Tag Archives: Westchester Homes for Sale

Westchester Homes for Sale

Market Overheats in Scarsdale | Real Estate

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The experts concur – it’s a banner year for home sales in Scarsdale. We checked in with three local agencies for their observations on the Spring market and here is what they had to say:

Zach Harrison:
Platinum Drive:

“This is the strongest real estate market I have seen in Westchester since 2006. Bidding wars have been commonplace, driven by low interest rates and a lack of inventory.”

Linda Roth
Coldwell Banker: 

This spring is an exceptional time to sell real estate in Scarsdale/Edgemont and surrounding communities. In addition the national real estate market is also showing strong growth. The combination of lack of inventory, an improving economy and historically low interest rates has brought out large numbers of purchasers, which in turn bring multiple offers, many over the asking price and with excellent terms. As always, lower Westchester with its convenient location leads the market.

Lewis Arlt
Houlihan Lawrence: 

Looking out the rear view mirror at sold properties in Scarsdale, we see an up-tick of 9.3% year-to-date (from 43 last year at this date, to 47 this year). And an increase of 11.7% year over year from May 6, 2012 (206 sold) to May 6, 2013 (230 sold). The median sale price stands at $1.246M year to date, compared to $1.285 last year at this time. (a 3% drop, statistically not very significant). The good news is prices remain relatively stable and sales are moving forward at a healthy pace.

Peering out the windshield at pending business, we can see a very healthy ratio of active listings to pending deals. The 112 currently active listings (a 19% decrease compared to 2012 at this time) is well balanced by 82 deals in contract, compared to 76 last year – nearly 8% more. Decreased inventory across the region has fueled higher prices as more buyers compete for fewer homes. This phenomenon has led to some highly competitive bidding and sale prices exceeding expectations, most evidenced in the $700,000-1,500,000 price range. Rates are low, consumer confidence is strong, and we are currently on pace to record more sales this year in the village than in a decade.

 

 

Scarsdale, NY 10583 | Market Overheats in Scarsdale | Real Estate | Your Community Corner.

Spring real estate market sees record pending sales in Seacoast | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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PORTSMOUTH — The Seacoast Board of Realtors say the spring Seacoast real estate market is shaping up to be the best in at least three years.

The board reported a record number of single-family and condominium pending sales in April in the 13 sample seacoast towns.

The 13 sample towns are Exeter, Greenland, Hampton, Hampton Falls, New Castle, Newfields, Newington, North Hampton, Newmarket, Portsmouth Rye, Seabrook and Stratham.
The 90 April pending single family sales are 18 more than the previous record set last May. There were 67 sales in the month, up 15.5 percent from last year. They were paced by 21 sales in the $400,000 to $700,000 price category, nine more than last year at this time. There were 37 sales in the category of less than $400,000.

Sales of single-family homes in the sample towns have increased through most of the first four recorded months of 2013. There were 59 in January, 55 in February, 63 in March and 67 in April.

The median sales price of a Seacoast single-family home was $369,800 up 21.7 percent from last year.

While the 35 pending condominium sales are also a new three-year record, condos again recorded a mixed bag of sales results. The average price of a condo was up 10.52 percent from last year at $210,000, but fell to its lowest level in three months in 2013. Closed sales also were off .06 percent from a year ago.

Inventory levels continue to shrink as demand increases, according to the Seacoast Board of Realtors. Available single-family units dropped 21.1 percent from a year ago, while condo inventory is off 17.2 percent from last year.

 

Spring real estate market sees record pending sales in Seacoast | Bedford Corners Real Estate | Bedford NY Real Estate | Robert Paul Talks Life in Bedford NY.

