Tag Archives: Katonah Homes for Sale

Katonah Homes for Sale

Billionaire Bachelor Pad with ‘Sex and the City’ Cred Asks $37M | Katonah Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

Location: New York, New York
Price: $37,000,000
Billionaire investor and Pittsburgh Penguins’ co-owner Ron Burkle has put his triplex penthouse in NoHo on the market for$37M, and apart from being pretty jaw-dropping, the place has a very colorful history, as Curbed NY noted. When it was still the event space Sky Studios, it hosted Jerry Seinfeld’s wedding, a birthday party for Chelsea Clinton, and the shoot for that Sex and the City scene where Richard tries to convince Samantha he actually cares about her.

After purchasing the place in 2007 for $17M, Burkle ebarked on the kind of renovation you’d expect from a billionaire with a taste for historic architecture. Curbed NY has arun-down of the specifics, which include things like a “17th Century Dutch Tudor working fireplace” and a “hand carved backlit onyx bar,” as well as a great room with “cast-iron columns, custom wood-coffered and copper-leafed barrel vaulted ceilings.”

On the second floor, there’s a “glass-encased great room with soaring 17’+ ceilings,” which opens out onto a garden with a “sunken fire pit and custom water sculpture.” Up one more level, a bathroom with predictably great views connects to a heated outdoor swimming pool and a “yacht-inspired upper sundeck.” Together, monthly real estate taxes and maintenance fees are over $11K.

 

read more…

 

http://curbed.com/archives/2015/01/14/sky-studios-ron-burkle-penthouse-for-sale.php

 

Apartment glut may tame rising rents | Katonah Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

MarketWatch
Home builders and investors have poured money into so many new rental units that tenants
may see rent growth slow in the near future, one economist said.

 

While there will likely be “robust demand” in 2015 from renters — and young adults, in particular — builders have already started and plan to start enough new apartment projects that the days of excess demand may soon be over, said Ryan Severino, senior economist at Reis, a New York-based research firm focused on commercial real estate.

“Demand will struggle to keep pace with the significant amounts of new construction that should come online over the next few years,” Severino said.

Growth in rents over coming years should remain positive, according to Reis, but it will likely slow from 2014’s heady pace of about 3.5%, which far outpaced overall consumer inflation.

“Although an improving labor market with more jobs and faster wage growth should provide landlords with more leverage to increase rents, over time this will be stymied by the sheer number of new units that are going to come online, increasing competition in the market,” Severino said.

The frenzy for apartments has been fed by a choppy jobs market that made it tough for workers to set aside enough cash for a down payment. Also, persistently high credit standards have kept singles and families from obtaining a mortgage, a key financial ingredient for many would-be homeowners, particularly first-time buyers.

Seeing an opportunity, developers ramped up apartment building. The rate of private construction spending on new multi-family residences was up 27% in November from the year-earlier pace, more than double a 13% gain for new single-family homes, according to government data. Meanwhile, outstanding multifamily-mortgage debt swelled in the third quarter, rising the most since the end of 2007, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Tuesday.

Rental vacancy rates are the lowest in 20 years, which gives landlords power to raise rents. Government data show that landlords recently ramped up rents by the fastest pace in six years. But that power may taper as the supply of rental units rises.

“With a veritable deluge of new supply set to come online over the next few years, vacancy is headed higher. The supply pipeline swells larger and larger on a weekly basis and presents the greatest risk to the apartment market’s health,” Severino said.

 

read more…

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apartment-glut-may-tame-rising-rents-2015-01-06

Your January Home Checklist | Katonah Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

With the shortest days (and longest nights) of the year, midwinter can certainly live up to its bleak reputation— but this season also encourages slowing down, simplifying and getting cozy. This January, take advantage of the momentum a new year brings to clear out clutter, start a healthy habit and make plans for the year ahead. Here are 15 ideas for a refreshed and revived home.
Eclectic Living Room by The Room Illuminated
The Room Illuminated
1. Do the postholiday cleanup. Pack up holiday decorations carefully for next year and give your living space a thorough cleaning to pick up stray pine needles. Break down cardboard boxes, gather wrapping materials to recycle and find homes for holiday gifts.

2. Buy flowers and light candles. Boost spirits on short winter days by lighting candles (real or battery powered), and indulge in cut flowers from the market or a new potted houseplant to freshen the air.

