Tag Archives: South Salem NY Homes

Builders Continue Optimism | South Salem Real Estate

The November NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose four points to a level of 58 as builders continue to see promise in home selling. This marks the fifth consecutive month for the index to remain above the tipping point of 50 after a slow beginning to the year.

All three components rose with current sales rising five points to 62, expected sales rising two points to 66 and traffic rising four points to 45. These levels are close to but do not exceed the recent peaks of 63, 67 and 47 respectively in September.

The single-family recovery has been hesitant in 2014 with some modest movement forward held back by a slower than expected beginning. Single-family starts averaged 925,000 (on a seasonally-adjusted annual basis) in the first quarter, the same as calendar 2013. They made a modest improvement since then to an average of 1,024,000 in the third quarter.

NAHB expects the fourth quarter to bring continued improvement to that figure but the annual rate for 2014 is still likely to advance by less than 10 percent.

Builders are reflecting the optimism they receive from their customers as potential home buyers benefit from very low mortgage rates, affordable new home prices and price appreciation of their existing home. Pent up demand will push single-family production above 800,000 next year, particularly from current home owners who have experienced the normal life cycle changes that usually drive home buying but has been delayed.

Mortgage applications continue to slide, down 2.6% | South Salem Real Estate

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Mortgage applications dropped again this week, falling 2.6% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending October 31, 2014.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 3% compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index decreased 6% from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 3% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1% compared with the previous week and was 13% lower than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 63% of total applications from 65% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 7.4% of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 9.5% this week from 8.9% last week. The VA share of total applications remained unchanged at 10.7% this week and the USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.9% this week.

Should you rent or buy? | South Salem Real Estate

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Analysts may huff and they puff, but is the market blowing another housing bubble?

Earlier this month Trulia, the online real estate marketplace, released a report detailing its research into the wisdom of buying versus renting. Which option should you choose? As it turns out, buying makes more sense than renting in all 100 of the markets studied, but the devil is in the details.

Using a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with a 20 percent down payment as the baseline, Trulia found that on average buying is 38 percent cheaper than renting. However, the advantage dissipates rather dramatically as the size of the down payment and the number of years buyers plan to remain in the dwelling grow smaller. An interactive map compares different scenarios.

Does this mean you should start putting open houses on your calendar? Not necessarily. As this Reuters graphic shows, August prices for the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city index grew at a 5.6 percent year-over-year average. All 20 markets showed price increases, although the rate of increase slowed for the eighth straight month, which Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist, sees as evidence that we aren’t on the verge of a bubble. As price increases decelerate, speculation shrinks as well.

Taken together, the evidence suggests that buying is advantageous, but not so urgent that one needs to pounce now in order to avoid being left out in the cold.

Foreclosure inventory down 32.8% | South Salem Real Estate

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There were 45,000 completed foreclosures nationally, down from 58,000 in August 2013, a year-over-year decrease of 22.2%, according to the latest data from CoreLogic.

On a month-over-month basis, completed foreclosures were up slightly by 1.1% from the 44,000 reported in July 2014.

Before the housing crash, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month nationwide between 2000 and 2006.

“Clearly there has been a large improvement in the market the last few years, but five years into the economic expansion the foreclosure inventory remains at nearly three times the normal level,” said Sam Khater, deputy chief economist at CoreLogic. “Since homeownership rates peaked in the second quarter of 2004, there have been 7 million completed foreclosures, which account for 15% of all mortgages.”

Completed foreclosures are an indication of the total number of homes actually lost to foreclosure. Since the financial crisis began in September 2008, there have been approximately 5.2 million completed foreclosures across the country.

As of August 2014, approximately 629,000 homes nationally were in some stage of foreclosure, known as the foreclosure inventory, compared to 936,000 in August 2013, a year-over-year decrease of 32.8%. The foreclosure inventory as of August 2014 made up 1.6% of all homes with a mortgage, compared to 2.4% in August 2013. The foreclosure inventory was down 2.6% from July 2014, representing 34 months of consecutive year-over-year declines.

“The number of foreclosures completed during the last 12 months is at the lowest level since November of 2007,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “At current foreclosure rates, the shadow inventory could fall below 500,000 units by year-end which could provide a solid boost to the recovery in housing in 2015.”

Down to Earth Farmers Market | South Salem Real Estate

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Croton-on-Hudson Market Adds THREE Day Vendors on Sunday;
2nd Annual Piermont Apple Pie Contest on 9/28 at the Market;
Ossining: T-Shirt to Tote Workshop Creates Alternative to Plastic Bags + MORE
September 25th – October 1st, 2014
DowntoEarthMarkets.com

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What’s New, In Season, and On Sale This Week

Apple Cider Donuts
Migliorelli Farm

Eccles Cakes
Baked by popular demand
Robinson & Co Catering

Frozen Kofta, Rajma,
Roti Roll, Saag, & Samosa
Bombay Emerald Chutney Co.

Hake Fish – SALE!
Now $11.99/lb
American Pride Seafood

Lavender Tea Biscuits
Robinson & Co. Catering

Pear Cider
Migliorelli Farm

Pumpkin Galore: Butter,
Cookies, Pies, Tarts – Even Pumpkin Explosions!
Regular and gluten-free
Meredith’s Bread

Sweet Potato Pie
Meredith’s Bread

Wensleydale Apple Pie
As they say in Yorkshire…
“Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze.”
Robinson & Co. Catering

Winter Squash Varieties
Acorn, Butternut, Spaghetti, and Sweet Dumpling
Wright’s Farm

Click on a Market to see all vendor and event details…

Westchester County		Rockland County
Ossining Saturdays 8:30 am-1:00 pm	Larchmont Saturdays 8:30 am-1:00 pm	Piermont Sundays 9:30 am-3:00 pm
Croton-on-Hudson Sundays 9:00 am-2:00 pm	Rye Sundays 8:30 am-2:00 pm	Spring Valley Wednesdays 8:30 am-3:00 pm
Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow Saturdays 8:30 am-1:00 pm	New Rochelle Fridays 8:30 am-2:30 pm	*Headed to the city soon?* Visit a Down to Earth Farmers Market in NYC!

Announcements

Ossining: Music, Cornell Master Gardeners, Free Yoga & T-Shirt to Tote!

What a market we have planned for you this Saturday, September 27th:
Join us as the acoustic duo, Deuces Child, serenades the market from 10 am to noon. Then all are invited to join the free yoga class with Dragon Fly Yoga in Market Square from noon to 1 pm. All market day, Cornell Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer your garden queries. Also, Green Ossining volunteers will demonstrate how to create reusable tote bags from t-shirts. Their fun and easy bags are a great way to join the effort to eliminate plastic shopping bags from the market. Let’s go green together.

Croton-on-Hudson

From 11 am to 1 pm this Sunday, Susan Chasen from the Organic Teaching Kitchen will host a cooking demonstration be at the Croton-on-Hudson market. She’ll create a fresh and easy seasonal recipe to taste and try at home. Stop by and learn about organic eating and pick up ideas for your own kitchen.

Piermont

It’s finally here: This Sunday, September 27th, is 2nd Annual Piermont Apple Pie Contest.
Starting at 11 am at Piermont’s Down to Earth Farmers Market, the judges – renowned Chef Peter X. Kelly, Mark Tasker, Head Pastry Chef of Balthazar, and esteemed Piermont community member, Sylvia Welch – will savor each entry to the determine the winners. The categories are Best Tasting, Best Looking, Most Creative, and Most Traditional. Then they will turn the judging over to the public to taste each entry and vote on Best Overall. Can’t wait to see you there!

For additional events, visit our Down to Earth Markets Event Calendar.

Stay tuned to all market happenings via our Down to Earth Markets Facebook page
and follow us on Instagram and on Twitter @DowntoEarthMkts.

Wave Hill Breads Recommends: Panzanella (Tuscan Bread Salad)
Made with Fresh Market Ingredients

Tomatoes, thank you for a lovely season!
Photo by Veronica L Photography

Margaret Sapir of Wave Hill Breads recently shared a recipe that underlines two longstanding truths about Down to Earth vendors: 1) They sure know good food and 2) Every week at the farmers market, they inspire one another. When great culinary minds unpack next to overflowing tables of fruits and vegetables, they get to thinking. For Margaret, the tomato bounty churned her creativity. She searched for recipes to bring together her award-winning breads with the local harvest. Here she suggests Panzanella a.k.a. Tuscan Bread Salad.

Local tomatoes are soon to recede into background, as cauliflower, winter squash, and other fall favorites begin to bear. We join in Margaret’s suggestion to savor the last of this year’s tomatoes, together with the amazing breads that Wave Hill Bread brings to market every week.

Note from Margaret: I’ve adapted this recipe from Divina Cucina.This Mediterranean salad is an example of the green, white, and red colors of the Italian flag. In the 1500’s, a poem by the famous artist Bronzino describes the salad. At that time, the tomato had not been introduced into Italy yet. The ingredients were limited to cucumber, onion, basil, arugula, and bread. The Italian bread is salt-free, so they add salt to the salad recipe. According to the recipe, it is important to use bread without preservatives and let it go stale. You can cut the Wave Hill Bread thickly and let it dry. The traditional recipe aims for a crumbed bread texture.

