Daily Archives: December 3, 2013

Residents of the Aloha State shell out a lot for electricity | Katonah Homes

 

Hawaii has a lot going for it: The jaw-dropping sunsets and stunning vistas, the multitude of beaches and warm temperatures year round, the relaxed island vibe. One thing it doesn’t have: low electricity bills. It seems residents of the Aloha State shell out the most money on a monthly basis for their residential electricity bill, paying an average of $203.15 per month in 2012. In contrast, New Mexico residents pay the lowest monthly rates with an average bill of  $74.62.

And when it comes to commercial electricity bills, the District of Columbia may get sticker shock: Average monthly electricity bills there for commercial structures is a whopping $3,288.38. It’s a huge number, considering that covers only 26,548 customers. As a comparison, look at Idaho, which has 102,319 customers and a monthly commercial electricity bill of just $334.19. In D.C.’s defense, it’s average price per kilowatt hour is nearly double that of the Gem State: 12.02 cents versus 6.86 cents.

It seems there are a lot of states that could benefit from energy efficiency measures. The NAHB’s Eye on Housing blog gave us the tip off on on the data, which compiles information from 2012, ranks all 50 states, and was recently released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). On the mainland, wallets in the South Atlantic states (D.C., Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia) feel the pinch the most each month when it comes to residences, with an average electric bill of $122.71 per month, and Pacific states rank the lowest. On the commercial side, the Pacific states of Alaska and Hawaii foot the largest average monthly bills, coming in at $1,192.77, while the East South Central states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee come out on top with the lowest average commercial bill of $501.67 a month.

 

 

http://www.ecobuildingpulse.com/energy-efficiency/where-energy-efficiency-might-pay-off-most.aspx?dfpzone=home&utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=jump&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EBP_120313&day=2013-12-03

Lack of confidence weighs on housing | Armonk NY Homes

Consumers are still wading through the lingering effects of the financial crisis and lacking the confidence needed in the economy to move forward. And as long as consumer spending is lagging on the personal shopping front, homebuying is going to remain out of the question for many families.

This year’s Black Friday shopping failed to kick-start the shopping season with a boom. In fact, retail spending fell for the first time in at least seven years over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Consumers racked up $59.1 billion in purchases in 2012, compared to only $57.4 billion this year, as hyped-up deals and bargains failed to lure in shoppers, the National Retail Federation said.

The good news is that while consumers are not so confident right now, they are de-leveraging debts carried from the pre-crisis days — a potential breakthrough for the housing market.

“Our findings suggest that the consumer de-leveraging experienced since the financial crisis will trough in the next year or two, driven by improved mortgage credit availability and better consumer demand,” Paul Miller, a managing director at FBR Capital Markets, said.

 

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/28176-lack-of-confidence-weighs-on-housing

10 best suburbs | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

Every year, hundreds of thousands of homebuyers are moving to the country’s most booming metropolitan areas. For those that don’t want to deal with the traffic and other hassles of big-city living, there are the suburbs. These smaller cities and towns offer proximity to everything their larger neighbors have to offer, while often being safer and less crowded.

To rank these cities, we relied on a set of criteria used to measure how safe, affordable and — ultimately — livable they are. We looked at the top 25 most populous cities in the country and then determined the three largest suburbs of each city for a total of 75 suburbs. Then, we ranked each suburb across several criteria, which included:

  • Amenities (shopping, dining, entertainment, etc.)
  • Cost of living (percent above or below national average)
  • Crime (percent above or below national average)
  • Education (student-to-teacher ratio compared to national average)
  • Employment (income and unemployment compared to national average)

Once we had that information — from sources including the Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics — we were able to see how each city did in the individual criteria — on a scale of 1 to 75, with 1 being best — and also on average to give them an overall score.

 

 

 

http://realestate.msn.com/10-best-suburbs-2013

 

 

 

 

Westchester Taxpayers Still Footing Bill For I-287 Repairs | Bedford NY Real Estate

New York State’s massive reconstruction of I-287 in Westchester may have been completed in August, but the price tag associated with the work continues to rise, according to LoHud.com.

State legislators recently approved another $1.1 million in cost overruns, including $738,000 in additional costs since the project officially ended on Aug. 14. LoHud.com reported.

To date, the 14-year project has cost $558 million and has gone approximately $81 million over budget, according to LoHud.com.

Read the full story here.

 

 

 

http://bedford.dailyvoice.com/news/westchester-taxpayers-still-footing-bill-i-287-repairs

BoomTown earns Google Partner status | Mt Kisco Real Estate

BoomTown is set to receive special training and support from Google that it says will help it improve the marketing services that it offers agents.

The customer relationship management (CRM) system and marketing services provider has achieved certified Google Partner status in search advertising, giving it exclusive access to private Google events, Google beta programs, marketing support and a Google Partner profile page, the company said.

“BoomTown is proud to be part of the Google Partner program, and thrilled to offer this heightened level of service to our clients,” said Rivers Pearce, director of inbound marketing at BoomTown, in a statement. “We work diligently to exceed client expectations, and demonstrate their PPC dollars are expertly managed.

This partnership enables us to continue maintaining Google’s high standards while enjoying the benefits and continued learning provided in the partner program.”

 

 

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/12/02/boomtown-earns-google-partner-status/#sthash.mHtJldSo.dpuf