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

Rates on a thirty-year fixed rate mortgage will hit 5 percent by the end of next year, according to the latest forecast from Freddie Mac’s economists.   Expect to see interest rates climb throughout 2015, with yields on the 10-year Treasury averaging about 2.9 percentage points, up from about 2.6 percentage points in 2014, and rates on the 30-year fixed mortgage gradually climbing, averaging 4.6 percent and rising to 5.0 percent by the end of next year, said Freddie’s November Outlook. Meanwhile price increases will slow from 9.3 percent in 2013, to 4.5 percent in 2014 and 3.0 percent in 2015. Continued house price appreciation and rising mortgage rates will dampen homebuyer affordability. “Historically speaking, that’s moving from very high levels of affordability to high levels of affordability,” said the Outlook. Total housing starts in 2015 will increase by 20 percent and total home sales will increase by about 5 percent over that time period to the best sales pace in eig...

Sales of previously-owned homes in July rose for the fourth straight month, hitting their highest pace in 2014, according to data released Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors. Sales of existing-homes–which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops–climbed 2.4% to an annual (seasonally adjusted) pace of 5.15 million in July. That tops June’s downwardly revised annual (seasonally adjusted) pace of 5.03 million and is the highest rate in nine months. read more... http://www.forbes.com/sites/erincarlyle/2014/08/21/july-existing-home-sales-hit-highest-pace-of-2014/

14 images <div class="gallery loaded"><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2014/05/30/novogratz-house-for-sale-new-york.php"><img src="http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/5388d464f92ea16413007136/Screen shot 2014-05-30 at 2.40.45 PM.png" width="500" height="335"></a><br /><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2014/05/30/novogratz-house-for-sale-new-york.php" style="font-size: 9px; text-align: center;">Click here to view the full photogallery.</a></div> Prolific—read: house paint, paper architecture, HGTV shows, and, you know, seven children —husband-and-wife design duo Bob and Cortney Novogratz are once again trying to sell their home base in New York's West Village, a townhouse that, according to the brokerbabble, has " raised the bar on the standard of unpretentious luxury." Even after a thorough broker-sanctioned stripping of the interiors, ha...

[Photo via Architectural Digest/William Waldron .] The triplex penthouse belonging to actress, singer, and activist Bette Midler is, unsurprisingly, as divine as Miss M herself. She let Architectural Digest tour her Upper East Side digs , which boast stellar views of Central Park and gorgeously lush, landscaped wraparound terraces overrun with flowers. That's no shocker, either, given that bonafide belter is also the founder of a (literally) green nonprofit, the 20-year-old New York Restoration Project , which builds and maintains parks and community gardens across the city. More on the outside bits in a moment, but as for the inside, it's a combo that was put together and renovated by Los Angeles-based Frederick Fisher . A vibrant mish-mash of styles , there's everything from ruffled lampshades to contemporary art courtesy of collector/investor husband Martin von Haselberg, from ebony-colored furnishings by Austrian architect Josef Hoffmann to an Art Deco carpet ...

Charles Avenue historic marker [All photos by Headly Westerfield] Now that Miami-Dade has untangled the Gordian knot that is the Coconut Grove Playhouse—in time for it to reopen in 2018 at the very earliest—it's time to look at the historic preservation of the neighboring Charles Avenue . In a little noticed move in 2012, Miami's Historical and Environmental Preservation Board voted unanimously to christen Charles Avenue a Historic Designated Roadway, which runs from the Playhouse at Main Highway to the Charlotte Jane Memorial Park Cemetery at Douglas. The practical effect of the honorific? Nothing. The designation recognizes Charles Avenue as the oldest residential street in all of Miami . Coconut Grove itself predates The Magic City, which swallowed it during annexation in 1925. The first house on what was originally known as Evangelist Street , due to all the churches, belonged to Washerwoman Mary. Mariah Brown, her real name, worked in the late 1880s at the nearby Peaco...

When Is the Best Time to Buy a Home? | Bedford Hills NY Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Fixed Mortgage Rates Move Lower on Economic Data | Bedford Hills Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Home prices increasing in Bonita Springs-Estero real estate market | Bedford Hills Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Chris Brown seeks $1.92 million for his home, (in)famous for its graffiti-style artwork | Bedford Hills NY Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

With temperatures dropping, now’s a great time to prepare your wood burning or gas fireplace for the fall. Most of the simple inspections and cleaning can be done by the average home owner, however, if you have any doubt at all, contact your local fireplace installer or chimney sweep, say the experts at Napoleon Fireplaces. Wood-burning Have the chimney cleaned before starting your wood-burning fireplace, stove, or insert. The leading cause of fires from wood-burning appliances is the result of creosote (unburned fuel) that has accumulated in the chimney. Have any gasket material inspected and replaced as required, such as the gasket sealing the door, the door glass, and in some cases the ash dump. If an airtight appliance is operated without these gaskets effectively sealing the openings, excess air can leak into the firebox, creating an over fire condition, which may permanently damage the appliance. If your wood-burning appliance has a blower, clean it. Unlike yo...