Florida’s Housing Market Showed Improvement in the First Quarter of 2013 | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate

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Florida’s housing market gained strength in first quarter 2013 with increased closed sales, more pending sales, higher median prices and a reduced supply of homes for sale compared to the same quarter in 2012, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.
“The first three months of 2013 demonstrate that Florida’s housing market is gaining momentum and continuing to bolster the state’s economy,” said 2013 Florida Realtors President Dean Asher , broker-owner with Don Asher & Associates Inc. in Orlando. “More people went back to work as more jobs were created in Florida during the first quarter, and our population is also growing –which provide a solid foundation for growth in the housing market. It’s taking less time to sell a home and, coupled with tight inventory, that shows buyers are eager to lock in historically low mortgage interest rates and take advantage of favorable, but rising prices.”
Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 48,976 in 1Q 2013, up 10.2 percent compared to the year-ago figure, according to data from Florida Realtors Industry Data and Analysis department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. Closed sales typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.
Meanwhile, pending sales – contracts that are signed but not yet completed or closed – for existing single-family homes rose 26.8 percent in the first quarter compared to the 1Q 2012 figure. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in 1Q 2013 was $153,000, up 13.4 percent from the same quarter a year ago.
The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less. Housing industry analysts note that sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes.
Looking at Florida’s year-to-year comparison for sales of townhouse-condos, a total of 24,655 units sold statewide in the first quarter, up 3.2 percent from the first three months of 2012. Pending sales for townhouse-condos in 1Q 2013 increased 13.7 percent compared to a year ago, while the statewide median for townhouse-condo properties was $116,000, up 18.4 percent over the same quarter last year

 

Florida’s Housing Market Showed Improvement in the First Quarter of 2013 | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate | Bedford NY Real Estate | Robert Paul Talks Life in Bedford NY.

What $700K Can Buy You Around The Cape & Islands | Chappaqua Homes

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↑ Kicking off in Provincetown with The Boathouse, a 1BR, 1BA condo directly on Cape Cod Bay. Built in 1900, the year-round 487 sq. ft. freestanding cottage has waterviews on three sides, an exclusive use deck and parking for one. The property last changed hands in 2005 for $685,000 and returned to the market in May 2011 asking $735,000. The listing was removed in October 2011 and reappeared last month with a $729,300 price tag.

 

 

http://capecod.curbed.com/archives

 

3 Tips for Insuring Your First Home | Armonk Real Estate

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Buying your first home can be both an exciting and a scary experience. Many homeowners are appreciative of any bit of information that would help make the process less stressful and as painless as possible. Home insurance is usually a major contributor to the anxieties new homeowners’ experience. They are often confused about how much insurance they need. This post will give easy tips for choosing the best insurance for new home buyers.

Your House Should Be Fully Covered

The coverage on the insurance policy should reflect an amount that can adequately take care of the cost of rebuilding and refurbishing your entire house in the event that you lose it completely. Insurance companies may use a cost estimator to ascertain the cost replacement estimate, but you can have a home builder assess your home and furnish you with an estimate of the rebuilding cost. This should include the unique and/or expensive details of your home (if there are any). You do not want to end up being underinsured. Once you have the estimate for rebuilding, you will need to figure out which coverage to take. The choices are:

  • Guaranteed Replacement Cost Coverage – The insurer bears the cost for the rebuilding your home in spite of that cost. Very few insurers are offering these policies now.
  • Extended Replacement Coverage – This coverage involves the capping of the payout you would receive to approximately 125% of the insured value of your home.
  • Inflation Guarantee (or Guard) – This is a feature that ensures the insured value of your home stays on par with that of the marketplace.

Strive to get a reliable appraisal and extended replacement coverage along with an inflation guarantee. These will place you in a good position.

Liability Insurance

Home owners are sometimes caught off guard by third party claims for an injury someone incurred at their house or damages they caused to their neighbor’s property. These things happen, so protect yourself by ensuring your home insurance includes a liability insurance policy. Liability insurance gives the homeowner protection against any third party claims of damages and personal injury that occur on their property or are caused by them. Someone may fall and hurt themselves while on your property, or in the case of neighbors living in close proximity, your child could be playing and accidentally cause damage to their property. Liability insurance takes the burden of paying for medical bills or damages from your pocket, as the insurance company will take care of it.

