It’s not just homes — foreclosure activity also is changing the face of neighborhoods with once vibrant businesses.
The Miami Herald says the famed Shore Club on Miami Beach became the subject of a final foreclosure judgment this week.
The site was once a popular celebrity hangout, but today the 309-room hotel is facing an online sale.
The sale will hit on June 25.
Famous Miami Beach hotel becomes a foreclosure | HousingWire.
Whether you’re in search of something fun to do with the kids or you have a babysitter and are planning a night out, look no further because Patch editors have picked a variety of events taking place to help you make the most of your weekend. Click on the headline for more information of each event that’s listed alphabetically by town.
When: Through Sunday May 19
Where: St. Patrick’s School, Bedford
Cost: Admission and parking are free. Wrist bands and tickets may be purchased for rides.
Description: The St. Patrick’s Carnival is a spring time tradition in Bedford and has rides, games, food and a raffle for a Mercedes Benz.
Where: The parade starts on Babbitt Road and North Street in Bedford Hills and ends in the train station commuter lots.
When: Saturday, May 18 at 4 p.m.
Cost: Free
Description: The Bedford Hills Fire Department hosts its 110th anniversary parade and invites the community and neighboring towns to watch and celebrate.
When: Saturday, May 18 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Where: John Jay Homestead, Katonah
Cost: $125 and up.
Description: The Friends of John Jay Homestead will host an Opening Night Party to preview the Carriage Barn Education and Visitor Center. Proceeds from the event will go towards completing the Center’s interactive exhibits.
ELSEWHERE IN WESTCHESTER:
Where: 31 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains
When: Saturday, May 18, 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Cost: Free
Description: A day of fun for the whole family featuring children’s workshops, activities, prizes and food. For details, click here.
Where: MacEachron Waterfront Park – River Street, Hastings-on-Hudson
When: Saturday, May 18, noon to 7 p.m.
Cost: Free
Description: An environmentally friendly festival featuring live solar powered music, as well as exhibits on local solutions for environmental sustainability.
Where: EF Education First, 100 Marymount Avenue (Marian Hall), Tarrytown
When: Friday, May 17, 12 to 3 p.m.
Cost: Free
Description: Breaking down barriers, EF Culture Fair is a day when students from over 40 countries around the world show off their cultures to friends, local host families, school children and community members. Each country has its own room, which will be decorated with exhibits from the students’ home countries – some nationalities will also put on performances and others will prepare samples of their favorite food from home.
Somers: Annual Plant Sale and Veteran’s Memorial Re-Dedication
Where: Lasdon Park, Arboretum and Veterans Memorial
When: Saturday, May 18 at 9 a.m.
Description: A bronze eagle monument set amid a new granite courtyard will beckon visitors to the re-dedication of the Westchester County Veterans Museum at Lasdon Park in Somers. While at the park, visitors are invited to shop the annual Friends of Lasdon Plant Sale, which will also be held at the park that day, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. All proceeds from the plant sale and shop benefit programs at the arboretum.
Where: 99 Moseman Rd, Yorktown Heights
When: Sunday, May 19 at 10 a.m.
Cost: Free
Description: “Paws for the Cause” is taking place on the Grange Fair Grounds in Yorktown with vendors – both pet related and non pet related, animal rescue groups, dog demonstrations, children’s entertainment, food, contests and more. All proceeds will go to benefit pups in high kill shelters that would be euthanized if it were not for rescue groups pulling them and transporting them up to NY.
Where: Briarcliff Manor Recreation Building (48 Macy Rd).
When: Sunday, May 19 at 1 p.m. (and May 22 at 6 p.m.)
Cost: Tuition is $450
Description: The Summercliff Players, a youth theatre group not limited to Briarcliff Manor and Ossining residents, is gearing up for its summer production of Seussical. Rehearsals begin on June 24. Email summercliffplayers@gmail.com to set up an audition time.
There’s a lot $50,000 can buy — from a new car to a college education — but rarely does a new home top the list.
