10 Year High Reached On New US Home Sales

In a sign that is considered unexpected as well as a good sign for the construction industry, the sale of new homes purchased by Americans was finalized at the fastest rate in over 10 years.  The Commerce Department is reporting that new-home sales last month rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 and is a 6.2 percent monthly increase.  This is the highest sales volume for new construction since October of 2007.

As reported earlier, because of the lack of existing homes many Americans are now looking for new construction to suit their need for housing.  The shortage of housing has also increase the sales price of a new home.  The average sales price of new construction homes increased 13.6 percent year over year to $400,200.

There is a 4.9 months to clear the supply of houses on the market.  This is the least amount of housing since July 2016 and down from 5.2 months in September. A six-month supply is viewed as a healthy balance between supply and demand.

Leading the way on new construction sales is in the Northeast.  New single-family homes sales increased by a whopping 30.2 percent in the Northeast.  This is also the highest levels since October 2007.  It is now being suggested that the three month increase in new US home building along with an increase in existing home sales there is a rebound in the housing market.  Housing for the year has been considered hampered by the shortages of housing, hurricanes in the South as well as the unavailability of skilled labor and land.   The new report may indicated that housing is gaining momentum going into 2018.

If you are interesting in purchasing a new construction and in need of property management than Blue Harbour Property Management can be of assistance.  We are a full-service NYC property management company servicing Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx.

http://www.blueharbourpropertymanagement.com/10-year-high-reached-new-us-home-sales/

Existing Home Sales Increase In October; Supply Still Low

That National Association of Realtors (NAR) is reporting that existing home sales for the month of October 2017 is up 2% to what they believe is an adjusted annual rate of sales of 5.48 million.  This is a positive readjustment as the September predicted annual rate was 5.37 million.  The sales figures comes amid continual shortages of inventory in housing as well as interruption in sales in hurricane regions in Texas and Florida.  NAR believes that the interruptions in sales in hurricane ravaged areas should dissipate by the end of the year.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR pointed out that sales activity is continuing to grow in all four regions of the United States.  He goes on to state:

 "Job growth in most of the country continues to carry on at a robust level and is starting to slowly push up wages, which is in turn giving households added assurance that now is a good time to buy a home.  While the housing market gained a little more momentum last month, sales are still below year ago levels because low inventory is limiting choices for prospective buyers and keeping price growth elevated."

The total amount of inventory decreased once again in October as there were only 1.8 million homes available for sale.  This is a decrease of 10.4% year over year.  As a result of lower inventory, existing home prices have gone up by 5.5% ($247,000) during the same period.

Of note for us living in the New York City region is that existing home sales in the Northeast rose 4.2% to an annual rate of 740,000.  The average price in the Northeast has increase to $272,800 which is a 6.6% increase year over year.

As the economy improves we are also seeing more individuals looking for purchase a second home for investment purposes.  If you are looking for are have an investment property and are interested in NYC property management than Blue Harbour Property Management is for you.  We are a full-service building management company servicing properties in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx.

http://www.blueharbourpropertymanagement.com/existing-home-sales-increase-october-supply-still-low/

CoreLogic Report Indicates Home Equity Wealth Hitting An All Time High

In New York City we have begun to see a frenzy of real estate activity not seen in over a decade.  Sellers are benefiting from high selling prices and a limited supply of inventory of housing.  The boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn have been benefiting the most of the increase of home prices.  In a report that doesn't seem very surprising by CoreLogic home equity wealth attained by homeowners has reached an all-time high.  The amount has surpassed the previous all time high which is from 2006 and the report further indicates that next year home equity wealth will surpass this year's numbers.

Home equity wealth hit $13.9 trillion and surpassed the 2006 number by  $.5 trillion.  The report forecasts that home prices will increase another 5% next year which will increase equity by another 1 trillion dollars.

The home equity increase has been facilitated by significant home prices increase and lower supply of inventory of houses.  The chart above shows the correlation of home price increase and the amount of individuals with negative equity.  Homeowners with negative equity has decreased by over 9 million since 2011 as home prices continued to surge.

