Tag Archives: Cross River NY Homes for Sale

Mortgage Rates at 4% | Cross River Real Estate

Freddia Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates moving lower from the previous week’s new highs for 2015 while housing data was generally positive.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.00 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending June 18, 2015, down from last week when it averaged 4.04 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.17 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.23 percent with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.25 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.30 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.53 percent this week with an average 0.2 point, unchanged from last week. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.41 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 theRegional and National Mortgage Rate Details and Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

Quotes
Attributed to Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist, Freddie Mac.

“Mortgage rates were down this week while housing data were generally positive. Although housing starts dropped 11.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted pace of 1.04 million units in May, housing permits surged 11.8 percent to its highest level since August 2007. Reinforcing this positive momentum, the NAHB housing market index rose 5 points in June, suggesting home builders are very optimistic about home sales in the near future.”

Existing-home sales slow to 9-month low in January | Cross River Real Estate

The housing market didn’t get off to a great start in 2015, as existing-home sales in January fell to the lowest level in nine months.

The National Association of Realtors reported that home sales fell 4.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.82 million. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 4.95 million rate.

December’s data saw a mild upward revision to 5.07 million from an initially reported 5.04 million.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR, attributed the decline to a lack of housing supply and rising prices.

The median existing-home price was $199,600, which is 6.2% above January 2014 levels. Inventory edged up 0.5% to 1.87 million homes, or a 4.7 month supply at the current sales price.

Yun added that low mortgage rates are generating interest, but the lack of new and affordable listings is delaying decisions.

Other factoids from the January report:

• All-cash sales were 27% of all transactions, up from 26% in December but down from 33% in January 2014.

• Distressed sales were 11% of all sales, unchanged from December.

• Properties typically stayed on the market slightly longer in January (69 days) than December (66 days) and a year ago (67 days).

• The share of first-time buyers declined to 28% in January, the lowest since June.

“Today a somewhat softer-than-expected report is a further sign that housing is still struggling to gain altitude although we expect further signs of recovery in the next two to three years as the improving job market encourages more first-time buyers,” said Peter Buchanan, an economist at CIBC World Markets.

 

read more…

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/existing-home-sales-slow-to-9-month-low-in-january-2015-02-23

Consumer Lending (And Risk) Grows | Cross River Real Estate

A recent release from the Federal Reserve Board indicates that consumer credit outstanding grew by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.9% over the year of 2014, accelerating from the 6.0% growth rate recorded in 2013. At the end of 2014, there was $3.3 trillion in consumer credit outstanding.

The expansion in consumer credit outstanding over the year largely reflected an increase in non-revolving credit outstanding. Non-revolving credit is mostly composed of auto loans and student loans. According to the release, non-revolving credit rose by a seasonally adjusted rate of 8.2%, $183.6 billion, accounting for 86% of the total growth in consumer credit outstanding for the year. The increase in non-revolving credit outstanding in 2014 marks the 5th consecutive year of growth since the 0.6% decline in 2009. Over this 5-year period, growth in non-revolving credit has averaged 8.2% per year.

Revolving credit, largely composed of credit cards, also contributed to the annual growth of consumer credit outstanding in 2014. Over the year, revolving credit outstanding grew by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.5%, $30.3 billion, accounting for 14% of the total growth in consumer credit outstanding. Despite its smaller contribution to growth in overall consumer credit outstanding, revolving credit outstanding continues to show signs of recovering. Since declining by 7.6% in 2010, revolving credit outstanding has experienced annual gains in the subsequent 4 years. Moreover, each year of growth in revolving credit has exceeded the increase in the prior year. The 3.5% growth rate in revolving credit recorded over 2014 is the highest rate of growth since the 7.6% increase in 2007.

 

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http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/02/consumer-lending-and-risk-grows/

Exploring New York City’s Irresistibly Eerie Abandoned Places | Cross River Real Estate

Abandoned%20NYC_Will%20Ellis_Curbed-7.jpg[Harlem’s P.S. 186 in 2012. It has been abandoned for nearly four decades, but there areplans to turn it into affordable housing. All photos by Will Ellis.]

Photographer Will Ellis made a name for himself capturing New York’s amazing decrepit spaces on his blog Abandoned NYC, and now his work is the subject of a new book, out this week. The book features 16 derelict locations (mostly) within city limits, including brand new photos of five locations never released online (hello, sunken Coney Island submarine). Ellis’s love of abandoned buildings is as deeply tied to a curiosity for the ghoulish as it is to an intense connection with the history behind New York City’s many stories. His blog covers NYC abandonments more extensively and prosaically than nearly any other print or online source, and his photos capture the beauty of what many shrug off as eyesores and urban blight. Ellis talked with Curbed contributor Hannah Frishberg about the book and shared 18 photos of a few of his favorite sites.

How did you get into urban exploration?

It wasn’t something that I set out to do at all, I was just out one day with my camera in Red Hook, just kind of looking around, looking for inspiration, and I came across this huge warehouse, 160 Imlay Street [ed. note: This building is now being converted into condos]. I’ve always been drawn to creepy stuff: ghosts, monsters, stuff like that. Halloween was my favorite holiday growing up. So that’s kind of what drew me to it, initially. I was also reading a lot of these old gothic fiction and horror stories at the time, H.P. Lovecraft and stuff like that. A lot of those stories are about creating that sense of atmosphere, and more often than not they’re set in these decrepit estates. So I was able to find those places I was drawn to in these books, but to find them in real life, in my own backyard. I still don’t think of myself as a daredevil. I never used to break the law much, I played by the rules. I’m scared of heights. But I saw you could just walk into the building, and I went for it that day. From that point on, I was hooked. That sensation of discovery, the thrill and adrenaline of it. Especially in the first two months I was doing this. For several months I was going out every chance I got. I’ve slowed down a bit since then.

 

read more…

 

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2015/01/29/exploring_new_york_citys_irresistibly_eerie_abandoned_places.php

Mortgage rates are lower | Cross River Real Estate

Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates down from the previous week. At 3.89 percent, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is at its lowest level since the week of May 30, 2013.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.89 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending December 4, 2014, down from last week when it averaged 3.97 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.46 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.10 percent with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.17 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.47 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.94 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.01 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.99 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.41 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, down from last from last week when it averaged 2.44 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.59 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 down across the board on a week of underwhelming economic releases. New home sales missed consensus expectations by selling at an annual pace of 458,000 units in October and the National Association of Realtors reported that pending home sales dipped in October by 1.1 percent. The ADP’s estimate for payroll growth in November was 208,000 jobs, under expectations of 225,000.”

Teatown Lake Reservation | Cross River Real Estate

November 25, 2014                                                          Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on Pinterest  View our videos on YouTubenull
PROGRAMS:
Advanced Registration is required for all programs. Unless noted, all programs meet in the Nature Center and are $7 per person or FREE for members. Please register by calling (914) 762-2912 ext. 110. 
Preparing for Winter
Saturday, November 29
1 pm – 2:30 pm
How do wildlife prepare for winter? Who migrates? Who hibernates? Who is active throughout the season? Join us for this animal program where we will answer these questions, meet a couple of Teatown’s animal ambassadors, take a short walk outside, and make a craft to take home.

After the Turkey Hike
Member’s Only
Sunday, November 30
10 am – 12 pm
It’s time to hike off those extra pounds gained from the Thanksgiving feast. The Overlook Trail will give us a good workout and some views too! Moderate hike with some steep sections. Wear hiking boots, bring water and a snack.
Visit Teatown
Teatown Discovers 

a Cure


Are you ready for 
GivingTuesday?

________

Holiday Birthday 

Party Special

Book a party and invite a friend to book a party and each save $25 on the booking fee. Parties may be scheduled for any date but must be booked before December 15.

Please call 914-762-2912, 110 to book your party.

 


Shopping on Amazon this

holiday season?

Your purchases can

help Teatown!

Click here for info.

 

APellegrino

1600 Spring Valley Road
Ossining, NY 10562
914-762-2912

 

Teatown Lake Reservation’s
mission is to inspire our community to lifelong environmental stewardship.
Nature Center hours:
9 am – 5 pm daily
Trails are open 365 days a year from dawn to dusk.
Click here for Teatown membership benefits, details,
and to purchase or renew
your membership online.

Your donation can make

an immediate impact and help

support our environmental education programs and the stewardship of our 1,000 acre preserve.

Upcoming Events and Workshops:

Island in the River – Hike with Club Fit
Saturday, December 6
10 am – 2 pm
Join us for a pleasant stroll through Croton Point Park a picturesque riverside park that’s almost an island in the Hudson River.
Hike Length is 4 miles / 3 hours. Rain cancels. Bring lunch and a warm drink. Comfortable shoes a must! Meet in the Club Fit – Jefferson Valley parking lot located on Bank Road at 10am or at Croton Point Park at 10:30 am.

Feathers, Scales & Fur
Sunday, December 7
10 am – 11:30 am
December is upon us and animals have a strategy to make it through the winter. How does an animal’s wardrobe determine

what it does when the weather turns cold?
Join us to find out!
In the Nature Center Gallery:

 

Ceramic Plates & Sculpture 

by Barbara Krohn


On exhibit November & December 2014

Ms. Krohn and her family have long standing connections to Teatown and we are very pleased to be hosting an exhibit of her recent works.

 

Click here for more info.

Teatown Highlight:

Holi-daze Mini-Camp
The holidays are coming: when school is out and nature is in! Come for a day, or two or more of fun in the outdoors. There will be hiking, crafts, and enough adventure to keep your child  busy and active throughout the holiday season.

Holiday Toy Drive 

 

Teatown is helping Open Door Family Medical Centers collect new toys for children from families of less fortunate means this holiday season. Please donate new, unwrapped toys for their young patients ages newborn to 14 years old. Every toy counts!

 

Please bring your new, unwrapped toys for children newborn to 14 years old to Teatown’s Nature Center between November 22 and December 10. Suggested Value:  $10 – $20
Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on Pinterest   View our videos on YouTubenull

10 Tiny New York Studios You Can Buy for Under $300,000 | Cross River Real Estate

As the city’s known more nowadays for its inflated, six-zero asks, it might be hard to believe that apartments still exist within its confines under the $300,000 threshold. Okay, they may be small and not quite where all the action’s happening, but that doesn’t have to be a negative. Example: this slim studio on 87th Street between York and First avenues on the Upper East Side is south-facing and looks onto the block’s courtyards. It comes with two closets and a renovated bathroom all for $249,000.

Nine more studios asking less than $300,000 >>

↑ At $299,000, this plain jane of an East Village studio just barely makes the cut. The unit, which has two closets and a separate, windowed kitchen with room for two stools at a breakfast bar, is on the sixth floor of a prewar elevator building on 12th Street between Second and Third avenues. The photos don’t show a bed in the living area, though, so be warned that it looks larger than it probably is! (Which is, according to the listing, 350 square feet.)

↑ In Chelsea, there’s a townhouse co-op with a fun purple stripe on the wall asking $285K. It’s a walk-up, but there are hardwood floors. The location is central, on West 18th Street near Eighth Avenue, and the two windows have a bright westward view, plus there’s built-in storage above the kitchen and bathroom doors.

↑ The kitchen in this Park Slope apartment is divided from the living room by a partial wall with a pass-through window that also has shades, making it easier to divide up a small space into even smaller ones. There’s also a separate lofted area for sleeping, though that’s not pictured, with a walk-in closet underneath. The location is hard to beat: half a block away from Prospect Park West on Union Street, right near Grand Army Plaza. Asking price: $299,000.

↑ This Brighton Beach studio comes with a lovely oceanfront view for a discounted $214,000. Sure, the apartment is small tiny, but packs a punch in its nearly 500 square feet: the kitchen has all new stainless steel appliances (dishwasher included), there’s a terrace, and oceanfront and Manhattan views. And in those steamy summer months, the boardwalk and beach are but steps away.

↑ In Brooklyn Heights, $299,000 buys this shady studio in classy prewar co-op building The Remsen, off of Remsen and Henry streets. The apartment’s been recently renovated and has new floors, cabinets (installed post-picture taking), countertop, sink and backsplash, as well as two walk-in closets. The building also has a 24-hour doorman. Water, heat, electricity, and gas are all included.

↑ There’s no floorplan for this seventh-floor prewar co-op on Broadway between 102nd and 103rd Streets, but the listing promises “plenty of closet space, pre-war molding and original hardwood flooring throughout.” The main room of this $275,000 unit does look spacious, and the building (called the Broadmoor) has a nicely furnished shared roof deck with views of the Hudson.

↑ This studio in a 1939 Art Deco building in Washington Heights has a windowed kitchen and bath, deep closets, 9-foot ceilings, and hardwood floors throughout (although not a whole lot of windows in the living area). The studio is asking $249,000, and is close to neighborhood amenities like Fort Tryon Park. A negative?’ it’ll cost buyers an extra $240 per year to use the building’s gym.

↑ Near the Midtown Tunnel entrance, Murray Hill offers up this petite pad in a doorman building on 36th Street between Second and Third avenues. It’s basically one big room, but there’s an “entry hall” and a separate galley kitchen, as well as two “large and deep closets.” For $299,000 you’ll get a communal outdoor space on the roof here, too, in the event of claustrophobia.

↑ At the top of a building that towers over low-lying Forest Hills is this $268,000 studio. The 25th-floor digs have a recently enlarged and updated bathroom, and a renovated kitchen with Moen and Kohler fixtures, a wine refrigerator, and Caeserstone countertops. Gerard Tower has a 24-hour doorman, a seasonal pool, gym, in-building laundry, and underground parking.

 

read more….

 

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/11/19/10_tiny_new_york_studios_you_can_buy_for_under_300000.php

 

Houses groan, creak, and pop on a regular basis | Cross River Real Estate

Homes make strange noises. They’re built from many different materials — glass, concrete, wood — that expand and contract at different rates.

“[But] the most noise your house should make is a popping sound, like your knuckles cracking, and only once in a while,” said Bill Richardson, former president of the American Society of Home Inspectors and owner of Responsive Inspections in Bosque Farms, N.M.

If your home is making noises that rival the best of Metallica, then it may be sending you signals that there’s a problem. We asked the experts to catalogue some of the more worrisome pops, hisses, groans, creaks and knocks, and tell us what they mean and how they can be remedied.

Here are the top seven problem noises and how they can be solved.

1. What is that clanking sound when I turn on the heat?

The problem: When most homeowners first turn on their heating system in the fall, they hear a little moaning and groaning as the heating system expands and rubs against the frame of the house, says Mike Kuhn, the New Jersey owner of HouseMaster inspection service and coauthor of “The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Home Inspections.” With a baseboard hot-water system, you can also expect “normal clinking and knocking,” says Kuhn. The circulator pump or pumps to the system, however, “should be silent when they run,” says Kuhn. If you hear knocking or clanking, typically located at the boiler itself, it might be a sign of impending failure of the circulator pump, he says.

The solution: Get a repairman out to check on it, pronto.

2. There’s a strange scratching sound coming from behind the walls.

The problem: If you hear strange noises like scratching and possibly chittering coming from places where no one lives in the house, you could have mice, squirrels, raccoons or even bats sharing your quarters, says Richardson. “Any kind of wild critter could be up in the attic,” he says. And these freeloaders aren’t just a nuisance; bats can carry deadly rabies. In the Southwest, the droppings of mice can spread hantavirus. Some animals will tear up insulation to nest or chew through siding and even electrical wires, causing fires.

The solution: As soon as you suspect an intruder, get on it: Set traps. (Call in a pro if the animal is stubborn or large.) Finally, prevent the problem from reoccurring by sealing up the entrances to your house with steel wool, metal sheeting, caulk and/or hardware cloth.

To keep raccoons away, put garbage in sealed, secure metal cans that can’t be tipped. Bring pet food inside. After pests have been removed, make sure vents and chimneys are securely covered with mesh or a grille, so those spaces can still breathe.

3. There’s no one in the house and I can still hear running water. How can that be?

The problem: “You definitely don’t want to hear water running if nobody’s using anything,” says Richardson. The sound could indicate many things — a busted pipe in a wall, under the floor or even in the irrigation system.

The solution: If you hear running water when you shouldn’t, shut the main off and see if the noise goes away, says Richardson. If it does, you’ve got a leak somewhere — and a problem in need of fixing. Unless you’re really handy and ready to do surgery on your home, call in a plumber.

4. I hear a bubbling (or cracking) sound coming from the water heater. Is that normal?

The problem: A gas-fired hot-water heater works pretty much like boiling a pot of water: A fire is lit and the water inside is heated until it’s ready for use. “A lot of sediment builds up at the bottom of a hot water tank, and that sediment works like an insulator,” forcing the burner to work harder, Kuhn says. The strange noise you hear is the bubbling sediment — and a sign that the tank is probably experiencing fatigue and may be facing premature failure, he says.

