Tag Archives: Westchester Homes for Sale

Westchester Homes for Sale

Luxury builders better positioned in rising interest rate environment | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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Market analysts remain confident in homebuilders, with luxury builders expected to lead as rising interest rates freeze out entry-level buyers, analysts say.

Sterne Agee analyst Jay McCanless believes investors should be looking to move-up and luxury homebuilders since households operating on modest incomes are generally the first to bail on housing when mortgage rates rise.

McCanless specifically highlighted the stocks of Ryland Homes (RYL) and Meritage Homes Corp. (MTH) as solid picks. “Our takeaway from this month’s data is to continue buying these names because the fundamental backdrop remains positive,” McCanless said of the two stocks.

The 30-year mortgage reached 4.80% this past week, the highest level obtained since April 2011, and more proof that overly competitive rates are slowly becoming a thing of the past.

Homebuilder stocks overall fell Friday after experiencing a positive run on the HW 30—HousingWire’s exclusive index for mortgage finance and housing stocks.

The dip in share prices followed a strong week for builders – many of which closed in positive territory on Thursday afternoon, only to fall a day later. On Thursday, D.R. Horton (DHI), Lennar Corp. (LEN) and Toll Brothers (TOL), saw their stock prices shoot up on positive gross domestic product and jobless claims data.

D.R. Horton alone rose 3.55% by close on Thursday, only to fall more than 2% by Friday afternoon. Lennar Corp. also fell more than 2% by market close, with Toll Brothers also down 1.86% by market close on Friday.

Despite a weaker close on the HW 30 index for the week, analysts still see homebuilders in a position to benefit from the nascent housing recovery.

“Average sales and inventory trends in the Top 25 markets we monitor continue to improve sequentially and month over month, and we view these indicators as the best barometers of housing demand in our builders’ collective footprints,” McCanless said.

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/26573-luxury-builders-better-positioned-in-rising-rate-environment

 

Home sales shoot up in Massachusetts | Chappaqua Real Estate

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According to the Boston Globe, home sales in Massachusetts and the Greater Boston area are back to boom-time levels, with July showing the best results since 2006.

Nearly 6,000 homes changed hands across the state in July. That’s the most hectic month for sales since June 2006, the Boston-based real estate data firm and publisher reports.

However, Bay State home prices, after rising 12% through the first six months of the year, took a break in July.

The median home price in July was $349,000, down slightly from $350,000 in June. Hardly a big drop, but worth taking notice of.

                    Source: Boston Globe

Donald Trump Strips Doral Golf Resort Down To The Rafters | Armonk Homes

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The Donald is well on his way to a full-scale renovation of the Doral Golf Resort & Spa, now the Trump National Doral Miami. (although we’ve heard murmurs that not even the $250 million he’s spending on the renovations alone will be enough. But hey, that’s just talk) Visible from a quick stroll around the property, the main clubhouse has lost both its front and rear facades, a bunch of the holes are dug up, the pool area is all torn up, and most of the hotel rooms – organized in blocks called ‘lodges’ are closed for business. In fact, most of the property seems to be shut down and mid-overhaul at the moment, except for the spa and meeting/convention spaces.

 

 

http://miami.curbed.com/archives/2013/09/05/trump-doral-golf-resort-construction-update.php

 

Time on Market Falls to 8.6 Weeks | Mount Kisco Real Estate

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Houses are selling faster in America than they have in three and a half years, the height of the homebuyer tax credit, as the recovery continues to roar through the summer months despite predictions the torrid pace of sales will slow.

New HousingPulse data show that three key barometers of the health of the housing market – time on market, number of sales offers, and the sales-to-list price ratio – all remained very strong for non-distressed properties in July. Non-distressed properties are the largest and fastest segment of this year’s housing market, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey results.

In the important time on market measurement, the average nationwide fell to a three-and-a-half year low of 8.6 weeks (based on a three month moving average) for non-distressed properties, HousingPulse found. That was not only way down from the 12.1 weeks seen in December but also down from 9.2 weeks in May.

On a regional basis, the average time on market for non-distressed properties sold in July ranged from a low of just 4.5 weeks in California to a high of 11.3 weeks in the Industrial Midwest (MO, IL, IN, OH and MI), HousingPulse data showed.

In terms of number of offers received, the July results also were very strong. Nationwide, HousingPulse recorded an average 2.3 offers for non-distressed properties sold in July. That was the fourth month in a row the national average has been at a three-and-a-half year high.

California once again led the nation in this category with an average 4.1 offers received on every non-distressed property sold in July. The Farmbelt (ND, SD, NE, KS, MN, IA and WI) was at the other end of the spectrum with an average of just 1.4 offers on every non-distressed property sold.

