Tag Archives: Mt Kisco Homes for Sale

Homeowners will face new refinancing fee starting in September | Mt Kisco Real Estate

Borrowers who rushed in droves to capitalize on low mortgage rates are in for a new surprise.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises that back millions of mortgages, are adding a new 0.5% fee on all mortgage refinance transactions starting Sept. 1. The news comes as the rate on the 30-year-fixed mortgage is just off its all-time low at 2.96%, according to Freddie Mac.

Normally a rate this low would be a boon for homeowners looking to refinance their current mortgage and lower their monthly payment, but the extra would cost the average consumer $1,400, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, and would eat away at some of the savings during a very uncertain economic time.

“It’s a money grab,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com, a personal finance website. “It’s capitalizing on refinancing volume with the idea of putting more money into the coffers of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.”

Huntington, N.Y.: Photo of home for sale in Huntington, New York on August 5, 2020. (Photo by Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
Huntington, N.Y.: Photo of home for sale in Huntington, New York on August 5, 2020. (Photo by Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images)

17.8 million candidates are eligible for refinancing

The new fee could affect the 17.8 million homeowners who are eligible for refinancing, according to numbers provided exclusively to Yahoo Money from BlackKnight, a mortgage and analytics data consulting firm.

On average, these Americans could save $291 a month, for a total of $5.2 billion in cumulative savings. These homeowners have at least 20% equity in their homes, a credit score of 720 or higher, and who can shave off at least 0.75 percentage points off their current mortgage rate.

Lenders have the option to pay the fee themselves rather than passing it on to the borrower, but it’s unclear if banks will do this.

“You’ve got a Federal Reserve creating money that is used to buy Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities [to] drive down mortgage rates and allow the consumer to put savings in their pockets, but then the Federal Housing Finance Authority wants to get in the pockets of these consumers and dilute a lot of the benefit of what the Federal Reserve is doing in the first place,” McBride said.

“It is really going to put a dent in the refinancing boom,” he added, “especially for borrowers who with a rate of 3.7% could refinance to 2.7%, but now will expect 3%.

read more…

https://money.yahoo.com/homeowners-will-face-new-refinancing-fee-starting-in-september-200212661.html

Mortgage rates average 3.01% | Mt Kisco Real Estate

Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.01 percent.

“While housing demand continues to rebound, the month-long swoon in economic activity has caused the 10-year Treasury benchmark to drop. In the short-term, this means the demand will continue on the back of near record low mortgage rates,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “However, the most recent consumer spending data has been pointing to slow growth since mid-June. The concern is that the pause in economic activity will cause unemployment to remain elevated which will lead to longer-term labor market distress.”

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.01 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending July 23, 2020, up slightly from 2.98 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.75 percent.  
  • 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.54 percent with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.48 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.18 percent.  
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.09 percent with an average 0.3 point, up slightly from last week when it averaged 3.06 percent. A year ago at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.47 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 link for the Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

New York real estate market sees steep rise in listings | Mt Kisco Real Estate

After a difficult few months, New York City’s real estate market is bouncing back.

This week, after the city entered phase 2 of its reopening, contract activity increased 41%, reaching the highest numbers since the end of March, when the country shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak. New listings also increased 57% since last week, reaching a level not seen since March 2, according to data compiled by UrbanDigs.

Though listings are down 36% from this time last year, brokers are confident the slump in the market is temporary — and on its way out. “This is a remarkable recovery from the entire second quarter,” said Garrett Derderian, the CEO of GS Data Services.

“What we’re seeing is a lot of concern, but also a lot of pent-up demand,” Jason Haber of Warburg Realty told ABC News.

Derderian’s data shows the median list price of $1,395,000 is up 5% from this time last year, while the average price-per-foot is down just 3% to $1,560.

“What this tells us on a high level is the recovery on the listing side has started to take hold and is looking like the V-shape that was anticipated earlier this year,” he said.

The same can be said for the Seattle and Miami markets, the latter which has actually seen an increase in property trades compared to last year, as many in the Northeast — particularly in the hard hit tri-state area — continue to relocate to Florida.

Kolderal/Getty ImagesA residential street is seen in New York City.A residential street is seen in New York City.Kolderal/Getty Images

There have been 217 contracts signed in Manhattan since June 1, a decrease of 71% from this time last year. But this should not come as a surprise, given that the city just opened for in-person showings Monday.

Data sets put together by Derderian and Jesse Kent, the CEO of real estate public relations agency Derring-Do, show that prices have not gone down substantially despite the crisis.

“There has been wide speculation that prices were going to decline 10 to 20% in NYC real estate investments, but as of now, that is simply not the case,” said Derderian. “In fact, there may be a silver lining for the Manhattan housing market as workers may want to rely less on public transit and walk to work. This could bode well for many parts of Manhattan and result in price increases depending on the neighborhood and price point. The same is true for downtown Brooklyn and the immediate surrounding neighborhoods.”

If prices do go down, it will likely be in July, once there is more movement in the market.

Mark Lennihan/AP, FileIn this May 12, 2020 photo, a storefront displays “For Rent” signs in the window in the Red Hook neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York.In this May 12, 2020 photo, a storefront displays “For Rent” signs in the window in the Red Hook neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York.Mark Lennihan/AP, File

Another thing that makes brokers optimistic is that the buyers who are currently looking seem to be fully committed.

“There are two types of people: short-term buyers who will likely not invest during the pandemic, and those who see the near-future potential and are looking to invest in the long term,” Haber said.

“Because there’s so much unknown right now, the profile of the buyer is someone who believes in New York long term,” said Michael J. Franco, from real estate broker Compass.

Even while the market appears to be recovering, Warburg Realty’s Bill Kowalczuk explained that the process of viewing and buying has changed due to the coronavirus.

Not only does a potential buyer have to schedule a viewing 24 hours in advance, but they have to wear personal protective equipment, sign a stack of forms acknowledging the health risks they’re taking and keep from touching any surfaces while inside the property (the agent has to open all cabinets and doors).

The documents potential clients must sign prior to attending a viewing include a limitation of liability form and a health questionnaire screening form. Though they’re not required by law, all Real Estate Board of New York members are asked to give them to their customers to ensure their safety.

Fueled by people’s eagerness to move forward, Kowalczuk said he expects a boom of market activity in the next six weeks.

read more…

abcnews.go.com/business

US home sales fall 18% | Mt Kisco Real Estate

This April 16, 2020 photo shows a real estate company sign that marks a home for sale in Harmony, Pa. U.S. new home sales plunged 15.4% in March as the lockdowns that began in the middle of the month began to rattle the housing market. The Commerce Department reported Thursday, April 23, that sales of new single-family homes dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 627,000 last month after sales had fallen 4.6% in February. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Sales of existing homes plunged 17.8% in April with the real estate market still in the grips of the coronavirus pandemic.

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that last month’s decline pushed sales down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.33 million units, the slowest pace since September 2011.

The sales drop was the largest one-month decline since a 22.5% fall in July 2010. That tail-off was preceded by the end a congressionally approved tax credit intended pull the housing market out of the 2006 collapse of the housing market.

The median price for a home sold in April was $286,800, which was an increase of 7.4% from a year ago. Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the Realtors group, attributed the big jump in the median price to a lack of enough homes for sale, especially for first-time buyers.ADVERTISEMENT

Sales were down in all parts of the country with the West seeing a 25% drop. Sales in the Northeast fell 16.9%. Sales were down 17.9% in the South and down 12% in the Midwest.

Analysts said that the coronavirus shutdowns had contributed to the shortage in the number of homes for sale in April and that played a role in the increase in prices.

“Homebuyers are getting back out there, searching for more space as they realize using their home as an office and school may become the norm,” said Taylor Marr, lead economist at Redfin, a real estate brokerage firm. “But sellers are still holding off on listing their homes, partially due to economic uncertainty and concerns of health risks.”

Redfin said that the most competitive housing markets in April and early May were Boston, San Francisco and Fort Worth.

Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, said she expected sales to rebound off their lows in May “as a combination of pent-up demand as well as a desire to move to less densely populated areas boosts sales.”

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apnews.com

Unemployment jumping to 15.5% will hurt housing prices | Mt Kisco Real Estate

According to the Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report, released by the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance hit 3.2 million for the week ending May 2nd, bringing the total to 33.5 million over the past seven weeks.

In the week ending May 2nd, the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits, known as jobless claims, was at a seasonally adjusted level of 3,169,000, a decrease of 677,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 3,846,000 claims. The four-week moving average decreased to 4,173,500, from a revised average of 5,035,000 in the previous week. After it hit a record of 6.9 million for the week ending March 28th, the number of jobless claims has declined gradually in the following weeks. By the week ending May 2nd, the number of jobless claims was less than half of the peak of 6.9 million, and the seven-week’s jobless claims totaled 33.5 million.

The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate increased by 3.1 percentage points to 15.5% for the week ending April 25th. The number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment increased to 22,647,000 during the week ending April 25th, from an upward revised level of 18,011,000 in the previous week. It was the highest level of seasonally adjusted insured unemployment in the history of the seasonally adjusted series.

The unadjusted number of initial claims, released by the U.S. Department of Labor, totaled 3,495,703 in the week ending April 25th, a decrease of 785,945 from the previous week. The chart below presents the top 10 states ranked by the number of initial claims for the week ending April 25th. Florida, California, Georgia, Texas, and New York reported the most initial claims. Florida led the way with 433,103 claims, followed by California with 325,343 claims and Georgia with 266,565 claims. The number of jobless claims in these 10 states accounted for about 56% of the total number of jobless claims in the week ending April 25th.

The trending of initial claims was mixed. For the week ending April 25th, Washington (+56,030), Georgia (+19,562), New York (+14,229), Oregon (+12,091), and Alabama (+8,534) reported the largest increases in initial claims, while California (-203,017), Florida (-73,567), Connecticut (-69,767), New Jersey (-68,173), and Pennsylvania (-66,698) had the largest decreases in initial claims.

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www.eyeonhousing.org

Connecticut Feeling On Tolls Could Keep I-684 Free | Mt Kisco Real Estate

Connecticut’s governor proposed putting a toll gantry on the 1-mile section of I-684 that goes out of New York.

Connecticut Feeling On Tolls Could Keep I-684 Free
(Google Maps)

The proposal to put a tollbooth on the Connecticut mile of Interstate 684 apparently elicited negative reactions from Connecticut politicians as well as New Yorkers. Democrats in the Connecticut State Senate are less than enthusiastic about Gov. Ned Lamont’s plan for tolls at 14 spots throughout the state.

Lamont wants to put tolls on roads in his state to raise revenue and pay for repairs. One of the roads he picked is I-684, the “interstate highway” that runs down the east side of Putnam and Westchester counties in New York.

The toll plaza would go in the 1.4 mile stretch of I-684 that is in Connecticut. The toll gantry would be sandwiched between the exit for the Westchester County Airport to the south and the exit for Armonk, home of IBM, to the north.

Lamont met with the Democratic caucus Wednesday to go over his plan and hear questions and concerns from the caucus. Senate President Martin Looney told Patch that there was broad support for Lamont’s proposed transportation fixes, but disagreement on how to pay for them.

“We need to find something that is broadly palatable in the General Assembly and also to the public,” Looney said.

The caucus didn’t take a headcount on support for Lamont’s plan. Looney said Lamont was going to reflect on what he heard in the caucus meeting.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff said everyone acknowledges that it’s vitally important to upgrade Connecticut’s transportation infrastructure. He said Lamont carefully listened to concerns from legislators.

“How we get there and how we pay for it is certainly a different story,” Duff said. “But it was a very frank conversation with the governor.”

Lamont campaigned on truck-only tolling, but said after being elected it wouldn’t create enough revenue for the state and could run into some legal challenges from the trucking industry. Lamont rolled out a 50-toll gantry plan that took up part of the 2019 legislative session, but in the end never got a full vote. Any toll vote would likely become a hot-button issue in the 2020 election where state representatives and senators are up for re-election.

Legislative Republicans in Connecticut have been steadfast in their opposition to tolls. House Republican Leader Themis Klarides said that there is common ground in Lamont’s latest plan and it was more well-thought than previous iterations, but tolls are still a non-starter.

Non-starter was exactly the term New York State Senator Pete Harckham used, talking about his constituents in Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties who would be unfairly affected. “Governor Lamont’s plan to place a toll on I-684 is a nonstarter because it disproportionately impacts New York commuters. There are enough roads elsewhere in Connecticut to toll to fund infrastructure projects in Connecticut.”

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https://patch.com/new-york/bedford/s/gwzdh/connecticut-feeling-on-tolls-could-keep-i-684-free?utm_term=article-slot-1&utm_source=newsletter-daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

How NYC’s affordable housing crisis affects family homelessness | #MtKisco Real Estate

New York’s housing crisis has taken center stage in the last few months: A bold package of bills was passed in Albany to protect tenants, while the city’s Rent Guidelines Board voted to raise the rent despite clamors from residents of rent stabilized apartments. Something that housing advocates have continuously cited is the number of sheltered and unsheltered homeless in the city.

A new study by the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness (ICPH), found that on July 1, 2018, there were over 12,000 families with children sleeping in a city-run shelter. The study also explored the biggest factors—family, neighborhood, and shelter dynamics—that lead to homelessness.

Overall, the study says that in fiscal year 2016, the main reasons families entered shelters included domestic violence (30 percent), eviction (25 percent), and overcrowding (17 percent).

In terms of shelter dynamics, the ICPH analysis found that neighborhoods with the highest family shelter capacity include Concourse/Highbridge, East Tremont in the Bronx, and Brownsville in Brooklyn. The report also notes that in 2015, the district with the most families entering shelters was East New York in Brooklyn.

Neighborhood dynamics contributing to homelessness, the study found, include educational attainment, unemployment, rent burden (as well as disappearing affordable units), and poverty.

An interactive map (below) shows the percentage of severely rent-burdened households in each borough—meaning households spending 50 percent or more of their income on rent. The map shows that the Bronx had the most severely rent-burdened households with 33.1 percent, followed by Staten Island at 29.5 percent (those figures are based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 American Community Survey.)

The study lists specific neighborhoods facing the most instability for different reasons. In Borough Park, for instance, 44 percent of households are severely rent burdened, and in Mott Haven, 40 percent of residents have less than a high-school diploma.

“Severely rent burdened households are often just one lost paycheck or medical emergency away from eviction,” the study reads. “As rents continue to rise, the preservation of affordable low income housing is essential to keeping families on the brink of homelessness stably housed in their communities.”

Also included in the map are the number of disappearing affordable units in each neighborhood. Those with large numbers of lost affordable units include Battery Park/Tribeca, Midtown Business District, Williamsburg/Greenpoint, Fort Greene/Brooklyn Heights, Fresh Meadows/Briarwood, Coney Island, and East Harlem.

Though the ICPH report says the number of families with children in shelters has increased by almost 55 percent between 2011 and 2018, the city’s Department of Homeless Services told Curbed that the overall numbers have gone down.

“Our transformation plan puts people first, offering them the opportunity to get back on their feet in their home boroughs, closer to support networks, including schools,” Isaac McGinn, a city Department of Homeless Services spokesperson told Curbed in a statement.

“As we turn the tide on this citywide challenge, we’ve driven down the number of families experiencing homelessness overall, while also helping hundreds of families in shelter move closer to their children’s schools—and we’ll be taking this progress even further as we continue to implement our five-year plan,” he added.

read more…

https://ny.curbed.com/2019/6/28/19102889/nyc-homeless-shelters-families-affordable-housing

Cuomo’s to blame for Westchester’s gas crisis | Mt Kisco Real Estate

Cuomo’s to blame for Westchester’s gas crisis

State officials held hearings last week into Con Ed’s ban on new natural-gas customers in much of Westchester, but it’s the state itself that blocked new gas pipelines. What’d anyone expect?

Now, it turns out, the county’s nightmare may begin sooner than thought: When Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, who represents southern Westchester, asked Con Ed if it could delay the ban (set for March 15), the utility was frank: Supply and demand determine whether there’s enough gas, it said. So shortages could occur even beforethen.

