Weekly Interest Rate Overview

The Markets. Rates were stable at recent lows in the past week. Freddie Mac announced that for the week ending July 24, 30-year fixed rates were unchanged at 4.13%. The average for 15-year loans ticked up to 3.26%. Adjustables were also stable in the past week with the average for one-year adjustables unchanged at 2.39% and five-year adjustables increasing marginally to 2.99%. A year ago 30-year fixed rates were at 4.31%. Attributed to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac –“Rates were little changed for the week with 30-year fixed-rate loans remaining unchanged. Meanwhile, we received some good news on housing with existing home sales climbing 2.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million in June, the highest pace since October 2013.” Rates indicated do not include fees and points and are provided for evidence of trends only. They should not be used for comparison purposes.

Current Indices For Adjustable Rate Mortgages
Updated July 25, 2014

	Daily Value	Monthly Value
	July 24	June
6-month Treasury Security	0.06%	0.06%
1-year Treasury Security	0.11%	0.10%
3-year Treasury Security	1.00%	0.90%
5-year Treasury Security	1.72%	1.68%
10-year Treasury Security	2.52%	2.60%
12-month LIBOR		0.542% (June)
12-month MTA		0.118% (June)
11th District Cost of Funds		0.667% (May)
Prime Rate		3.25%

Security Deposit 101: What Your Landlord Will (and Won’t) Forgive

June 2014 Manhattan & Brooklyn Sales Market Snapshot

Manhattan

• Market-wide: Prices showed significant year-over-year growth but remained steady compared to recent months. Contracts signed decreased year-over-year by 11% in condos and 12% in co-ops, a result of multiple forces from both the demand and supply side. Note that June 2013 was an atypical month skewing some year-over-year comparisons; prices had dipped due to a larger volume of small sales and, as with much of 2013, the number of contracts signed was very high.
• Condos: Prices in the condominium market have shown remarkable gains with a 51% increase in average price and a 31% increase in average price per square foot, led primarily by high-end and new development deals and also a result of lower than typical prices in June 2013. Days on market held steady from last month at 95 days but this figure represents a 16% shorter time to sell than a year ago.
•    Co-ops: As prices of the greater Manhattan market rise, co-op units are seeing an increase in demand, evidenced not only by significant price growth but also by the drop in days on market and loss of buyer negotiability. Average price increased by 34% versus last year and median price was up 7%. Average price per square foot increased by double-digits, up 13% to $1,102.

Brooklyn

• The Brooklyn market had the tenth consecutive month of year-over-year increase in both average and median sale price, at 26% and 17% respectively.
• Average days on market in Brooklyn is currently the lowest since we began tracking it in August 2010, decreasing 70% year-over-year, to a remarkably low 20 days.
• The decrease in days on market played a major part in the fact that buyers paid on average 2.4% over last asking price with 60% of contracts signing above asking price and 17% signing at asking price.
•    Total available inventory in Brooklyn increased 3% versus May 2014. There were 15% more new listings compared t0 last month, and 29% more than June 2013.

Weekly Interest Rate Overview

The Markets. Rates drifted down slightly across the board in the past week. Freddie Mac announced that for the week ending July 17, 30-year fixed rates decreased slightly to 4.13% from 4.15% the week before. The average for 15-year loans ticked down to 3.23%. Adjustables were also stable but lower in the past week with the average for one-year adjustables falling slightly to 2.39% and five-year adjustables decreasing marginally to 2.97%. A year ago 30-year fixed rates were at 4.37%. Attributed to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac –“Rates were little changed amid a week of light economic reports. Of the few releases, industrial production rose by 0.2 percent in June, below the market consensus forecast. Also, the producer price index for final demand rose 0.4 percent in June, rebounding from a 0.2 percent decline the prior month.” Rates indicated do not include fees and points and are provided for evidence of trends only. They should not be used for comparison purposes.

Current Indices For Adjustable Rate Mortgages
Updated July 18, 2014

	Daily Value	Monthly Value
	July 17	June
6-month Treasury Security	0.06%	0.06%
1-year Treasury Security	0.10%	0.10%
3-year Treasury Security	0.94%	0.90%
5-year Treasury Security	1.65%	1.68%
10-year Treasury Security	2.47%	2.60%
12-month LIBOR		0.542% (June)
12-month MTA		0.118% (June)
11th District Cost of Funds		0.667% (May)
Prime Rate		3.25%

Q2 2014 Manhattan Sales Market Report

Contact me for assistance with the pricing, sale,  or purchase of a home

Trends from last quarter:

• Inventory Starting to Turn Around.
  Although the number of properties listed for sale remains very low (52% below the peak in Q1 2009), we are starting to see more of them.  Inventory rose for the second quarter in a row.
• Limited Supply Buoys Prices.
  The continuing depressed level of available property kept the market competitive for buyers.
• Slower Activity in One and Two Bedroom Sales.
  In Manhattan, one- and two-bedroom units are the primary drivers of residential sales activity, but they are occurring with decreasing frequency. 
• Luxury Sales Take a Larger Share.
  Activity at the high end continued to be robust, and grew as an overall percentage of the market.  Properties above $3M now account for 12% of sales (up 3% from a year ago), and 26% of available inventory (up 4%).
• Market-wide PPSF Sets New Record.
  The focus on high-end sales drove the average price per square foot for Manhattan real estate up to $1,286.

Full report is available here

CITI HABITATS Q2 2014 RENTAL MARKET REPORT

June 2014 Facts:

• The average Manhattan apartment rented for $3,470 during June 2014, the highest this average has been since we began tracking this statistic in January 2002.  The previous record was set in August 2012, when the average was $3,461.

 

• Rents increased for all apartment sizes month-over-month:  2% across the board for studio, one and three bedroom homes, and 1% for two bedroom units.

• The Manhattan vacancy rate declined – from 1.17% in May, to 1.10% in June.  However, the borough’s vacancy rate is unchanged year-over-year.  In June 2013, the rate was also 1.10%.

• During June 2014, 6% of leases signed included a landlord concession, down from 7% the month prior.

Q2 2014 Facts:

• When comparing Q2 2014 with Q1 2014, average rents for studio units increased the most, by 4.1%.  The increase was not as substantial for one-bedroom homes, which increased in price by an average of 1.5%.  Rents for three-bedrooms rose by 1.0%; while in contrast, rents declined 0.3% for two-bedroom homes.

• Year-over-year, Manhattan rents increased across the board.  From Q2 2013 to Q2 2014, average rents for studio apartments increased 1.5%.  For one-bedroom units, the average rent increased 1.7%.  Rental pricing for two-bedroom homes increased the most when compared to last year, with an average rise of 2.0%.  Finally, rents for three-bedroom homes increased the least, with an average increase of 0.8%.

• When examining vacancy rates, we found 1.25% of apartments to be vacant during Q2 2014, down from 1.54% during Q1.  However, conditions for apartment seekers were more favorable during the most recent quarter than they were a year ago.  During Q2 2013, only 1.13% of Manhattan apartments were vacant.

• During Q2 2014, 7% of transactions brokered by Citi Habitats included an owner-paid incentive, down from 12% during Q1.**  Incentives helped landlords drive traffic to their properties during the wintery months of the first quarter, but incentives gradually began to dissipate as demand for housing increased as the year progressed.

Full report available here

 

** Typically these concessions take the form of one month of free rent or payment of the broker’s
fee. 

Manhattan Apartment Rents Jump as Vacancies Rate Tumbles

By Heather Perlberg July 10, 2014

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 Manhattan apartment rents jumped last month, extending a surge in costs as availability tightens during the market’s peak season.

The median monthly rent rose 3.3 percent in June from a year earlier to $3,300, according to a report today by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. A separate report by brokerage Citi Habitats showed the average rent reached $3,470, the highest in records dating to 2002. [Bloomberg]

Weekly Interest Rate Overview

The Markets. Rates were stable in the past week, though the survey was released before the full effects of the employment report were realized. Freddie Mac announced that for the week ending July 3, 30-year fixed rates decreased slightly to 4.12% from 4.14% the week before. The average for 15-year loans remained at 3.22%. Adjustables were also stable in the past week with the average for one-year adjustables falling slightly to 2.38% and five-year adjustables remaining at 2.98%. A year ago 30-year fixed rates were at 4.29%. Attributed to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac –“Rates on home loans were little changed from the previous week and remain below levels seen the same time last year, which should provide some help with homebuyer affordability in many markets. Recent housing data was better with pending home sales up 6.1 percent in May and overall construction spending showing a slight improvement with private residential spending now up 7.5 percent on yearly basis.” Rates indicated do not include fees and points and are provided for evidence of trends only. They should not be used for comparison purposes.

Current Indices For Adjustable Rate Mortgages
Updated July 3, 2014

	Daily Value	Monthly Value
	July 2	May
6-month Treasury Security	0.06%	0.05%
1-year Treasury Security	0.12%	0.10%
3-year Treasury Security	0.95%	0.83%
5-year Treasury Security	1.71%	1.59%
10-year Treasury Security	2.64%	2.56%
12-month LIBOR		0.538% (May)
12-month MTA		0.122% (May)
11th District Cost of Funds		0.667% (May)
Prime Rate		3.25%

Weekly Interest Rate Overview

The Markets. Rates slipped a bit again in the past week and are now lower than they were at this point last year. Freddie Mac announced that for the week ending June 26, 30-year fixed rates decreased to 4.14% from 4.17% the week before. The average for 15-year loans fell more precipitously to 3.22%. Adjustables were also lower in the past week with the average for one-year adjustables falling slightly to 2.40% and five-year adjustables decreasing to 2.98%. A year ago 30-year fixed rates were at 4.46%. Attributed to Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac –“Rates on home loans were down following the release of the first quarter real GDP final estimate, which fell at a 2.9 percent annualized rate, a steeper than expected decline and the worst reading since the first quarter of 2009. Also, the seasonally-adjusted S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index was up only 0.2% in April from the previous month. On a year-over-year basis, prices remained strong in April up 10.8%, but slower than the 12.3% in March.” Rates indicated do not include fees and points and are provided for evidence of trends only. They should not be used for comparison purposes.

Current Indices For Adjustable Rate Mortgages
Updated June 27, 2014

	Daily Value	Monthly Value
	June 26	May
6-month Treasury Security	0.06%	0.05%
1-year Treasury Security	0.11%	0.10%
3-year Treasury Security	0.90%	0.83%
5-year Treasury Security	1.64%	1.59%
10-year Treasury Security	2.53%	2.56%
12-month LIBOR		0.538% (May)
12-month MTA		0.122% (May)
11th District Cost of Funds		0.682% (Apr)
Prime Rate		3.25%

Apartment Inventory Is Up in Manhattan; Prices Are, Too

By MICHELLE HIGGINSJUNE 30, 2014

The good news for Manhattan apartment seekers: After a two-year shortage of apartments for sale, inventory is finally inching up again. The bad news: There still are too few apartments to go around, especially for those with a budget of $1 million or less.

The average price for a Manhattan apartment rose 20 percent to $1,697,000 in the second quarter, compared with the same period last year, according to a report by the Corcoran Group brokerage firm. The median price, which measures the middle of the market and is less affected by high-end sales, was up 6 percent to $920,000.[NYT]