Tag Archives: Bedford Hills NY Real Estate for Sale

Bedford Hills NY Real Estate for Sale

30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Hits Low for the Year | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates moving down further and following the decline in Treasury yields as the economic growth for the first quarter came in well below market expectations. At 4.21 percent, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is at its lowest since the week of November 7, 2013.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.21 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending May 8, 2014, down from last week when it averaged 4.29 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.42 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.32 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.38 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.61 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.05 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, unchanged from last week. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.58 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.43 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.45 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.53 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 continued moving down following the decline in 10-year Treasury yields after a dismal report on real GDP growth in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the economy added 288,000 jobs in April, the largest since January 2012, and followed an upward revision of 36,000 jobs for the prior two months. Also, the unemployment rate fell to 6.3 percent.”

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. Additional information is available at FreddieMac.com, Twitter @FreddieMac and Freddie Mac’s blog FreddieMac.com/blog.

 

 

 

 

 

How to save time, money and your sanity when building new or remodeling | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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magine walking into your newly built or remodeled home and seeing it exactly as you had imagined it at the start of construction: the windows are all in the right places, the flooring is the right color, and the kitchen cabinets are a perfect fit.

Now allow me to pinch you on the arm, because for most people, reality is often different from that idyllic scenario. You might see missing trim around the bedroom doors or wonder why that small change in the kitchen cost so much. Looking back, you might ask, “And why did we have to hire another subcontractor to finish the bathroom?”

Of course, there are things you just can’t plan for, but there’s plenty that you can. Costly changes and additional time-consuming work can be kept to a minimum if you fully understand what you are building before you start. By understanding the construction process, being part of the team and keeping a firm grip on the budget, your construction project can result in the home of your dreams.

modern bathroom by Stephenson Design Collective
Stephenson Design Collective
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1. Don’t Skimp on Design Help

Given the busy lives most of us lead, we don’t have the time to research every type of technology and material that might be used on a construction project. Use professionals to save some of the time that would otherwise be spent learning and perfecting the process.

Architects are trained not just to make a project pretty but to match building systems, thermal envelopes and other properties to the client’s needs. They have a broad, up-to-date knowledge of these systems as well as of materials and processes for a wide variety of project areas.

Now, I sympathize with the awful feelings associated with a project’s going over budget. I’ve been there; I’ve gotten that dreaded call from the contractor that the structural and mechanical designs are in conflict. And dealt with preexisting conditions that the contractor hadn’t anticipated.

A design pro can provide guidance on what team members will likely be required for the project. And not just for the big ones, like a full custom home construction. Smaller projects like additions and remodels also can benefit from a pro’s expertise.

Architects can usually recommend other team members, too, such as engineers.

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http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/20047690?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u494&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery5

Look Inside the Bronx’s Crumbling ‘Castle on the Concourse’ | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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4 images

What’s going on with the landmarked P.S. 31, the Bronx’s “Castle on the Concourse?” Not a whole lot, it seems. Welcome2theBronx checked in on the decrepit schoolhouse that garnered an emergency demolition order from the Department of Building’s in November. Seems like the structure has flown under the razing radar and made it through the brutal winter without suffering damage due to the heavy snow, even though the roofs of other buildings in the area collapsed. However, the actively crumbling structure still faces an uncertain future, caught in the trenches between those who want to see the structure salvaged, as is believed can be done, and those who see no cost-benefit in repairing the building’s massive structural cracks and many other problems.

 

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http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/04/21/look_inside_the_bronxs_crumbling_castle_on_the_concourse.php

New home? Tips for getting to know the garden | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

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Americans are a restless bunch. They change locations with a frequency that would tire a migrating songbird.

But there is more to moving day than unpacking boxes; there’s also learning to care for that garden inherited with the new home.

If you were thinking ahead, you asked for an inventory of the plants and accessories that came with the house.

“There’s no problem with asking owners for a list of landscape items and for an explanation about the plantings,” said Shirley French, an agent with the Woodstock, Va., office of Funkhouser Real Estate Group. “Usually, the owners are more than happy to give you a list. In fact, if they know the purchasers are interested, that will make for good feelings on both sides.”

Gardening priorities are determined mostly by the seasons. You won’t be mowing the lawn in February, although you might be combing the seed catalogs.

But where to start with a newly purchased property?

Michael Becker, president of Estate Gardeners Inc. in Omaha, Neb., suggests that putting safety first.

“Check out the dangers,” said Becker, a spokesman for Planet, the Professional Landcare Network that certifies green industry professionals. “Are the retaining walls stable? Are any trees leaning or diseased with dead branches?

 

 

 

http://news.yahoo.com/home-tips-getting-know-garden-144102428.html

Home Price Climb Returning to Average | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

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Home prices rose faster in the third quarter than at any time since 2006, but are expected to slow considerably in 2014, according to data released Thursday by Corelogic.
Indeed, pending home sales data from the National Association of Realtors, also released Thursday, came in weaker than expected, showing a decline of 8.7% vs. the previous month. Consensus estimates were for just a 0.3% drop.
Corelogic expects the pace of home price increases to slow to 4.2% nationally through the third quarter of 2014, close to its long-term annual average of 4.5% recorded since 1975.
According to the Corelogic data, prices rose nearly 30% in Las Vegas and in several California cities, while Detroit also saw a near-20% jump. Gains in Northeastern cities such as Philadelphia and Hartford were around 3%.

“Investor demand and sales of foreclosed properties are dropping quickly,” said CoreLogic Case-Shiller economist David Stiff. “This is especially true in states that were caught up early in the bubble and have non-judicial foreclosure proceedings, such as California and Arizona. In these states, inventories of bank-owned properties are close to being cleared. Non-investor demand, although increasing, will not replace demand from investors.”

Home prices across the U.S. were 17% above the trough reached in the fourth quarter of 2011, but they are still 23% below the peak reached in the first quarter of 2006, Corelogic concluded.

 

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12286471/1/home-price-climb-returning-to-average.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

 

The “Vanishing” First-Time Home Buyer; What It Means for the Housing Market | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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Ah, the U.S. housing market, the so-called silver lining in the U.S. recovery—but not for long, as it may be rusting. The U.S. housing numbers are in, and they aren’t spectacular.

In the U.S. housing market, December existing-home sales rose one percent month-over-month at an annualized pace of 4.87 million units. Analysts were expecting December existing-home numbers to come in at 4.93 million. The one-percent increase also has to be taken with a grain of salt, as it was helped, in part, by a downward revision in November existing-home U.S. housing market sales to 4.82 million units. (Source: “December Existing-Home Sales Rise, 2013 Strongest in Seven Years,” National Association of Realtors web site, January 23, 2014.)

The December existing-home U.S. housing market sales of 4.87 million are also 0.6% below the 4.9-million-unit level recorded in December 2012. And sales of existing homes were down 27.9% at an annualized rate for the entire fourth quarter.

First-time home buyers—the fuel of the U.S. housing market—accounted for just 27% of all purchases in December, down from 28% in November and October and 30% in December 2012. That’s a huge drop over the 30-year average of 40% and a number real estate professionals and economists consider ideal. It is also the lowest level since the National Association of Realtors began tracking this metric in 2008.

First-time home buyers, who tend to purchase lower-priced homes, are being pushed out of the U.S. housing market recovery by all-cash sales. All-cash sales accounted for a whopping 42.1% of all U.S. residential sales in December, up from 38.1% in November and 18.0% in December 2012. (Source: “Short Sales and Foreclosure Sales Combined Accounted for 16 percent of U.S. Residential Sales in 2013,” RealtyTrac web site, January 22, 2014.)

 

 

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/vanishing-first-time-home-buyer-means-housing-market-172534837.html

Sheryl Crow Relists Her Tennessee Ranch With Another Big Price Cut | Bedford Hills Homes

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You’d think an equestrian estate owned by a Grammy Award-winning singer would fly off the market, but Sheryl Crow has been trying to sell her Tennessee ranch, formerly known as Cross Creek Farm, for 3 years and 9 months.

First listed in 2010 for $7.5 million, the estate at 6664 Cross Keys Rd, College Grove, TN 37046 received a 40 percent price cut in May 2011. At that time, the size of the property was also cut from 147 acres down to 51, as it was proving to be “a handful to sell,” according to The Tennessean’s Nancy Mueller.

Now in another effort to entice a buyer, Crow has dropped her asking price to $3.85 million, but that’s still on the high end for College Grove homes. According to Zillow’s mortgage calculator, a buyer could expect a monthly payment around $15,489, assuming 20 percent down on a 30-year fixed mortgage.

Currently held by Jay Barron of Harpeth Company, the listing includes a contemporary 10,433-square-foot residence, a 14-stall horse barn, an indoor arena and an outdoor pool. The guesthouse and remaining 96 acres are being sold separately.

Meanwhile, Crow also has been trying to sell her L.A. home. It first hit the Hollywood Hills market in October 2012 for $15.95 million and dropped to $12.495 million this summer.

 

 

http://www.zillow.com/blog/2013-12-26/big-price-cut-on-sheryl-crow-ranch/