Category Archives: North Salem

Why Buying a Home Still Beats Renting…for Now | North Salem NY Homes

 

Buying a home is still cheaper than renting one in every one of the top 100 metro markets, but rising home prices and mortgage rates are making the equation more complicated.

Nationally, it’s 38 percent cheaper to buy than to rent a home right now, according to a new report from Trulia, the real estate online marketplace. The report assumes that owners receive a 4.5 percent mortgage, stay in their home for at least seven years, and are in the 25-percent income tax bracket. Last year, it was 44 percent cheaper.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-buying-home-still-beats-171700965.html

S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Dip For 2nd Straight Month In December | North Salem Real Estate

 

Home prices across the country fell for the second month in a row in December, according to S&P/Case-Shiller data released today. The 20-City Composite, which tracks single-family home prices in major metro areas, dipped by 1/10th of 1%. It fell by that same amount in November.

However, year-over-year home prices across all nine U.S. Census divisions (tracked by the national S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index) logged an 11.3% gain.

“The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index ended its best year since 2005,” said David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, via a release. “However, gains are slowing from month-to-month and the strongest part of the recovery in home values may be over. Year-over-year values for the two monthly Composites weakened and the quarterly National Index barely improved.”

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices track the price of single-family homes across the U.S., with the 10- and 20-City Composite indices focused on major metro areas (Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, Washington). The data is reported with a two month lag (it’s February; we’re reporting on December figures).

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erincarlyle/2014/02/25/spcase-shiller-home-prices-dip-for-2nd-straight-month-in-december/

Self-employed spouses still owe taxes even if one loses more than the other makes | North Salem NY Real Estate

 

The vast majority of real estate brokers and agents are self-employed sole proprietors. They are often married to spouses who are self-employed as well. Marital togetherness is great, but when spouses each have their own separately run business, they need to keep their business income (or losses) separate for self-employment tax purposes. One spouse’s business losses cannot be used to reduce the other spouse’s net self-employment income and thereby reduce the Social Security and Medicare tax due on that income. This is so even if spouses live in a community property state like California. The U.S. Tax Court recently taught this lesson to Brenda Fitch, a California-licensed real estate agent, and her husband, Donald, a CPA. Self-employment taxes are based on net earnings from self-employment — that is, on the profit earned from the business after subtracting deductible expenses.

 

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/02/24/self-employed-spouses-with-separate-businesses-still-owe-taxes-even-if-one-loses-more-than-the-other-makes/?utm_source=20140224&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.qv1F5J6t.dpuf

6 Simple Home Decor Rules to Follow | North Salem NY Real Estate

 

Domino magazine rounds up the tip six home decor rules to live by with furniture designer and decorator Laura Yaggy. Rich paint, antique prints and tabletop treasures give her rental apartment a storied feel. Best of all, she can take all of it with her.

 

1. Create History Through Paint

Because wallpaper would be a pain to remove, she created an alternative graphic wall treatment: a striking collection of silhouettes that advance the historical fantasy. To perk up the sedate tones, Yaggy incorporated pieces from her company Lorely in luxe skins (the end tables), unusual objets (the candlesticks) and other hits of red.

Create history through paintCreate history through paint

“You have to paint in a rental -it makes such a huge difference,” Yaggy says. Choosing an ethereal blue for the walls provides instant 18th-century atmosphere. Her sofa, chairs and coffee table are in shades of beige, white and brown-neutrals that could work in a future room that’s painted an entirely new color.

2. Entertain According to the Space

Entertain according to spaceEntertain according to spaceYaggy loves to have people over-for cocktails only-and since she doesn’t have a proper dining room, friends gather round the coffee table. She serves cocktails in cut-glass champagne coupes that were her grandmother’s, plus simple snacks that don’t keep the hostess in the kitchen. For intimate groups, she pulls over the armchairs by the windows (she bought them for their angular shape, had their mahogany frames glazed white, then replaced the ghastly yellow upholstery with an English print). If it’s a big party, the living-room furniture gets pushed to the wall.

 

 

 

 

3. Distract Flaws with Theatrical Color

Choose a theatrical colorChoose a theatrical color

Confederate Red walls draw the eye from the cheap laminate cabinets that came with Yaggy’s kitchen, while a Jonathan Adler shower curtain (as window shade!) and a Chinese carpet lend Far East flair. Visitors, she hopes, will focus on the white built-in shelf, stocked with liquor and vintage glasses.

 

 

http://shine.yahoo.com/at-home/6-simple-home-decor-rules-160800770.html

Housing Scorecard: America still healing from Great Recession | North Salem NY Real Estate

 

Despite positive trends in the housing market, officials caution that the economy is still healing from the Great Recession, the Obama Administration said in the November housing scorecard.

Home prices stayed relatively still according to the S&P Case-Shiller home price index, which increased to 165.8 in December from 165.9 a month prior. Year-over-year the index is up from 145.8 in November 2012.

Existing homes sales climbed to 405,800 from 401,700 in November, just marginally down from 408,300 a year prior, the most recent data from the National Association of Realtors said.

The U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that new home sales slightly fell to 34,500 in December from 37,100 in November, but is barely up from 33,000 from December 2012.

Additionally, the supply of existing-homes for sale posted little change from a year ago and ticked up to a 4.6-month supply in December from 4.5-month supply last year, but significantly down from a 5.1-month supply in November, NAR found.

