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

The fact that “Generation Rent” — 25- to 34-year-olds in the U.S. — isn’t getting off the fence when it comes to buying homes has been well documented. Even with near record-low interest rates, just 38% of this cohort — also known as millennials — owned homes in 2012, according to CoreLogic, compared with nearly 52% of the same age group in 1980, when mortgage rates were in the double digits. So, what’s one more survey, right? Except this one is a little different. Carrington Mortgage Services, a Santa Ana, Calif.-based mortgage lender and servicer, surveyed millennials about home ownership and then did something unique: it sorted the responses by category, and then broke them out by region in the United States. What they discovered should make real estate agents and loan officers pay attention, because what’s keeping millennials from buying a home in one part of the country isn’t true in another. In the 12 western-most states (ranging from Montana down to New Mexico and Wash...

After slowly winding down over the summer months, the third and fourth quarter data now being released shows that price appreciation is no longer slowing.  It is now within inches of a total screeching halt that could presage a shift in the recovery’s momentum as real estate markets don their pajamas for the winter hibernation. The September 2014 index data for the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released yesterday showed that home prices continue to decelerate. The 10-City Composite gained 4.8% year-over-year, down from 5.5% in August. The 20-City Composite gained 4.9% year-over-year, compared to 5.6% in August. The National and Composite Indices were both slightly negative in September. Both the 10 and 20-City Composites reported a slight downturn while the National Index posted a -0.1% change for the month. Charlotte and Miami led all cities in September with increases of 0.6%. Atlanta and Washington D.C. offset those gains by reporting decreases of 0.3% and 0.4%. ...

I am the North Castle Supervisor, but I write to you as a resident who will live in this Town for many more years than I will serve on our Town Board.  In a small Town like ours (pop. 11,841), the ward system is a solution in search of a problem.  I am opposed to the Ward System and I urge you to vote “No”  on both Ward propositions, as it will invite divisiveness between neighborhoods, fiscal irresponsibility, horse trading, and larger government. Our Town Board has always worked collaboratively based on the needs of both the entire town and specific areas, despite differences of opinion or where they lived, Recent decisions - the Banksville Avenue zoning solution (Banksville), sewers in Quarry Heights (North White Plains), the DeCicco’s shopping center (Armonk) – were all possible because of Town Boards that were elected by, and responsible to, the entire town and not just to a specific neighborhood.  In a Ward system, solutions like these may not be possi...

The Small Town Theatre Company Presents Summer Concerts at Wampus Brook Park If you're having trouble seeing this e-mail, you may view it online . Welcome Summer Enjoy some 1930's - 1940's jazz and swing goodies by world-famous bandleaders Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw. On Saturday, August 23rd, at 8 pm, the Swingaroos will bring you jive and hot swing with Hollywood class and a Vaudeville spirit. Free Admission Wampus Brook Park · Armonk, NY ...

Nobody likes a house with an outdated bathroom. Of course, you can use a blue toilet and bathe in a pink tub, illuminated by eight naked light bulbs shining on a stained 1970s laminate countertop. But do you really want to? Building the spa bathroom of your dreams may cost more than you want to spend. But you don't have to empty your wallet to improve your bathroom. A little bling and a few luxurious touches can give you a big impact for a small amount of money, and that's a good place to start. "One little thing creates that luxury instead of worrying about everything else," says Laura Redd, an interior designer in Greensboro, North Carolina. "I think sparkle is a big thing." The easiest way to cut costs on a bathroom renovation is to keep the old bathroom footprint. Keep the toilet, sink and tub or shower in the same locations, just replacing the old with the new. That saves the thousands it costs to add to the footprint of the house...

The former L.A. home of actress Agnes Moorehead , who played Endora on Bewitched , has been relisted after a short hiatus from its $18.99M ask, and Curbed LA notes that it once bore the mark of late great artist and designer Tony Duquette . According to Just Call Me Aggie, a blog dedicated to the late actress, Moorehead enlisted the celebrated maximalist to help her decorate the place, but the interior of the gated Spanish-style estate has since been altered from the way Moorehead had it when she passed in the mid-'70s. The antique doors have been stripped of their black paint, the wood, which she had painted white, has been restored to its natural color, and the black-and-white marble floor of the rumpus room has been covered with carpet. The "outrageous chandeliers" that Morehead and Duquette had installed in the living room have been replaced with period-style chandeliers reminiscent of the '20s, when the home was built, and the bedroom no longer sports the ...

