Category Archives: Westchester NY

Icy Concrete Cottage in Slovenia is Surprisingly Ethereal Inside | South Salem Real Estate

 

k1.jpgPhoto by Janez Marolt via Dezeen

Though inspired by traditional Slovenian cottages, this stony abode near the Slovenian-Italian border is distinctly contemporary. Designed by Ljubljana-based firm Dekleva Gregorič Architects and completed earlier this year, the building dons a six-inch-thick concrete façade that’s been rendered extra rugged with irregular chunks of stone packed in. It’s also blessed with three large windows, surely an upgrade from the “almost windowless” stony houses typical of the region.

Inside, the 990-square-foot looks polished and lightweight, with the interior palette skews towards pale wood and white. Meanwhile, circulation across the second floor, which was created from inserting two wooden bedroom volumes near the gabled roof, is enclosed by breezy ropes and nets. Take a closer look.

 

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http://curbed.com/archives/2014/12/16/dekleva-gregoric-slovenia-karst-house.php

Universal Design Details You’re Forgetting | #Waccabuc Real Estate

 

When Rosemarie Rossetti lost the use of her legs in a freak accident in 1998, she and her husband Mark Leder focused on getting her well. Their experience has become a critique on traditional homebuilding and an impressive exercise in true universal design. Finding the home they lived in would never work for Rosemarie’s new needs, the couple was further discouraged by the dearth of universal design options offered by area builders. Their solution was to become general contractors themselves and built the ultimate universal design custom home.

Today, the Universal Design Living Laboratory is Rosemarie and Mark’s home and office, and an education center for builders, architects, and the public to learn how to create homes that work for all of their residents, no matter their age or ability. Products editor Lauren Hunter recently toured the UDLL and found a number of details worth sharing. Here are nine of her favorites.

Safe and Sound: Knox Box
In emergency situations, first responders will gain access to a home in the most efficient ways possible. If this means breaking down a door, so be it – unless you have a Knox Box. This mini safe works similarly to a lock box that a Realtor might use when showing a home. The fire department has a key to the Knox Box, which stores your emergency house key inside, allowing them to open a door properly rather than breaking it down. Because, as Mark points out, the last thing homeowners should be thinking about in an emergency situation is how much door replacement costs.

Outdoor Enjoyment: Planter Boxes
Adjusting to life in a wheelchair made Rosemarie’s love of gardening a challenge. Mark says chair-height planters bring the gardening to a convenient height for Rosemarie to roll up to and tend any time she likes. The landscaped back yard also incorporates paver ramps and pathways so the couple can enjoy all of its amenities together.

See Through: Multi-level Peep Holes
Traditional entry doors have peep holes positioned at a height between 60 and 66 inches. Consider adding a peephole at closer to 48 inches for wheelchair users, children, and homeowners short of stature. Or, let the door glass do the work for you. In addition to daylighting as a universal design benefit, the glass in this ProVia door has clear panes for viewing at three different heights in the door.

Cooking Confidence: Easy Access Burners
ADA-compliant ranges put the cooktop controls at the front of the appliance so users can access them easily without reaching over hot surfaces. The UDLL takes things a step further by installing individual burners side by side in the cooking area, eliminating the problem of hard-to-reach back burners. In this configuration, Rosemarie can easily and safely reach each cooking element, as well as vent hood controls.

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http://www.remodeling.hw.net/business/design/9-universal-design-details-youre-forgetting_o?utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=jump&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=RDU_121714&day=2014-12-17

 

Mortgage Loan Rates Drop to 18-Month Low | Cross River Real Estate

 

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning, noting a decrease of 3.3% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending December 12. That followed a rise of 7.3% for the previous week. Mortgage loan rates fell on all loan types during the week.

On an unadjusted basis, the composite index decreased by 4% week-over-week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased 7% compared to the week ended December 5. The unadjusted purchase index fell by 10% for the week and remains 5% lower year-over-year.

Adjustable rate mortgage loans accounted for 6.2% of all applications, down from 7.0% in the prior week.

The MBA’s refinance index rose from 60% in the prior week to 64%, and the market share for adjustable rate mortgage loan applications dropped to 6.2%.

