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Joan Rivers squares off again with UES condo squatter | Mt Kisco Real Estate
From left: Joan Rivers and 1 East 62nd Street
Joan Rivers is heading back to court today to try to kick out a troublesome ex-tenant from the Upper East Side condominium where the comedian presides over the building’s board.
In court papers, Rivers maintains that Elizabeth Hazan created a fire hazard at 1 East 62nd Street by using candles to light her unit after refusing to pay her electric bill and illegally entered the building last month. Hazan is a renter; the owner is a Belize-based corporation.
“Accompanied by a gaggle of reporters, (she) attempted to storm the building … forcing police to close down the street … (and) preventing at least one unit owner from leaving the building,” board lawyer Kevin Smith said of Hazan in an affidavit seen by the New York Daily News.
The board has had other legal run-ins with Hazan, a 41-year-old French Canadian. Her attorney, Darius Marzec, told the newspaper that the board’s latest court filing was “a continued bout of harassment.”
Rivers won a favorable ruling against Hazan in October when a New York state judge barred anyone from entering the $2 million home until the owner forked over $200,000 in unpaid fees. [NYDN]
http://therealdeal.com/blog/2013/11/07/joan-rivers-back-to-court-over-ues-condo-squatter/
Home Prices Climb in 88% of U.S. Cities | Mt Kisco Real Estate
Prices for single-family homes climbed in 88 percent of U.S. cities in the third quarter as buyers competed for limited inventories that included fewer discounted foreclosures.
The median transaction price rose from a year earlier in 144 of 163 metropolitan areas measured, the National Association of Realtors said in a report today. A third of areas had double-digit increases.
Potential buyers view a home under construction in South Barrington, Illinois. Home prices are extending a recovery across the country, fueled by a tight supply of listings and a smaller share of distressed sales, which drag down values. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Home prices are extending a recovery across the country, fueled by a tight supply of listings and a smaller share of distressed sales, which drag down values. The U.S. housing market had five months of inventory in the third quarter, down from 5.9 months a year earlier, data from the Realtors group show. Completed foreclosures in September plunged 39 percent from a year earlier, according to CoreLogic Inc.
“Most regions of the country are experiencing strong home-price appreciation off a low base,” Neil Dutta, head of U.S. economics at Renaissance Macro Research LLC in New York, said yesterday in a telephone interview. “Cities with the biggest price appreciation are in places that had bigger busts.”
Price gains are at unsustainable levels, with cities such as San Francisco and San Jose, California, approaching records, Fitch Ratings said today in a report. Much of coastal California is more than 20 percent overvalued, the firm said.
Biggest Increases
The nationwide median price for an existing single-family home rose 12.5 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier to $207,300 the Realtors group said.
The best-performing areas were Sacramento, California, and Atlanta, where prices jumped 41.8 percent. They were followed by Las Vegas and Punta Gorda, Florida, which had a 31.9 percent gain. Other cities with large increases were Los Angeles, with 26.2 percent, and Phoenix, with 25 percent.
The areas with the biggest declines were all in Illinois, led by Peoria, where prices fell 13.9 percent from a year earlier. Following were Kankakee, with a 9.9 percent drop, and Rockford, with an 8.4 percent decrease.
Rising home prices and borrowing costs are causing some buyers to hold back. The average rate for 30-year fixed loans was 4.1 percent last week, up from a near-record low of 3.35 percent in early May, according to McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac.
Sales Slip
Contracts (USPHTMOM) to buy existing homes dropped the most in more than three years in September, the Realtors association reported last week.
“Rising prices and higher interest rates have taken a bite out of housing affordability,” Lawrence Yun, the group’s chief economist, said in today’s statement. “However, we have the ongoing situation of more buyers than sellers in the market, so lower sales will help to take the pressure off home-price growth and allow them to rise slowly at a single-digit growth rate in 2014.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-06/
Mt Kisco NY Weekly Real Estate Report | #RobReportBlog
| Mt Kisco NY Weekly Real Estate Report | 11/6/2013 | |
| Homes for sale | 47 | |
| Median Ask Price | $575,000.00 | |
| Low Price | $225,000.00 | |
| High Price | $3,950,000.00 | |
| Average Size | 2788 | |
| Average Price/foot | $322.00 | |
| Average DOM | 133 | |
| Average Ask Price | $972,195.00 | |
Homes near cemeteries: Do they sell? | Mount Kisco Homes
With Halloween quickly approaching, Redfin was dying to know: Do homes near cemeteries sell for more or less than homes farther away from cemeteries? Would a drop-dead-gorgeous home take longer to sell if the view includes tombstones? Would a home shopper have grave concerns about a home near a cemetery, or would the quiet neighbors be a selling point? We dug into the data to find out.