Before you rule out being a homeowner for less than six figures, check out these houses on the market for around $50,000. You might find a diamond in the rough.
612 S Brownsville St, Trenton, TN 38382
For sale: $57,000
If you can picture yourself sipping tea in this 1946 Cape Cod-style home, Trenton may be the place for you. Known for its annual Teapot Festival, the town has lots of character and affordable homes. For $57,500, you can get 5 bedrooms and 3 baths on more than half an acre.
205 Hewett St, Neillsville, WI 54456
For sale: $54,900
Less than 30 miles from Marshfield, this 3-bed, 2-bath home includes an updated main bath, hardwood floors, new carpeting and built-in storage. While it’s currently being rented, the 1960 construction is in good condition, priced well below the Neillsville median list price of $99,900.
515 Church St, Mullens, WV 25882
For sale: $50,000
Built in 1941, the previous owners of this home have maintained its architectural charm. Step inside and find beautiful hardwood floors, an original fireplace and an updated kitchen. The 3-bedroom, 2-bath home also backs up to the Guyandotte River, a tributary of the Ohio River.
1021 Poppy Seed Dr, Oak Grove, KY 42262
For sale: $57,000
This $57,000 home has curb appeal with flower beds and a recent coat of paint, indicating the interior is in good condition. Located in Oak Grove adjacent to the Fort Campbell Army base, the house has 5 bedrooms and 2 baths measuring 1,217 square feet.
CoreLogic said today that home prices are projected toincrease 3.9 percent on an annualized basis between the fourth quarter of 2012 and the same quarter in 2017. However, a new housing bubble is not likely as market dynamics shift for both supply and demand. Prices rose 7.3 percent in 2012.
The CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index report notes that the increase in 2012 was the strongest rate of appreciation in nearly seven years and projected that prices will continue to improve in 2013 and beyond in the more than 380 U.S. markets it tracks. The company’s current analysis says that, “Cities at epicenter of housing bubble/crash are clocking highest rate of appreciation, largely driven by investor demand.”
“Home prices were up in seven out of every 10 metro areas in 2012. By comparison, in 2011 prices appreciated in fewer than one-in-five markets,” said Dr. David Stiff, chief economist for CoreLogic Case-Shiller. “We expect strong buying activity this spring will lead to stabilization of home prices in most lagging markets, resulting in rising home prices in nearly every metro area by the end of 2013.”
Some of the cities that were hit the hardest by the housing crash and resulting foreclosure epidemic are alsorecovering the fastest. Phoenix saw a year over year price gain of 24 percent, Miami 14 percent, and Las Vegas 13 percent. Dr. Stiff observed that demand in Phoenix is being driven primarily by investors. As prices rise, the profitability of investment properties will erode, dragging down investor demand.
Some areas which have lagged in their recovery saw price declines slow. These included Long Island, (-4 percent), Virginia Beach, Virginia (-2 percent), and Philadelphia (-1 percent).
CoreLogic said that while the data point to continuing price appreciation, the overall national rate of home price increases is projected to decelerate in 2013 from 2012 levels. The CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indexes project a 2.5 percent home price increase in 2013, as the market dynamic shifts again in bubble/crash metro areas. While homes in these markets are still significantly undervalued, the strong investor demand for foreclosed properties, record levels of housing affordability and other demand factors that have driven recent double-digit price gains are unlikely to persist throughout the year.
Price appreciation is also expected to contribute to an increased supply of available homes as owners who have been locked into their current homes due to negative equity or were just unwilling to sell at existing prices begin to list their homes for sale. This will tend to curtail the portion of price increases that have been fed by unmet demand.
Dr. Stiff tamped down concerns of another housing bubble. “Even if double-digit price appreciation were to continue in the former bubble metro areas, there is no reason to believe that new home price bubbles are forming. That’s because single-family homes in these markets are still very affordable, even after last year’s large price gains. Consider Phoenix, where home prices rose 27 percent since the market hit bottom in 2011, making it the strongest residential real estate market in the U.S. Yet, home prices there are still 45 percent below their 2006 peak,” Stiff continued.
