I was running some numbers last night for a client who is relocating to this area from Washington D.C. suburbs and has been frustrated by the lack of inventory, especially when he reads that the housing market is still slow in many areas. Well, not here, not now…since the beginning of the year, 42 single family homes have sold in Rye City for an average price of $1,518.839, where as only 16 homes sold during the same time period in 2009 for an average price of $1,390,106. In addition, there are 45 houses in contract, and I personally know of 3 houses that are still coming up as available that have accepted offers!

Although the number of single famly homes available for rent is relatively the same as last year, the rental prices have risen, I believe as more families hope to secure a home in the school district for September 2010- 26 homes have rented so far this year for an average price of $6,261 compared to 32 homes at an average price of $5875 for the same time frame in 2009. Feel free to contact me any time for further details.

*Information per Westchester Putnam Multiple Listing Service 1/1/10-5/11/10 compared with same time period in 2009. Rye City School District Only.

 *Courtesy of raveis.com Local Housing Data

Westchester County’s local newspaper, the Journal News, featured a print exclusive Sunday chronicling the rebound of the Million Dollar homes in the region. As in my last post on the Rye Market, we are seeing more activity for “hot” properties than we have in a while, and Rye had the second highest million dollar homes sales in the Hudson Valley region last year, according to the newspaper article.  Here is the list as compiled by the paper for the article:

SALES BY MUNICIPALITY:

1. 83 Scarsdale                           
2. 73 Rye                                      
3. 58 Harrison                            
4. 43 New Castle                        
5. 37 Mamaroneck (town)     
6. 33 North Castle                     
7. 30 Bedford                              
8. 29 Larchmont                       
9. 28 New Rochelle                  
10. 25 Mamaroneck (village) 
11. 22 Greenburgh                     
12. 21 Bronxville                        
13. 20 Mount Pleasant             
14. 19 Lewisboro                        
15. 15 White Plains                    

The article also states that Westchester sells more high end homes as a percentage of sales than similar suburban countied in the region.*

• 19% in Westchester
• 12% Fairfield
• 3% Bergen
• 2% Rockland
• 2% Putnam

* Information per Welcome- The Million dollar Market is Rebounding from the Journal News (print edition only), 4/25/10. Although Scarsdale had the largest number of million dollar sales last year, in percentage terms Bronxville was in the lead with 80% of homes selling for that price.

WOW!!! There has been a major shift from a focus on renting to buying on the single family home front and many homes in the past 2 months have gone into contract quickly and often with multiple bidders. I was personally involved in such a situation with one of my buyers last weekend and even after raising their offer over $100,000 from the asking price and dropping their mortgage contingency, my clients were still outbid. The sellers had accepted an offer and inspections were being done 4 days after coming on the market!

Thirty six homes are currently in contract in Rye City and of that number, 15 have had contracts signed in less than 60 days and 22 of these in 90 days or less. In our metro N.Y.area , points of discussion in the contracts tend to get bounced back and forth between the attorneys before being signed by both parties, so this is no small feat to have signed contracts by all in such a short time – in most cases, the verbal agreements were made in a matter of days.

The median price of all the Rye City homes currently in contract is $1,550,000 for a median square footage of 3204.* What kind of homes are these that are selling so quickly? Some examples:*

• A 3600 SF tastefully renovated Colonial on a cul de sac opposite Osborn Elementary school that had signed contracts in 55 days.
• A 1989 Colonial on the Golf course priced under $1,000,000 that had conditional contracts signed in 31 days.
• A 5 bedroom Colonial Ranch with a level fenced backyard- signed contracts 53 days.
• A 5 bedroom 1991 Colonial on .61 private acres near Midland School in 45 days.
• Another 5 bedroom Colonial on a cul de sac near Midland School in just 24 days!

In most cases, the key to success here is COMPETITIVE PRICING, which is a credit to the listing agents of these properties, and of course to their sellers, for heeding their advice.

However, there are renters out there! It is just that buyers are once again taking center stage. Plenty of renters are looking to Rye for the coming school year, and I am planning to put on 2 single family homes on for rent in addition to my current rental listing in Rye.

On a personal note, THANK YOU so much to my loyal clients, readers, friends, local media and fellow local real estate professionals, who have continued to work with me as I move through this transition period following my husband’s sudden passing in January. I have been a little spotty with my writing but I AM BACK and working as I juggle my many lives. More than ever, I appreciate what a truly special community we live in and I am enjoying watching the “Green” renovation of my first Rye home, now owned by Jay and Lauren Sears, being chronicled step by step on myrye.com!

Please feel free to contact me anytime for further real estate information.

*per Westchester Putnam Multiple Listing Service.

