Monthly Archives: August 2013

Home prices continue to ramp up nationwide | Armonk Real Estate

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Representing a new post-bubble high, Las Vegas experienced a 31.2% jump in annual home prices in July, becoming the first metro to surpass 30% growth since the beginning of the recovery.

In the latest home data index released by Clear Capital, July home price trends continued to be strong both nationwide and when broken down between the nation’s four major regions.

Nationally, home prices grew 9.3% from last year, and were up 1.6% over the previous quarter. Interestingly enough, national home prices remained 33.4% below peak values, indicating the new norm for the nation’s housing.

“While July home prices continue to ramp up throughout the country led by Las Vegas posting more than 30% yearly growth, let’s not forget a healthy recovery means moderation as the new normal takes hold,“ said Alex Villacorta, vice president of research and analytics at Clear Capital.

Over the last half of 2013, Clear Capital continues to call for a moderation in home price trends. “A rising price floor will dampen some potential homebuyers’ appetites, particularly as recent gains bring many markets back into pre-bubble equilibrium,” Villacorta added.

 

Home prices continue to ramp up nationwide | 2013-08-06 | HousingWire.

How to Integrate Social Media and Email Marketing | Chappaqua Real Estate

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The problem with social media is that you don’t own it. The shareholders of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram do.How to Integrate Social Media and Email Marketing

Building a community of social media is tricky. You have to play to their tune. And if a big social media network changes the rules then your lead generation, traffic and sales can plummet. In fact they can shut you down… no questions asked.

So it’s okay to take advantage of social media, but be careful, and don’t rely on it. Placing all your eggs in one basket is risky.

Mike Stelzner recently interviewed DJ Waldow about the synergy between email and social. DJ explains well why marketers should use both channels. He uses social media, but he explains that if Facebook decided to change their terms of service, then the connection with your friends and followers could disappear.

Even Facebook uses email, they have over 100 email notifications.

Use social but don’t rely on it

  • If your business model is about building a community, you should not rely on social networks solely, but you will want to own a platform, like a blog.
  • If your business model is about selling goods to customers, you will want to find the shortest way to reach them. In business that is still with email.

Email addresses stick with you. You should work on having more and more potential customers on your email list who you can engage with and convert to paying customers.

Let’s look at how to integrate social media and email marketing.

#1. Turn fans to email subscribers with contests and sweepstakes

Contests, sweepstakes and giveaways are perfect to motivate people to sign up to your list, to turn fans to email subscribers. At these promotions the condition of entry is to give your name and email address.

 social media and email

This toy shop is running a sweepstakes every weekend, where kids and parents are on Facebook.

Let’s see which promotion type is good for what.

#2. Use sweepstakes for email capture and lead generation

Sweepstakes are chance based promotions when one or more lucky entrant(s) can win. As the barrier to entry is low, these kind of promotions are great for lead generation.

Based on how people enter here are the different types of sweepstakes.

  1. Draw – entrants enter the promotion with a single click. They just need to leave their contact details.
  2. Poll – entrants need to answer a question in order to enter. They need to give their opinion that help you to learn more about them.
  3. Quiz – entrants need to answer a question correctly to win. It encourages them to learn more about your company, so it increases engagement.


Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/08/06/how-to-integrate-social-media-and-email-marketing/#iV7w32Q9JmB9QQd8.99 

 

How to Integrate Social Media and Email Marketing – Jeffbullas’s Blog.

Mount Kisco Police Issue Alert after Coyotes Kill Pet Dog | Mt. Kisco Real Estate

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A coyote attack on three dogs on Friday prompted police to issue an alert urging residents to be vigilant about monitoring their children and pets outside.

Around 7 a.m. three coyotes descended on Kristin Porteus’ three small Chihuahua terrier mixes at her  Langeland Drive home, killing one of them despite Porteus’ efforts to prevent the attack, according to a report in The Journal News.

Mount Kisco police sent out an online alert Saturday night about the coyote attack. A coyote also was sighted Friday evening in northeast Mount Kisco. The  incidents are the latest in a string of confrontations with coyotes.

Read the full Journal News article here.

 

 

Mount Kisco Police Issue Alert after Coyotes Kill Pet Dog | The Mt. Kisco Daily Voice.

First mortgage delinquencies plummet | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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According to the latest Equifax (EFX) National Consumer Credit Trends Report, the total balance of severely delinquent first mortgages (90 days past due or in foreclosure) in June 2013 is $325 billion, a five-year low and a decrease of more than 27% from same time a year ago ($450 billion), MarketWatch reported.

