Bedford NY Real Estate | Robert Paul Talks Life in Bedford NY

As a savvy inbound marketer, you already know that social media is a must-have  in your marketing strategy. You’ve spent time looking at what channels work best for your company, creating the best content you can for those outlets, and aligning the social media goals to the business’ bottom line. You live and breathe social media every day on the job. But that’s not true for everyone else in your organization. Not everyone is sold on the importance of social media — never mind manage their own presence. What about that VP down the hall with tons of killer industry knowledge or that executive you know who spends hours talking to customers? These executives may not be active in social media just yet, but they should be. This is where you come in. If you think there are executives in your company who could add credibility to what you’re already doing, it’s time to get them on board. Why Should Your C-Suite Be in Social Media? Often, executives may feel like there’s not much for t

Foreclosure and bank owned sales fell 18% in the first quarter to 190,121,  according to RealtyTrac’s latest report.   This is down 22% from Q1 2012. Foreclosure and short sales accounted for 21% of all residential sales in Q1, down form 25% in Q1 2012, and a peak of 45% in Q1 2009. Meanwhile, non-foreclosure short sales were down 10% from Q4 2012, and down 35% from Q1 2012. Including non-foreclosure short sales, the share of distressed sales came to 36%. The decline in foreclosure related sales is in large part because of  a decline in foreclosure activity. But the decline in non-foreclosure short sales was “surprising” according to RaltyTrac vice president Daren Blomquist, given that 11 million homeowners are in negative equity. “Rising home prices in many markets are stunting the continued growth of short sales by reducing incentive for both underwater homeowners and lenders. “Underwater homeowners may be willing to stick it out a few more months or even years in the ho

In its latest Local Market Index for home pricing data,  Homes.com reported that 96 out of 100 markets showed monthly improvement, a stark increase from the 75 out of 100 that saw gains in February. However, on a year-over-year time period, 91 out of 100 markets reported a price increase in March, compared to 98 markets in February. According to Homes.com, the Northeast is largely to blame for this weakening.   Month-over-month and year-over-year, Honolulu, Hawaii, posted the largest increase, climbing 2.40 index points from February and 22.55 from last March. Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor » Blog Archive » Homes.com: Local markets improving each month | Katonah Real Estate

To measure this effect, Sean Salter, associate professor of finance at Middle Tennessee State University  and co-author of a study on how an agent’s looks affect property sales, along with co-authors Franklin Mixon of  Columbus State University  and Ernest King of the University of Southern Mississippi  asked 402 people to rate agents, both male and female, on a scale of 1 to 10, from very unattractive to very attractive, based on online head shots. The researchers then looked at the agents’ property transactions over a seven-year period, writes The Wall Street Journal. The findings: Every one-point increase in a listing agent’s attractiveness score added $10,989, on average, to the home’s list price. Every one-point increase in a selling agent’s score added $8,467 to the home’s sale price. Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor » Blog Archive » Study finds attractive Realtors sell more | Cross River Real Estate

More than 4.2 million U.S. homes are located within the risk-zone of hurricane-driven storm-surge along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts,  CoreLogic  concluded in a study this week. After analyzing residential property risk on the national, regional, state, metro and ZIP code level, CoreLogic  ($26.43 0% )  produced a Storm Surge Report, noting that $1.1 trillion in U.S. property is situated within at-risk areas. Unfortunately, risk-prone areas are only increasing. The  Federal Emergency Management Agency  released a revised flood map for New York suburbs, adding another 35,000 homes and businesses to the list of at-risk properties along the coast. “Public awareness of the risk hurricane-driven storm surge poses to coastal homeowners has never been higher coming off the heels of Hurricane Sandy last fall,” said Dr. Howard Botts, vice president and director of database development for CoreLogic Spatial Solutions. “Sandy was a harsh reminder of the potential destruction associated w

Despite financial confidence and an overall optimistic outlook, debt remains a top concern for many Hispanic investors, according to a recent survey. Twenty-five percent of Hispanics surveyed are more concern about losing their home, compared to 12% for the overall population,  Wells Fargo   ($41.25  0% )  said in its latest survey. While Hispanic investors appear to be taking steps towards saving, there is still anxiety about having enough for retirement. “Hispanic investors are facing tremendous challenges when it comes to saving for retirement. We are seeing immediate financial concerns like covering household bills and mortgage payments are interfering with their ability to put money away toward retirement,” said David Roda, regional chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank. He added, “These are complex challenges where one size doesn’t fit all in terms of a possible course of actions, but we would certainly encourage all investors to double down on their plan

Sold to Ask Price Percentage Bedford Corners 94% Bedford Village 93% Bedford Hills 92% South Salem 95% Katonah 90% North Salem 94% Mt Kisco 95% Sold to Ask Price Percentage Report | RobReportBlog

