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Despite a recent push from the Federal Housing Finance Agency  and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development  to expand the credit box, a Bloomberg article explains that times are still tough for borrowers, especially those using a part-time job to help boost their income. As the economy produces an increasing number of part-time jobs, that trend is colliding with rules that limit their value for homebuyers. The restriction, enacted after the housing crash, makes it more difficult for lenders to consider secondary income, resulting in a growing pile of loan denials, said Susan Wachter, a finance professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The article explained that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Ability to Repay rule states that part-time wages can be included by banks in determining the ability to repay a mortgage if an employer verifies that the borrower has worked at the job for two years and will continue to d...

Nationally, asking prices for condos rose 7.3% year-over-year in September, according to Trulia ’s ( TRLA ) latest rent and price monitor . That’s more than the 6% increase for single-family homes. Asking prices for condos rose more than 15% year-over-year in Miami, Denver, and West Palm Beach. Condo prices rose faster than single-family home prices in 18 of the nation’s 20 largest condo markets, Trulia reports. “Although condo prices are outpacing single-family home prices, they are following similar patterns,” writes Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko. “Condo prices and single-family home prices are both rising faster in metros with stronger job growth and those that had a more severe housing bust in the past decade (a bounceback due to the “rebound effect”). In fact, metros with bigger condo price increases also tend to have bigger single-family home price increases.” read more... http://www.housingwire.com/articles/31664-cost-to-rent-rising-faster-than-home-prices

A gauge of confidence among home builders rose in September to the highest level in almost nine years, as builders’ views on present and coming sales rose, according to data released Wednesday. The overall gauge of builder sentiment rose 4 points to 59 in September, according to a report from National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo. Readings above 50 signal that builders, generally, are optimistic about sales trends, and September marks the third consecutive month of above-50 readings. A strengthening jobs market is perking up builders, though there are still major headwinds from strict credit standards , among other factors. Confidence among home builders is running higher than levels historically seen at current building rates for new homes. On Thursday, the government will report on new home construction, and economists polled by MarketWatch expect that the pace slowed down in August. Economists see faster sales and construction of new homes as the economy adds jobs...

July was not a strong month for the California housing market as the state continued to underperform. California pending homes sales dropped in July, with the pending home sales index falling 2.3% from 107 in June to 104.5 in July, based on signed contracts, according to the  California Association of Realtors. However, the month-to-month drop was consistent with seasonal trends. This is also down 9.2% from 115.1 in July 2013. “Pending sales have been down year to year since October 2012, but the pace appears to be decelerating as the decrease in July was smaller than the average in the last six months. Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, providing information on the future direction of the market,” CAR said. As noted in the 3 facts crippling California’s housing recovery , the combined share of all distressed property sales continued to decrease in July, dropping from 9.7% in June to 9.4% in July. On the other side, the share...

The etymology of the phrase “everything but the kitchen sink” probably has to do with the fact that the sink is difficult to move. For instance, if a person absconded with “everything but the kitchen sink,” it means he or she made off with every conceivable portable item. But here is a new way of looking at the term: What if said person didn’t take the hypothetical sink because it was too necessary to the kitchen? When you think about it, there are very few features in the home that are used as often. And what other home item performs as many different tasks? It could be argued that the selection of a sink is one of the most important kitchen choices you will make — and it’s a decision that will affect your daily life for many years to come. We spoke to designers who belong to the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) about how to select the right sink. Justrich Design Save to Ideabook Email Photo How Many Basins, and in What Configuration? 1. A large, single ...

Greg Leffel, an investor in Columbus, Ohio, said he relishes cash deals as much as he dislikes home loans. He has spent $150,000 buying and renovating 10 foreclosed houses in the past two years and turned them into rentals. “Lending is so tight, and even if you do get a loan you’d have to jump through a bunch of hoops first,” Leffel, 44, said. “I like buying with cash, because then I can control my investments.” Investors like Leffel helped spur all-cash home purchases to a record 43 percent of U.S. deals in the first quarter, more than double the share a year ago, according to data firm RealtyTrac Inc. Cash is keeping residential sales trudging along while mortgage lending plummets, hurt by rising interest rates and stiff credit requirements. Americans seeking a loan to purchase their first dwelling are increasingly shut out. “The cash buyers today mean that all is not well in the housing market,” said Clifford Rossi, finance professor at the University of Maryland’s Rober...

U.S. housing starts rose less than expected in March and building permits fell, pointing to underlying weakness in the housing market that could persist despite better weather. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday groundbreaking increased 2.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 946,000. February's starts were revised to show a 1.9 percent rise rather than the previously reported 0.2 percent fall. Economists polled by Reuters had expected starts to rise to a 973,000-unit rate last month. While a brutally cold winter weighed on home building in December and January, activity has also been hampered by shortages of building lots and skilled labor as well as rising prices for materials. A report on Tuesday showed homebuilders in April were still downbeat about the sector's near-term prospects. The housing market is under strain from higher mortgage rates and elevated house prices that are sidelining potential buyers. http://www.foxbusiness.com/business-le...

Copper Beech Farm, the 50-acre Greenwich estate that thundered onto the market last May with a record-setting $190M price tag, has sold this morning for $120M, according to CTNews.com. Though it sold for just 61 percent of its initial ask, the property still managed to edge out a win over the reigning champ of single-family residential sales in the United States, a nine-acre Silicon Valley spread that sold for $117.5M in January 2013. (It did not, in fact, beat Montana's Broken O Ranch, which sold in 2012 for $132.5M—though most would consider that a working farm and not a single-family home of the Copper Beech breed.) In all: quite a feat for the debt-saddled mansion, which endured a monstrous PriceChop pummeling, first down to $140M in September, then down to $130M just after the New Year. According to the Greenwich Town Clerk's office, the buyer is "Conservation Institute LLC"—more information forthcoming, no doubt. More about Copper Beech, this way. ...

A "maid's apartment" in the exorbitantly expensive 15 Central Park West just sold for around $3 million, the Post reports . It's not quite as bad as it sounds, though — the apartment belonged to former Citigroup CEO and chairman Sandford Weill , who also used to own the enormous penthouse that sold for $88 million in 2011 to the daughter of a Russian oligarch . Weill lived in the separate maid's apartment while the penthouse was being renovated and after it sold, so if it's good enough for Sandy Weill it's probably good enough for everyone else, maids and non-maids included. The apartment includes one bedroom, one-and-a-half baths, and a private terrace, and Weill was originally asking $6.25 million. Despite the over-50 percent price cut, he's still walking away with a substantial profit, having paid just under $1 million for the unit in 2007. Although considering that he made a $44 million profit on the penthouse, he probably doesn't care that m...

Buying a House? Here Are 4 Reasons to Reconsider | Bedford Corners NY Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Just north of downtown Los Angeles, skinny homes on tiny lots are sprouting from the hillsides — a building boom of miniature proportions. The rectangular structures come in clusters of six or 15, or even 70, and developers are racing to build them in trendy Silver Lake and Echo Park. They're eyeing younger home buyers who crave hip cafes and proximity to work but don't want a sky-high condo or a Craftsman bungalow. The so-called small-lot homes speak to a growing desire for a more compact and walkable Los Angeles, while still clinging to the single-family ideal that spread outward from downtown over the last century. The homes often have a small patio or roof deck but no backyard. The buyer owns little land beyond what sits beneath the house, a tiny footprint that cuts the cost in pricey neighborhoods.   "It's sort of the iPhone or Prius of homes," said Christian Návar, co-founder of L.A. architecture firm Modative, which designs the projects and hired fiv...

This Grand, Flowery Remsen Street Brownstone Wants $6.2M | Bedford Corners Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Manhattan apartment rents fell for a fourth month in December and the share of new leases with landlord concessions jumped to an almost three-year high as potential tenants were lured to the surging homebuying market. The median monthly rent dropped 1.6 percent from a year earlier to $3,100, according to a report today by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate . Incentives such as a month’s free rent were offered on 13 percent of new agreements, up from 4.3 percent in December 2012 and the biggest proportion since March 2011. Rents began dropping in September after 27 months without a decrease, giving tenants more negotiating power. A spike in mortgage rates from near-record lows in May drove buyers to act before purchases could become costlier. In the fourth quarter, sales of co-ops and condominiums in Manhattan reached the highest total for the period in 25 years of record-keeping, Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman said last week. “The ren...

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While 2013 was the year of the investor, 2014 is expected to usher in several pivotal shifts in the housing market, including the dominance of the repeat homebuyer, Jed Kolko, chief economist with Trulia ( TRLA ) said in his latest housing predictions for 2014. "As prices rise, buying homes will become less attractive to investors as well as first-time home buyers, but repeat buyers will be able to offset the higher price of the home they buy with the higher price from the home they sell," Kolko said. In addition to the prominence of the repeat buyers, Kolko believes next year will also see housing affordability worsen, the homebuying frenzy die down and a slowdown in rising home prices. Furthermore, rental action will swing back toward urban apartments. “Single-family rentals are peaking, and we are already seeing investor purchases declining,” Kolko noted. "There will likely by a decline in the homeownership rate next year since 18-34 year olds will be mo...

Expectations of future British house price rises have hit a 14-year high just as central bank chief Mark Carney signaled monetary policy would remain exceptionally loose despite the potential for them to jump at 'warp speed'. Britain is growing faster than many other big rich economies although it has still not passed its pre-crisis peak. There are some concerns, however, that it is a housing-led recovery - and a potential bubble - spurred by government stimulus. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said on Tuesday that 59 percent of surveyors in November forecast prices would rise over the next three months, the highest reading since September 1999. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/10/us-britain-housing-idUSBRE9B90CE20131210

A lot has changed in real estate in 2013. Home values have skyrocketed in many markets, mortgage rates have risen from their bottom and most recently, negative equity fell at the fastest pace ever. Zillow predicts 2014 to see a continuation of this positive trend. Take a look at Zillow’s four bold predictions for real estate and mortgages below, and the top 10 hottest housing markets for 2014. Do you think our predictions will come true? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter using the hashtag #HousingTrends2014. For more information about the predictions, visit Zillow Research . http://www.zillow.com/blog/2013-12-05/2014-real-estate-predictions/

Inside the 740 Park Avenue Apartment Nobody Wants - PriceChopper - Curbed NY

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