Contemporary Home Gym by Scordio Construction.inc
Scordio Construction.inc
3. Create space to get some exercise indoors.Especially if winters are cold where you live, making a workout zone in the house can be a great help in staying healthy when you can’t get outside. Even a corner of a room cleared of furniture can be enough space for rolling out a yoga mat or working out with weights.
Contemporary Kitchen by MasterBrand Cabinets, Inc.
MasterBrand Cabinets, Inc.
4. Give your command center a reboot. The spot where you drop items as you walk in the door can be a clutter magnet. Make a fresh start for the new year by clearing away the paper, old pens, rubber bands and other random items that have migrated into your command center. Clean the surface, remove old notices from the bulletin board and put up a new calendar.
Eclectic Kitchen by Space Grace & Style
Space Grace & Style
5. Sharpen knives. Cooking with sharp knives cuts down on prep time and is safer, too. Take your kitchen knives to a pro to be sharpened, and maintain them between sharpening sessions with a honing tool at home.

6. Give your kitchen a healthy makeover. Making a resolution to eat more healthfully? Start by clearing those less-healthy options out of your pantry and fridge. Place fresh fruits and vegetables front and center, and put healthy-food prep aids, like a juicer or blender, on the counter where you are more likely to use them.

Eclectic Living Room by Nanette Wong
Nanette Wong
7. Check smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. With more heater use and wood fires in the fireplace, and less opening of windows, winter is an especially important time to make sure those smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working. Use the test button on each device and change batteries as needed.

8. Clear clutter responsibly. If you are doing a new year’s purge of unwanted items, keep things out of the landfill and help others by donating gently used items to a good cause. For other items be sure to recycle responsibly — try the Earth 911 recycle search to find a recycling center that accepts electronics, paint, clothing and more in your area.

read more….
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/34504062?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u918&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery8

What Housing Policies are in the Tax Extenders Legislation? | #Katonah Real Estate

Leave a reply

On December 16th, the Senate approved a one-year extension of the set of tax policies known as “tax extenders.” With the House of Representatives having previously adopted this extension, the legislation (H.R. 5771, which contains the “Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014″) is now headed to the President, who is expected to sign the bill into law.

It is important to note that for most items in the bill, this one-year extension is for 2014.  The extenders then sunset again at the end of the year, and will be part of the tax policy debate in 2015.

A number of housing-focused policies are in the bill, including many items supported by NAHB. Homeowners, home builders, developers, remodelers, and other housing stakeholders are advised to review this list and consider which items may benefit their (or their clients’) taxes for the coming filing season.

All of the following items were extended for 2014 and then sunset at the end of the year:

  • Section 45L Tax Credit for Energy Efficient New Homes. Provides builders a $2,000 tax credit for exceeding energy standards by 50%. The base energy code is the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code plus supplements. Section 45L is expected to save home builders $267 million in taxes for 2014 construction activity.
  • Fixed Credit Rate for 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit projects. The bill will renew the 9% LIHTC fixed rate, but only for 2014 allocations.
  • Section 25C Tax Credit for Qualified Energy Efficiency Improvements. This is a credit worth up to $500 (subject to a $500 lifetime cap), with lower caps for certain products like windows, for consumers to install qualified energy-efficient upgrades. Remodelers often leverage 25C tax credits when working with clients. Section 25C is expected to save home owners who remodel $832 million in taxes for 2014 improvements.
  • Section 179D Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction. Provides a deduction up to $1.80 per square foot for commercial buildings, including multifamily buildings built under the commercial code, that exceed specific energy efficiency minimums.
  • Section 163 Deduction for Mortgage Insurance. Allows taxpayers, subject to an income cap, to deduct premiums paid for private mortgage insurance and FHA/RHA/VA insurance premiums. The deduction for MI is expected to save home owners $919 million for tax year 2014.
  • Bonus Depreciation. Extends 50% bonus depreciation.
  • Section 179 Small Business Expensing. Increases the maximum expensing amount to $500,000 for qualified property on up to $2 million in property placed in service.
  • Mortgage forgiveness tax relief. The provision would eliminate any taxes home owners might face due to renegotiating the terms of a home loan, which might result in forgiving or canceling a portion of the outstanding mortgage. Applies only to principal residences and through the 2014 calendar year.

read more….

 

http://eyeonhousing.org/2014/12/what-housing-policies-are-in-the-tax-extenders-legislation/

November Chicago Real Estate Market Update | Katonah Real Estate

Leave a reply

Once again, in about 2 weeks, the Illinois Association of Realtors is going to report that Chicago home sales declined in November – by about 12.3% – and once again I’m going to tell you that it’s not really that bad – depending upon your perspective. The Chicago real estate market is really doing OK when you look at non-distressed sales.

