Tag Archives: Katonah Luxury Homes

Some 86% of Banks Have not Relaxed Mortgage Lending Standards | Katonah NY Homes

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Despite reports of banks relaxing requirements for getting a mortgage, some 86 percent of banks that originate residential mortgages have either not changed or tightened their lending standards, according to a national annual survey conducted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Some 11 percent of banks said they had eased standards, up from 10 percent in 2012.  Eleven percent said that they have tightened them up. Home equity loans also saw tighter standards.

The survey which concluded in June 30, 2013 and covered the previous 18 months, did not reflect changes in standards over in the past seven months.  Ellie Mae reported median FICO scores for purchase and refi loan fell from 742 in June to 727 in December and median loan to value ratios rose from 80 to 82 percent.

The OCC found banks were relaxing underwriting for both commercial and other retail products at a faster pace than residential mortgages.  Large banks as a group reported the highest share of eased standards. Want to get more information? The Atlantic Union Bank has a lot of information that can be very useful.

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2014/01/some-86-of-banks-have-not-relaxed-mortgage-lending-standards/

Senate passes bill to delay flood insurance premium hikes | Katonah NY Real Estate

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In a 67-32 vote, the U.S. Senate has passed a bill to postpone steep increases in flood insurance rates across the country, the National Association of Realtors announced today.

The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act calls for a four-year delay on rate increases triggered either by a property’s sale or a flood map update for a property with previously grandfathered rates. The bill also creates an advocate within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to investigate homeowner complaints regarding rates.

The measure now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives where it currently has 181 co-sponsors in favor of the bill — 30 votes shy of a House majority, NAR said.

“NAR will redouble its efforts there to persuade the House leadership to bring a similar bill up for a floor vote at the earliest opportunity,” the trade group added.

Source: realtor.org

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/senate-passes-bill-to-delay-flood-insurance-premium-hikes/?utm_source=20140131&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.3EjBkEO2.dpuf

Average US rate on 30-year loan at 4.32 pct. | Katonah NY Real Estate

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Average U.S. rates for fixed mortgages slipped this week as new data showed a decline in home prices in November and a drop in new homes sales last month.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average for the 30-year loan fell to 4.32 percent from 4.39 percent last week. The average for the 15-year loan eased to 3.40 percent from 3.44 percent.

Mortgage rates have risen about a full percentage point since hitting record lows roughly a year ago. The increase was driven by speculation that the Federal Reserve would reduce its $85 billion a month in bond purchases. Deeming the economy to be gaining in strength, the Fed pushed ahead Wednesday with a plan to reduce the bond purchases, which have kept long-term interest rates low.

Data issued this week suggested a pause in the housing market’s recovery. Home prices fell slightly in November as colder weather slowed buying, ending nine straight months of price gains, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index released Tuesday showed.

 

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/average-us-rate-30-loan-4-32-pct-154913251–finance.html

Home prices show signs of topping out | Katonah NY Real Estate

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Home prices are showing signs of topping out: The S&P/Case-Shiller index posted its first month-over-month decline in 10 months on Tuesday.

The annual measure of home prices still increased 13.7% in November, but that was only narrowly better than the rise posted in October.

The housing recovery was one of the stronger aspects of the economy last year, boosting household wealth and home construction.

But with mortgage rates climbing steadily since hitting record lows in May, it’s clear the housing recovery is starting to lose some steam.

“While housing will make further contributions to the economy in 2014, the pace of price gains is likely to slow during the year,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

But housing experts say that more modest price increases are probably a good thing for the housing market. The rapid increases of the last year are not sustainable, they said.

“Sellers used to seeing huge price gains month after month may feel some whiplash as that slows down,” said Stan Humphries, chief economist for sales tracker Zillow. But more modest price increases mean “the housing market is still a long way from normal, but it’s getting there.”

Existence of year-round Martha’s Vineyard rentals confirmed | Katonah Real Estate

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Search HomeAway.com for vacation homes and cottages on Martha’s Vineyard and you’ll have to sift through more than 2,000 properties.

Ask a broker if he knows of a place where you can stay year-round, and you’ll probably hear what Martha’s Vineyard Patch.com editor Louisa Hufstader heard from her Realtor mom: Keep looking, and ask around.

Who wants to rent year-round on Martha’s Vineyard? Well, all the hard-working people who take care of the tourists but can’t afford to own, for one. Hufstader ultimately found an apartment through a Facebook group, but rounds up a bunch of other resources for year-round renters, ranging from regional housing authorities to local newspapers and, of course, Patch.com’s real estate section. Source: patch.com.

 

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/existence-of-year-round-marthas-vineyard-rentals-confirmed/?utm_source=20140127&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.EnYYXrjb.dpuf

Mortgage Foreclosures Down 29% in November | Katonah NY Real Estate

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Homeowners (and investors in the banks holding their mortgages) received a triple dose of good news Thursday, when residential property data provider CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX ) announced that:

  • The number of completed foreclosures in America dropped 29% year over year in November, as compared to November 2012.
  • Completed foreclosures trended down sequentially from October, falling 8.3%.
  • The inventory of houses in some stage of the foreclosure process, the so-called “foreclosure inventory,” dropped 34% from a year ago. Month-over-month, the foreclosure inventory dropped 4.6% from October 2013 to November 2013.

Additionally, CoreLogic estimates that the residential “shadow inventory” of homes that are “seriously delinquent, in foreclosure or held as REO [real estate owned] by mortgage servicers, but not currently listed on multiple listing services,” has fallen to levels not seen since the start of the housing crisis in 2008. CoreLogic puts the size of this shadow inventory at 1.7 million homes, down 26.4% from one year ago.

As for actual foreclosures, according to CoreLogic’s data, 46,000 homes were foreclosed upon in November, versus 64,000 completed foreclosures in November 2012.

 

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/09/mortgage-foreclosures-down-29-in-november.aspx

Real Housewives, Tour Boats Made Rosie O’Donnell Sell Her Star Island House | Katonah Real Estate

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We crazy Miamians really did scare talk show lady Rosie O’Donnell out of her Star Island house after all. In a radio interview on the Paul & Young Morning Show, Rosie admitted that tour boats constantly cruising behind her house, and the insanity of her Real Housewives of Miami neighbors, finally drove her from the island, where she had lived for 18 years. And by that she probably means the Lisa Hochstein/42 Star Island debacle right next door, although to be fair Lea Black does own on the island too.

 

 

http://miami.curbed.com/archives/2014/01/10/real-housewives-tour-boats-made-rosie-leave-miami.php