property management Archives

Home Sales Hit Fastest Pace Since 2007

Sales of previously owned homes rose for the third consecutive month in November, reaching their highest sales pace since February 2007. The 0.7 percent gain in November put home sales 15.4 percent above where they were at the same time last year. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says the housing market has been helped by a healthy job market and the expectation that mortgage rates would rise. “The healthiest job market since the Great Recession and the anticipation of some buyers to close on a home before mortgage rates accurately rose from their historically low level have combined to drive sales higher in recent months,” Yun said. “Furthermore, it’s no coincidence that home shoppers in the Northeast – where price growth has been tame all year – had the most success last month.” In fact, regional results show the Northeast saw an 8 percent improvement in November, while the South, Midwest, and West were relatively flat from the previous month. Also in the report, the typical home for sale last month was on the market 43 days, which is considerably faster than last year when homes stayed on the market an average of 54 days. More here.

Home Buyers Come Out Despite Higher Rates

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, average mortgage rates rose yet again last week. In fact, rates were up across all loan categories, including 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with both conforming and jumbo balances, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, and 15-year fixed-rate loans. But despite higher rates, the number of Americans requesting applications for home loans rose from the week before. Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s chief economist, told CNBC that application demand may have bumped up in anticipation of the Fed raising interest rates last week. “Mortgage rates increased at least partially as a result of the Federal Reserve’s rate hike and move to a slightly more hawkish stance,” Fratantoni said. “Borrowers may have gotten applications into their lender in advance of the FOMC announcement, as most observers anticipated an increase in the Fed’s rate target at the December meeting.” Still, though the Fed did raise rates, average mortgage rates are still well below their historical norm – meaning there are still opportunities for homeowners looking to refinance or buyers hoping to lock in a low rate. The MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications.

Builder Survey Hits Highest Level In 11 Years

There are a number of perspectives from which you could view the housing market. That’s why there are surveys gauging the attitudes of buyers and sellers, as well as Realtors, mortgage lenders, and builders. Each has an unique take on the real estate market that is based on their specific role. For example, an agent may have a very different understanding of their local market than the average home buyer, if only because of their experience and expertise. Builders are considered an important measure of the market because they have a ground-level view of how many people are shopping for new homes, the challenges facing builders, and the amount of foot traffic they’re currently seeing. For this reason, the National Association of Home Builders’ Housing Market Index surveys builders each month and scores their responses on a scale where any number above 50 indicates more builders view conditions as good than poor. In December, the index hit 70, its highest reading since July 2005. Robert Dietz, NAHB’s chief economist, says this month’s increase may have more to do with the recent election than any fundamental change in conditions. Still, Dietz says the market looks good. “Though this significant increase in builder confidence could be considered an outlier, the fact remains that the economic fundamentals continue to look good for housing,” Dietz said. “The rise in the HMI is consistent with recent gains for the stock market and consumer confidence. At the same time, builders remain sensitive to rising mortgage rates and continue to deal with shortages of lots and labor.” More here.

Mortgage Rates Continue Climb Upward

Though they didn’t move much, average mortgage rates were up again last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey. The survey found rates increased from one week earlier for loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with both jumbo and conforming balances. Mortgage rates were down slightly for 15-year fixed-rate loans. Increasing rates continue to have a negative effect on refinance demand – which is generally more sensitive cialis generique to rate fluctuation. In fact, the refinance index fell 4 percent from the week before, while demand for loans to buy homes dropped 3 percent. At this time last year, refinance demand was 12 percent higher than it is now. Purchase applications, on the other hand, are still outperforming last year’s numbers, rising 2 percent higher than they were during the same week last year. The number of Americans requesting applications to buy homes may be falling because of higher mortgage rates, though it’s also likely due to a lower-than-normal number of homes available for sale and prices that have returned to their pre-crash peaks in many markets. The MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential cialis generique mortgage applications. More here.

Most Homes Will Last More Than 100 Years

Everybody knows buying a house is a long-term commitment. After all, the typical mortgage is paid over 30 years and the typical home seller has been in their home for almost 10 years. In other words, homeownership isn’t for frequent movers or anyone with a strong case of wanderlust. But regardless of how long you stay in one place, you aren’t likely to outlast your house. That’s because most homes will last around 100 years, according to a new analysis from the National Association of Home Builders of numbers from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In fact, just 0.59 percent of all housing units are lost each year. These homes are lost for various reasons – including demolition, disaster, conversions, mergers, and homes that are put to non-residential uses. And that rate is pretty consistent whether the home was built in 1983 or 1962. In fact, when broken down per decade, the annual loss rate is fairly steady, though it does accelerate to just over 1 percent for homes built before 1950. Overall, the data suggests most of the homes built recently will still be standing 100 years from now and, even if you bought a house built 40 years ago, it’ll likely still be standing strong in 2076. More here.

