Category Archives: North Salem

Mortgage Rates Move Down Again | North Salem Real Estate

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Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates moving down again across the board. Average fixed rates that continue to run below four percent will help keep affordability high for those in the market to buy a home as we head into the spring homebuying season.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.69 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending March 26, 2015, down from last week when it averaged 3.78 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.40 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 2.97 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.06 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.42 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.92 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.97 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.10 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.46 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, unchanged from last week. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.44 percent.

Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following links for theRegional and National Mortgage Rate Details and Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

Quotes
Attributed to Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist, Freddie Mac.

“The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 3.69 percent this week following a decline in 10-year Treasury yields. Low mortgage rates are a welcome sign for those in the market to buy a home this spring season and will help to support homebuyer affordability. Existing home sales in February increased slightly, but less than expected, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million units. Meanwhile, new home sales outperformed expectations and surged 7.8 percent to an annual pace of 539,000 units.”

Southern California housing market is poised for a stronger spring | North Salem Homes

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After two years of slim pickings for Southern California home buyers, the supply of houses for sale may be starting to open up, at least a bit. And that could power the region’s housing market to a stronger spring.

The fundamentals are good. But affordability is going to stare us right in the face again.
– Selma Hepp, senior economist at C.A.R.
Market watchers and real estate agents say they’re starting to see more sellers as prices remain relatively high, interest rates stay low and fewer borrowers owe more on their houses than they’re worth. The number of homes listed for sale in February climbed 9% in Los Angeles County from a year earlier, according to data from the California Assn. of Realtors, and the time it would take to sell every house on the market was at its highest level in three years.

“Supply is not an issue right now, not like it was,” said Rich Simonin, chief executive of Westcoe Realtors in Riverside. “It’s not a problem.”

That’s a shift from the last few years, when many sellers held their homes off the market and bidding wars were common for the rare well-priced listing. More supply should help keep prices in check, economists say, and coupled with an improving economy could help fuel a broad recovery in the region’s housing market over the next few months.

But so far the housing market has been in a slump.

lRelated Housing starts fall in February as home builders hit the brakes
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Housing starts fall in February as home builders hit the brakes
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Home sales in the six-county Southland fell 2.7% in February from a year earlier, according to figures out Tuesday from CoreLogic DataQuick; it was the 15th time in 17 months that sales have fallen. Although the region’s median sale price of $415,000 was up 8.4% compared with February 2013, it has been basically flat since last summer, when it plateaued as many buyers hit a ceiling for what they could afford.

Selma Hepp, senior economist at C.A.R., says measures of buyer interest — online real estate searches and open-house traffic — have jumped in recent weeks. If that activity translates into sales, it could put a new round of pressure on pricing, she said.

 

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http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-home-sales-20150318-story.html

Producer Prices in February – Falling Prices, Except for Gypsum | North Salem Real Estate

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Producer Price Indexes (PPI) for February. Inflation in prices received by producers (prior to sales to consumers) declined 0.5% in February. The decline was dominated by a decline in prices for services and within services prices for trade, transportation and warehousing. Prices for goods also declined led by falling food prices. Energy prices leveled off in February after declines accelerated through the second half of last year and reached -10.3% in January.

Softwood lumber prices declined 1.6% in February. The Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Index points to further declines in March. Analysts point to softer than expected US single family construction in 2014, inventory management on the part of distributors, and softening overseas markets as factors. Additional declines will be tempered going forward by possible log shortages and continuing transportation bottlenecks.

Prices for OSB declined 2.9% after modest upticks in the prior three months. The return of mothballed capacity since 2013 has supply outpacing demand. Random Lengths indicates additional declines in March. The PPI for OSB indicates a 46% decline from the price peak in March 2013.

Prices for gypsum jumped 3.9% in February after a 4.3% increase in January reaching an all-time high. Gypsum prices are now 5.4% higher than their 2006 housing boom peak while single family housing starts remain depressed at roughly half the normal level of production.

blog ppi 2015_03

 

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http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/03/producer-prices-in-february-falling-prices-except-for-gypsum/

London’s ‘iceberg homes’ plumb the city’s depths | North Salem Real Estate

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In London’s most upmarket districts, shovel-wielding teams are hard at work in what look like mines hidden beneath luxury homes, sidestepping the British capital’s planning rules by expanding underground.

Some of their more hi-tech kit may end up buried there — it is reported that the cost of bringing it back above ground is more than its value — and the bowels of the British capital have already become a graveyard for around 1,000 excavating machines.

The trend started in the late 1990s, when residents developed small basements, calculating it was a cheaper way of increasing floorspace than moving house while sticking to the strict height rules imposed by the city’s conservation bodies.

But Paul Schaaf, partner of architectural firm The Basement Design Studio, told AFP that since the 2008 recession, his firm has largely been called in to help with vast spaces beneath houses in the opulent neighbourhoods of south and west London.

“We ended up doing different ones, larger ones where people weren’t so much affected by the recession in well-established residential properties, in Kensington and north London,” he said.

Permit applications for this type of work have soared: in 2013, Kensington and Chelsea Town Hall received 450 compared to just 20 a decade ago.

“We’re talking about two or three floors down and extending beyond the boundaries of the garden. It can sometimes go under the road,” complained Murad Qureshi, a Labour member of the London Assembly, the elected body that holds the London mayor to account.

Often the new spaces house luxurious marble swimming pools, home theatres or garages for classic cars.

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Developing basements allows residents to increase floorspace …

Developing basements allows residents to increase floorspace while sticking to strict planning restr …

“This is really the super-rich extending very large properties even further, ” Qureshi said, calling the properties “iceberg homes”.

Last year, Qureshi unsuccessfully tried to impose limits on such developments in the capital.

“A lot of local residents are very concerned about these extensive developments causing floods, sink holes, structural damage to neighbouring properties and the construction of these deep basements is very disruptive to the immediate neighbourhood,” he said.

– ‘Living in a building site’ –

The work can take several months, even years.

At the chic Orme Square in Westminster, a sewer recently collapsed. The road above had been carrying trucks laden with soil removed from the home of a famous English television presenter.

For two fed-up residents, who wished to remain anonymous, the link is clear.

 

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http://news.yahoo.com/londons-iceberg-homes-plumb-citys-depths-102322228.html

Real Estate Markets Tiptoe Toward Stability | North Salem Real Estate

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Freddie Mac’s proprietary MiMi index, which uses data on mortgage repayments and local economic conditions to track markets against their ‘long-term stable range”, reports that national MiMi value stands at 74.9, indicating a weak housing market overall but showing a slight improvement (+0.37%) from November to December and a positive 3-month trend of (+1.09%).

On a year-over-year basis, the U.S. housing market has improved (+4.41%). The nation’s all-time MiMi high of 121.7 was April 2006; its low was 57.2 in October 2010, when the housing market was at its weakest. Since that time, the housing market has made a 31 percent rebound.

The U.S. housing market continues to stabilize at the national level for the fourth consecutive month. Thirty-eight of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, and 40 of the 50 metros, are now showing an improving three month trend. Three additional metros entered their benchmarked stable ranges of housing activity including Buffalo, Boston and Nashville.

“Housing markets are getting back on track. The national MiMi improved for the fourth consecutive month. Nearly 80 percent of the state and metro housing markets MiMi tracks are improving or in their stable range of activity. We’ve even seen the MiMi purchase application indicator increase 0.07 percent on a year-over-year basis. Low mortgage rates and moderating house price growth are helping to keep payment-to-income ratios favorable for the typical family in most of the country. In fact, Los Angeles is the only metro market with an elevated MiMi payment-to-income indicator whereas most other markets remain quite affordable. And of course, labor markets are generally improving,” said Freddie Mac Deputy Chief Economist Len Kiefer.

 

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http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2015/02/real-estate-markets-tiptoe-toward-stability/

Historic snows causing headaches for real estate industry | North Salem Real Estate

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All that snow in New England may make your property look as pretty as a calendar shot, but it won’t do you any favors if you’re trying to buy or sell a house.

The storms that have dropped an epic 8 feet of snow are causing grief for the real estate industry.

Some real estate agents have had to cancel nearly a month of weekend open houses because of the poorly timed snowstorms. Others have had to brace prospective buyers about to tour homes showing the ravages of winter, including leaky walls and ceilings caused by a buildup of ice on the roof.

Agents complain that deals are being held up because inspectors are unable to get a look at roofs, septic tanks and other features buried under mounds of snow and ice.

And sellers are grumbling about how difficult it is to move out of their homes in the treacherous weather.

“Honestly, every day is a new issue,” said Kate Lanagan MacGregor, a real estate agent in Mattapoisett, as she rattled off some of her recent struggles. Her latest: trying to empty a newly sold house of the furniture her company had used to “stage” the place for prospective buyers.

“Usually, you can just run up and grab your furniture. Now, the driveway’s not plowed, there’s no path shoveled and you can’t physically get your stuff out the door,” she said.

Homeowner Abbie Cregan recounted her ordeal moving out of her longtime home in Fairhaven just days earlier.

“We were literally pulling washers, dryers, furniture sets out of the house with a dolly and a strap and dragging them through the snow,” she said from her new home in snow-free Phoenix, Arizona. “I still have bruises from it.”

Jeremy Madore said he and his wife are closing on a four-bedroom home in Leominster that they found just weeks ago, in the throes of the snowstorms. He said a home inspector had to clear away a chunk of the snow-covered roof to assess its quality.

Now they’re watching to see how the barn’s roof holds up under the weight and what happens to the basement when the snows finally melt.

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Encumbered by the snow pack, Kevin Thompson, right, …

Encumbered by the snow pack, Kevin Thompson, right, and Dave Garro of Bold Moves Real Estate carry a …

“It was definitely more aggravating home shopping in this weather,” Madore said. “We climbed over snowbanks and icy, slippery steps. I brought my snow pants and boots to make sure I wasn’t deterred from making a full circle around the property.”

Corinne Fitzgerald, president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, said she won’t have a clear picture of the effect on home sales until figures come in around mid-March. But February, she noted, tends to be the slowest month anyway.

Nationally, sales of existing homes fell slightly in January, in part because of the severe cold and snowy weather in New England and other parts of the country, according to Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, a market forecasting firm. He said February data should show further declines.

Real estate agents said many sellers appear to be waiting until the weather clears to put their homes on the market, meaning a potentially busy spring. But winter can also hold certain opportunities.

 

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/historic-snows-causing-headaches-real-estate-industry-190237900–finance.html

 

Mortgage Rates Up Again | North Salem Real Estate

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Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates moving higher amid a strong employment report. Regardless, fixed-rate mortgages rates still remain near their May 23, 2013 lows.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.76 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending February 19, 2015, up from last week when it averaged 3.69 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.33 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.05 percent with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.99 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.35 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.97 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, unchanged from last week. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.08 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.45 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.42 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.57 percent.

Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following links for theRegional and National Mortgage Rate Details and Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

Quotes
Attributed to Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist, Freddie Mac.

“Mortgage rates rose for the second consecutive week as 10-year Treasury yields surged. Housing starts declined 2 percent to a seasonally adjusted pace of 1.065 million units and housing permits dipped 0.7 percent in January. However, homebuilders remain confident about new home sales although slightly tempered from last month as the NAHB Housing Market Index slipped 2 points to 55 in February.”

Mortgage Rates Move Higher on Strong Jobs Report | North Salem Real Estate

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Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates moving higher amid a strong employment report. Regardless, fixed-rate mortgages rates still remain near their May 23, 2013 lows.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.69 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending February 12, 2015, up from last week when it averaged 3.59 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.28 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 2.99 percent with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.92 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.33 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.97 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.82 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.05 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.42 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.39 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.55 percent.

Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following links for theRegional and National Mortgage Rate Details and Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

Quotes
Attributed to Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist, Freddie Mac.

“Mortgage rates rose this week following strong economic data. The economy added 257,000 new jobs in January after robust increases of 329,000 in December and 423,000 in November. The unemployment rate edged up to 5.7 percent last month from 5.6 percent in December. Average hourly earnings rose 0.5 percent, following a 0.2 percent decline in December.

Look for Rental Profits Where Foreclosures Were | North Salem Real Estate

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A number of familiar former foreclosure hotbeds top RealtyTrac’s list of best markets to buy a rental property in the first quarter of 2015.  They’ve got the right mix of employment, growth, prices and potential return.

The report also looks at which markets are seeing the biggest increases in rental rates in 2015 compared to 2014, and provides rankings of the best safe haven residential rental markets, along with the best markets for renting to Millennials, best markets for renting to Generation Xers, and best markets for renting to Baby Boomers.

“With homeownership rates at their lowest level in 20 years, historically low levels of housing starts and relatively low home prices in many parts of the country, there is still plenty of opportunity in the U.S. housing market for single family rental investors employing a variety of investing strategies,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “Whether focusing on markets where homeownership-shy Millennials are migrating, markets where recovering Gen X homeowners-turned-renters are prevalent, or markets Baby Boomers are testing for retirement, investors can find good options with solid potential rental returns.

“There are certainly markets where buying single family rentals no longer makes sense because of rapidly rising prices over the past few years,” Blomquist added. “Savvy single family rental investors will tread cautiously in such markets despite the siren song of strong home price appreciation.”

“Buying single family homes as rental properties in Southern California is reserved for those that have a very specific investment strategy,” said Chris Pollinger, senior vice president of sales with First Team Real Estate, covering the Southern California market, where annual gross yields on rentals range from less than 5 percent in Orange County to nearly 9 percent in the inland San Bernardino County.

 

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http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2015/02/look-for-rental-profits-where-foreclosures-were/

Will Neverland Ranch Become a Rehab Center for Abused Kids? | North Salem Real Estate

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138250593.jpgPhotos by Getty

Neverland Ranch, the 2,700-acre abandoned fantasyland built by late King of Pop Michael Jackson, recently went up for auction and bidders have beencoming forward with varied visions for its future. Among these proposals are offers to turn the place into a Jackson shrine, à la Elvis’ Graceland, and one plan to transform the estate into a sexual assault rehab center for children.

After purchasing the property in 1988, Jackson souped it up with amusements like a roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, a train, horse stables, and movie theaters—most of which are gone by now. After the singer’s death in 2009, Neverland fell into the hands of real estate investment firm Colony Capital, which has valued the property at $75M and is now fielding buyers’ offers.

According to Page Six, the local businessman who proposed turning Neverland into a rehab center offered somewhere around $40M. He envisions having trained therapists treat victims through equine-assisted therapy.

1326613.jpgPhoto via Getty Images

Two bidders, one of whom already has a huge collection of the singer’s memorabilia, want to create a Michael Jackson shrine. But one source close to the sale process tells Page Six that’s an unlikely outcome, since Jackson’s estate executors will have to grant permission to use his likeness. Plus, Neverlands’ narrow mountain roads aren’t conducive to what could be thousands of visitors a year.

 

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http://curbed.com/archives/2015/02/03/neverland-ranch-rehab-center.php