Daily Archives: November 8, 2013

Private island costs less than the average NYC apartment | Cross River Real Estate

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Private island costs less than the average NYC apartment

Only in New York is a private ­island cheaper than an average apartment.

Savvy city dwellers looking for a new home might want to consider buying their own private island less than two hours north in ­Putnam County.

While the average New York apartment costs more than $1.4  million, Willow Island on Putnam Lake in Patterson costs $995,000 — and comes with a three-story, four-bedroom home.

In contrast, the average price of a two-bedroom Manhattan apartment is $1.35 million — and $2.63 million for a three-bedroom.

The one-acre property also comes with its own special New York City provenance. The house was built by one of the engineers who created the Holland Tunnel.

The island is an hour-and-a-half commute from New York City, says listing broker Uri Hanoch, of Douglas Elliman.

But the deal does come with a hitch. The new buyer will have to row home each night from Patterson, where the property comes with a two-car garage.

The sellers are retired ad exec Larry Plapler, 79, and his wife Amelia, 70, who first put the island on the market in 2010 for $1.5 million.

Plapler — who has made the weekly drive with his wife, Amelia, and family for the past 38 years — once told The Post that the getaway makes him feel a world away from his Upper East Side home.

The 1¹/₂-bath home is 5,600-square feet and comes with 48 open-view windows. The home includes a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace and an artesian well. There’s a guest cottage and a private garage for your boat, according to the listing.

“Access,” according to the listing, “is a quick five minutes by a rowing boat or 5 mph electric motorboats. Canoes, kayaks, rowboats and sailboats are also welcome.”

Gas-powered boats are forbidden on Putnam Lake, on the Connecticut border.

 

 

http://nypost.com/2013/11/06/private-island-costs-less-than-the-average-nyc-apartment/

Shanghai Raises Home Down-Payment Requirement as Prices Jump | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Shanghai raised the minimum down payment required for buyers of a second home to 70 percent from 60 percent as house prices in China’s financial hub surge.

Counties and municipal departments should take measures to ensure the city’s annual price-control target is met, according to a statement on the local housing bureau’s website. The city also tightened the qualifications required for non-local home buyers and will increase residential land supplies, according to the statement.

Home prices in China’s four major cities jumped the most in September since January 2011, heightening concerns a bubble is forming as the national government refrains from introducing more property curbs that would hinder economic growth. Prices surged 17 percent in Shanghai from a year earlier, the biggest gain in the 70 cities the government tracks, only behind the 20 percent jump in the southern business hubs of Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

“It’s more like they are gesturing that they are serious about property curbs” after Beijing and Shenzhen’s tightening measures, said Dai Fang, a Shanghai-based analyst at Zheshang Securities Co. “The wait-and-see atmosphere may grow a little bit and sales may slow a little as fewer people can buy now.”

New home prices excluding government-sponsored social housing jumped 21 percent in Beijing in September from a year earlier, defying the strictest property curbs among all cities, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The Chinese capital raised down payment for second homes to 70 percent in March.

 

Local Measures

 

Former Premier Wen Jiabao in March stepped up a three-year campaign to contain price gains, ordering cities with excessive increases to raise down payments. Shenzhen made the move only on Nov. 1. Guangzhou, now the only of the four so-called first-tier cities that hasn’t raised down-payment requirements from 60 percent, is likely to follow suit, Dai said.

China’s average new home price surged 10.7 percent in October from a year earlier, the most this year, as homebuyers defied the government’s property curbs and developers offered more high-priced apartments to tap demand, according to SouFun Holdings Ltd. (SFUN), the nation’s biggest real estate website owner.

“Fluctuations in home prices have been noticeable this year, and upward pressure on housing prices increased recently with rising transaction volumes,” Shanghai’s housing bureau said in today’s statement.

The city government will crack down on price collusion and violations of home-purchase restrictions and will take measures to ensure the stability of the land market, according to the statement.

