Tag Archives: Bedford Corners NY Real Estate

Bedford Corners NY Real Estate

More Americans flee high tax states | Bedford Corners Real Estate

More and more Americans are fleeing high-tax states – from California to Hawaii to New Jersey to New York – and relocating elsewhere in the hopes of holding onto some more of their hard-earned cash.

Problem is that’s pushing up the cost of living in the states they’re fleeing to, according to the country’s largest real estate trade group.

They’re going to nearby secondary states that used to be “affordable” – states like Washington, Nevada, Colorado and Arizona, for example, says Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of REALTORS(r).

And it isn’t just the working class looking to move to lower-tax states.

Taxes are often a top consideration particularly when someone is relocating for work or looking to retire says tax expert Bob Meighan, a former executive with Intuit. The biggest tax you’re going to face, after the IRS, is the one your state presents.

That’s why Florida is a big draw “particularly among northeast residents currently living in high property-tax states such as New York, New Jersey (the highest in the country), and Connecticut,” says Yun. “In Florida, you get both lower taxes and a warmer climate.”

Last year, these were the ten highest income tax states, according to TurboTax (*These rates do not include local taxes.):

  • California 13.3%
  • Hawaii 11%
  • Oregon 9.9%
  • Minnesota 9.85%
  • Iowa 8.98%
  • New Jersey 8.97%
  • Vermont 8.95%
  • District of Columbia 8.95%
  • New York 8.82%
  • Wisconsin 7.65%

read more…

https://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/more-americans-fleeing-high-tax-states

Mortgage rate predictions for 2019 | Bedford Corners Real Estate

 

Here’s what mortgage rates will do next year, from the people who usually get it wrong

Looking back at the events that have derailed mortgage rates’ return to ‘normalcy’ over the last few years is unsettling

Rates for home loans have spent the past decade or so doing anything but what’s expected of them. Every year, it seems, the general consensus is that in the coming months, financial conditions will finally get back to “normal,” taking mortgage rates with them. And every year something has brought that “normalization” to a screeching halt.

In 2015, for example, shock-and-awe bond-buying by the European Central Bankhelped push bond yields into negative territory in Europe and behind. In early 2016, markets were rocked so badly by concerns about earnings that there were fears of another recession – and then rocked again by the upset Brexit vote.

2017, which started off with concerns about surging bond yields under a pro-growth, anti-tax president, instead saw many months of a “Trump slump” when tax reform took a while to materialize.

Mortgage rates in 2018 may be the closest thing to “normal” we’ve seen in a long time. With two more weeks in the year as of this publication, we’re likely to see a full-year average of 4.54% for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. That will be the highest since 2010.

And for 2019? Given all the variables in both financial markets and housing, forecasting mortgage rates is for the “intrepid,” in the words of Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, and a long-time housing watcher. And those are just the known unknowns. Who can guess the curveballs lying in wait in financial markets, earnings, economic data, housing markets, and beyond?

With that in mind, here are some thoughts from a few of those “intrepid” souls.

NameInstitutionForecast, full-year average, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
Sam KhaterFreddie Mac5.1%
Danielle HaleRealtor.com5.3%
Mark ZandiMoody’s Analytics5.0%
Sam BullardWells Fargo Economics Group4.9%
Rick ShargaCarrington Mortgage5.25%
Mike FratantoniMortgage Bankers Association5.1%
Doug DuncanFannie Mae4.8%

 

read more…

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-what-mortgage-rates-will-do-next-year-from-the-people-who-usually-get-it-wrong-2018-12-14

NYC prices keep falling | Bedford Corners Real Estate

Bloomberg News

Big Apple home buyers are wary of tax reform, and they’re saying so with their checkbooks. The median Manhattan home sold for around $1.1 million during the third quarter, according to a report released Tuesday, as prices took a 4.5% annual dip partially in response to changing policies in Washington.

Nearly 3,000 homes traded hands between July and the end of September, which is roughly 11% fewer than the same period last year, according to the report from Douglas Elliman Real Estate. And as prices and sales volume continue to decline, more homes hit the market. That pushed inventory to nearly 7,000 units, or about 13% more than 2017.

The market’s strength is likely being sapped by uncertainty regarding the new federal tax law, which hit high-tax states like New York hardest by limiting the amount of property taxes that can be deducted on federal tax returns. The luxury and new development sectors were hit hardest as median prices fell roughly 9% with units sitting on the market for roughly twice as long as more modest offerings. Rising interest rates are also making it more expensive to purchase, especially for lower-priced units as prospective buyers are more likely to take out a mortgage. More generally, wage growth has not kept up with rising housing prices, especially in New York City, creating a disconnect between rosy top-line economic figures and the real estate market, which is still correcting itself after a white-hot run that peaked in 2014.

“You throw that all in a cauldron,” said Jonathan Miller, head of appraisal firm Miller Samuel, which prepared the report for Douglas Elliman, “and it is putting a drag on the pace of the market.”

read more…

https://www.crainsnewyork.com

crains.com

Italy to give away more than 100 castles | Bedford Corners Real Estate

Some of the properties are centuries old and will need extensive restoration.
Some of the properties are centuries old and will need extensive restoration. 

