Tag Archives: Armonk NY

Armonk NY

Housing Prices: Up Or Down? How To Understand Today’s Case-Shiller Data | Armonk Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

Today S&P/Case-Shiller released its monthly housing data report, the leading measure of home prices across the nation. Immediately, reporters posted dozens of stories about January’s numbers–with oddly contradictory headlines.

“US home prices rise in January: S&P/Case-Shiller”, Reuters proclaimed. “Home prices decline for third month in January,” the Wall Street Journal‘s MarketWatch blog wrote. “Case-Shiller sees housing market cooling ever so slightly,” the Los Angeles Times proclaimed.

Which is it? Well, depending which numbers you look at, the answer is both–and all three. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices track home prices across the nation, looking at the data a number of ways. The driver behind the conflicting headlines is whether the reporter is using non-seasonally adjusted numbers (the raw data from that month) or seasonally adjusted (with seasonal peaks and valleys smoothed out).

It turns out that in January, housing prices (not seasonally adjusted) across 20 major American metros collectively dipped by one tenth of 1% compared to the prior month. In both December and November, that was also true: home prices dipped by 0.1% compared to the prior months then as well. Time for hand-wringing.

 

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erincarlyle/2014/03/25/housing-prices-up-or-down-how-to-understand-todays-case-shiller-data/

Borrowing again: Mortgage debt increases most in 6 years | Armonk Homes

Leave a reply

 

First mortgages increased 2.8% from the same period a year ago, marking the largest year-over-year increase since September of 2008, according to the most recent Equifax national consumer credit trends report.

The total balance of first mortgages now sits at $7.97 trillion — the highest since December 2011.

Currently, delinquent first mortgages, those 30 or more days past due, represent 5.65% of the outstanding balances, dropping more than 22% from the same time last year.

In addition, the total balance of first mortgages 90-days past due or in foreclosure is less than $27- billion: a six-year low and a decrease of nearly 27% from the same time a year ago.

“The decline in mortgage balances from accelerated amortization and foreclosure write-offs has finally been overcome by increases in mortgage debt due to home purchase lending,” said Amy Crews Cutts, Equifax chief economist.

“This trend should gain additional momentum as we head into the spring and summer home buying seasons, which increases the volume of new loans coming in, while at the same time rising home values and improving employment conditions should push down the incidence of mortgage defaults,” Cutts continued.

Meanwhile, the report also found that the total balance of home finance write-offs year-to-date in February is $17.9 billion, 41% lower than the same time a year ago, and the total balance of home finance write-off dollars in 2013 was $149 billion, a decrease of more than 30% from 2012.

For the first time in four years, the total balance of home finance debt, which hit $8.58 trillion and includes first mortgage and home equity, increased year-over-year for three consecutive months.

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29409-borrowing-again-mortgage-debt-increases-most-in-6-years

 

Spring Has Sprung, But Snow Is Likely To Return To Westchester | Armonk Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

Winter is officially over, but the first full week of spring in Westchester is likely to bring accumulating snow.

The latest forecast from accuweather.com calls for the potential for between 2 to 4 inches of snow Tuesday, with higher amounts toward the coast. The snow could start late Tuesday morning followed by periods of afternoon snow. You can view the accuweather.com forecast here.
Monday will be a mostly sunny day with a high between 30 and 32 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The overnight low will be around 20-22 degrees.

Tuesday’s high temperature will be between 35 and 37 degrees. There is a chance of morning flurries on Wednesday.

 

http://armonk.dailyvoice.com/news/spring-has-sprung-snow-likely-return-westchester

4 million renters want to buy. Can they? | Armonk Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

As the housing market moves slowly into recovery, more and more Americans are gaining confidence and hoping to jump into home ownership. The home ownership rate has been dropping steadily since its high of 69.2 percent in 2004 to now just 65 percent. Millions lost their homes to foreclosure and millions more never entered the market, fearing falling home prices.

