Tag Archives: Westchester NY Homes

Westchester NY Homes

Evander Holyfield’s Foreclosed, 109-Room Palace | Waccabuc NY Real Estate

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Selling a home for $7.5 million usually calls for champagne — but not if you’re Evander Holyfield and you owe nearly twice that much on the property. The former heavyweight champ sold his palatial Fayette County estate with 109 rooms last year in a public auction to a bank, which his attorney softly described as “technically part of a foreclosure.” The famed 54,000 square-foot mansion sits on 235 acres, has a bowling alley and theater and costs more than $1 million annually to maintain, Holyfield once told the AJC. On his website, Holyfield boasts of making more than $230 million in the boxing ring, but child support cases in Georgia, Texas and California — in additional to the general drying up of boxing royalties — took a heavy toll. · Holyfield sells Fayette mansion for $7.5 million [AJC] · When Selling Your House for $7.5 Mil Actually Sucks [TMZ]

Existing home sales decline 4.3% in November | South Salem NY Homes

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Existing home sales fell 4.3% for November to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.9 million, according to Thursday’s report from the National Association of Realtors, although median prices show strong growth year-over-year.

That’s down from 5.12 million in October, and 1.2% below the 4.96 million-unit pace in November 2012.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the market is being squeezed.

“Home sales are hurt by higher mortgage interest rates, constrained inventory and continuing tight credit,” he noted. “There is a pent-up demand for both rental and owner-occupied housing as household formation will inevitably burst out, but the bottleneck is in limited housing supply, due to the slow recovery in new home construction. As such, rents are rising at the fastest pace in five years, while annual home prices are rising at the highest rate in eight years.”

HousingWire will have detailed analysis of this, as well as today’s coming report on jobless claims for the week and where mortgage rates stand, and how it all ties into the Fed’s announcement Wednesday that it will begin tapering its purchase of mortgage-backed securities and Treasurys in 2014.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/28356-existing-home-sales-decline-43-in-november

Mortgage rates tick up slightly | Katonah NY Real Estate

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Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey, showing average fixed mortgage rates climbing a little from last week following positive news for housing starts and building permits.

According to Freddie Mac, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates averaged 4.47% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Dec. 19.

That’s up from last week’s 4.42%.

The 30-year fixed averaged 3.37% a year ago.

The 15-year fixed rate hit 3.51% with an average 0.6 point, up from 3.43% last week.

 

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/28357-mortgage-rates-tick-up-slightly

US existing home sales fall to lowest level in nearly a year | Katonah NY Homes

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U.S. home resales fell sharply in November to their lowest level in nearly a year, hurt by a rise in interest rates since the spring and ongoing price increases that have shut some home buyers out of the market.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Thursday that sales of previously owned homes dropped 4.3 percent last month, the third monthly fall in a row, to an annual rate of 4.90 million units.

That was the lowest annual rate since December 2012, and well below the median forecast in a Reuters poll of a 5.03 million unit pace.

“It is a clear loss in momentum for home sales,” NAR economist Lawrence Yun told reporters.

Mortgage interest rates have risen sharply since May on expectations the Federal Reserve would start winding down a bond-buying economic stimulus program. The Fed announced on Wednesday it would start tapering its monthly bond purchases next month.

Yun said the rise in mortgage rates, coupled with fast-rising prices, had made home buying less affordable for many Americans.

The data carried a hint, however, that home price gains may be cooling off. The median price nationwide rose 9.4 percent inNovember from the same month in 2012 to $196,300. It was the first time in a year that prices didn’t rise at a double-digit pace.

Yun said the NAR was “very concerned” about plans by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to reduce the maximum size of mortgages which can be bought by taxpayer-owned finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He said this could further impede the housing market’s recovery.

 

 

 

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101198658

Murky Real-Estate Market Comes Into Focus | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Regulators are about to shine a light on an expanding but opaque corner of the real-estate investment market.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Wall Street’s self-regulator, is planning rule changes that would require so-called nontraded real-estate investment trusts to improve disclosure on fees and to more quickly report on changes in the value of properties in their portfolios.

The move comes amid a boom in demand for these types of funds, which buy office buildings, stores and other commercial real estate and send most of the properties’ income to shareholders. Unlike typical REITs, shares in these funds don’t trade on public exchanges, making them less liquid.

Alan Gerboc, a retired marketing executive who collects contemporary photography, invested $100,000 in a nontraded REIT in 2006.                     Emily Berl for The Wall Street Journal

Investors are on pace to buy $20 billion of new shares in these funds this year, according to Robert A. Stanger & Co., an investment bank based in Shrewsbury, NJ. That is the highest amount ever and almost twice the $10.3 billion raised last year. Many investors are attracted by dividends that can top 7% a year for some nontraded REITs, according to Blue Vault Partners LLC, a Georgia research firm.

But Finra believes investors aren’t getting a clear enough picture of the performance of their funds, according to Joseph Price, Finra’s senior vice president for corporate finance.

These funds and their brokers can charge fees and expenses of as much as 12%, yet that cost isn’t required to be taken into account when the funds value their stock in reports to investors.

 

 

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304403804579264552406913102

 

Average fixed mortgage rates rising slightly from last week | Chappaqua Real Estate

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Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates rising slightly from last week following positive news for housing starts and building permits.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.47 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending December 19, 2013, up from last week when it averaged 4.42 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.37 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.51 percent with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.43 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.65 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.96 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.94 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.71 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.57 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.51 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.52 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 links for the Regional and National Mortgage Rate Details and Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

Quotes Attributed to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac.

