Monthly Archives: August 2011

Mt Kisco Homes for Sale | Case-Shiller: Seasonal bump in Q2 home prices | Inman News

Case-Shiller: Seasonal bump in Q2 home prices

All 20 tracked metros see year-over-year declines

Home prices rose in the second quarter compared to the first quarter, but fell on a year-over-year basis, according to the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller National Home Price Indices report released today.

The quarterly national index rose 3.6 percent in the second quarter to 130.1, after a reported “double dip” in the first quarter. That’s a 5.9 percent decline compared to second-quarter 2010, taking home prices back to what they were in early 2003.

The 20-city composite index rose 1.1 percent on a monthly, nonseasonally adjusted basis in June, to 141.3. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the composite remained essentially flat at -0.1 percent. The composite fell 4.5 percent year over year.

None of the 20 cities in the composite posted monthly declines in June, and 19 of 20 posted increases. Minneapolis and Chicago saw the largest monthly increases, at 3.2 percent each. All 20 markets declined compared to June 2010, however, with Minneapolis and Portland seeing the biggest drops, down 10.8 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively.

Annual rates of growth have improved in 13 out of 20 cities, though they remain in negative territory, the report said.

Pound Ridge Homes for Sales | School Districts Hope to Open As Scheduled – Bedford-Katonah, NY Patch

Without power, schools won’t be able to open on time. But local school officials are hoping that’s not the case.

“Safety is our biggest concern,” said Jere Hochman, Bedford Superintdendent of Schools, on Tuesday afternoon. “We have sports activities running today outside and we plan to have new teacher orientation tomorrow. But we are exploring all of our options and if we don’t have power on campus by Friday, it’s a possibility that we could delay opening day.”

Hochman said he planned to send out an official message to district parents sometime on Tuesday.

Katonah-Lewisboro Superintendent of Schools, Paul Kreutzer, released a statement Tuesday afternoon saying that the district planned to open as scheduled. Lewisboro and Meadow Pond Elementary Schools and the middle and high school have no power.

“On a more positive note, Katonah Elementary School and Increase
Miller Elementary School, along with the District Offices, are operational and are currently being used by District staff to prepare for the opening of school,” said Kreutzer in a statement, which is posted on the district’s website.

The district has closed all buildings to the public through Tuesday, Sept. 6, which has led to the cancellation of the following activities:

  • Kindergarten orientation
  • New student orientation
  • Teacher meetings
  • Meetings with Guidance Counselors
  • Student appointments
  • Teacher training
  • Other social events

Check back with Patch for updates to this story later in the week.

Bedford Hills Homes for Sale | Update: Town Offers Shower Facilities, Water, Electricity to Residents – Bedford-Katonah, NY Patch

Update, 4:30 p.m. Aug. 30

Power is restored to the Katonah pool, and it will re-open to the public Aug. 31 at noon.

The pool house is available Tuesday from 4 p.m. – 7:45 p.m. for residents to take showers.

For the remainder of the week, pool house facilities are open:

Wednesday, August 31st
Thursday, September 1st
Friday, September 2nd

9am to 12pm– Open for Showers
12pm to 7pm– Pool open for swimming
7pm to 7:45pm– Open for showers

If residents have questions, they may call the recreation office at: 666-7004

Bedford Hills and Bedford Village pools remain closed due to lack of power. 

First Story, 2 p.m.

If you stopped by Panera Bread in Bedford Hills Tuesday, you know an outlet is hard to come by. But now locals have another option—and you don’t need an iced coffee to keep your table.

Town Hall, at 321 Bedford Road in Bedford is now open to residents who want to charge up their computers and phones. Bedford Supervisor Lee Roberts sent an email alert to let folks now they can stop by for electricity, and water.

Residents are invited to bring containers to fill up with water which is being distributed at the court entrance. 

The town also received 40 bags of dry ice which is now available at the Bedford Hills Park on Haines Road. Town officials are working securing additional supplies when that runs out.

Roberts expressed her hopes that residents would pull together in the hurricane aftermath.

“We should all be helping our neighbors, inviting them in for a shower, checking on seniors, sharing a meal outside together,” she said.

Earlier today, David Gabrielson, town councilman, told Patch that town officials and highway workers were working around the clock to clear roads.

Some residents have been critical of the town’s response to the storm.

Amy Drucker, a Katonah resident, posted this to the Bedford-Katonah Patch Facebook page:

“I’m very disappointed with communication from the town of Bedford and NYSEG…Ms. Roberts – keeping us informed (even with bad news) is vital for our decision making abilities.”

Since the storm occurred on Aug. 28, the town of Bedford has sent at least 5 emails through their subscription alert service (users sign up from the town’s website) with information from NYSEG regarding power restoration and road closures, and today’s electricty and water notice.

The Bedford police department has also sent at least 7 emails regarding road closures and hazards through its Nixle service.

