Daily Archives: October 8, 2013

Fewer Americans are moving | Bedford NY Real Estate

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Some say there is no spark in today’s economy. Others claim we’ve hit a speed bump. Nonetheless, everyone will agree the housing market is light years ahead of where it stood a year ago. But has the recovery cooled?

Back in my younger days — about six months ago — when my husband and I were looking to buy our first house, the market was pure insanity. I’m talking about ten-offers-in-one-day insanity. It was undeniably a seller’s market. Homes were flying off the market in hours and any offer below list price was laughable.

We were even forced to throw in a picture of our pup to help persuade the sellers to chose us.

Nolan

But it seems that the market has slowed considerably since then. In fact, this year the number of people moving to a new home fell dangerously close to the record lows set in 2011 after rising in 2012, according to data from Trulia (TRLA).

“Last year the Census reported an increase in mobility in 2012 to 12.0%, led by an increase in longer-distance moves.  However, new 2013 data suggest that the mobility rebound we saw in 2012 might have been short-lived,” said Trulia Chief Economist Jed Kolko.

We can only assume rising interest rates coupled with an increase in home prices is the culprit behind this. Historically, rates are still very low at 4.62%. (My father-in-law’s first house was financed at 14% or something equally ridiculous.) But compared to the 3.5% I was able to get six months ago, this seems high to a lot of people.

And after all… isn’t my generation, the Millennials, a big weight holding housing down? We are drowning in student debt, unable to find high-paying jobs and are scared to death of an interest rate above 4.0%.

Heck… the fear of closing with an interest rate above 3.5% motivated me to put in an offer above list price just so I could sneak into the house I bought six months ago before rates rose any further.

So what is the solution here? How can we get the momentum back?

Well, it doesn’t appear feasible for my generation to even put together a downpayment on a home, let alone finance a mortgage with the amount of student debt we are facing. What we need is move-up buyers, and we need them fast.

 

 

 

 

6 Amazing Social Media Productivity Tools | Pound Ridge Realtor

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6 Amazing Social Media Productivity Tools

Social media is a great place to  waste time, and many of us do. However, there are also some great tools and apps  that can help to actually save time and help users to be more productive and  successful.

The good news is that these 6 tools  are actually fun to use, and most importantly, they motivate you and your  employees to keep moving forward and increasing your value.

A motivated and productive person is  someone we all admire. Here are 6 social media productivity tools to help you  manage your social media marketing activities.

#1. Buffer

Scheduling tools are great ways to do more than you normally ever could. This  is because they allow you to post on many different sites, at all times of the  day, even if you’re not connected to the internet. They do just what it sounds  like, apps like Buffer will post at a  specified time in the future.

There are many scheduling tools available today, but they are not all created  equal. Buffer is one of the easiest to use because it is simply a scheduling  tool with a few features that are very helpful:

  • Integration with browsers- extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and  Safari, which allows you to access Buffer from your social media profiles
  • Scheduling- Buffer allows you to add content that you find  interesting throughout the day, and it then post it at certain times to keep  your posts spaced out and online during prime social media hours.
  • Variety of Sources- Buffer can take post from Facebook and Twitter  easily, but it can also take posts from apps such as Pulse News, Tweetdeck and  many more popular apps
  • Simplicity- Other apps require you to pick a date and time to  schedule when your post will be posted, Buffer already has time slots to make  posts, and so it is much simpler and saves time

social media productivity tools

Buffer is a simple, and did I mention  FREE way of gathering a larger  and more engaged audience online. Buffer allows you to do more work than you  normally would because it is always online and knows when the peak posting hours  are. Buffer is a very helpful tool to simply take whatever interesting story you  find online, send it to the Buffer list, and not have to worry about it.

It is a great way to save time while adding to your social media presence and  keeping you motivated by watching how much attention your posts can actually  receive. Once I started feeling the success of having more popular posts, it got  me thinking a lot more about how to craft the perfect post and made me start to  become more creative.

It is interesting how success can start building on itself that  way.

#2. Glyder

Glyder has come a long way and fills  a need that seems daunting to many people without very much business knowledge.  This tool and app allow small businesses, such as startups, to bump up their  marketing game. When starting out online, you hear about social media marketing,  the importance of a good design, and many problems and costs associated with  them.

You know that it takes more than an entertaining message to succeed but may  not have the resources to devote to this, this is why Glyder exists.

Glyder helps with all of these things through its many features, such as:

  • Visual Messaging- create messages for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest  but also SalesForce contacts, Mailchimps contacts and other connections
  • Templates- keep your messages entertaining with pre-set  templates that can be customized for your audience
  • Weekly Updates- connect regularly with customers by using new  templates, customizable content, and photos that are updated every week.
  • Automatic Formatting- Glyder formats all of your messages for you so  they look great everywhere

social media productivity tools

The founders Allan Wells and Eddy Ayling worked at Zynga and Globant  respectively and saw the need for small business owners to have better marketing  and design, but these business owners couldn’t afford to hire services. They  created Glyder to solve this problem and consistently add more to the app’s  capabilities.

Soon there will be a dashboard so that users can access the metrics from  social networking sites and better craft their message to their customers.

Glyder can really solve a lot of time and especially money without having to  worry about bad results. I think this is the main benefit of Glyder, because  with a small business there are so many headaches and reasons to worry. This  option can free up a lot of time in your day for tasks that only you can do, and  keeps you motivated by knowing that you are doing what is right for your  business and not skimping on areas that others do.

The confidence and motivation that Glyder can bring to a business is  something that adds value in ways that are often hard to calculate, but easy to  recognize.

