Tag Archives: Pound Ridge NY

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Mortgage debt relief extension closer to reality | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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The Senate Finance Committee has passed a two-year retroactive extension of a law that allowed homeowners to avoid being taxed on debt forgiven in a short sale or through a principal reduction, Realtor Magazine reported.

The extension still needs to be passed by the full Senate and by the House of Representatives. The federal Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 expired on Dec. 31, 2013, despite strong bipartisan support.

In addition to mortgage debt relief, there are some promising signs that Congress may pass extensions of other popular housing-related tax benefits sometime this spring, including write-offs for energy-saving improvements and mortgage insurance premiums.

Source: realtormag.realtor.org

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/mortgage-debt-relief-extension-closer-to-reality/?utm_source=20140404&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.rEHB52Ud.dpuf

Why credit is continuing to ease up in the mortgage market | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Is credit beginning to thaw?

Average FICO scores are finally starting to fall. After plateauing at 750 for most of late summer and fall, average FICO scores for approved loans have fallen to 724, which is approaching normalcy. During the bubble years, credit was very lax, and average FICO scores were around 720 for 2006, 2006, and 2007. After the bubble burst, credit became very tight, and average FICOs increased to 757. Now that the refinance market is drying up and lenders are taking more risk in order to drive business.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had hoped that the new Qualified Mortgage (or QM) rule would have eased credit conditions somewhat. The QM rule sets standards for new mortgages that codify the “ability to repay” rules. Exotic mortgages—like negative-amortizing (pick-a-pay) loans or high-cost loans—are ineligible for qualified mortgages. The CFPB has set a debt-to-income ceiling of 43%. FICO scores aren’t part of the equation. In return, borrowers are unable to sue a lender if they end up defaulting. Credit is becoming easier to get. But the question is whether that’s due to home price appreciation or due to the QM rule.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-credit-continuing-ease-mortgage-171607986.html

It’s Time to Spring Clean Your Yard | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Sure, you typically focus your spring cleaning on the inside of the house, but getting your yard ready for the new season should also be on your list. Here are several tips to streamline your outdoor spring cleaning.

1. Survey the damage, post-melt. Once the last of the snow is gone, survey your lawn for any bare areas or dead spots of grass. Heavy traffic and pet messes can keep the grass from growing back. You can help by sprinkling some soil over the area and adding grass and fertilizer. Be sure to keep the dirt moist until the seeds sprout into grass.

 

2. Tidy up any debris. As you scan your yard, remove any fallen branches and twigs. If your lawn is covered with leaves, there’s no way around pulling out the rake. Before collecting the leaves, be sure the ground is completely dry — raking over wet grass can tear it from the roots, leaving you with even more bare patches. Don’t send the leaves, branches, and twigs to the garbage, though. Use them to create a compost pile.

 

 

http://shine.yahoo.com/at-home/time-spring-clean-yard-165800417.html

U.S. 30-Year Mortgage Rates Decline for First Time in Four Weeks | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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U.S. mortgage rates for 30-year loans fell for the first time in four weeks, decreasing borrowing costs for homebuyers as the recovery in prices stretched into 2014.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 4.28 percent this week, down from 4.37 percent, Freddie Mac said today. The average 15-year rate slipped to 3.32 percent from 3.39 percent, the McLean, Virginia-based mortgage-finance company said.

U.S. home values continue to rise as buyers compete for a limited supply of properties for sale. Prices climbed 12 percent in January from a year earlier, the 23rd consecutive gain, Irvine, California-based CoreLogic Inc. said this week.

“Prices are still growing at very high rates because the markets are still tight,” Patrick Newport, an economist with IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts, said in an interview yesterday. “We haven’t been building enough homes at high enough rates for five or six years.”

Rising prices and tougher credit standards have shut out some first-time buyers, slowing the pace of the housing recovery. First-timers accounted for 26 percent of purchases in January, down from 30 percent a year earlier and the smallest share in more than five years of data-keeping, according to the National Association of Realtors.

 

 

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-03-06/u-dot-s-dot-30-year-mortgage-rates-decline-for-first-time-in-four-weeks

Time for a Mortgage? How to Know You’re Ready for Home Ownership | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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As a Discover Home Loans mortgage professional, I’m regularly asked how to begin the process of buying a home.

As with most big decisions, you’ll need to weigh the benefits against the immediate and long-term time, energy and costs associated with owning a home. See how many of these statements apply to you and decide if buying a home is the right move for you.

1. Your rent is higher than a mortgage payment. The cost of renting, over time, can eclipse the cost of owning and maintaining a home. To help you decide if your finances would be better -suited to home ownership, check out the Rent vs. Buy Calculator from Discover Home Loans.

2. You’re staying put. Are you planning to stay in the same place for the next three to five years? If so, you might be better off buying a home. Keeping your house for several years helps to recoup the costs associated with a new home loan by building equity. The more equity you have in the house, the more you’ll benefit when you sell the home.

3. Your finances are set. Buying a home may seem intimidating, but with the right preparations it can be a seamless process and a smart financial choice. Determine how much you have saved for a down payment, as well as the amount you can afford to devote to a monthly mortgage payment. Lenders want to make sure buyers have the income to keep up with mortgage payments. Don’t forget a safety net to account for unexpected illness, change in employment or natural disaster—generally enough to cover three to six months of living expenses. There are many tools available online to help you determine how much house you can afford.

4. Your credit is under control. A good credit score helps you get the best deal on a home loan. Generally, the higher your credit score the lower your interest rate. Reviewing a copy of your credit report will give you insight into how your finances look to lenders.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/time-mortgage-know-ready-home-144528638.html

This Classical-ish Indian Creek Estate Is $19.8 Million | Pound Ridge NY Homes

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24 images

Directly after the bridge to Indian Creek Village is this big house constructed in 1994. Listed for $19.8 million, it was designed in what the brokerbabble describes as “French Neo-Classical”, but could also be called “watered down neoclassical blah perhaps with vaguely French proportions.” It has 8,500 square feet of living space, a pool, a dock, twin grand staircases, and a formal drive around a long “looking-glass pool” which, is probably just an inventive way of saying it has a reflecting pool. Oh, and above the grand staircase is a dome. Credit is always deserved when one has a dome.

 

http://miami.curbed.com/archives/2014/02/24/this-classicalish-indian-creek-estate-is-198-million.php

Spring Thaw May Not Heat up This Housing Market | Pound Ridge NY Homes

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The severe winter weather has been a convenient scapegoat for the slowdown in the housing market. While many analysts and builders predict a significant pickup in activity in the spring, slack demand may continue to define an uneven recovery — even as green grass replaces ice in the coming months.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that groundbreaking on new homes last month tumbled 16 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 880,000 units, the lowest level since September. The percentage drop was the largest since February 2011. Starts for December were revised up to a 1.05 million-unit pace from the previously reported 999,000-unit rate.

Warmer weather could certainly get more people out looking, but with monthly payments potentially much higher this year, new buyers will have to clear a high bar.

“There must be low demand — that’s what we’re seeing,” said Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin, an online real estate brokerage based in California. “We saw a huge spike in demand last year, which is why we were so confident the market had bottomed. … We’re not seeing the same thing this year, so even though there aren’t many homes for sale, there aren’t many buyers looking for them, either.”

 

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/#/business/real-estate/spring-thaw-may-not-heat-housing-market-n33531

Canada house prices rise in January to record high | Pound Ridge NY Homes

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Canadian home prices rose to a record high in January as Vancouver prices surged, the Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index showed on Wednesday, even as other housing indicators have shown a cooling market.

The index, which measures price changes for repeat sales of single-family homes, showed national prices rose 0.4 percent last month from December, the largest monthly rise in five months. They had risen 0.1 percent in December.

Canada’s housing market had roared back to life through much of 2013 after a 2012 slowdown, but was showing signs of cooling in the final months of last year, and economists have been calling for a soft landing as construction and demand slow and price gains decelerate.

The Teranet data showed prices were up 4.5 percent from a year earlier, an acceleration from December’s 3.8 percent price gain. The index does not show actual prices.

“Despite the uptick in home prices, we maintain the view that prices will soften,” Mazen Issa, senior Canada macro strategist at TD Securities, said in a research note.

“Very favorable financial conditions are expected to erode as continued tapering by the Federal Reserve and a more robust growth backdrop lead to higher mortgage rates.”

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/12/canada-economy-teranet-idUSL2N0LH0R520140212

 

Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Rise Most Since February 2006 | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate

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Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose in November from a year ago by the most in almost eight years, providing a boost to household wealth.

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property prices in 20 cities climbed 13.7 percent from November 2012, the biggest 12-month gain since February 2006, after a 13.6 percent increase in the year ended in October, a report from the group showed today in New York. The median projection of 31 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 13.8 percent advance.

A limited number of available properties is helping to sustain home price appreciation even as higher mortgage rates cool demand and leave purchases out of reach for some Americans. Further strides in the housing market this year would be made easier by a pickup in job and income growth.

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-28/home-prices-in-20-u-s-cities-rise-by-most-in-almost-eight-years.html

Profit on Home Retailers | Pound Ridge Homes

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For investors looking to profit from the rebounding U.S. housing market, stocks in the repair and rebuilding sector such as Home Depot(HD_) and Lowe’s(LOW_) should do better than DR Horton(DHI_), Beazer Homes(BZH_), and other home builders.
At present, home sales are starting to cool down, according to the National Association of Realtors. But the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University predicts that remodeling work will increase at a double digit rate for early 2014.

December home sales were the second weakest month for 2013.

Last year, real estate buying was at its highest level since 2006. But investors should not expect that to continue. Joel Narooff, Chief Economist for National Economic Advisors, warned that the pace was simply “not sustainable” due to “mortgage rates likely to move up this year, sales and price gains will likely be half of what we saw last year.” Moreover, November’s rate was adjusted, so the December sales report was not that bullish.

 

 

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12266445/1/profit-on-home-retailers.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO