Tag Archives: Westchester Homes for Sale

Westchester Homes for Sale

Delinquencies Drop as Bad Boom Loans Fade Away | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Fewer new problem loans, declining levels of negative equity and shrinking inventories of bad loans from the boom era have helped to reduce mortgage delinquencies by the largest year-to-date decline since 2002.

 

The May Mortgage Monitor report from Lender Processing Services  found that the national delinquency rate continued to fall in May, Delinquencies are down more than 15 percent since the end of December 2012, coming in at 6.08 percent for the month.

 

As LPS Applied Analytics Senior Vice President Herb Blecher explained, much of this improvement is supported by the fact that new problem loan rates are approaching the pre-crisis average. “Though they are still approximately 1.4 times what they were, on average, during the 1995 to 2005 period, delinquencies have come down significantly from their January 2010 peak,” Blecher said. “In large part, this is due to the continuing decline in new problem loans — as fewer problem loans are coming into the system, the existing inventories are working their way through the pipeline. New problem loan rates are now at just 0.73 percent, which is right about on par with the annual averages during 2005 and 2006, and extremely close to the 0.55 percent average for the 2000-2004 period preceding.

 

“As we’ve noted before,” Blecher continued, “negative equity appears to still be one of the strongest drivers of new problem loans, and — primarily buoyed by home price increases nationwide — that situation also continues to improve. We looked once again at the number of ‘underwater’ loans in the U.S., and found that the total share of mortgages with LTVs of greater than 100 percent had declined to just 7.3 million loans as of the end of the first quarter of 2013. This accounts for less than 15 percent of all currently active loans and represents a nearly 50 percent year-over-year decline.”

 

Though recent volatility in mortgage loan interest rates are not yet reflected in the data, the Mortgage Monitor did show that 2013 origination activity remained strong through April, with that month’s 835,000 new loans representing a 1.8 percent increase from March and a 34.1 percent growth from the prior year. The May data also showed an increase in prepayment rates, indicating that refinance activity, and likely associated originations, remained strong despite that month’s increased interest rates. LPS will continue to monitor the data to see what impact rate increases may have on originations in the months to come.

 

As reported in LPS’ First Look release, other key results from LPS’ latest Mortgage Monitor report include:

 

Total U.S. loan delinquency rate:   5.08%

 

 

RealEstateEconomyWatch.com » Delinquencies Drop as Bad Boom Loans Fade Away » Print.

Why are ‘steady’ Central Pa. housing prices lagging behind rest of the nation? | South Salem Real Estate

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They say slow and steady wins the race. If that is the case, then the all-but-flat housing prices in Central Pa. should be walking away with the title for most stable housing market. Area realtors insist this is the difference between boom and bust – and it’s a good thing.

 

But it’s hard not to be envious when one looks at the eye-popping housing price increases being realized at a national level. Consider these statistics, compiled by the National Association of Realtors (NAR):

 

The national median existing-home price – half the selling prices were higher, half were lower — hit $192,800 in April. That equated to an increase of 11 percent, compared to median national sale price in April 2012.

 

In May, the median national existing-home price zoomed up again, reaching $208,000, for an increase of 15.4 percent from May 2012. These are the most recent months for which national housing sale price stats were available.

 

Now, compare that with the just-completed quarterly numbers for Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties, as compiled by the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors.

 

Median home sale prices for the three counties did increase in the second quarter – but just barely: A scant 0.1 percent from the second quarter of 2012.

 

Basically, this means prices here held steady, overall. The median sale price of residential homes was $163,000 over the past three months, compared to the median cost of $162,900 in the second quarter of 2012.

 

 

Why are ‘steady’ Central Pa. housing prices lagging behind rest of the nation?: Boom & Bust | PennLive.com.

Improve your real estate content strategy with new Facebook Insights | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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Have you checked out the new Insights tab on your Facebook page lately? Before, stats and insights from Facebook were pretty basic unless you dive into Excel files full of data. The use of graphs and quick views of posts you’ve published makes it easier to analyze what’s working and what isn’t.

Wondering what the big deal is? The new user interface makes it easier for you to pinpoint what types of posts are working  (video and photos tend to do better for reach and engagement) and who your target audience is through demographics. One of my favorite updates is being able to see when your fans are online and what the popular times they saw your content under the Posts tab.

