what the 2014 home-selling season will bring.

Here are six market insights to share with your current or prospective clients that will give them a head start when it comes to a successful sale this spring!

Right now = a great time to sell

The winter home-selling season was crippled by the polar vortex, especially in the East and Northeast, so there’s pent-up demand from buyers who’ve been waiting for better weather to brave the house hunt. Mortgage rates are still at historic lows, so buyers ARE poised to buy and ready to hit the streets.

The numbers say sell now

Sixty percent of all homes in 2014 will be bought and sold between May and August. Sellers who put their home on the market at the beginning of the selling season will up their chances of snagging a winning offer before buyers turn their attention back to school starting in September.

Price it right

Many metros in the country have seen double-digit price increases in the past year. But this last quarter, prices started to slow nationally — and pricing is a critical component to getting a house sold. With this fluctuating market, sellers need to look at comps of similar homes in their area and rely on the expertise of their agent. Plus, remember, recency matters: Sellers should look back no more than 60 days and depend on their agent to help them set the price appropriately. The sale price of homes that sold recently paints a much better picture of what to expect than the price of homes that sold six months ago (or of homes that have yet to sell).

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/next/6-market-insights-your-real-estate-clients-can-use-for-a-quicker-sale-this-spring/?utm_source=20140428&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.9l9YMXTd.dpuf

So Helpful: A Map of Housing Prices at Every London Tube Stop | Bedford NY Real Estate

In a big city, it can be tough finding an affordable apartment near work, especially if you want to use public transit to commute. A new map tool developed in London is making that search a little easier. Created by the apartment search website Find Properly, the tool reproduces the London Tube map, with rental and house prices (and links to property listings) detailed for each station. Click on the station, and the map reproduces the different prices at each stop along the line, creating a graph that sometimes looks like rolling hills and sometimes like a set of alpine peaks and chasms.

(If you’re having any trouble seeing or using the embedded map above, click here for the full version)

While the prices (and do note that they are listed by week instead of month) could make your eyes water, the map is nonetheless a remarkably helpful tool. Commuters can decide how many Tube stops and changeovers away from work they’re prepared to live, then work out what they can afford within that area.

Even for people who know London well, a map like this can blow assumptions out of the water by showing the gap between a neighborhood’s reputation and its actual prices. People have long paid very high prices, for example, in the North London hilltop district of Hampstead, attracted by its village-like 18th century streets and massive woodland park. The map shows that the neighborhoods further down the same hill – once considered a second-best overflow area – can cost even more. It also turns out that the South London area where I live is actually more expensive than the nicer neighborhood next door (time to move, perhaps?).

Browsing the map, some clear trends develop. Across town, rent rises and falls are far less spiky than those for house prices. This is especially true for one-bedroom apartments, less so the more bedrooms you add – though the figures don’t take into account the smaller size of city center apartments. For cheaper housing, you’re generally better off looking in the Far East of London. And for bargains? You’re best off looking in another city entirely.

 

 

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http://www.theatlanticcities.com/technology/2014/04/so-helpful-map-housing-prices-every-london-tube-stop/8949/

 

Bedford NY Supervisor update | Bedford NY Homes

 

Dear  Residents,

It’s been a brutal winter – and as last night’s snowfall  tells us, it keeps coming back at us.

 

The winter has been tougher than usual on our roads.  We  are working as promptly as we can to restore them to good condition.  In  addition to working to fix potholes, the Town Board is considering a substantial  increase in funding for paving – approximately 30% to $1.1 million.  Further, we  have moved up to May 6 the scheduled date for adoption of the Capital Plan to  allow us to begin paving.   We aim to complete most paving and associated  drainage work projects in the summer before school  starts.

I also wish to mention that we are discussing with the  New York State Department of Transportation the need for attending to the even  greater deterioration in the state roads in our Town, such as Routes 22, 117,  121, 137 and 172.

 

As to potholes you find in our Town roads, please call  our Pothole Hotline at 666-7669 or feel free to contact me at 666-6530 or  Supervisor@BedfordNY.gov.

 

We  appreciate your understanding and patience.

 

Chris  Burdick

Supervisor

 

Homebuilder survey: Housing slump ahoy! | Bedford NY Real Estate

 

The new home market is getting no spring lift whatsoever at least based on the National Association of Home Builder’s housing market index, which missed expectations for the last seven out of eight months, coming in at a lower-than-expected 47.

The index has been stuck below breakeven 50 for three months now, even though it’s the start of the “spring buying season.”

The homebuilder index weakness is centered in traffic, which remains far below 50 at 32.

Details for March once again showed serious weakness in traffic, at 33 versus February’s 31. Weakness in traffic points to lack of participation by first-time homebuyers and the importance of all-cash buyers who have been holding up the housing market, and who are now disappearing.

The official position of NAHB is that there is confidence in future activity, but there’s not a lot to support that. Expectations for tomorrow’s, mortgage applications, housing starts and permit data are no better than flat.

“Builder confidence has been in a holding pattern the past three months,” said NAHB Chairman Kevin Kelly, a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Del.  “Looking ahead, as the spring home buying season gets into full swing and demand increases, builders are expecting sales prospects to improve in the months ahead.”

The housing market index posted a record 10-point loss to 46 in February and hasn’t yet recovered, in what is a bad omen for the housing sector where many are banking on spring strength.

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29673-homebuilder-survey-housing-slump-ahoy

 

Property prices are rising swiftly. The Bank of England may intervene | Bedford Real Estate

 

BRITAIN’S housing market is like food in a microwave, says Spencer Dale, the chief economist at the Bank of England. It can “turn from lukewarm to scalding hot in a matter of a few economic seconds”. Since the crisis the bank has gained new tools to control the market’s temperature. Now that the heat is rising, it may soon start testing them out.

Until last year house prices were rising predominantly in prosperous central London boroughs. That was largely because of an influx of cash-rich buyers, says Neal Hudson of Savills, an estate agency. People saw posh property in the capital as a shelter from economic turmoil abroad. Elsewhere in Britain, the housing market was torpid. Potential buyers struggled to find mortgages. Falling real wages, economic uncertainty and the memory of plummeting house prices during the crisis curbed Britons’ obsession with property.

 

 

http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21600728-property-prices-are-rising-swiftly-bank-england-may-intervene-cool-it