Stiff said some of the rebounding areas like Phoenix will likely see price volatility as all cash sales and investor demand retreat. “It is not clear if demand from first-time and trade-up buyers will immediately fill the void,” he said, “as mortgage lending standards are still very strict and many consumers remain risk-averse. If non-investor demand ramps up too slowly, then recent double-digit price appreciation could decelerate suddenly or even turn negative for a few months.”
The CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indexes, which include data covering thousands of ZIP codes, counties, metro areas and state markets, are owned and generated by CoreLogic with supplemental data from the Federal Housing Finance Administration.
Housing Bubble Unlikely, Home Price Appreciation Should Slow – CoreLogic.
| Rank | Lender | Market Share |
| 1. | Wells Fargo | 22% |
| 2. | Chase | 11% |
| 3. | Quicken | 5%
|
A monthly survey by mortgage finance firm Fannie Mae found 51% of those questioned in April believe prices will rise in the next 12 months, while only 35% are projecting a drop in prices. It is the first time in the three-year history of the survey that a majority said they expect prices to increase.
A year ago, 49% were expecting further price declines while only 32% said they though prices were on their way up.
The latest data from the housing market back up the this new level of confidence in the housing recovery. The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index rose 9.3% over the last 12 months, the biggest annual rise in home prices since the height of the housing bubble in 2006.
“Crossing the 50% threshold marks a significant milestone, as most Americans believe a housing recovery is truly occurring throughout the country,” said Doug Duncan, chief economist for Fannie Mae.
People who were sitting on the sidelines because of concerns that prices were still falling can be drawn back into the market once they believe prices are on their way up again.Home sales are up 10% from a year ago, helped not only by the climbing prices but alsorecord low mortgage rates and falling unemployment.
Social media networks were a novelty 5 years ago and today they are no longer debated around the dinner party table.
The conversation has moved on.
Facebook is now part of most people’s web lives, Twitter is where a lot of people are reading the breaking news and if you want to be entertained then just dial into YouTube.
Despite it’s minimal mindshare, media profile and awareness Google+ has woven its way into our consciousness and is now the second largest social network.
As if these social networks aren’t enough to distract us. We also now have Pinterest and Instagram to add to the online temptations.
The social web is the modern version of Alice in Wonderland, where we are following not one but many rabbits down innumerable rabbit holes.
According to a Global Web Index study it is:
These 2 key factors are keeping the social web bubbling along. So maybe the reason your grandparents aren’t turning up to that dinner party is that they have now discovered Facebook and Twitter!
So let’s look at some of the facts, figures and statistics for the major social networks.
Facebook continues to grow and work out how to make money from its ads and mobile users.
Here are the latest facts and figures from its earnings call for the first quarter of 2013
Twitter is the fastest growing social network in the world by active users according to a Global Web Index Study.
So how does that translate to hard numbers?
When you wanted to watch a video it used to be VCR, then it became a DVD player, then we moved onto cable networks and now it is YouTube.
These numbers from YouTube’s own blog put some perspective on it penetration into our culture and time.
Google+ is making an impact on the social media universe and is now the second largest social network.
What are some of the numbers on Google’s social network built to protect it from Facebook’s growth and data capture to ensure it remains relevant?
It is Google’s social layer that enhances it’s other online assets.
For most people, analytics is one of those subjects that other people pay attention to. There are a number of reasons why this is the case: there’s not enough time, it doesn’t seem important, or maybe it seems way too complicated. For years I was in the same boat, relying on a webmaster or someone from my marketing team to interpret all those bits of information into something that they thought I would find interesting or useful. Those were always wholly unsatisfying meetings, sitting with my marketing manager, asking questions like, “Why aren’t our visitors buying?” or, “We made some great content, why isn’t anyone reading it?” All I wanted was a straight answer. Looking back, I understand now that I wasted so much time relying on others to help me discover the answers locked inside all that information.