Here’s a look at what’s new in real-estate markets across the U.S. from around the Web. (Some links may require registration or subscriptions.)

Most overvalued U.S. markets

As the housing slowdown continues, which state has the greatest threat of experiencing home-price declines? California, according to a new report by National City Corp and Global Insight, a CNNMoney.com article says. The survey, which determines what housing prices should be using factors such as selling prices, population density, interest rates and income levels, ranks Bend, Ore., as having the most “overvalued” (i.e., overpriced) housing market. Overvalued markets — where housing prices are most likely to fall — tend to be in places that saw big price run-ups during the boom, including California, Florida, New York and Massachusetts, the article says. The survey, which looked at fourth quarter 2006 data for 317 top metro markets, found that 157 of the cities had seen price drops during that quarter. The report ranks Dallas as the most undervalued city in the U.S.; Texas lays claim to four of the most undervalued. For an interactive map of housing markets by median price and valuation, visit National City’s Web site.

Most expensive city

If you’re going to transfer overseas, you might not want to live in Moscow. For the second year in a row, the city has been ranked as the world’s most expensive, according to a survey of 143 international cities by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, the Associated Press says. Contributing to Moscow’s high cost of living is the appreciating ruble, the AP says. London ranked as the next most expensive city, followed by South Korea’s Seoul. An expatriate can expect to shell out $4,000 a month for a luxury two-bedroom apartment in Russia’s capital, the Associated Press says.

It’s elementary

The better the local elementary school, the more house hunters will pay to purchase a neighborhood home, says an article by the New York Times. The article points to a Trinity College study that looked at 8,736 home sales between 1996 and 2005 and compared selling prices against grade-school test scores in 11 school districts in West Hartford, Conn., a blue ribbon school district. The study found that every 12% difference in exam scores for a standardized test taken by Connecticut students in grades three through eight secured a rise in selling price of $5,065, the newspaper says. For example, homes in an area that sends students to West Hartford’s Lloyd H. Bugbee School (where 99% of fourth graders scored at or above proficiency in math, 93% scored as such for reading and 87% scored at that level for writing) tend to sell for more than houses in an area served by the Whiting Lane School, which has lower test scores (87% scored at or above proficiency in math, 66% scored at that level in reading and 68% for writing) — despite the similarity of the two neighborhoods, the article says.

Open House ‘junkies’

Been to an open house lately? If you have, it’s possible you’re not even looking to buy a new home, says an article by the Buffalo News. While 87% of 2004 home buyers found open houses to be “very useful” in their house search — according to data by the National Association of Realtors — some who go to these events aren’t serious house hunters. Instead, they are attracted by the “snoop factor” or are looking to fill their Sunday afternoon, the newspaper says. Open houses can be a way to gauge what’s going on in the neighborhood, or just to see what your neighbor’s kitchen looks like, the News says.

Bogged down in Bay Area

In May, home sales saw a year-over-year drop of 17.4% in the San Francisco Bay Area, reaching the lowest level in 12 years, according to an article by the San Francisco Chronicle. Meanwhile, the median price increased by 5.9% to $720,000, the newspaper says. The price increase doesn’t reflect a rise in home prices, but signals a trend in which more high-end homes are selling than lower-cost ones, the Chronicle says. Local neighborhoods experiencing slower sales include sections of Richmond, Oakland and Santa Rosa, among others, while Belvedere, Tiburon and Cupertino are included in areas seeing increased buyer interest, the paper says.

– Ms. Kim is a senior editor at RealEstateJournal.com.

Join a reader discussion about the housing market.Send links to articles about residential-real-estate markets to Lauren Kim at lauren.kim@wsj.com.

Email your comments to lauren.kim@wsj.com.

– June 20, 2007

© 2007 Freddie Mac 

For Immediate Release

July 12, 2007
CONTACT: corprel@freddiemac.com
or (703) 903-3933

McLean, VA – Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.73 percent with an average 0.4 point for the week ending July 12, 2007, up from last week when it averaged 6.63 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.74 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 6.39 percent with an average 0.4 point, up from last week when it averaged 6.30 percent. A year ago, the 15-year FRM averaged 6.37 percent.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 6.35 percent this week, with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 6.29 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 6.33 percent.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.71 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, unchanged from last week. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.75 percent.

(Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total cost of obtaining the mortgage.)

“A favorable employment report for June and robust consumer credit growth for May pushed long-term mortgage rates higher in the past week, nearly eliminating the declines made in rates over the previous three weeks,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “In addition, consumer credit jumped by $12.9 billion in May, almost double market expectations.

“Our July economic outlook forecasts 30-year fixed-rates to stay around their current level through the end of year. The refinance share of loan applications is expected to continue decreasing throughout the same time frame, averaging about 35 percent in 2007, the lowest level since 2000. Freddie Mac expects weakness in the housing market to persist in the second half of the year, with 2007 total home sales and housing starts hitting 5-year lows.”

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned company established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac fulfills its mission by purchasing residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage-related securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than four million renters in America.

SUMMARY OF SURVEY RESULTS

Freddie Mac defines its regions as follows:

Northeast: NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, PR, ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, VI
Southeast: NC, SC, TN, KY, GA, AL, FL, MS
North Central: OH, IN, IL, MI, WI, MN, IA, ND, SD
Southwest: TX, LA, NM, OK, AR, MO, KS, CO, NE, WY
West: CA, AZ, NV, OR, WA, UT, ID, MT, HI, AK, GU

Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) is for informational purposes only and Freddie Mac is not responsible for business decisions made based on the reported results of the PMMS. Freddie Mac may change the methodology used to conduct the PMMS survey at any time and without notice.

DEFINITIONS

Commitment Rate is the interest rate a lender would charge to lend mortgage money to a qualified borrower exclusive of the fees and points required by the lender. This commitment rate applies only to conventional financing on conforming mortgages with loan-to-value rates of 80 percent or less.

ARM Index – is the One-year Treasury

Loan to Value Ratio (LTV) is the ratio of the loan amount of a mortgage loan to the lower of the appraisal value or purchase price of the property securing the loan.