William Raveis Mortgage has been ranked in the top 1% of all FHA lenders in the United States, and the ranking gives us the ability to offer lower FHA rates and launch new products that are largely unavailable to other lenders, including 97% loan to value.  Contact our Mortgage Representative, Michael DeRosa, and please reference this post, to view details on the competitive programs, which include mortgage insurance.

*Source: The department of Housing and Urban Development Compare Ratio Statistics.

Here is some additional information I received from Michael on Friday regarding interest rates:

Federal Reserve Raises Interest Rate Charged to Banks, In First Move Since 2008

The Federal Reserve, taking its first step to return lending to normal after more than two years of extraordinary actions to prop up the economy, on Thursday raised the discount rate to 0.75 percent from 0.50 percent, takes effect on Friday.

Officials said the move was not meant to be a broad tightening of credit. Rather, they said, it was intended to discourage emergency borrowing when other financing is available to banks.

NEWSFLASH………THIS IS A MAJOR SIGN OF WHAT IS TO COME,

What usually follows after the Fed raises??  The banks raise rates go UP!!

This has the same effect of tightening credit…. but guess what??

 Rates are still low and so are home prices!!!

All BUYERS should now this fact……

            For every 1% that interest rates go UP (from current levels)

                   Their purchasing power decreases by 10.5%!!!!

Example, a mortgage payment at a rate of 5% on a $500,000 loan

                        = a mortgage payment @ 6% on a $447,000 loan!!!!

This means that the monthly payments on the following loans EQUAL each other.

 $750,000 @ 5% = $670,000 @ 6%

$1,000,000 @ 5% = $895,000 @ 6%

$1,500,000 @ 5% = $1,343,000 @ 6%

$2,000,000 @ 5% = $1,790,674 @ 6%

Wouldn’t you rather buy a home with a HIGHER value at the same payment!!!

You should know that the value of your money RIGHT NOW!!!

and more importantly……how to leverage it!

If you would like to see how this impacts you, please contact me for a consultation.

I will be available this weekend.

Best Regards,

Michael DeRosa

Executive Mortgage Banker

William Raveis Mortgage LLC

Mobile: 203-994-9988

eMail:   derosam@raveisre.com

eFax:    203-653-5687

pusing Affordability

Hello readers…I have been somewhat absent here in the past week due to a personal tragedy,  so my apologies. I will be returning the week of February 1st, but in the meantime, I wanted to give you a glimpse of the monthly Housing Newsletter for Rye from William Raveis Real Estate.  You can sign up to receive this free newsletter every month for ANY community covered by William Raveis,  simply by visiting raveis.com or the Market Update link above here on on my site.

Click here  for a peek of this month’s newsletter for Rye complete with recent stats and graphs, and see you next week.

If you are considering selling in the spring, you will want to act NOW to start making some improvements on your home. Here are the Top Ten Projects that add value to your home, according to HGTV’s Front Door:

• Top Kitchen Project: Upgrade Appliances to Stainless
• Top Bathroom Project: Refresh Fixtures
• Top Storage & Organization Project: Maximize Storage with a Closet Organization System
• Top Landscaping Project: Tidy your Lawn (as we get closer to spring, in our area)
• Top Outdoor Project: Add Outdoor Lighting (this is on my personal list…)
• Top Exterior Project: Repair Gutters ( gutters keep the roof, siding, etc. in good shape)
• Top Big Ticket Project: Finish your Basement (adds value & usable space to your home-YES)
• Top Outdoor Project: Build a Fence
• Top Energy Efficiency Project: Add Insulation
• Top Budget Friendly Project: Clean and Conquer Clutter ( a clean and clutter free home looks larger and more liveable and makes a good first impression- priceless!)

Also, I always think it is a good idea to have a “pre inspection” by a qualified home inspector or contractor to fix any lingering issues that could come up and give the impression that your home is well cared for and well maintained. Keep in mind too that paint is an inexpensive way to freshen your home right before you put it on the market. Remember, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression!

Need more tips?  Check out the video, 10 Ways to Increase The Value of Your Home- On any Budget.

Last Updated On: Thursday, January 07, 2010

The rates and APR above are based upon the following assumptions: a 20% down payment, $1,500 in finance charges, and 30 days prepaid interest, 1 point, and a 60 day rate lock. The rates and APR will vary depending upon the actual down payment percentages, points and fees for your transaction. Rates are subject to change without prior notice and may vary with your unique credit history, and terms of your loan. Property taxes and homeowners insurance are estimates and subject to change.
NY Licensed Mortgage Banker-NYS Banking Department LMBC 106535

William Raveis Mortgage, LLC is a licensed, full-service Mortgage Banker/Broker (View our licenses)

All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified.