Tag Archives: Cross River NY Homes

Renting Now Half as Affordable as Buying | Cross River Homes

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As rent soars across the US, Zillow found that renting a home is half as affordable as buying one. In the third quarter of 2014, U.S. renters could expect to spend about 30 percent of their incomes on rent, while those buying homes could expect to spend just 15 percent of their monthly incomes on their mortgage payment.

The report reveals a big shift from the years before the real estate bubble, between 1985 and 2000, when rent was typically more affordable in major metros than buying.  Now, in most metros, those who can come up with a down payment are better off buying, in terms of affordability.

Even in the least affordable metros — like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and Boston — renting was a more affordable option before the real estate market crash. But since then, rent has increased while the cost of buying a home has fallen in many places, so that renting is now the less affordable option — sometimes by a large margin.

Younger buyers making smaller down payments spend slightly more than other buyers on mortgage payments — a median of 17 percent of their incomes — but buying is still more affordable for them on a monthly basis.

“Despite rising home values, homeownership remains very accessible for buyers that can scrape together a down payment — even a relatively modest one — find a home to buy and secure financing,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries.

Humphries has said he expects 2015 to be a breakthrough year for younger buyers to enter the market, and many of those buyers will decide to buy because rent is so unaffordable. At the same time, some renters are spending so much on rent they will struggle to save for a down payment, even if they want to buy.

 

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http://www.zillow.com/blog/rent-half-as-affordable-as-buy-165842/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ZillowBlog+%28Zillow+Blog%29

 

Mortgage rates are lower | Cross River Real Estate

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Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates down from the previous week. At 3.89 percent, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is at its lowest level since the week of May 30, 2013.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.89 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending December 4, 2014, down from last week when it averaged 3.97 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.46 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.10 percent with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.17 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.47 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.94 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.01 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.99 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.41 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, down from last from last week when it averaged 2.44 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.59 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 were down across the board on a week of underwhelming economic releases. New home sales missed consensus expectations by selling at an annual pace of 458,000 units in October and the National Association of Realtors reported that pending home sales dipped in October by 1.1 percent. The ADP’s estimate for payroll growth in November was 208,000 jobs, under expectations of 225,000.”

New home sales squeak out weak gain in October | Cross River Real Estate

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Sales of new homes in the United States printed at an annual rate of 458,000 for the month of October, up 0.7% from September.

This tepid gain was saved from being a decline by a surprising jump in sales in the Midwest, which saw 15.8% gains, and better than usual gains in the northeast of 7.7% month-over-month.

“The slight rise in new home sales in October is somewhat disappointing, as it is more of the same of what we’ve seen throughout 2014 – tepid growth in housing constrained by a slowly recovering economy,” said Quicken Loans vice president Bill Banfield.

October’s gain is 1.8% above the October 2013 estimate of 450,000.

But that month-over-month gain was only achieved because September’s new home sales figure was dramatically revised downward from 467,000 to 453,000.

Dragging down new home sales was the West and South, which saw a -2.7% decline and -1.9% decline, respectively.

The imbalance there is due to the fact that the West and the South are vastly larger housing markets compared to the Midwest and Northeast.

The median sales price of new houses sold in October 2014 was $305,000, while the average sales price was $401,100.

The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of October was 212,000. This represents a supply of 5.6 months at the current sales rate.

 

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http://www.housingwire.com/articles/32183-new-home-sales-squeak-out-weak-gain-in-october

 

Mortgage volume stalls with rates | Cross River Real Estate

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Mortgage rates-and applications-barely moved last week.

Total application volume fell 0.9 percent from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Applications to refinance, which saw a brief surge on lower rates in October and then a precipitous drop when rates rose again this month, fell 2 percent from the previous week. Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 1 percent from the previous week but are still 11 percent below year-ago levels.

A bright spot in the mortgage market today appears to be for veterans. Loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs rose to 11 percent of total applications. Usually loans backed by the government mortgage insurer, the FHA, are more popular, but its share came in at 9.6 percent last week. Higher fees and insurance premiums have kept many borrowers away from even this low down-payment loan option.

VA loans require no down payment in most cases, and do not require mortgage insurance. This may be why they’ve gained popularity as home prices continue to rise.

“Apropos of Veteran’s Day, the VA share of the market reached a new high,” said Michael Fratantoni, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association. “VA’s share has exceeded FHA’s share of loan applications for the last three weeks.”

 

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/mortgage-volume-stalls-rates-130008561.html

DIY Spirit Reinvents an Industrial Home | Cross River Real Estate

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After living for six years in his downtown Edmonton loft, in the Canadian province of Alberta, this homeowner was ready for a change. He liked the industrial nature of the space — soaring ceilings, raw redbrick walls, exposed ducting and conduit — but didn’t like its low-grade cabinetry. Plus, he was flat-out tired of his furniture.While he didn’t mind getting his hands dirty doing some of the work of refreshing the space, he knew he needed professional help when it came to the layout and choosing colors and furniture styles. He found designer Brenda Brix of AMR Design while searching for local professionals on Houzz and enlisted her help through a design consultation. She wrote up a detailed plan, and he implemented it himself, finding materials and furnishings and even teaching himself how to build and modify pieces.

For example, he bought mirror tiles and antiqued them. He took a basic pine cabinet from Ikea and distressed it. He even located his own stainless steel and installed it himself as a backsplash. “I wanted to add personal touches and cool things that people would come in and we could talk about them for five minutes,” he says.

Industrial Living Room by AMR Design
AMR Design
Photos by Ryan Patrick Kelly PhotographsBrix’s plan divided up the long, narrow space without interior walls into a TV room with a sectional near the farthest window, a reading area with a single chaise in the middle and a conversation grouping with four chairs, seen here in the foreground. The sleeping area is to the right (not shown), separated by bookshelves.

Each chair in the conversation area is from a different supplier, because Brix and the homeowner felt that four of the same club chair would have made the space feel too heavy.

Breaking up the three walls of brick with artwork also kept things from feeling too heavy. The homeowner made the bus stop–style signs himself on canvas. “It brings a little script into the space and flows with the brick, so it feels like you’re outside,” says Brix.

Red chair: Costco; leather chair with metal: Wayfair; metal chair with sheepskin: Restoration Hardware

A Design Consultation and DIY Spirit Reinvents an Industrial Loft
BEFORE: The low-grade kitchen cabinets and lack of a backsplash played a big part in the homeowner’s decision for a new look.
Industrial Kitchen by AMR Design
AMR Design
AFTER: The homeowner removed the cabinets and countertop himself and found a contractor to weld the sink and integrated countertop from stainless steel. He then had the steel cut for the counter-to-ceiling backsplash and enlisted the help of his neighbor to install it.He created the live-edge floating shelf from a piece of wood he picked out at a local supplier and attached it himself. He bought the range hood from Costco and took it to a local powder-coating shop.

The stairs lead to a home office.

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http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/33335349?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u776&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery1

Zillow: Millions of potential houses lost to “doubling up | Cross River Homes

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now sits at 1.83 adults in 2012, up from 1.75 in 2000.

However, this phenomenon is concentrated in markets where rent has most outpaced income, notably in California and Florida.

For example, the share of Los Angeles adults in doubled up households in 2000 was 41.2%. It now is at 47.9% in 2012. This is compared to places like Columbus, Ohio, that while it did report an increase, it only increased from 19.1% to 25.8%.

“But there is a silver lining behind this data. Like a coiled spring, all of these doubled-up households represent tremendous potential energy for the market. If and when these compressed households begin to unwind and these millions of Americans do start to create their own households, demand will bounce back, possibly even causing household growth to outpace population growth,” Humphries added.

A recent report from The Demand Institute found that millennials are finally moving out of their parents’ homes. Although, they are still opting to rent rather than buy their own house.

“One important difference between millennials and young adults in previous decades is the unique financial challenges of home ownership today, resulting from graduating into a weak job market with growing student loan debt,” said Jeremy Burbank, a vice president at The Demand Institute and Nielsen. “Many millennials are open to alternative approaches to housing finance, including single-family rentals and rent/own hybrid contracts such as lease-to-own.”

“There is no magic bullet, but continued home affordability, an increasing supply of both for-rent and for-sale homes and the potential for incomes to grow more quickly as the economy recovers will all help the market to realize this potential,” Humphries added.

 

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Zillow: Millions of potential houses lost to “doubling up”

 

This Minimalist House in Queens Packs in Three Apartments | Cross River Real Estate

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flushing_comp.jpgPhotos by Michael Moran/New York Design Hunting

If one had to guess where this pared-back residence would most likely exist, probably every city in minimalist-loving Japan would seem more likely than the truth, that it actually sits in the far reaches of Queens, New York. As architects Devin O’Neill and Faith Rose reveal in the latest issue of New York Design Hunting, the structure’s exterior form, with its compact shape and noted dearth of frill, is actually inspired by the Levittown-style more typical of the surrounding homes. While the edifice is an outward nod to its neighbors, the internal design has nothing to do with the New York architecture of old. O’Neill and Rose were working off an incredibly specific challenge from the client: figure out how to coherently accommodate three branches of a family into one single structure.

 

 

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http://curbed.com/archives/2014/10/13/oneil-rose-architects-flushing-family-home.php

Real Estate will be Hurt by Higher Rates | #CrossRiverRealEstate

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The prolonged flat, stable period of mortgage rates came to an end this week as rates on the more popular types of mortgages surged, according to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac.