Panzanella (Tuscan Bread Salad)

Ingredients

• 1 pound stale bread (Wave Hill Breads’ Batard)
• 3 tomatoes, cut into eighths • 2 red onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
• Basil, olive oil, vinegar, and salt (if desired)

Directions

Soak the stale bread in cold water for 10 minutes. Squeeze out the water and crumble the bread into a serving bowl. Add tomatoes, cucumber, onions, and basil. Season with olive oil and salt, if desired. Mix well and let sit. Before serving, add vinegar and mix again. Serve with olive oil, vinegar, and salt on the side. Have fun adding ingredients if you desire.

Rotating* Vendors This Week
*Vendors who rotate through various markets during the season.
They enjoy getting to know many communities, and here’s where to find them this week:

Larchmont – Saturday, Sept. 27th

Flourish Baking Company
The Peanut Principle
Pie Lady & Son
The RAD Soap Company
Robinson & Co. Catering (Locally sourced, British-inspired prepared foods)
Trotta Foods

Ossining – Saturday, Sept. 27th

Hudson River Apiaries

Croton-on-Hudson – Sunday, Sept. 28th

Bombay Emerald Chutney Co.
**NEW TO MARKET!** – Taiim Falafel Shack
Tuthilltown Spirits Farm Distillery

Piermont – Sunday, Sept. 28th

e-Desserts
Kontoulis Family Olive Oil
Penny Lick Ice Cream Company

Rye – Sunday, Sept. 28th

Christiane’s Backstube (German-inspired baked specialties)
The Peanut Principle

Down to Earth Markets 173 Main Street Ossining, NY 10562 Phone: 914-923-4837
DowntoEarthMarkets.com

Why the Housing Market Hasn’t Recovered From the Financial Crisis | #SouthSalem Real Estate

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This month marks the sixth anniversary of one of the most dramatic episodes in the history of the U.S. economy.

Over the course of three weeks in Sept. 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were nationalized, Lehman Brothers filed bankruptcy, Bank of America agreed to acquire Merrill Lynch, the Federal Reserve bailed out AIG with an $85 billion loan, and the FDIC seized savings-and-loan giant Washington Mutual.

Had the financial crisis been a typical recession, it would have been long forgotten by now. But it wasn’t. And, as a result, we’re still living with the consequences.

Nowhere is this more apparent than the housing market. Even though soaring home prices have led some to proclaim a new bubble, the evidence is clear that the markets for both new and existing homes remain a fraction of their former selves.

The lack of demand for new homes
The natural place to start a discussion about the state of housing is the market for new homes. There are two reasons for this. First, new home construction is intimately intertwined with the demographics of the United States, fueled in large part by population growth and household formation. And second, the homebuilding industry is a critical component of the domestic economy.

Since 1950, residential investment as a share of gross domestic product has averaged 4.7%. Last year it was only 3.1%. That equates to an annual shortfall of $288 billion. If you add this back in, it’s projected that economic growth would jump to 4%, or nearly double that of the last few years, and that upwards of 1.5 million jobs would be created.

The main problem is that fewer homes are being built than at any time since 1960. When you factor in population growth and the need to demolish 300,000 dilapidated homes each year, it’s estimated that an average of 1.5 million homes must be built on an annual basis to keep up with long-term demand. Yet, in the six years since the financial crisis, we’ve averaged 727,000.

The drop originally appeared to be the result of past oversupply. From 2002 to 2006, homebuilders turned out almost 1.9 million units a year. This generated a cumulative surplus of almost 2 million new homes. If you do the math, however, this theory only accounts for the drop in construction through the middle of 2010. Since then, a cumulative deficit has emerged to the tune of 2.6 million units.

One explanation is that homeownership has lost its appeal. At the end of 2004, 69% of American households owned their home. The same figure today is 64.7%. Another answer is that fewer households are being formed each year due to the downbeat economy. Prior to the crisis, 1.35 million new households were created on an annual basis. Since then, the figure has fallen to 569,000.

Home prices rise 6.5 percent in July, CoreLogic reports | South Salem Real Estate

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The U.S. is on Month 29 of rising home prices. Meanwhile, the Texas housing market has outpaced itself once again, and San Antonio on a steady rise.

These are three takeaways from the latest Home Price Index (HPI) report by Irvine, Calif.-based CoreLogic.

Over the 12 months ended July 31, home prices in the San Antonio/New Braunfels metro increased 6.5 percent.

The San Antonio metro is one of 98 of the top 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) tracked by CoreLogic that posted year-over-year increases in their HPI.

The only exceptions in July were the metros of Worcester, Mass.-Conn.; and Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Ark.

Nationwide, the HPI increased 7.4 percent between July 2013 and July 2014, CoreLogic reports. The July numbers

As for Texas, the Lone Star State once again outperformed itself — reaching a new HPI high of 8.7 percent.

Texas was one of 11 states (including the District of Columbia) that reached new highs for their HPIs.

30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Hits Year’s Low | South Salem Real Estate

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Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS^®), showing average fixed mortgage rates following bond yields lower. Averaging 4.10 percent for the week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell below its previous 2014 low of 4.12 percent.

News Facts

30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.10 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending August 21, 2014, down from last week when it averaged 4.12 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.58 percent.
15-year FRM this week averaged 3.23 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.24 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.60 percent.
5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.95 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.97 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.21 percent.
1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.38 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.36 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.67 percent.

Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following links for the Regional and National Mortgage Rate Details and Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

Quotes
Attributed to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac.

“Mortgage rates were down slightly this week, following the decline in 10-year Treasury yields. Meanwhile, housing starts in July jumped 15.7 percent to 1.093 million units after falling 4.0 percent a month earlier. Also, July’s consumer prices increased at a 0.1 percent seasonally adjusted pace, the slowest in five months.”

Mortgage rates tick up slightly | South Salem Real Estate

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Borrowers seeking a mortgage through Zillow’s Mortgage Marketplace saw a slight increase in the interest rates they were quoted from last week to this week.

Current rate borrowers were quoted a fixed 30-year rate of 4.08% this week, up from 4.03% last week.

“Mortgage rates were subdued last week as ongoing geopolitical concerns and economic softness in Europe encouraged investors to buy U.S. mortgage-backed securities as a safe haven,” said Erin Lantz, vice president of mortgages at Zillow. “This week, we expect international headlines, rather than U.S. economic data, to drive any meaningful changes to mortgage rates.”

In Zillow’s weekly look at interest rates, the 30-year rate peaked at 4.17% last Thursday before trending back down to its current level. During the remaining period, the interest rate was mostly between 4.1% and 4.15%.

Additionally, the 15-year fixed mortgage rate as of Tuesday was 3.12%, and for 5/1 adjustable rate mortgages, the rate was 2.77%.

Zillow also posted a prediction for Wednesday’s announcement of the mortgage application data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. “Zillow predicts tomorrow’s seasonally adjusted MBA application index will show purchase loan activity to decrease by 2% from the week prior,” the company posted on its blog.

Barbados Real Estate Market Improving | South Salem Real Estate

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After six years of sluggish activity, the Barbados luxury homes market is picking up according to the latest report from Knight Frank.

Christian de Meillac, Knight Frank’s Head of Caribbean sales said that he has seen a marked increase in buyer inquiries and this is backed up by the number of online property viewings being generated via Knight Frank’s Global Property Search Website which have increased 56.7% in the year to June 2014.

‘The sun seems to be rising again on the Barbados property market as the traditional selling season is extending into summer. Buyers are back and we are seeing regeneration in the market with more and more sales along the premium west coast from Bridgetown to Speightstown,’ he explained.

‘With the positive signs coming from the UK economy, price discounts and a new impetus amongst buyers, we have seen a marked increase in sales and interestingly, this is continuing into the summer months when things traditionally quiet down,’ he added.

In terms of the nationalities buying, UK buyers still lead the market accounting for around 70% of all prime sales, followed by Canadians but the presence of European buyers is also on the increase.

‘Demand varies according to price. The most popular spot seems to be those properties located along the west coast and priced between US$1 million and US$3 million. Beachfront apartments and standalone villas are generating the most interest with a sea view and privacy the two key prerequisites,’ de Meillac pointed out.

‘However, this has also been a year of record deals at the top end of the market, with two deals circa US$20 million and one deal rumored to be in excess of US$40 million, a sign that things are looking up,’ he explained.

An analysis of applicant numbers now with a year ago shows that not only are more applicants registering their interest in a Barbados home but a greater proportion of them are buying.

Buying Bedford Real Estate

Robert Paul Realtor buying Bedford real estate

Tag Archives: South Salem NY Homes

Builders Continue Optimism | South Salem Real Estate

Mortgage applications continue to slide, down 2.6% | South Salem Real Estate

Should you rent or buy? | South Salem Real Estate

Foreclosure inventory down 32.8% | South Salem Real Estate

Down to Earth Farmers Market | South Salem Real Estate

Why the Housing Market Hasn’t Recovered From the Financial Crisis | #SouthSalem Real Estate

Home prices rise 6.5 percent in July, CoreLogic reports | South Salem Real Estate

30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Hits Year’s Low | South Salem Real Estate

Mortgage rates tick up slightly | South Salem Real Estate

Barbados Real Estate Market Improving | South Salem Real Estate