Tag Archives: Bedford Hills Luxury Homes

Southern California home sales hit a six-year low | Bedford Hills NY Homes

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A dearth of inventory has driven home prices up and home sales down in Southern California. The median sales price for homes in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties rose to a six-year high of $400,000 in March.

That was up 4.4% from $383,000 in February and up 15.8% from March 2013. That marked the highest median sales price since it was $408,000 in February 2008, according to data released by DataQuick.

The median sales price has risen on a year-over-year basis for 24 consecutive months. Despite the rising costs, the March median sale price was still 20.8% below the peak $505,000 median in spring/summer 2007.

The high costs are driving the number of sales to a six-year low. There were a total of 17,638 new and resale houses and condos sold in the Southern California area in March. Those figures were up 25.7% from February, although that increase is typical for the area.

March 2014’s figures were down 14.3% from 20,581 sales in March 2013 and were the lowest for March since 12,808 homes sold in March 2008.

“Southland home buying got off to a very slow start this year, with last month’s sales coming in at the second-lowest level for a March in nearly two decades,” said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage.

“We see multiple reasons for this: The inventory of homes for sale remains thin in many markets. Investor purchases have fallen. The jump in home prices and mortgage rates over the past year has priced some people out of the market, while other would-be buyers struggle with credit hurdles. Also, some potential move-up buyers are holding back while they weigh whether to abandon a phenomenally low interest rate on their current mortgage in order to buy a different home.”

 

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29683-with-prices-at-six-year-high-southern-california-home-sales-hit-a-six-year-low

Asking Home Prices in Urban Neighborhoods Rising Faster Than in Suburbs | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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From some angles, it looks like the housing recovery has brought an urban resurgence: for instance, the most urban counties are growing faster now than during the housing bubble, and many dense cities are having a boom in apartment construction. However, the most recent data show that asking prices in urban neighborhoods are rising only slightly faster than in the suburbs, and the suburbs actually have higher population growth.
The Trulia Price Monitor and the Trulia Rent Monitor are the earliest leading indicators of how asking prices and rents are trending nationally and locally. They adjust for the changing mix of listed homes and therefore show what’s really happening to asking prices and rents. Because asking prices lead sales prices by approximately two or more months, the Monitors reveal trends before other price indexes do. With that, here’s the scoop on where prices and rents are headed (see note #1 below).

Asking Prices Continue to Rise as Spring House Hunting Season Begins Despite declining investor purchases and more inventory coming onto the market, asking home prices continued to rise at the start of the spring housing season. Month-over-month, asking prices rose 1.2% nationally in March 2014, seasonally adjusted. Quarter-over-quarter, asking prices rose 2.9% in March 2014, seasonally adjusted, reflecting three straight months of solid month-over-month gains.

Year-over-year, asking prices are up 10% nationally and up in 97 of the 100 largest metros. Albany, NY, Hartford, CT, and New Haven, CT, are the only three large metros where prices fell year-over-year, albeit slightly.

 

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jed-kolko/asking-home-prices-in-urban-neighborhoods_b_5129329.html?utm_hp_ref=business&ir=Business

30-year FRMs drop for second week in a row | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

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Mortgage rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dropped for the second week in a row, according to Zillow (Z).

Borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace at 4.2%, down from 4.25% at this same time last week.

The 30-year, FRM rate peaked on Wednesday at 4.28% before falling to 4.2% over the weekend.

“Last week mortgage rates dipped after Friday’s job report which, while fairly strong, failed to meet the market’s expectations,” said Erin Lantz, vice president of mortgages at Zillow. “This week, we expect rates to remain about where they are now, and aren’t anticipating any market-moving surprises with the release of the Federal Open Market Committee minutes from the March meeting.”

The 15-year, FRM Tuesday morning was 3.17% and for 5/1 ARMs, the rate was 2.86%.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29604-zillow-30-year-frms-drop-for-second-week-in-a-row

 

Did you refinance your mortgage? Here’s a tax break | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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Refinancing tax deduction basics

You are generally allowed to immediately deduct refinancing points to take out additional mortgage debt used to finance improvements to your principal residence. However, points paid to refinance the remaining balance of the old loan must be amortized over the new loan’s life.

Example 1: Say your old mortgage was $200,000, and you refinanced by taking out a new 15-year $300,000 mortgage. You spent the additional $100,000 of debt to pay for a new den, a kitchen remodel, new landscaping, and assorted other home improvements. You paid 1-1/2 points ($4,500) to get the new loan.

You can immediately deduct one-third ($100,000/$300,000) of the refinancing points, or $1,500, on your 2013 return as long as you paid at least that amount out of your own pocket to get the new loan.

You can claim amortization deductions for the remaining two-thirds ($200,000/$300,000) of the refinancing points, or $3,000, over the new loan’s 15-year term (180 months). So you can deduct $16.67 ($3,000 divided by 180 months) for each month the new loan was outstanding during 2013. In 2014 and beyond, continue claiming amortization deductions of $16.67 a month for as long as the new loan remains outstanding.

Note: If you rolled all the refinancing costs, including the points, into the balance of the new loan, you must amortize the entire amount of the points over the term of the new loan (no immediate deduction in this case).

Example 2: Say you simply refinanced your old mortgage last year without taking on any additional debt. In this case, you can amortize the points over the life of the new loan. For example, if on July 1, 2013 you paid $4,500 in points for a new 15-year mortgage (180 months) with the same principal balance as your old loan, your 2013 amortization deduction is $150 ($4,500 divided by 180 months times 6 months). Your amortization write-offs will continue in 2014 and beyond, at the rate of $25 a month ($300 a year), for as long as the new loan remains outstanding.

Deduct unamortized balance of points from earlier refinancing

Serial refinancers take note: If you had previously refinanced your mortgage and paid points, you probably have a good-sized unamortized (not-yet-deducted) balance for those points. You can deduct that entire unamortized amount when you refinance again.

 

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/did-you-refinance-your-mortgage-heres-a-tax-break-2014-04-08?siteid=yhoof2

Mortgage Resets Are Beginning, and Things Could Get Ugly | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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The Home Affordable Modification Program was a godsend to many troubled homeowners after the financial crisis, allowing tens of thousands of mortgage holders to reduce their monthly payments to no more than 31% of their gross monthly income, often through interest rate reductions.

But, all good things must end, and HAMP – which helped many avoid foreclosure – was only a five-year, temporary fix. Now, modifications that began in February 2009 are maturing out of the program, and into a gradual increase in interest rates. For most, this means a final monthly payment increase of $196; for some, it could be as high as $1,724, depending upon where the average rate for a 30-year loan sat at the time of the modification.

 

 

 

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/04/05/mortgage-resets-are-beginning-and-things-could-get.aspx

 

Almost 90% of HAMP loans will see increases According to the latest report from the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, 88% of the nearly 900,000 active HAMP loans will see their payments rise between now and 2021. With many borrowers having their rate reduced to as little as 2%, a 1% per year rise will likely be painful. Some will see their rates reset up to 5.4% over the next few years — more painful still.

Obviously, the redefault risk is pretty high. As SIGTARP notes, those in the HAMP program the longest default at the highest rate – nearly 50%. Almost half of homeowners with HAMP modifications received them from 2009 to 2010. The overall default rate at the end of last year was 28%.

Which institutions hold these loans? Of the 10 major servicers involved with HAMP, Bank of America Corp.  (NYSE: BAC ) , JPMorgan Chase & Co.  (NYSE: JPM )  and Wells Fargo  (NYSE: WFC )  are in the top five. At the end of 2013, redefaults for each bank associated with HAMP loans was 31% for B of A, 23% for JPMorgan, and 24% for Wells. Ocwen Loan Servicing and Nationstar Mortgage, the other two servicers in the top five, each had redefault rates of 30% and 26%, respectively. Can they expect a whole lot more in the next few years? It certainly seems like it.

 

 

 

Abandoned NY Island Has Lighthouse, B&B + Ghostly Rumors | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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Execution%20Rocks.jpg [Photo via Scouting NY.]

Nick Carr, film location scout extraordinaire, was exploring islands in New York’s waterways when he spotted a lighthouse and its adjacent brick house (for the keeper) perched atop a rocky outcropping. Upon further digging, he learned that the lighthouse on Execution Rocks, located in the Long Island Sound between New Rochelle and the North Shore, was built in 1849 and had a quirky history (and roster of keepers) until it was automated in 1979. After a federal call for help in 2007, a Philadelphia couple stepped up and formed a nonprofit to maintain and restore the petite island’s structures. On the long road to raising $1.2 million, they’re banking on New Yorkers’ sense of adventure and penchant for history, creating three no-frills double rooms and charging guests $150 per person per night to stay there

 

 

 

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/04/01/abandoned_ny_island_has_lighthouse_bb_ghostly_rumors.php

Remarkable River Rock Home on an Ultra-Small Foundation | Bedford Hills NY Homes

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It looks like something straight out of a Photoshop contest – an impossibly small-footprint residence on a tiny jagged rock jutting out from the middle of a river, yet it is entirely real.

river home close up

 

This house has survived its its precarious semi-cantilevered position for nearly half a century, withstanding the weather of the Drina River in Serbia and attracting attention from locals and tourists alike.

 

http://homes.yahoo.com/news/remarkable-river-rock-home-ultra-small-foundation-235852209.html