Fixed mortgage rates’ biggest one-week gain this year pushed them to their highest level since early May.

Rates were climbing even before the Federal Reserve’s announcement Wednesday about its plans to wind down its trillion-dollar stimulus program.

The 30-year fixed-rate average spiked to 4.23 percent with an average 0.5 point. It was 4.12 percent a week ago and 4.5 percent a year ago. For the past 12 weeks, the 30-year fixed rate had drifted between 4.1 percent and 4.14 percent. This is the highest it has been since it was 4.29 percent on May 1.

The 15-year fixed-rate average jumped to 3.37 percent with an average 0.5 point. It was 3.26 percent a week ago and 3.54 percent a year ago. The 15-year fixed rate had floated between 3.27 percent and 3.22 percent for the past 12 weeks. This is the highest it has been since it was 3.38 percent on May 1.

Hybrid adjustable rate mortgages were mixed. The five-year ARM average rose to 3.06 percent with an average 0.5 point. It was 2.99 percent a week ago and 3.11 percent a year ago. This is the first time in six weeks the five-year ARM has risen above 3 percent.

The one-year ARM average fell to 2.43 percent with an average 0.4 point. It was 2.45 percent a week ago.

“Fixed-rate mortgage rates rose this week following the increase in 10-year Treasury yields being partially fueled by market speculation the Federal Reserve might change its interest rate guidance,” Frank E. Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said in a statement.

 

 

 

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/where-we-live/wp/2014/09/18/mortgage-rates-soar-to-highest-level-since-early-may/

Mortgages One Of Bove’s Four Apocalyptic Risks For U.S | Cross River Homes

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Recent news out of the home finance industry has been rather sombre.

The results of a survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association showed that mortgage applications declined 7.2% in the week ending September 5, 2014 compared to the preceding week, as measured by the Market Composite Index which tracks mortgage loan application volume. On a seasonally adjusted basis this index was down 7.2% versus the previous week, and touched its lowest level since December 2000.

Fannie Mae Mortgages application-vs-intt-rt-arrows

The above chart, courtesy of Mortgage News Daily, plots the Market Composite Index versus the 30 Year Fixed Mortgage.  Note that mortgage volume as evidenced by the index has trended inversely to the 30 Year Fixed from 2010 through mid-2013. Subsequently, however, both have tended down as shown by the red arrows. That could be partly explained by the fall in refinance volumes, but other factors are probably at work, judging from a recent survey result from Fannie Mae.

“The August National Housing Survey results lend support to our forecast that 2015 will likely not be a breakout year for housing,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae / Federal National Mortgage Assctn Fnni Me (OTCBB:FNMA). “The deterioration in consumer attitudes about the current home buying environment reflects a shift away from record home purchase affordability without enough momentum in consumer personal financial sentiment to compensate for it. To date, this year’s labor market strength has not translated into sufficient income gains to inspire confidence among consumers to purchase a home, even in the current favorable interest rate environment.”

As a result, total home sales during 2014 may actually turn out to be lower than they were in 2013, primarily due to a weak performance the first half of the year.

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http://www.valuewalk.com/2014/09/mortgages-fannie-mae/

 

 

VT housing prices remain below 2007 peak | Cross River Real Estate

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Vermont is the only state in the nation with housing prices today less than they were 12 months ago. That’s according to data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the federal agency that regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

We should always take these types of data with several grains of salt. Nonetheless, it is worthwhile to use the FHFA data to see the general course of housing prices in Vermont. And the FHFA numbers show some interesting patterns.

For those old enough to remember, Vermont experienced a housing boom in the mid-and-late 1980s when house prices rose by 75 percent in just six years. By today’s standards, the actual prices people paid for houses look absurd. According to the 1980s Census, Vermonters who owned their own homes told the Census Bureau that their median house price in 1980 was $42,000. In the 1990 Census they reported a median price of $96,000 in 1990. (Today the median price is $216,000.)

Since 1980, the overall price level in the U.S. has nearly tripled, and it’s nearly doubled since 1990, so we need to look at housing prices in inflation-adjusted dollars. Even adjusting for inflation, housing prices rose by 44 percent during the 1983 to 1989 boom, meaning they increased that much faster than the average price of everything in the economy.

The 1980s housing boom was not too different from the more recent Vermont housing boom of the early 2000s. And Vermont did not escape the national housing boom. It did not experience the worst of it, which was in states such as California, Arizona, Florida, and Nevada. But prices in Vermont actually rose faster than the national average between 2000 and 2007.

 

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http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/money/2014/09/03/vermont-housing-prices-peak/15038887/