Get Additional Coverage for Your Valuables

The standard insurance policy covers you home and possessions against eventualities such as natural disasters, fires, theft and accidents, but only does so indirectly for certain assets. Homeowners are sometimes caught off guard when they suffer from a disaster and realize they will not receive full compensation for certain valuables inside the house. The standard HO-3 policy takes care of the structural aspect of the house along with its contents, but there is limits the compensation for expensive possessions such as artwork and fine jewelry. You can obtain full coverage for them by paying a little extra on your policy each year.

 

 

http://blog.homegain.com/guest-bloggers

Purchase loans tick up | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

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Applications for purchase loans increased a seasonally adjusted 2 percent for the week ending May 3 from the previous week, and were up 12 percent on an annual basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

Meanwhile, applications for refinance loans climbed 8 percent from the previous week reaching the highest level since December 2012. The MBA attributed the gain to increases in both the conventional and government refinance indices. Source: MBA

www.inman.com

Mobile Video Viewing on the Rise: Why It Matters [Study] | Bedford Corners Realtor

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Business Insider’s subscription research service, BI Intelligence, has conducted a study about mobile video viewing habits that show a tremendous uptick in the amount of video watched on phones and tablets over the last year.  The uptick isn’t surprising, but the amount of uptick is.  What’s so vastly different between 2011 video viewing habits and 2012’s?  The study finds that the rollout of faster 4G networks, younger audiences gravitating to mobile viewing, and the spread of tablets as the main reasons.  But there is a lot more data to consider in this study.  Let’s take a look.

Mobile Video Continues to Rise in Stature

Here is a chart detailing the viewing habits by device in Q4 of 2012, using data from Ooyala and charted by BI Intelligence:

Mobile Video Viewing on the Rise: Why It Matters [Study]

Here are some amazing stats (courtesy of BI Intelligence):

  • Video on smartphones reached 41 million people by the end of last year.  Additionally, as of January 2013, 41 percent of smartphone owners watch video on the device as opposed to 22 percent as recently as April 2012.  People in the age group of 12-17 watch video on their mobile phone 24 minutes a week, and the 18-24 set watch 28 minutes, compared to 11 minutes for the average person.  Both groups only watch two-thirds of the traditional TV of the average person.
  • While tablets make up a fraction of the total video-capable devices out there, people watch a ton of video on them: 3.5 percent of all online video around the world is watched on them, while 4.5 percent of videos are watched on the far more prevalent smartphones.
  • Tablet viewers watch longer videos (63 percent of their time was spent on videos 10 minutes or longer), and their viewing patterns are close to broadcast TV, making them easier to target for advertisers and broadcasters who know the ins-and-outs of TV best.
  • People who own tablets make video a huge part of it.  It’s one of the top 10 activities they use a tablet for, which can’t be said of smartphones (comScore).  These tablet owners are more likely to cut the cord, or never bother with traditional TV in the first place (Morgan Stanley).  The conversion rates on the ads are much higher than on smartphones.  BI Intelligence cites the Deloitte “State of the Media Democracy Survey” when mentioning that, for the age group of 14-23, watching TV shows on a tablet rivals the time spent watching DVDs and Blu-Rays.  25 percent of the group watch TV shows every day or weekly on tablets.
  • Finally, tablet owners watch 6.7 hours of video content a week, as opposed to non-tablet owners, who watch 5.5 hours (courtesy of Motorola).

The whole point?  With $520 million (13 percent) of the entire ad market devoted to mobile video, finding these tablet owners, who skew younger and voraciously consume video is important.

Source: Mobile Video Viewing on the Rise: Why It Matters [Study]

MY MARKETING PLAN IS BETTER THAN YOURS | Bedford Realtor

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Is it?

Do you feel you offer a better marketing strategy than the next Realtor?  

You do?  Good!  

Now, can people easily see that on your site? Uh-oh, this is where most agents are getting tripped up.

While perusing a fantastic Google+ community page called Photography for Real Estate, I stumbled upon an excellent video pitting “other” Realtor’s images compared to what the Connie Barnes’ team is producing.  Rather than just telling you how genius I think this video is, please watch it.

