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Fannie Mae sees housing improving despite economic uncertainty | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate

Fannie Mae economists see somewhat of a bifurcated economy with the GSE’s forecast for 2013 divided between predictions of a gradually improving housing market and headwinds posed by tax and federal policies that will create economic drag.
Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research Group says economic activity picked up in the third quarter, but will remain sluggish with sub-2% GDP growth projected for this year.
Yet, the housing market is improving despite all of the uncertainty that Fannie economists see in the broader marketplace.
“The U.S. fiscal cliff and debt ceiling debate as well as the weakened global economic environment are likely to create the strongest headwinds facing any real improvement this year,” said Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan. “With these issues hanging in the balance, we believe risks remain tilted to the downside.”
Housing, on the other hand, is showing signs of what Duncan’s team calls a “sustainable, long-term recovery.” Duncan’s comments fall in line with those of Wells Fargo ($34.34 0%) senior economist Mark Vitner, who also thinks the housing recovery is sustainable through economic troubles.
Home prices are moving towards positive territory when compared to year ago levels, Fannie noted in its October economic update.
The GSE’s research team believes it’s likely prices hit bottom earlier this year, a necessary development that generally precedes a recovery.
Fannie suggested with record low mortgage rates and the Fed’s mortgage-backed securities purchases, consumers will begin turning towards the housing market to nab low interest rates. The GSE expects home sales overall will rise 9% for 2012 when compared to last year.
Fannie also anticipates more refinancings considering today’s record low mortgage rates. The GSE expects total refinance originations to hit $1.8 trillion in 2012, up 20% from a year ago.
via housingwire.com

How Much Income Do You Need To Buy A House? | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate

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Source: flickr user images of money
If you’re in the market for a new home, chances are you’ll have to compromise at some point along the way. Maybe you’ll have to commute a little farther than you’d like in order to get the best value for your money. Or perhaps you’ll forgo a huge backyard to be closer to the city.
And when it comes to finances, you might find a disparity between how much house you want and how much house you can purchase given your gross monthly income and other factors.
Home loans are made against your ability to repay. While the mortgage loan is secured against the house, it is really made against your income. That’s what mortgage lenders look for — income to offset liabilities.
Simply put, the amount of income you need to purchase a house will vary by your payment comfort level, including any other monthly debt obligations you might have.
Important terms
Mortgage payment: Principal, interest, property taxes insurance and mortgage insurance, if needed
Consumer debts: Minimum payment obligations on things such as auto loans, credit cards, student loans, personal loans and installment loans
Other debt obligations: Alimony and/or child support or any other court-ordered repayment obligations
Running the math
Here’s a simple formula to calculate the amount of income you’ll need to purchase a home:
Target mortgage payment + consumer debts ÷ .36 = Gross monthly income needed to qualify
Most lenders limit your debt-to-income ratio (how much of your monthly income pays debt) to between 36 percent and 45 percent. While the exact ratio varies by lender and loan type, it’s best to base your calculations on the lower end to ensure that you won’t overextend yourself financially.
So, if your target mortgage payment is $2,000 per month and you have consumer debts of $300 per month, you will need $6,388 gross monthly income to offset your housing expenses and consumer obligations.
Down payment
Your down payment is another important factor in determining how much income you’ll need to buy a home.
Consider the following loan scenario using a purchase price of $300,000 (assuming no other debts) and the current rates on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace.
Conventional loan
Down payment: 5 percent ($15,000)
Interest rate: 3.26 percent
Approximate mortgage payment: $1,770
Gross monthly income needed: $4,916

So at the end of the day how much income you need to purchase a home is predicated on your monthly income, consumer debt obligations and down payment.
Impact of debt
For every dollar of debt, you will need double that in income. So if you have a $300 car payment, you’ll need at least $600 per month or more in income to offset that debt.
Debt erodes income, and less income translates to less purchasing power.
So, does buying a home make sense?
Yes, so long as the amount you can borrow from Personal Loan Lenders for your desired purchase price is in sync with your debt obligations and, of course, your down payment.

via zillow.com

Relevant is the New Black – Stop Sucking and Start Mattering | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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This isn’t breaking news or an exclusive by any means.
If I did years of extensive research, analyzed data, built fancy charts, used 3-D graphs on my iPad, and touted inarguable, NAR homebuyer and seller survey-backed findings, it would lead to just five words.
Follow-up in real estate sucks.
I define “sucks” two different ways.
The first: It sucks that there is not more time in each day to follow up with people you have already built a good relationship with or helped buy or sell a home. If someone is not currently in the market to buy or sell, only so many minutes can be allotted to relationship maintenance.
Especially, I should add, if you actually produce significant GCI (gross commission income) or carry a lot of listings.
I wish there were a perfect world. One where all you did was chit-chatted with friends on Facebook all day whom you worked with previously, just calling your sphere to say hello and asking how the kids are.
Too bad you are busy as hell and reality is such an important thing to consider when running a business.
Bottom line? Past clients and referrals make or break your business, but you could likely receive more if you followed up effectively.
The other way follow-up sucks in real estate is that it lacks the most important thing in marketing right now: context.
As the social Web has evolved, experiences are becoming increasingly personalized. This includes ads and marketing messages that we are exposed to.
This change means you need to completely re-evaluate your follow-up marketing strategy with your sphere of influence.
Here’s why: When an ad runs in my stream on Facebook that says, “Are you 33? Do you love your iPad? Kids using it too?” The answers are yes and yes and yes. I actually welcome ads like that with open arms. I can’t wait to click them and see where they lead.
Meanwhile in the real estate industry I see marketing like: fajita recipe cards, sports calendars, set-your-clock-back reminders, open house invitations, emailed market reports, and just listed/just sold postcards.
These are things that lack context with 95 percent of people with a pulse.
You have to go deeper in 2012.
In fact, either dig deep or go to sleep (feel free to tweet that).
With everything you do moving forward, please take a moment and ask yourself, whether it is a post card, business card, Facebook update, tweet or phone call, “Is this RELEVANT to the recipient?”
Don’t bullshit here either. Be honest with yourself. It’s critical.
Relevant is the new black.
Contactually, a popular new social CRM (customer relationship manager), can help your efforts towards increased relevancy, both tremendously and immediately.
Money and Happiness
It makes staying in touch with the right contacts fun and simple. I especially enjoy the way it helps you segment your social and email databases into relevant categories. It happens in an interactive game called “The bucket game.” It’s a jovial and quick way to get your unorganized list of contacts into one or more categories (like buyer, seller, past client, Facebook friend, etc.) By approaching this tedious task with a gaming approach, it is actually really fun and you are done in no time at all.
Bucket Your Contacts
Contactually connects your email and social media accounts, analyzes your history with each relationship, and automatically prompts you in a daily email to re-engage with important people who are slipping off your radar.
By leveraging the social graph, anytime you call, email, tweet, Facebook or LinkedIn message someone from Contactually, you have what is relevant to them, in real time, in the form of their live social streams. If their latest tweet was about their kid’s baseball game, there is your reason to call.
The paid version of Contactually also brings integration into Gmail, Salesforce, Highrise, and many other popular and robust CRMs.
Increased context and relevancy with your sphere of influence, with a little help from a software. I dig it.
Of all the dings in your agent armor, an important person slipping off your radar should be considered a big, fat dent. Avoided at all costs.
If your current marketing efforts are extinguishing more interest in what you do than they are generating actual new business, time for a pivot.
You can learn more about Contactually or sign up for a 30-day free trial now.
Or you can reorder sports calendars for 2013. The choice is yours.

via next.inman.com

Dr. Doom Economist Buys Manhattan Real Estate. A Vote Of Confidence? | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Economist and NYU professor Nouriel Roubini became an international star with his bold predictions—seen as outlandish at the time—on the path of the world economy. By 2006 he was saying that a huge housing bust and other factors would soon lead to a deep recession, and we all know how that turned out. But this housing bear also loves to party, so he’s suddenly feeling bullish on luxury Manhattan real estate. Bloomberg reports that Roubini is the mystery buyer of the incredible triplex penthouse at 6 East 1st Street in the East Village, formerly the neighborhood’s priciest listing. He paid $5.5 million for the 3,700-square-foot loft, which was last asking $5.995 million, and was once priced at $7.35 million. Maybe he was talking trash about housing as a negotiating ploy?

The details, the floorplan. >>

The penthouse has 13′ ceilings, two big terraces, a walnut wet bar and enough entertaining space to host a G8 summit. Or a bunch of models. Whatevs. The Halstead listing is already gone, but the details live on over on StreetEasy. Stay in school, kids, and maybe one day you’ll have a cantilevered steel staircase connecting all the floors of your downtown party palace

Dr Doom Article

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Pound Ridge Real Estate Report | January 2011 | RobReportBlog

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January 2011 has 56 active homes on the market in Pound Ridge NY. The high price is $10,000,000 and the low price is $380,000. The median unsold price is now $974,500, with the average Pound Ridge NY home is 3932 square feet, has been on the market 175 days and is asking $369 per foot.

Pound Ridge NY Homes 2010 Sold Statistics

55 sold UP 103%

3680 average square feet

169 average days in market

$793,350 median price DOWN 6.1%

$3,325,000 high price

$295,000 low price

$277.15 average square foot price

91.75% average sold price to asking

Pound Ridge NY Homes 2009 Sold Statistics

27 sold

3317 average square feet

195 average days in market

$845,000 median price

$2,749,000 high price

$375,000 low price

$297.21 average square foot price

92.08% average sold price to asking

Pound Ridge NY Real Estate saw a big resurgence in 2010 compared to 2009. Sales are up 103%. Good market news. Sellers have been more realistic and realize there are less buyers, more inventory and prices have to come down. Median Pound Ridge NY price is down 6.1%.

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3 Options To Sell Your Home In Pound Ridge NY | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate

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GETTING READY TO put your house on the market? Before you do, you’ll have to decide whether you want to hire a full-service broker, work with a discount broker or sell the place on your own. It’s not an easy decision — there are advantages and disadvantages to each method.

A traditional broker, for example, will present you with a complete marketing plan and expose your home to as many buyers as possible. You could, however, save yourself thousands of dollars by selling your property on your own. But some would argue that the headache isn’t worth it.

Here are some pros and cons to consider before you take the plunge.

Traditional Brokers
The Pros: Great exposure. Traditional real estate agents share their property listings in a database called the Multiple Listing Service. This database contains the vast majority of all properties that are for sale and is used as a standard by agents nationwide. (Manhattan, however, doesn’t have a local Multiple Listing Service.) Through the MLS, the details of your property can be easily accessed by prospective buyers either through their agents or directly by them on the Web. And since the listing broker is willing to split the 6% commission with any real estate agent who finds a buyer, there’s plenty of incentive to show a competitor’s inventory.

A good agent will do all the work for you. He or she will take control of the transaction and do everything from setting an accurate asking price and prescreening prospective buyers to showing your home and negotiating the final price. All you’ll need to do is keep the place tidy. This should free you to spend your weekends looking for your new abode.

The Cons: Brokers are expensive. Most of them charge a commission of as much as 6% for their services. So if your four-bedroom colonial sells for $500,000, you’ll have to cut a check for $30,000 at closing. Keep in mind, however, that all fees are negotiable.

An agent may not always have your best interests in mind. Take, for example, the so-called open house, where buyers are invited to view a home en masse. These events rarely lead to a sale. So why are they popular? Brokers like them, because they’re often used as a means for generating buyer leads.

A broker is in control of your transaction. So be prepared for strangers to traipse through your house for a “viewing” at practically any time of day. More important, your broker will be negotiating on your behalf, and you’ll have to trust that he or she is providing you with all of the information you need to make a final decision. Worst case, you may find your agent encouraging you to reduce your price just to make a quick sale so he can move on to another property.

Discount Brokers
The Pros: Discount brokers are cheaper than traditional brokers. Companies such as Foxtons, eRealty.com and zipRealty.com charge sellers between 2% and 5% for their services. (Typically, the higher the fee, the more service that’s provided.) So the commission for that same four-bedroom colonial could cost you between $10,000 and $25,000, compared with the $30,000 a traditional broker would charge you.

You’ll reach more potential buyers with a discounter than if you sell your home on your own. Discount brokers spend millions of dollars each year on advertising in the U.S. and abroad. A large percentage of homes handled by these low-cost brokers sell without being listed on the Multiple Listing Service.

Some discounters will prescreen for qualified buyers and weed out the riffraff. If you use a discount broker that runs credit checks on potential buyers and makes sure they’re preapproved for a sufficient mortgage, you can have confidence that people looking at your property are serious buyers.

The Cons: You get what you pay for. Some discounters merely list your property on their Web sites. Or they’ll field calls from prospective buyers, but you’ll have to give the official home tour and deliver the hard sell. If this is all the service you’re getting, some industry insiders argue you might as well run an ad yourself.

You’ll have to pay up to get your home in the Multiple Listing Service database. While discounters can offer you this service, you won’t get it for 2%. Many discounters will charge you a higher fee, say 4% to 5%, for the listing.

Don’t expect agents to bang down your door. Even if your home is listed in the Multiple Listing Service database, some agents may refuse to show your property. Why? The discounted commission. Rather than the traditional 3% buyer’s commission, many discounters will offer agents just 2% or 2.5%. While that may seem like splitting hairs to you, the difference can really add up. If an agent can make $10,000 selling one $500,000 home vs. $30,000 on a comparable property, which one do you think he’ll show first?

For Sale by Owner
The Pros: More money in your pocket. That’s right, you get to keep whatever your home sells for. You can put that 6% commission toward the down payment on a larger home or toward more important expenses, such as your child’s education.

No one knows your home better than you do. So doesn’t it make sense that you could point out all of the amenities and sell it better than an agent? Many agents showing a home are walking through it for the first time.

If you want something done right, do it yourself. Selling your own home gives you complete control over the transaction. You set the price, you set up convenient times to show the home, and you get to negotiate with a buyer. This way, you’ll know when it’s time to cave and lower your price or stay firm because your house is attracting a lot of interest.

