Tag Archives: Westchester Real Estate

New York luxury real estate is booming | Bedford Real Estate

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Yolanda Barnes, director of research for Savills, an organization that focuses on international real estate, comments:

There’s a great deal of interest in New York, which is seen as relatively cheap compared to other global cities.” As such, foreign investors who are looking for a new home, who need a vacation spot, or who work on an international level and want to set up a home base in the United States, are turning to New York City as a wonderful place to invest in luxury real estate at a fraction of the cost when compared to the price tags associated with other global locations, such as London.

 

New York luxury real estate is booming | HousingWire.

Home construction climbs 5% in May: McGraw Hill | Chappaqua Real Estate

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At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $495.7 billion, new construction starts in May advanced 5% from April, according to McGraw Hill Construction.

Much of the uptick came from nonresidential building, which registered moderate growth for the second month in a row after its sluggish performance at the outset of 2013.

During the first five months of 2013, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were reported at $187.6 billion, down 3% from last year.

Residential building advanced 3% in May to $206.8 billion.

Single-family housing also edged up 2% in May, the company noted.

The rate of activity for single-family housing continues to be high by recent standards, with May up 26% from the average monthly pace during 2012.

By geography, single-family housing in May revealed gains in the Midwest, up 6%; the West, up 5%, and the South Atlantic, up 2%, respectively.

 

Home construction climbs 5% in May: McGraw Hill | HousingWire.

Home resales rise to three-and-half year high; prices jump | Waccabuc Real Estate

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Home resales rose in May to the highest level in 3-1/2 years and prices jumped, a sign the housing sector recovery is gathering steam and could give the economy a significant boost this year.

The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday that existing home sales advanced 4.2 percent to an annual rate of 5.18 million units, the highest level since November 2009 when a home-buyer tax credit was expiring.

“Whatever inventory is coming onto the market, buyers are ready to snap it up,” said Lawrence Yun, an economist at the NAR.

The increase beat expectations for a rise to a 5 million-unit rate last month.

The housing market is one of the brightest spots in America’s economyand is helping counter Washington’s decision to raise tax rates and cut government spending this year.

A very accommodative monetary policy by the Federal Reserve, which has held mortgage rates near record lows, is helping to lift the housing marketoff the floor. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, however, gave clear signals on Wednesday that the Fed was on track to start dialing back its stimulus by the end of this year.

In May, the median home sales price increased a whopping 15.4 percent from a year ago to $208,000. That was the biggest year-over-year increase since 2005 and left prices at their highest level since July 2008.

“Prices have recovered quite suddenly and quite spectacularly,” Yun said.

With prices rising, more sellers put their properties on the market, lifting the inventory of unsold homes on the market 3.3 percent from April to 2.22 million.

 

Still, the stock of homes for sale continues to be tight in the market. The May level of inventories represented just 5.1 months’ supply at May’s sales pace, down from 5.2 in April. Many economists consider 6.0 months to be a healthy balance between supply and demand.

 

Home resales rise to three-and-half year high; prices jump | Reuters.

Arnold Schwarzenegger sells former Pacific Palisades home | Katonah Homes

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Designed in a Mediterranean style typical of homes in the area, the 10,000-square-foot villa is located at the end of a long gated driveway, reported Zillow.

It was built in 1982 but has been remodeled since, with a total of 9 bedrooms, 9.5 baths, a large pool, cabana and championship-size tennis court. The grounds, spanning 2.48 acres, include expansive lawns, gardens and a duck pond. The property also provides direct access to Will Rogers State Historic Park horse trails and polo fields, according to Zillow.

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger sells former Pacific Palisades home | HousingWire.

Rates rising too quickly could hurt housing recovery | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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In the short term, the jump in interest rates is spurring home buyers in the Washington region and other hot markets to action, adding to the already frenzied competition to get a home, writes the Washington Post.

But a sustained rise would hurt a fragile housing recovery, which has climbed out of the depths of its crash with the help of record-low rates, economists said.

“The biggest threat to the recovery is that rates rise too fast,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.

 

Rates rising too quickly could hurt housing recovery | HousingWire.

Texas homebuyer demographic shifts from singles to marrieds | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Texas homebuyers are buying more new homes and they’re finding them faster, according to the Texas Association of Realtors. This indicates a steadily growing, competitive housing market in The Lone Star State. 

Shad Bogany, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors, said, “This report affirms the Texas real estate industry as a driving force in our state’s economy. More new homes are being built and homes are selling faster, which bodes well for our thriving Texas housing market and our economy’s future.”

In 2012, 26% of all homes purchased in Texas were new. Additionally, Texas homebuyers only spent eight weeks looking for a home prior to making their purchase. Compared to Texas, only 16% of homes nationwide were new homes and homebuyers spent an extra month searching for the right property.

It seems that the makeup of Texas homebuyers has shifted as well, with 69% of homebuyers being married couples, compared to 65% nationally. This marks the highest share since 2001.