It sounds like an offer too good to refuse – Italy is to give away, for free, more than 100 historic monasteries, castles, stone towers, inns and railway stations.

Many of the properties are situated along historic pilgrimage routes which the government wants to promote, just as Spain attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists along the famous Way of St James, which leads to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela.

The initiative, announced by the State Property Agency, is an attempt to pump new life into struggling rural areas. There is, however, a catch.

Castello di Blera near Rome
Castello di Blera near Rome

Many of the 103 properties are crumbling, having been abandoned for decades, and their new owners will be expected to restore them out of their own pocket.

Prospective owners will have to show detailed plans of how they will renovate them and turn them into businesses to boost tourism – such as hotels, restaurants, bed and breakfasts and craft workshops.

In a country where youth unemployment is close to 40 per cent, special consideration will be given to people under the age of 40. They will be initially offered a nine-year lease, with the option of extending it for another nine years.

The buildings on offer include farmhouses, monasteries and castles, such as the 13th-century Castello di Montefiore in the Marche region, Castello di Blera in Lazio and a former school in Puglia.

More than 40 of the properties are on historic walking routes or pilgrimage trails, including the Appian Way, the ancient Roman road that once led from Rome to the Adriatic coast, the Via Francigena, which led from Paris to Rome, and the Way of St Benedict, a pilgrimage route which leads through the mountains of Umbria.

Others are located along established cycling routes.  If the scheme is a success, another 100 properties will be given away free next year and a further 100 in 2019.

New owners will be expected to restore the properties and turn them into hotels, restaurants or bed and breakfasts.
New owners will be expected to restore the properties and turn them into hotels, restaurants or bed and breakfasts. 

“Slow tourism, including walking trails and cycle paths, is very much in vogue and we can combine it with properties of various kinds, from castles to old railway stations,” said Roberto Reggi, the director of the State Property Agency.

“We are hoping that the transformation and regeneration of these properties will involve young people, providing benefits that will have an impact on rural areas and on tourism.”

With popular locations such as Rome, Venice, Florence and the Cinque Terre coastline of Liguria in danger of being swamped by increasing numbers of tourists, Italy is keen to try to disperse visitors to lesser-known parts of the country. The initiative is part of a Strategic Tourism Plan being pursued by the government.

The properties are located along cycling trails or ancient pilgrimage routes.
The properties are located along cycling trails or ancient pilgrimage routes.

The State Property Agency is also working on a scheme to lease unused lighthouses to private developers who will be expected to turn them into boutique hotels, restaurants or museums.

They are situated on dramatic cliffs and headlands overlooking beaches and stunning stretches of coastline, including several in Sardinia and others on Italy’s tiny outlying archipelagoes.

read more…

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/news/italy-giving-away-100-castles-villas-monasteries-free/

Irving Berlin’s onetime Yorkville home returns to the market | Bedford Corners Real Estate

Courtesy of Warburg

A Yorkville duplex that slipped onto the market earlier this week comes with a unique backstory: It was the onetime home of great American songwriter Irving Berlin. The “God Bless America” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business” songster moved into the duplex at 130 East End Avenue in 1931 at the age of 43 along with his family. At the time, Berlin already had hits like “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and “Blue Skies” under his belt, but would go on to write “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” and “Say It Isn’t So” during the time he lived in the apartment.

In As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin, author Laurence Bergreen recalls the East End Avenue duplex:

Reflecting Ellin’s taste rather than [Irving’s], it was a formal, stately dwelling with impressive views of the East River. There was nothing showbizzy about the place; the antiques and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves quietly suggested the home of a wealthy, cultivated businessman possessed of exacting, if severe taste.

The Berlins lived in the apartment for the next 13 years, long enough for the space to be photographed by prolific American architectural photographer Samuel Gottscho. The photographs, on file with the Museum of the City of New York, show an apartment that today largely remains unchanged barring cosmetic upgrades like paint.

MCNY

Today, the apartment shows just as stately with its sweeping entry staircase, black and white marble foyer floor, and 28-foot living room with a wood-burning fireplace and views onto the East River.

The two-bedroom, four-bathroom penthouse is on the market for $7.9 million, with monthly maintenance charges of $7,585. (Surely more pricey than in Berlin’s day.) The listing is held by Jane R. Andrews at Warburg.

Lumber prices on the rise | Bedford Corners Real Estate

The price of softwood lumber rose by 2.3% in December, while prices paid for ready-mix concrete, gypsum products, and OSB all fell, according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Ready-mix concrete, gypsum products and OSB prices fell by 0.1%, 0.2%, and 1.3%, respectively. The 2.3% increase in the softwood lumber price index is the largest monthly increase since April 2016.

Over the course of 2016, softwood lumber prices rose nearly 8.7% while prices paid for OSB spiked by 13.8%.  In November, the cost of ready-mix concrete and gypsum products rose 3.5% and 5.0%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis.

In contrast to the price of softwood lumber–which has been relatively stable over the last two years–OSB prices have risen almost 30% during the same period.  OSB prices leveled off in August 2016, but remain near their two-year high.

The economy-wide PPI increased 0.3% in December, 80% of which was driven by a 0.7% rise in prices paid for goods. Prices for final demand services rose only 0.1%.  A 0.3% increase in the final demand prices for core goods (i.e. goods excluding food and energy) continued a positive trend that started with a 0.2% increase in November.  Prices for core goods less trade services climbed 0.1% and rose 1.7% in 2016, far outpacing the 0.3% rise seen in 2015.

Sixty percent of the rise in prices for goods—the fourth straight increase—was due to the increase in prices of final demand energy.   Gasoline prices alone (+7.8%) accounted for nearly half of the increase.  In contrast, prices of fruit and residential electric power led declines among goods. The increase in prices for final demand services was led by securities brokerage, investment advice, and related services, which advanced 4.4%.

 

read more…

 

http://eyeonhousing.org/2017/01/osb-prices-climb-14-in-2016/

US mortgage applications down | Bedford Corners Real Estate

Leave a reply

Mortgage applications in the United States declined 7.3 percent in the week ended September 16th 2016 from the prior period, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed. It is the first fall in four weeks, following a 4.2 percent jump in the previous period. Refinance applications declined 7.6 percent and applications to purchase a home were down 6.8 percent. Average fixed 30-year mortgage rates increased 3bps to 3.7 percent, the highest rate in nearly three months. Mortgage Applications in the United States averaged 0.55 percent from 2007 until 2016, reaching an all time high of 49.10 percent in January of 2015 and a record low of -38.80 percent in January of 2009. Mortgage Applications in the United States is reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.

United States MBA Mortgage Applications
read more…
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/mortgage-applications

 

Pending Sales Expand | Bedford Corners Real Estate

Leave a reply

Led by the West, the Pending Home Sales Index increased 1.3% in July to the highest level since April, and increased 1.4% year-over-year. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), increased to 111.3 in July from a downwardly revised 109.9 in June.

Pending Home Sales July 2016

The PHSI surged to 108.7 in the West from 101.3 in June. The Northeast and South increased by 0.8% in July, while the Midwest declined by 2.9%. Year-over-year, the PHSI increased 6.2% in the West, 1.1% in the Northeast and 0.4% in the South, but decreased 1.1% in the Midwest.

Although existing sales decreased 3.2% in July, there was a 2.5% increase in the West last month. The housing recovery is reaching the point in the cycle when new residential construction is adding smaller entry-level homes into inventory. Townhouse construction outpaced the rest of the single-family market during the second quarter of 2016. That trend toward smaller and less expensive new single-family construction has begun to improve affordability in the West, sparking momentum that suggests increasing sales among first-time buyers across a wider range of markets in 2016.

 

read more…

 

http://eyeonhousing.org/2016/08/pending-sales-expand/

Mortgage rates average 3.66% | Bedford Corners Real Estate

Leave a reply

Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates up slightly from last week, but still near three year lows.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.66 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending June 2, 2016, up from last week when it averaged 3.64 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.87 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 2.92 percent with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.89 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.08 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.88 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.87 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.96 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 link for the Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

Quote
Attributed to Sean Becketti, chief economist, Freddie Mac.

Since jumping 11 basis points on May 18th, the 10-year Treasury yield has leveled-off around 1.85 percent. Mortgage rates continue to adjust to this new level with the 30-year fixed rate inching up another 2 basis points this week to 3.66 percent. Recent statements by the Fed appear to have persuaded the market that a rate hike may come sooner than later. However, the market is fickle, and Friday’s employment report has the potential to swing opinion 180 degrees in the other direction.

 

 

Custom Home Building Flat | Bedford Corners Real Estate

Leave a reply

NAHB’s analysis of Census Data from the Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design survey indicates that the number of custom home building starts (homes built on an owner’s land, with either the owner or a builder acting as the general contractor) posted a slight increase on a year-over year basis as of the third quarter of 2015.

Over the last four quarters, there were 157,000 construction starts of custom homes, compared to 154,000 for the four quarters prior that began with the fourth quarter of 2013.

Note that this definition of custom home building does not include homes intended for sale, so this analysis uses a narrow definition of the sector.

As measured on a one-year moving average, the market share of custom home building in terms of total single-family starts is now 22.2%, down from a cycle high of 31.5% set during the second quarter of 2009.

custom bldg_3q15

The onset of the housing crisis and the Great Recession interrupted a 15-year long trend away from homes built on the eventual owner’s land. As housing production slowed in 2006 and 2007, the market share of this not-for-sale new housing increased as the number of starts declined. The share increased because the credit crunch made it more difficult for builders to obtain AD&C credit, thus producing relatively greater production declines of for-sale single-family housing.

 

read more…

 

http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/11/custom-home-building-flat/