The average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 4.11 to 4.06%, the lowest since May 2013. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 4.07% to 3.99%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 3.35% to 3.33%.

 

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/mortgage-loan-rates-drop-18-122553203.html

 

Tiny Houses Have A Not-So-Tiny Problem | Bedford Hills Real Estate

 

As much as we love gorgeous small-scale architecture, not all micro-housing is created equal. Over at City Lab, Kriston Capps argues thattiny houses plopped onto huge lots in the middle of nowhere miss the entire point of micro-housing: to provide more options for affordable housing, especially in crowded, expensive cities.

He takes issue with the 650-square-foot prefabricated zeroHouse, the self-sufficient modular home seen above:

The zeroHouse is so modular and low maintenance, in fact, that all you need to own a zeroHouse is—after $350,000—a plot of land. Any kind of land.

Which is, of course, the problem with zeroHouse: Nobody needs micro-housing in places where plots of prairie, mountain, and sea (!) are available in plenty.

The Delta Shelter by Olson Kundig in Mazama, Washington.Image: Courtesy Olson Sunderberg Kundig Allen Architects/Taschen

If you’re determined to live on a sprawling piece of rural land, it’s probably more environmentally friendly to do so in a prefab house that’s designed to function off the grid. “Basically, a tiny house is sort of the suburban or maybe even rural version of a small apartment,” asRyan Mitchell, author of the book Tiny House Living, told Salon.

But trendy tiny dwellings more often come in this form than the variety people more desperately need: the kind that makes urban living affordable for those of us who aren’t oligarchs. “Lovely granny flats, Voltron head-cubes, and stories that tug at the heart-strings are nice, but support for these doesn’t amount to support for real micro-housing—or congregate housing developments, perhaps a better term for urbanist housing solutions,” Capps writes.

What cities need in micro-housing, he argues, is “at least the option to build for a range of buyers and renters, at a range of densities. When tiny-house enthusiasts go on about what are essentially single-family homes, they are confirming the status quo, if shrinking it a little.”

Ultimately, we need both. It’s true that crowded cities—especially those with a high concentration of young professionals who aren’t trying to fit an entire family into a 129-square-foot apartment—need affordable micro-units to alleviate intense pressure on the housing market. It’s perhaps no surprise that we don’t see that many of those designs yet, considering that even in housing-strapped cities like San Francisco,micro-apartments remain controversial. The prospect of allowing developers to pack people into a whole new definition of “cozy” worries some tenants rights advocates and even some psychologists.

 

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http://www.fastcodesign.com/3032535/slicker-city/tiny-houses-have-a-not-so-tiny-problem?fullsite&partner=ps03101titles

A Big Mortgage Change Happened This Weekend: Should You Care? | Bedford Real Estate

 

Saving up to buy a home might not be as much of a challenge as it used to be, now that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) will allow some first-time homebuyers to make down payments of as little as 3%.

The change went into effect Saturday with the goal of making homeownership more accessible to Americans than it has been in a tight post-recession mortgage market. These low-down-payment loansapply to 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (The FHFA regulates Fannie and Freddie, which guarantee the majority of U.S. mortgages.)

What does this mean for you? Well, if you want to buy a home but don’t have a ton of cash on hand for a down payment and closing costs, you might be able to qualify for an affordable home loan. Keep in mind lenders will require you to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI) if you pay less than 20% upfront, a cost homebuyers often overlook when determining how much they can pay — you can figure out how much house you can afford using this free calculator and watch how your monthly payments change with different down payments.

Even with a low-down-payment mortgage, you can find ways to make the monthly payments more affordable. One of the first things you’ll want to look at before applying for a home loan is your credit score. Your credit standing not only affects the mortgage rate you qualify for, it also impacts how much you must pay in PMI. You can also get rid of PMI after you’ve built a certain amount of equity in your home, among other requirements, but it’s on you to go through the process of removing PMI from your loan.

With the new directive from the FHFA, buying your first home may be more attainable, but the decision requires just as much careful thought as it would if you needed to put down 20% of the home’s value to get a mortgage. Consider the overall impact on your life of buying a home, and make sure your credit is in good shape before applying for a mortgage. You’re entitled to free annual credit reports from each of the major credit reporting agencies, and you can get two of your credit scores for free every 30 days on Credit.com.

