| Katonah NY Weekly Real Estate Report | 5/22/2013 | |
| Homes for sale | 60 | |
| Median Ask Price | $997,000.00 | |
| Low Price | $359,000.00 | |
| High Price | $18,995,000.00 | |
| Average Size | 3587 | |
| Average Price/foot | $424.00 | |
| Average DOM | 98 | |
| Average Ask Price | $1,954,480.00 |
The home value forecast from Pro Teck Valuation Services reveals the impact low housing inventory has on home prices, which it calls the sold-to-list price ratio.
In the May update, the Honolulu, Tucson, San Francisco and Chicago metro areas are highlighted to determine how the indicator has been useful from a historical perspective as well as in current market conditions to best predict home price appreciation in markets.
“While many were predicting that REO and the ‘shadow inventory’ would keep real estate markets depressed, in reality the shortage of housing inventory has lead buyers to bid more competitively against one another leading to significant home price increases and tighter housing conditions,” said Tom O’Grady, CEO of Pro Teck Valuation Services.
The sold-to-list price ratio typically fluctuates between 92% and 98%, but can exceed 100% in very hot markets, according to the authors of the home value forecast.
“The sold-to-listed price ratio has historically lead home prices by approximately six months over the past three real estate cycles and its turning points have been excellent signals for the same in condo prices,” added O’Grady.
The May home value forecast update also provides a listing of the top-10 best and worst performing metros as ranked by its market condition ranking model. Sales/listing activity and prices, months of remaining inventory, days on market, sold-to-list price ratio and foreclosure and REO activity are all indicators of the best and worst markets.
“Two of the top markets this month are in Nevada (Las Vegas-Paradise and Reno-Sparks), both of which had been very distressed since their respective market peaks in 2005 and 2006. Also, California continues to be well represented on the list by Los Angeles, Oakland, and Sacramento metros,” said Michael Sklarz, principal of collateral analytics and contributing author to Home Value Forecast.
Sklarz added, “Nashville’s metro area is a new entrant this month. Although the market has a more shallow correction than many of the other markets in the recent recession, it appears to be experiencing improving overall economic conditions and one of the most affordable markets in the U.S. now.”
“The bottom ranked metros also represent an interesting mix around the U.S. While all have nine to thirteen Months of Remaining Inventory, many of the indicators are showing positive trends even for the bottom metros area this month,” added Sklarz.
Are you a member of a LinkedIn Group?
Do you spend time networking in LinkedIn Groups?
LinkedIn Groups are great way to build credibility and make new connectionsthat can ultimately help grow your business.
With over 1.5 million LinkedIn Groups, it can be difficult to find relevant Groups and determine which ones might be the best for you to join. It’s also important to find Groups that are well-managed.
Unfortunately there are many LinkedIn Groups that are not well-managed, which makes the experience within these Groups less than optimal.
You are sure to find a LinkedIn Group of interest to you.
Not to worry, I’m going to give you some insights on how to find the quality groups you can leverage most for your LinkedIn strategy!
How many groups should you join?
You can join up to 50 LinkedIn Groups. However, it’s difficult to gain traction in 50 Groups as well as find the time to participate in that many.
I recommend that you go ahead and join up to 50 Groups, but select 5-10 Groups to spend your time on in order to get the most benefit out of your participation.
Below are 5 tips for maximizing your LinkedIn Groups experience.
In case you haven’t noticed, LinkedIn search has been significantly enhanced. This includes the ability to search for relevant Groups (based on your network) andsearch for discussion topics within open Groups!
Now you can search for discussion topics within “open” LinkedIn Groups.
To start, search for Groups using keywords that would be a natural fit for you, based on your geographic location, industry, prospects, education history, community/charity organizations, hobbies and interests.
Try searching LinkedIn Groups with the keywords that actually describe your natural affinities. For example, type in the name of the college you attended to find potential alumni groups that exist on LinkedIn.
You can also take advantage of Boolean search operators for smarter searches on LinkedIn. I recently discovered this Tip Sheet on Boolean Search from LinkedIn Corporate Solutions.
To locate a LinkedIn Group that was in my geographic location and my industry, I searched LinkedIn Groups using the Boolean Search Operator “AND” for the keywords social media AND Dallas.
LinkedIn showed me 25 results for Groups based in Dallas AND focused on social media!
Get more specific with your Group searches using Boolean search operators.
Another interesting finding was when I typed the word “hiking” into LinkedIn Group search. I found a group with over 1000 members who share this passion. There is no better way to start relationships than connecting around a common passion or interest!
