Category Archives: Waccabuc NY

4 Costs New Homeowners Have to Plan For | Waccabuc Real Estate

 

We all know that buying a home is a huge financial decision that requires adequate funds and thorough research. But there’s more to owning a home than just buying it. Beyond what you pay to own the home, be sure you take into account the additional costs that come with being a homeowner.

Moving

Moving may seem minor but it’s a cost that often comes very soon after forking over a large sum of money. Once you’ve purchased the home you want to live in, you have to get there. Whether you rent a truck and do the heavy lifting yourself or you have full-service movers take care of the hard work, there will be a cost to move all of your things from your current home into your next home. This is important to remember when you are figuring out how much of a down payment you can afford. You want to make sure you have enough left over to get to that wonderful house once you buy it!

Mortgage Payments

While renters are usually used to paying on a monthly basis, owning a home almost always comes with monthly mortgage payments. This includes the repayment portion of the principal as well as interest. The monthly expense depends on the amount borrowed, interest rate and whether your mortgage is fixed-rate or adjustable-rate. Be sure to do the research and make an agreement with a monthly cost you can afford.

Taxes and Insurance

As a homeowner, you have to pay property taxes and home insurance. The construction materials and location of your home affect the cost of insurance — and insurance can rise over time. You may also need supplemental insurance if you live in an earthquake or flood zone. These expenses are often paid each month, and are often rolled into your monthly mortgage payment

 

 

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/4-costs-homeowners-plan-113000333.html

 

Housing inventory jumps 11.8% but first-time buyers still locked out | Waccabuc Real Estate

 

After plunging throughout 2012 and for much of 2013, and rising only modestly through the beginning of this year, the inventory of all for-sale homes nationwide spiked in May, jumping 11.8% year-over-year according to Zillow (Z).

But most of those gains in inventory were made among homes priced in the middle and top one-third of home values, according to Zillow Real Estate Market Reports.

The number of homes available for sale in the most affordable price bracket, those homes most sought by first-time homebuyers, fell year-over-year in 28 of the nation’s largest metro areas analyzed by Zillow.

“It’s good to see overall inventory rising. It’s likely that many would-be sellers have decided to capitalize on recent home value gains, particularly as the pace slows, and list their home for sale now in order to move into a new home while mortgage interest rates remain low,” said Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries. “But persistent inventory constraints at the low end of the market continue to make it a tough environment for first-time and lower-income homebuyers. Low inventory and high demand can lead to rapid price spikes, which make homes even more difficult to afford for many buyers. Hopefully the inventory gains we’re seeing in the middle and upper tiers of the market will begin trickling down to the most affordable homes soon.”

 

 

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http://www.housingwire.com/articles/30393-housing-inventory-jumps-118-but-first-time-buyers-still-locked-out

10 Beautiful Brooklyn Houses You Can Rent This Summer | Waccabuc Real Estate

 

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As soon as summer hits, many city dwellers flee their urban environs for places with a lot more greenery and a lot less piles of stinking garbage, and instead of letting their multi-million dollar homes sit stagnant, they drop them on the market. While some offer up their homes for the whole of summer, One Fine Stay lets homeowners rent their houses by the night. The rental service is very particular about the places it rents, choosing only homes that are “distinctive and special,” and they have a wide selection of impeccable Brooklyn townhouses. Here, we rounded up 10 of the best, all available for summer rentals. Up first, this Park Slope townhouse on President Street is perfect for the musically talented, featuring a baby grand piano and guitars. The 3BR/3.5BA house sleeps four to eight, and is decked out with “fascinating pieces of Americana.” The master bathroom has a beautiful clawfoot tub, and there’s a private balcony off the kitchen with steps that lead to a garden. The house rents for around $874/night with a minimum stay of five nights.

 

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http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/06/17/10_beautiful_brooklyn_houses_you_can_rent_this_summer.php

Despite positive housing reports, officials remain cautious | Waccabuc Real Estate

 

Despite overall positive trends in the housing market, officials caution that the harsh winter slowed growth while the economy continues to recover from the Great Recession, the Obama Administration said in the May housing scorecard.

This is not too far off the April scorecard, which posted similar findings.

“May’s Housing Scorecard shows that the housing market recovery is picking up after the harsh winter months,” said U.S Housing & Urban Development Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research Katherine O’Regan.

“More homeowners have positive equity, foreclosures continue their downward trend, and sales of new and existing homes are rebounding. While these are all good signs, it’s clear that we must remain committed to helping homeowners as they recover from the worst housing recession since the Great Depression,” O’Regan added.

Home Prices increased to 166.8 in March, up from 165.4 in February, according to the S&P Case-Shiller home price index. Year-over-year the index is up from 148.4 in March 2013.

Existing homes sales slightly grew to 387,500 in April from 382,500 in March, but is down from 415,800 for the same period a year prior, the latest data from the National Association of Realtors said.

