Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Downturn in Housing is Overstated By Major Indices
As a follow up to yesterday's post, an article from the Calgary Herald is citing the work of Collateral Intelligence, a real estate analytics firm based out of Massachusetts and California, states that most closely watched U.S. home price measures lack enough local data to truly reflect house values and are overstating the extent of price drops. Some key markets in those indexes are dominated by distressed foreclosure sales, exaggerating the price weakness that is often extrapolated to the national market.
“To properly track the real estate market you really need to get down to all the local markets,” said Sklarz. “Now we have the tools to properly track that. So why track these overly simplistic indicators that can be very biased, as they are in the current environment, when there’s so many more complicated things going on in the market?”
While Case-Shiller regional indexes show a 26% slide in prices since the peak in mid-2006 and its national index shows a more than 18% drop in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, Miller said a more realistic estimated cyclical drop is in the 12% to 15% range for the typical home owner.
So while it is true that there are good deals to be had, it is also just plain old smart to do your homework when shopping for a home. Looking at a new home that is priced at $750,000 and thinking that it will drop to $400,000 may be unrealistic, and you may find yourself continually waiting on the sidelines, getting ready to jump into the market at a price that will never happen. Prospective buyers should be thinking that similar homes will have similar prices, and that market forces have already affected the prices across the board.
Keep in mind that home prices have dropped already and mortgage rates are fantastic, and there are signs that the economy is turning already. Good hunting!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
A $500,000 Home for $200,000
That seems like an impossible deal, but it is true that home prices have dropped in some markets drastically.A CNN article talks about how a family in California bought a house for $250,000 when a few years ago it was selling for $550,000. According to the article, "housing prices in 20 major cities have plummeted at record levels, down 19 percent from a year earlier. Home prices have plunged 29.1 percent nationally since they peaked during the second quarter of 2006, according to the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index."
If that doesn't sound like a great opportunity to go out and buy, then I don't know what is. For people with good credit and strong finances, these great deals are not to be passed up.
One thing that our readers do need to keep in mind though is that the media is in their role reporting news that catches people's eyes. New York has not been as hard hit relatively as the superheated markets, so these 50% off deals don't always exist here since there never was inflation of prices at levels close to those of markets like California, Florida, or Arizona. The other thing to be wary of is the fact that new construction homes don't face the same dynamics as resale homes, which these news stories typically focus on, and haven't dropped nearly as much, since the builders still aim to recoup at least their costs in building homes.
Nonetheless, great deals are out there if you look. As the family from the article said, "It's unfortunate for those who are going through such tough times. But in some ways, we were really glad that we were able to do something we wouldn't have been able to do otherwise."
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
SIREN Show: Why It's a Good Time To Buy a Home NOW! Part 2
Filmed and Edited at CTV
+ SIREN Show: Why It's a Good Time To Buy a Home NOW! Part 1
Monday, April 6, 2009
SIREN Show: Why It's a Good Time To Buy a Home NOW! Part 1
Here is a first look at our very first SIREN Show. I'll be posting several segments of this first show over the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned to see what our great panel of guests from SI Board of Realtors, Equity Valuation Associates and Victory State Bank have to say about the Staten Island real estate market and why it's a good time to buy a home now. This is our first stab at something like this, so I hope you enjoy.
Filmed and Edited at CTV
Friday, April 3, 2009
Central Park? That Tiny Little Thing?
Whenever you ask a New Yorker that doesn't live on Staten Island what they know about Staten Island, they will invariably refer to Fresh Kills or "The Dump".
Opened in 1948, it would eventually became the largest man-made structure on Earth and a black scar on the Island's reputation. Even today, almost a decade after the landfill site was closed on March 22, 2001, it still haunts Staten Island endlessly.
So why talk about something like this on a blog that wants to show the world that Staten Island is... well, not a dump? Because the Fresh Kills site has already started its transformation, one that will continue for the next 30 or so years, into something that Staten Islanders can be proud of. The site is being reclaimed, returned to nature, and will make Central Park look like the vegetated median from the West Side Highway (pardon me, Joe DiMaggio Highway).
Fresh Kills will be three times the size of Central Park when it is done. That is an incredible achievement considering Staten Island is part of one of the densest populated areas on earth, and will undoubtedly become an asset for future generations of Staten Islanders and New Yorkers alike.
What many of our readers don't know is that the old landfill only makes up about half of the future park's area with the rest remainder containing wetlands, open waterways and unfilled
lowland areas.
According to Newsday, Urban Park Rangers begin guided tours this Saturday.
This article from Landscape and Urbanism also refers to the City's blog on the progress at Fresh Kills and related subjects as well and links us to an interesting graphic series from Popular Science magazine that shows us how Fresh Kills is being reclaimed (a few excerpts here):
Thursday, April 2, 2009
A SIREN Exclusive Interview with StreetEasy
Dawn Doherty, the VP of Strategic Development for StreetEasy, provides SIREN with an exclusive interview that gives valuable insight on the fastest growing and largest real estate listing site in New York City.
SIREN: Who founded StreetEasy, and what was the inspiration and reasons for starting up StreetEasy?
Dawn Doherty: StreetEasy was founded by a small team headed by Michael Smith. His intentions were to deliver a transparent and deep information experience for the consumer.