The quick tour of the new Insight panel takes you through the four tabs at the top: Overview, Page, Posts and People. Let’s break them down.

Overview:
Here you will get a breakdown of the last seven days of the basics: page likes, post reach, engagement and your most recent posts.

Overview Tab

Page:
This tab gets broken down into likes, reach and visits. You’re able to use the scroll bar the top to change the range of dates you are viewing.

Page Tab

You also get the total number of likes on your page by day as well as what has changed between unlikes, organic and paid likes.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/next/improve-your-real-estate-content-strategy-with-new-facebook-insights/#sthash.XwZn2kUV.dpuf

 

 

Improve your real estate content strategy with new Facebook Insights | Inman News.

Will Rising Mortgage Rates Halt The Housing Rebound? | Chappaqua Real Estate

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Could rising mortgage rates derail the housing market’s slow healing? Economists in the latest Wall Street Journal survey are divided on the question. Among those surveyed, 40% said the rise “won’t have a noticeable effect,” 35.6% warned “it will slow sales” and 24.4% said “it will slow home-price gains.”

 

There’s no doubting the housing market’s contribution to the overall recovery. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, in starting two days of congressional testimony, on Wednesday told lawmakers that  “housing has contributed significantly to recent gains in economic activity. Home sales, house prices, and residential construction have moved up over the past year, supported by low mortgage rates and improved confidence in both the housing market and the economy.” The Fed chief seemed to place himself within the no “noticeable effect,” camp, but added, “Housing activity and prices seem likely to continue to recover, notwithstanding the recent increases in mortgage rates, but it will be important to monitor developments in this sector carefully.”

 

In the Fed’s periodic report on regional economic conditions, issued Wednesday, the central bank sounded a relatively upbeat note, saying “Residential real estate activity increased at a moderate to strong pace in most Districts.” The beige book continued, “Most Districts reported increases in home sales.”

 

Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have jumped in the recent months, climbing in the most recent week to 4.37%, up more than a percentage point from the 3.35% level of early May. However, even with the climb, rates are lower than they have been in decades.

 

That historical perspective is important, said Stephen Stanley, of Pierpont Securities, who noted “rates were so incredibly low before they can rise significantly and still be incredibly attractive by historical standards.”

 

Mr. Stanley said the housing market’s healing is likely to continue because—despite the rise in rates—the fact that home prices are going up…is an overwhelming incentive for people.”

 

John Lonski, ofMoody’s MCO +0.02% Analytics, sees rising rates affecting sales, and points to mortgage applications for home purchases to support his point. During the four-week period ended July 12, those applications were down 5% from their 2013 high, during the four weeks ended May 3, Mr. Lonski said. “This tends to suggest that higher mortgage yields will at least slow the housing recovery.”

 

He added, “It doesn’t mean that home sales are about to collapse or contract. But they will be slowed by costlier mortgages.”

 

Will Rising Mortgage Rates Halt The Housing Rebound? – Real Time Economics – WSJ.

Support for ‘patent troll’ legislation builds | Armonk Real Estate

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A push for legislation cracking down on so-called “patent trolls” is gathering steam on Capitol Hill, potentially spelling relief for many businesses, including those in the real estate industry.

Last week, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., introduced the “Patent Litigation and Innovation Act of 2013″ (H.R. 2639) in the House, which is related to the “Patent Abuse Reduction Act of 2013″ (S. 1013) introduced by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in May.

The White House has also issued a series of legislative recommendations and executive actions to tackle the issue. The executive actions will require patent applicants and owners to disclose the true owner of a patent, train patent examiners to flag overly broad patent applications, and offer a website educating consumers and small-business owners about what to do if they are targeted, among other things.

Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez last month urged the commission to use its authority to collect more comprehensive information about the business models and scope of “patent assertion entities” — the formal name given to companies that are focused primarily on purchasing and asserting patent claims against companies with products currently on the market.

“These entities are driving the increase in patent litigation and targeting firms in a growing slice of the economy,” Ramirez said. Patent trolls have moved beyond their original primary targets — information technology firms — and are going after financial services providers and retailers, she said.

“Even hotels and coffee shops are not immune,” Ramirez said, and the costs to consumers “appear increasingly tangible and direct.”