In addition, new home sales climbed to 36,100 in April, up from 33,900 in March and 37,700 in April 2013, the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD posted.

 

 

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Scorecard: Despite positive housing reports, officials remain cautious

Zillow: 30-year mortgage rates remain stable | Waccabuc Real Estate

 

Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed mortgages rose ever so slightly from last week’s figures, according to Zillow’s Mortgage Marketplace. Current rate borrowers were quoted interest rates of 4.04% on Zillow (Z) this week, up only three basis points from last week’s rate of 4.01%.

Zillow’s mortgage rate report is based on Zillow clients, and is not as comprehensive as the weekly rate report from Freddie Mac, but it is a good measure of what prospective buyers are seeing in the market.

According to Zillow’s data, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate peaked at 4.12% on Thursday before dropping to 4.03% on Friday, where rates remained for the rest of the week.

“Mortgage rates were flat last week as two highly anticipated announcements, the European Central Bank’s stimulus plan and the latest U.S. employment report, confirmed the outcomes the markets were expecting,” said Erin Lantz, vice president of mortgages at Zillow. “Next week there is a limited number of market-moving news or events scheduled, so we expect rates to remain stable.”

 

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Zillow: 30-year mortgage rates remain stable

Two charts show where Americans stand on housing | Waccbuc Homes

 

More than two in five adults believe that the housing market continues to be a serious problem, according to a recent survey from the MacArthur Foundation on people’s attitude toward the housing crisis.

chart 1

(source: MacArthur Foundation: click image for larger view)

The survey polled a sample of 1,355 people in April 2014.

“While economists and housing experts say that the housing crisis is behind us, large proportions of the American people are not feeling the relief. Very high proportions of the public continue to believe that we are still in the midst of the housing crisis or that the worst is yet to come,” the report stated.

And this is not the only negative news for the market.

Two-thirds of the public believes that it is less likely today than it was 20 or 30 years ago for a family to build equity and wealth through homeownership.

But it is not all bad. Some indicators suggest that the American public’s views about the housing crisis are shifting slightly toward the positive.

“We see an uptick in the proportion of the public who believe that the housing crisis is behind us and a decrease in the proportion who characterize the housing market as a serious problem,” the report said.

“However, even with these shifts, concerns about housing continue to outweigh optimism, and the public has a real sense that affordable housing is a challenge for many Americans,” it added.

 

 

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Two charts show where Americans stand on housing

China Price Declines Spreading as Buyers in Less-Developed Cities Hold Back | Waccabuc Real Estate

 

China’s housing prices fell in May for the first time in nearly two years, as fresh data indicate more cities with price declines and weaker sales.

Average new-home prices fell 0.3% in May from April, a turnaround from the 0.1% monthly gain recorded for April and the first decline since June 2012, data provider China Real Estate Index System said.

Year to year, average new-home prices rose 7.8% in May, decelerating for the fifth straight month, after April’s 9.1% increase and March’s 10% rise, CREIS said, citing data from its survey of 100 Chinese cities.

Prospects for China’s property market, an important engine of growth for the country’s economy, are souring. More Chinese cities recorded a month-to-month fall in housing prices in May. Out of the 100 Chinese cities surveyed, 62 showed a decline in home prices, compared with 45 in April.

Many home buyers outside more-developed cities, such as Shanghai and Beijing, have shied away from the market in anticipation of further price cuts and difficulties in getting mortgages.

“We almost became home-mortgage slaves last week,” said Ou Yibao, a 29-year-old software engineer in Shenzhen, using a term for those paying off mortgages on expensive homes.

Mr. Ou, who told The Wall Street Journal two years ago that he was opposed to buying a home, said he was succumbing to family pressure to make the leap. But after realizing housing prices may fall, he said this week that he pulled back on the purchase of a 90-square-meter (969 square feet) apartment. “We tore up the contract,” he said.

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http://online.wsj.com/articles/china-home-prices-slip-for-first-time-in-two-years-1401442956

Local Farmers Markets | South Salem NY Real Estate

 

 

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Opening Day in Tarrytown with Music & Many New Vendors;
TWO Vendors Debut in Rye + More

May 15th-21st, 2014

DowntoEarthMarkets.com
Lettuce_MSP
What’s New, In Season, and On Sale This Week

BBQ Special: $2 OFF Packages of Chicken Breasts, Leg/Thighs
& Wings

Yellow Bell Farm

Fresh Whole Chickens
Stone & Thistle Farm


Drunken Goat Cheese
Raw milk aged cheese, soaked in wine
“Fruity with firm interior, reminiscent of Parmesan”
Acorn Hill Farm


Ground Beef: Buy five 1lb pkgs
& get $2 OFF per pound!
(Reg $9.75/lb; now $7.75/lb)

Kiernan Farm

Lamb
Pre-order at the market

Kiernan Farm

Parisian Baguette
Voted New York’s Best by Serious Eats – $0.50 OFF this Saturday!