Bedford Homes for Sale | Bedford Village Businesses Trying to Recover from Power Outages – Bedford-Katonah, NY Patch

The lights started coming on in Bedford Village Tuesday morning.

Dina Clayson and her staff were putting the merchandise back into window displays at Consider the Cook—they had taken it out before the hurricane to save new product from potentially being damaged in the storm. The store survived the storm, unscathed.

“We only lost one day of business, on Monday, but I don’t know how many people will be coming in today,” said Clayson, the shop’s owner. “We sold a lot of french presses before the storm though!”

Across the street at Bedford Gourmet, where the power had not yet returned, they weren’t so lucky.

“We lost thousands of dollars in food—just threw it all out,” said Debbie Franzese, co-ower of the shop. She and her partner Alex Walsh, opened up the store on Monday wihtout power, offering coffee and pastries al fresco. “We became a real meet and greet place for the village,” said Franzese. “People were so appreciative.”

Franzese lugged a 40-pound coffee grinder and 10 pound bag of coffee to Walsh’s house in Goldens Bridge—where power was restored—to grind beans to serve to the community. She said they would try to remain open without power, but were hopeful it would be restored soon.

The Meetinghouse Restaurant planned to open on time Tuesday evening, perhaps even a bit earlier. Their freezers were stocked with enough dry ice prior to the storm to preserve their product.

The Bedford Deli had not yet re-opened, and a note on their door said they were waiting for product deliveries on Wednesday to welcome customers back.

Without power, many businesses remained closed. But a few opened, serving customers in darkened stores.

Matty Fruchtman, who co-owns the Bedford Pharmacy with Gerald Griffiths, said the opened Monday and planned to be open 9 – 12 all week, or longer if power was restored.

“We are here to serve our customers, especially those who need medications,” she said. “We’re filling prescriptions and giving our regulars their meds. I’ve seen some customers who have said picked up their pills and said they were leaving the country for Europe.”

Next door at the Bedford Village Cleaners, Nunzio Tripoli was also open for pickups and drop-offs. “We have a plant in Pleasantville so we can remain open,” he said. But the shop does not offer wash and fold laundry services—some residents have gone down to laundromats in Mt. Kisco to clean clothes, he said.

Adam Schoelkopf, owner of Bedford Home and Hardware, was another local business owner who opened his doors without power.

“We just got a shipment in of gas cans, propane, chain saws and flashlights,” he said. The store’s clerks had filled up several pages of yellow legal pad with customer credit card numbers for processing later.

Doreen Rosenblatt of Bedford was inside, purchasing lanterns in anticipation of another dark evening at home. Though the store didn’t sell generators, she was already in touch with an electrician to purchase one for the future.

“I’d better get a generator, or a divorce,” she quipped, revealing the frustrations felt by many without power.

Chappaqua Homes for Sale | Paul Allen Selling Allan Island for $13.5 Million

Source: Forbes

At first glance it appears to be a typo; Paul Allen’s private island is called … Allan Island? Someone must have messed up. However, according to The Seattle Times, the private plot of land off Anacortes, WA, was not named for the tech billionaire, but a Navy hero. Allen recently listed his private isle in the San Juans for $13.5 million.

Allen co-founded Microsoft alongside another Seattle billionaire, Bill Gates. Allen was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1982 and during treatment, left the company. Although he no longer is an active member of the board, he still serves as an adviser to Microsoft and owns a reported 138 million shares. His net worth, according to Forbes, is $13 billion.

In addition to owning several sports teams — the Seattle Seahawks, Portland Trail Blazers, and part of the Seattle Sounders — plus one of the world’s largest yachts, Allen also holds a plethora of expensive real estate. He owns a huge compound on Mercer Island in Seattle composed of nearly 9 separate parcels that serves as his primary residence, as well as the former home of Rock Hudson in Beverly Hills, and an estate in Malibu.

In addition to Allan Island, Allen also owns another property in the San Juan Islands called the Sperry Peninsula, which is located on Lopez Island. He purchased the property in 1996 for $8 million. Allen never built up Allan Island, deciding instead to develop his place on Lopez.

This isn’t the first time Allen has listed the island. In 2005, he put it on the Anacortes real estate market for $25 million. Without any offers, the property was removed. It was re-listed in the middle of August with a significant decrease in its asking price: $13.5 million. Median Anacortes home values have been dropping, they are currently $235,200.

The 292-acre island is known for its wild animal sightings, in particular bald eagles, coyotes and harbor seals. Located southwest of Anacortes, the only sign of development on the rocky isle is a caretaker’s cabin powered by a generator near the sole dock and grassy airstrip. Allan Island is among a handful of private island homes for sale.

Besides breathtaking water views, Allan Island has views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Olympic Mountains and surrounding San Juan Islands.

The listing is held by Wally Gudgell of Windermere Real Estate.

—–

Based on a 30-year fixed mortgage rate at a current rate of 4.140 percent and assuming a 20 percent down payment, the monthly mortgage payment for this home is $52,436 per month, as quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace.