Average US 30-year mortgage rate slips to 4.28 pct – Yahoo Finance.
Average US 30-year mortgage rate slips to 4.28 pct | Chappaqua Real Estate
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Tag Archives: Chappaqua Homes
Which Home Remodeling Projects Are Worth Your Money? | Chappaqua Real Estate
Even if you’re not planning to sell your home anytime soon, it’s an inevitable question when you consider remodeling: How much will this improvement add to the value of my home?
Surprisingly, much of the time the answer is not as much value as it costs to actually make the improvement.
But some home renovations bring you more bang for your buck than others.
The top-ranking home improvement? A new front door, which on average adds 96.6 percent of the amount you spent to the value to your home, according to Remodeling magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value Report for 2014.
But “it has to be the right front door,” says Steven Aaron, owner of the Steve Aaron Realtor Group at Keller Williams Beverly Hills and one of the protagonists of the HGTV series “Selling LA.” Keep in mind that sometimes painting the existing front door provides the same payoff.
All 35 projects included in the Cost vs. Value report added more value this year than last year, and this is the second consecutive year of increases after several years of decline.
http://news.yahoo.com/home-remodeling-projects-worth-money-155500763.html
10 cities where ordinary people can no longer afford homes | Chappaqua NY Homes
It now seems pretty clear that late 2012 or early 2013 was the ideal time to purchase a home: Real-estate prices and interest rates were both near record lows, creating an unprecedented buying opportunity for those who could muster a down payment and qualify for a mortgage.
Home affordability is still pretty good by historical standards, but typical buyers are once again being priced out in at least two dozen markets ranging from coastal hotspots to lower-cost inland cities. Three factors are pushing the cost of owning a home beyond the financial reach of ordinary families: Mortgage rates are ticking upwward as the Federal Reserve backs away from the super-easy monetary policy of the past five years. Home prices are rising as the economy recovers. And incomes are barely budging, which means typical families are once again falling behind as they try to bank enough to buy a home.
We used data from research firm RealtyTrac to determine where housing affordability is deteriorating the most. At the top of the list is Salinas, Calif., where a median-priced home rose 40% from the end of 2012 to the end of 2013, to $388,000. When rising interest rates are factored in, the income required to purchase a typical home rose by a whopping 58%.
The 10 areas in the list below are ranked by the increase in income required to buy a typical home from December 2012 to December 2013. We also included RealtyTrac’s affordability-index rating for the county each city is located in, to exclude cities in which required incomes have risen but homes are still relatively cheap. (The affordability index represents the median income per county as a percentage of the required income for a typical home purchase, so cities with a rating below 100 are less affordable while those above 100 are more affordable). We also grouped cities in northern and southern California into two entries, since there are so many of them. Here are the 10 areas where home affordability is deteriorating the most:
Source: RealtyTrac
With home prices rising nationwide by an average of about 11% in 2013, the income required to buy a typical home rose in all but a handful of cities. Still, affordability remains strong in the majority of markets, says Daren Blomquist of RealtyTrac. Here are the 10 cities where affordability has either improved during the past year, or barely changed (affordability-index data isn’t available for every city).
US home prices rose at solid pace in January | Chappaqua Real Estate
U.S. home prices rose in January after three months of declines. A tight supply of homes might have helped boost prices and offset sales slowed by cold weather.
Real estate data provider CoreLogic says prices rose 0.9 percent in January after dipping 0.1 percent in December. Over the past 12 months, home prices have risen 12 percent, the biggest year-over-year gain in more than eight years.
CoreLogic’s price figures aren’t adjusted for seasonal patterns, such as winter weather, which can depress sales.
Snowstorms and low temperatures contributed to a sharp drop in sales of existing homes in January. The National Association of Realtors said sales plunged to their lowest level in 18 months. Still, the number of homes for sale remained low, a factor that might have helped increase prices.
Home sales and construction have faltered over the winter, partly because the weather has likely discouraged many Americans from house-hunting. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is also about a percentage point more than it was last spring, which means buying costs are higher.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-home-prices-rose-solid-130122017.html
Chappaqua School Budget Meetings Begin Monday | Chappaqua NY Homes
The Chappaqua School District recently released an update on the 2014-15 budget process.
A PTA-sponsored Community Forum on the proposed school budget is set for 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 3, in Bell Middle School’s auditorium.
At each forum, Schools Superintendent Lyn McKay and Assistant Superintendent for Business John Chow will present a brief overview of the proposed budget, representatives said. The forums are intended to “provide an alternative venue for community members to ask questions, voice concerns and provide input before the board adopts its budget” on April 23.
The Board of Education will hold work sessions and meetings through the budget process.
The following is a listing of budget and school election dates, according to the district:
- Wednesday, March 5, Board Work Session – Curriculum/Technology 7:30 p.m. – Horace Greeley High School (HGHS), Academic Commons
- Wednesday, March 12, Board Meeting/Work Session – Special Education/Athletics 7:30 p.m. – HGHS, Academic Commons
http://chappaqua.dailyvoice.com/schools/chappaqua-school-budget-meetings-begin-monday
Homeowners face £2bn increase in mortgage bills | Chappaqua Homes
Chappaqua Real Estate Weekly Report | Chappaqua NY Homes
| Chappaqua  NY Weekly Real Estate Report | 2/27/2014 | |
| Homes for sale | 104 | |
| Median Ask Price | $1,264,500.00 | |
| Low Price | $469,000.00 | |
| High Price | $19,900,000.00 | |
| Average Size | 4297 | |
| Average Price/foot | $363.00 | |
| Average DOM | 103 | |
| Average Ask Price | $1,677,196.00 | |
The derelict mansions on Britain’s ‘Billionaires’ Row’ | Chappaqua Real Estate
A third of the houses on Britain’s second most expensive street are lying vacant, many abandoned for decades and left to rot.