Paulin isn’t the only one worried: “A March 15 deadline is just far too soon,” warned County Executive George Latimer. And the ban could choke an economic comeback in Westchester. “A moratorium of no new hookups would create a very chilling effect” on the “revival” in New Rochelle, Yonkers and White Plains.

Yet Con Ed has been warning for a long time now. In 2017, it tried to get the Public Service Commission to let it offer incentives to pipeline developers, who feared being denied permits — but was turned down.

The PSC denies that Con Ed came to it with any “pipeline solution,” Paulin said, but public documents show that’s not so.

Let’s face it: Even if the state forced Con Ed to sign up new customers, the utility still couldn’t deliver gas it doesn’t have.

Yet this disaster is entirely self-inflicted. To suck up to climate-change radicals, who hope to do away with all fossil-fuel-based energy, Gov. Cuomo has been slow to OK new pipelines. In response, pipeline companies have lost interest in New York.

Absent new gas supplies, businesses and residents will shun the county. No one will freeze, but Westchester faces new economic drag.

And New York City’s not far behind.

One hope: a court ruling last month that states can’t use their water-quality certification process to delay federal licensing of hydropower plants. “The scope of the ruling enhances the odds” that the Constitution pipeline will be built, notes Rob Rains of Washington Analysis. Constitution’s sponsors want the court to rule against New York efforts to block the pipeline.

Alas, anti-pipeline foes are gaining steam in New York. Last year, city Comptroller Scott Stringer bucked labor unions to denounce the plan for the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline, a source of natural gas that’s vital to the city’s growth. At least seven public-advocate wannabes have now joined him.

Maybe they want to send city folks fleeing, much as a dead economy has Upstaters doing. Then again, if everyone leaves, there’ll be no need for natural gas . . 

read more…

Cuomo’s to blame for Westchester’s gas crisis

Pending sales fall for 11th straight month | Mt. Kisco Real Estate

Pending home sales declined slightly in November on an annualized basis for the eleventh straight month. The Pending Home Sales Index decreased by 0.7% from 102.1 in October to 101.4 in November, and was 7.7% below the level one year ago. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

According to NAR, the decline in PHSI may not fully capture the current situation, as it did not reflect the impact of recent favorable conditions mortgage rates. But the housing market has been slowing down this year due to rising mortgage rates.

The PHSI increased 2.7% and 2.8% in the Northeast and West, but decreased 2.3% and 2.7% in the Midwest and South. Year-over-year, the PHSI declined in all regions, ranging from a decline of 3.5% in the Northeast to a decrease of 12.2% in the West. NAR stated that the annual drop in the West may be explained by the growing concerns of affordability due to rapidly increasing home prices in the region.

Existing sales slightly increased in November, but builder confidence fell in December to its lowest value since May 2015 as concerns over housing affordability persist. However, NAR anticipates a solid long-term prospect for home sales, as the current home sales level matches sales in 2000 while more jobs are created now compared to the early 2000’s.

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http://eyeonhousing.org/2019/01/pending-home-sales-fall-in-november/

Construction wages up 3.9% | Mt Kisco Real Estate

Construction workers building a Toll Brothers Inc. home in Boca Raton, Florida.

Construction companies have been ratcheting pay higher to find workers.

Average hourly earnings for construction workers were $30.21 in October, the Labor Department reported Friday. That represented a 3.9% increase in wages compared to a year ago, the strongest yearly gain since mid-2009.

As the housing crisis unfolded, a million and a half residential construction workers were laid off. Industry groups have complained for years that labor is too hard to find, and say that’s holding back a more robust pace of home building.

Higher pay would go a long way to solving that problem, many economists have argued, and to some extent, industry actions over the past year or so have confirmed that idea.

The $30.21 average hourly wage for construction workers is higher than the $27.11 earned by employees in manufacturing.

Annual wage increases for construction workers have increased an average of 3.3% during 2018, double the wage increases enjoyed by factory employees.

In turn, that’s helped employers lure lots more workers: the construction industry added 330,000 jobs over the past 12 months.

read more…

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/construction-wage-gains-hit-9-year-high-as-builders-woo-workers-with-30-per-hour-pay-2018-11-02