The Hamptons 18 Essential Hotels – Hotel 18 – Curbed Hamptons.
At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $495.7 billion, new construction starts in May advanced 5% from April, according to McGraw Hill Construction.
Much of the uptick came from nonresidential building, which registered moderate growth for the second month in a row after its sluggish performance at the outset of 2013.
During the first five months of 2013, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were reported at $187.6 billion, down 3% from last year.
Residential building advanced 3% in May to $206.8 billion.
Single-family housing also edged up 2% in May, the company noted.
The rate of activity for single-family housing continues to be high by recent standards, with May up 26% from the average monthly pace during 2012.
By geography, single-family housing in May revealed gains in the Midwest, up 6%; the West, up 5%, and the South Atlantic, up 2%, respectively.
Home construction climbs 5% in May: McGraw Hill | HousingWire.
They were talking about an affordable housing “report card” sent by Maurice Jones, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, last month.
Astorino said the affordable housing allocations given in the report cards are based on a Rutgers study released in 2004 that was never approved by the county. He said the allocations exceed the benchmarks set forth for the county during its affordable housing settlement in 2009 and that the new numbers are an attempt by HUD to force localities to change their zoning.
“The 2004 study, for all intents and purposes, should be thrown out,” Astorino said. “It has nothing to do with the settlement. Nothing. Seven hundred and fifty is the only number that anyone should be talking about.”
In 2006, the Anti-Discrimination Center of Metro New York brought a federal lawsuit that claimed the county failed to live up to its obligation to provide affordable housing and address issues of racial segregation in its housing markets.
That suit eventually led to a $63 million settlement in 2009 that requires the county to see to it that 750 units of affordable housing are built in 31 of the county’s predominantly white communities and to market those units to the nine counties surrounding Westchester.
But Astorino said HUD’s plan in the report cards would require the county to build 5,097 additional affordable housing units. The two largest allocations were 975 affordable housing units for Mount Pleasant and 756 units for Harrison, meaning each town’s individual report card allocation surpasses the settlement’s total, according to Astorino.
Jones wrote another letter to Ken Jenkins, chairman of the Westchester county Board of Legislators, last month refuting Astorino’s claims that HUD is requiring the county to build additional affordable housing units.
“Under paragraph 7 of the Settlement, the County is obligated to ensure the development of “at least” 750 new affordable housing units that affirmatively further fair housing,” Jones wrote. “By its terms, this is a floor, not a ceiling.”
Jones said the Rutgers study, which estimates that the county would need to build nearly 11,000 affordable housing units to meet the regions needs, was used as a starting point
“In any event, HUD is not requiring the County to build this number of units, but to use this study as a tool to examine how the eligible municipalities are contributing to meet the regional needs,” Jones wrote to Jenkins. “Such an examination does not equate to a new funding mandate.”
Joan Maybury, supervisor of the Town of Mount Pleasant, said she wanted to know why HUD sent out the report cards using the Rutgers figures if they really didn’t mean anything.
“The idea that the federal monitor would send a report card beforehand and have it with flaws—in the Town of Mount Pleasant it said we didn’t have any affordable accessory apartment, which is absolutely not true…I think the public deserves a little bit better in regards to communication,” Maybury said.
Astorino said that this was another example of how HUD has continued to ‘move the goalposts’ when it comes to Westchester and is attempting to see how far it can push.
He said the county had 386 units with financing so far, which is well past the goal of 300 units that was set for 2013.
“When I say we’re done, are they going to say no your not, this is going on forever?” Astorino said. “I think this is what we’d like to know. When we get to 750 units, is it game over? Or do we have ongoing obligations to build more?”
[photo credit: guest of a guest]
So far, East Hampton hasn’t walled off the parking lot, as was mooted in March, but the town board approved restricted parking access at Indian Wells Beach in Amagansett. The party scene was out of control on the beach last summer, with rowdy behavior, urinating in the dunes, and mounds of garbage left behind. The new law would restrict vehicles weighing more than 4 tons, longer than 30 feet or carrying more than eight passengers from parking on Indian Wells Highway, 175 feet south of Bluff Road to the end. Parking will also be prohibited on two roads near Indian Wells Highway from 8AM to 6PM. We’ll see what happens.
As Sunday’s Father’s day approaches, Chappaqua resident and former President Bill Clinton will be honored with “Father of the Year” by the National Father’s Day Council at its 72nd Annual Father of the Year Awards Tuesday afternoon in New York City in a luncheon at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
Macy’s CEO Terry J. Lundgren will also be honored. Both were deemed with the honor back in January.
“We are extremely honored to have President Clinton accept this award for Father of the Year,” said Dan Orwig, chairman of the National Father’s Day Committee.
“With the profound generosity, leadership and tireless dedication to both his public office and many philanthropic organizations, President Clinton exemplifies the attributes that we celebrate through this award.”
Clinton, whose only child, Chelsea, is now 32 years old and married, was elected President in 1992 and served two terms. His wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, the nation’s former secretary of state. The former president focuses on his William J. Clinton Foundation, which seeks to improve global health, strengthen economies, promote healthier childhoods and protect the environment.
About the National Father’s Day Council: As part of its commitment to support meaningful philanthropies dealing with issues affecting mothers, fathers and children, the National Father’s Day/Mother’s Day Council, Inc., has donated more than $30 million to date to meaningful charities nationwide.
Chappaqua’s Bill Clinton To Receive ‘Father Of the Year’ Award Tuesday | The Armonk Daily Voice.
Watch Gmail’s intro video for the new inbox design and they’ll state something many of us are all too familiar with: Inboxes can be overwhelming!
Gmail is offering to help you deal with the clutter that email brings. The new design now features tabs that include primary, social, promotions and updates tabs to help you sort out what’s most important. Emails can easily be dragged from one tab to another leaving you in control of the emails you really need.
Can’t find the new inbox or wondering if you have access to it yet? Check the little gear icon in the upper right-hand corner. If you see “Configure inbox” then you are good to go!
The new inbox is available for your Android 4.0+ devices and iPhone and iPad. Google’s prepped more inbox tips, too.
Watch the video from Gmail here and let me know what you think of the new layout.
– See more at: http://www.inman.com/next/the-new-gmail-inbox/#sthash.0HQpNKHg.dpuf
Take a look: The new Gmail inbox simplifies and customizes with new tabs | Inman News.
In some markets–many of them in California–the home price rebound has pushed prices above their EHP level, which should be a caution sign for investors seeking to make money in a quick re-sale, according to the latest HomeVestor/Local Market Monitor Best Market Ratings for investors.
Citing new quarterly data compiled by HomeVestors (known as the “We Buy Ugly Houses®” company) and national real estate forecaster, Local Market Monitor, Hicks said that in the top 100 housing markets in the U.S., only one-Providence, Rhode Island–is categorized as “dangerous” for investors. The HomeVestor/Local Market Monitor Best Market Ratings, issued quarterly, concentrate on factors that affect the demand for housing and therefore affect home prices. The potential for price increases is the investment opportunity, the potential for price decreases or stagnation is the investment risk.
“Five of the 11 markets where the price run-up has driven the EHP into positive territory are in California, with the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale market leading the pack. Average home prices now running 19 per cent above the EHP for that market,” said Ingo Winzer, president and founder of Local Market Monitor. The EHP, or Equilibrium Home Price is a measure of how much a market is over-priced or underpriced relative to local income.
“Markets with a positive EHP can still provide strong rental returns for investors,” Winzer said, “since most of those markets have strong population and job growth which provides upward pressure on rents.
“The San Jose market is a good example,” he continued. “Although the EHP is six percent, strong population growth provides a good source of renters, making it a ‘low risk’ market according to our data.”
Winzer also thinks the sharply higher prices in some markets will be difficult to sustain. “They’re more the result of a short-term shortage of inventory rather than a long-term recovery of demand,” he noted.
Investors should weigh the data carefully according to their risk preferences before making a decision about investing in a market,” said HomeVestors co-president Ken Channell. “For those who can handle more risk, markets ranked as ’speculative’ in our data could provide more upside potential.”
Despite the record-setting increases in home prices this year, there is still plenty of room in most markets for prices to move even higher, and that’s good news for investors in single family homes according to David Hicks, co-president of HomeVestors of America
“Even though housing prices in Providence are still 12 percent below their EHP level, the weak jobs market and relatively high unemployment depresses demand for rental properties,” said Ingo Winzer,
Of the top 100 markets, there are 13 ranked as “speculative,” all of them in Northeast or the Midwest. “Most of these markets have higher than average unemployment rates, but have other factors such as home prices well below the EHP, strong rents or continued population growth that make them particularly attractive investments,” Hicks said.