Origination Fees and Discount Points are the total charged by the lender at settlement. One point equals one percent of the loan amount.

Margin is a fixed amount added to the underlying index to establish the fully indexed rate for an ARM.

Weighted Averages for the Primary Mortgage Market Survey have been adjusted as of October 26, 2006. The new weights use the dollar volume of conventional mortgage originations within the 1-unit Freddie Mac loan limit as reported under Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) for 2005. The weights are listed in the table below.

PRIMARY MORTGAGE MARKET SURVEY RESULTS
July 12, 2007

“Everything is local”, that’s what they say. And it is true especially when it comes to national headlines. If you Google “Subprime” what you read might not match up to what’s happening in our local real estate market, meaning specifically Smithtown, St James, Stony Brook, Setauket, Port Jefferson, Mt Sinai, Miller Place, Shoreham and Wading River.

Recently I searched Google News “Subprime”, the headlines came up in this order; “Subprime mortgage meltdown” Consumer Reports.org, “Feds sees Subprime market woes for one to two years” MarketWatch.com, “Sector Snap: Homebuilders Tumble” Houston Chronicle, “Subprime Foreclosures May Hit 2.4 Million, Group Tells Congress” Bloomberg.com . You get the idea, “gloom and doom” the party crashing Cassandra’s. There’ll always be “gloom and doom” but for some not everyone.

Much of the Subprime woes are taking place in speculative markets. For example in many areas in the west, developers like Sun City, have built something out of nothing but sand and tumble weeds. Outside of Phoenix to the west, north, east, and south developers have built huge communities, in barren desert, some specializing in the fifty and over crowd, the “snowbirds”. Throughout California large developments have been built an hour or two outside of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego. The local amenities for most of these areas are large box stores, seven elevens, and fast food chains. The age of many of these new communities, towns and villages is under 9 years.

Too often these communities have the personality of a strip mall and were built in hast. When these developments go south they can have a domino effect, which affect other near by developments and newly built communities. Many of these buyers were offered and accepted adjustable rate mortgages, which they bought at the height of the market. Now the homes are worth less than their purchased price. The mortgage payment has gone up and they cannot pay thier mortagage or sell the house at the price they bought it. They are distressed sellers.

If you live in a community where five to ten percent or more of the population has these problems, you will start to see “The Subprime woes”. One foreclosure sale can lead to others, which means more homes on the market which must sell, prices go down, people move, which may result in more renters living in a community than homeowners, which leads to less pride of ownership, which leads to less desirable neighborhoods, which leads to lower home prices and more of the same… bla, bla, bla. The vortex like a black hole sucks everything into it as real estate prices go south dramatically and the “Subprime woes” become a hard reality.

Subprime woes can also occur in cities and rural areas whose populations are employed by one industry, which suffer a change in market conditions like the Detroit Michigan area. Subprime woes can occur when speculators buy homes, condos or into gated community using creative financing thinking the sky is the limit in places like Florida or Las Vegas. Developers, speculators, and over enthusiastic buyers go bust buying on leveraged money whose rates change rapidly leaving them unable to make monthly payments singing the subprime blues.

I see none of these scenarios in play in Smithtown, St James, Stony Brook, Setauket, Port Jefferson, Mt Sinai, Miller Place and the Shoreham-Wading River area. The largest developments in the area are over ten years old and the average is much older. We have amazing towns and communities, which are more then two hundred years old with rich histories going back to the revolutionary war and further to the Dutch landing in Manhattan Island around 1614. Port Jefferson has been the home of B.T. Barnum, famous ship builders, and a port of entry for the United States of America. Stony Brook University is only growing becoming more prestigious and recognized internationally. The Long Island sound is unique to the world in beauty and activities. Our wineries, Brookhaven Labs, Symbol Technologies, new Stony Brook University research facilities at Flowerfield Gyrodyne, and much more leave us rich in potential for growth and vitality.

The north shore is special for a multitude of reasons. Our local population is relatively affluent and savvy, our homebuyers are usually local or from other parts of Long Island; the south shore, Nassau County, Queens, Brooklyn and the city. Our largest employer Stony Brook University is expanding. Suffolk County is dedicated to preserving more open space leaving existing homes a rarer commodity. Manhattan is Manhattan.

Our local amenities are superb. Between our libraries, schools, beaches, parks, Long Island Sound, Stony Brook University, and our proximity to New York City we have more to offer then most communities in the continental United States. There are very few tracks of land, which are developable. New York City is only getting closer as time passes which has its pros and cons but the constant is over time property values in this area only increase. New York City will last throughout the twenty first century and beyond. The local real estate market may not show the gains it has shown in the past and it may loose some value in the short term but you will not see the worst-case scenarios, which will probably occur in other parts of the country.

Yes people have taken losses in the area. Some homes in the areas, which sold in late 2004 and early 2005 and which have resold recently, within the past year, have taken negative gains. Some homes in the area will depreciate more than others. The local real estate market has been riding fairly even recently, there has not been any big price downturn compared to some places in the country, and there has not been a rash of foreclosures. Interest rates have not moved much, which has helped home prices stay stable. I see a good future in our area over the long term. The doom and gloom of the “Subprime woes” will affect specific areas and regions in our country but I believe they will have a minimal effect on Long Islands North Shore.

Who knows what tomarrow will bring? I can not predict the future. Some people say the sky is falling. I think it matters where you are standing.

If you enjoy this articel and find it informative,
please leave a comment.

Thank you,
John Strozier

March 21 (Bloomberg) — Rolando Ruiz and Stephanie Rodrigues telephoned their mortgage lender two weeks ago and offered to hand over the keys to their three-bedroom house in Providence, Rhode Island. They lost their jobs and haven’t made a loan payment since January.

“I told the bank to come get the keys and just let me know when we need to be out, but they said why not put it up for sale and we might be able to work something out,” said Rodrigues, the 22-year-old mother of two girls.