Lenders determine risk appetite | Bedford Hills Real Estate | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

JD Power survey highlights challenges of serving first-time buyers and sellers | Bedford Hills Realtor | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Improved reports on new home sales and job growth pushed up fixed mortgage rates this week. The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 4.46 percent, compared with 4.29 percent last week, Freddie Mac said in its weekly survey. A year ago, the average rate was 3.34 percent. The average rate on a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage also rose this week, to 3.47 percent, from 3.30 percent last week and 2.67 percent a year ago. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-mortgage-rates-rise-20131205,0,3980573.story

Busy agents collect the names and contact information for hundreds of past and prospective customers over the years. When we ask these agents what percentage of the people on their “list” have been contacted in the past 24 months – we frequently get a slightly embarrassed answer that it’s less than half. In many cases it’s less than 20% After months and months go by, it gets even harder to just pick up the phone and say “Hi, remember me?” This is getting more attention now because one of our products for follow-up presents five people out of the agent’s database to call each day. It is visually bright and colorful, so it can’t be easily ignored; and it shows how long it has been since the last time the agent called them. To make the call go easier, we provide tools and dialogue. In this business, trends in the real estate market are always a good ice-breaker – and having some relevant information on home prices, mortgage trends and market data will make up for many months of rad...

Home prices will rise in 2014 but at a slower, more steady pace compared with historical trends. The housing recovery has pushed up home prices nearly everywhere. In the past year, home prices rose in 225 of the 276 cities tracked by Clear Capital, a provider of real estate data and analysis. (See how home prices are shifting in 276 metro areas .) Prices nationwide increased by 10.9 percent, pushing the median price for existing homes up by $30,000, to $215,000. For people who have waited to sell their home or refinance their mortgage, that's good news. Rising home prices in Seattle enabled Mike and Kristin Litke to refinance their first mortgage last summer and pay off a second mortgage that had an 8.2 percent interest rate. The Litkes, who bought their three-bedroom, 1.5-bath home for $512,500 in 2007 at the peak of Seattle's housing market, had used the second mortgage to avoid paying private mortgage insurance. In 2010, just as home prices in the area hit a trou...

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Yet another study shows how Gen Y wants to live and work downtown,” proclaims treehugger.com’s headline on a story about the Urban Land Institute’s annual study, “Emerging Trends in Real Estate.” The study shows that not only do those born between 1979 and 1995 drive less — and walk, bike and take public transit more — than older folks, but that they are more likely to rank living near work and school as a top priority. Interestingly, the study predicts that many baby boomers will also sell homes in the suburbs and move to urban locales with many of the same attributes that Gen Y finds desirable. Source: treehugger.com - See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/psst-have-you-heard-gen-y-wants-to-live-near-work/#sthash.Jr6N1h6g.dpuf

Plenty of local realtors will describe South Florida’s housing market as recharged. The latest reading from the popular Case-Shiller Index showed sales of single-family homes up 13.5 percent from a year ago in August. There is continued demand for waterfront properties, fueled in large part by international cash buyers from countries like Canada and Brazil. In Miami-Dade County, for instance, the category of luxury properties selling at price points above $600,000 and below $1 million, saw growth in sales of almost 68 percent. However, the question remains. If you add the threat of rising sea levels to the real estate investment equation in South Florida, are rooms with an ocean view actually a terrible place to put your money? Opinions Are Mixed Experts disagree in their predictions. Some say we should be most concerned about South Florida’s future by the end of the century. Others say the gradual emergency of rising sea levels will be a problem as soon as a decade fro...

It’s a Friday night and you’re making your way to one of the premier parties of the year. You’re dressed to impress and ready to meet some new people. You’ve been invited to this party by some of your past college friends and you’re excited because you haven’t seen them in some time. Thinking about the good old days is weighing heavy on your mind, and you’re a little nervous about what to say to them after all these years. You want to make sure your first impression is the best. You walk in the door … “Hi everyone! Come check out my new listing located at 1234 Main St.! It has three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms!” This is what it feels like on Facebook or any other social media when all you do is post your listings. Being on social media is like being at a party. I know it sounds a little weird when I put it that way, but that’s what being social is all about. I’ve always been known as a social butterfly, and several teachers in my past even characterized me as such. Being socia...

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