Tag Archives: Pound Ridge Real Estate

Pound Ridge Real Estate

China’s housing bubble is collapsing, and here’s what it looks like | Pound Ridge Homes

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So what?

Well, for China, there’s a lot to worry about. China’s middle-class consumers have huge chunks of their personal wealth wrapped up in the housing market. So, a disastrous bust would severely impact consumer confidence and undermine China’s effort to rebalance its economy toward domestic demand.

 

A housing bust would also have deleterious effects on the Chinese financial system, raising the risk of either a Lehman-like crisis or a Japan-style zombification of the economy (perhaps both). Either would be a big blow to Chinese growth, which already seems to be slowing fast. The OECD just cut its growth forecast for China, citing concerns about the financial system, and president Xi Jinping told his compatriots a couple of days ago to get ready for a “new normal” of slower growth. And as these charts suggest, those concerns are quite well placed.

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http://qz.com/208532/chinas-housing-bubble-is-collapsing-and-heres-what-it-looks-like/#208532/chinas-housing-bubble-is-collapsing-and-heres-what-it-looks-like/

Spring clean your way to being fit | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Skip the gym and bust out the broom: These household activities torch up to 200 calories in just 30 minutes—nearly double the amount you’d burn pumping iron in the gym. Keep the routine up on a weekly basis and you’re bound to banish both extra clutter and inches. Read on to find out which projects will put a dent in your to-do list and prep your body for spring’s skin-baring clothing.

 

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http://healthyliving.msn.com/fitness/spring-clean-your-way-to-fit

Man Achieves Perfect Credit Score, Issues Press Release | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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It must be like bowling a perfect game, pitching a no-hitter or scoring a hole-in-one. You want to tell everyone, take pictures and put your name in lights. Achieving a perfect FICO credit score of 850 was such a big deal to one man, he issued a press release.

SubscriberWise announced today that company founder David Howe has obtained a perfect credit score of 850. The FICO score, the most commonly accepted credit measurement among U.S. lenders, ranges from a low of 300 to a high of 850 – the higher the better.

 

 

http://www.mainstreet.com/article/moneyinvesting/credit/debt/man-achieves-perfect-credit-score-issues-press-release?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

Plaza Hotel owner surrenders to Indian police | Pound Ridge Homes

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From left: Subrata Roy and 1 Central Park South

From left: Subrata Roy and 1 Central Park South

Subrata Roy, owner of the Plaza Hotel, turned himself into police Friday following his no-show at a contempt hearing in Indian Supreme Court.

The subject of an investigation into whether Roy failed to repay investors $3.9 billion following an illegal bond scheme, Roy previously said that he wouldn’t be able to appear for his court date because he had to care for his ailing 92-year-old mother. Nevertheless, the court ordered him to show, and police were dispatched to track him down when he did not.

Owner of $11 billion company Sahara, which owns the Plaza, Roy was barred from selling any of the firm’s assets or leaving India in November as the nation’s highest court investigated the conglomerate’s alleged violation of securities laws. Earlier reports indicated that Sahara was looking to sell its Plaza and Dream Downtown hotels, as well as the Grosvenor House in London. The group received a $1.6 billion offer for the trio of hotels from an unidentified Middle Eastern investor, according to previous reports.

 

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/02/28/plaza-hotel-owner-surrenders-to-indian-police/

Obtaining a mortgage increasingly seen as ‘easy,’ survey says | Pound Ridge Homes

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Even though new federal rules for mortgages kicked in this year, and lenders’ standards remain high, Americans are increasingly likely to think it’s “easy” to get a home loan, according to a report released Monday.

Last month 52% of respondents to a survey from federally controlled mortgage buyer Fannie Mae

/quotes/zigman/226360/delayed/quotes/nls/fnmaFNMA said they thought it would be “easy” to get a home mortgage today. That share was a record-high for the series, which goes back to mid-2010. Fannie’s survey polls 1,000 American adults each month.

January’s result should be good news for housing-market observers who have been concerned about the impact of new mortgage rules, along with rising rates, on demand. It seems that at least some would-be borrowers aren’t letting an evolving mortgage marketplace get them too down. Indeed, 70% of Fannie’s respondents said in January that they would buy a home if they were to move, matching a series high hit in October.

While Fannie’s results may be a bit surprising, recent data from the Federal Reserve signaled that some large banks are easing standards for prime home mortgages. Given the beating that lenders took from plunging refinancing applications last year, it makes sense that they are looking elsewhere to feed their hunger for mortgage revenue

 

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/capitolreport/2014/02/10/obtaining-a-mortgage-increasingly-seen-as-easy-survey-says/

 

Fear that rising home prices will fuel market instability | Pound RidgeNY Real Estate

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Even though home prices in the valley have risen 55 percent and distressed sales have fallen to 15 percent from a high of 60 percent, many people worry about this housing market — not just in the desert but also throughout the country. Some believe prices might be forming another housing bubble. Others worry that early foreclosure investors will begin selling their investments, raising inventories and depressing prices. In our opinion, only one of these issues has merit — and just slightly.

Fear of Bubbles

I’ve studied market bubbles for more than 40 years. In fact, I wrote a book in 2000 on the stock market dot-com bubble, and the current housing market shows no signs of impending trouble. One important sign there is “no bubble” is the constant talk and worry about one. While this may seem strange, it’s rooted in history.

Bubbles occur after many years of constantly rising prices. Buyers become convinced the market carries little risk, since prices never seem to decline. Any warnings that prices have advanced beyond what the economy or wages can support are thought “out of touch” and generally ignored. That prices continue to move higher is proof these warnings are wrong. Alan Greenspan called this condition “irrational exuberance,” and it doesn’t exist today.

“Normal” Affordability

What we have now is simply a rapidly recovering housing market driven upward by a special Federal Reserve program that keeps mortgage rates low. When we measure home prices against affordability — the percentage of homeowners who can afford the current median-priced home — we find no bubble; prices are generally in line with historic norms.

Foreclosure Investors

We do think there is validity to the worry that investors might begin selling, but we believe it is somewhat overblown.

During the dark days of valley housing — from 2010 through 2011 — we had an inverted market that couldn’t right itself. The normal mechanisms to rebalance weren’t there. Too many buyers throughout California were underwater, and those who could buy were restricted by extremely tight lending conditions. Then an army of cash investors came forth who bought up the huge inventory of distressed homes. Resented by some for their good timing, they did help turn things around and save the day.

 

 

http://www.palmspringslife.com/Palm-Springs-Life/February-2014/Market-Watch-Bubble-Free-Zone/

The Inn at Pound Ridge by Jean-Georges: First Look | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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The first answer is yes. You should go to the Inn at Pound Ridge by Jean-Georges. That is, if you can get in. A reservation at the restaurant, owned by celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, is the hottest ticket in Westchester since Blue Hill at Stone Barns opened in 2004.

lj012214inn24 The downstairs dining room, which was not open the evening I went, but all lit with beautiful candles anyway.

The second answer: very good. The food is beautifully presented, and the flavors shine with signature Jean-Georges magic: a little heat, a little sweet, a little acidity, a little umami. The chef is Blake Farrar, who formerly cooked in Jean-Georges’ restaurant The Mark in Manhattan.

lj012214inn25 Booths downstairs.

The third answer: gorgeous. The renovations of the building, a former inn and restaurant dating from 1833, will leave you slack-jawed. A big white-brick fireplace is the centerpiece of the dining room. The decor is mid-century-modern (elegant wood tables and chairs), vintage (mismatched silver and linens) and farmhouse chic (reclaimed barn wood, exposed beams), all rolled into one.

lj012214inn26 A fireplace downstairs.

The fourth answer: it won’t break the bank — unless you want it to. Entrees range from $25 to $38. If you’re there for a celebration, you can spend $300 on a bottle of wine. If you’re there on a Tuesday, you can get an appetizer and a pizza and be out of there for under $50.

lj012214inn31 The busy dining room upstairs.

Food writer Megan McCaffrey and I had a reservation for opening night, but because of the snowstorm, we decided to change it to Wednesday. It meant we missed Martha Stewart and Richard Gere, but lucked in to a sighting of Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.

It also means the restaurant had one more day to work out kinks. Besides a little technical difficulty with the check at the bar and the extra salt on our fries, we didn’t notice many.

Because we changed our reservation at the last minute, we could only get in at 5 p.m. (I think I was the first customer at the restaurant!) We ordered drinks at the bar while the staff scurried around, getting the dining room ready for the evening.

lj012214inn01 My Manhattan.

The bar is small — about 10 seats — and there are 10 or so tables in the lounge alongside it.

lj012214inn02 Tables in the lounge.

The lounge and dining room are separated by a banquette (for both). The dining room has a soaring ceiling, but feels cozy nonetheless.

lj012214inn10

This is not a review, just our first impressions of a restaurant on its second night open to the public. But here’s a look at the food. It was all terrific, though a couple of dishes were heavy handed on the salt.

Our first dish was the Peekytoe Crab Crostini with Garlic Aioli ($14). It came on a rye toast, considerately cut into four pieces, which made it easy to share. Sweet and buttery, and just as good as when I had it at ABC Kitchen.

 

 

http://food.lohudblogs.com/2014/01/27/inn-pound-ridge-jean-georges-first-look/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Dallas-area housing market soared last year; 2014 looks promising, too | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Last year’s bull housing market will be hard to top in 2014.

Dallas-area home sales rose almost 20 percent from the previous year, and prices jumped more than 10 percent — more than double the average annual increase North Texas usually sees.

With the local economy booming and consumers ready to buy real estate again, the only limitation this year will be availability and pricing.

“I don’t think 2014 will be as crazy as last year,” said D’Ann Petersen, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. “Home sales would be doing better if we had more inventory on the market.

“We have seen good increases in prices, but I don’t know if that is going to continue at the rate we saw last year,” she said.

In 2013, median home sales prices were up by double-digit percentages in more than two dozen Dallas-area residential districts The Dallas Morning News tracks.

The biggest sales price increases were in neighborhoods in Oak Lawn, Oak Cliff, Mesquite, Irving and North Dallas, according to data from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

The number of homes sold rose by more than 20 percent from 2012 levels in 13 area residential districts, including Sunnyvale, Hurst, Rockwall, Sachse-Rowlett and Far North Dallas.

Covering the area

Jim Fite, president of Dallas’ Century 21 Judge Fite Realtors, said that housing activity is good in neighborhoods across the Dallas area.

“We are looking forward to a 6 percent to 8 percent increase in sales in 2014,” Fite said.

The inventory of homes listed for sale with real estate agents last year fell to less than a two-month supply in several residential areas, including The Colony, Richardson, Grapevine, Coppell, Allen and Plano.

 

 

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/area-home-sales/20140123-dallas-area-housing-market-soared-last-year-2014-looks-promising-too.ece