First of all the real decline in November home sales was more like 10.2% when calculated on a consistent basis. But more than 100% of the decline was attributable to a decline in distressed sales. In other words, when you just focus on non-distressed properties the Chicago real estate market actually saw a 6.7% increase in home sales.

But the headline number did drop and the graph below puts November into perspective vs. previous years with all the Novembers flagged with red squares. It looks like it was pretty much in the middle of the pack for the previous 7 years. And on the other side of the bubble you would have to go back to 1998 to find sales at this level.

Chicago monthly home sales

Chicago Home Contract Activity

Home sale contract activity remains on the light side, which is what is driving the low sales numbers ultimately. I’m currently estimating November contract activity at 9.1% below last year’s level. You can see the long term trend in this number in the graph below, which shows the numbers trending downward for several months now.

Chicago home sale contract activity

Pending Home Sales

The graph below tracks pending home sales, which is essentially the cumulative difference between contracts written and sales closed, in terms of months of supply. It’s an indicator of how many months of closings can be fed from properties that are already under contract. Although the numbers have been running lower than last year November popped back up to right around where it was last year at 2.2 months supply.

Chicago pending home sales

Distressed Home Sales

As I mentioned above the big story is the decline in distressed home sales, which is the main driver of lower home sales these days. Notice how this segment of the market is now down to only 20.2%, the lowest level by far since I’ve been tracking it. That’s down from 32.8% last year and a high for November of 43.8% in 2011.

 

read more…

 

http://www.chicagonow.com/getting-real/2014/12/november-chicago-real-estate-market-update-home-sales-drop-err-not-really/

 

Home prices up more than expected: S&P/Case-Shiller | #Katonah Real Estate

Leave a reply

U.S. single-family home prices showed a stronger-than-expected rise in September on a yearly basis, but the rate of the increase decelerated from August, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday.

“The overall trend in home price increases continues to slow down,” David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement.

The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas gained 4.9 percent in September over September 2013. In August, it rose 5.6 percent on a yearly basis. A Reuters poll of economists forecast a 4.6 percent increase.

Economist Robert Shiller told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” the reading was not exciting, and he noted that the winter season is historically slow for home sales.

”We haven’t expected exciting growth for a while, but it does look like seasonally adjusted home prices are still growing,” he said.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, prices in the 20 cities rose 0.3 percent in September. A Reuters poll of economists had forecast an increase of 0.1 percent.

 

read more…

 

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102214295

 

 

Housing starts drop 2.8% in October but permits up | Katonah Real Estate

Leave a reply

Privately-owned housing starts dropped 2.8% in October to print at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,009,000 units, which is still 7.8% above the October 2013 rate of 936,000.

Single-family housing starts, which have been lagging through the summer and fall, finally perked up, growing 4.2% from last month’s tepid performance.

This comes one day after the National Association of Home Builder’s monthly survey said builder confidence is up for November.

Notably the only region with gains in starts was the South, which saw an increase of 10.1%. The West saw a drop of 10.9%, the Northeast dropped 16.4% and the Midwest plunged 18.5%.

“While permits rose in October, starts declined on weakness in the multi-family sector. Still, following yesterday’s rise in the NAHB Index, there appears to be a significant amount of confidence amid home builders breaking ground on new projects as low financing costs and improvement in the labor market are expected to bring new demand for housing,” said Lindsey Piegza, chief economist for Sterne Agee. “While there has been improvement in sales since a weak start to the year, demand has hardly been robust. Minimal income, lackluster savings, and more stringent borrowing restrictions are in some cases outweighing historically low borrowing costs.

“After a surge in buying activity in mid-2013 sparked by the Fed’s taper talk, demand slipped noticeably and has since been unable to recapture the highs of 2013. In the end, without jobs and income growth, consumers remain restrained, translating into positive, but modest demand,” she said.

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,080,000, which was 4.8% above the revised September rate of 1,031,000 and is 1.2% above the October 2013 estimate of 1,067,000.

Paul Diggle, property economist for Capital Economics, was optimistic in his outlook.

“The decline in housing starts in October was entirely driven by a fall in the volatile multi-family component,” Diggle said. “With single-family starts, building permits and homebuilder confidence all rising, the outlook is becoming increasingly positive.”