New Home Sales Up 30% Over Last Year

In September, new home sales were 29.8 percent higher than they were at the same time last year, according to new numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The data shows sales up 3.1 percent from the month before and at their second-highest level since the recovery began. That’s good news for the housing market because any increase in new home sales helps spur more new home construction, which raises for-sale inventory and moderates price increases on all homes up for sale. As it is, the median price of a new home sold in September was $313,500; the average sales price was $377,700. And, with the number of new homes for sale lower than the month before, prices will likely continue to rise in the near term. Still a more favorable labor market and low mortgage rates have helped balance higher prices and kept buyer demand high. As an example, economists and analysts predicted a sales decline for September, making the results both unexpected and a good indication that potential home buyers aren’t being deterred by higher prices. More here.

Check out our new video! We hope you like it

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Preparing for the Heating Season in NYC

Now that the heating season is upon us let’s discuss the importance of preparing for the heating season and having your buildings boiler operating at peak efficiency during the winter. As most landlords and property managers already know (or should know), the heating season in NYC begins on October 1^st of every year and runs through May 31^st. NYC Law requires that landlords provide hot water 365 days a year and heat throughout the entire heating season. With your boiler machinery operating at peak performance for 8 months out of the year it’s important to know that you are starting the season with a clean slate for the year to come. That’s why it’s so important to schedule your boiler overhauls before the heating season starts.

A complete boiler overhaul at the start of the season will assure that your boiler is burning cleaner, combusting properly, operating safely, maximizing efficiency, reducing fuel consumption and, most importantly, saving you money. The annual overhaul will assure that you are minimizing the possibility of costly repairs during peak winter months and avoiding the possibility of a shutdown of essential services. The last thing a residential landlord wants is to have a building with no heat and hot water during the peak season when boiler service technicians are at full demand. Nothing in property management will draw more anger, anxiety and frustration from tenants than a boiler outage in the dead of winter. Complaints of this nature called into HPD (Housing Preservation and Development) are taken very seriously in NYC and require a quick response. In the case where a landlord or property manager fails to react to a boiler outage in a timely manner, HPD will engage a contractor on the building’s behalf which will then bill the owner at triple the ordinary amounts.

A proper boiler overhaul will require that the boiler is brushed and vacuumed of all black soot and residue from the previous year’s operation. The technician will make sure that all nozzles are cleaned and all oil filters are replaced. The tech will check to see if any defects in the unit’s operation are detected. They will inspect all moving components and make sure they are greased and operating properly. All electrical components will be tested for malfunctions, the boiler will be tuned up and final adjustments will be made to assure that the boiler is firing properly. A combustion analysis will then be conducted to make sure that everything is operating as it should.

The importance of including a preventive maintenance routine during — or before — the heating season cannot be overstated. The absence of simple routine maintenance can lead to a major malfunction and the loss of thousands of dollars. for example, a regular flushing of your boiler can prevent the low water cut off from clogging and malfunctioning. A malfunction of this important piece of equipment can cause the boiler to dry fire and physically crack requiring a complete boiler replacement in the dead of winter. Regular cleaning of the filters can prevent sediment from collecting and causing a boiler shutdown. Preventing your oil tank from running on empty will also prevent your boiler from taking in thick sludge at the bottom of your tank and clogging your filters, causing a burner shutdown that will require a complete cleaning of the oil tank. Because of this, it’s a good idea to always keep your tank at least half full and call for deliveries when it reaches that level. Your building’s Super should be monitoring water levels and pressure, and performing these duties regularly to assure that issues can be addressed quickly.

With the proper annual maintenance and testing, building managers and owners can avoid preventable outages during the colder months. Although this doesn’t guarantee that there will not be problems throughout the year it can mitigate some of the most common costly issues that require emergency service. It’s important to know that emergency repairs are typically billed at a higher rate than non-emergency service calls. For this very reason you will want to make sure that you keep emergency service calls at your building to a minimum. If you haven’t already scheduled your annual boiler overhauls, do it now! It’s not too late to avoid the more costly repair that will most certainly occur as the mercury really starts to plummet.