Should one decide to tap into their home equity it would allow financially strapped individuals to access cash in order to remodel their home or purchase additional real estate investments.  Having the ability to also sell the property or rent is a great option for someone who purchased just a few years ago.   There are many vehicles one could use to tap into your home equity such as HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) or a cash-out.  The latter being the more popular approach.

If you are thinking about tapping into your home equity or just considering on purchasing a real estate investment than Blue Harbour Property Management is for you.  We are a full service NYC property management company servicing Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx.

http://www.blueharbourpropertymanagement.com/corelogic-report-indicates-home-equity-wealth-hitting-time-high/

What Factors Should A Homeowners Association (HOA) Look For In Deciding on Hiring a NYC Property Management Company?

When it comes to hiring a property manager in New York City the decision to hiring one for a Homeowners Associations (HOA) can be a daunting task in the general, a homeowners association is when a community of people buy properties in a proposed development. They form the government of the development and oversee the day to day operations of the HOA.  Membership in the HOA is usually mandatory by owners of the properties and members are fiduciaries who handle comply with community rules and collecting fees and fines.  The members volunteer their time without compensation to do this work.

Although there is definitely a cost saving function into using volunteer members into doing the managing of the HOA, it may become time consuming for members who have jobs and families to split time with.  When this becomes an issue for the members, you can see why there would be a need for a third party property manager in order to assist the HOA.  This is especially true when it is a growing or large community that may have issues such as compliance with regulations, collection of fees and fines and addressing community issues are involved.

We know that property management can become one of the most important aspects of having your HOA become successful.  That is why it is important in determining whether the fees associated with hiring a property management company outweighs going on it on your own.

Here are two huge factors that can be considered in deciding whether there is a need for a NYC property management company for your HOA:

• Do you have the amount of personnel to handle the operations of the HOA and are they qualified to do the work?

Because you have a volunteer staff, it is important to know whether they are committed to the job.  It can become difficult to amass a staff that is reliable when they are volunteering and have other responsibilities besides working for the HOA.  This may not be an issue if you have a fairly small amount of units, but it can become a little more burdensome when your HOA involves over 20 units and multiple buildings for example.

Also it is important to know whether you volunteer staff has the requisite expertise in order to do the job.  You can have the staff to do the job but if they do are not equipped in functioning then it becomes a liability for your HOA.  Having experienced members is something you should also be looking for if you want to go on your own.  Most property management companies have to expertise to handle these issues and in the long run will save your HOA time and money.

• Do you have the staff that is willing to enforce the rules of the HOA and collect fees?

Experienced property management companies have a staff that handles enforcement of rules and regulations.  They also have accounting software and staff that assists with the collection of fees and the levying of fines.  In many instances it can become difficult for neighboring owners to have one be a judge on a matter as well as the collector of fees.  There might become bad sentiments between neighbors that may become long-lasting as a result of a miscommunication or just because someone is doing their job on behalf of the HOA.

It is most of the times better to have an independent entity handle these situations.  There would be less animosity and property managers are aware of what is needed in order for owners to comply with the rules and can independently inspect the premises to make sure that there is a rectification of the violation.

It is also easier for property management companies to handle monthly fees and dues.  Besides collecting fees they have experience with collecting fines and assuring that the HOA is within their yearly budget.

Once your HOA decides that it would be in the best interest in hiring a property management company then you should consider reputable companies with experience in handling associations like yours.  Due diligence should be performed which would include interviews and follow-up phone calls to references.

It is important to take these factors into account when deciding on a property manager for your NYC Homeowners Association.  If you are in need for an experienced property management company that maintains successful and long-term relationships with the clients then Blue Harbour Property Management may be for you.  We are a full service property management company servicing Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.

http://www.blueharbourpropertymanagement.com/factors-homeowners-association-look-deciding-hiring-nyc-property-management-company/