After watching this and being floored, not only by the presentation of the video, but the content contained therein, I knew I had to interview Connie and her team.  It’s not just about the plethora of comparison videos she has, but also her marketing centric posts like this one on the iPhone and this one explaining their team’s marketing plan.  They are front and center, fully transparent, and showing the world why they are the best in their local area.    Check out her numbers below.

Connie Barnes Business

 

Also, after visiting her site www.conniebarnes.com, look at her website traffic and you will quickly see how having such compelling marketing can lead to $48 million in sales.

Remember, your website isn’t here there to draw people in from the web, it’s also there to provide reassurance to clients you have already met and continue to tell your story long after you left their house.

Website Traffic

I wanted to dive deeper into Connie’s marketing plan, motivation behind her site structure, and how she started off on her path of marketing transparency.

After watching the interview,  if you have any questions for Connie or her team, please post them to theirGoogle+ page!

I know this interview is quite long, but worth all 15 minutes. Enjoy!

 

 

http://techsavvyagent.com

 

BANKS TO BERNANKE: Farmland Looks Bubbly | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

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Ben Bernanke

REUTERS/Larry Downing

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke

In February, Bloomberg reported that members of the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee (TBAC) – made up of high-level executives at Wall Street’s biggest investment banks and asset managers – warned in a quarterly TBAC meeting with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that farmland, junk bonds, and mortgage real estate investment trusts were looking bubbly. 

Via a Freedom of Information Act request, Bloomberg obtained the minutes to that meeting and has revealed some more information about what was said at the meeting in a new report.

According to the minutes, Bloomberg reporters Craig Torres and Joshua Zumbrun write that the TBAC opposed the Fed’s third round of quantitative easing – this time open-ended, unlike the previous two iterations – when it was announced in September:

The advisory council opposed continued Fed accommodation on Sept. 14, a day after the conclusion of the FOMC’s two-day meeting Sept. 12-13. The Fed after that gathering announced a third round of bond buying with purchases of $40 billion per month of mortgage-backed securities.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/wall-streets-biggest-banks-opposed-qe3-2013-5#ixzz2SnR5xmHD

The Inflation Data Are Pointing To Another Housing Bubble | Katonah Real Estate

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t’s easy to spot a Fed-sponsored housing bubble if you look in the right places. The best place to start is an analysis of price inflation as measured by the BLS as compared to a CPI-variant that takes actual housing prices into consideration instead of rent.

This is a followup to my post Dissecting the Fed-Sponsored Housing Bubble; HPI-CPI Revisited; Real Housing Prices; Price Inflation Higher than Fed Admits.

Data for the following charts is courtesy of Lender Processing Services (LPS), Specifically the LPS Home Price Index (HPI).

The charts were produced by Doug Short at Advisor Perspectives. Anecdotes on the charts in light blue are by me.

Background

The CPI does not track home prices per se, rather the CPI uses a concept called “Owners’ Equivalent Rent” (OER) as a proxy for home prices.

The BLS determines OER from a measure of actual rental prices and also by asking homeowners the question “If someone were to rent your home today, how much do you think it would rent for monthly, unfurnished and without utilities?”

If you find that preposterous, I am sure you are not the only one. Regardless, rental prices are simply not a valid measure of home prices.

OER Weighting in CPI

CPI categories

Mish Shedlock

OER is now at 24.041% of CPI, which still rounds to 24.0%, but the other housing wedge is now an even 17.0%, down from 17.1% in the previous version.

 

The rest of the charts show various effects if one substitutes actual home prices as measured by the HPI in the data.

Two Inflation Indexes 

CPI with HPI substitute for OER and FFR

Mish Shedlock

click on any chart for sharper image

As measured by the CPI, price inflation is 1.47% annualized. As measured by HPI-substitution, price inflation is a much higher 3.33%. The Fed would have you believe everything is under control. Of course they said the same thing in 2005.

Read more: http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/05/hugely-negative-real-interest-rates.html#ixzz2SnQBfapO