What’s the secret to a successful kitchen remodel? Knowing what mistakes to avoid! Almost everyone who has been through a remodel has a war story to share about what they’d do differently. Whether it’s the neighbor’s never-ending remodel, or the friend of a friend whose contractor couldn’t get along with the architect, keep your dream kitchen from becoming a nightmare by protecting yourself from these common first-timer mistakes.
Rising home prices drove down the number of U.S. homeowners struggling with underwater mortgages in the second quarter, leaving 14.5 percent of residential properties with a mortgage in negative equity, a report from CoreLogic showed on Tuesday.
The rate was down from 19.7 percent in the first quarter, 22.3 percent a year ago and 26 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, which was the most since CoreLogic began keeping statistics earlier that year.
Negative equity, another term for underwater mortgage, refers to properties whose value is less than what is owed on the mortgage.
Negative equity rates spiked in the aftermath of the housing crisis, which began in earnest five years ago and set off a multi-year free-fall in prices. But recovery in the sector over the past year has helped improve some homeowners’ standings.
There were 7.1 million underwater homes in the second quarter compared with a downwardly revised 9.6 million in the first three months of 2013, CoreLogic said.
According to the S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas, prices were up 12.1 percent in the 12 months to June.
“Price appreciation obviously had a positive impact on home equity over the first half of 2013, especially in the second quarter,” CoreLogic Chief Executive Anand Nallathambi said in a statement.
About 3.5 million homeowners regained positive equity in the first half of the year, the report said.
Nevada had the highest percentage of properties in negative equity in the second quarter at 36.4 percent. Rounding out the top five were Florida, Arizona, Michigan and Georgia.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/09/10/usa-housing-corelogic-idINL2N0H513I20130910
Mold is a familiar problem in homes, traceable to ordinary water sources such as a damp basement, plumbing problems, or roof or window leaks. But Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge inundation was a whole different scale of water intrusion — and, according to the Asbury Park Press, it left behind a whole different scale of mold problem (“Sandy left Shore properties with a massive mold problem,” by Todd B. Bates and Jean Mikle).
“Superstorm Sandy flooded tens of thousands of New Jersey homes, businesses and schools,” the paper reports, “and longtime home inspectors say the state’s mold problem is the biggest they’ve ever seen.”
With whole stretches of the barrier islands closed to residents and contractors alike after the storm, homes sat wet for weeks or even months, giving mold an uncontested hold (see “Sandy Aftermath: Jersey Shore Struggles with Shattered Infrastructure,” Coastal Connection 11/14/2012).
“Many people tried to get rid of mold on their own or hired professionals or other contractors to clean up. But many people did not have the knowledge, tools, or equipment to properly remove mold, which frequently returned,” reports the Asbury Park Press. “Mold also resurfaced after some contractors completed their work. And some contractors vastly overcharged homeowners. Moreover, many people still don’t know they have a mold contamination problem, according to experts.”
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.
| Katonah NY Weekly Real Estate Report | 9/10/2013 | |
| Homes for sale | 45 | |
| Median Ask Price | $999,000.00 | |
| Low Price | $450,000.00 | |
| High Price | $18,995,000.00 | |
| Average Size | 4143 | |
| Average Price/foot | $447.00 | |
| Average DOM | 132 | |
| Average Ask Price | $2,451,618.00 | |
Polls for Bedford’s Conservative and Independence primary elections open at 6 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. Tuesday, with contested races for seats on the Town Board and for the role of Town Justice.
With two seats available on the Bedford Town Board, candidates Mary Beth Kass and incumbent Francis Corcoran will appear on the Conservative ballot. Conservative voters also have a write-in option.
The town supervisor position also is up for election this year – with Don Scott running on the Conservative ticket and Chris Burdick, a current member of the Town Board, on the Independence ballot. There also is a write-in option for both ballots.
The role of town clerk is being sought on the Conservative ticket by incumbent Lisabeth Boo Fumagalli and on the Independence ballot by Simone Shapiro. Both ballots have the option for writing in a candidate.
Judy Aydelott and incumbent Erik Jacobsen are running against each other on the Conservative and Independence ballots for Bedford Town Justice.
County Legislator and Majority Leader Peter Harckham, of North Salem, is running on the Independence ticket to keep his District 2 seat on the Westchester County Board of Legislators. Voters also have the option of writing in a candidate for the District 2 seat, which represents Bedford, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, North Salem, Pound Ridge and Somers.
Check the Westchester Board of Elections’ website for information about polling locations.
http://bedford.dailyvoice.com/politics/bedford-voters-head-polls-tuesday-primary-elections
Work is underway at the long awaited Millwood Firehouse.