#3. LikeHack

We all have many sources of social media news coming at us from all  directions. There are Facebook feeds, Twitter feeds, RSS feeds and so many  others. It is easy to get overwhelmed and let important information slip through  the cracks and waste hours sifting through all of the junk until you find what  you need.

This app allows you to consolidate all of your news on one app, from a really  diverse selection of sources.

LikeHack has a lot of  features that sets it apart from similar services:

  • One central location– it gathers your news into one place
  • Importance ratings– it organizes your news into levels of importance  and interest
  • Intelligent ratings-the app learns as you read news to find what is  most interesting to you
  • Access to history– it saves all stories you have liked and shared  with full text searching
  • Offline capability – it allows you to sync your device with your news  for offline access

social media productivity tools

The app is also quick to figure out because of a nice user interface which is  something we’ve come to expect from the new generation of user friendly apps. It  allows you to quickly get started gathering and organizing your news, and it  does this in an interface that is nice to look at.

The layout and design of an app is something that is often underestimated,  but is very important because no one wants to use and look at an ugly app…like  many other things in life.

The nice thing about apps like this is you don’t realize how much time you  are actually saving. It is interesting to be conscious of how much time you  actually waste looking for important pieces of information each day, and then  you will realize why apps like LikeHack are worth it. It is akin to a Netflix  binge watching your favorite new show, and seeing how much time you actually  saved by not having constant commercial breaks.

You are going to read your news anyways, so you might as well make it easier  and stay motivated that you read more articles and got more news than anyone  else in the office. This leads to a feeling of accomplishment and also a feeling  of confidence because you will know what your coworkers are talking about and  also have something important to add to the conversation and your work

Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/10/04/6-amazing-social-media-productivity-tools/#dJGtq24CxKuYl5Yr.99

StreetEasy redesign rankles users | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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It was a rough couple of months for New York City brokers who rely on technology — and, really, isn’t that nearly all of them? Not only did the Real Estate Board of New York roll out its new, long-awaited listings transmission system (which some had doubts about) and Apple unveil its much-maligned new operating system, but StreetEasy debuted a website redesign that has rankled brokers and inflamed some consumers.

“I am a big StreetEasy fan – it’s the biggest driver in the market,” said Donna Olshan, president of residential brokerage Olshan Realty. “But there are a lot of issues with the new interface that they need to work out. My brokers are complaining.”

The popular listings provider, greeted with skepticism when it first launched in New York City in 2006, has since become an indispensable tool for residential brokers to advertise homes, connect with clients, and mine data on listings, sales and rentals. Now operating in a handful of markets across the U.S., the site proved successful enough to catch the eye of Zillow, which acquired the company in August for $50 million.

Some brokers who spoke with The Real Deal assumed the new interface, launched Sept. 30, was tied to the Zillow buy, and some warned that StreetEasy would soon mimic Zillow’s sites around the country, which they criticized for promoting agents who do not have exclusives on listings.

“The word that’s going around my office about it is that it got ‘Zillowfied,’ meaning it looks like Zillow,” said Eric Benaim, founder of residential brokerage Modern Spaces. “That can be a good thing or bad thing, depending on who you’re speaking to.”

But the switchover had nothing to do with Zillow, said Sofia Song, StreetEasy’s vice president of research and communications.

“The redesign has been in the works for months,” she said, adding that the roll out had been planned for the third quarter of 2013.

 

 

 

– See more at: http://therealdeal.com/blog/2013/10/04/streeteasy-redesign-rankles-users/#sthash.nCICwjUk.dpuf

Free Flu Shots For Westchester Residents Will Be Offered At County Center | Chappaqua Real Estate

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The Westchester County Department of Health will offer free flu shots to residents at the Westchester County Center in White Plains on Thursday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The county has 500 doses of the flu vaccination that it can give to anyone over the age of 9. Since there is a limited number, residents are asked to register by clicking here or by calling (914) 995-7425.

“It’s important for everyone 6 months and older to get a flu shot every year,”  Health Commissioner Sherlita Amler, MD said in a statement. “A flu shot now will provide protection throughout flu season, which can last well into the spring. It’s also equally important to wash your hands frequently, to avoid sick people and to stay home when you are sick.”

The Westchester County Center is located at 198 Central Avenue in White Plains.

 

 

http://armonk.dailyvoice.com/news/free-flu-shots-westchester-residents-will-be-offered-county-center

 

 

 

Kerry Kennedy’s Lawyer Reportedly Trying To Move Trial From Armonk | Armonk Homes

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Lawyers on both sides of Bedford resident Kerry Kennedy’s impaired driving trial are apparently looking beyond the North Castle Courthouse in Armonk for a bigger space, according to a report by the Associated Press via the Wall Street Journal.

Defense attorney Gerald Lefcourt has reportedly said that Armonk’s 60-seat courtroom won’t be able to hold the expected numbers of reporters, interested residents and a jury for Kennedy’s trial, the report said.

Other venues are being scouted, although no trial date has been set, according to the AP.

Kennedy was arrested in July 2012 after she swerved her Lexus into a tractor-trailer on Interstate 684 in Armonk.  She was charged with driving under the influence of an unknown substance, for which she pleaded not guilty, saying she accidently took a sleeping pill.

She tried to have her case dismissed this past May but was denied.

Kennedy is the daughter of Sen. Robert Kennedy and the niece of President John F. Kennedy.  She is also the ex-wife of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

 

 

http://mtkisco.dailyvoice.com/news/kerry-kennedys-lawyer-reportedly-trying-move-trial-armonk