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Senate passes bill to delay flood insurance premium hikes | Katonah NY Real Estate
In a 67-32 vote, the U.S. Senate has passed a bill to postpone steep increases in flood insurance rates across the country, the National Association of Realtors announced today.
The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act calls for a four-year delay on rate increases triggered either by a property’s sale or a flood map update for a property with previously grandfathered rates. The bill also creates an advocate within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to investigate homeowner complaints regarding rates.
The measure now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives where it currently has 181 co-sponsors in favor of the bill — 30 votes shy of a House majority, NAR said.
“NAR will redouble its efforts there to persuade the House leadership to bring a similar bill up for a floor vote at the earliest opportunity,” the trade group added.
Source: realtor.org
– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/senate-passes-bill-to-delay-flood-insurance-premium-hikes/?utm_source=20140131&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.3EjBkEO2.dpuf
Average US rate on 30-year loan at 4.32 pct. | Katonah NY Real Estate
Average U.S. rates for fixed mortgages slipped this week as new data showed a decline in home prices in November and a drop in new homes sales last month.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average for the 30-year loan fell to 4.32 percent from 4.39 percent last week. The average for the 15-year loan eased to 3.40 percent from 3.44 percent.
Mortgage rates have risen about a full percentage point since hitting record lows roughly a year ago. The increase was driven by speculation that the Federal Reserve would reduce its $85 billion a month in bond purchases. Deeming the economy to be gaining in strength, the Fed pushed ahead Wednesday with a plan to reduce the bond purchases, which have kept long-term interest rates low.
Data issued this week suggested a pause in the housing market’s recovery. Home prices fell slightly in November as colder weather slowed buying, ending nine straight months of price gains, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index released Tuesday showed.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/average-us-rate-30-loan-4-32-pct-154913251–finance.html
Water Main Break Shuts Edgemont Road In Katonah | Katonah Real Estate
A water main break in the downtown Katonah area Tuesday morning has caused Edgemont Road to be shut between Bedford Road and Katonah Avenue, Bedford Police said.
Police did not know how long the road would remain closed, saying it would be shut for “an extended period of time.”
The closure will affect passenger pick up at the Katonah Train Station. Passengers can be picked up in Commuter Lot 1 on Jay Street.
http://bedford.dailyvoice.com/news/water-main-break-shuts-edgemont-road-katonah-tuesday
Home prices show signs of topping out | Katonah NY Real Estate
Home prices are showing signs of topping out: The S&P/Case-Shiller index posted its first month-over-month decline in 10 months on Tuesday.
The annual measure of home prices still increased 13.7% in November, but that was only narrowly better than the rise posted in October.
The housing recovery was one of the stronger aspects of the economy last year, boosting household wealth and home construction.
But with mortgage rates climbing steadily since hitting record lows in May, it’s clear the housing recovery is starting to lose some steam.
“While housing will make further contributions to the economy in 2014, the pace of price gains is likely to slow during the year,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
But housing experts say that more modest price increases are probably a good thing for the housing market. The rapid increases of the last year are not sustainable, they said.
“Sellers used to seeing huge price gains month after month may feel some whiplash as that slows down,” said Stan Humphries, chief economist for sales tracker Zillow. But more modest price increases mean “the housing market is still a long way from normal, but it’s getting there.”
Existence of year-round Martha’s Vineyard rentals confirmed | Katonah Real Estate
Search HomeAway.com for vacation homes and cottages on Martha’s Vineyard and you’ll have to sift through more than 2,000 properties.
Ask a broker if he knows of a place where you can stay year-round, and you’ll probably hear what Martha’s Vineyard Patch.com editor Louisa Hufstader heard from her Realtor mom: Keep looking, and ask around.
Who wants to rent year-round on Martha’s Vineyard? Well, all the hard-working people who take care of the tourists but can’t afford to own, for one. Hufstader ultimately found an apartment through a Facebook group, but rounds up a bunch of other resources for year-round renters, ranging from regional housing authorities to local newspapers and, of course, Patch.com’s real estate section. Source: patch.com.
– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/existence-of-year-round-marthas-vineyard-rentals-confirmed/?utm_source=20140127&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.EnYYXrjb.dpuf
The price of these four Detroit homes is insane | Katonah NY Real Estate
Mortgage Foreclosures Down 29% in November | Katonah NY Real Estate
Homeowners (and investors in the banks holding their mortgages) received a triple dose of good news Thursday, when residential property data provider CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX ) announced that:
- The number of completed foreclosures in America dropped 29% year over year in November, as compared to November 2012.
- Completed foreclosures trended down sequentially from October, falling 8.3%.
- The inventory of houses in some stage of the foreclosure process, the so-called “foreclosure inventory,” dropped 34% from a year ago. Month-over-month, the foreclosure inventory dropped 4.6% from October 2013 to November 2013.
Additionally, CoreLogic estimates that the residential “shadow inventory” of homes that are “seriously delinquent, in foreclosure or held as REO [real estate owned] by mortgage servicers, but not currently listed on multiple listing services,” has fallen to levels not seen since the start of the housing crisis in 2008. CoreLogic puts the size of this shadow inventory at 1.7 million homes, down 26.4% from one year ago.
As for actual foreclosures, according to CoreLogic’s data, 46,000 homes were foreclosed upon in November, versus 64,000 completed foreclosures in November 2012.
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/09/mortgage-foreclosures-down-29-in-november.aspx
Russian oligarch’s record $75M co-op buy in peril | Katonah NY Real Estate
Roman Abramovich and 828 Fifth Avenue
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s move to buy a Fifth Avenue mansion owned by the estate of the late real estate mogul Howard Ronson for $75 million is in jeopardy, because Ronson’s widow believes she can squeeze even more cash out of the oligarch.
Abramovich, who is the owner of the Chelsea Football Club, agreed in October to buy the 828 Fifth Avenue home for $75 million, and were the deal for the 22-room property to close at that price, it would dwarf the $54 million David Geffen paid for 785 Fifth Avenue, which is currently the record sale price for a co-op in the city.
But sources close to Ronson’s widow Angelika Ivanc told the New York Post that Abramovich was willing to pay even more for the mansion before trustees for Ronson’s estate accepted the offer. Ivanc is now looking to challenge the executors’ approval of the co-op sale in court in the English Channel island of Guernsey, according to the newspaper.
http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/01/22/russian-oligarchs-record-75m-co-op-buy-in-peril/