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14 Predictions for NYC’s Housing Market in 2014 | Waccabuc Real Estate
Low inventory, bidding wars and record-setting prices were recurring themes for New York’s residential real estate market in 2013.
In 2014, rising mortgage rates, a new mayor and administration and a surge in new construction could be the factors that spark major changes in real estate. DNAinfo asked the experts for their forecasts.
1. Rising mortgage rates will likely dampen price growth by mid 2014
Concern over rising mortgage rates pushed some prospective buyers to seal the deal in 2013. In Manhattan’s third quarter, for instance, the number of sales spiked 30 percent compared with the year before — the most transactions since the recession began — according to a report released by Douglas Elliman, the city’s largest residential brokerage.
But with rates expected to rise, resulting in higher monthly costs, buying may no longer be an option for some, which may make for a less frenzied market.
“2014 is going to be the year of ‘slow and steady,'” said Dottie Herman, president and CEO of Douglas Elliman, “With interest rates inching up, that should help level things off to a more sustainable level of housing price growth.”
Frances Katzen, one of Elliman’s top brokers, agreed: “I also believe 2014 will reflect an adjustment in purchase power due to mortgage rate hikes, and I do expect the mid-year to mellow down with respect to heated prices.”
2. Inventory will expand … just a bit
In terms of new construction, Manhattan will see more condos and Brooklyn will see more rentals, real estate expert Jonathan Miller said.
“I do see inventory edging higher, but not sharply,” Miller said. “That will keep prices making modest gains.”
He added: “I don’t see 2014 as a bad market, but I view it as a little disappointment relative to the euphoria in 2013.”
3. Manhattan will see a wave of ultra-luxury condos opening
A slew of new buildings are slated to open, according to Jeff Schleider, founder of Miron Properties. He noted that nearly every developer his firm represents has a few projects in progress that will hit the market in 2014.
Because land costs have soared in Manhattan, with some areas commanding more than $700 a foot, these projects are primarily luxury: priced at more than $2,500 a square foot and above in order to be profitable — which means they won’t ease the housing shortage, brokers said.
4. But the prices of these high-end projects may not be sustainable
“It will be interesting to see if the market demand for this product will be strong enough to absorb this volume of units,” Schleider said.
Many brokers aren’t convinced these prices can be sustained beyond the first wave of these buildings.
“The new construction is so over-luxurious,” Elliman’s Katzen said. “It comes down to the quality of what you’re looking for — a lot of them are like hotel rooms. [But] I think there are a few of us who appreciate more classical homes.”
Kirk Henckels, director of Stribling Private Brokerage’s division that focuses on luxury sales above $5 million, said, “Smart developers are reassessing. Some prices will go up and some will go down.”
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140102/east-harlem/14-predictions-for-nycs-housing-market-2014
Housing market could be facing another bubble: Shiller | Waccabuc NY Real Estate
Best Maps of 2013: Where Are the Homes Just Under $200K? | Waccabuc NY Homes
This Mod, Glass-Sided Beauty is an Exhibitionist’s Dream | Waccabuc NY Real Estate
Photo via Arch Daily
Plunked in Rio de Janeiro—a veritable breeding ground funky modern spreads—and built by Brazil-based architect Carla Juaçaba, this sleek little abode was built for the granddaughter of another famed Brazilian architect—eccentric-design-lovingSergio Bernardes. Indeed, this so-called House Varanda was inspired by a 1950-built home by Bernardes, emulating the original rippled roof. The rest of the home is swathed in glass, with two parallel transparent walls running the length of the home—all to let inhabitants’ “vision [go] beyond the house.”
Two bedrooms cap either side of the place, but perhaps the coolest aspect of the home is the sprawling middle living area. Upon sliding open the doors, the space turns into something of an indoor/outdoor terrace, which is apparently “the most important place of socializing,” in Brazilian culture. A skylight further opens up the home, while a steel structure—built in just 15 days and lifted about three feet off the ground to protect the house against flooding—serves as structure’s skeleton. The architect insists that “what brings intimacy to that glasshouse is the immersion in nature,” but still, in the case of wandering nature enthusiasts, this is probably the sort of house that should come with a bathrobe or two. Arch Daily has more photos, right this way.
http://curbed.com/archives/2013/12/23/this-mod-glasssided-beauty-is-an-exhibitionists-dream.php
Evander Holyfield’s Foreclosed, 109-Room Palace | Waccabuc NY Real Estate
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Selling a home for $7.5 million usually calls for champagne — but not if you’re Evander Holyfield and you owe nearly twice that much on the property. The former heavyweight champ sold his palatial Fayette County estate with 109 rooms last year in a public auction to a bank, which his attorney softly described as “technically part of a foreclosure.” The famed 54,000 square-foot mansion sits on 235 acres, has a bowling alley and theater and costs more than $1 million annually to maintain, Holyfield once told the AJC. On his website, Holyfield boasts of making more than $230 million in the boxing ring, but child support cases in Georgia, Texas and California — in additional to the general drying up of boxing royalties — took a heavy toll. · Holyfield sells Fayette mansion for $7.5 million [AJC] · When Selling Your House for $7.5 Mil Actually Sucks [TMZ]
Housing Outlook 2014: 10 Predictions From The Experts | Waccabuc NY Real Estate
In 2013, the housing recovery was a welcome bright spot for the economy: prices were shooting up, fewer homeowners were underwater, and builder confidence was finally on the upswing. It’s looking like 2014 should be another good year for housing–mostly. Here are ten things housing experts expect to see in 2014:
1. More homes will be available Short supply drove rapid price increases at the beginning of 2013, but watch for that to change next year. Realtor.org notes that the inventory (homes available for purchase) shortage began to soften in February. New construction and rising prices should bring more homes, both new and old, on to the market in 2014, helping inventory return to traditional levels.