Though recent MBS data indicates a slower spring buying season than many expected, the word on the street at FBR Capital ’s second annual Housing Recovery Conference was relatively positive, especially regarding how policy in the sector is working to support home price appreciation and a recovery of the housing market. Leaders from federal housing agencies, Treasury, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau , and industry executives discussed the current state of the housing market and policy efforts, and came up with four key takeaways. Attendees wanted to continue efforts of policymakers to remove credit overlays, and to maintain a liquid MSR transfer market. There’s also an ongoing desire to attract private capital into the mortgage space — including support for the mortgage insurance industry and a desire to restart private-label securitization and expand credit risk transfers. This is a positive step, considering the recent Fannie Mae housing survey is trending negative to...

Banish those bare walls. Go from boring to unbelievable with a few creative tricks: Hang Plates The good china needn't stay behind the cabinet glass. Display plates or flea-market finds in a space where art would feel cramped, such as in the corner of a large kitchen or along a lengthy corridor. A casual assemblage of patterned and neutral plates delivers a visual bang that's homey. (For this project, pick up special wire hangers from the local hardware store.) Hang Plates Create a Gallery Let your wall express yourself. There are no rules saying everything needs the same frame or, better yet, that everything needs to be framed. Choose art, prints, and photos that tell a story about people, places, or things in your life. If you're hanging a grouping of art, maintaining two inches or more between frames on all sides is a good rule of thumb. Gallery Wall Transform A Stairway When it comes to hanging art, we often need to force ourselves to think beyond the li...

Transunion: Mortgage delinquency rate falls to mid-2008 low | Armonk NY Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

32 images <div class="gallery loaded"><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2014/04/30/satsang-and-its-insane-indoor-pool-ask-20m-in-socal.php"><img src="http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/5360a640f92ea1611b029e48/22.jpeg" width="500" height="326"></a><br /><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2014/04/30/satsang-and-its-insane-indoor-pool-ask-20m-in-socal.php" style="font-size: 9px; text-align: center;">Click here to view the full photogallery.</a></div> Location: Yorba Linda, Calif. Price: $20,000,000 The Skinny: Apologies to the listing , but if you're looking for an "architectural masterpiece", move along, nothing to see here. If, however, you're looking for the best SoCal trainwreck since this rough beast slouched toward La Quinta, waiting to be sold, step right up and behold Satsang. This truly amazing home, which looks sort of like Richar...

Advocating Good Government Concerned Citizens of North Castle Established 2004 You are Cordially Invited To An Open Discussion of Property Tax Trends and Issues in Westchester County Featuring: Mary Beth Murphy Executive Director Westchester County Tax Commission Thursday, April 24 th at 7:00 pm at the American Legion Hall 35 Bedford Road, Armonk, NY 10504 Come and meet your neighbors, enjoy some wine and cheese, discuss the future of property taxes in Westchester County and the Town of North Castle, and how they affect your home values now and in the future. The Concerned Citizens of North Castle, Inc.* was established in 2004 as a non-partisan, not for profit community organization. Its mission is to help North Castle residents learn about, and objectively discuss, all sides of critical issues impacting the Town. This meeting is the first of a series of ...

Only about 17% of the 350 metro markets in America have seen a return to or growth beyond their last normal levels of housing activity, according to the National Association of Home Builders /First American Leading Markets Index. Exactly 59 metros can be said to have fully recovered. This represents a net gain of 11 metros year over year. Notably, a large number of the most recovered metros are in and around renewed petroleum activity – places in West Texas and North Dakota. The index’s nationwide score ticked up to .88 from a March reading of .87. This means that based on current permit, price and employment data, the nationwide average is running at 88% of normal economic and housing activity. For single-family permits and home prices, 2000-2003 is used as the last normal period, and for employment, 2007 is the base comparison. A little more than a quarter of metros saw their score rise this month and 83% have shown an improvement over the past year, the report says. ...