 

 

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-08/shanghai-raises-home-down-payment-requirement-after-prices-jump.html

Katonah Real Estate sales up 8% | Median price up 4% | #RobReportBlog

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Katonah   NY Real Estate ReportRobReportBlog
20136 months ending 11/82012
41Sales38up 8%
$645,000.00median sold price$620,000.00up 4%
$360,000.00low sold price$382,500.00
$5,750,000.00high sold price$1,726,000.00
2537average size2527
$319.00ave. price per foot$296.00
182ave days on market169
$863,780.00average sold price$725,184.00
96.56%ave sold to ask96.37%

Chappaqua NY Weekly Real Estate Report | #RobReportBlog

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Chappaqua   NY Weekly Real Estate Report11/8/2013
Homes for sale92
Median Ask Price$1,156,000.00
Low Price$380,000.00
High Price$24,750,000.00
Average Size4101
Average Price/foot$369.00
Average DOM162
Average Ask Price$1,672,839.00

 

City Unveils Designs For Midtown’s East River Greenway | Mt Kisco Realtor

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ODR-Esplanade-rendering.jpg

Midtown East residents, long envious of the lush riverfront parkland their West Side counterparts enjoy, got a sneak peek of the design plans for the East Side waterfront esplanade at last night’s Community Board 6 land use committee meeting. The project is part of a plan to complete the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway (which surrounds the borough) by filling in the undeveloped gap between East 38th Street and East 60th Street along the East River. The esplanade, which is created to appear as if it’s floating on top of the water with 30 feet separating it from the bulkhead, will have two distinct paths: one for bike riding, the other for pedestrian traffic. Cali Kay Gorewitz, Vice President of Development at NYC Economic Development Corporation explained that at certain points, the material used for the ground will allow pedestrians to see through to the water below “raising the uniqueness of the site.”

48th-Street-Node-rendering.jpg[48th Street Node]

NYCEDC has been working with community work groups to decide on other design aspects. Together they’ve come up with a plan that divides the esplanade into three sections: one running from East 38th to East 41st Street, the next from East 41st to East 53rd Street, and the third from East 53rd to East 60th Street. Planters and trees will run along the entire length, and there will be three major gathering places called nodes, each having “its own personality” said Ama DuSolier, lead designer for AECOM, the company contracted to design the esplanade.

53rd-Street-node-rendering.jpg[53rd Street Node]

The first node scheduled to open in 2015 is a waterside pier, which will be constructed from an old pier Con Edison formerly used for fuel deliveries. It will center on active recreation and include places to eat and socialize. Another section, called the ribbon, will focus on walking, biking, planting and seating. The 48th Street node will facilitate gatherings like outdoor shows and will have amphitheater seating, while the 53rd Street area will focus on environmental education and incorporate places to fish. All of the nodes are designed to be multi-functional.

Node-blueprint.jpg[Blueprint of the nodes]

In a post-Sandy world, thought also went into ensuring the esplanade will be able to withstand stronger storms. It will be built three feet higher than the 100-year flood line, which is about six and a half feet (Sandy’s storm surge was 13 feet) and six to eight feet above the FDR Drive.

Esplanade-looking-North.jpg[Looking north on the esplanade]

Community reaction to the design renderings was largely positive, with some residents calling them “wonderful” and “lovely.” Joan Boyle, a 19-year resident of East Midtown, called the plans “gorgeous” and is looking forward to having a place where people could walk a dog, ride a bike, or just walk along the riverfront. But Boyle was concerned that the promises of a beautiful esplanade for the neighborhood would never come to pass. While “it’s wonderful to look at this,” she said, “I expect it won’t ever happen.”

Esplanade-dimensions.jpg[Cross-section showing the esplanade dimensions]

True enough, considerable hurdles remain. The project is relying on anticipated funding by a United Nations deal. A Memorandum of Understanding between the city and the state allowed for the use of a portion of the Robert Moses Playground for a new UN building.  In exchange, the United Nations Development Corporation agreed to pay the city $73 million toward the esplanade. However, Gorewitz estimates the full cost of the project to be about $200 million, so the sale of other property currently leased by the UN will be necessary to complete it.

Project-phasing-timeline.jpg[Project timeline]

Next steps for this project include filing permits with Department of Environmental Conservation, Army Corps of Engineers, and the Coast Guard which are expected to take 12-18 months to get approved. In the meantime, as part of the Memorandum of Understanding, Asser Levy Place (the two blocks between East 23rd and East 25th Streets) has closed to traffic and will be turned into a park. It’s expected to open to the public next year.

Aerial-view-rendering.jpg

—Kizzy Cox · Manhattan Waterfront Greenway [nyc.gov] · East River Waterfront coverage [Curbed] · Robert Moses Playground coverage [Curbed]

 

 

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/11/07/city_unveils_designs_for_midtowns_east_river_greenway.php

 

Is This the Top Content Marketing Company in the World? | Waccabuc Realtor

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The rise of blogging , Facebook and Twitter has made us all publishers.

Add mobile HD cameras mounted to helmets streaming death defying leaps,  extreme bike moves and dives and you have an explosion of multi-media creators  and publishers. Mobile and modern camera technology coupled with global social  networks are providing platforms and networks with the media fodder that are  supercharging content distribution and sharing.

