| Chappaqua NY Weekly Real Estate Report | 11/8/2013 | |
| Homes for sale | 92 | |
| Median Ask Price | $1,156,000.00 | |
| Low Price | $380,000.00 | |
| High Price | $24,750,000.00 | |
| Average Size | 4101 | |
| Average Price/foot | $369.00 | |
| Average DOM | 162 | |
| Average Ask Price | $1,672,839.00 | |
Changes in lending standards by banks, undertaken to reduce their risk and preserve capital, have huge, macroeconomic effects on the economy. Not are not only restricting credit, they simultaneously reduce the demand for credit by businesses homeowners, even creating credit shocks that impact GDP. However, banks loosen standards to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace according to a new study by economists at the Federal Reserve.
Tightening credit creates shocks to the credit supply and leads to a substantial decline in output and the capacity of businesses and households to borrow from banks, as well as to a widening of credit spreads and an easing of monetary policy.
Shifts in the supply of bank loans to businesses and households corresponds to changes in lending standards that-using an econometric model-have been adjusted for the bank-specific and macroeconomic factors that, in addition to affecting banks’ credit policies, can also have a simultaneous effect on the demand for credit.
The economists, William F. Bassett, Mary Beth Chosak, John C. Driscoll, and Egon Zakrajsek, used the Fed’s quarter Senior Loan Officer Survey as a way to measure and track banks’ lending standards and credit policies from the bottom up, using bank-level responses on changes in lending standards for businesses.
“This analysis shows that credit supply disturbances have economically large and statistically significant effects on output and core lending capacity of U.S. commercial banks. Specifically, an adverse credit supply shock of one standard deviation is associated with a decline in the level of real GDP of about 0.75 percent two years after the shock, while the capacity of businesses and households to borrow from the banking sector falls more than 4 percent over the same period, the economists found. Such disruptions in the credit-intermediation process also lead to a substantial rise,” they found.
Economic factors influencing banks’ business credit policies include a projected increase in the unemployment rate as does a deterioration in the current labor market conditions. Expected changes in longer-term interest rates again exert a significant influence-in both economic and statistical terms-on the probability that banks will modify their current lending standards: An expected increase of 100 basis points in the 10-year Treasury yield over the next four quarters is estimated to lower the probability of tightening in the current quarter about 6.5 percentage points and boost the likelihood of easing by nearly the same amount.
The capacity of businesses and households to borrow from the banking sector begins to decline within two quarters after the initial credit disruption, and the resulting reduction in this broad measure of credit inter-mediation is very persistent and protracted, they said.
http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/11/tight-standards-can-rock-the-economy/
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan commended Archbishop Stepinac High School for its upstanding students and technological innovation during his visit on Wednesday.
Dolan, the Archbishop of New York who was identified as a close contender during the last papal conclave in March, visited the school to say Mass, meet students and faculty, answer questions and tour the new technology center.
“Our board and the entire Stepinac community appreciate not only his visit, but the opportunity to show the Cardinal firsthand how Stepinac has transitioned to a 21st century education model while retaining our deep commitment to our faith,” William F. Plunkett Jr., chairman of the Stepinac Board of Trustees, said.
Some of Westchester’s dignitaries were also present, including County Executive Rob Astorino, Deputy County Executive Kevin J. Plunkett and White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach.
In his homily, Dolan told the 700 students, faculty and staff the story of Cardinal Archbishop Aloysius Stepinac, a Croatian cardinal who maintained his Catholic faith in the face of the Nazi and Communist regimes.
He praised the school for continuing Stepinac’s legacy with its commitment to service and religious lifestyle.
As part of the mass, he blessed over 700 rosaries for each member of the Stepinac community. Later, he answered questions from students about his religious journey and duties as Archbishop.
Dolan concluded his visit by touring the school’s tech center, which has helped make Stepinac the first high school in the United States with a complete online textbook library.
“It sends a message to the community that although Stepinac has a time-honored tradition,” Mayor Roach said of Dolan’s visit. “It is committed to moving forward every day.”
The school presented Dolan with several gifts, including a painting to hang in the school in his honor, a Stepinac hat and sweatshirt, and a memorial tree planted in his honor.
Dolan returned the favor by saying he would grant the students a day off in the near future, which elicited a loud round of applause.
http://chappaqua.dailyvoice.com/news/cardinal-dolan-enjoys-event-filled-visit-stepinac
August home sales in California slipped 1.9% from July, while still improving 3.1% from a year earlier, according to data from research firm DataQuick.
The Mortgage Bankers Association elaborated on the report Tuesday:
DataQuick said 42,546 new and resale houses and condos sold in California in August, down from a revised 43,381 in July but up from 41,280 sales a year ago. The sales count was the highest for any August since 51,054 homes sold in August 2006. August sales have varied from a low of 29,764 in 1992 to a high of 73,285 in 2005. Last month’s sales were 11.1 percent below the average of 47,849 sales for all the months of August since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin.
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/26873-california-home-sales-fall
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, mortgage foreclosure filings in Wisconsin dropped 31% in August as court actions against delinquent borrowers continued to fall back to pre-housing crisis levels.
Court records show there were 539 foreclosure filings last month in Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha counties, down from 783 in August 2012.
Although the city of Milwaukee continues to struggle with foreclosed properties that are a blight on neighborhoods, statistics show the number of new foreclosed homes is slowing. Milwaukee County had 296 filings in August, its fourth consecutive month with fewer than 300.
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Gary Reysa is a DIY solar expert and regular contributor to MOTHER EARTH NEWS. He’s been tinkering with solar projects for nine years, and he gathers data for every project he builds. We thought you’d like to learn more about the person MOTHER EARTH NEWS turns to when we have questions about home solar projects.
How did you become interested in solar power projects?
I’ve been interested in solar heating projects for quite a while — a lot of people were experimenting with solar in the ’80s, and I always found that interesting but didn’t take on any projects at the time. When we retired to Montana in 2000 — and faced the prospect of bills for 1,800 gallons of propane for a heating season — I thought it was time to get busy on some solar heating!
I’ve found solar thermal projects to be not only helpful on energy bills, but also interesting from a technical and design point of view. There are lots of opportunities for innovation in this field. It’s a great area for “garage inventors,” and I encourage people with an interest to give it a go.
What was your first homemade solar project?
The first real solar project was the thermosyphon solar heating collector for my barn. (Read about it in Build a Simple Solar Heater.) The simplicity, effectiveness and short payback of this heater got me hooked on doing more.
Whenever you build a solar project, you record data and analyze efficiency. How did you develop the knowledge required to do that?
I guess this comes out of a long career in engineering at Boeing. If you can’t measure how well version A of a design does, you don’t know where to go with version B — measuring results is the real key to improving a design. The physics and measurements of solar thermal applications tend to be pretty simple and easy to understand, which is nice.
You have tons of information about solar projects on your website, Build It Solar. What’s your favorite project?
I guess if I had to pick a single project, it would be the solar shop heater. It’s just a set of glazed doors outside of my shop’s overhead door. To let solar heat and light in, you raise the overhead door, and to keep this from being a huge night heat drain, you lower the insulated overhead door — nothing could be simpler.
The combination of solar heating and outstanding lighting that you get from this simple design transforms the shop into a great place to spend time. People look at me strangely when I pick this project as my favorite, but I really appreciate simple things that work well.
What do you think is the most important material on your website?
I have a program called The Half Plan, which is an easy and cost effective way to cut one’s energy consumption and carbon emissions in half (or more). When I read about trillion dollar programs to implement carbon sequestration for coal-fired power plants, I realized that simply not using the energy in the first place is less costly, is less technically risky, and pays a big dividend in saved fuel costs. And, it’s easy to do — we just all need to get busy and do it!
Have you ever built something that didn’t work?
Oh, if I had a nickel for every failure!
Prototypes that don’t work are the way you get to designs that do work. But, you have to set them up so that you learn from each try — this goes back to measuring results.
Do you also experiment with photovoltaic (PV) or wind-generated electricity?
I’m putting in a PV system right now. I’m doing all the work myself and learning a lot — it’s a fascinating technology. From my perspective, the negatives are that there is not much room for innovation and the payback is still not very good.
Why do you prefer to work with solar-heated air and water projects?
Read more…
http://www.motherearthnews.com/print.aspx?id={72E669F8-B0E3-4EE7-9E05-E5B8B370E495}#ixzz2dSTmj6vf
In many ways, deciding to move forward with your kitchen remodel is the toughest decision you have to make during the project. It’s the decision to proceed that commits you to such a significant project. And while setting your budget, figuring out the materials you want to use and the contractor you want to hire can be challenging, they don’t have to turn your big project into a big headache. Here’s what you can do to ensure your kitchen remodel goes as smooth as possible.
What don’t you like about your kitchen? Odds are there are quite a few things. Maybe it’s as simple as replacing your appliances, cabinets, and counters. Or maybe it means gutting the room and changing the layout. Your goal here is to figure out exactly what would make the space work best for your home and lifestyle, which, if you’re like 49 percent of homeowners, is to make your home more comfortable and livable. Going Here for more information about kitchen remodeling.
While the planning phase can be the longest phase (don’t be surprised if you spend months planning your kitchen) it’s also one of the most enjoyable. This is the time when you can let your imagination run wild as you try to define the design direction you want to go. And while it can be hard to nail down the exact style you want, it’s easy to find inspiration, especially with all of the online resources that are now available. One design tool that we happen to really like is our very own DesignMine. Whether you use DesignMine to find and save photos that inspire you, or prefer to clip images from magazines or other online resources, saving the images and showing them to your contractor is the best way to articulate your vision.
Defining your budget is important enough to warrant its own step, but there’s a good chance that you’ll start hammering out your budget during the planning phase. In fact, some folks prefer setting their budget before they get too deep into the planning, since knowing how much they have to spend affects the scope of their remodel and the materials they choose. However you choose to go about budgeting, we recommend checking out our Cost Guide to get a better idea of how much others in your area are paying for their kitchen remodels. When budgeting, it’s important to remember that you’ll have to factor in the cost of obtaining permits. Each municipality handles the permitting process differently so be sure to do your research.
Homes that housed a regular smoker are worth, on average, 20 percent less than they would be otherwise, said a surveyed group of Ontario, Canada, real estate agents.
Not only that, but thirdhand smoke — smoke residue that has seeped into walls, carpets and the ventilation system of a home and become part of a home’s atmosphere — has been shown to be carcinogenic by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.
Source: Chicago Tribune
read more…
http://www.inman.com/wire/thirdhand-smoke-harmful-to-home-prices-and-people/#sthash.LVOe035E.dpuf
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