“What we have learned over the last 16 years with our HomeVestors® franchisees buying more than 50,000 houses allows us to analyze individual neighborhoods for sales trends and rental rates,” Channell said. “This information can help investors determine a purchase price for a property that may allow them to build equity over the long term while generating rental income immediately.”
The quarterly data categorizes all U.S. markets according to different investor risk preferences including Dangerous, Speculative, Medium Risk and Low Risk. California leads the nation in the number of markets ranked “low risk” with 14. Texas is next with 12 markets ranked as low risk and Florida is third with 11.
But, Winzer cautions “Not all low risk markets are equal. When you factor in job growth and unemployment, it’s clear that some markets like Texas have better long-term potential than a market like Florida.”
Investors Cautioned On Hottest Markets | RealEstateEconomyWatch.com.
There’s a new WSJ/NBC poll about Obama’s approval, but fortunately buried within it, there are some good questions about how Americans see the economy.
There’s still not massive satisfaction, but clearly since the beginning of the year, there’s been a big improvement in how people feel.
For example, here’s a question on whether people are satisfied with the state of the economy.
Those saying they’re “somewhat” or “very” satisfied with the economy total 36%, up from 27% at the start of the year.
Those registering dissatisfaction are at 64%, down from 72%.
Other poll questions show a similar story.
There’s been a big drop in the number of people who think the economic outlook will get worse (18% vs. 28% at the end of last year).
Some of you may be using it already.
Some of you may have skipped the tutorial on your newly updated LinkedIn page.
Some of you may not have the option to use it yet.
Some of you may not have been to your LinkedIn page for months. ; )
Either way, here’s a quick overview of LinkedIn’s new “Contacts” feature. I encourage you to check it out. I had the chance to be part of their private beta, and have been playing around with it for the past 6-9 months; I definitely notice a difference in the way I build and maintain my network.
First, let us all understand that this is NOT a CRM. Although the team at LinkedIn could potentially go in this direction, their current release is better suited as a modern-day Rolodex and personal secretary.
Your network is a valuable piece of your business and personal life; and often, you can’t predict when you’ll need to call on it. Managing your network takes skill and commitment, but, if you do it right, making that call is rarely a problem. Here’s how LinkedIn “Contacts” can help:
Most of our networks are scattered across many platforms. LinkedIn now allows you to sync up with multiple sources, including Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook, Facebook, Twitter, Evernote and CardMunch.
With taxes going up for most people, you might be paying more attention to your tax-deferred retirement investing options, such as your Individual Retirement Account (IRA). And with property prices going up, you might ponder whether you can invest those IRA funds in real estate to both defer (or eliminate) taxes and earn a fair rate of return.
Putting your hard-earned IRA assets into a “self-directed” IRA can be a very good idea to grow long-term, tax-deferred or tax-free assets. But it doesn’t work for everyone.
Here are a few things you should consider.
The real estate you buy must be a business property, not a personal residence, second home or occasional rental. Also, you can’t use your IRA to buy a property you already own; it has to be a new purchase directly into the IRA.
If you wanted to buy a rental property, you would open an IRA custodial account, transfer cash from an existing IRA account — or possibly 401(k) — into the custodial account and then purchase real estate under the IRA account name. Very specific rules outline what you can and cannot do in funding and managing the investment, so make sure to get good advice on those rules.
You can also buy and sell real estate in a self-directed IRA if you are in the flipping business, but there are limits on how many you can do per year. The profits on any transaction would be tax-deferred or tax-free and allow your IRA to continue to grow with those tax advantages.
You can’t get a traditional mortgage loan in an IRA, so you really need to have enough money in your IRA to purchase properties for cash if you plan on having the property as a long-term rental. There are also costs to administering the IRA, so factor those into your calculations when penciling out any real estate investment. And you cannot write off losses or depreciation from any investment property in an IRA, so there won’t be the traditional tax savings you’d get on rental properties. Lastly, if you fail to comply with any of the rules, it may kill your IRA and cause you many tax penalties.
Don’t put all of your IRA eggs into one basket. Too many people don’t properly diversify their retirement assets — present company included. It would be smart to talk to a financial adviser on how to allocate all your investment savings into different assets, based on your age and risk tolerance.
If you want to use your IRA to buy real estate, you need to understand what you can and can’t do. More key information can be reviewed at udirectIRA, which is a self-directed IRA custodian. And as always you also should get professional guidance from an accountant and lawyer.