In the key sales-to-list price ratio category, a measure of how close a property’s sales price came to the listed price, July set a new high watermark, according to HousingPulse. The average sales-to-list price ratio for non-distressed properties nationwide hit 98.0 percent last month. That was up from 95.6 percent in December and 97.6 percent in May.

On a regional basis, California topped all other areas with an average sales-to-list price ratio of 101.8 percent in July. That meant that on average non-distressed properties in California sold for more than their asking price – a sign of a very hot housing market. On the other end, Florida had the lowest average sales-to-list price ratio in July for non-distressed properties at 95.0 percent.

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/08/time-on-market-falls-to-86-weeks/

 

Bedford Begins Process To Fill School Board Vacancy | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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The Bedford Central School District has begun the process of filling the vacancy on the school board.

The board is filling the vacancy left by Lee Goldstein, who resigned because her family is moving to Connecticut. The school board said applications are due Sept. 13.

There will be a special election for the seat May 20. Goldstein was elected to the school board in 2012; her three-year term expires June 30, 2015.

The board will conduct interviews at Fox Lane Middle School Sept. 18. The meeting will be open to the public and televised on BCSD-TV. The district said they are asking community members to submit questions or topics by Sept. 13

The board is expected to make an appointment Sept. 25. To be eligible for the position, an individual must be a qualified voter of the district  and have lived in the school district for at least one continuous year. At a minimum, service on the board requires preparation for and attendance at bi-monthly meetings. In addition, board members serve on at least one board subcommittee, which meets monthly.

Interested individuals may obtain an application on the district’s website www.bcsdny.org or may contact Carole LaColla, district clerk at 914-241-6011 or via email at clacolla1777@bcsdny.org.

Susan Wollin, president of the school board, said she is confident the process will choose a worthy candidate. This is the third time the board has filled a vacancy during Wollin’s tenure.

“It’s very similar to the process we’ve used in the past,” Wollin said. “We hope to appoint somebody based on the outcome of the meetings.”

The board last filled a vacancy in 2011 when Mark Chernis resigned to avoid a conflict of interest with his employer and the district.

The Bedford Central School District is comprised of the towns of Bedford, Pound Ridge and Mount Kisco.

 

 

http://bedford.dailyvoice.com/news/bedford-begins-process-fill-school-board-vacancy

 

Housing communities suffer from influx of renters | Cross River Real Estate

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There are a growing number of people renting houses instead of buying since they cannot obtain a mortgage under today’s tougher standards. But due to the influx of renters, housing communities are facing the adverse effects of renter’s disconnect, according to CNBC:

“When there are fewer homeowners, there is less ‘self-help,’ like park and neighborhood cleanup, neighborhood watch,” said William M. Rohe, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who has just completed a review of current research on homeownership’s effects.

Even conscientious landlords and tenants invest less in their property than owner-occupants, he said. “Who’s going to paint the outside of a rental house? You’d almost have to be crazy.”

                    Source: CNBC

How Fashion’s Reed Krakoff and Lisa Perry Do Entry Spaces | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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before
after

Photo of Reed Krakoff by Douglas Friedman/Elle Decor; Photo of Lisa Perry by Oberto Gili/Elle Decor

 

It’s not surprising that the homes of fashion designers have always been something of a fascination for shelter magazines; after all, these people presumably possess the kind of taste level well beyond the average person’s and have the means to perfect their glassy mansions or restored palaces, or, in some cases, large collection of estates. This month’s Elle Decor asks seven fashion designers to pose in their favorite room: for Coach honcho Reed Krakoff—who’s Manhattan townhouse is the stuff of legends—that means a sweeping foyer filled expressing “artisanal craftsmanship combined with warm modernism”; for Lisa Perry that means a bright, “blinding in its whiteness” entry hall filled with Pop Art. Head to Elle Decor for Carolina Herrera, Donna Karan, and more.

 

· Fashion Favorites [Elle Decor] ·

 

Behold Fashion’s Loveliest Homes, as Seen in Shelter Books [Curbed National]

Searchable History of All Tweets: This Week in Social Media | Waccabuc Realtor

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Welcome to our weekly edition of what’s hot in social media news. To help you stay up to date with social media, here are some of the news items that caught our attention.

What’s New This Week?

Topsy Offers Entire History of Public Tweets: “If you’re curious about your own first tweet—or any other piece of Twitter history” be sure to check it out.

You can now search through the entire Twitter archive.

 

SlideShare Redesigns Browse Page: “The experience is much more visual, and like before, you can sort through SlideShares based on topic category, content type, language and date. Users can now also share, save and like SlideShares directly on the browse page.”

The new update makes “SlideShares more easy to find, share and enjoy.”

