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How New Home Buyers Financed Their Homes in 2015 | Katonah Real Estate

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NAHB analysis of the Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC) data shows that non-conventional forms of financing new single-family home purchases remained elevated in 2015, accounting for more than a third of the market.

Looking at new single-family homes started in 2015, the South Atlantic division was most dependent on non-conventional financing, with its share exceeding 40% of the market. The West South Central and New England divisions registered similarly high shares but relied on very different types of non-conventional financing. In New England, a third of all homes started in 2015 were cash purchases, while loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) accounted for less than 3% of the market. In contrast, a home buyer in the South Atlantic and West South Central division relied more heavily on FHA- and VA-backed loans that together accounted for more than 26% and 21% of the market, respectively.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the East South Central division where only 16% of new homes started in 2015 were financed using non-conventional methods. This share is less than half of the US average of 34.5%, making it the lowest share of non-conventional financing in the nation.

The Pacific and Mountain divisions registered shares of non-conventional financing methods close to the US average, 34% and 36%, respectively. In the middle Atlantic division, one in four single-family homes started in 2015 was financed by non-conventional means. While in the West North Central and East North Central divisions, only one in five new home buyers relied on non-conventional financing.
SOC_financing15
For homes started in 2015, the share of mortgages insured by the FHA bumped up, especially in the Pacific and South Atlantic divisions where FHA loans accounted for 19% and 18%, respectively. This came as good news if you were a first home buyer in Perth. This was largely due to a reduction in FHA mortgage insurance premiums implemented at the start of 2015. As a result, FHA-backed loans regained their status as the most prevalent form of non-conventional financing of new home purchases – the status they temporarily lost to cash purchases a year earlier following the implemented decline in the 2014 FHA loan limits.

The share of VA-backed loans remained relatively stable in 2015, accounting for just over 6% of the market. However, their share was almost twice as high, approaching 12%, in the Mountain division, the only region in the nation where the share of VA-backed loans exceeded that of cash purchases and other types of financing combined.

The share of cash purchases declined in 2015, most dramatically in the Mountain division, where cash purchases lost half of its market share. Overall, cash purchases accounted for 10 percent of the market. New England registered the nation’s highest share, with one in three new homes started in 2015 purchased with cash. The Middle Atlantic and East North Central divisions registered the second and third highest shares – 15% and 14%, respectively. At the other end of the spectrum is the East South Central division where less than 7% of single-family starts were financed with cash.

The high prevalence of cash financing in the New England, East North Central and Middle Atlantic divisions can be partially explained by the popularity of custom homebuilding in these divisions, with all three claiming the top three custom home market shares in 2015. Custom homes are more likely to be financed with cash, especially if built by the owner acting as the general contractor. In 2015, more than 36% of custom homes built by the owner were financed with cash, while less than 7 percent of spec homes were purchased with cash.
Financing
Other types of non-conventional financing methods – such as the Rural Housing Service, Habitat for Humanity, loans from individuals, state or local government mortgage-backed bonds and other – are particularly popular in the West South Central division (7.6%) and South Atlantic division (5.7%), both exceeding the national average of 4.5%.

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http://eyeonhousing.org/2016/08/how-new-home-buyers-financed-their-homes-in-2015/

Related post: We buy any home in the Jacksonville FL area.

Inside a Vintage Store Owner’s Treasure-Strewn NYC Home | Katonah NY Real Estate

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DrielyS-1857.jpgPhoto by Dreily S./Racked NY

Considering the fact that Ariana Boussard-Reifel owns the lovely Mode Marteau—a vintage store known for its high-end luxury brands and eclectic artisan goods—it should come as no surprise that her Victorian-era brownstone in NYC is a veritable treasure trove of artistic collages, turn-of-the-century furnishings, and jewelry used as home decor. Boussard-Reifel renovated the entire pad herself, outfitting the space in antiques, flea market finds, and even barstools found on the street. An ornate spiral staircase leads to the two-bedroom’s second floor, which offers “secret chambers in the walls” and an airy outdoor area further decorated in colorful, exotic pieces. “I like to keep all my internationally collected objects around me to keep my mind wandering,” says the artist, entrepreneur, and avid collector to Racked NY. “Sometimes I feel like my apartment looks more like The Explorer’s Club than a home.”

 

 

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http://curbed.com/archives/2014/06/09/inside-a-vintage-store-owners-treasurestrewn-nyc-brownstone.php

Marrying Past and Present in Los Angeles | Katonah Real Estate

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When it comes to designing and building a house to sell on spec, the kitchen is important. Potential buyers need to be able to imagine themselves cooking, gathering and enjoying meals in the heart of the home.

While some developers might go for a blank-slate, all-white look, Sheryl Schey, a principal at White Picket Fence in Santa Monica, California, took chances, blending reclaimed boards, classic Shaker cabinetry, modern metallic tiles and a big dollop of deep blue in a recent Pacific Palisades project. The unique and harmonious mix of traditional and modern elements has an appeal that’s hard to resist, no matter what your favorite style is.

Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: This speculative project was recently purchased by a young family with 2 children.
Location: Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles
Size: About 360 square feet (34 square meters)

transitional kitchen by White Picket Fence, Inc
White Picket Fence, Inc
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When designing a kitchen that will make potential buyers feel right at home, Schey is inspired by the way she cooks at home. “My approach to kitchen design is based upon my own experience as a home cook, and how I am most comfortable working in my surroundings,” she says. In this kitchen she went for a transitional style, boldly combining the best of traditional and modern touches.

Styles aren’t the only things she mixes liberally, either. “I like mixing up materials and using dark and light colors against each other,” she says. While a wedding-day theme was not part of the inspiration, I noticed she happened to balance something old and something new, something borrowed and something blue.

Something old: Schey used reclaimed boards as accents throughout the house. “The entire kitchen inspiration came from finding the right reclaimed wood boards used in the ceiling,” Schey says. Eight-inch-wide white oak floors add a classic touch; wide floorboards are often found in older homes.

Tip: Use the ceiling to define a space in an open floor plan. The reclaimed vintage boards define the kitchen’s main work area overhead, from the island to the countertops.

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http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/26014390?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u502&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery1

Sandy Weill Asks $14M For One of His Two Conn. Manses | Katonah Real Estate

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Location: Greenwich, Conn. Price: $14,000,000 The Skinny: Former Citigroup CEO and Extremely Rich Person Sandy Weill has listed one of his Greenwich, Conn., homes for $14M, reports the WSJ, which also notes that he’s keeping his other homes in Sonoma County, the Adironacks, New York City (a unit a few floors down from the 15 Central Park West penthouse he sold in Dec. 2011 for a record-setting $88M), the Bahamas, and his second Connecticut manse (which is right next door to this one). So don’t worry about Sandy Weill going homeless! Somehow he’ll muddle through with just the five remaining homes. The story behind the home is instructive: Weill gave the land to his son, who built a house, and then sold the house back to his dad for $11M, who then briefly listed it for $13M back in 2009. Turns out though, that someone had broken the economy, and suddenly “it was a very bad market,” so Weill pulled the listing…until now. The mansion, which was designed by Ira Grandberg, is described by the brokerabble as having “the noble character, elegance, and grandeur of England’s prestigious country estates,” which, translated, means that it’s “misshapen and top-heavy”. Inside the 16,000-square-foot manse there are six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a billiards room, and a cupola with views of Long Island Sound.

 

 

http://curbed.com/archives/2014/04/01/sandy-weill-lists-one-of-his-two-greenwich-mansion-for-14m.php

Katonah Hardware Reports $50,000 Stolen; Employee Suspected | Katonah NY Homes

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A Katonah hardware store reported to police that an employee stole about $50,000 in cash during a four-month period, Bedford police said.

The employee is unknown and police are investigating the matter.

Katonah Hardware, on Katonah Avenue, reported the thefts on Feb. 20. They told police the thefts happened between October 2013 and February 2014.

Because the investigation is ongoing, few details are available

 

http://bedford.dailyvoice.com/news/katonah-hardware-reports-50000-stolen-employee-suspected

Lawn Care Tips for Busy People | Katonah NY Homes

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A beautiful home is not only achieved through stylish interior design, but also through smart lawn care. Your lawn is the first thing that people notice about your home. Keeping a clean and healthy-looking lawn demands a lot of time and maintenance that may seem like a full-time job. In the fall you will want to have a 4 stroke leaf blower, to make it easier to get rid of all those leafs. To achieve a lush green lawn, you need to commit to mowing it on a weekly basis to prevent the grass from turning yellow and dry. Lawn mowing also keeps your grass from growing too high and thwarts pests (e.g. weeds and animals such snakes and other vermin) from invading your yard.

Professionals barely have enough time to maintain even just a healthy lawn. Although we can’t add time to our busy schedules, we certainly can make smart changes to common lawn maintenance practices through these tips:

  • Know when to feed your lawn and stick to the seasonal feeding schedule. Do not feed your lawn daily so the grass will stop growing faster according to King Green Lawn Care.
  • Don’t overuse your lawn mover. Allow a healthy growth of herbs in your lawn and use an effective lawn weed killer.
  • When mowing the lawn, try to cut them a little longer and allow herbs such as thyme to grow. This makes the lawn look greener, especially during dry spells.
  • Remove hard-to-mow areas or those areas that can’t be accessed by the mower. If you want to easily maintain your lawn, especially these tricky areas, consider using gravel to give your lawn more dimensions.
  • Get a high-powered mower that can do heavier tasks for you. Look for a machine that does most of the work in a single press of a button.
  • Leave some of the cuttings, but not all of them. These will provide enough nutrients in the soil and will help the grass to grow stronger and greener.

If you are a beginner, a gardener or an individual who does not have much time taking care of your lawn, at least prioritize these three maintenance tasks:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/lawn-care-tips-busy-people-204228333.html