Homeowners such as the Rhode Island couple are finding their mortgage companies eager to accept a sale price that falls short of a property’s loan balance — a so-called mortgage short sale. The number of U.S. loans entering foreclosure reached an all-time high in the fourth quarter, according to the Washington-based Mortgage Bankers Association. That’s spawning a cottage industry of real estate investors who profit as lenders try to avoid adding properties to their portfolios.

“Banks don’t want to be real estate managers,” said Doug Duncan, chief economist of the mortgage association. “The fact that delinquencies are rising means we’re going to see more pre- foreclosure sales.”

for complete article click here

Most economic forecasters in a new WSJ.com survey believe recent turmoil in the subprime mortgage market is likely to spread to the broader mortgage market and they expect a widely followed index of home prices to fall this year. But they still think the U.S. will avoid a recession and even a significant rise in unemployment.

“The markets may have over-reacted,” said John Lonski of Moody’s Investors Service. “Only businesses significantly exposed to subprime will be hurt. Mortgage repayment problems aren’t as widespread as we are led to believe. If most people were having trouble paying the mortgage, it would lead to declining consumer confidence and we haven’t seen that.”

Of the 60 economists surveyed, 32 said it is either “very” or “somewhat” likely that the intense and speedy unraveling of the market for subprime mortgages — home loans made to people with poor credit histories – will spill over to the rest of the mortgage market.

for complete artical click here

Steve Roddel was walking through a house in Fort Wayne, Ind., when he wondered aloud if there were any sex offenders living in the neighborhood.

Instead of commenting on her own, the real estate agent showing the home quickly pulled out her cell phone, connected to its Web browser and brought up Family Watchdog, a national sex-offender registry Web site. Little did she know that she was standing with the site’s founder and CEO. Visit Family Watchdog.

A real estate agent can be a wealth of information about a house. So a home buyer who asks what crime is like in the neighborhood might be surprised when the agent defers the question, directing a client to the Web or the local police instead.

for complete article click here

March 16 (Bloomberg) — Alan Greenspan, whose comments on recession helped send stock prices reeling two weeks ago, predicted the subprime-mortgage debacle in the U.S. will worsen.

Shares of subprime lenders rose.

The former Federal Reserve chairman’s influence on stock prices was thrown into question — at least for one day — as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rallied after Bear Stearns Cos.’ earnings report assuaged concerns that loan delinquencies will drag down profits at financial companies.

“It’s definitely true that his influence is waning,” said Hayes Miller, who helps oversee $38 billion at Baring Asset Management Inc. in Boston. “He might be over-playing his position in the world, even as an ex Fed chief.”

for complete article click here

While Spitzer’s plan is to “take it off the top” of state taxes a household must pay, LaValle and his fellow Republicans are calling for a property tax relief program that continues to provide direct rebate checks to homeowners, as in 2006, and increases their value in 2007 and 2008.
“In the Senate’s proposal, in 2007, people would receive triple the benefits that they received in 2006,” said LaValle. “And it would quadruple in 2008. The governor’s plan is limited – he takes $635 million out of the rebate program and eliminates the rebate checks homeowners received in 2006.”
STAR includes a school property tax rebate program and a partial property tax exemption from school taxes for all New Yorkers who own and live in a primary residence. The basic exemption is available regardless of age or income. An enhanced STAR exemption is available for senior citizens with certain income guidelines.

>for this complete article click here

Late Mortgage Payments Jump to 3 1/2 Year High, New Foreclosures Hit All-Time High

WASHINGTON (AP) — Late mortgage payments shot up to a 3 1/2-year high in the final quarter of last year and new foreclosures surged to record levels as borrowers with tarnished credit histories had trouble keeping up with monthly payments.

The Mortgage Bankers Association, in its quarterly snapshot of the mortgage market released Tuesday, reported the percentage of payments that were 30 or more days past due for all loans tracked jumped to 4.95 percent in the October-to-December quarter.That marked a sharp rise from the third-quarter’s delinquency rate of 4.67 percent and was the worst showing since the spring of 2003, when the late-payment rate climbed to 4.97 percent.

The association’s survey covers 43.5 million loans. 

The latest snapshot of the mortgage market stoked Wall Street investors’ worries about troubles facing “subprime” lenders who make loans to people with poor credit. The Dow Jones industrials tumbled 242.66 points.

The percentage of mortgages that started the foreclosure process in the final quarter of last year rose to 0.54 percent, a record high. The previous high, 0.50 percent, occurred in the second quarter of 2002 as the economy was recovering from the blows of the 2001 recession.

Delinquency and foreclosure rates were considerably higher for higher-risk subprime borrowers, especially those with adjustable-rate mortgages.

Lenders to subprime borrowers — people with blemished credit histories — have been battered. Rising interest rates and weak home prices have made it increasingly difficult for these borrowers — especially those with adjustable-rate mortgages — to keep up with their payments. Delinquencies and foreclosures in the subprime mortgage market are spiking.

The late-payment rate for all subprime loans jumped to 13.33 percent in the fourth quarter, up from 12.56 percent in the prior period and the highest in four years. The delinquency rate for subprime borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages was even higher — 14.44 percent, also the highest in four years.

“Unfortunately, it appears delinquency rates will likely worsen before they improve,” said Gina Martin, economist at Wachovia Corp. Economics Group.

For more info go to MortageBankers.org: http://www.mortgagebankers.org/

Kirk Condyles for The New York Times

Thomas Schultz, of Bellport, N.Y., sorting through artwork by Arthur Pinajian.

By COREY KILGANNON

Published: March 14, 2007

BELLPORT, N.Y., March 7 — The run-down little cottage on Country Club Road seemed like the perfect investment: a two-bedroom on a half-acre plot a couple of blocks from the bay and from the quaint village here on the South Shore of Long Island. The price, as is, was around $300,000.

Larry Joseph, a writer and businessman in Beverly Hills, would put up the money, and his friend Thomas Schultz, a Bellport native, would renovate the house, figuring they could put the place right back on the market for north of $400,000. The sellers said they were also welcome to the paintings and drawings left behind by Arthur Pinajian, an obscure artist who lived in the house with his sister for decades until they each died at 85, he in 1999, she last year.

for complete article click here

Wall Street Journal Real Estate March 12, 2007

By June Fletcher

Question: Is now a good time to buy a home, or should I wait for prices to fall further?

With the housing market on life support, just about everyone I talk to these days is asking some version of this question. So rather than answering for one person in a specific market, I’ll tackle the issue generically.

Nineteen months past its peak, residential real estate continues to weaken, with prices and sales down and inventories rising across the U.S. For sellers, this is ghastly news, of course, but buyers have mixed feelings. On the one hand, after years of bidding wars, instant offers without home inspections and even penning poems to convince sellers to hand over the keys, it’s delightful to finally have choices and negotiating room. On the other hand, it’s a bit frightening to make a commitment now, when there’s a chance that prices could drop even lower.

Caught between opportunity and risk, what’s a buyer to do? Here are some ideas to keep in mind in our current “buyer’s market”:

Buyers, not sellers, set prices. This may seem counterintuitive, but all a seller can do is suggest an asking price. The real price is whatever a buyer pays for it.

In 2004 and 2005, home prices rose because buyers flooded the market — now prices are falling because buyers are sitting on the sidelines. Meanwhile, the number of homes being built hasn’t changed drastically; rather, supply is growing because existing-home sellers can’t figure out what buyers are now willing to pay, so their homes are sitting on the market.

to read complete article click here

By James R. Hagerty, Ruth Simon, Michael Corkery and Gregory Zuckerman
From The Wall Street Journal Online

Ruthie Hillery was struggling to make the $952 monthly mortgage payment for her three-bedroom home in Pittsburg, Calif., last summer when a mortgage broker called. The broker persuaded the 70-year-old Ms. Hillery to refinance into a “senior citizen’s” loan from New Century Financial Corp. that she thought would eliminate the need to make any payments for several years, according to her lawyer.

Instead, the $336,000 adjustable-rate loan started out with payments of $2,200 a month, more than double her income. In December, Ms. Hillery received notice that New Century intended to foreclose on the property. Then, earlier this month, after a formal demand by the lawyer, New Century agreed to refund all its fees and cancel the loan once Ms. Hillery gets refinancing elsewhere.

The lawyer, Alan Ramos, says the loan never should have been made. “You have a loan application where the income section is blank,” Mr. Ramos says. “How does it even get past the first person who looks at it?”

New Century, an 11-year-old company that billed itself as “a new shade of blue chip,” has become a symbol of excess in lending to subprime borrowers, people with weak credit records or high debt in relation to their income. The company has imploded over the past few months as defaults surged and accounting misdeeds surfaced. New Century’s share price last week dropped 78% to $3.21 as some traders bet a bankruptcy-court filing is near.

to read complete article click here

14Feb07

January 2007 – West Babylon, NY – There weren’t any surprises in terms of pricing and inventory when doing the final calculations on the year end housing statistics reported by the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island, Inc (MLSLI) As many industry experts predicted, 2006 home prices did increase but returned to a normal rate of appreciation in single digits for the first time since 1998.

The 2006 Long Island, which includes Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties, average sales price for a home was $516,194, representing a 3.5% increase over the $498,896 average sale price reported in 2005. Individually, Nassau County reported a 2006 average sales price of $606,859, slightly higher than a year ago when it was reported at $601,192. Suffolk County reported a year ending sale price of $456,419, which represents a 2% increase over 2005’s average sale price of $446,944. Queens County bucking the trend, reported the highest county annual appreciation rate for 2006 with a reported average sale price of $493,253 which is 10% higher than 2005’s figure of $448,913.

The MLSLI December 2006 housing activity report showed that residential inventory was up approximately 30% over last year. In the month of December there were 27,446 residential properties available on the MLS system. This is another sign that the market has returned to normal conditions as compared to the less than average inventory levels that we began to see in 1999 and continued through the summer.

If buyers are waiting for large price reductions by sellers, it seems they may be disappointed. Joseph E. Mottola, LIBOR/MLS CEO said, “The MLS has been tracking the value of available inventory in recent months as an indicator of what is happening in the market in a now timeframe. The numbers show that the average and median prices for the inventory of houses in each county is about the same in December as it was in November.” Home prices are not tumbling as some predicted.

Overall, 2006 was good news for buyers and sellers with market conditions more in balance, prices stabilizing, and mortgage interest rates remaining attractive. Looking ahead in 2007, Donald Scanlon, MLS President said “Since early January we are seeing a significant increase in buyers attending our open houses. Feeling confident about the market conditions and the positive outlook of the economy, buyers seem ready now to get back into the market. It’s good news for everybody when the market is in balance.”

Source: Multiple Listing Service of Long Island

Owning a home tops the dream list for most Americans, and for plenty of good reasons. It’s a shelter for your family, a gathering place for your friends and a good long-term investment.

Tax breaks are also frequently cited as motivation for moving from renting to owning, and there are many ways a home can cut your tax bill.

But, as is often the case with the U.S. tax code, homeownership tax benefits are not always clear-cut. That frequently leads to some bad information floating around.

While myths, half-truths and misconceptions may abound, we’ve narrowed it down to five that, if you buy into them, could cost you.

for complete article click here

The Wall Street Journal Real Estate– March 07, 2007
By Lauren Baier Kim

Here’s a look at what’s new in real-estate markets across the U.S. from around the Web. (Some links may require registration or subscriptions.)

Has flipping flopped?

As the housing market softens, flipping, or purchasing a property for investment purposes and reselling it within a six-month period, has become less popular — and less profitable — in California, says a Los Angeles Times article. Among home resales across the state last year, 3.2% were flips, down 1% from 2005, and nearly 25% were sold at a loss, versus only 7.5% in 2005, the Times says. While flipping is harder these days, buyers can turn a profit if they follow a few strategies, the Times says. A few noted by the newspaper include: targeting “desperate” sellers by finding properties that have been sitting on the market for a while, buying homes at considerable discounts, renting out a property if it can’t be sold right away (while charging rents that cover your costs), not over-improving a house for the neighborhood and not overestimating the potential final sales price of the property.

Warming trend in Manhattan suburb

The spring selling season has made an early appearance in New York’s Westchester County, a tony suburb of Manhattan, according to a New York Times article. Real-estate agents and brokers are hoping that the increased exuberance shown by buyers is a sign of a market recovery — the article says that open houses are attracting large numbers of potential buyers and agents are reporting increased buyer interest, the newspaper says. Boosting the market is an apparent “dose of reality” among sellers who are apparently more open to lowering their price demands — the median sales price in the county as of December 31 was $630,000, 3.4% less than the median price 12 months earlier — $652,250, the paper says. The median price could fall even more, possibly 3% to 5% by March 31, the article notes. Positive factors in nearby Manhattan are stepping up buyer demand, namely large Wall Street bonuses, low unemployment rates, and a healthy condo market — which is allowing some homeowners to sell their city abodes to pursue one in the suburbs, the Times says

for complete article click here

It’s not often that a professor at the University of Toronto gets to share the stage with a former U.S. president, a legendary singer-songwriter and a knighted billionaire.
Nanotechnology expert Ted Sargent, whose U of T team is developing a better way to capture solar energy, will get that chance tomorrow at the annual Technology, Entertainment and Design conference in Monterey, Calif.
“I’m going to put forth a vision of solar energy,” said Sargent, who in 2005 was recognized by Scientific American magazine as one of the world’s Top 50 leaders in science and technology.
That vision includes using nanotechnology to develop paint-on solar cells that can convert the sun’s rays – both visible and invisible infrared spectrum – into clean electricity.
“I see homes, clothes, tents, pool covers, even electronic devices using a solar-energy harvesting material. If it’s on a surface area and something we’re making use of, those are the first opportunities for this,” he said.

Click here for complete article

BOSTON — A company trying to harness energy from sunlight and interior light to wirelessly power everything from cell phones to signboards now has financial backing from the White House.

President Bush’s program to help solar energy compete with conventional electricity sources will help fund Konarka Technologies’ development of flexible plastic solar cell strips — material that could be embedded into the casings of laptop computers and even woven into power-producing clothing to energize digital media players or other electronics.

The technology, which received its first Pentagon funding three years ago, offers a lightweight, flexible alternative to conventional rigid photovoltaic cells on glass panels

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman is scheduled Thursday afternoon to tour Konarka’s headquarters in a former textile mill in Lowell, where he’s expected to announce funding from Bush’s Solar America Initiative.

The award amount and other details were to be announced in a news conference at Konarka, a six-year-old private company that has attracted nearly $60 million in venture capital funding.

Click here for complete article

Real Estate Blogs Directory
- Directory of real estate blogs and blogs of industries affiliated with and
serving the real estate industry.

google24288e551aba84e7.doc

Mortgage News Daily
Tuesday March 6, 2007

Unlike the see-saw figures on housing sales and house prices that come out monthly from the National Association of Realtors and the Census Bureau, the House Price Index (HPI) published quarterly by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) takes the longer view.

The HPI for the fourth quarter of 2006 was released on March 1, and while it clearly shows that the bubble is no longer expanding insanely, prices have stabilized and there is still modest appreciation. In fact, the appreciation, 1.1 percent over the three month period, was slightly better than the 1.0 percent growth in the third quarter.

Prices for the entire year (since the end of the fourth quarter, 2005) were up 5.9 percent. In quarter three the year-over-year appreciation (since Q3 2005) was 7.88 percent. Those two quarters followed eight straight quarters where the year-over-year increase was in double digits. Even at 5.9 percent housing prices still far outstripped the remainder of the Consumer Price Index in 2006 where non-shelter prices rose 0.9 percent.

Utah led the list in housing appreciation with a fourth quarter increase of 3.67 percent followed by Wyoming with 3.28 percent and New Mexico and Idaho, both at 2.14. These same states had one-year appreciation of 17.55, 14.29, 13.99, and 13.08 percent respectively. Negative appreciation for the quarter occurred in five states, Hawaii, North Dakota, California, Nevada, and Nebraska. In every case the decline was less than 1 percent. Only one state, Michigan, showed negative appreciation for the entire year.
Aggregating the data to a state level definitely smoothes out the true variability that exists. Some individual Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA’s) were still enjoying rampant appreciation from the fourth quarter of 2005 to the fourth quarter of 2006. For example, in Bend, Oregon prices were up 21.4 percent, Wenatchee, Washington increased 20.9 percent, and Provo-Orem, Utah prices appreciated 19.9 percent. Negative appreciation was also sharper on the MSA level although the greatest price drops were relatively modest; Kokomo, Indiana, -5.3 percent; Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Golenta, California, -4.2 percent; Jackson, Michigan, -3.9 percent. Of the 282 “ranked” MSAs for which data was provided, 256 had positive four-quarter appreciation, 25 had price declines, and prices were unchanged in one city.

The report noted that quarterly appreciation in the Pacific Census Division (Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, and Alaska) is decelerating rather dramatically. Prices grew 0.4 percent between the third and fourth quarter, nearly one full percentage point below the growth rate between the second and third. It appears to be California which is driving this deceleration – 21 of the 26 MSA’s in the state had negative appreciation. However, the two top ranked MSAs, Bend, Oregon and Wenatchee, Washington exemplify the sharp decline in rates of appreciation. Bend appreciated 21.39 percent over the course of 2006 but only 1.73 percent in the fourth quarter; the figures for Wenatchee were 20.94 and 3.46.

Hurricane Katrina continues to influence regional prices; areas in and near the affected area showed double digit increases, indicating continuing housing shortages.

We are great fans of the HPI but it does have its limitations. It examines only homes that have taken out at least two mortgages over the last 32 years, and those mortgages must be in the Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae conventional loan databases. For example, if a home was purchased in 1985 for $100,000, refinanced in 1989 based on an appraised value of $140,000, and sold again in 2006 for $410,000, there would be three data points for that single property. In the analysis individual properties are compared only to themselves. The HPI excludes homes that are purchased for cash or are privately financed and it does not include homes that are financed for more than the current limit for conventional mortgages which in 2006 and 2007 is $417,000. The survey includes both purchase money mortgages and mortgages taken to refinance an earlier loan. The inclusion of refinancing provides many more data points along the timeline but as the authors are quick to admit, does appear to also skew the information. For example, while the HPI for the whole of 2006 is 5.9 percent, when only home purchases are considered that number drops to 4.1 percent. This, however, is not a consistent pattern – in many quarters over the years refinancings drag down the HPI.
Anyone wishing to look at figures for their own communities can access the current HPI at ofheo.gov. The link to the complete study is on the home page. If your town does not appear in the alphabetical list of ranked MSA’s scroll down to the unranked list. There are many smaller cities listed there.

source
Mortgage News Daily
Tuesday March 6, 2007

Renewal Application for STAR

Exemption Income for STAR

Purposes Worksheet  

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Below are MLS search engines. For best results work with a licensed Real Estate agent who knows your needs and who knows the local inventory and community. A good real estate agent will show you homes which meet your needs, preview homes for you, set up viewing appoints which work with your schedule, inform you of the various agency agreements, be present at viewing of homes, inspection, appraisal, and be a professional throughout negotiations, contract, and closing. Find an agent who is well trained in ethics, fair housing, and the various agency agreements, one who can provide you with information to help you make an informed decision. Think John Strozier when thinking Real Estate on Long Island’s North Shore. I consider my customers family and I give them unparalleled service and honest advice. I service Smithtown, Stony Brook, Setauket, East Setauket, Port Jefferson, Mt Sinai, Miller Place, Sound Beach, Rocky Point, Shoreham and Wading River.

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Below I have posted websites, which you can use to search homes in your area. I would prefer you to use mine but its all about preferences and tastes, at my website you do not have to give any personal information not even your e-mail address.

thank you,

John Strozier
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
john.strozier@cbmoves.com
(631) 941-3100 ext 240

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My website  It’s easy and you do not need to give any personal information or an e-mail address

MLS Listings Search   

Zillow.com

REALTOR.com

Homes.com

RealEstate.com

ebayRealEstate

NewYorkTimes RealEstate

Craigslist Real Estate
Long Island

 I want to service my customers as best I can. If you find any information useful in this blog please post a comment. Then I will know how I can build this site to serve you. To post a comment you do not have to give any personal information or be a subscriber. Also you can e-mail me directly. My e-mail address and web site link is below.

Thank you, 

John Strozier

 john.strozier@cbmoves.com 

www.cbmoves.com/john.strozier

    I want to service my customers as best I can. If you find any information useful in this blog please post a comment. Then I will know how I can build this site to serve you. To post a comment you do not have to give any personal information or be a subscriber. Or you can e-mail me directly. My e-mail address and web site link is below.

Thank you,

 John Strozier

john.strozier@cbmoves.com

www.cbmoves.com/john.strozier

Real-Estate Market Sees a Housing Rebound – February 28, 2007

By Lauren Baier Kim

Here’s a look at what’s new in real-estate markets across the U.S. from around the Web. (Some links may require registration or subscriptions.)

Existing-home sales rise 3%

Sales of existing homes rose 3% in January from December, the largest percentage gain in two years, says a MarketWatch article. (Sales were down 4.3% year-over-year, MarketWatch says.) The median sales price dropped 3.1% from January 2006 to $210,600, the article says. “The price correction is working,” the Web site quotes David Lereah, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, as saying. He can’t say definitively whether the housing market has bottomed out because January’s warm weather helped to increase sales, he is quoted as saying. Condo resales were basically flat in January, dipping 0.1%, the article says.

Is your home ready for its close-up? An overwhelming majority of people — 80% — use the Internet when house hunting and many consider photos and virtual tours very important factors in their search, says a New York Times article. Your home’s photo appeal can draw or detract online buyers, so it’s important to work with a real-estate agent who uses high-quality photos or hires a photographer, the article says. Sellers should think about including more photos in their listing (having few photos may give potential buyers the impression that there’s something to hide) and adding a virtual tour. “They’re a great way of seeing a property without actually being there,” the paper quotes a Dallas real-estate agent as saying. Photos should be taken with ample lighting and minimal clutter, the article says. Sellers may want to avoid certain buzzwords that are used by agents to soften a home’s weaknesses — for example, “cozy” and “charming” are descriptives used to describe a property that is small, the article says.

Vacation-home sales fall in Golden State

In 2006, sales of vacation homes in California fell 37% from the year before, according to a Los Angeles Times article. That drop is greater than that for home sales overall in the state, which saw a year-over-year decline of nearly 25%, the Times says. The median sales price for vacation homes rose, however, to $400,000, a nearly 11% gain from the year before, while the median price for all Californian homes increased 6.5% to $469,500, the newspaper says. The fact that the median vacation-home price rose despite the decrease in buyer demand is a good sign for the state’s “economy and overall housing market,” the article says, because it indicates that sellers of vacation homes aren’t feeling pressured by economic factors to reduce their selling prices, the Times says.

Demand up in Manhattan

Bidding wars are again a fixture in Manhattan’s real-estate market, according an article by The New York Times. In January, home prices rose 14.4% and the number of contracts signed increased 19.4% from January 2006, as buyers at all levels of the price spectrum competed for properties, the article says. Responsible for this exuberance are bigger Wall Street bonuses and a strong local economy, plus an “about-face” by buyers, who no longer seem to fear a real-estate crash, the newspaper says. Also enjoying an uptick in buyer interest is Brooklyn, where neighborhoods like Park Slope and Prospect Heights are seeing higher prices not reached since 2004, the paper says.

Sales of existing homes rose 3% in January, the biggest percentage gain in two years.
Has New Jersey’s market hit bottom?

In the fourth quarter of 2006, home sales in New Jersey fell 20% from the same period the year before — doubling the 10% decline seen across the U.S. during that same period, according to an article posted on NorthJersey.com. Yet, North Jersey real-estate agents quoted by the Web site say real estate’s downward slide is petering out. For the region that includes New Jersey’s Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties, plus New York’s Westchester County and New York City, the median price for an existing single-family home was $498,400 at the end of 2006, down 3.8% from the end of 2005 and more than 11% from the third quarter of 2006, the article says. Yet, “I think we’re going to have quite a good spring,” one real-estate agent is quoted as saying.

Housing costs blamed for enrollment decline

Last year, Florida analysts predicted that 48,376 new students would enter the state’s schools come fall. Instead, student enrollment increased by a mere 477 children, says an article by the Orlando Sentinel. That’s the lowest student increase since the 1982-83 academic year, the newspaper says. What’s behind the sizeable drop in student enrollment? Lofty home prices and costs, the paper says. A survey of the state’s 62 county school superintendents for an analysis of the state’s property-tax system shows that 50% believe that high housing expenses have dissuaded families from moving into their districts or have convinced other families to move out, the Sentinel says.

Join a reader discussion about the housing market.

Send links to articles about residential-real-estate markets to Lauren Kim at lauren.kim@wsj.com.

Email your comments to lauren.kim@wsj.com.

McLean, VA – Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.18 percent with an average 0.4 point for the week ending March 1, 2007, down from last week when it averaged 6.22 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.24 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 5.92 percent with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 5.97 percent. A year ago, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.89 percent.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.93 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 5.96 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.97 percent.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.49 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, unchanged from last week when it also averaged 5.49 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.34 percent.

(Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total cost of obtaining the mortgage.)

“Mortgage rates drifted lower this week largely on the basis of new economic information suggesting a slower economy and lower inflation,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “Real GDP growth for the last quarter was revised downward to a 2.2 percent annualized rate, compared to the 3.5 percent initially estimated, while the accompanying price measure showed that core inflation was tamer than first reported, at a revised 1.9 percent annualized rate.

“Home sales painted a mixed picture of January’s activity. Continued weakness in the housing market was evidenced in January’s new home sales, which fell by 17 percent from the previous month. Meanwhile, existing home sales rose unexpectedly in the same time period. While the overall trend is unclear, the housing market is likely to continue on its rocky path during the first half of 2007.”

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned company established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac fulfills its mission by purchasing residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage-related securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than four million renters in America.

Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) is for informational purposes only and Freddie Mac is not responsible for business decisions made based on the reported results of the PMMS. Freddie Mac may change the methodology used to conduct the PMMS survey at any time and without notice.

DEFINITIONS

Commitment Rate is the interest rate a lender would charge to lend mortgage money to a qualified borrower exclusive of the fees and points required by the lender. This commitment rate applies only to conventional financing on conforming mortgages with loan-to-value rates of 80 percent or less.

ARM Index – is the One-year Treasury

Loan to Value Ratio (LTV) is the ratio of the loan amount of a mortgage loan to the lower of the appraisal value or purchase price of the property securing the loan.

Origination Fees and Discount Points are the total charged by the lender at settlement. One point equals one percent of the loan amount.

Margin is a fixed amount added to the underlying index to establish the fully indexed rate for an ARM.

Weighted Averages for the Primary Mortgage Market Survey have been adjusted as of October 26, 2006. The new weights use the dollar volume of conventional mortgage originations within the 1-unit Freddie Mac loan limit as reported under Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) for 2005.

for complete article click here

For Immediate Release
March 01, 2007
CONTACT: corprel@freddiemac.com
or (703) 903-3933

 

The most comprehensive list of good restaurants on the north shore I’ve found is at Long Island Restaurants.com

La Plage is my favorite! as is The Curry Club

Stony Brook Acquires Flowerfield Property and Confirms General Agreement on Southampton Takes Title to 246 Acres to be Developed into a Research Campus; Looks Ahead to East End Campus Focusing on Environment Thu, 3 Nov 2005, 15:08:00

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STONY BROOK, N.Y., November 3, 2005 — Stony Brook University announced today two major expansion developments that will result in new jobs, serve as an important economic engine of growth for the entire region, spawn pioneering research in various areas of science and engineering, lead to the creation of new technologies and commercial products, and have a significant impact on protecting the environment and sustainability on Long Island and beyond.First, Stony Brook and Long Island University confirmed they had reached a general agreement, with some details still to be resolved, on the sale of LIU’s Southampton College property. Stony Brook then announced that it has acquired the title to 246 acres of property adjacent to the University, locally known as “Flowerfield.”

“This is a very, very exciting time for Stony Brook the entire region,” said Stony Brook President Shirley Strum Kenny. “Our expansion at Flowerfield and Southampton means that our research enterprise will continue to grow and prosper in ways that will develop new technologies and unlock the questions on the important issues we will face in the 21st Century.”

The $35 million acquisition of Southampton College’s 81 acres by Stony Brook-subject to the approval of the State University of New York Board of Trustees-means that the University will move forward with its plans to develop a campus at Southampton focusing on academic programs related to the environment and sustainability. Those programs will begin in September, 2006.

Last year, the two institutions reached an agreement transferring the undergraduate marine science programs at Southampton College to Stony Brook University’s nationally-renowned Marine Sciences Research Center, with the University leasing space at Southampton beginning this Fall. Stony Brook’s efforts in Southampton have been spearheaded by State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle with support from Assemblyman Fred Thiele and Congressman Tim Bishop.

The expected purchase of the Southampton property also has been hailed by local public officials, civic activists, and business leaders who have fought to preserve the site for academic use. The property would provide Stony Brook with shoreline access for the planned curriculum relating to the environment and reinforce Stony Brook’s existing efforts that explore such issues. The University is already host to the World Environmental Forum, a series of conferences drawing leading international scientists and led by Richard Leakey, the world-famous anthropologist and conservationist, who is a Professor at Stony Brook.

In the second major expansion development, Stony Brook formally took title to 246 acres of the Flowerfield property, assuming full ownership. The University will develop a Research and Development Campus on the site, anchored by a Center for Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology (CEWIT). The Research and Development Campus will be an extension of the University’s world-renowned research arm.

The CEWIT will be a 100,000 square-foot, low-rise building where research by Stony Brook faculty and students will be done in partnership with local industry. Research foci will include Homeland Security, cyber security, ad hoc wireless networks, wireless healthcare applications, microwave sensors, computational genetics, computational neurobiology, sensor networks, and related research. The building will include 22 laboratories.

Construction on the CEWIT is scheduled to begin in 2006 and is expected to be completed in 2008. Construction and equipment is being funded by a $50 million grant from New York State’s Centers of Excellence program, launched by Governor Pataki in 2001. Stony Brook anticipates that as many as 1,900 researchers and employees will work at the Research and Development Campus within 10 years.

“We are extremely grateful to the Governor for his inspired leadership in creating the Centers of Excellence,” Kenny said. “With the extraordinary research that is conducted at Stony Brook, and the collaborative efforts with private industry, CEWIT will make a difference in the lives of people across the region, the state, and the nation.”

The Flowerfield property is adjacent to the University and borders Route 25A, and straddles the Towns of Smithtown and Brookhaven. The land is zoned for light industrial use, so no zoning change is required for the intended research use of the property. The University will honor the leases of the two existing tenants on the property.

After having the site appraised, Stony Brook offered Gyrodyne Co. of America, which had owned the property, $26,315,000 on August 1. The offer was not accepted. Lacking a negotiated agreement, the value of the land will be set by the New York State Court of Claims as part of the eminent domain process.

Stony Brook University is one of the leading public research institutions in the U.S. Ranked the 136th best university in the world last year (out of more than 8,300 universities worldwide) by the London Times Higher Education Supplement, Stony Brook is also one of only 10 universities nationally awarded a 1998 National Science Foundation recognition award for integrating research and education. It is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, an invitation-only organization of the top 63 research universities in the U.S. The University has an enrollment of approximately 22,000 students, generates $160 million annually in external research funding, and has an annual $2.5 billion economic impact on the region.

Three Village Public Library - more info »120 Main St, Setauket, NY (631) 941-4080 - close call - 1 review Category: Libraries Public 

Port Jefferson Free Library - more info » 100 Thompson St, Port
Jefferson, NY(631) 473-0022 - close  call - 4 reviews Category: Libraries Public 

Comsewogue Public Library - more info » 170 Terryville Rd, Port
Jeffrsn Sta, NY(631) 928-1212 - close  call - 2 reviews Category: Libraries Public 

North Shore Public Library - more info »250 Route 25A,
Shoreham, NY(631) 929-4488 - close  call - 1 review Category: Libraries Public  Health Sciences Center Library - more info »8034 Suny, Stony
Brook, NY(631) 444-2512 - close  call Category: Special Interest Libraries Middle Country Public Library - more info »101 Eastwood Blvd, Centereach, NY(631) 585-9393 - close  call Category: Libraries-Public Smithtown Library - more info » 1 N Country Rd, Smithtown, NY(631) 265-2072 - close  call - 2 reviews Category: Libraries Public Smithtown Library - more info » 127 Smithtown Blvd # 20, Nesconset, NY(631) 265-3994 - close  call - 1 review Category: Libraries-Public 

University Hospital & Medical Center at Stony Brook: Hospital Information Services Dept - more info » 13 Technology Dr, East Setauket, NY(631) 444-4000 - close  call Category: Hospitals 

St Charles Hospital and Rehabilitation Center - more info »200 Belle Terre Rd, Port
Jefferson, NY(631) 474-1572 - close  call - 1 review Category: Hospitals 

John T Mather Memorial Hospital www.matherhospital.com
75 N Country Rd – (631) 473-1320
Get directions – More information

Stony Brook University deserves its own posting. It is one of the largest employers in the area and has so much to offer; from The Staller Center for the Arts, to sporting events, to the arts, Physics and Astronomy, Math Department, and the Stony Brook University Medical Center. Click on to any of the words in italics to go directly to the corresponding link.

This links gives you information, address and phone number, to clubs in the area Three Village Kiwanis Club, Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, Three Village Chamber of Commerce, Stony Brook Rotary etc.

    I want to service my customers as best I can. If you find any information useful in this blog please post a comment. Then I will know how I can build this site to serve you. To post a comment you do not have to give any personal information or be a subscriber. Or you can e-mail me directly. My e-mail address and web site link is below. Thank you, John Strozier john.strozier@cbmoves.comwww.cbmoves.com/john.strozier

New York Times

Published: February 18, 2007

IN a market where buyers and sellers circle one another warily — each certain that he or she is being taken advantage of, no matter what the conclusion of a deal — the asking price of a property is rarely a straightforward reflection of comparable values. While comparables may be a starting point, the price at which a seller offers a property is often also based on wishful thinking, propaganda and ploy.

Buyers, in turn, parry by deconstructing the price. They aim not merely to assess a dwelling’s fair value but also to plumb a seller’s bottom line and vulnerabilities. How a price tracks with similar properties, how large and hasty any reduction is, and even how parsed or rounded a number is — all these are grist for concluding, rightly or not, whether a price is firm, desperate or a sign of painful dealings to come.

Or even a sign of delusion.

Despite whispering advice like courtiers into the ear of a monarch, brokers say some sellers have delusions of grandeur, stemming from a failure to grasp that what they want for their home has nothing to do with what it’s worth.

“Most of the time a seller will start to talk about what they want, and I will say, ‘I don’t care — don’t tell me,’ ” said Andrew M. Phillips, a senior vice president of Halstead Property, who teaches classes on pricing to Halstead agents. “I will do my analysis and come back to you with quantitative information.”

Even when the seller and broker reach an agreement on a home’s value, it is often wise to adjust the asking price downward, and not just because buyers like bargains.

for complete articleclick here