Now, 10 percent of U.S. renters say they would like to buy a home in the next year, according to a new report from Zillow (NASDAQ:Z), which surveyed renters in the nation’s 20 largest housing markets. If all the renters who said they wanted to buy a home in the next year actually did, that would represent more than 4.2 million first-time home buyer sales, about twice the number of first-timers in 2013.

First-time home buying has actually fallen to the lowest level ever recorded by the National Association of Realtors, at just 26 percent of sales in January. These buyers usually make up roughly 40 percent of the market. Interestingly, the majority of the renters who said they wanted to buy felt they could afford home ownership, despite rising home prices and rising mortgage rates. The trouble is there is just not that much out there to buy. Home construction is still recovering at a slow pace, and prices for newly built homes are far higher on average than for existing homes.The number of homes for sale is rising slightly but is still well below historical norms across most markets.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/4-million-renters-want-buy-130353560.html

HARP refinances drop off as interest rates for mortgages increase | Armonk Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

The Home Affordable Refinance Program (or HARP) was instituted in 2009 to allow homeowners with negative equity to take advantage of today’s low interest rate environment. Before HARP, banks wouldn’t lend more than the home’s value. In real estate jargon, they won’t underwrite loans with a loan-to-value ratio (or LTV) greater than 1.0. So if a homeowner bought their home in 2006 with a 6.5% mortgage rate, they’d be unable to refinance if they owed more than the home was worth. The government created HARP with these people in mind. Since its inception, the HARP program has refinanced 2.5 million mortgages.

 

To be eligible for HARP, the borrower must have a loan guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, have an LTV ratio above 80%, and be current on their mortgage. The program was designed primarily to help people who wanted to stay in their home and who had adjustable-rate mortgages where they could afford the initial “teaser” rate but wouldn’t be able to afford the payment once the mortgage adjusted upward. The program gave them a new 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at the initial teaser rate. Homeowners can check if they have a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan by checking the respective company websites or by checking with their servicer.

HARP refinances decrease as rates climb

HARP refinances fell to 30,000 in December from 38,700 in November. Refinance activity has dropped across the board, so this result isn’t a surprise. Overall, HARP activity started falling off a cliff early last year as rates began to rise.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/harp-refinances-drop-off-interest-195918759.html

Morgage Rates Average 4.37% | Armonk Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates edging up following a week with little new economic and housing news.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.37 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending March 13, 2014, up from last week when it averaged 4.28 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.63 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.38 percent with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.32 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.79 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.09 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.03 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.61 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.48 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.52 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.64 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 the Regional and National Mortgage Rate Details and Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

Quotes Attributed to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac.

“Mortgage rates edged up amid a week of light economic reports. Of the few releases, the economy added 175,000 jobs in February, which was above the market consensus forecast and followed an upward revision of 25,000 jobs for the prior two months. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate nudged up to 6.7 percent, the first rate increase in over a year.”

Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Today Freddie Mac is making home possible for one in four home borrowers and is one of the largest sources of financing for multifamily housing. For more information please visit www.FreddieMac.com and Twitter: @FreddieMac.

 

 

Home Foreclosure Numbers Improve, but Still Far to Go | Armonk NY Homes

Leave a reply

 

In the month of January, 48,000 U.S. home foreclosures were completed, down 11.8% month over month and down 19% from 59,000 in January 2013, according to research firm CoreLogic. While an improvement, the number of foreclosures is still well above the 2000 to 2006 average of 21,000 foreclosures per month. CoreLogic notes that since September 2008, some 4.9 million foreclosures have been completed in the United States.

The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures in the past 12 months were Florida (116,000), Michigan (52,000), Texas (39,000), California (38,000) and Georgia (35,000). The five states with the fewest foreclosures in the 12 months through January were District of Columbia (60), North Dakota (427), Hawaii (526), West Virginia (543) and Wyoming (732).

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/home-foreclosure-numbers-improve-still-133053522.html