The permits level is also the highest since June 2008.

Single-family authorizations in October were at a rate of 640,000, which makes for a 1.4% gain on the revised September figure of 631,000.

 

read more….

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/32101-housing-starts-drop-28-in-october-but-permits-up

Buy Lauren Bacall’s Dakota Home for a Whopping $26 Million | Katonah Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

DakotaExterior.jpgThe late great Lauren Bacall‘s long-time Dakota residence is poised to hit the market any minute now, asking a whopping $26 million. Her estate tapped Warburg Realty to broker the place, which she purchased back in 1961 for a pittance, when she could count Boris Karloff, Judy Holliday and Roberta Flack as neighbors. All ye who would like to live in the storied Dakota building: it’s haunted.

Reports vary: did the venerable actress pay $28,000 or $48,000 back in the day? Either way, it’s appreciated a lot. Appraisers valued the apartment, which apparently hasn’t been touched in years and is crying out for a good renovation, at $9 million. So the difference of $19 million is no doubt because Bacall was all-around beloved, and institution, and with that star power comes a hefty asking price. Stay tuned for photos.

 

read more…

 

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/11/06/buy_lauren_bacalls_dakota_home_for_a_whopping_26_million.php

At Home With a Stunning View | Katonah Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

High on a sandstone ridge looking east over the Pacific Ocean, this Australian beach home sits proudly, taking in the scene. Wowed by the views of the ocean, the owners snapped up a plot of land on one of Sydney’s Northern Beaches, determined to design a home that responded to its dramatic topography and views.

Neil Mackenzie of Mackenzie Pronk Architects was only too happy to help. “The site is stunning,” he says. “Our clients had spent a decade in the U.K. when we began working with them. They were in the process of returning to the blue skies and surf of home, so I think the idea of a true Australian beach house was like a dream.”

Contemporary Pool by Mackenzie Pronk Architects
Mackenzie Pronk Architects
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their twin boys, who are just starting school
Location: Sydney
Architect: Neil Mackenzie, Mackenzie Pronk Architects
Size: 4 bedrooms

“Early on in the design process, we all stood on chairs in the dilapidated old house on the site and realized that the views would be stunning not only toward the Pacific, but in an arc of about 180 degrees from east to west,” Mackenzie says. “The clients were very clear that the house should be sustainable and embrace the Australian lifestyle. The first sketches included surfboards leaning on the wall and flip-flops kicked off at the front door.”

The showstopping pool is a refreshing teaser for the ocean beyond. Wooden bleacher seats provide a warm place for the owners to read a paper while watching the children swim — in between having a dip or two themselves.

Contemporary Exterior by Mackenzie Pronk Architects
Mackenzie Pronk Architects
Sliding wood screens protect the western exterior from the elements. They also serve to shelter a private barbecue area from the prevailing northeasterly winds.

Part of the challenge was building the home on a site consisting of different levels while maintaining a graceful structure from the street. You wouldn’t know it from the curb, but the site steps up from the pavement and then steps down to a rear garden. Across its width it drops an entire story, housing a long garage and storage area.

“The spaces of the house are composed of elemental volumes stacked, offset and stretched to allow for site falls, to define external spaces and to unfold toward the views,” Mackenzie says.

read more….
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/33019733?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u760&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery2

Builders Adjust Sentiment | Katonah Real Estate

Leave a reply

Builder sentiment as measured by the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell five points in October to a level of 54. Any value above 50 means more builder see the market favorably over those who see unfavorable conditions. The drop was from a 9 year high of 59 in August and returns the index to summer 2014 levels.

Conditions across markets continue to vary with some markets, notably those in the oil and energy belt, continuing with positive outlooks whereas markets struggling where employment trends have not been as strong. Builders continue to note shortages of buildable lots and a scattered concern about skilled labor shortages.

All three components of the index declined with the current sales index down 6 points to 57, expectations for future sales down 3 points to 64 and traffic down 6 points to 41. In every case, these levels are very close to the July-August 2014 levels. The three month moving averages for the four census regions were relatively steady since they span two similar months (August and October) with a high in September.

The housing recovery continues to show the same month to month volatility while generally moving in a positive direction and NAHB expects the trend to continue as mortgage rates remain historically low, house prices rise slowly keeping affordability at a reasonable level and pent-up demand builds.

 

read more….

 

 

http://eyeonhousing.org/2014/10/builders-adjust-sentiment/