Redfin analyzed the price of homes less than 50 feet from a cemetery and compared those to the price of homes less than 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 yards away. The numbers indicate that on average, homes near cemeteries are slightly smaller, but they sell for more per square foot. On average, homes closest to cemeteries sold for $162 dollars per square foot, whereas the homes located more than 500 yards away sold for $145 per square foot.
“I have a current listing that backs up to a cemetery, and 10 to 15 people have toured the home. One potential buyer provided feedback that it was a deal breaker, but that is just one of many. In my opinion, cemeteries make very quiet neighbors,” said Blakely Minton, a Redfin real estate agent in Philadelphia.
“Like everything with homebuying, there are pros and cons to living near a cemetery. The pros are that most likely there would be no chance of future development on the site of a cemetery, there is usually well-maintained open space, it’s quiet and many cemeteries are picturesque. The cons would be that cemeteries give some people an uneasy feeling, as it represents mortality, and it might not be an area they want to ‘live’ next to everyday,” said Lynn Ikle, a Redfin real estate agent in Baltimore.
The analysis also reveals that homes adjacent to cemeteries take longer to sell on average. Those located less than 50 feet away took 48 days to sell, whereas those located more than 500 yards away took 39 days to sell. Based on the analysis, homes near cemeteries sell for more money, but it may take longer to find the right buyer.
“Having a home right next door to a cemetery may make it more difficult to sell. There will always be a group of people who might love all of the specifications of the house, but the ‘creepy’ factor may prevent them from even touring the home. Having fewer folks tour a home could lead to a home staying on the market longer,” said John Malandrino, a Redfin real estate agent in Chicago.
Not all cities are the same when it comes to the number of cemeteries located within city limits and the number of homes built around them. Redfin evaluated 90 metropolitan areas across the nation to find the five cities with the most homes for sale near cemeteries. The analysis looked at homes for sale as of Oct. 15 that were less than 100 yards from a cemetery. Some of the nation’s oldest cities topped the list:
1. Baltimore
Homes for sale near cemeteries: 172 Median list price of those homes: $101,950
“It doesn’t surprise me that Baltimore tops the list, because it was founded back in the early 1700s,” Ikle said. “Our neighborhoods here are very well-established, and cemeteries were part of the landscape during their development.”
2. Philadelphia
Homes for sale near cemeteries: 157 Median list price of those homes: $134,900
“Since Philadelphia was one of the first major settlements in the U.S., there are cemeteries scattered throughout the city,” Minton said. “I had one friend who moved into a home with a cemetery right behind it. One day, she came home with her hands full of groceries and nearly hit the floor with food flying when she heard a gun shot outside. It turns out that the cemetery was for veterans, and it was a military salute.
“The type and size of cemetery is something to consider when deciding on a home by a cemetery, but in my opinion, the reminder of how precious life can be is a positive, not a negative.”
3. Chicago
Homes for sale near cemeteries: 115 Median list price of those homes: $229,900
“With buildable land at a premium, especially in and around the downtown Chicago area, builders have built and will continue to build in close proximity to cemeteries,” Malandrino said.
4. Boston
Homes for sale near cemeteries: 50 Median list price of those homes: $711,809
“The main reason Boston has so many cemeteries is because it has so many churches. Nearly all of the older churches in the greater Boston area have large cemeteries attached to them. These churches are frequently located in residential neighborhoods, so people could walk to church events,” said Peter Phinney, a Redfin real estate agent in Boston. “Churches were not only the center of worship, as they continue to be, but also the center of cultural events and social gatherings. It was only natural for people to want to be buried in their neighborhood next to the church, so homebuyers in the Boston area have made their peace with having a cemetery nearby. In fact, many welcome having the green space.”
http://realestate.msn.com/blogs/listed-buy.aspx?post=5c37386d-9625-4935-974f-33ed9e917554
Want a Castle? There’s One Being Foreclosed in Virginia! | Mt Kisco Real Estate
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Yes, there’s a castle facing foreclosure in Northern Virginia. Try finding that sentence anywhere else this year. But hey, for those who have always wanted to live in royal digs and missed out on this Dupont option, Melrose Castle in Warrenton, VA is asking a mere $1.5 million. To be fair, here are some of the amenities included in the lofty price: eight fireplaces, an inground pool, 50 acres of land, a tennis court and a barn with two paddocks. Most five bedroom “single family homes” do not come with all of that. Plus, it’s a castle! Check out the gallery to see photos of such fairy tale-esque things like the spiral staircases leading to the roof. · 8871 Rogues Road , Warrenton, VA 20187 [Colgan Real Estate]
Real estate sales skyrocket; on cusp of a seller’s market | Mt Kisco Real Estate
It just keeps getting better.