Although foreclosure starts are up from 52,800 in November, coming in at 52,100 in December, starts are still drastically down from 72,500 in 2012, RealtyTrac recent report revealed.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/28898-housing-scorecard-america-still-healing-from-great-recession

How to Get French Style at Home | North Salem NY Real Estate

 

“French style is all about being creative and incorporating some surprise into a room,” says Erin Swift. For instance, you could bring an armoire-like this Napoleon III bibliothèque from 1860-into the bathroom, where it can serve as a linen closet to hold toiletries and extra towels.

Box Yourself In

“A plain room can really benefit from decorative molding,” says Swift. If crown molding along the ceiling gets pricey, add molding to the walls. “Measure out squares or rectangles on your walls and have a home-improvement store cut thin molding to your specifications,” she says. “Some people choose to paint theirs white, and the wall a darker color, but I like everything the same. It’s easier to execute-and visually interesting without being distracting.”

Related: How to De-Clutter Your Home-for Good

Go a Little Wild

In France, taxidermy is considered an art form, and some of the finest examples come from Deyrolle, a famous Parisian taxidermy shop that’s been in business since 1831. If exotic mounts aren’t exactly your thing, Swift suggests other wildlife inspirations, such as plaster casts, stone sculptures or, in this case, 19th-century Japanese metal cranes.

Find Your Balance

Swift says the way the French collect and arrange objects comes down to one fundamental principle: Balance. As she notes, it’s related to symmetry but isn’t quite the same thing. Start with objects of similar visual “weight.” In this case, that’s a lamp opposite a marble bust, with the remaining objects (books, plants, architectural fragments) arranged in between.

 

 

http://shine.yahoo.com/at-home/french-style-home-175400160.html

Spain Property Market Outlook 2014: Home Price May Fall By Another 15% | North Salem NY Real Estate

After five years of double-dip recession, Spain’s economy seems to have stopped sinking. But the recovery will be a prolonged one. Despite having fallen almost 40 percent since the housing bubble burst in late 2007, home prices in the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy are expected to drop by another 10 percent to 15 percent before they stabilize.

“Recovery in the housing sector in Spain hinges on an improvement in employment and access to credit, both of which are prey to uncertainty,” Souheir Asba, an analyst at Societe Generale, said in a note.

Here are the reasons why Asba thinks Spain’s property market has yet to hit the bottom.

While a recent trend indicates an improved appetite for distressed Spanish real estate assets, it’s not significant enough to call for a revival of the market.

Spain has finally overcome a slump triggered by the end of the real estate boom. The country emerged from recession in the third quarter of last year and its economy expanded 0.3 percent in the final three months of 2013, the fastest rate of quarterly growth in almost six years.

The Spanish government expects gross domestic product in Real Estate to grow by about 0.7 percent this year, and for job growth to resume in the second or third quarter, including the buying and renting market. You can even check out villas to rent in Spain here on this website and get to live your life in the most comfortable way ever.

The fact that investors are once again buying up Spanish government bonds is a big vote of confidence. As a result, the government is now paying much lower interest rates to borrow money. Yields on 10-year treasury bonds are down to 2006 levels.

http://www.ibtimes.com/spain-property-market-outlook-2014-home-price-may-fall-another-15-1553610

7 Homebuying Mistakes to Avoid | North Salem Real Estate

 

For most people, a home is the largest purchase they’ll ever make, so choosing the wrong property can have disastrous implications for their wallets and well-being. Still, many homeowners feel a strong sense of pride in putting their mark on the property, building equity and having a place to truly call their own. Whether you’re a seasoned or first-time buyer, here’s a look at seven homebuying mistakes to avoid.

1. Using the wrong real estate agent. Just because your sister’s college roommate’s friend just got a real estate license doesn’t mean she’s the right agent for you. San Francisco real estate agent Herman Chan suggests vetting agents and looking for someone who does real estate full time and knows the local inventory. “You can lose an offer if you’re not responsive in a couple of hours,” he says. Request the agent’s sales data, and find out how he or she communicates. Chan recommends asking questions like these to gauge the agent’s tech-savyness: “Is it OK if I text you? Is it OK to DocuSign things? If I can’t make an open house on Sunday, can you shoot me a video?” If you prefer to check texts and emails on your phone, you may not want an agent who insists on faxing contracts.

2. Shopping before you get preapproved. Before you get serious about buying real estate, find out how much mortgage you qualify for and get a preapproval letter from your lender. “If you fall in love [with a property], write that offer and then find out you can’t afford it, it’s an emotional roller coaster you can’t afford,” Chan says. Many agents won’t even take buyers to showings until they have a preapproval letter for that very reason.

 

 

http://news.yahoo.com/7-homebuying-mistakes-avoid-152000789.html

Mortgage rates hit three-month lows as stocks dip | North Salem NY Homes

 

One upside to the downturn in the U.S. stock market is a sharp drop in mortgage rates. Those rates follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond and on pricing in agency mortgage-backed securities; as investors rush to the comparative safety of the bond market, yields fall and so do rates.

It’s not a perfect correlation, however, since there are other factors weighing on today’s lenders, such as new regulations.

The average rate on the 30-year fixed conforming mortgage hit 4.34 percent Friday, down from 4.50 percent just a week earlier, according to Mortgage News Daily. Lenders haven’t offered rates that low since November.

“This correction is bigger than I would have expected,” said Matthew Graham, COO of Mortgage News Daily, who points out that this week’s jobs report could send rates right back in the other direction.

 

 

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101384967?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cheadline%7Cheadline%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=101384967%7CMortgage%20rates%20hit%20three