Tag Archives: Westchester Homes for Sale

Westchester Homes for Sale

Rising rates could push more buyers to purchase now | Waccabuc Real Estate

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The increase in mortgage rates, a reaction to the improving economy and housing markets, could fuel already hot housing markets as potential home buyers look to seal a deal before rates rise any further, writes the Los Angeles Times.

Christopher Thornberg, head of the West L.A. consulting firm Beacon Economics, said the increases might add as much as 1 percentage point to mortgage rates by the end of next year. He said:

“I think rates will drift slowly higher. But within these ranges, home prices are still cheap compared to incomes and apartments.”

 

Rising rates could push more buyers to purchase now | HousingWire.

Redskins’ star purchases new $2.5 million home | Cross River Real Estate

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The home – complete with the one amenity that will make life easier on that pummeled set of legs and body: an elevator – is situated in Creighton Farms in Loudon County, about 30 miles east of D.C.

The neighborhood has a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course as its centerpiece, meaning that the high-energy Griffin will have a place to swing his clubs when he’s not strengthening that busted knee or trying to talk Shanahan into letting him go for it on fourth down.

 

Redskins’ star purchases new $2.5 million home | HousingWire.

Soaring Prices Slow Hedge Funds | Katonah Real Estate

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Boasting of spending up to $8 billion dollars to buy tens of thousands of foreclosures to convert into single family rentals, nearly 50 Wall Street investment firms set real estate markets on fire over the past 18 months. Now they are running for cover as soaring prices water down their return on investment.

The winds have already started to shift in the single-family rental business, according to data from RadarLogic. The composite price per square foot paid by institutional investors in 25 of the largest metropolitan area housing markets increased 14.4 percent year over year in March. Over the same period, asking prices for rents have increased just 2.4 percent, according to Trulia, Inc. As a result, yields on single-family rentals are declining.

During the twelve months ending March 2013, purchases of residential real estate by corporations, partnerships and investment trusts in the 25 metropolitan areas included in the RPX Composite increased 41 percent. To put this figure in context, purchases by all other buyers increased only two percent during the same time period. Across the 25 metropolitan areas, institutional investor purchases accounted for 12.2 percent of all property transactions in March 2013, up from 8.8 percent in March 2012, reported RadarLogic.

Conditions for purchasing investment properties have worked in most markets during the intervening weeks. Since March, the median year-over-year list price has risen 2.63 percent according to Realtor.com and much more in some markets where hedge funds have been active like Oakland (up 12.77 percent in April), Las Vegas (up 7.25 in April), Phoenix (up 4.09 percent in April) and Atlanta (up 2.94 percent in April).

A Bloomberg Businessweek article last week reported two smaller investment funds have curtailed purchases. Och-Ziff pulled out of the business last fall and Carrington Mortgage Holdings has stopped buying. The Bloomberg piece by John Gittelsohn reported that funds are buying property now, including homes sold by Carrington, for rents that yield 6 percent to 8 percent a year, before costs such as insurance, taxes and vacancies, according to Bruce Rose, Carrington’s CEO. Carrington’s model called for mid-single digit net returns on annual rents on an unlevered basis, according to Rose. While returns would vary by market, they would generally be in the mid- to high teens over the duration of the holding period, with the profit from home price appreciation.

However, a spokesman for the largest institutional, Blackstone, said, “We’re continuing to purchase homes where they fit into our business plan.”

 

Soaring Prices Slow Hedge Funds | RealEstateEconomyWatch.com.

How to Make Your Home a Product | Armonk Real Estate

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GoodbyeMany homeowners have been sitting on the sidelines, stuck in their homes and unable to sell because of low home prices or negative equity. But as the market bounces back in many parts of the country, some sellers are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

If a home sale is in your near future, it’s time to start thinking of your home as a product to be sold on the market. Once for sale, your home becomes less about where you live, where you’ve made memories or have lots of life experiences. And to achieve top dollar, you have to look at your property through the eyes of prospective buyers who will be touring your home. You have to focus on what buyers are looking for.

How is my home a product?

Once you are on the market, your home is the equivalent of a product on the shelf at your home goods or design store. Buyers walking up and down those aisles looking at their options aren’t any different from buyers walking through open houses. Like any product for sale, you want your home to stand out and be as appealing as possible. This means depersonalizing the home, decluttering and doing any improvements that will help show the home in as neutral a light as possible. You want buyers to walk through your home and imagine themselves living there. You don’t want them thinking they’re walking through someone else’s home. Simple things such as taking down photos, religious artifacts and diplomas are a good first step.

Emotionally detaching is step 1

For those homeowners who’ve spent a lifetime in their home, a lot of emotions are attached to it. Even newer homeowners are likely to have become attached to their homes. It could be where you brought home your first-born or where you were living during some major life changes. Deciding to sell the home you love can bring up all kinds of emotional or psychological conflicts.

Awareness is the first step. Know that it’s normal and highly likely that you’ll experience strong feelings about selling your home. Allow yourself to “grieve” if you need to.