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/07/17/support-for-patent-troll-legislation-builds/#sthash.4tG5Bt34.dpuf

Inventory shortages ease | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Inventory shortages that constrained home sales this spring are beginning to ease, with the number of homes listed for sale trending upwards in June, according to realtor.com data, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The total number of listings rose by 4.3 percent from May to June, to 1.9 million homes. While that’s down by 7.3 percent from the same time a year ago, inventory was off 18.6 percent year over year in February, the newspaper said.

Real estate industry observers have speculated that home price gains might spur more homeowners to put their properties up for sale — and for builders to break ground on more new homes.

With the latest CoreLogic Home Price index showing a 12.2 percent year-over-year gain in home prices in May, the recent uptick in listings — though bolstered by a normal seasonal increase — suggests that these market reactions may be starting to play out.

“No one wants to sell at the bottom, but prices have now been rising for more than a year and by more than 30 percent in some markets — triggering some homeowners to lock in those gains, including those who have been underwater,” said Jed Kolko, chief economist at listing portal Trulia.

But while home value appreciation may be coaxing some to sell, National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement last month that growth in home supply will primarily depend on an increase in construction.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/07/15/inventory-shortage-eases/#sthash.oM9YQ165.dpuf

Interest rate increases may have silver lining | Bedford NY Real Estate

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Though a recent surge in interest rates may dissuade some consumers from buying homes, the development also could have a silver lining for the real estate market: making mortgages available to more people.

With the recent spike in interest rates, refinances have plummeted. In the last week of May, shortly after Fed officials hinted that the Fed may scale back its stimulus program later this year, refinance applications dropped to their lowest level since November 2011, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported.

With the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage continuing to push higher, they have trended lower since then.

That’s chipping away at banks’ profits. JPMorgan and Wells Fargo recently reported that their earnings from refinances have dropped significantly in recent months.

To make up for the lost revenue, some experts say, banks may extend credit to a larger swath of borrowers, allowing them to originate more mortgages.

“Because refi activity is down, you have a little more room to do business with people who don’t have an 800 credit score,” said Zillow Senior Economist Svenja Gudell.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/07/15/interest-rate-increases-may-have-silver-lining/#sthash.CZXfQzkk.dpuf

The Art and Science of Creating a Successful Blog Post | Cross River Realtor

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The creative geek has never had it so good.The Art and Science of Creating a Successful Blog Post

They have the web tools, apps and the social networks that keep poking them  with global gems of content inspiration and ideas. It is a revealed universe of  possibilities. What we are seeing in this century is the synergy between  the art of creation and science of technology.

Gutenberg would be turning in his grave if he saw what is happening in the  new world of publishing.

So we now have the online tools to publish your inspirations. Google has  freed us from the tyranny of remembering and finding facts. This is leading to  an explosion of  prolific and innovative ideas and expression. It  could be music created with an app, a photo that is captured on a smart phone  and filtered or it could be creating an article for a blog.

It is the synthesis of art and science.

Creating a successful blog post is creativity enabled by technology both in  production, delivery and marketing.

The Art

This starts with an idea for your article. It might appear while driving,  talking with a friend or during a wakeful moment at 2am (that is when this idea  turned up). It may be inspired by a book, a passing tweet or a brainstorming  session at a workshop.

Whenever the idea strikes, grab a pen, your phone or that napkin at the  coffee shop. Writing in blood is always an option…because failing to capture an  idea due to forgetfulness can sometimes feel like losing one of your  children.

The writing for me can start two ways.

  1. Creating the introduction (that’s how this one started)
  2. Mapping out the structure and framework for the post (that often  happens)

Neither is right or wrong but the creation has to start. Sitting down at the  computer laden desk with my two screens, keyboard and my mouse and starting the  mundane action is next.

As the words arrive the next phase is the wrangling and wrestling with the  text, phrases and even the sub-titles. Many a blog post has an ugly face but as  you massage it and apply the makeup it can turn into a thing of beauty.

That is certainly the intent.

Next is the internal discussion with myself as to whether I need to  illustrate and elaborate my ideas with a screen shot, an image, add a video or  even plonk in a Slideshare presentation.

Sometimes it goes beyond the words.

The Science

WordPress is the technology and foundation tool of choice for this blog.

The science support crew includes the following:

1. Snagit

This is the screen capture tool I use for screen shots, inserting call out  text boxes and arrows and even shadow and torn edge effects. I couldn’t do  without it.