Conversely, the share of homebuyers classified as “single” hit the lowest level since 2001, with singles representing only 16% of Texas homebuyers and 15% nationwide. 

Bogany explained, “The recession led to tighter credit and lending standards across the U.S., which is why you’re seeing less individual home buyers. For many, it required a dual income to afford a home in 2012.” 

 

Texas homebuyer demographic shifts from singles to marrieds | HousingWire.

Homebuilders and lumber dealers face supply shortage | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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Home builders and lumber dealers are facing a significant shortage of materials necessary for building a home, such as lumber and wall board, according to the National Association of Home Builders and theNational Lumber and Building Material Dealers Assocation. 

“Supply constraints are one of the barriers to a more robust recovery,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “The shortages and price increases reported by both homebuilders and lumber dealers are particularly concerning given that the current rate of construction is still far below what would be considered normal or necessary to meet underlying demand.” 

The highest reported incidence of shortages was for oriented strand board, with 22% of builders reporting shortages. Following closely is wall board, with 20% of builders reporting a shortage, and framing lumber and plywood, with 18% of builders reporting shortages. 

The survey asked both builder and lumber dealers about the shortages of 24 specific building products and materials. For the majority of the products, the share of builders reporting a shortage was considerably higher in May 2013 than the previous two years. 

“The shares of reported shortages are not as high now as they were in 2004 or 2005, but the increases since 2012 are quite significant, especially when you take the early stage of the housing recovery into account,” said Crowe. 

He added, “In 2004 and 2005 the home building industry was producing over 1.8 million new homes a year, while the current rate of new housing starts is still below 1 million.”

 

Homebuilders and lumber dealers face supply shortage | HousingWire.

Inventory Increases Threaten Price Appreciation | Armonk Real Estate

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The inventory deficit that jump started the recovery is now filling up fast with new listings as home sellers get the message. But are just hastening the day prices slow down?

The current January to April year-to-year to date increase in the supply of existing homes is the third highest in nearly 30 years writes CoreLogic Deputy Chief Economist Sam Khater in the current issue of CoreLogic’s Market Pulse newsletter.

“How much further can the rapidly appreciating markets go?” he asked, noting that most states are currently close to their fundamental long-term price trends relative to long term inflation-adjusted trend.

Khater suggested that the “invisible lid that has been on supply” is in the process of being removed. A key factor has been the fact that more homeowners not only are above water but also have reached or exceeded their “reservation price”-the price lowest price at which an owner is willing to sell. “For homeowners with positive equity, the reservation price condition is met when their willingness to sell is at a higher price than the market currently supports.

 

Inventory Increases Threaten Price Appreciation | RealEstateEconomyWatch.com.

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton lists NY Flatiron condo | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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The couple bought their new place in The Whitman, a secure building on East 26th Street, for $10.5 million in early March, which led them to list their former home at the nearby Grand Madison for $4.475 million. The couple didn’t move far; both buildings are located in the Flatiron District and have views of Madison Square Park.

Mezvinsky bought the Grand Madison condo in 2008 for $4 million, reported the Real Deal. The couple had been living there since their marriage in 2010 until very recently, writes Zillow.

 

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton lists NY Flatiron condo | HousingWire.

Dodd-Frank impact on loan availability remains a concern | Bedford Real Estate

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The qualified mortgage rule’s full impact on home lending remains somewhat of a mystery, but lawmakers and industry professionals debated the rule’s potential influence on the home lending market during a House Subcommittee hearing Tuesday.

Industry experts testified in front of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, sharing fears about certain borrowers being locked out of the lending system.

“We need to make sure we have a financial system that allows access to credit for low and moderate income households,” said Member Gregory Meeks.”The housing sector is vital to our economic recovery.”

Committee member Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., said his main concern is how the ability-to-repay standards in addition to the QM rule will affect his constituents’ ability to get a mortgage.

Rep. Gary Miller, R-Calif., acknowledged QM’s role in protecting consumers from subprime loans and other products, but noted that it also could have the unintended effect of keeping creditworthy borrowers on the sidelines.

Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C., stated that this new rule could end up undermining the housing recovery. He said the CFPB’s QM rule has caused great concerns to both banks and credit unions, who fear regulators will view any loan outside of QM standards as too risky. 

Once each committee member had a chance to testify, the spotlight shifted to the table of witnesses. 

Charles Vice, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions, said state regulators have found that regulations and supervision needs to be more tailored to how community banks lend.

Vice, who has been in the finance industry for more than 20 years, said it’s crucial that community banks be allowed to positively impact the national and local economy. 

James C. Gardill, chairman of the board at WesBanco, is concerned that many creditworthy families will be denied access to credit as banks become afraid to make any loans outside of QM standards. 

This means that less affluent communities won’t be given what they need to thrive, he said. The end result of the CFPB’s rule will be less available credit to some individuals and communities. 

 

Dodd-Frank impact on loan availability remains a concern | HousingWire.