Category Archives: Bedford

Housing Inventories Rose in August | Bedford NY Real Estate

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Housing inventories increased in August and stood just 2.5% below their levels of a year ago, offering the latest sign that more sellers are testing the market after swift home-price gains over the past year.

Nationally, there were 1.98 million homeslisted for sale in August, according to a report released Thursday by Realtor.com. That was up by more than 24% from the low point in February and up 1% from July. Inventories have increased for six straight months.

While the overall level of homes for sale remains relatively depressed, the report suggests that inventory may have hit a bottom earlier this year after an extended two-year decline.

The report also suggests that home-buyer traffic has eased following a period in which mortgage rates have jumped by more than one percentage point.

Inventories in nine of the nation’s top 30 housing markets were above their levels of last August, led by Los Angeles, where inventory was up by 17.4% from a year ago to its highest level since April 2012. Inventories in Atlanta were 13.9% above last year’s level. Other gains were reported in Orlando, Fla. (up 7.1%); Orange County, Calif. (6.9%); Miami (5.1%); Philadelphia (4.2%); and Phoenix (2.8%).

Listings stood 23.3% below last year’s levels in Detroit and were down by 20.1% in Boston, 17.9% in Denver and San Diego, and 14.8% in Dallas.

Median asking prices nationally were unchanged from July at $199,900, which represented a 6% increase from a year earlier. Asking prices were below last year’s level in Cleveland, but they were unchanged or up from a year ago in every other major market.

Half of all homes listed in August had been on the market for less than 92 days, up from 85 in July and 79 in May, but still below the median market time of 100 days last year.

The Realtor.com figures include sale listings from more than 800 multiple-listing services across the country. They don’t cover all homes for sale, including those that are “for sale by owner” and newly constructed homes that aren’t always listed by the services.

 

 

Housing Inventories Rose in August – Developments – WSJ.

YouTube playlists: a cool way to expose listings | Bedford Realtor

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Video has become an integral part of the real estate business. Have you ever considered how you could use this powerful tool over and beyond property tours, self-promotion and sharing the lifestyle in your market area? Are you willing to take the plunge and explore? According to Alexa.com, YouTube is currently the third most visited site in the world.

It ranks second worldwide in terms of average amount of time spent on the site, second only to Facebook. Consumers love video. In fact, they are much more likely to pay attention to your marketing messages when you attach a video. If you would like to reach more consumers and convert more listing appointments into signed listings using YouTube, here’s how to do it: Imagine that you have five listings in a single market area. You would like to find a way to market all five listings to local residents.

The challenge is that you don’t have their email addresses, door knocking is a chore, and using the backs of the brochures to market additional listings works only when someone stops by your brochure box. You can now market all five listings with a single URL from YouTube.

The secret is to set up your own personal YouTube channel. This is a powerful way to stand out from the competition. Furthermore, only a small percentage of agents have made the transition to integrating video into their business. Even fewer have created their own channel, and virtually no one is using the playlist feature as a marketing tool in conjunction with traditional mailing programs. I discovered the playlist tool on YouTube when I wanted to load 12 excerpts from our new agent training program into a separate YouTube channel.

Since I had already set up a YouTube channel with my name, YouTube would not allow me to create another channel, even when I tried using a different email address. I then noticed that YouTube had a feature that allowed me to aggregate multiple videos into a playlist attached to a single URL.

The process was simple. First, create your videos. Second, select the ones you want to include in your playlist. Third, name the playlist. Fourth, upload the videos into the system. YouTube then generates a URL that will allow you to play all the videos from a single link.

The feature works the same way you would create a playlist in iTunes.

read more…

 

http://www.inman.com/2013/09/03/youtube-playlists-a-cool-way-to-expose-listings/#sthash.oqTJLbpy.dpuf

Case-Shiller is Still on a Roll | Bedford NY Real Estate

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Once again in June, prices increased at a double digit pace in both the 10-City and 20-City Composites Indexes from S&P/Case-Shiller, posting returns of 2.2% for June and 11.9% and 12.1% over 12 months.

The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, grew 7.1% in the second quarter and 10.1% over the last four quarters.

All 20 cities posted gains on a monthly and annual basis. However, in only six cities were prices rising faster this month than last, compared to ten in May. Dallas and Denver reached new all-time highs as they did last month, with returns of +1.7% each in June. San Francisco’s rebound is the largest, up 47.0% from its low in March 2009. Phoenix is second, 37.1% above its September 2011

Measured from their June/July 2006 peaks, the peak-to-current decline for both 10-City and 20-City Composites is approximately 23%. The recovery from the March 2012 lows is 18.4% and 19.0% for the 10-City and 20-City Composites.

“National home prices rose more than 10% annually in each of the last two quarters,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “However, the monthly city by city data show the pace of price increases is moderating.

“The Southwest and California have consistently led the recovery with Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco posting at least 15 months of gains. Looking at the cities, New York recorded its highest monthly return since 2002. Atlanta was up the most at +3.4% and Washington DC had the lowest return at +1.0%. In terms of annual rates of change, San Francisco lost its leadership position with Las Vegas showing the highest post-recession gain of 24.9%.

“Overall, the report shows that housing prices are rising but the pace may be slowing. Thirteen out of twenty cities saw their returns weaken from May to June. As we are in the middle of a seasonal buying period, we should expect to see the most gains. With interest rates rising to almost 4.6%, home buyers may be discouraged and sharp increases may be dampened.

“Other housing news is positive, but not as robust as last spring. Starts and sales of new homes continue to lag the stronger pace set by existing homes. Despite recent increases in mortgage interest rates, affordability is still good as credit qualifications have eased somewhat.”

As of June 2013, average home prices across the United States are back to their spring 2004 levels. Measured from their June/July 2006 peaks, the peak-to-current decline for both Composites is approximately 23%. The recovery from the March 2012 lows is 18.4% and 19.0% for the 10-City and 20-City Composites.

All 20 cities showed positive monthly returns for at least the third consecutive month. Six cities – Charlotte, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, New York and Tampa – showed acceleration. Atlanta took the lead with a return of 3.4% as San Francisco dropped to +2.7% in June from +4.3% in May. New York posted a gain of 2.1%, its highest since July 2002.

Year-over-year, Las Vegas and San Francisco were the only two MSAs to post gains of over 20%; Atlanta, Detroit and Phoenix decreased to +19.0%, +16.4% and +19.8%, respectively. Seven cities – Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Diego and Tampa – showed improvement in their annual rates. Out of the 13 remaining MSAs, Detroit showed the most deceleration but it still posted an impressive 16.4% increase. Despite gaining 35.6% from its post-recession low in April 2011, Detroit remains the only city below its January 2000 level

 

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/08/case-shiller-is-still-on-a-roll/

 

Early Bedford Town Primary Election Results | Bedford NY Homes

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The results are in for several primary elections in Bedford races for supervisor, town clerk, town justice and councilman.

Unofficial results suggest that incumbent Erik Jacobsen topped Judy Aydelott for the Independence Party nomination for town justice with 68-percent of the vote and the Conservative Party nomination with 70-percent of the vote.

All other races in Bedford featured candidates running unopposed.

Mary Beth Kass and incumbent Francis Corcoran are the Conservative Party nominees for councilman. Don Scott is the Conservative Party nominee for supervisor. Lisabeth Boo Fumagalli is the Conservative Party nominee for town clerk.

Chris Burdick is the Independence Party nominee for supervisor. Simone Shaprio is the Independence Party nominee for town clerk.

As of Wednesday morning, 88-percent of the vote had been tallied.

The Daily Voice will update results as write-in votes are tallied.

Negative equity to crimp inventory for years to come | Bedford Real Estate

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As home prices continued to increase rapidly, the number of underwater homeowners — borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth — fell at a fast clip in the second quarter, Zillow reported.

But even if steady price appreciation continues, millions of borrowers remain years away from regaining positive equity, and with it, a better ability to sell their homes, Zillow said.

According to Zillow, about 12.2 million homeowners, or 23.8 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage, were underwater at the end of the second quarter, down from 13 million in the first quarter and 15.3 million in the second quarter of 2012.

While that marked a 20 percent year-over-year decrease in underwater homeowners, millions of borrowers are still years away from shedding negative equity, even as the market recovers, Zillow said.

“The frustratingly slow pace of negative equity declines in the face of such robust home value appreciation is a direct result of the fact that many people in the hardest-hit markets are underwater by an enormous amount,” said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries in a statement.

“Because of this, negative equity will be a factor in these markets for years to come, constraining the supply of homes for sale and keeping people out of the market who might otherwise get involved.”

read more….

 

 

http://www.inman.com/wire/negative-equity-to-crimp-inventory-for-years-to-come/#sthash.Vjzqgagk.dpuf

Bedford Voters Head To The Polls Tuesday For Primary Elections | Bedford Real Estate

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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

 

Bedford Begins Process To Fill School Board Vacancy | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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The Bedford Central School District has begun the process of filling the vacancy on the school board.

The board is filling the vacancy left by Lee Goldstein, who resigned because her family is moving to Connecticut. The school board said applications are due Sept. 13.

There will be a special election for the seat May 20. Goldstein was elected to the school board in 2012; her three-year term expires June 30, 2015.

The board will conduct interviews at Fox Lane Middle School Sept. 18. The meeting will be open to the public and televised on BCSD-TV. The district said they are asking community members to submit questions or topics by Sept. 13

The board is expected to make an appointment Sept. 25. To be eligible for the position, an individual must be a qualified voter of the district  and have lived in the school district for at least one continuous year. At a minimum, service on the board requires preparation for and attendance at bi-monthly meetings. In addition, board members serve on at least one board subcommittee, which meets monthly.