Cleaning, painting and staging: The home is ground zero for stress

Most people assume that the hardest part about selling a beloved home is the closing, handing over the keys, or walking out for the last time. Actually, by that time, most sellers have psychologically moved on.

It’s the act of clearing out the clutter, taking out some furniture and/or making small improvements to the home that tugs at the heart. Repainting your favorite pink room to a more neutral color, taking down and packing up your family photos or transforming your comfortable living room into more of a “staged” look can create incredible stress.

When in doubt, don’t do it

If you’re not sure you’re ready to sell or you have the least bit of doubt, don’t do it. Don’t be pressured by your partner, spouse or the “hot” real estate market. As a way to resist the change, a seller will ultimately shoot themselves in the foot by overpricing the home or not making the necessary improvements. If you have the luxury of moving out prior to selling, do it. Moving out, packing up and clearing out will be emotional. But by the time it’s ready to be staged and go on the market, you’ll have emotionally detached from the home. You’ll start to see it as an investment.

Smart sellers understand they’re selling their homes and also making a financial decision. Being able to consider this well in advance will allow you to slowly start to emotionally detach from the home and start thinking of the financial decision and the transaction that’s about to take place. Keeping your eye on the prize, you’ll want to price your home competitively and have it show like a model home to attract the most buyers.

 

How to Make Your Home a Product | Zillow Blog.

7 Reasons to Fear the Housing Bubble | North Salem Real Estate

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1. Healthy price rebound or too much, too fast?

The one-year period between March 2012 and March 2013 saw the most significant rise in housing prices since April 2006, with property values jumping up 10.9 percent. This number was markedly higher in certain areas, with San Francisco and Phoenix experiencing a gain in prices of more than 20 percent. While it is true that consumer sentiment is on the rise and spending is increasing, the availability of easier credit helps push sales higher and offer up a dangerous metric for those worried about future bubbles. As mortgage rates continue to be quite low — falling from 3.78 percent to 3.59 percent since May of last year — lenders are picking up steam in doling out cash; a feature that is capable of driving housing prices past what is likely sustainable.

 

7 Reasons to Fear the Housing Bubble | Wall St. Cheat Sheet.

Survey says: Hispanic investors face housing challenges | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Despite financial confidence and an overall optimistic outlook, debt remains a top concern for many Hispanic investors, according to a recent survey.

Twenty-five percent of Hispanics surveyed are more concern about losing their home, compared to 12% for the overall population, Wells Fargo ($41.25 0%) said in its latest survey.

While Hispanic investors appear to be taking steps towards saving, there is still anxiety about having enough for retirement.

“Hispanic investors are facing tremendous challenges when it comes to saving for retirement. We are seeing immediate financial concerns like covering household bills and mortgage payments are interfering with their ability to put money away toward retirement,” said David Roda, regional chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank.

He added, “These are complex challenges where one size doesn’t fit all in terms of a possible course of actions, but we would certainly encourage all investors to double down on their planning efforts, and really seek guidance from an advisor to ensure they are on track to meet their financial goals.”

Living in multi-generational households may also have a significant impact on Hispanic investors’ savings, as a number of respondents are caring for their own children, as well as parents or grandparents, the survey noted.

Nearly one in five, 18%, of Hispanic investors report currently living in a three-generation household and 27% expect to do so within the next decade.

 

Survey says: Hispanic investors face housing challenges | HousingWire.

Homes.com: Local markets improving each month | Katonah Real Estate

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In its latest Local Market Index for home pricing data, Homes.comreported that 96 out of 100 markets showed monthly improvement, a stark increase from the 75 out of 100 that saw gains in February.

However, on a year-over-year time period, 91 out of 100 markets reported a price increase in March, compared to 98 markets in February. According to Homes.com, the Northeast is largely to blame for this weakening. 

Month-over-month and year-over-year, Honolulu, Hawaii, posted the largest increase, climbing 2.40 index points from February and 22.55 from last March.

On a regional scale, the distribution was fairly equitable, especially compared to last month when all of the top 10 increasing markets belonged to the Western region.

 

Homes.com: Local markets improving each month | HousingWire.

Why House Flippers Might Get Hosed | Bedford Hills Homes

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They’re baa-aaack.

Reuters

House flippers helped generate the real-estate frenzy from 2003 to 2006, buying and selling homes within six months or less to turn a quick profit as home values rapidly rose. Some flippers made a killing, but in general they added to the froth that eventually pushed the housing market over the edge. As prices began to plummet, some flippers became reluctant “underwater” homeowners suddenly stuck with a white elephant.

With home prices now rising by double-digits once again, flippers are making a comeback. Research firm Realty Trac recently published a report claiming that “flipping homes will likely become more favorable for investors in 2013 as home prices are expected to continue climbing.” The top five markets for flipping, according to RealtyTrac, are Orlando, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tampa and Memphis.

[Click here to check home loan rates in your area.]

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the number of homes flipped in California has hit the highest level since 2005, leading a national trend. Some flippers are professional investors, but others are individuals who just happen to have the funds for an all-cash purchase. House-flipping seminars have returned in some areas, along with warnings by consumer advocates to be wary of them.