LinkedIn Adds Volunteer Aspirations to Profile: “You will be able to share your philanthropic aspirations on your LinkedIn profile by calling out whether you want to volunteer and serve on a nonprofit board.”

“Your network is more likely to send volunteer and board opportunities your way if they know that you’re looking and what you’re looking for.”

Here’s more noteworthy news to follow:

SlideShare Updates Privacy Policy: SlideShare is updating its privacy policy to help clarify existing language and help SlideShare “prepare for future features and functionality” that they “anticipate will continue to add value” to the user experience.

Here are a couple of interesting social media tools worth noting:

Strike Social: A tool to discover how well your content is performing on YouTube.

 

Spirit: A tool to set your tweets to disappear with a simple hashtag.

Check out Spirit if you’d like to put a lifespan on any of your tweets.

Don’t miss this:

Bing Video Search Gets Fancy New Features For A Better User Experience | Bedford Hills Realtor

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Bing Video Search Gets Fancy New Features For A Better User Experience

Bing are giving their video search results a much  needed makeover and users of the site will find larger video thumbnails, extra  search filters and pop out hover previews part of the new package. In an  announcement via their blog, the company promised the new  streamlined navigation would lead to a better browsing experience for the video  content it pulls in via YouTube and Vimeo as well as from Dailymotion, Hulu, Vevo, CBS,  MTV and MSN amongst others.

Bing wants to provide a “completely re-imagined search experience” for video  so let’s take a look at some of the new upgrades:

Improved Navigation and Video Overlay Features

The new video overlay tweak allows users to multitask by continuing to browse  through their search results whilst currently watching a video. Bing have also  introduced a side bar of ‘related videos’ to provide the user with more relevant  results.

Larger Video Thumbnails For Easier Recognition

New larger thumbnails should make it much easier for users to scan through  videos until they find the one they want.

Pop-out Hover Previews Keep Users On Bing Longer

Rather than take you off site to see whether the video you have chosen is the  one you want, the new pop out hover preview allows you to see just that. Bing  have provided much more information regarding the video (favicons from the top  sites, descriptions, view counts etc). There is also a new volume control  feature.

 

 

Source:  Bing Video Search Gets Fancy New Features For A Better User Experience

 

http://www.reelseo.com/bing-video-search-new-features/#ixzz2eOvjJPKw

Lenders Loosen up as Refis Tank | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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In July, lenders loosened up their underwriting standards more than they have in yeas as purchase mortgages overtook refinancing as the leading source of mortgage originations according to Ellie Mae’s July Originations report.

“In July, the mix of purchase loans to refinances was 53% versus 47%: the largest percentage of purchase loans since we began tracking the data in August 2011,” said Jonathan Corr, president and chief operating officer of Ellie Mae. “This was a further indication that housing seems to be improving. Just six months ago, 73 percent of all mortgages were refinancings.

“Credit standards continued to ease in July,” said Corr. “The average FICO score fell to 737, from 742 in June 2013, and it is now at the lowest level since we began our tracking in August 2011. Similarly we saw slight increases in both loan-to-value and debt-to-income ratios last month-signs that lenders are willing to accept slightly more risk to maintain volume. Dent to income ratios also have risen to the highest level since Elli Mae began tracking mortgage data in February 012.

To get a meaningful view of lender “pull-through,” Ellie Mae reviewed a sampling of loan applications initiated 90 days prior (i.e., the April 2013 applications) to calculate an overall closing rate of 55.4% in July 2013, up from 54.3% in June 2013.

MONTHLY ORIGINATION OVERVIEW FOR JULY 2013

July 2013*

June 2013*

6 Months Ago
(January 2013)*

1 Year Ago
(July 2012)*

Closed Loans

Purpose

Refinance

47%

51%

73%

58%

Purchase

53%

49%

27%

42%

Type

FHA

19%

19%

18%

24%

Conventional

71%

71%

74%

67%

Days to Close

All

47

47

54

48

Refinance

48

47

55

48

Purchase

46

46

51

47

ARMs vs. Fixed, Length, Rate

ARM %

5.2%

4.0%

2.1%

3.1%

15 Year %

15.5%

16.5%

16.9%

15.3%

30 Year – Note Rate

4.357

3.918

3.634

3.870

*All references to months should be read as month ended.

PROFILES OF CLOSED AND DENIED LOANS FOR JULY 2013

Closed First-Lien Loans

Denied Loans

(All Types)

(All Types)

FICO Score (FICO)

737

702

Loan-to-Value (LTV)

81

84

Debt-to-Income (DTI)

24/36

28/44

 

 

 

 

Lenders Loosen up as Refis Tank | RealEstateEconomyWatch.com.