The total balance of first-mortgage loans that completed the foreclosure process and transitioned to bank-owned property or other severe derogatory status decreased more than 19%, from $16.7 billion in June 2012 to $13.5 billion in June 2013. This is the lowest level for June since 2007.

 

First mortgage delinquencies plummet | 2013-08-02 | HousingWire.

1924 Plan to Drain the East River to Ease Traffic Congestion | Katonah Real Estate

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Screen-Shot-2013-08-05-at-11.40.25-AM.jpg[Click for big!]

Ten years before Norman Sper proposed filling in the Hudson River to make New York larger, a different dude wanted to do something similar on the other side of Manhattan. An article in a 1924 issue of Popular Science details a plan to drain the East River and create a 5-mile stretch of new land for more roads, subway lines, and civic buildings. The crazy idea came from Dr. John A. Harriss, identified as a “special deputy police commissioner in charge of traffic,” and the goal was to ease traffic congestion, which was supposedly so bad it was causing the city to lose $1.5 million every day.

Screen-Shot-2013-08-05-at-11.38.09-AM.jpg[Click for big!]

Two new concrete dams would have been created, one near the Manhattan Bridge and the other near Hell Gate where the Harlem and East Rivers meet:

The river then would be drained, and the 500 feet between the Manhattan and the Brooklyn docks bridged with levels supported by steel uprights. Thus would be provided a vast traffic center on stilts, joining four boroughs. The plan contemplates removal of noisy elevated structures.

From the river bed would be built subway lines, vehicular subway, taxi stands, conduit, city equipment departments, parking spaces, and private and municipal garages. On the top level would be five 100-foot boulevards for autos and pedestrians. Ramps would be provided for cross-traffic. And midway along the great thoroughfare would be erected an imposing city hall and community center.

The new city hall would house the police and health departments, as well as a music and art center. A new theater district would be built, and public schools and playgrounds would surround the civic center.

Screen-Shot-2013-08-05-at-11.38.25-AM.jpg[Click for big!]

Since the plan would removed a busy shipping waterway, the proposal also called for digging a new canal through Brooklyn and Queens, connecting the Long Island Sound with the Jamaica Bay and Atlantic Ocean. It would probably have suffered the same polluted fate as the Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek, giving Brooklyn a trifecta of Superfund waterways. Such a shame that never happened.

 

 

1924 Plan to Drain the East River to Ease Traffic Congestion – Curbed’s Could Have Been – Curbed NY.

30 Year Mortgage Rate around 4.40% reports Freddie Mac survey | Bedford NY Homes

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Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates changing little on the heels of the July employment report which came in below the market consensus forecast. Since spiking more than a full percentage point in early May over taper talk, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has seesawed week-to-week, while remaining below its recent high of 4.51 percent in mid-July.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.40 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending August 8, 2013, up from last week when it averaged 4.39 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.59 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.43 percent with an average 0.7 point, unchanged from last week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.84 percent.
  • 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.19 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.18 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.77 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.62 percent this week with an average 0.3 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.64 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.65 percent.

Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following links for the Regional and National Mortgage Rate Details and Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

Bedford NY area sales highlights | Chappaqua sales up 80% – Bedford up 17% | RobReportBlog

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Sales
Armonkup 7%
Chappaquaup 80%
Pound Ridgedown 25%
Bedford Cornerseven
Bedford Villageup 17%
Bedford Hillsup 9%
South Salemup 7%
Katonahup 2%
North Salemup 11%
Mt Kiscodown 12%

Mt Kisco Real Estate sales down 12% | Median price up 51% | RobReportBlog

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Mt Kisco   NY Real Estate ReportRobReportBlog
20136 months ending 8/82012
41Sales47
$760,000.00median sold price$503,500.00
$395,000.00low sold price$275,000.00
$3,950,000.00high sold price$2,875,000.00
3074average size2694
$277.00ave. price per foot$254.00
193ave days on market204
$848,469.00average sold price$694,371.00
95.88%ave sold to ask94.80%

Investors Still Bullish on Real Estate | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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Real estate ranks second as America’s favorite long term investment despite the three trillion dollars in equity homeowners lost during the housing depression, according to a new survey by Bankrate.com.

More than one in four Americans (26 percent) favor cash, edging out real estate (23 percent). One in six (16 percent) favor gold or other precious metals, even though those investments have been pummeled in 2013, while only 14 percent say stocks would be their choice. Just eight percent of Americans chose bonds. For money not needed for more than 10 years, 26 percent of Americans favor cash, 23 percent real estate, 16 percent gold/other precious metals, 14 percent stocks and 8 percent bonds.

