October housing price data show ‘boom is fading’ – latimes.com.
October housing price data show ‘boom is fading’ | Mt Kisco Homes
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Paul McCartney Eyes $13M 4BR Condo On Fifth Avenue | Mt Kisco NY Homes
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A four-bedroom condo on Museum Mile that’s been sitting on the market for more than a year got some Christmas love from former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney. The Post reports that McCartney and his wife, Nancy Shevell, checked out unit 16B at 1049 Fifth Avenue, currently listed for $12.9 million. The 3,335-square-foot apartment was originally listed in October 2012 for $13.5 million, but had its price reduced by $500K in July 2013. The home has Central Park views and design details one expects from a prewar Fifth Avenue building: coffered ceilings, rosewood herringbone floors, marble bathrooms, and a mahogany paneled library.
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/12/26/paul_mccartney_eyes_13m_4br_condo_on_fifth_avenue.php
2014 good for housing, not so much for economic growth | Mt Kisco Real Estate
The coming year will see the continued slow-but-steady recovery in housing and housing-related industries, minimal interest rate movements, less than stellar economic growth, and an improving purchase market.
That’s the prediction from the brain trust at FBR & Co. FBR is a leading investment bank that focuses its efforts across a broad array of industries including financial institutions and real estate, among a host of others.
Despite the overall tepid outlook, the FBR forecast does point to good signs for the origination market.
“Financials, particularly banks and thrifts, outperformed the broader indices in 2013, and, generally speaking, we expect in-line performance at best over the coming year as stock prices have drastically outperformed fundamentals for most spread-based lending businesses,” the FBR 2014 forecast states.
In particular, the mixed overall news looks good for housing.
“We expect that those subsectors most levered to a continued recovery in housing will outperform in 2014, as housing-levered industries should have the largest opportunities for growth in the near term,” the report states.
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/28386-fbr-2014-good-for-housing-not-so-much-for-economic-growth
Breathing Room for a California Family | Mt Kisco Real Estate
San Francisco Bay Area couple raised their children in this home, which worked well enough during that time. But when the kids moved away to start their own families, the couple redid their kitchen as an open concept, creating a more comfortable place for the growing family to spend time together.
The once-confined kitchen needed to be open and inviting for their throngs of friends too, and function like a dream regardless of how many bodies were in it at any given time. And just as important, it needed to have storage to spare. “In all of our 42 years of marriage,” says one of the clients, “I’ve never had room to have all of my accumulated kitchen stuff in my actual kitchen until now.”
Kitchen at a Glance Who lives here: A couple with grown children Location: San Francisco Bay Area Size: 400 square feet
“The project started with the desire to make the kitchen the heart of the house,” says project architect Eugene H. Sakai of Studio S Squared Architecture. “And it is, both functionally and in its location: It’s smack dab in the middle of the house’s floor plan.”
Bar stools: Lamps Plus
Bar stools: Lamps Plus
Sakai removed walls from the original kitchen to open it up to the dining room. Additional space came from an adjacent bedroom, which was in turn relocated to another part of the house. “Though there was now plenty of space to work with,” says Sakai, “the challenge was to make it easy to pass through in order to get to the living room and backyard.”
Generous walkways offer ample room for large crowds to flow in every direction. These wide clearances are perfect for the couple’s current social and cooking needs but are also designed for accessibility, should someone in the household ever use a wheelchair.
The kitchen centers on the 5- by 7-foot island with special functions on all four sides. “One of the problems with an open floor plan is that there is limited wall space,” says Sakai.
The island solves this by housing a GE oven on one side, a garbage and recycling station and a Sharp microwave drawer on another, and a three-drawer system for everyday needs on a third side. Even the bar seating area offers hidden storage.
Sakai credits the owners for working out the details of the room. “They were very thoughtful with their vision of how they wanted to use the space now and down the line.”
Range hood: Zephyr
Sakai credits the owners for working out the details of the room. “They were very thoughtful with their vision of how they wanted to use the space now and down the line.”
Range hood: Zephyr
The perimeter of the kitchen is just as functional. Matching drawer systems flank the 36-inch Thermador range, while cabinets with ¼-inch beaded glass border the 36-inch Venezia hood to provide the couple with everything they need to prep and plate food.
No Sign Of Mechanical Malfunction, Alcohol Use By Crew In Train Derailment | Mt. Kisco Realtor
Residential home sales continue to climb: RealtyTrac | Mt Kisco Homes
Properties and residential homes for sale, including single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes, continue to rise, increasing to an estimated annualized pace of 5.649 million in October, a 2% hike from a month ago and an increase of 13% from October 2012, the latest RealtyTrac Residential and Foreclosure Sales Report revealed.
But despite the national trend, three top indicator states still posted decreases for the third consecutive month: California, Arizona and Nevada, which are down 15%, 13% and 5%, respectively, from a year ago.
Meanwhile, the national median sales price of all residential properties—including both distressed and non-distressed—sat at $170,000, unchanged from September, but 6% higher than October 2012. This is also the 18th consecutive month median home sales have increased on an annualized basis.
The median price of a distressed residential property, in foreclosure or bank owned, hit $110,000 in October, 41% lower than the median price of $185,000 for a non-distressed property.
“After a surge in short sales in late 2011 and early 2012, the favored disposition method for distressed properties is shifting back toward the more traditional foreclosure auction sales and bank-owned sales,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac.
“The combination of rapidly rising home prices — along with strong demand from institutional investors and other cash buyers able to buy at the public foreclosure auction or an as-is REO home — means short sales are becoming less favorable for lenders,” Blomquist added.
As a result, short sales made up 5.3% of all sales, a 6.3% drop from the previous month and down from 11.2% in October 2012.
Nevada, Florida, Maryland, Michigan and Illinois ranked as the states with the highest percentage of short sales last month.
City Unveils Designs For Midtown’s East River Greenway | Mt Kisco Realtor
Midtown East residents, long envious of the lush riverfront parkland their West Side counterparts enjoy, got a sneak peek of the design plans for the East Side waterfront esplanade at last night’s Community Board 6 land use committee meeting. The project is part of a plan to complete the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway (which surrounds the borough) by filling in the undeveloped gap between East 38th Street and East 60th Street along the East River. The esplanade, which is created to appear as if it’s floating on top of the water with 30 feet separating it from the bulkhead, will have two distinct paths: one for bike riding, the other for pedestrian traffic. Cali Kay Gorewitz, Vice President of Development at NYC Economic Development Corporation explained that at certain points, the material used for the ground will allow pedestrians to see through to the water below “raising the uniqueness of the site.”
[48th Street Node]
NYCEDC has been working with community work groups to decide on other design aspects. Together they’ve come up with a plan that divides the esplanade into three sections: one running from East 38th to East 41st Street, the next from East 41st to East 53rd Street, and the third from East 53rd to East 60th Street. Planters and trees will run along the entire length, and there will be three major gathering places called nodes, each having “its own personality” said Ama DuSolier, lead designer for AECOM, the company contracted to design the esplanade.
[53rd Street Node]
The first node scheduled to open in 2015 is a waterside pier, which will be constructed from an old pier Con Edison formerly used for fuel deliveries. It will center on active recreation and include places to eat and socialize. Another section, called the ribbon, will focus on walking, biking, planting and seating. The 48th Street node will facilitate gatherings like outdoor shows and will have amphitheater seating, while the 53rd Street area will focus on environmental education and incorporate places to fish. All of the nodes are designed to be multi-functional.
[Blueprint of the nodes]
In a post-Sandy world, thought also went into ensuring the esplanade will be able to withstand stronger storms. It will be built three feet higher than the 100-year flood line, which is about six and a half feet (Sandy’s storm surge was 13 feet) and six to eight feet above the FDR Drive.
[Looking north on the esplanade]
Community reaction to the design renderings was largely positive, with some residents calling them “wonderful” and “lovely.” Joan Boyle, a 19-year resident of East Midtown, called the plans “gorgeous” and is looking forward to having a place where people could walk a dog, ride a bike, or just walk along the riverfront. But Boyle was concerned that the promises of a beautiful esplanade for the neighborhood would never come to pass. While “it’s wonderful to look at this,” she said, “I expect it won’t ever happen.”
[Cross-section showing the esplanade dimensions]
True enough, considerable hurdles remain. The project is relying on anticipated funding by a United Nations deal. A Memorandum of Understanding between the city and the state allowed for the use of a portion of the Robert Moses Playground for a new UN building. In exchange, the United Nations Development Corporation agreed to pay the city $73 million toward the esplanade. However, Gorewitz estimates the full cost of the project to be about $200 million, so the sale of other property currently leased by the UN will be necessary to complete it.
[Project timeline]
Next steps for this project include filing permits with Department of Environmental Conservation, Army Corps of Engineers, and the Coast Guard which are expected to take 12-18 months to get approved. In the meantime, as part of the Memorandum of Understanding, Asser Levy Place (the two blocks between East 23rd and East 25th Streets) has closed to traffic and will be turned into a park. It’s expected to open to the public next year.
—Kizzy Cox · Manhattan Waterfront Greenway [nyc.gov] · East River Waterfront coverage [Curbed] · Robert Moses Playground coverage [Curbed]
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/11/07/city_unveils_designs_for_midtowns_east_river_greenway.php
Down to Earth Farmers Market | Mt Kisco Real Estate
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| Fresh Food from Local Sources – November 7th-13th, 2013 Down to Earth Markets | ||||||||||||
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Click on a Market to see all vendor and event details…
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| Announcements | ||||||||||||
| Larchmont Wow, daaah’ling, that’s Skraptacular! Wouldn’t you love to hear these words? Then come to Skraptacular, an event to inspire environmental awareness by working with kids of all ages to transform plastic vegetable containers and other bits of trash into proper English facsinators fit for the King or Queen. It’s fun, creative…AND it teaches concepts of waste reduction, smart consumerism, and sustainabilty. 8:30 am to 1:00 pm – see you there! Ridge Hill For the last time this season, Phil Dollard will play this Friday (4-6 pm) at our Ridge Hill Farmers Market. Make sure to come out and hear him, or else you’ll have to wait til next year! Stay tuned to all market happenings via our Down to Earth Markets Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @DowntoEarthMarkets | ||||||||||||
| Vendor Profile: Karl Family Farms of Modena, NY | ||||||||||||
Kris Karl loves that everyday is different in farming, yet he begins them all in the same mindful way: “The first thing I do is come out and check every animal. Even with the sheep, there’s a lot of them, but I know who’s who, and if somebody’s limping or a little lethargic when they’re not normally, I can nip it in the bud before it’s an issue.” Before he walked his farm at sunrise to greet the herds of sheep, cows, goats, pigs, and flocks of chickens and turkeys, he attuned his observation skills as a Public Service major at Providence College in Rhode Island. He worked on conflict and gang mediation, and he loved it, but he was quickly getting burnt out on city living. His mentor suggested that he hang out with Patrick McNiff, the young farmer behind Pat’s Pastured, a livestock farm in Jamestown, RI. “I thought, ‘Farming? What are you talking about?,” Kris explains. “But the next thing I knew I was working for him for a year. And while every piece of land is different, a lot of what we do here is influenced from that experience.” Kris established Karl Family Farms in 2011, after convincing his cousin, Alex, to move from California to be the Farm Manager. Alex was a carpenter for 10 years and his building talent is evident all around the farm. The Karls manage their livestock in an open pasture system, and one of the keys is to keep the animals moving to fresh pasture regularly. For the chickens, Alex custom built a large, two-story coop on wheels, and the Karls move it everyday. For the pigs, he built a shelter that’s slightly elevated, with a bar that separates the shelter from the ground underneath. Why? After a female pig has given birth, the design allows the piglets to roll out of the shelter whenever Mama starts to lie down. The bar protects them from her tired girth. In addition to their livestock, Karl Family Farms offers fresh produce from their acre vegetable patch run by Kathleen, a college friend of Kris and his wife. Come meet the farmers of Karl Family Farms on Fridays at Ridge Hill’s Down to Earth Farmers Market. There are only three weeks left to stock up on their farm-fresh goods at the market, so c’mon by!
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| Day Vendors This Week Larchmont Flourish Baking Company Trotta Foods Ossining Bombay Emerald Chutney Co. Hudson River Apiaries Piermont Rockland Roots (Farm-to-table prepared foods to go) Ridge Hill Rockland Roots | ||||||||||||
| Down to Earth Markets 173 Main Street Ossining, NY 10562 Phone: 914-923-4837 | ||||||||||||
NBA’s Paul Pierce nabs $35K per month Franklin Tower pad | Mt Kisco Real Estate
Paul Pierce and Franklin Tower at 90 Franklin Street
NBA All-Star Paul Pierce has moved into a full-floor Tribeca loft at the Franklin Tower. The Boston Celtics legend, who jumped this year to the Brooklyn Nets, will move into a 5,000-square-foot home at 90 Franklin Street that was on the rental market asking $35,000 per month.
Pierce’s pad was listed with CORE Group’s Oliver Brown, who declined to comment to the New York Post, which first reported the story. The apartment has four bedrooms and 28 windows and includes a wood-burning fireplace, according to the listing.
The 18-story building is also home to Mariah Carey, who owns the penthouse, the Post said. [NYP, 1st item] – Hiten Samtani
http://therealdeal.com/blog/2013/10/17/nbas-paul-pierce-nabs-35k-per-month-franklin-tower-pad/
Another 8.3 Million Underwater Homeowners on Track to Resurface Before 2015 | Mt Kisco Real Estate
While 10.7 million residential homeowners nationwide owe at least 25 percent or more on their mortgages than their properties are worth, another 8.3 million homeowners are either slightly underwater or slightly above water, putting them on track to have enough equity to sell sometime in the next 15 months — without resorting to a short sale.
The 8.3 million include homeowners with a loan to value (LTV) ratio from 90 to 110 percent, meaning they have between 10 percent positive equity and 10 percent negative equity. These homeowners represented 18 percent of all U.S. homeowners with a mortgage as of the beginning of September.
The 10.7 million residential properties with an LTV ratio of at least 125 percent represented 23 percent of U.S. residential properties with a mortgage — down from 11.3 million deeply underwater properties representing 26 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage in May 2013 and down from 12.5 million deeply underwater properties representing 28 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage in September 2012.
“Steadily rising home prices are lifting all boats in this housing market and should spill over into more inventory of homes for sale in the coming months,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “Homeowners who already have ample equity are quickly building on that equity, while the 8.3 million homeowners on the fence with little or no equity are on track to regain enough equity to sell before 2015 if home prices continue to increase at the rate of 1.33 percent per month that they have since bottoming out in March 2012.”
“In addition, nearly one in four homeowners in foreclosure has at least some equity, giving them a better chance to avoid foreclosure without resorting to a short sale — assuming they realize they have equity and don’t miss the opportunity to leverage that equity,” Blomquist added. “Even homeowners deeply underwater have reason for hope, with about 150,000 each month rising past the 25 percent negative equity milestone — although it will certainly take years rather than months before most of those homeowners have enough equity to sell other than via short sale.”
Other high-level findings from the report:
More than 126,000 properties in the foreclosure process nationwide had an LTV of 100 percent or lower in September, representing 24 percent of all homes in the foreclosure process. States with the highest percentage of foreclosures with equity included Oklahoma (54 percent), Hawaii (51 percent), New York (47 percent), and Texas (46 percent).