Tag Archives: Armonk NY Homes

Armonk NY Homes

30-year-mortgage rate falls to 4.23% | Armonk NY Homes

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The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.23% in the week that ended Feb. 6, hitting the lowest level since November, from 4.32% in the prior week, according to a Thursday report from federally controlled mortgage buyer Freddie Mac/quotes/zigman/226335/delayed/quotes/nls/fmccFMCC-1.69%. A year ago, the 30-year rate was at 3.53%. “Mortgage rates fell further this week following the release of weaker housing data,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie’s chief economist, citing a recent drop in a gauge of upcoming home sales, among other reports. The average rate for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 3.33% in the latest week from 3.40% in the prior week. Meanwhile, the rate for a 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 3.08% from 3.12%. The rate for a 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM fell to 2.51% from 2.55%.

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/30-year-mortgage-rate-falls-to-423-2014-02-06-9915956?siteid=yhoof2

 

13 Oddball Examples of Reclaimed Soviet Architecture | Armonk NY Real Estate

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14 images

Since the fall of the U.S.S.R. in 1991, Russian and former Soviet satellite governments and city planners have been muddling through ways to redefine and reclaim architecture left in the wake of a world power’s dissolution. It’s a question of how to assess and celebrate Soviet buildings, which have gross cultural weight as harbingers of the Space Age and Brutalist aesthetics, while making room for modern needs; sensitively memorializing the past with plenty of airspace for the future. The ways Soviet structures have been rehashed and reconfigured seem innumerable, if incredibly fascinating to unpack. Below, 10 ways governments, artists, and planners have used the spaces:

 

 

http://curbed.com/archives/2014/01/28/13-oddball-examples-of-reclaimed-soviet-architecture.php

The ‘McMansion’ is back | Armonk NY Real Estate

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Though the reign of the “McMansion” appeared to crumble during the housing crisis, demand for big homes has surged recently, The New York Times reports.

The average size of a new home reached an all-time high in 2012, and sales of homes costing more than $1 million leaped nearly 50 percent year over year in July 2013, according to The Times.

“The housing market is being driven by the move-up buyer, the luxury buyer,” Brad Hunter, chief economist and director of consulting at Metrostudy, told The Times. “And those who have strong incomes, secure jobs, their stock portfolio is doing well — they are able to buy whatever they want. And what they are buying is larger houses.”

Source: The New York Times

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/the-mcmansion-is-back/?utm_source=20140127&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinespm#sthash.eqeZnSWh.dpuf

If you work in real estate, you better know these | Armonk NY Real Estate

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So you are entering the real estate world? Whether you are trying to buy or sell a home (or do both!), you need to familiarize yourself with the lingo.

You don’t want industry jargon to confuse you and keep you from missing something crucial. Here are 15 real estate buzzwords to keep you in the know.

1. Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM)

When applying for a home loan, you can get an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or a fixed-rate mortgage. An ARM usually has a specific interest rate for a set time and then the interest rate fluctuates. Most of these mortgages have a cap on how high the interest rate may increase.

2. Amortization Schedule

First off, amortize basically means to reduce a debt. An amortization schedule is a detailed breakdown that illustrates how much interest and principal of the mortgage has been paid off and how much remains with each payment.

3. Closing

The final step in a real estate transaction, a closing is the transfer of the title of the property for money or other considerations.

4. Down Payment

The down payment is the amount of money that a buyer pays upfront in order to purchase a property. This amount is typically between 5% and 25% of the value of the property.

5. Escrow

When a third party holds property, cash and the property title until all conditions of the property agreement have been satisfied. The third party, likely a lawyer, will then hand over the assets to the respective parties, as outlined in the agreement.

6. Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac

The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) are two government-sponsored enterprises that purchase mortgages from lending institutions. Their purpose is to promote stability and affordability in the housing market.

 

 

 

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/01/25/14-real-estate-terms-that-everyone-should-understand/

South Florida home prices rise, but housing market softens | Armonk NY Homes

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South Florida’s housing market continued to cool down in December, with prices still rising, but at a slower pace than earlier in the year.

Broward County’s median price for existing homes was $268,950, 17 percent higher than a year ago, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors said Thursday. It was the first time since November 2012 that the median didn’t increase on an annual basis by more than 20 percent.

 

 

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-01-23/business/sfl-december-home-prices-link-20140123_1_south-florida-home-prices-housing-market-median

Rain Is Expected To Return To Armonk On Tuesday | Armonk Real Estate

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Rain is back in the forecast for Westchester County.

The latest forecast from the National Weather Service calls for a 90 percent chance of rain on Tuesday, with as much as a quarter of an inch possible.

The bulk of the rain is expected before 3 p.m. Tuesday’s high temperature will be between 46 and 48 degress.

There could be more precipitation on Wednesday and Thursday.

There is a slight chance on snow showers after 9 a.m. Wednesday, then a chance of rain showers in the early evening and a chance of a wintry mix between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. It should be a mostly cloudy day with highs between 44 and 46 degrees.

Thursday should be colder with a high only between 35 and 37 degrees with a chance of snow showers before 2 p.m. and rain showers through 5 p.m.