Interested individuals may obtain an application on the district’s website www.bcsdny.org or may contact Carole LaColla, district clerk at 914-241-6011 or via email at clacolla1777@bcsdny.org.

Susan Wollin, president of the school board, said she is confident the process will choose a worthy candidate. This is the third time the board has filled a vacancy during Wollin’s tenure.

“It’s very similar to the process we’ve used in the past,” Wollin said. “We hope to appoint somebody based on the outcome of the meetings.”

The board last filled a vacancy in 2011 when Mark Chernis resigned to avoid a conflict of interest with his employer and the district.

The Bedford Central School District is comprised of the towns of Bedford, Pound Ridge and Mount Kisco.

 

 

http://bedford.dailyvoice.com/news/bedford-begins-process-fill-school-board-vacancy

 

Decoded: the Most ‘Commanding’ Listings in the Country | Bedford NY Real Estate

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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.

commandinglivingroom.jpg [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.

topfloorviews.jpg [8036 12th Ave NW, Seattle, via Trulia]

There might be a reason that these “top floor” views aren’t pictured.

commandingcathedral.jpg [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.

commandingfireplace.jpg [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]

House Cleaning Service Costs | Bedford NY Real Estate

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t’s a magical feeling to open your door and find your home all clean and smelling fresh. Like Samantha from “Bewitched” just wiggled her nose and, voila, everything shines. A reliable cleaning service can do wonders not only for your home but your state of mind. But keep in mind that the value cleaning services offer may go beyond polished floors and spotless toilets. Sparkling windows, pollutant-free ducts and clear gutters and downspouts are critical to home maintenance as well. How much you’ll pay for a cleaning service often depends on the extent of the cleaning job and the specialized services needed.
Maid Service

The most significant factors affecting the cost of any interior house cleaning or maid service are the number and size of your rooms, whether you own pets, and how often you schedule your cleanings. Many maid services will charge you less per cleaning if you have them come once a week rather than once a month. Some companies will charge more for specialty services, such as window washing, fireplace cleaning, dusting shelves where a large number of books need to be removed and replaced, and cleaning high shelving or ceilings that require a ladder. Some services also will add a trip charge if you live far away from their place of business.  Continue Reading

  • Clean Gutters & Downspouts Costs
    Most homeowners spent between:
    $159 – $203
    Average cost:
    $181
    Minimum
    cost:
    $90
    Maximum
    cost:
    $314

Select your Cleaning Service project

                Exterior Cleaning

                There’s a reason people talk about spring cleaning. During the winter, your property might be covered in snow, and doing exterior cleaning is nearly impossible. But once the snow is melted, you may find your home’s exterior and much of your property looking messy. Depending on the company (or independent contractor) external home cleaning and lawn and garden clean-up may be charged by the scale of the project or by the hour. An experienced cleaning service should be able to give an accurate price quote before beginning the job.

                 

                 

                House Cleaning Service Costs | Cleaning Service Prices.

                Foreclosure starts plummet to six-year lows | Bedford NY Real Estate

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                Foreclosure starts recorded during the 12-month period ending in July fell to an activity level not seen since 2007,Lender Processing Services said in its latest Mortgage Monitor report.

                The report overall showed loan delinquencies and foreclosures on a downward trajectory despite the new influence of rising interest rates and fears that the economy may be slowing coming out of the month of August.

                The delinquency rate month-over-month fell 3.96% with 6.41% of all U.S. mortgages delinquent, LPS data shows. Vintage loans originated after 2010 continue to outperform earlier vintages, which continually record higher delinquency rates.

                Meanwhile, the total U.S. foreclosure presale inventory rate hit 2.82%, down 3.46% from the previous month.

                Originations are beginning to feel the impact of higher interest rates, but July prepayment rates are equal to year ago levels, suggesting mortgage refis continue at a consistent pace.

                In fact, LPS notes that prepayments are equal to levels reached during the refi booms experienced in 2010 and 2009—time periods when interest rates were either higher or equal to current levels.

                Yet, Herb Blecher, senior vice president of LPS, suggests prepayments could decline as interest rates edge higher.

                Refinancing activity through the government’s HARP program in July showed a unique trend with prepayments on loans with 100% LTVs actually increasing during the month.

                And troubled assets are no longer a major headache, at least not at the same level they were in 2011. The real estate market continues to see fewer sales of troubled properties with distressed sales down 30% for the 12-month period ending in June. Short sales on their own fell 60% from last year, making up only 10% of sales for the 12-month period ending in June.

                The states with the highest percentages of distressed sales included Nevada, Florida, California and Arizona – all of which are recovering sand states.

                 

                Foreclosure starts plummet to six-year lows | 2013-09-03 | HousingWire.