The solution: Ideally, you should flush out your hot water tank every few months, using the drain valve near the bottom of the floor. “However, nobody does it,” says Kuhn, because it can be a pain to do. If your water heater is already making these noises, draining it might help. “It could (work) a little bit longer, [and] it could go a lot longer,” but the damage is probably done, says Kuhn.

5. My furnace is making a whistling (sucking) sound that it’s never made before. Is it going to need to be replaced?

The problem: “What that can connote is that your filter hasn’t been changed,” says Richardson. “And your furnace is trying to pull in air from around it.” That’s not good, he explains, because it means the furnace is working too hard. “What it will do is start sucking exhaust gasses from the furnace into the house.”

The solution: Install clean filters regularly — “anywhere from three months to monthly, depending on atmospheric conditions,” says Richardson.

 

read more…

 

http://www.zillow.com/blog/7-creepy-house-noises-163176/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ZillowBlog+%28Zillow+Blog%29

 

 

Home prices continue to level off | Cross River Real Estate

The pace of home price appreciation in San Diego County fell to a level near its historical average in September, as the housing market continued its return to normalcy after last year’s investor-led run-up in prices.

In September, the median price for a home sold in the county was $445,000, up 5.5 percent from a year earlier, DataQuick reported Monday. Since the real-estate tracker began collecting the data in 1988, San Diego County has averaged an annual home-price gain of 5.2 percent.

“It’s difficult to talk about normal in a boom-bust state, but this is in line with the long-term average and certainly more sustainable,” said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage.

In August, when annual appreciation was 8.1 percent, the median home price was $448,500.

The slowdown to 5.5 percent in September marked first time the annual pace of home-price appreciation has been near its historical average since July 2012. At that time, however, home values were recovering from the Great Recession, and annual appreciation was on its way to more than 24 percent year-over-year gains, which it reached in June 2013.

Those big home price gains came largely due to investors fixing and flipping distressed properties. Most of that activity is now in the past, with foreclosure resales making up 3.3 percent of the transactions in September. Now, market prices are being driven by traditional factors, such as incomes, supply and mortgage rates.

“Wages aren’t going up, gas, energy, insurance, everything else is going up faster than wages,” said Mark Goldman, a loan officer and real-estate lecturer at San Diego State University. “It’s going to squeeze the housing dollar.”

The number of transactions was nearly flat over the month, declining by 19 sales to 3,305. Activity in the county’s housing market is down 2.3 percent from September 2013, when 3,383 properties changed hands.

Jordan Levine, director of economic research at Beacon Economics, said that his organization is forecasting 4 percent to 6 percent annual appreciation. He noted that DataQuick reports a median price for all homes sold, meaning that even in the days of d

read more….

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/oct/13/

Inventory still short of what market needs; median sale of luxury units now at $5M | #CrossRIverRealtor

A one-bedroom at 33 Riverside Drive listed at $900,000 Nearly half of the Manhattan properties sold during the third quarter traded at or above their listed price, and at the highest level in six years, according to Douglas Elliman’s quarterly report released Wednesday. Despite a 27.6 percent uptick in inventory during the quarter, the report found that nearly half of sales closed for the asking price or more. “The implication is that… inventory is still falling short of what the market needs,” said Jonathan Miller, president of appraisal firm Miller Samuel and author of the report. Overall, the number of listings during the third quarter is still 18 percent lower than the 10-year average. But the condo market saw a 52.5 percent increase in listings, with resale inventory rising by about a quarter (to 1,578 listings from 1,258) and new development inventory doubling (to 1,409 listings from 701). But even with more product on the market, the number of sales during the third quarter dropped 13.3 percent year over year. Miller pointed out, however, that the number of sales has hovered around 3,300 for the past four quarters, which is 29 percent higher than the 10-year average. “There’s still unusually heavy volume,” he said, citing continued momentum in the market related to the release of pent-up demand in 2013.

 

read more….

 

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/10/01/half-of-apartment-sellers-in-3rd-quarter-got-their-price-or-higher/#sthash.MIpPSVow.dpuf