House flipping, like many forms of speculation, has a legitimate place in a capitalist economy, as long as flippers risk their own money and pose no unusual risks to the broader system. Speculators often put up capital others don’t have, which can help keep markets fluid.

Risk of getting swamped

But some real-estate experts think flippers could quickly get swamped in a market that is still prone to shocks. “They’re a real concern to me,” says Stan Humphries, chief economist at real-estate research firm Zillow (Z). “They create volatility and make prices go up more than they should. And it’s usually the less sophisticated participants who get hurt the most.”

The majority of economists think the recent rise in home prices — which soared by a nationwide average of 10.2% per year in the latest Case-Shiller report — is good news for the economy because it repairs some of the damage from a housing bust that slashed home values by 30% or more. But some feel new bubbles are forming. And a full housing recovery is still years away, with price gains likely to be jagged and unpredictable.

 

Why House Flippers Might Get Hosed | The Exchange – Yahoo! Finance.

Obama administration extends Making Home Affordable Program until 2015 | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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The Department of Housing and Urban Developmentteamed up with the Treasury Department on Thursday to announce an extension of the Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable Program through Dec. 31, 2015.

The new deadline was determined in coordination with theFederal Housing Finance Agency to align with extendeddeadlines for the Home Affordable Refinance Program and the Streamlined Modification Initiative for homeowners with loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The program deadline was previously set to end Dec. 31, 2013.

The Making Home Affordable Program is a critical part of the Obama administration’s efforts to provide relief to families at risk of foreclosure and help the housing market recover from the housing crisis, HUD explained.

“The housing market is gaining steam, but many homeowners are still struggling,” said Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.

He added, “Helping responsible homeowners avoid foreclosure is part of our wide-ranging efforts to strengthen the middle class, and Making Home Affordable offers homeowners some of the deepest and most dependable assistance available to prevent foreclosure. Extending the program for two years will benefit many additional families while maintaining clear standards and accountability for an important part of the mortgage industry.”

Since its creation in March 2009, roughly 1.6 million actions were taken through the program to provide relief to homeowners and, consequently, nearly 1.3 million homeowners were helped directly by the program.

As of March, more than 1.1 million homeowners received a permanent modification of their mortgage through HAMP, with a median savings of $546 every month — or 38% of their previous payment.

Since the fourth quarter of 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed more than 2.7 million foreclosure prevention actions. Approximately half of these actions are permanent loan modifications, including more than 435,000 permanent HAMP modifications, according to the FHFA.

“One of FHFA’s priorities is to provide assistance to struggling borrowers who are at risk of losing their homes,” said Ed DeMarco, current acting director of the FHFA.

He added, “These extensions keep two valuable foreclosure prevention programs available to those who need them. The extensions also align the end date for three key assistance programs that were developed in response to the housing crisis.”

Since 2009, Freddie Mac has helped more than 830,000 borrowers avoid foreclosure and nearly 230,000 of these families were assisted through HAMP, said Tracy Mooney, senior vice president of single-family servicing and REO for the GSE.

The Making Home Affordable Program has also put into place important protections for homeowners that have helped inform efforts to create standards for the mortgage servicing industry.

This includes requirements for mortgage servicers regarding clear and timely communications with homeowners and protections to ensure that they are evaluated for assistance before being referred to foreclosure.

 

Obama administration extends Making Home Affordable Program until 2015 | HousingWire.

US Foreclosure Inventory Declines | Cross River Real Estate

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florida foreclosure

U.S. foreclosure inventory, which refers to properties in some stage of foreclosure, equaled 1.1 million in April,according to CoreLogic’s latest report.

This was down 24% from 1.5 million a year ago. It was also down 2 percent from March.

Foreclosure inventory represented 2.8% of all homes with a mortgage, compared with 3.5% a year ago.

Meanwhile, there were 52,000 completed foreclosures in April, the same as March. But this was down from 62,000 a year ago. Before the housing bust, completed foreclosures averaged about 21,000 a month.

Home prices have been boosted by tight supply, especially a decline in the stock of distressed properties.

“Fewer distressed properties combined with improving home prices and a pickup in home purchases are significant signals that the ongoing recovery in the housing and mortgage markets continues to gather steam,” said Anand Nallathambi, president of CoreLogic in a press release.

Here are some details from the report:

  • “The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in April 2013 were: Florida (102,000), California (79,000), Michigan (68,000), Texas (53,000) and Georgia (47,000). These five states account for almost half of all completed foreclosures nationally.”
  • “The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Florida (9.5 percent), New Jersey (7.4 percent), New York (5.1 percent), Maine (4.4 percent) and Nevada (4.3 percent).”
  • “The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Wyoming (0.5 percent), Alaska (0.6 percent), North Dakota (0.7 percent), Nebraska (0.8 percent) and Virginia (0.9 percent).”

Here’s a look at foreclosure inventory by state:

foreclosure inventory by state

 

US Foreclosure Inventory Declines – Business Insider.