“Americans not saving enough is well-documented, but hunkering down in cash investments and settling for low returns will only magnify the problem of not having a sufficient nest egg to meet longer-range financial goals such as retirement,” said Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate.com’s senior financial analyst. “Other choices may not do the trick either, as real estate is not only very cash-intensive, but often illiquid. And precious metals spit out zero cash flows, with gains solely dependent on price appreciation.”

McBride said using a 401K or IRA to invest in residential real estate is not a good idea except for high end investors who are diversifying their portfolio. That real estate very illiquid and hard to access during an emergency and real estate investments are more cash-intensive that many investors realize.

A recent study by economists at the Atlanta Federal Reserve found that real estate was less profitable than securities as an investment. .

“We compute that 40 percent of homes owned for less than 13 years have negative average annual returns, compared to 12 percent of homes owned for 13 years or more. Interestingly, while a much greater portion of those owning for 13 or more years obtain positive returns, the average annual return was actually slightly higher for those owning fewer than 13 years (0.95 percent versus 1.03 percent),” said Ellyn Terry and Jessica Dill, two economists at the Atlanta Federal Reserve, in a working paper published June 12.

Bankrate.com estimates the average money-market deposit account yields just 0.11 percent, so a $10,000 initial investment would only gain $110.55 over a 10-year period. And the average five-year CD currently yields just 0.78 percent.

 

 

Investors Still Bullish on Real Estate | RealEstateEconomyWatch.com.

How to Use Facebook Power Editor, a Detailed Guide | Bedford Realtor

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Are you looking for a better way to manage your Facebook ads?

Do you want access to new Facebook advertising features as soon as they’re available?

Facebook offers a powerful and often overlooked way for marketers to do amazing things with ads.

In this article I’ll show you what Power Editor is, explore its benefits and show you how you can create campaigns using Power Editor.

What Is Power Editor?

The most powerful way to target your ideal audience on Facebook is with Facebook ads.

But clicking the “Boost Post” button and using the self-serve ad tool only scratches the surface. If you want to thrive and direct profits with your Facebook ads, you need to use Power Editor.

facebook power editor

Use Power Editor to have full control over your Facebook advertising.

Power Editor is a free browser plugin created by Facebook that lets you bulk-edit your ads. It was initially created as a Chrome plugin. Although it does sporadically work in other browsers, you’ll likely want to use the Chrome browser when working with Power Editor.

Go to Facebook.com/powereditor to test your browser or install the plugin.

But Power Editor is much more than just a bulk ad editor. It has many advantages over Facebook’s self-serve ad tool used by the vast majority of Facebook advertisers.

Here are the benefits of using Power Editor for your Facebook ads.

#1: Get Access to Latest Features

partner categories

Partner Categories is a feature available within Power Editor.

When Facebook rolls out new advanced features, they’re sent first to the Facebook ads API (which goes to third-party tools) and Power Editor. As a result, marketers using Power Editor tend to get these features well before those who use the self-serve ad tool exclusively.

Here are some examples of features you can currently find in Power Editor, but not in the self-serve ad tool:

Partner Categories: Facebook has partnered with three data-mining companies (Axciom, Datalogix and Epsilon) that collect mounds of data on users related to purchase history and lifestyle. Facebook uses this data to let advertisers do some powerful ad targeting with more than 500 categories.

Here’s a sampling of the targeting you can do with the help of Partner Categories:

  • Household size of 6 (8,842,800 users)
  • Upscale department store credit card user (34,618,400 users)
  • Home office supply purchases (2,638,300 users)
  • Aftermarket vehicle purchase over 48 months ago (11,952,800 users)
  • Baby food and products buyers (10,497,100 users)
  • Casino vacations (4,242,000 users)
  • Dog owner (12,643,500 users)
  • Fitness buyers—runners (5,950,600 users)
  • Teacher/educator (223,000 users)
  • Donate to veteran causes (7,016,400 users)

While Precise Interest and Broad Category targeting are dependent on users keeping their profiles updated, Partner Category targeting is based on a user’s actual buying history and completion of surveys.

Lookalike Audiences: Facebook’s recent rollout of Custom Audiences to the self-serve ad tool lets advertisers upload their customer lists into Facebook to target those users with ads.

Power Editor’s Lookalike Audiences builds a similar list of Facebook users based on your customer list.

 

 

How to Use Facebook Power Editor, a Detailed Guide | Social Media Examiner.