2. Mortgage rates will rise Zillow Z +4.86% predicts rates will hit 5% by the end of 2014–well up from the 4′s and 3′s of late, but still well within normal levels. New Fed Reserve chief Janet Yellen is expected to continue Ben Bernanke’s policy of keeping mortgage rates low by buying blocks of mortgage-backed securities, but the Fed’s bond-buying taper could push rates higher. “While this will make homes more expensive to finance – the monthly payment on a $200,000 loan will rise by roughly $160 – it’s important to remember that mortgage rates in the 5 percent range are still very low,” says Erin Lantz, Zillow’s director of mortgages. Really. “Prior to the Federal Reserve’s 2008 decision to buy $85 billion in debt per month, the 36-year average was 9.2%, and never below 5.8%,” notes Glen Kelman, CEO of Redfin.
Zillow: National mortgage rates, 30-year, fixed-rate
3. Mortgages will be easier to get “The silver lining to rising interest rates is that getting a loan will be easier,” says Lantz. “Rising rates means lenders’ refinance business will dwindle, forcing them to compete for buyers by potentially loosening their lending standards.”
4. Home prices will rise 3% Redfin and Zillow are predicting that home prices will rise between 3% and 5% in 2014. For comparison’s sake, 2013 saw jumps of 5% nationally, with increases of more than 20% in some hot spots. “These gains, while beneficial in many ways, were also unsustainable and well above historic norms for healthy, balanced markets,” says Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist. “This year, home value gains will slow down significantly because of higher mortgage rates, more expensive home prices, and more supply created by fewer underwater homeowners and more new construction.”
5. Fewer homeowners will be underwater Rising prices helped 2.5 million homeowners with underwater mortgages regain positive equity status during the second quarter of 2013, according to Realtor.org. By Q3, a CoreLogic report found that about 6.4 million homes were still in negative equity at the end of Q3. Watch for that number to shrink in 2014.
Where Is Content Marketing Headed in 2014? [INFOGRAPHIC | Waccabuc NY Realtor
As the year 2013 comes to an end, marketing experts and internet professionals are taking a look forward to what the marketing terrain will be like in the year 2014, especially in the area of content marketing.
2013 has experienced a lot of innovative changes as far as marketing is concerned. There were a whole lot of new tools and conventions to deal with. But in all of these content marketing stood out! Today, content marketing is not just a buzz word but something that every business now takes as a MUST.
For example, in a recent survey conducted by MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute, it was revealed that 93% B2B organizations now use content-based tactics for their marketing campaigns while 73% indicated they now produce more content than the previous year!
These are not mean figures. They are definitely an indication of what to expect in content marketing trends for 2014. The following infographic from Uberflip gives a concise view of what the trends will be like in content marketing in 2014.
So, whether you are a B2B or B2C business and you are among those who intent drive out-standing results for your content marketing spend in 2014 then you need to study this infographic very carefully because you will definitely get something from it!
So, how are you preparing to make good use of what the experts say about the content marketing in 2014?
Housing starts jump to near 6-year high in good sign for economy | Waccabuc NY Homes
U.S. builders broke ground on homes at the fastest pace in more than five years, strong evidence that the housing recovery is accelerating despite higher mortgage rates.
The Commerce Department said Wednesday that developers began construction on houses and apartments in November at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.09 million. That’s 23 percent more than October’s pace of 889,000 and the fastest since February 2008, just a few months after the recession began.
Construction of single-family homes jumped 21 percent to an annual pace of 727,000, also the highest in more than five years. Apartment construction soared 26 percent to a 354,000 annual pace.
Permits for future building slipped 3 percent to just over 1 million, down from 1.04 million in October. The drop reflected a decline in apartments, which can be volatile. Permits for single-family homes rose.
“Evidently, builders in the field are genuinely confident about the outlook for sales of new single-family houses, despite the rise in mortgage rates,” said Pierre Ellis, an economist at Decision Economics.
The housing market has been improving steadily since early last year, but construction had leveled off this summer after first reaching a 1 million annual pace in March. Last month’s surge comes as mortgage rates remain about a percentage point higher than they were in the spring. That suggests home building will boost economic growth in the final three months of the year.
Reno’d English Manor in Connecticut Countryside Asks $20M | Waccabuc Real Estate
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Location: Greenwich, Conn. Price: $20,000,000 The Skinny: A complete renovation and expansion of a 1929 home, this English country manor sits on five acres of land in pricey Khakum Woods, an exceedingly exclusive neighborhood that was once part of the extensive estate of famed New York architect I. N. Phelps Stokes. Linden Court, as the home is now known, was stripped to the studs and rebuilt by luxury builders Xhema, with interior work by David Easton. An impressive modern pedigree, to be sure, but the home’s $20M asking price (down $5M from the original ask, yet still nearly $10M over the highest sale price of nearby homes) has stirred debate—not to mention genteel snarking—among those residing in the rarefied air of Greenwich real estate circles. Which, “po-tay-to, po-tah-to”, it’s a huge sum of money either way.
· 218 Clapboard Ridge Rd. [Sotheby’s International Realty via Architectural Digest]