Content and media is no longer gathering dust in the bottom draw or the  filing cabinet but is published online. Often it is streaming and unedited. It’s  real and raw.

Content now comes in a wide variety of formats and media. It can start with a  140 character micro blog (tweet), a video. image or a long form content piece of  2,000 words on your blog. It can even be a 6 second “Vine” video or a filtered  snapshot on Instagram taken on a smartphone.

These fast changing opportunities and mediums are presenting the traditional  marketer with some thought provoking and uncomfortable choices. You can almost  hear the squirming.

Why content marketing upsets traditional marketers

The old school marketing habits and paradigms don’t cut it anymore because  content marketing requires a different way of thinking. It flips the marketing  model in many ways.

  1. Pull rather than push. Its about attracting the customer to  you rather than pushing advertisements. That’s different.
  2. Entertain and educate first and sell second. Traditional  marketing never heard of the term educate.
  3. You don’t talk  about your product. Mentioning your product in content marketing  is inappropriate. The old school thinking struggles with that.
  4. You must think and act like a publisher not an advertiser.  That is not in the comfort zone.
  5. You operate in real time. This means you have to be  thinking about “continuous marketing” as well as being campaign focused. That’s  demanding.
  6. Need different  resources. This includes staff and software. The status quo is  being challenged.
  7. Needs a different culture. Publishing culture is different  to an advertising mindset. Newsrooms, reporting and editing are a world apart  from corporate marketing and advertising.

These mind warps are presenting some challenges and potential disruption to  the marketing department and the CEO. What are the obstacles in moving from  traditional mass media habits to a publisher paradigm?

The challenges to becoming a media company

The challenges come from many angles. Some are larger than others. It means  adopting a flexible mindset that is open to change. That in itself is a  challenge.

Here are a few to keep in mind as you move to a content marketing culture  that  embraces the new.

  • Re-allocation of  resources. It is hard to discard old habits but it requires a hard look  at what isn’t working or appropriate and try something new.
  • Re-educating the  team. It will mean sometimes forgetting what was taught at university  or college because most of the changes in media are mostly less than a decade  old. YouTube is not yet 10 years old (founded in 2005), tablets have only been  around for 4 years and Facebook was launched in February 2004.
  • Changing the culture. Maybe change management is  needed.
  • Adapting to a mobile content world. Smartphones only  exploded into popular culture when the first iPhone was launched in 2007.  Websites need upgrading to be “mobile responsive” and content optimisation now  has to consider viewing on smartphones.
  • Understanding  re-purposing of content. With the broad range of multi-media formats  (30 plus at last count) and social networks, brands need to understand that we  have different  preferences for the media we read and watch and the social  networks we use to consume them on. Same message but different  media.
  • Developing an integrated mindset. This means weaving  content marketing into other marketing channels. This includes embedding content  marketing in and across all media channels including social, search, email and  traditional mass media.
  • Creating “conversations around the brand” not about the  brand. (Thanks Altimeter for that insightful phrase). This means creating content that has heart and  soul of the brand embedded but not mentioned.

So what does this adaptation look like?

The content marketing stages

Content marketing is still embryonic for most companies. Here is how  Altimeter sees the stages of content marketing maturity.

 

 

 

 

Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/11/08/is-this-the-top-content-marketing-company-in-the-world/#5eVc09uyx9ypi8ic.99

Consumer confidence in homebuying hits all-time low | South Salem Real Estate

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Consumer confidence in housing significantly widened last month, as most taxpayers were turned off by the federal government shutdown and the ongoing debt ceiling debate, taking a toll on American’s outlook toward the housing market.

The share of consumers who believe it’s a good time buy a house declined to 65% — an all-time low — while the number of those who believe mortgage rates will go up in the next year fell to 57%, according to Fannie Mae’s latest monthly survey.

It’s important to note that the survey was conducted primarily in the first two weeks of October – before the government shutdown ended and the debt ceiling agreement was reached.

Generally speaking, buying a home is a bet on the future and the federal freeze created a lot of uncertainty about the near-term economic state, explained Trulia (TRLA) chief economist Jed Kolko.

“Also, affordability has worsened: both rising mortgage rates and rising home prices have pushed more homes out of reach of the middle class, which would also lead to a decline in people thinking it’s a good time to buy,” he added.

The gap between the share of consumers who say the economy is on the wrong track and those who believe all engines are a-go widened from 16 percentage points in September to 40 percentages points in October — a record month-over-month change.