The September real estate figures for the Greater Lehigh Valley show a robust 19.8 percent increase in home sales over September 2012, another strong month in what has been a brisk year of activity.
“This year has been absolutely the best year we have had probably in the last eight years,” said Bill Sands, broker with Sands & Company, Wyo-missing, Berks County. “It has been very robust.
“That robust activity and sales volume we experienced I feel is a direct attribute to the confidence that the market has reached bottom and has stabilized. The interest rates were still at an all-time low, so that has propagated a lot of people to feel safe to venture back into the market.”
The numbers from across the region show that 1,260 homes were sold in September, an increase of 208 homes when compared to last September. And going back two years, this year’s September numbers show a 23.4 percent jump over September 2011’s figures.
Sands sees positive signs for the market, in part because of a reduction in the number of foreclosures.
“In the past, foreclosures were very much as-is,” he said. “With the banks and investors taking back these properties, going in and doing the basic cleanup, they are getting a higher price point, which is helping to raise the bar on the value. It’s a very positive sign.”
Video Shows Alleged Newspaper Swap Incident In Mount Kisco | Mt Kisco Homes
A video released today appears to show a distributor of the Hudson Valley Reporter swapping copies of that newspaper with The Examiner in an alleged incident that occurred on Friday at the newspaper racks outside the Mount Kisco Coach Diner.
The video link was provided to The Daily Voice by Adam Stone, the publisher of The Examiner, and was compiled by Matt DiBiase, a private investigator hired by Stone from Mahopac-based Colonial Investigative Associates. (The alleged incident occurs at the beginning of the 31-minute, 45-second video, which later includes the arrival of a police officer to investigate at about the 20-minute mark.)
Jim Palmer, the Mount Kisco village manager, confirmed to The Daily Voice on Friday that Michael Espinoza was arrested at approximately 6 a.m. that day and charged with criminal tampering.
The arrest has attracted national attention. Gawker linked to The Daily Voice’s original story.
Hudson Valley Reporter publisher Faith Ann Butcher referred inquiries regarding the alleged incident to her Carmel-based attorney, Raymond Cote, when she was contacted by The Daily Voice on Friday. Cote said it was too early in the process to comment.
http://mtkisco.dailyvoice.com/news/video-shows-alleged-newspaper-swap-incident
How The Shutdown Is Hurting The Housing Market | Mount Kisco Real Estate
As with so many other types of economic activity, the government shutdown is causing more fear than actual harm in the housing market thus far.
But that doesn’t mean things won’t start going wrong in the very near future.
Various federal agencies play greater or lesser roles in real estate transactions. With most of them sidelined, simple matters such as closing on mortgages are becoming more complicated.
“It’s going to add up pretty quickly, because loans can’t be closed in many cases,” says Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, a financial research organization. “The damage is going to start to mount and in a few days it’s going to be a significant problem for the housing market.”
The market, which had grown more robust over the past couple of years, was starting to cool off this fall anyway, due to rising prices and interest rates.
If interest rates go up due to the fear or reality of a debt default — and the costs for short-term treasuries are already starting to spike — that would have major consequences for real estate sales.
“This government shutdown, which is an artificial obstacle to the recovery, is clearly not a good thing,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.
What’s Not Working
Anyone who has purchased or refinanced a house knows a lot of paperwork is involved. The tall stack of forms that buyers and sellers sign at closings is largely generated or required by federal agencies that may now be temporarily out of the game.
Still, real estate agents and mortgage lenders have thus far been able to work their way around many of the hurdles put up by the partial government shutdown.
http://www.npr.org/2013/10/08/230467533/how-the-shutdown-is-hurting-the-housing-market
Great Jones Building Emerges With $25K/Month Penthouse | Mt Kisco Real Estate
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The 1927 building at 37 Great Jones Street has just come out of a renovation, leaving the building with five luxury apartments that are now on the rental market. The information on the official website is sparse, but building reps sent along a few more details. Architect Joseph Pell Lombardi handled the renovation, which includes a sixth-floor addition. The model should open within the next couple of weeks, and the first residents will be able to move in come January.
Of course, the prices to move in are hefty. The penthouse, a 3,602-square-foot, 3BR duplex, will rent for $25,000/month, and the lower-floor units (2BRs at 2,165 square feet) have asks between $10,000/month and $12,000/month. Amenities include private storage and virtual doorman—though we’d expect a flesh-and-blood doorman at those prices—and apartment features include washer-dryers, 11-foot ceilings, wine coolers and steam showers, and keyed elevator access.
· Official site: 37 Great Jones [37greatjones.com] · Great Jones Street coverage [Curbed]