Search for LinkedIn Groups using your passions, hobbies and interests as keywords.
For each LinkedIn Group displayed in search results, you have the option to view members in your network who belong to the Group, as well as “similar Groups.”
See which of your connections are members of Groups and find similar Groups.
You can even reach out to your LinkedIn connections and ask them what they think about the Groups that they belong to. This gives you a solid reason to reach out and connect with your network.
LinkedIn Group search is extremely powerful to discover the right Groups to join!
The easiest way to navigate to the Groups You May Like feature is through your navigation menu bar under Groups. There you will see these options. (The Groups Directory option is the primary search area for LinkedIn Groups.)
The Groups You May Like feature.
When you click on the Groups You May Like feature, LinkedIn will list suggested Groups for you to check out, based on your network connections, profile information, skills and expertise and existing Group memberships. You may also notice some Groups (or subgroups) on this list that you already belong to.
How to Network Using LinkedIn Groups | Social Media Examiner.
Review service Angie’s List announced today that it has doubled its customer base over the past 18 months and that the total number of households that pay to use the site surpassed 2 million over the weekend.
“Realizing such momentum in membership growth is truly a testament to our commitment to help consumers find the best local service providers,” said Angie Hicks, a co-founder of the company, in a statement. “Our members drive Angie’s List.”
Angie’s List, which helps consumers find many types of professionals including real estate agents, appraisers, and mortgage brokers, topped the 2 million mark on Sunday, and passed the 1 million mark in October of 2011, the company said.
“It took us more than 16 years to get to one million paid households but just 18 months to double it,” Hicks said.
Angie’s List claims to offer more reliable reviews than other sites by strictly enforcing rules designed to guard against fake ones.
Users can post reviews of home services providers inluding handymen, remodelers, roofers, electricians, painters, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) contractors.
A monthly survey by mortgage finance firm Fannie Mae found 51% of those questioned in April believe prices will rise in the next 12 months, while only 35% are projecting a drop in prices. It is the first time in the three-year history of the survey that a majority said they expect prices to increase.
A year ago, 49% were expecting further price declines while only 32% said they though prices were on their way up.
The latest data from the housing market back up the this new level of confidence in the housing recovery. The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index rose 9.3% over the last 12 months, the biggest annual rise in home prices since the height of the housing bubble in 2006.
“Crossing the 50% threshold marks a significant milestone, as most Americans believe a housing recovery is truly occurring throughout the country,” said Doug Duncan, chief economist for Fannie Mae.
People who were sitting on the sidelines because of concerns that prices were still falling can be drawn back into the market once they believe prices are on their way up again.Home sales are up 10% from a year ago, helped not only by the climbing prices but alsorecord low mortgage rates and falling unemployment.
Mortgage applications slightly inched up, escalating 0.2% from one week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.
Also posting a meager increase, the refinance index rose 0.3% from the previous week, for the week ending April 19.
The seasonally adjusted purchase index continued to rise and similarly increased .3%, posting its highest level since May 2010.
For the second week straight, the refinance share of overall mortgage activity remained at 75%.
The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity sank down to 4% of total applications.
Meanwhile, the average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with a conforming loan balance decreased to 3.65% from 3.67%.
The average 30-year, FRM with a jumbo loan balance fell to 3.75% from 3.77% last week.
The average contract interest rate for the 30-year, FRM backed by the FHA remained at 3.37% compared to a week prior.
Additionally, the 5/1 ARM swung back up to 2.62% from 2.57% last week. The 15-year, FRM decreased from 2.91% to 2.89%.
In five years time, U.S. households reduced their total outstanding debt by $1.3 trillion as mortgage debts either paid off or were written down, researchers with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York claim in a new report.
But all this credit wariness comes at a cost, according to the Fed study, which is titled ‘The Financial Crisis at the Kitchen Table: Trends in Household Debt and Credit.’
“While household debt pay-down has helped improve household balance sheets, it has also likely contributed to slow consumption growth since the beginning of the recession,” the Fed researchers asserted.
Some of the more notable improvements occurred on the mortgage side of the lending spectrum. Fresh mortgage delinquencies reached a new low of $140 billion in the third-quarter of 2012. However, a large amount of mortgage debt was also cleared through the foreclosure process and other transactions such as short sales in the five-year period following the financial crisis.
The local CBS affiliate out of Minneapolis says a home is the new engagement ring. In fact, if you look at the behavior of more young American couples, their first step towards lifelong companionship is purchasing a home together, not a ring.
Citing a Coldwell Banker study, CBS says a quarter of married couples in the 18-to-34 age range bought a home before getting married