Nonetheless, the steep decline in Americans’ housing sentiment, which is expected to continue to tumble down as housing debates continue to heat up, Fannie Mae senior vice president and chief economist Doug Duncan doesn’t believe it will derail the gradual healing in housing.

“While this decline in consumer optimism may portend a slowing of the housing recovery, supply constraint data suggest that we are likely to see continued positive growth in home prices,” Duncan said.

He added, “That being said, October’s survey results suggest that consumer attitudes are highly responsive to ongoing debate and decision-making in Washington. Three key budget and debt ceiling dates loom in December, January, and February. The handling of each will likely play a key role in determining the pace and timing of any recovery in consumer sentiment.”

The average 12-month price change expectation continued to fall, dropping 0.2% to 2.9%.

Additionally the share of people who believe home prices will go up in the next 12 months fell to 36%, while those who say prices will go down, increase to 10%.

The share of respondents who say they would buy if they were going to move increased to 70%, a new high.

Interestingly, the share of consumers who said their personal financial situation would get worse in the next 12 months hit a new high of 22%.

Consequently, the amount of respondents who say the economy is on the right track fell 12 percentage points, which is the biggest monthly record change in the survey’s history.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/27847-consumer-confidence-in-homebuying-hits-an-all-time-low

Homing In lets buyers and agents share pictures and comments about listings | Cross River Real Estate

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Homing In lets buyers and agents to take pictures and make comments about houses for sale or rent and share them with the world. Its patent-pending technology allows potential buyers to find the nearest available real estate agent for showing requests.

No more waiting for a listing agent that doesn’t respond, or can’t show a house because its not convenient for them.

The company is one of 13 in the inaugural class of the Inman Incubator program, a yearlong mentorship, advisory and promotional program to help new companies in the real estate industry succeed.

 

 

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/11/08/homing-in-lets-buyers-and-agents-share-pictures-and-comments-about-listings/#sthash.hH6eXCBV.dpuf

Schiliro Celebrates North Castle Supervisor Win | Armonk Real Estate

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Michael Schiliro is now the man in charge in North Castle.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Democrat Schiliro, a councilman, defeated incumbent Republican Howard Arden to become North Castle Town Supervisor, 56 percent to 44 percent.

The Republican majority of Arden and council members John Cronin and Diane Didonato-Roth had governed the town over the past two years. Arden and Cronin were defeated, and Didonato-Roth was defeated in a primary in September.

“It feels great,” Schiliro said.  “Campaigns are always a lot of hard work but they are enjoyable because you get to meet so many people. It’s a real privilege and honor to serve the town and to be chosen supervisor by the people of North Castle.”

Schiliro said residents were concerned about the financial health of the town and the lack of civility at meetings.

“Residents can expect a respectful government and a civil atmosphere,” Schiliro said. “Nobody will be talking over each other. We have cohesive board that will make well informed decisions. We’ll disagree, like a full functioning board should be doing. I’m looking forward to it.”

Arden blamed his loss on residents disapproving of the Brynwood Golf and Country Club’s development proposal. Brynwood is proposing 88 luxury condominium units for older adults.

In Sept. 2012, Arden, Cronin and Roth voted to accept Brynwood’s environmental review while Schiliro voted against it.

“You have to maintain integrity,” Arden said. “They have a right to present their application. We had never gotten to the point of making a decision. At the end of the day, it’s more important to maintain character and be fair and open.”

Arden said he plans to take a break from town politics.

“I put a lot of time and effort into it and the results were outstanding,” Arden said. “There shouldn’t have even been an election if you look at the results. I had two great years, the town is in the best financial and quality of life shape it’s ever been in.”

Republican Barbara DiGiacinto and Democrat Barry Reiter were elected to the town board with each getting 28 percent of the vote. Democrat Jose Berra had 22 of the vote, while Cronin had 21 percent of the vote.

Patricia Colombo ran unopposed for receiver of taxes, while Republican Douglas Martino defeated Democrat Linda Napolitano for town justice

 

 

http://armonk.dailyvoice.com/news/schiliro-celebrates-north-castle-supervisor-win

Pound Ridge School Hosts Science Workshop | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Pound Ridge third- graders are invited to attend a hands-on science workshop that enables students to discover magnetism at the in the Pound Ridge Elementary School Bistro on Nov. 12.

Students will have the opportunity to experience transferring magnetism through water, wood and other media. In addition, they will use electromagnets to learn about other ways to make a magnet.

There will be three 90-minute sessions, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.; 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The school is at 7 Pound Ridge Road.

 

 

http://mtkisco.dailyvoice.com/schools/pound-ridge-school-hosts-science-workshop