 

 

http://armonk.dailyvoice.com/news/rain-expected-return-westchester-tuesday

Manhattan apartment market closes out crazy year with record-smashing quarter | Armonk Homes

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We’ve said it before, but now we can say it definitively: 2013 was a banner year for real estate, particularly for high-end residential sales. In fact, so many real estate records were smashed in the fourth quarter, according to reports released today by the city’s biggest residential brokerages, that data wonk Jonathan Miller said it was hard to count them all.

The last three months of 2013 had the most sales of any fourth quarter since Miller began compiling the data 25 years ago, according to the report that his appraisal firm, Miller Samuel, prepared for Douglas Elliman. Median condominium sale prices and inventory were also at a record high and low, respectively, Miller said.

“The fourth quarter is usually the weakest,” he said. “But we have a lot of records going on this quarter. It’s a bit of an anomaly.”

In the fourth quarter, 3,297 apartment transactions closed in Manhattan, a 26 percent increase over the same period in 2012, and the median condo sale price hit $1.32 million, up 14.3 percent from $1.13 million this time last year, the Elliman data show. Part of the reason for the spike was that larger units sold, Miller said.

The overall median sale price was $855,000, up 2 percent from a year ago.

The median cost for a one-bedroom condo was $891,000 last quarter, up 9.19 percent from $816,000 last year at this time, whereas two-bedrooms ticked in at a median of $1.83 million, up 12.2 percent from $1.63 million, according to Town Residential’s fourth quarter report. Three-bedroom condos hit $3.22 million, up 3.8 percent from $3.1 million year-over-year.

Co-op prices were up 4.6 percent year-over-year, to a median sale price of $680,000 in the fourth quarter, according to Elliman’s data.

And according to Halstead Property, new development sale prices in the last quarter averaged $1,562 per square foot, up a whopping 26 percent from 2012’s average, about $1,230 per square foot – another record. (Halstead shares data with sister brokerage Brown Harris Stevens.)

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/01/03/manhattan-apartment-market-closes-out-crazy-year-with-record-smashing-quarter/

Westchester Travel Remains Slow, Hazardous As Winter Storm Passes | Armonk NY Homes

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Westchester County motorists and other commuters are finding the going slow, frigid and hazardous Friday morning as a fast-moving snowstorm swept offshore, leaving blowing and drifting snow and dangerous sub-zero wind chills behind.

The New York State Thruway (I-87), closed to all traffic by Gov. Andrew Cuomo Thursday at midnight, reopened to passenger cars at 5 a.m. but was not opened to commercial traffic until 8 a.m.

Interstate 84 remained closed to all traffic until 8 a.m. before reopening.

Kenneth Jung, who works at Hastings Stationary in Hastings-on-Hudson, traveled from Ridgewood, N.J., to open the store.

“It took 2 1/2 hours to get here,” Jung said. “New Jersey was OK, but the New York Thruway was slow even though there were no trucks. The roads through Hastings and Dobbs Ferry were pretty good.”

Westchester parkways were opened but traffic moved slowly in the morning commute. Many local and secondary were cleared but surfaces remained slippery as temperatures dropped below 10 degrees in most Westchester communities.

State police reported an accident at Exit 15 of I-95 with two lanes closed just before 8 a.m. Two lanes were blocked as emergency vehicles responded.

Westchester County Police reported no significant accidents or incidents but warned motorists to avoid driving if possible.

“Conditions are still very slick and dangerous on the parkways,” County Police spokesperson Kieran O’Leary said on Friday morning. “We are urging people not to drive if they don’t have to do so. We do suggest that motorists monitor the media to stay up to date on any reports of road closings,”

Metro-North commuters were inconvenienced a bit as the train service was on Saturday schedule with fewer trains running than the normal weekday schedule.

http://armonk.dailyvoice.com/news/westchester-travel-remains-slow-hazardous-winter-storm-passes

Manhattan apartment sales hit a high | Armonk NY Homes

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Sales of Manhattan apartments have hit a fourth-quarter record, with wealthy international buyers competing with New Yorkers to get a foot in the door as prices soar.

The number of purchases rose 27 percent compared with the same period the year before to 3,297, according to new data released on Friday. Although down from 3,837 in the third quarter, this was the highest fourth-quarter tally since records began 25 years ago, according to appraiser Miller Samuel and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

(Read more: New York is running out of luxury apartments)

Limited supply has led to buyers often making immediate all-cash offers, participating in bidding wars and making decisions based on floor plans alone, in an echo of the previous property boom. The number of days a property was on the market in the fourth quarter almost halved from the previous year to 95 days.

“Demand from foreign buyers has never been stronger. Those from the Middle East, Russia, South America, China have been on an incredible buying spree and it is these sales that are driving prices,” said Pamela Liebman, chief executive of property broker The Corcoran Group.

The median price of a luxury apartment – usually above $3 million – jumped 10 percent from a year ago to $4.9 million.

(Read more: New York apartment prices hit four-year high)

An abrupt increase in mortgage rates over the summer tipped more buyers into the Manhattan market at a time when inventories were already tight, a trend that continued to the end of 2013.

“This wasn’t a sleepy year end,” said Jonathan Miller, president of New York-based Miller Samuel. “There was a lot of good economic news last year and people from New Yorkers to international investors were keen to secure the best buying conditions from mortgage rates to prices. It was a record third quarter and now a record fourth.”

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101307173