2. WordPress Plugins

You cannot do without these to enhance your productivity and marketing  effectiveness.

This includes.

  • SEO Plugins (such as WordPress SEO or Yoast)
  • Akismet (this software stops the spammers)
  • BackWPup (this backs up my blog),
  • Facebook like box (you can like my Facebook page without leaving my  blog)
  • GetSocial (my floating social media sharing buttons)

This is not an exhaustive list but all of these I couldn’t do without.

Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/07/17/the-art-and-science-of-creating-a-successful-blog-post/#AIPsxa7OmCCbSHBa.99

Westchester issues swimming alert | Armonk Real Estate

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Below are selected alerts for residents to take note of:

July 17, 2013 Boater and swimmer advisory lifted for  Long Island Sound near Milton Harbor in Rye and Mamaroneck Harbor The advisory cautioning against contact with the Long Island Sound near Milton Harbor in Rye and Mamaroneck Harbor has been lifted by the Westchester County Department of Health.  The advisory is being lifted based on the results of water samples which show that the water does not pose a public health risk. People who use the Long Island Sound in this area for recreational purposes are free to resume direct contact with the water and swimming at the following beaches is now permitted: Beach Point Club, Orienta Beach Club, Mamaroneck Beach and Yacht Club, Shore Acres Pointe and Harbor Island Park Beach, all in Mamaroneck; and American Yacht Club, Shenorock Shore Club, Coveleigh Club and Greenhaven Association, all in Rye.

The advisory had been issued that If уоu are planning for Shорріng ѕwіmmіng рооl thаn it is  ѕuggеѕted that уоu ѕhоuld  buy oval above ground pools . Bесаuѕе when уоu are going to find yourself wіth numеrоuѕ арреаlіng options. Onе thіng tо keep іn mіnd wіth pools is thаt you have a number оf dіffеrеnt ѕhареѕ, manufactures, and ѕіzеѕ tо соnѕіdеr. But frоm all of them оvаl рооlѕ themselves hаvе ѕоmе unique bеnеfіtѕ that аrе wоrth kееріng іn mіnd, аѕ well and these pools are more secure from injuries and damage. Onе оf thе bіggеѕt аdvаntаgе to an оvаl рооl оvеr ground ѕwіmmіng pool would bе thе аеѕthеtісѕ.

The advisory had been issued as a precaution because an underground force main break near Blind Brook had released sludge close to where the Blind Brook empties into the Long Island Sound. The Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities took the force main out of service at about 2:15 p.m. on Monday, but repair efforts were hindered by high tide.
Repairs to the force main were completed Tuesday evening and water was pumped through the pipe during the night while workers checked the air relief valves along the force main. Crews finished backfilling this morning and the line has now resumed normal pumping operations.

http://health.westchestergov.com/alerts

U.S. Housing Starts Unexpectedly Tumble 9.9% In June | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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U.S. Housing Starts Unexpectedly Tumble 9.9% In June

Housing starts in the U.S. unexpectedly showed a notable decrease in the month of June, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The report showed that housing starts tumbled 9.9 percent to an annual rate of 836,000 in June from the revised May estimate of 928,000.

The steep drop came as a surprise to economists, who had expected housing starts to climb to an annual rate of 951,000 from the 914,000 originally reported for the previous month.

While the report may raise some concerns about the outlook for the housing market, Teunis Brosens, Senior Economist at ING Bank, said the data is not as bad as it looks.

Brosens noted that most of the weakness was in the always volatile multi-family housing starts, which plunged 26.2 percent to an annual rate of 245,000 in June from 332,000 in May.

Single-family housing starts showed a much more modest decrease, dipping by 0.8 percent to an annual rate of 591,000 in June from the revised May figure of 596,000.

“While single-family starts are somewhat lower than earlier this year, they are up 11.7% from a year ago, indicating that the trend is still positive,” Brosens said.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department also said building permits fell 7.5 percent to an annual rate of 911,000 in June from the revised May rate of 985,000.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to rise to an annual rate of 990,000 from the 974,000 originally reported for May.

 

 

Read more…

 

http://www.rttnews.com/2152679/U-S-Housing-Starts-Unexpectedly-Tumble-9-9-In-June.aspx?google_editors_picks=true