Orwasher’s Bakery


Pork Sausages: 20% OFF!
Choose from Andouille, Breakfast, Chorizo, Hot Italian, and Sweet Italian
Kiernan Farm

Ramps
Wild and sustainably foraged

Yellow Bell Farm


Click on a Market to see all vendor and event details…

Westchester
County


Rockland
County


Ossining

Saturdays
8:30 am-1:00 pm


Larchmont


Saturdays
8:30 am-1:00 pm

Piermont

Sundays
9:30 am-3:00 pm

L
Croton-on-Hudson

Sundays
9:00 am-2:00 pm


Rye

Sundays
8:30 am-2:00 pm

Spring Valley

Coming in July

Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow

OPENING DAY: MAY 24th
Saturdays
8:30 am-1:00 pm


New Rochelle

OPENING DAY: JUNE 20th
Fridays
8:30 am-2:30 pm


Headed to the city soon?

Visit a Down to Earth
Farmers Market in NYC!

Announcements
Ossining

The summer market season begins this Saturday in Ossining. Help us welcome the return of Taliaferro Farm and R & G Produce, along with additional new vendors to come. AND now the market opens at 8:30 am! See you there.

Tarrytown

Celebrate Opening Day of the 2014 farmers market season in Tarrytown with Deuces Child!
The duo of Gigi Tanglewood and Lou Patrick create a unique and lively musical program with their acoustic guitar interplay and amazing harmonic vocals. They will play from 10:00 am to noon.

Visit the Down to Earth Markets Calendar for full details.

Stay tuned to all market happenings via our Down to Earth Markets Facebook page
and follow us on Twitter @DowntoEarthMkts.

Vendor Profile: Introducing Nana’s Home Kitchen
CocoandNana
Coco and Nana

The husband and wife team of Serop and Jasmin Mandijan are best known as Coco and Nana. Serop’s middle name is Gregory, and in their native Armenian language, Coco is the nickname for Gregory. As for Nana, this is the name their grandchildren exclaim as they throw open the kitchen door, wild in delight for the food soon to come. It means “Grandma” in Armenian, and after one bite from Nana’s Home Kitchen, it’s easy to imagine their excitement — along with the patter of their little feet, as they run into the kitchen.

Coco and Nana were high school sweethearts in Armenia and married a few years later. They came to the United States in 1984, and Coco worked as a diamond setter for more than two decades. They have both enjoyed cooking since they were children, and once they married, they shared their love of the kitchen together. “She’s my best friend for more than 45 years,” Coco says of Nana.

As Coco retired from diamond setting, they were able to devote more time to their enjoyment of cooking fresh Middle Eastern foods from scratch. Encouraged by family and friends, they decided to offer their cooking to a broader audience and started Nana’s Home Kitchen around 2010. This weekend, they will debut with Down to Earth Markets with a mix of both savory and sweet foods. For the sweet teeth, they bake maamool, cookies stuffed with dates and walnuts, along with baklava, carrot cake, and more.

On their savory menu, crowds gather for their spinach pies, stuffed grape leaves, tabouli, hummus varieties, and much more. They are also renowned for their creative pesto sauces, made with ingredients such as sundried tomatoes and roasted peppers. They are inspired by the regional harvest and source from local farmers as much as possible. And, as much as they love the kitchen, Coco also relishes his time at the summer grill. Look for him to fire up delicious chicken kabobs and other specialties at our markets this year!

“Whoever tastes our food, they come back,” says Coco, “They love it. I don’t say it to brag. I say it because it happens.”

Meet Nana’s Home Kitchen all season long at Tarrytown’s Down to Earth Market, and coming up in Ossining, too. ENJOY.

Day Vendors This Week

Croton

Bombay Emerald Chutney Company


Larchmont

Calcutta Kitchens
The Peanut Principle (gourmet nut & seed butters)
Pie Lady & Son
Raaka Chocolate
Trotta Foods

Posh Porches | Waccabuc Real Estate

Front porches add character and curb appeal as well as enviable outdoor living space. If you are lucky enough to have one, are considering adding one or just like to dream, check out these inspiring photos from our friends at Houzz.

 

 

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http://glo.msn.com/living/10-fabulous-front-porches-10209.gallery

 

From Queasy Colors to Killer Tables: Your Worst Decorating Mistakes | Waccabuc Real Estate

 

I recently wrote an article for Houzz in which I acknowledged the dumbest decorating decisions I’d ever made. More than 300 of you responded with your own tales of woe. Most of them fell into four categories:

1. Painting anything yellow.
2. Furniture that wouldn’t fit through doorways.
3. Leaving town while someone worked on your home.
4. Painting anything yellow.

Because it can take a while to read 300 comments, I collected some of the most memorable tales from fellow Houzzers to share with you. Schadenfreude alert: Some of the following stories may cause involuntary laughter. Don’t resist.

Note: Photos are for illustration purposes only and do not portray the actual disasters described.