SIREN: When did they first come up with the concept for StreetEasy and when did it go live to the public?
Dawn Doherty: The concept was hatched in mid 2005 and StreetEasy launched in January 2006.
SIREN: Do you feel that PropertyShark, Trulia, New York Times Real Estate, Yahoo Real Estate, Zillow, Realtor.com and Homes & Land are your direct competition? What differentiates StreetEasy from these listing sites?
Dawn Doherty: All of these sites deliver Real Estate information. The difference between StreetEasy and others is:
1. StreetEasy is locally focused. We have the highest integrity listings (we cross reference several sources) most comprehensive set (not just REBNY).
2. StreetEasy archives every piece of information posted. A user can access a past listing from 2005 for instance. We keep a running chronological history of every listing.
3. One can see the listing in context of its surroundings (in NYC- within a building) in a snapshot view.
4. Price reduction alerts and updates several times per day from sources insure that consumers plugged into StreetEasy are the first to know about status changes.
SIREN: What are the incentives and how do you encourage real estate companies to list their properties on StreetEasy?
Dawn Doherty: We show agencies that we are currently sending tens of thousands of transfers to agency websites- for no fee.
SIREN: I’ve noticed that Manhattan and Brooklyn are the boroughs with the most listings on StreetEasy. Are Manhattan and Brooklyn your main target markets and are you actively looking to grow your listings for the other boroughs?
Dawn Doherty: StreetEasy will be adding 6k+ listings from the Brooklyn NY MLS over the next few weeks extending our reach in boroughs.
SIREN: How much traffic does the StreetEasy website get a month?
Dawn Doherty: Close to 10MM page views (up from 4.5MM in September) monthly
SIREN: How has the current economic situation impacted consumer traffic on your site and how have you been affected by this from a business standpoint?
Dawn Doherty: StreetEasy’s traffic has exploded over the past few months. We attribute this occurrence to the consumer’s desire for “confidence”. Since we offer complete transparency and the most comprehensive set of listings in NYC we fill this research need.
SIREN: Some of the other listing sites have direct feeds from MLS and have a comprehensive database of information? Why doesn’t StreetEasy feed from MLS and is that an enhancement you are looking to make in the future?
Dawn Doherty: We are pursuing this while maintaining our transparency (history, price reductions). For instance, MANAR and the Brooklyn NYC MLS listings will be on StreetEasy shortly.
SIREN: What types of developments and housing (Condos, Co-Ops, Single Family, Multi-Family, New Construction, etc.) are mostly listed on StreetEasy? Can individual homeowners list their homes or does it need to be listed by a broker or developer?
Dawn Doherty: All of the above re: types. StreetEasy only posts sales listings from licensed agents. We just introduced “For Rent by Owner”.
SIREN: What type of growth have you seen since the inception of StreetEasy? Are you looking to broaden your listings to areas outside of NYC, such as Long Island and Westchester, or to expand to other areas in New Jersey?
Dawn Doherty: You can access our recent growth history from http://www.quantcast.com/. We are expanding throughout the Metro area.
SIREN: What types of marketing and advertising do you do in order to bring more visibility and traffic to StreetEasy?
Dawn Doherty: We have strong relationships with key real estate and business writers in all of the top publications. PR is the new marketing- this is working for us. Our users come to us direct, therefore they are serious. Our average pages viewed per session are 20+ (the other like sites that you mentioned above have 8 page session lengths)
SIREN: Besides advertisements what are your other sources of revenue streams?
Dawn Doherty: Subscriptions from “Insider” (recorded sales) accounts, Featured Listings and creative ad units.
+ For the most comprehensive list of real estate properties in NYC click here: StreetEasy [Official Site]
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Many First-Timers Considering Buying a Home This Spring
An article concerning a survey from earlier this month shows that among prospective first time home buyers shows that 78% said that now is a good time to buy a home, despite widespread concern about the economy.
Prices emerged in the online survey as the primary driving force for prospective first-time buyers, with 85% saying they consider current homes prices affordable and 73% saying that taking advantage of current pricing would be a major factor in their decision to buy.
More than three-quarters of those polled — 77% — said they are more likely to buy a home in the next six months because of the $8,000 first-time buyer credit.
The article quotes that home buyers who have a stable job history of at least two years, solid credit (620 and above) and downpayment money that can be documented (3.5% on FHA loans) are well positioned to secure a mortgage in today’s credit environment.
Prices emerged in the online survey as the primary driving force for prospective first-time buyers, with 85% saying they consider current homes prices affordable and 73% saying that taking advantage of current pricing would be a major factor in their decision to buy.
More than three-quarters of those polled — 77% — said they are more likely to buy a home in the next six months because of the $8,000 first-time buyer credit.
The article quotes that home buyers who have a stable job history of at least two years, solid credit (620 and above) and downpayment money that can be documented (3.5% on FHA loans) are well positioned to secure a mortgage in today’s credit environment.
The housing bust is a boon for some
We have been talking about opportunities in the market for some time now here at SIREN, and it seems the mainstream media is finally catching on. Here's a CNN article that talks about a couple who found their dream home and made it affordable. With an Adjustable Rate Mortgage, no less, despite the incredible amount of demonization that this type of loan has been getting.
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