The fire department announced on its Facebook page that it had received a permit from the New Castle Building Department on Aug. 27.
Site work began on Aug. 30, according to the Facebook page. Currently, a path is being carved out and vegetation is being cleared.
The 9-acre 18,000 square foot site is located at 100 Millwood Road. Millwood’s current firehouse at 60 Millwood Road was built in the 1920s.
Millwood Fire District voters approved a bond referendum in 2011 for up to $13.95 million in spending for the new firehouse.
The commissioners board said the fire department expects to move to its new home on the fire company’s original firehouse’s 90th anniversary.
Construction is expected to be completed by late fall 2014.
http://chappaqua.dailyvoice.com/news/work-begins-new-millwood-firehouse
Welcome back to The Brokerbabble Glossary, where Curbed takes a word or phrase that shows up repeatedly in listings and deciphers its true meaning. Ideas? Hit up the tipline.
[4601 NE Royal Ct, Portland, via Trulia]
Sometimes words get misused in real estate listings because they have multiple meanings, or precisely what they mean in the first place is confusing, or because brokers get a little too excited about the positive attributes of a particular house or property. And sometimes there is just no excuse. This is one of those times.
[8036 12th Ave NW, Seattle, via Trulia]
There might be a reason that these “top floor” views aren’t pictured.
[3009 34th St NW, Washington, DC, via Trulia]
Normally, a “commanding view” is from a dominating vantage point, usually overlooking something. You can debate what that means, exactly, but “through a chain link fence” probably doesn’t cut it.
[1106 Autumn Rdg, San Antonio, via Trulia]
This is a pretty dinky fireplace. · The Brokerbabble Glossary archives [Curbed National] · The Brokerbabble Glossary archives [Curbed NY]
The housing recovery will keep rolling right along through August as price increases continue to score in the double digit range and rise for the 18th straight month, according to CoreLogic’s pending sales index.
Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 12.4 percent on a year-over-year basis in July 2013 compared to July 2012. Prices are rising even faster than they did in the first half of the year, when they averaged 10 percent from January through June. On a month-over-month basis, including distressed sales, home prices increased by 1.8 percent in July 2013 compared to June 2013,
Excluding distressed sales, home prices increased on a year-over-year basis by 11.4 percent in July 2013 compared to July 2012. On a month-over-month basis, excluding distressed sales, home prices increased 1.7 percent in July 2013 compared to June 2013. Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.
The CoreLogic Pending HPI indicates that August 2013 home prices, including distressed sales, are expected to rise by 12.3 percent on a year-over-year basis from August 2012 and rise by 0.4 percent on a month-over-month basis from July 2013. Excluding distressed sales, August 2013 home prices are poised to rise 12.2 percent year over year from August 2012 and by 1.2 percent month over month from July 2013. The CoreLogic Pending HPI is a proprietary and exclusive metric that provides the most current indication of trends in home prices. It is based on Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data that measure price changes for the most recent month.
“Home prices continued to surge in July,” said Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Looking ahead to the second half of the year, price growth is expected to slow as seasonal demand wanes and higher mortgage rates have a marginal impact on home purchase demand.”
“Home prices continue to climb across the nation in July with markets hit hardest during the downturn leading the way,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “Nationally, home prices are now within 18 percent of their peak levels reached in April of 2006.”
Highlights as of July 2013:
*June data was revised. Revisions with public records data are standard, and to ensure accuracy, CoreLogic incorporates the newly released public data to provide updated results.
July HPI for the Country’s Largest CBSAs by Population (Ranked by Single-Family Including Distressed):
CBSA | July 2013 12-Month HPI | |
Change by CBSA | ||
Single-Family Including Distressed | Single-Family Excluding Distressed | |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA | 22.6% | 20.1% |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 22.5% | 21.1% |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ | 18.1% | 15.7% |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA | 15.6% | 13.7% |
| Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX | 11.1% | 11.9% |
| Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX | 10.0% | 10.7% |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 9.1% | 9.0% |
| Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL | 8.6% | 10.7% |
| New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ | 7.8% | 8.2% |
| Philadelphia, PA | 4.3% | 4.8% |
Source: CoreLogic.
http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/09/corelogic-prices-to-rise-123-percent-in-august/
| Bedford Corners NY Weekly Real Estate Report | 9/9/2013 | |
| Homes for sale | 43 | |
| Median Ask Price | $1,495,000.00 | |
| Low Price | $525,000.00 | |
| High Price | $12,000,000.00 | |
| Average Size | 4927 | |
| Average Price/foot | $478.00 | |
| Average DOM | 167 | |
| Average Ask Price | $2,610,686.00 | |