 

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/big-mortgage-change-happened-weekend-120039626.html

Solid Housing Starts Report for November | Pound Ridge Real Estate

 

Data for housing construction activity in November indicated ongoing high levels of activity as builder confidence remains positive.

According to the data from the Census Bureau and HUD, the pace of total November housing starts was down slightly (1.6%) from an upwardly revised October number. The October housing starts estimate was revised up from the initial reading of 1.009 million units (on a seasonally adjusted annual pace) to 1.045 million, with increases for both single-family and multifamily construction.

For November, the rate of single-family construction starts came in at 677,000, down 5.4% from the elevated October reading (716,000).

Multifamily starts of properties with five or more units increased 7.6% to a 340,000 rate in November. The starts rate for 5+ unit construction has been in an approximate stable range of 300,000 to 350,000 since August.

The pace of total starts was up in three of the four Census regions. Single-family starts were down noticeably in the South, after a jump in October.

Housing Starts_Nov_3moMA_v2

On a three-month moving average basis (graphed above) the November report is consistent with positive builder confidence, as reported by the NAHB / Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, and confirms that housing construction is experiencing solid but gradual gains.

For November, single-family starts, on a three-month moving average basis, stand at 685,000, which is a post-recession high. Total housing starts, on a three-month moving average basis came in at 1.034 million – also a post-recession high. The moving average for total housing starts has now been above a one million annual rate for three consecutive months.

Homes under construction_Nov

Another metric consistent with the ongoing recovery in housing, including its economic impact, is the count of housing units under construction. For November, the number of single-family units under construction (on a seasonally adjusted basis) was 364,000, while the count for multifamily was 450,000 according to the Census/HUD estimates. At the start of 2014, the single-family count was 336,000 homes.

 

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http://eyeonhousing.org/2014/12/solid-housing-starts-report-for-november/

Homebuilder sentiment slips in December | Chappaqua Real Estate

 

U.S. homebuilders are feeling slightly less confident in their sales prospects heading into next year, even as their overall sales outlook remains favorable.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Monday slipped this month to 57, down one point from 58 in November.

Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor.

Builders’ view of current sales conditions and their outlook for sales over the next six months also declined slightly. A measure of traffic by prospective buyers held steady.

The index also found sentiment had improved in the West and Northeast, but took a step back in the Midwest and South, which accounts for half of the new-home market.

 

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http://www.cbsnews.com/news/homebuilder-sentiment-slips-in-december/

Move Up Buyers are Back: Bigger Homes Now Outsell Smaller Ones | Armonk Real Estate

 

Just a few months ago, one and two bedroom starter homes topped the price per square foot ratings as investors and first-time home buyer scrambled to buy them, bidding up prices in the process.  Prices rose quickly, especially in markets where no new starter homes had been built in years.

Virtually overnight the picture has changed.  Now larger homes are selling faster and appreciating at rates faster than starter homes, a solid sign that move up buyers are back in the market and taking advantage of low interest rates and equity increases that have made it possible to sell and buy larger homes.

“Higher-end properties are taking up a bigger share of a smaller home sales pie, boosting the median home price nationwide higher even as home price appreciation slows to single digits in many of last year’s red-hot local housing markets,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, in a news release last September reporting August sales. “On the other hand, markets where large institutional investors and other buyers have not picked clean lower-priced inventory are continuing to see strong, double-digit increases in median home prices.”

RealtyTrac said the share of sales in August in the $200,000-and-below price range was down 9 percent from a year ago, while the share of sales in the above-$200,000 price range increased 10 percent from a year ago.  Breaking down the above-$200,000 price range further, the share of sales in the $500,000-to-$1 million price range increased 18 percent from a year ago while the share of sales in the over-$1 million price range increased 38 percent from a year ago. Overall the share of sales above $500,000 increased 23 percent from a year ago.

Now mortgage technology company FNC reports that property appreciation rates for single-family residential home sales are generally much higher for larger homes and older homes.  FNC said a profile of long-term trends in how different types of properties have appreciated over the years shows that larger homes have generally risen in value faster than smaller homes both before and after the last boom-bust housing cycle. The gap persisted, although narrowed quite a bit, during the worst of the housing recession.