Behind the padlocked gates and long driveways, up to 20 mansions stand empty on London’s The Bishops Avenue, despite a reported combined value of around £350 million ($582 million).
Dubbed “Billionaires’ Row,” the road’s average house costs over £6 million ($9.98 million), but many have been deserted by their wealthy owners.
Despite their dilapidated condition, the houses remain a safe place for wealthy foreigners to park their money because of London’s rocketing property prices, which rose 11% last year, and because of the road’s reputation as a magnet for the rich and famous.
Anil Varma, a property developer appointed by a hedge fund owner to manage six of the vacant homes, calls it one of “the most expensive wastelands in Europe.”
He’s hoping to get permission to convert decaying mansion The Towers into luxury apartments. Bought 25 years ago by a prominent Middle Eastern family but never lived in because of planning permission complications, the once-magnificent mansion was abandoned and has fallen into disrepair.
Varma showed CNN through the property, revealing animal skeletons lying on moss-covered floors, paint ripped off the damp-soaked ceilings and stairs which have partially collapsed.
Jersey House, 200 meters up the road, is on sale for £40 million ($67 million) and estate agent Trevor Abrahmsohn says investors aren’t put off by the numerous abandoned homes on the road because The Bishops Avenue “is an iconic road, like Rodeo Drive or Wall Street.”
Buying a house here “is a statement of wealth… a statement that you’ve arrived,” he told CNN. The street has long been a landing pad for wealthy investors in developing countries undergoing geopolitical chaos: Iranians after the 1979 revolution, eastern Europeans after the collapse of the Berlin Wall and most recently, Chinese oligarchs, he said.
But, as Britain faces a housing shortage and soaring property prices, The Bishops Avenue’s empty mansions are likely to add to debate over taxes payable by overseas property buyers — particularly if they remain empty.
However, Richard Cornelius, who heads the local government branch of Barnet Council, told CNN he “would rather spend public money bringing family houses back into use than getting involved in battles with the lawyers of billionaires.”
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/24/business/the-derelict-mansions-on-britains-billionaires-row/index.html
15 Painting Mistakes to Avoid in Your Home | Chappaqua NY Homes
Taking on your next painting project? For a flawless finish, avoid these painting mistakes.
1. Skipping the Tape Do you have the skills to get straight lines around the woodwork, windowsills and doorframes? Grab the painter’s tape and get the nice, clean edges you want.
2. Painting Without Primer Primer gives paint a good surface to adhere to and brings out the true color of the shade you’ve chosen. Going without it can lead to poor results.
3. Impatience You took the time to fix every imperfection with patching compound. Wait. Make sure it’s completely dry before you sand and prime. Otherwise, all that patching was a waste of time.
4. Paint Buildup on Pad Edge When using edge pads around ceiling edges and corners, make sure to wipe off excess paint frequently to avoid marking the surface.
5. Brushing When You Should be Rolling For a large interior area, a roller will do a better job in less time. Select the right nap roller for your sheen of paint and try to avoid pushing the roller into the wall when you paint.
6. Underestimating How Much Paint Needed The pros say you need one gallon for every 400 square feet. Plan ahead and you can avoid running back and forth to the store with a paint swatch in your hand.
7. Assuming Walls are Clean Paint looks much better when it has a good, clean surface to stick to. Wash your walls before painting and get professional results you can be proud of. 8. Painting When the Humidity is High When the air is full of moisture, water-based paint takes longer to dry. If the weather winds up more humid than expected, take the day off and wait for a dry day.
http://shine.yahoo.com/at-home/15-painting-mistakes-avoid-home-201300426.html
Rapid home price gains make renting more attractive, study says | Chappaqua NY Homes
It’s now cheaper to rent than own.
Across a large swath of Southern California, owning a house has become less attractive financially in the wake of rapid home price gains last year, according to a new study.
The mortgage payment on a median-priced, three-bedroom would exceed the rent on a comparable property in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties, according to a RealtyTrac analysis released Thursday, based on prices from the fourth quarter of 2013.
Nationwide, there were only 29 large counties in that situation, including the Northern California counties of Santa Clara, Alameda and San Francisco. A year earlier, nowhere in Southern California was rent cheaper than monthly house payments.
In Los Angeles County, RealtyTrac reported, the monthly house payment for a median-priced three-bedroom was $1,987 — about $100 more expensive than fair market rent for a similar property, as calculated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
A year earlier, house payments were about $500 a month cheaper than rent.
The median price for a three-bedroom L.A. County house was $417,333 in the fourth quarter. The monthly house payment for such a home rose 40% compared with the fourth quarter of 2012.
To qualify to purchase such a house, a buyer would now need to make at least $95,389 annually, according to RealtyTrac. That’s about $42,000 more than the median-household income and $27,000 more than the income needed to buy the median house a year earlier.
The widening disparity between rent and home prices underscores a growing affordability crunch across the region. Real estate experts say the high costs, without corresponding income growth, have depressed sales
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-rent-or-buy-20140220,0,6388101.story#ixzz2ty69WsxW