The Cons: Less exposure. If you try to sell your home without the assistance of a broker, you’ll dramatically limit the number of potential buyers who’ll view your property. First, your house won’t be included in the Multiple Listing Service. Second, buyers feel more comfortable using a broker, since they want to see all of the available homes in a given neighborhood and have a professional on hand to help analyze the properties.

Expect your home to sell for less. According to the National Association of Realtors, homes that sold with a broker went for a higher median price than those sold by an owner. Many buyers believe they can negotiate more vigorously if they’re buying directly from an owner who’s avoiding a hefty broker’s fee.

Selling your own home can be a hassle. You have to set a price, place ads in the paper, field calls from prospective buyers and then put on your best smile and sell that house like a pro. And don’t forget about the negotiations. Some industry insiders even argue that buyers feel more comfortable talking money with a third party. Now try juggling all that’s involved while holding down a full-time job and looking for a new home for your family to move into. Some argue that avoiding the headache is well worth the 6% commission.

Smart Money Article

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New Agency Disclosure in Pound Ridge NY | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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A New Broker Disclosure Law in New York _ Pound Ridge Real Estate

AS if the process of shopping for an apartment weren’t fraught enough, potential buyers and renters will have to deal with another wrinkle this year, when a new real estate broker-disclosure law goes into effect in New York.

The law requires a real estate agent to have clients sign a form stating that they understand whom the agent represents and to whom the agent will give “undivided loyalty,” as soon as they enter into a relationship.

Brokers are interpreting that to mean that the form does not have to be produced for everyone who walks into an open house, but rather as soon as someone starts asking substantive questions about a property, and certainly when someone asks for an appointment to see it a second time. Given that many apartment hunters are reluctant even to put their names on a sign-in sheet at an open house, agents do not want to have to present them with forms any sooner than necessary.

The disclosure law is designed to clarify the roles of buyers’ and sellers’ agents, in order to, as the form itself states, “help you to make informed choices about your relationship with the real estate broker and its sales associates.” The form goes on to define the various categories of agent.

Assemblyman Jonathan L. Bing, a Democrat who sponsored the legislation, says the new law increases consumer protection because previous disclosure forms were required only in transactions involving single-family homes and buildings with four or fewer units. Mr. Bing said the state and city Realtors’ associations had joined with him in urging passage of the law because it simplifies disclosure of dual agency, in which an agent represents both a buyer and a seller. Buyers can now sign one form providing advance consent to dual agency rather than having to sign a form for each listing that they might see.

“This is a consumer protection law,” said Neil Garfinkel, residential counsel to the Real Estate Board of New York, “but it also protects brokers, because now they will have a written record of what they’re already required to do now verbally.” If a complaint is filed against an agent for not producing a disclosure form, the penalty is a fine of up to $1,000 and, potentially, a requirement that the agency return the commission.

The law will also apply to sellers and landlords, but for them it will presumably be less jarring, because they will already be in negotiation with an agent for an exclusive contract. The disclosure forms will be fairly straightforward when agents are acting either for the buyer or for the seller. But often circumstances are less clear-cut, because they are acting as dual agents.

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US Population Grows 10% – South and West Grow Most | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday released the first results from the 2010 census. It showed there are 308.74 million Americans, an increase of 27 million or 9.7 percent since 2000.

About 13 million of the increase is new immigrants, while 17 million came from births by existing residents. Nearly 80 percent of the population growth was among minority families, with Hispanics registering the biggest gains.

Most of the population growth is in the South and West. The 10 fastest-growing states had average population gains of 21 percent. The states were:

1. Nevada
2. Arizona
3. Utah
4. Idaho
5. Texas
6. North Carolina
7. Georgia
8. Florida
9. Colorado
10. South Carolina

States with slower growth included Ohio, New York, and Illinois. Michigan was the only state that actually lost population.

NAR Article

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Pound Ridge Homeowners Should Buy a Second Home in Florida Now | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate

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Case-Shiller’s September housing report came out worse than expected, confirming to any doubters that the housing double dip is here.

National home prices dropped 1.5% in September.The new data will worsen Case-Shiller’s already bearish outlook for the housing market.

Earlier this month, it forecast a 7.1 percent drop in prices from Q2 ’10 to Q2 ’11, with price stagnation through Q2 ’12. This is a brutal forecast, which would have wide economic consequences.

Five years after the housing peak, markets in Florida, Nevada and California would remain down around 60 percent. If you want to move to warm weather this is probably the time to find a buy of a lifetime in Florida, California or Arizona.

The Worst Markets According to Case-Shiller research.

#15 Prescott, Ariz.

Forecast change 2010:Q2 to 2012:Q2: -14.3%

Forecast change from peak to 2012:Q2: -49.9%

Median home price today: $170,000

Median home price in 2012: $146,000