The FNC analysis also found that more sales are coming from homes that have been held for ten years or more—a sign of move up buyer activity.  “As the market continues to gain traction through the post-recession recovery, we are seeing significant declines in the turnovers of homes held for short periods. Year to date, nearly one in three residential home sales have come instead from homes that have been held for at least a decade or longer—signs of increased participation by trade-up buyers,” said FNC Director of Research Yanling Mayer.

 

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http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2014/12/8331/

US homebuilder sentiment slips in December | Cross River Real Estate

 

U.S. homebuilders are feeling slightly less confident in their sales prospects heading into next year, even as their overall sales outlook remains favorable.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Monday slipped this month to 57, down one point from 58 in November.

Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor.

Builders’ view of current sales conditions and their outlook for sales over the next six months also declined slightly. A measure of traffic by prospective buyers held steady.

The index also found sentiment had improved in the West and Northeast, but took a step back in the Midwest and South, which accounts for half of the new-home market.

The latest reading reflects a housing market that is slowly recovering, said David Crowe, the NAHB’s chief economist.

“As we head into 2015, the housing market should continue to recover at a steady, gradual pace,” Crowe said.

Housing, while still a long way from the boom of several years ago, has been recovering over the past two years.

New home sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000 homes in October, the highest point since May. Still, sales remain sharply below the annual rate of 700,000 seen during the 1990s.

At the same time, home prices continue to climb.

The median price of a home sold in October was $305,000, up 16.5 percent from a year ago. November data on new-home sales are due out next week.

The steady rise in home prices has held back many potential buyers, particularly first-time buyers. Many lack the savings and strong credit history needed to afford a home, causing them to rent or remain in their existing homes instead of upgrading.

 

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http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2025241287_apxbuildersentiment.html

Keep Your Houseplants Healthy Through the Winter | Waccabuc Real Estate

 

Even though your plant resides in a pot indoors, it’s still keenly aware of the seasons. With shorter days, drier air and cooler temperatures, winter is perhaps the most challenging time a year for houseplants.

The trick to helping plants endure the harsher conditions is simply modifying your care routine. Check out these tips to keep houseplants happy and alive this winter.

Limit watering

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Considering their growth rate is significantly slower during the winter, plants do not require as much water. Test the soil by putting your finger about one inch into the soil. If it feels dry, the plant needs a good soaking. Be sure to use lukewarm water.

Try a new window

From summer to winter, the angle of the sun changes, so place your plants near a different window for the season. You can also wash the window glass, inside and out, to help let in more light. Don’t forget to rotate the plants every so often to make sure they receive light evenly on all sides.

No food necessary

Because plants grow very little during the winter, fertilization is not necessary during these months. It’s best to withhold food until spring, when the days are much longer and the sun is stronger. Resume weekly feedings closer to spring to give plants a boost.

A good cleaning

Dusty leaves can clog pores, making it difficult for plants to fully absorb essential nutrients. Using a damp cloth, wipe the leaves to get rid of any dust or debris. A thorough cleaning will also help get rid of any unwanted pests.

Improve humidity

Houseplants prefer a humidity level of 40 to 50 percent. Unfortunately, during the winter months, the humidity level in heated homes tends to only be 10 to 20 percent.

To combat low humidity, frequently mist the plants, and put any tropical plants on a tray of rocks with a small amount of water. Or turn on a humidifier to cut through dry air.

Pay attention to temperature

Source: Zillow Digs

During the daytime, most plants prefer a temperature between 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and at night time about 10 to 15 degrees cooler. Dramatic fluctuations in temperature can be damaging, so it’s best to keep plants away from cold windows, or sources of heat, such as stoves, fireplaces and radiators.

Pruning

To stay healthy and attractive, plants need a little pruning from time to time as part of their maintenance. Many houseplants have soft stems, which make them relatively easily to prune — no tools required.

Using your thumb and forefinger, pinch off any dying flowers and remove any damaged leaves.

For thicker stemmed plants, pruners or sharp scissors may be necessary.

 

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