The bloom may be officially off the boom in investment sales as they declined in 2013 for a second straight year after soaring in 2011 at the height of the large foreclosure inventories. Investor purchases declined 15.9 percent last year from the 1.23 million sales peak set in 2011. Investment-home sales fell 8.5 percent to an estimated 1.10 million in 2013 from 1.21 million in 2012. By comparison, owner-occupied purchases rose 13.1 percent to 3.70 million last year from 3.27 million in 2012. The sales estimates are based on responses from households and exclude institutional investment activity according to NAR’s 2014 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said the pullback in investment activity is understandable. “Investment buyers slowed their purchasing in 2013 because prices were rising quickly along with a declining availability of discounted foreclosures over the course of the year,” he said. “In 2011 and 2012, investment property was...

Earlier this month, Inman News reported from an industry conference that a study by Jonathan Green, vice president real estate services for CoreLogic ( CLGX ), found that nearly half of all homes sold last year were never listed in an MLS or were listed only after a buyer was lined up. The MLS, that coveted and proprietary listing report that gave unique value and advantage to real estate agents using it for decades, is falling out of use in favor of more open, free listing services, such as Zillow ( Z ) and other off-MLS listings. Inman reported that CoreLogic’s analysis compared public record transaction data with MLS data in four counties, and extrapolating on those findings shows that MLS use is rapidly declining. Inman reported that Corelogic says that this raises significant questions for the industry: Will the prevalence of off-MLS listings (or FSBOs) continue to grow? Will behavior change in proportion to inventory? Will brokers attempt to systematically or ...

The Coming Real Estate Bubble | Armonk Real Estate | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Last month, the Canadian government announced the termination of the Immigrant Investor and Federal Entrepreneur programs. This canceled the applications of approximately 65,000 individuals who were on the waiting list backlog for these two programs. Given that 70 percent of these applicants were from mainland China, and given the importance of Chinese investors to the Vancouver property market (especially in the high end), many analysts have predicted that this change in government policy will have a significantly negative effect on Vancouver-area real estate values. Before assessing what the true impact will be, let’s consider how these programs functioned, and where they had the most impact. The Canadian government introduced the Immigrant Investor Program in the mid-1980s in order to promote immigration by business people and their families. Quebec subsequently negotiated with the federal government to have its own, parallel program. The programs enabled qualified investo...

Bedford resident Kerry Kennedy took the stand Wednesday to testify in her drugged-driving trial at the Westchester County Court in White Plains. Kennedy is facing one charge of driving while ability impaired by drugs, stemming from a July 2012 accident in North Castle. Toxicology reports showed that she had a sleep medication in her system. She has pleaded not guilty, saying she accidentally took the pill instead of her thyroid medication. During her testimony, Kennedy talked about her father, U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, mentioning that he was the U.S. attorney general during the civil rights movement and that he was killed while running for president when she 8 years old. When questioned by her attorney, Gerald Lefcourt, Kennedy said that she did not realize at the time that she had taken the wrong medication and that she was impaired. "No, if I realized I was impaired I would have pulled over. I wouldn't drive if I was impaired," she said. She said her memory of ...

The Bloggers Biggest Challenge and How to Overcome It - Jeffbullas's Blog

German Home Prices Rose Most in Decade on Cheap Finance | Armonk Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Freddie Mac   today released the results of its fourth quarter 2013 quarterly refinance analysis, showing that borrowers are continuing to take advantage of near record low mortgage rates to lower their monthly payments, shorten their loan terms and overwhelmingly choosing the safety of long-term fixed-rate mortgages as they closed out 2013. Borrowers who refinanced in 2013 will save on net approximately $21 billion in interest over the next 12 months. This release of the report also contains annual statistics on refinances for the 10 largest metropolitan areas and four Census regions of the U.S. News Facts Of borrowers who refinanced during the fourth quarter of 2013, 39 percent shortened their loan term, up 2 percent from the previous quarter and the highest since 1992. Further, 42 percent of those who refinanced outside of HARP took out a shorter-term loan, while 35 percent of HARP borrowers shortened their term. Borrowers who kept the same term as the loan that they had pa...