Americans are in a buying mood, thanks largely to the housing recovery. The latest sign emerged Tuesday as the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home price index posted the biggest gains in seven years. Housing prices rose in every one of the 20 cities tracked, continuing a trend that began three months ago. Similar strength has appeared in new and existing home sales and in building permits, as rising home prices are encouraging construction firms to accelerate building and hiring. The broad-based housing improvements appear to be buoying consumer confidence and spending, countering fears earlier this year that many consumers would pull back in response to government austerity measures. In January, the two-year-old payroll tax holiday ended, stripping about $700 from the average household’s annual income, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. Federal government spending cuts that started in March are also serving as a drag on economic growth, economists say. And some

Don’t believe the hype. Teens are not abandoning Facebook – nor are they likely to leave anytime soon. Like the once bittersweet, respectful and sometimes resentful interactions between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, so is the prickly, contentious and mutually beneficial relationship between teens and Facebook. It’s complicated, yes, but teens and Facebook – despite what you’ve heard – are practically joined at the hip. I Hate You! I Hate You! Can I Borrow the Car? Facebook would be wise not to ignore teen’s complaints regarding the service – complaints that span peer pressure, image, prying parents, privacy settings, advertising and access. Nonetheless, for teens, Facebook has become a pillar of daily life, like school and parents. A recent Pew Research report on  teens and social media  launched the blogosphere into a giddy, frenzied panic. Teens are “abandoning” Facebook, several sites claimed. This is false – likely the result of a limited reading of the report’s data and a

Don’t believe the hype. Teens are not abandoning Facebook – nor are they likely to leave anytime soon. Like the once bittersweet, respectful and sometimes resentful interactions between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, so is the prickly, contentious and mutually beneficial relationship between teens and Facebook. It’s complicated, yes, but teens and Facebook – despite what you’ve heard – are practically joined at the hip. I Hate You! I Hate You! Can I Borrow the Car? Facebook would be wise not to ignore teen’s complaints regarding the service – complaints that span peer pressure, image, prying parents, privacy settings, advertising and access. Nonetheless, for teens, Facebook has become a pillar of daily life, like school and parents. A recent Pew Research report on  teens and social media  launched the blogosphere into a giddy, frenzied panic. Teens are “abandoning” Facebook, several sites claimed. This is false – likely the result of a limited reading of the report’s data and a

Pending home sales climbed 0.3% month-over-month in April. This missed expectations for a 1.5% rise. On a yearly basis they were up 13.9%, beating expectations for a 13.9% rise. “The housing market continues to squeak out gains from already very positive conditions.  Pending contracts so far this year easily correspond to higher closed home sales in 2013,” said  Lawrence Yun NAR chief economist in a press release. A regional breakdown showed that the pending home sales index (PHSI) increased the most in the Northeast, up 11.5% on the month, and 17.7% on the year. The PHSI fell the most in the West, down 7.6% on the month and 2.6% on the year. March’s reading was revised up modestly to show a 5.9% year-over-year rise. Here’s a look at how pending home sales have done since 2001: Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor » Blog Archive » April Pending Home Sales | South Salem NY Real Estate

U.S. foreclosure inventory, which refers to properties in some stage of foreclosure, equaled 1.1 million in April, according to CoreLogic’s latest report . This was down 24% from 1.5 million a year ago. It was also down 2 percent from March. Foreclosure inventory represented 2.8% of all homes with a mortgage, compared with 3.5% a year ago. Meanwhile, there were 52,000 completed foreclosures in April, the same as March. But this was down from 62,000 a year ago. Before the housing bust, completed foreclosures averaged about 21,000 a month. Home prices have been boosted by tight supply, especially a decline in the stock of distressed properties. “Fewer distressed properties combined with improving home prices and a pickup in home purchases are significant signals that the ongoing recovery in the housing and mortgage markets continues to gather steam,” said Anand Nallathambi, president of CoreLogic in a press release. Here are some details from the report: “The five states

Don’t Panic About Rising Yields Just Yet  (The Big Picture) Treasury yields have been rising recently but Barry Ritholtz says there’s no reason to be alarmed about this. “Yields have moved up from the absurdly low level of 1.5% to 2% after a 30 year move down from 17%. Some people will scream that “yields have skyrocketed 25%” (but these are the same folks who have been yelling POMO! POMO! POMO! for 146%). It’s just as silly to claim that yields have retraced only 50 bips of the 1400 basis point move. A better context is to note that yields have backed up 1/2 percent from the lows, and that will affect economic activity, earnings, and psychology in ways we may not fully recognize yet.” He also writes that Fed tightening, inflation, and increased demand for capital cause yields to go up. In this case we don’t know which it is and if it is demand for capital then that is a positive for the economy and stocks, not negative. Death Of Managing Partner Raises Concerns For Investors Th

The  Department of Housing and Urban Development teamed up with the  Treasury Department  on Thursday to announce an extension of the Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable Program through Dec. 31, 2015. The new deadline was determined in coordination with the Federal Housing Finance Agency  to align with  extended deadlines for the Home Affordable Refinance Program and the Streamlined Modification  Initiative  for homeowners with loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The program deadline was previously set to end Dec. 31, 2013. The Making Home Affordable Program is a critical part of the Obama administration’s efforts to provide relief to families at risk of foreclosure and help the housing market recover from the housing crisis, HUD explained. “The housing market is gaining steam, but many homeowners are still struggling,” said Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew. He added, “Helping responsible homeowners avoid foreclosure is part of our wide-ranging eff

Just as the volume of concern that the recovery would be short-lived was growing, Case-Shiller reported double digit price increases in all three of its composites, which posted their highest returns in seven years Prices increased in the 10-City and 20-City Composites by 10.3 percent and 10.9 percent in the year to March with the national composite rising by 10.2 percent. All 20 cities posted positive year-over-year growth. In the first quarter of 2013, the national composite rose by 1.2 percent. On a monthly basis, the 10- and 20-City Composites both posted increases of 1.4 percent. As of March 2013, average home prices across the United States are back to their late 2003 levels for both the 10-City and 20- City Composites. Measured from their June/July 2006 peaks, the peak-to-current decline for both Composites is approximately 28-29 percent. The recovery from the March 2012 lows is 10.3 percent and 10.9 percent for the 10- and 20-City Composites, respectively. “Home prices

Mortgage applications plummeted once again, falling 8.8% from the  week  prior, the  Mortgage Bankers Association  posted. Refinancing and purchase applications did little to revive the decline suffered last week. The refinance index tumbled 12%, the largest single week drop in refinance applications this year, from the previous week to the lowest level since December 2012. For the second week in a row, the seasonally adjusted purchase index dropped 3%, the industry trade group said. “Refinance applications fell for the third straight week bringing the refinance index to its lowest level since December 2012 as mortgage rates increased to their highest level in a year,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics. He explained, “Rates rose in response to stronger economic data and an increasing chance that the Fed may soon begin to taper their asset purchases.” Meanwhile, the refinance share of overall mortgage activity inched down to 71% of total a

Mortgage applications plummeted once again, falling 8.8% from the  week  prior, the  Mortgage Bankers Association  posted. Refinancing and purchase applications did little to revive the decline suffered last week. The refinance index tumbled 12%, the largest single week drop in refinance applications this year, from the previous week to the lowest level since December 2012. For the second week in a row, the seasonally adjusted purchase index dropped 3%, the industry trade group said. “Refinance applications fell for the third straight week bringing the refinance index to its lowest level since December 2012 as mortgage rates increased to their highest level in a year,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics. He explained, “Rates rose in response to stronger economic data and an increasing chance that the Fed may soon begin to taper their asset purchases.” Meanwhile, the refinance share of overall mortgage activity inched down to 71% of total a

500 activists from across the country came to the nation’s capital recently to “Bring Justice to Justice” — participating in three days of action organized by Home Defenders League and Occupy Our Homes. They were calling for the criminal prosecution of banks for ongoing illegal activity, including illegal foreclosures; and for resetting mortgages to a property’s fair market value for the more than 13 million homeowners still at risk of foreclosure, according to The Nation. Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor » Blog Archive » Activist homeowners take foreclosure fight to the DOJ | Bedford Corners Real Estate

Stock markets soared after data showed consumer confidence climbed to the highest level since 2008 and home values jumped the most in seven years, Bloomberg writes. Nine out out 10 S&P 500 groups advanced, paced by a 1.4% rally among financial shares. The S&P rallied 1% to 1,665.68, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 156.59 points, or 1%. Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor » Blog Archive » Wall Street rallies as home prices jump | Pound Ridge Real Estate

Home prices across the nation’s largest 20 largest metropolitan areas posted their largest annual gain in seven years, rising 10.9 in the first quarter of 2013, compared to the same period last year, according to the latest real estate market trends reported today by Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. The largest yearly increases were seen in Phoenix (22.5 percent), San Francisco (22.2 percent) and Las Vegas (20.6 percent), said David M. Blitzer Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement analyzing the latest real estate market trends. The slowest – yet still substantial – gains were seen in New York (2.6 percent), Cleveland (4.8 percent) and Boston (6.7 percent). Additional indicators, including housing starts, new permits, and new and existing home sales, add to the growing evidence that the housing market is healing, but other real estate market trends indicate the recovery has a ways to go, Blitzer said. “The larger than usual share of multi

In recent months it’s become clear that the housing market has turned around, with prices this spring adding to the 7.3% gains of last year. But future gains are likely to be more modest — about 2.5% this year. That’s the latest estimate from CoreLogic(CLGX_), the housing-data firm. CoreLogic projects an average gain of 3.9% a year through 2017. While many homeowners would prefer faster appreciation, gains of 3% to 4% are probably healthier over the long run than larger ones. Too much appreciation produces bubbles, which do terrible damage when they collapse. If homeprices grow faster than incomes, fewer and fewer people can afford to buy, and prices eventually drop to reflect the lower demand that results. Also, home price gains are not really money in homeowners’ pockets, because the next home you buy is probably getting more expensive too. But why won’t homes appreciate faster? After all, in most parts of the country, homes are still worth far less than they at their peak i

One place the housing market is booming is in San Francisco. The bidding wars are under way and the combatants are armed with cash. In Oakland, Calif., Sara Mertz and her real estate agent Patrick Leaper are finally on the verge of closing a deal. This is the ninth house she has tried to buy “Six months, nine offers,” Mertz said. Home prices rise most since 2006 How much do Fannie and Freddie still owe us? This first-time buyer is ready with a 20 percent down payment. But in today’s market, that is not always enough. “From our experience, there’s not a lot on the market, and so when there is a house that we’re excited about, so is everybody else,” Mentz said. It took Sara Mertz six months and nine offers before she was finally able to clinch a house. / CBS News And many of those “everybody else’s” has cash. “A lot of it,” Mentz said. “Cash buyers coming in with no contingencies at all are closing in 10 days,” Leaper said. He hasn’t seen this many cash buyers in 4

A soft landing is underway in the Canadian housing market and should continue but Calgary and Edmonton are bucking the trend with sales rising compared with a year ago, says a new report released Tuesday by BMO Capital Markets. The report, by Sal Guatieri, senior economist for BMO, said the Canadian housing market is “calming not crashing.” “In most regions, sales have fallen at double-digit rates this year from high levels last year,” said Guatieri. “But the rate of decline has slowed recently. “By contrast, Alberta enjoys decent sales growth.” As of April, the three month moving average of sales in the existing home market was down 10.9 per cent across the country. However, Calgary and Edmonton were the only two major markets to see growth at three per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively. Also, while the average sale price across Canada rose by only 1.0 per cent, Calgary led the nation with a 7.5 per cent hike. Edmonton was up 3.2 per cent. Guatieri said Calgary’s resale

South Salem NY Inventory Report 5/28/2013 91 homes for sale 25 homes sold last six months 21.87 months of inventory 44 homes pending, conditional contract, sold last six months 12.41 months of inventory South Salem NY Home Inventory Report | RobReportBlog

Upward momentum in home prices remained strong in the first quarter of this year due to the  Federal Reserve  quantitative easing program, which continues to help asset prices rise in the housing market. As a result, home prices inched upward 1.9% from the previous quarter. This is the seventh consecutive quarterly price rise in the purchase-only, seasonally adjusted index, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency . From the first quarter of 2012 to the first quarter of 2013, home prices rose 6.7%. “The housing market has stabilized in many areas and homebuilding activity has strengthened in recent quarters,” said Andrew Leventis, principal economist of FHFA. He added, “That said, labor market weakness and still-elevated foreclosure pipelines remain hindrances to a more robust recovery.” The FHFA house price index, which is calculated using home sales price information from  Fannie Mae  and  Freddie Mac , rose 1.3% over the last quarter. The FHFA HPI revealed that

New home sales ascended in April, rising to 454,000 homes sold. New single-family home sales inched up 2.3% in April, above the revised March rate of 444,000. April sales are up a dramatic 20% from the year-ago estimate of 352,000, according to data from the  Census Bureau  and the  Department of Housing and Urban Development . Analysts at  Econoday  noted that sales are rising in the new home market despite limited supply, a mix that’s driving prices sharply higher. “Price readings are skyrocketing, up 8.3% in April alone for the median price to $271,600. The average price, at $330,800, is up 15.4% in the month,” the analysts said. They added, “These readings, which are not based on repeat transactions, can be volatile but the year-on-year gain, at 14.9% for both the median and the average, is very convincing and mirrors gains in yesterday’s existing home sales report.” Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor » Blog Archive » Census Bureau: N

Mortgage applications  posted  that the refinance share of overall mortgage activity slightly fell to 74% of total applications, the  Mortgage   Bankers   Association  said. Despite the small drop, the refinance share of mortgage applications has hovered around 75% for quite some time. But a quick look back in history paints a more intriguing story. Wade Betz, vice president of sales with  Guardian   Mortgage , has tracked his personal purchase application volumes versus refinancing activity since he started at the firm in 2006. Since Betz began, the refinance and purchase shares of mortgage activity have performed a 180. Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor » Blog Archive » Refi, purchase apps switch places over the years | Katonah Real Estate