“Mortgage rates rose slightly leading up to the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement. The statement indicated that the central bank would begin to trim its bond buying program. The Fed noted that the economy expanded at a modest pace, but the unemployment rate remains elevated. In addition, housing starts in November rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,091,000, the highest rate since February 2008. Permits were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,007,000 in November, 7.9 percent higher than in November 2012.”

Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Today Freddie Mac is making home possible for one in four home borrowers and is one of the largest sources of financing for multifamily housing. For more information please visit www.FreddieMac.com and Twitter: @FreddieMac.

Home Values in Metro Chicago Real Estate Market | Bedford Corners NY Real Estate

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Regional Spotlight—Home values in the seven-county metro Chicago real estate market extended their upswing in November, according to an analysis by RE/MAX. The median sales price of all attached and detached homes closed in November was $170,000, a 10 percent increase over the median price a year earlier. That compares to a gain of 15 percent in October and 16 percent in the July-September quarter.

The number of homes sold this November dipped 1 percent to 7,551 units from 7,606 units in November 2012. The average time a home sold in November spent on the market before going under contract was 97 days, or 39 days less than a year earlier. The RE/MAX analysis is based on sales data gathered by MRED LLC.

“One likely reason for the reduced sales activity was a marked reduction in the inventory of homes listed for sale. The November inventory in the seven-county area was 19 percent below its level one year earlier,” says Laura Ortoleva, media spokesperson for RE/MAX in northern Illinois.

Sales of distressed properties, which include foreclosures and short sales, accounted for 35 percent of November sales this year compared to 43 percent last year. Foreclosures remained in demand, accounting for 24 percent of all home sales. The average market time for a foreclosure was 78 days, and the median sales price was up 6 percent from a year earlier to $84,000.

The November median sales price increased in all seven metro counties – Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will – as well as in Chicago.

Kane County reported gains in both closed sales and median price. The 556 units sold there represented a 6 percent increase in transactions from November 2012, and the median price of $160,250 was 17 percent higher.

Among the six other counties, only Will also registered November increases in both transactions and median price. Sales there totaled 656 units, a 2 percent increase, and the median sales price was $164,400, 4 percent higher than in the prior November.

 

 

http://rismedia.com/2013-12-17/home-values-in-metro-chicago-real-estate-market/

 

Home building surges | Armonk NY Homes

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Builders rushed to start homes in November, with that key measure of the housing recovery enjoying a huge one-month jump.

Housing starts grew at an annual pace of 1.09 million, up nearly 30% from a year ago. The issuance of building permits was also strong, up 7%.

Still the pace of housing starts was less than half of the peak levels during the housing boom in the middle of last decade, and was even 25% below the monthly average over the course of the last 50 years.

“Because of this, the impressive acceleration in residential investment which has occurred in 2013 should extend through 2014,” said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, in a note Wednesday.

A survey by the National Association of Home Builders released Tuesday showed builders reporting the best sales conditions for single family homes in eight years.

 

 

http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/18/news/economy/home-building/

House marketed as ‘Frankenstein’ fixer-upper sells in 2 days, over list | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

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Abandoned for three years, stripped of its kitchen and bathroom fixtures, and missing part of its roof, the two-bedroom fixer-upper was in such rough shape that its listing agent did not hesitate to market the property as “Frankenstein.

”Which made the home all the more attractive to plasterer and carpenter Chris Leczynski, who bought the Melbourne, Australia, property sight unseen two days after it hit the market, paying $11,000 over the asking price of $500,000. Source: news.com.au

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/house-marketed-as-frankenstein-fixer-upper-sells-in-two-days-over-list/?utm_source=20131216&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinespm#sthash.R3mr5AHp.dpuf

More shakeups at StreetEasy as public face Sofia Song departs | North Salem NY Real Estate

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Major shifts continue at StreetEasy since the company was acquired by listings giant Zillow. On Friday, the company’s longtime head of research and communications, Sofia Song, left the firm.

She is the third high-level executive to be pushed aside or leave in the four months since Zillow paid $50 million for the city’s leading residential listings website.

Before Song, the real estate community was shocked when Michael Smith, company co-founder and CEO, was replaced in September with Susan Daimler, the general manager of Zillow New York, which includes StreetEasy; and around the same time Robin Allstadt, company chief operating officer, departed the firm. In addition, Zillow shuttered StreetEasy’s expansion websites in South Florida, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.

It was not clear where Song would end up. She did not respond to a request for comment. Two sources close to Song said she was not immediately joining another company.

Song was a popular voice for the firm, and for many in the public relations, journalism and real estate industries, she was the public face of the company. She joined StreetEasy in 2007.

“Sofia was on the front line of StreetEasy’s efforts to win over the [New York City] real estate market,” Jonathan Miller, CEO of appraisal and analysis firm Miller Samuel, said. “She was a data maven. I’ve long appreciated her efforts and her expertise will be missed, and she will be successful wherever she ends up.”

While Zillow has executed successful acquisitions in the past, the changeover period is often rocky, as with any merger, Miller said.

“When a big firm — Zillow — takes over a little firm — StreetEasy — the highest brand risk is the transition period they are going through right now,” he said.

Last week, Song notified reporters through emails and conversations at the firm’s holiday party Dec. 11 at Umami Burger in the West Village that Lauren Riefflin would replace her in public relations matters, but did not divulge that she intended to leave the company.

A spokesperson for Zillow said the firm does not comment on employee matters, but added, “Sofia’s contributions to StreetEasy over the past six years have been instrumental in building the company into the real estate powerhouse that it is today. We wish her all the best.”

All eyes are now on the developers behind StreetEasy, insiders said, as programmers are in high demand in New York City.

 

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2013/12/16/more-shakeups-at-streeteasy-as-public-face-sofia-song-departs/