Tag Archives: Chappaqua Real Estate for Sale

A New Houzz Survey Reveals What You Really Want in Your Kitchen | Chappaqua NY Homes

Let’s talk about two of everyone’s favorite subjects: you and your kitchen. In a recent Houzz survey, we asked homeowners to answer a series of questions about their kitchen remodeling plans. The results are in and, wow, you all really hate your current kitchen countertops. Can’t we all just get along with tile and Formica? Apparently not. Of the 7,812 people who responded, 94 percent plan to replace their countertops — and fewer than 10 percent intend to use either of those classic materials.
Half of you will choose granite as the replacement, followed by 36 percent who will choose quartz. In fact, based on what the survey found, we can pretty much guess what your dream kitchen might look like.

It looks a lot like this, which — surprise! — happens to be the kitchen photo that’s been added to the most ideabooks on Houzz, and is one of the top 10 photos saved to ideabooks from July through September of 2013.
What is it about this kitchen that so many of you like? Well, 75 percent of you want soft, neutral colors in the kitchen. And 65 percent of you will choose stainless steel appliances, half will select a tile backsplash and 35 percent will opt for hardwood floors.
The majority of you are starting from scratch, either designing a kitchen as part of new construction or gutting your existing kitchen and beginning anew. So why not make it exactly what you want?
If you could really have it your way, most of you would opt for a nice, big range like this one. More than 50 percent of you said a “chef’s stove” was your dream appliance, followed much farther behind by double ovens (18 percent) and an induction cooktop (9 percent).
My mother would toast the 7 percent of you who said a wine refrigerator topped your kitchen wish list.
Three-quarters of you will create a kitchen that’s open to other spaces, like the dining and living rooms. Naturally, this offers an ideal opportunity to incorporate an island into your design, so 61 percent of you plan to include one.

All-cash deals make huge comeback | Chappaqua Homes

Call it the summer of the cash sale. All-cash home purchases skyrocketed during the summer months of 2013, with their share of total sales growing by more than 40 percent from the beginning of June to the end of August, amid sustained appetite from investors, a recent spike in interest rates and tight inventory.

Cash purchases accounted for 45 percent of sales in August, up from the 2013 trough of 32 percent seen in April and May, according to RealtyTrac data provided exclusively to Inman News. RealtyTrac That indicates that the market share of cash sales has increased 41 percent in just the last three months.

The recent meteoric rise in cash sales’ market share hit its fastest clip yet in August, with cash purchases’ share of total sales jumping 6 percentage points month over month to 45 percent. That’s the highest level that RealtyTrac has recorded since March 2012, right around when home prices hit their post-meltdown low.

Looking back a year, cash sales’ market share was up a whopping 50 percent in August, RealtyTrac said.

Read more…

 

http://www.inman.com/2013/09/26/cash-sales-share-of-total-purchases-skyrockets-by-nearly-a-third-in-2-months/#sthash.kfMp9Gaz.dpuf

Home sales shoot up in Massachusetts | Chappaqua Real Estate

According to the Boston Globe, home sales in Massachusetts and the Greater Boston area are back to boom-time levels, with July showing the best results since 2006.

Nearly 6,000 homes changed hands across the state in July. That’s the most hectic month for sales since June 2006, the Boston-based real estate data firm and publisher reports.

However, Bay State home prices, after rising 12% through the first six months of the year, took a break in July.

The median home price in July was $349,000, down slightly from $350,000 in June. Hardly a big drop, but worth taking notice of.

                    Source: Boston Globe

Police Advisory: Two Chappaqua Burglaries Thursday | Chappaqua Daily Real Estate

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. — The following is an advisory from the New Castle police department.

New Castle Police are investigating two burglaries that were reported on Spring Valley Road. One house was entered through an unlocked door off of a second floor deck. The other house had a forced entry to a rear door. Electronic equipment and jewelry are reported stolen.

The burglaries occurred on June 6, 2013 between 11:30AM and 4:00PM. Both homes were unoccupied at the time of the burglaries. New Castle are investigating.

Anyone with information should call 914-238-4422.

Contact Information:

Charles Ferry

Chief of Police

914-238-4422

cferry@town.new-castle.ny.us

 

Police Advisory: Two Chappaqua Burglaries Thursday | The Chappaqua Daily Voice.

Fear Motivates First-Time Homebuyers | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

Worried about predictions of rising mortgage rates, additional increases in home prices and new costs for FHA borrowers, first-time homebuyers are kicking off the spring buying market in years, despite skimpy inventories and late winter weather across much of the nation.

According to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey, first-time buyers accounted for 34.5 percent of home purchase transactions in February based on a three-month moving average, the second monthly increase for first-time homebuyers.

First-time homebuyer traffic surged in February. The HousingPulse Homebuyer Traffic Diffusion Index for first-time homebuyers, an indicator of future home purchases, hit a four-year survey high of 66.4% in February. Any score above 50 percent with the index reflects an increase in home shopping traffic.

“First-time homebuyers are the wildcard in the upcoming spring-summer homebuying season,” said Thomas Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys. “We see strong first-time homebuyer traffic, but it’s still not clear that the traffic will translate into increased purchases, because first-time homebuyers are dependent on low-downpayment financing, such as FHA mortgages, and announced FHA program changes will take effect this spring.”

In the April to June timeframe, FHA will be increasing its Monthly Insurance Premium and require payment of the MIP for the full term of the loan.

While first-time homebuyers represented the fastest growing category of home purchasers between January and February, purchases by current homeowners saw the biggest drop fell from 44.3 percent to 42.5 percent. That was the lowest market share for current homeowners recorded by the HousingPulse survey since last June.

The Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance findings are similar to data released by Realtor.com last week that suggests buyers are getting an early start this year (See Early Bird Buyers Try to Beat Tight Inventories).

Remodeling market reports strong fourth quarter numbers | Chappaqua Homes

The Remodeling Market Index hit its highest reading since the first quarter 2004, hitting 55 in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The fourth quarter report increased five points from the previous quarter.

Any RMI above 50 means most home improvement workers are reporting strong demand for their services.

“Remodelers are optimistic about the outlook for slow and steady market growth in the new year,” said 2013 NAHB Remodelers Chairman Bill Shaw. “Professional remodelers reported more work from large and small projects as well as overall home repair.”

Future remodeling activity indicators rose to 56, up from the previous quarter’s 49. Current conditions also revealed improvement, up from 52 in the previous quarter to 54.

“With existing home sales up, the increase in the RMI partially reflects the remodeling work new home owners undertake when they move in,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “Consumers are gaining confidence in the economy and feeling more comfortable pulling the trigger on large and small renovations.”

The RMI in the Northeast saw the largest increase, jumping 24 points. This is due largely to the start of remodeling work related to Hurricane Sandy damage. All four regions of the country saw an RMI above 50.

Using Gift Money for a Down Payment | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

It’s not uncommon for first-time home buyers to ask: “Can my mom and dad give me money to help me buy this house?”

The good news is yes, you can receive a gift from your parents to buy a house, but the way that you actually receive the gift is very important. Mom and dad can’t just leave money under your pillow like the Tooth Fairy did when you were younger.

The process of accepting a gift for your down payment isn’t complicated, and by following these simple rules, you can be sure that the underwriter who is reviewing your file will look at it with an approving eye.

Write a gift letter

If someone is going to be gifting you money to help you buy a house, you’ll first need a gift letter. The gift letter needs to be a short, sweet letter that is hand-signed by you and the person giving the gift. It needs to contain the following:

  • The relationship between the home buyer and the person giving the gift.
  • The amount of the gift.
  • The address of the home being purchased.
  • A statement that the money is a gift and not a loan that must be paid back.

Establish a paper trail

Next, you’ll need to create a paper trail. This is important because underwriters will look for where the money came from and where it went. In simple terms, they will look for proof that the money came from your parents’ account and went into yours.

Each situation will be slightly different, but be ready to provide paper proof of your parents’ account having money in it, money coming out of that account, a deposit into your account and proof that your account now has the money in it. Accuracy matters when creating this paper trail, so make sure each transaction is for the exact amount of the gift.

Write a gift letter and use this shortcut

Creating a paper trail correctly has proven to have its fair share of hassles. Getting copies of transactions is time-consuming, and underwriters seem to question every little thing in the process (“where exactly did the $10,000 transfer that I see coming into mom and dad’s account come from?”).

The good news is that there’s a shortcut when it comes to gift letters — one that makes the entire process easier.

Simply add one sentence to the letter that says: “Will wire the gift directly to escrow at time of closing.”

If you add this line to your gift letter, you can avoid all of the paper chasing that most underwriters will require. A day or two before closing, you can get wiring instructions from your escrow agent for mom and dad to wire the exact amount of the gift directly to the escrow company working on your transaction.