Category Archives: Bedford Corners NY

Bedford Corners Realtor | Old style septic system regulations are due for modernization

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It hasn’t been that many years since the Maryland Department of Natural Resources filled in the communal outhouse style comfort station that graced the western side of Stafford Road. Heck, private privies remain in use in remote camping and park areas throughout the country, though increasingly they’re being phased out.

There’s a reason for the demise of night soil production stations, back yard garbage dumps and bans on burning trash and yard waste: There are just too many people and, if everyone decided to use the disposal methods that prevailed well into the mid 1900s, the smell would be oppressive, and the effect on ground water would be sickening.

Something that is likely to go the way of outhouses is the standby version of the residential septic system that has been in use and largely unchanged at least since the 1950s. State-of-the-art technology for its day, a septic system is something of a recycling wonder. It consists of a settling tank where solids flushed from a home sink out of the water that carried them there. Water exits the system through a drain field into the nearby soil. If everything is working properly and the system isn’t overloaded, the water ends up being cleansed by the action of bacteria and other natural forces.

Starting Jan. 1, new, more strict, regulations regarding septic systems for new houses built away from access to public sewer systems will go into effect, and the regulations promise to add $11,000 to $14,000 to the cost of a new home built on a well and septic system in Harford County. The new state law demands septic systems for new homes be built using the “best available technology,” or BAT.

From a certain perspective, it’s hard to see why the buyers of new homes on septic systems wouldn’t be demanding the best available technology when it comes to waste disposal. As a rule – and there are exceptions – homes served by septic systems also draw their water from wells. While theoretically, there’s not supposed to be any crossover between the two systems, in practice, sometimes well and septic fields overlap.

Reality being what it is, however, questions about septic system technology take a back seat to square footage, storage space and curb appeal when people are buying houses, so often the most inexpensive available technology allowed by law is what ends up being used. No change in law, means no change in industry standard.

Is a change in the industry standard called for? Probably so. While septic systems have proven to be largely reliable, they have their problems, and a failed or marginal septic system has the potential to pollute nearby groundwater and springs with excess nutrients, which often manifest themselves as bright green algae blooms in standing water and nearby creeks.

via articles.baltimoresun.com

Bedford Corners Real Estate | 15 Social Media Concepts to Make You a More Marketable Social Media Professional in 2013

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social-media-marketing

Social media marketing know how is quickly becoming a must-have skill for marketing professionals.

Approximately 73% of www.forbes.com/sites/roberthof/2012/09/07/laggards-no-more-big-companies-floc…”>Fortune 500 companies have a Twitter account; 66% have Facebook Pages.  However, many of these organizations lack experienced personnel to truly unleash the power of social.  According to a survey by Harvard Business Review of 2,100 companies, only 12% of those utilizing media feel they use it effectively.  Further, online job postings requiring social media skills have gone up www.wantedanalytics.com/insight/2012/02/16/hiring-for-social-media-skills-beg…“>87% from 2011-2012; there is now demand for proven social media professionals.  This is great news for all of my Social Media grad students!   This leads me to believe that not only employers accepting social, it is now a requirement for business (a notion many of have been shouting from the rooftops).  Along with this comes the need for employees who can accomplish social strategies for businesses.

Many believe that social media is simply having an active Facebook profile or Twitter feed.  I assure you it is not, there is a method behind the madness!  My social media MBA courses offer students the opportunity to learn and apply skills relevant to their career or career goals.  These courses are part of a traditional MBA program, requiring courses in accounting, finance, management and more.  Students utilize all of these classes together; not in a vacuum.  They learn to be strategic and analytic.  Upon their completion of the MBA with the social media marketing focus, a student should be able to demonstrate the below competencies.  These are not necessarily individual skill sets, but cover a broad spectrum of skills that if used together, make the individual more proficient and marketable. These topics below are addressed more fully within the courses I teach, but are a great resource to look over and evaluate yourself.  View this check-list and assess which you have conquered and which you can improve upon in 2013:

  • At a minimum, you should have an active Twitter account and LinkedIn account designed around your personalbrand.  Similarly, you should know what a hashtag is, why we use it, and how not to use or overuse it!
  • Do you know the logic behind utilizing social?  Here’s a hint: Engagement. This is a broad answer, but if you have been following this blog, you should know that the common theme is “engagement” with external and internal stakeholders.
  • Accept and embrace the importance of listening before you speak (via social) and having a social plan/strategy before jumping on the social media roller coaster.
  • The social media professional must be open to trying new things and possess the flexibility to make changes as needed.
  • Commit yourself to reading constantly about social media and measurement; searching aggressively for the latest trends and best practices. This is a must to keep you current in this ever changing social landscape.
  • You must be religious about social media monitoring for customer service opportunities and initiate conversations on behalf of the customer.  Social media allows brands to actively monitor conversations and arrive at resolutions more quickly than ever before.
  • You must embrace connecting with consumers directly. These deeper connections can lead to higher-level interactions, including advocacy and loyalty.
  • Analyze social media actions and reports on a monthly basis to uncover successes.  This also gives you the potential to identify new opportunities you may be overlooking.
  • Timely and relevant content for any social platform is very important.  Similarly, content must tailored and optimized for a particular platform and intended audience.
  • You must identify and understand your business-related goals.  All content on your blog, Facebook page, Twitter profile, YouTube channel, etc., has to support your business-related goals.
  • As a social media professional, you must have the patience to go the distance.  Social strategies are not short term.  Long-term goals with specific objectives must be identified first, followed by specific tactics in place.
  • Importance of integrating traditional with social strategy.  This is often easier said than done and involves a lot of time, people, and patience.
  • Do you have some knowledge of SEO best practices?  Many students give little attention to this facet of the courses thinking it is more of an IT job duty. Knowing the how and why of SEO can be a huge help to your career and your brand.
  • You must have a solid understanding that as a social media professional, you must collaborate with various other departments (including but not limited to sales, IT, legal, HR, R&D) to share, innovate, and improve business.
  • Do you know who the top influencers are in your sector? Your competitors?  Industry specific trends?  You should be able to find them using various social techniques and feel confident in the data you are collecting.

I will address each of these points above more fully in 2013, so please be sure to follow this blog to read more. Social media is so much more than simply knowing how to tweet, how to use the various social platforms, and how to navigate the different tools available.  It’s knowing how to utilize them together (effectively) to reach your organizations goals. This involves high levels of strategic thinking, a very critical skill. Strategic planning is more important than ever given the significance of integrating social with other brand communications.  Aligning social media goals with the goals of the business as well as business objectives is often overlooked. Strategic planning in business today must include more than creating outputs (tweets, blog posts, and videos), it should include the actual building of relationships that lead to an increase of the bottom line.

My graduates know that no one is truly THE social media expert, guru, Jedi, ninja, rock star, king, (you get the idea). I even reprimand those who might use those phrases with my name in the same sentence.  We are all learning from each other and are actively taking social media to the next level! I believe that is what I enjoy most about social media: those who truly love the field and love what we do want all to succeed. Making this community of social media folks one that is full of individuals helping each other, communicating successes and failures so others may learn, while also “checking in” with each other “just because”.  This is so different than any other business sector that I have been in partly due to the nature of social media, but also due to how business has evolved since the early 90’s.  I look forward to what 2013 brings to social, 2012 truly rocked my world!

 

via socialmediatoday.com

 

Long Island Power Should Be Private, New York Panel Says | Bedford Corners Homes

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The Long Island Power Authority should be converted into an investor-owned utility to end poor management practices that exacerbated slow and halting repairs of blackouts from October’s Hurricane Sandy, a New York state investigative panel said today.

Privatization would make management of the state-owned electrical system answerable to the New York Public Service Commission, which should be empowered by the legislature with stronger sanctions including the ability to revoke a utility franchise, the panel told Governor Andrew Cuomo today in a preliminary briefing.

Cuomo, a Democrat, convened the so-called Moreland Commission in November with the power to subpoena witnesses, after more than two million homes and businesses lost electricity from the storm, some for as long as 21 days. Some of the panel’s recommendations will need legislation and Cuomo said he’s waiting for its final report. No date was given for its release.

“The key to problems at LIPA was a fundamentally dysfunctional management structure,” Benjamin Lawsky, the commission co-chairman and superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, said at a meeting in Albany that was broadcast on the Internet. “The commission found that the only solution is for fundamental change at LIPA and how power is delivered on Long Island.”

Outsourced Operations

The state-controlled authority owns Long Island’s electrical lines and contracted with National Grid Plc (NG/) to operate them. Under such divided and “dysfunctional” management, LIPA let consultants, rather than the utility operator, guide its spending and failed to properly replace aging poles or trim away overhanging trees as recommended in state studies, Lawsky said.

Bringing day to day operations into LIPA may not improve management and would add 2,000 employees to the state pension system, Lawsky said.

LIPA was formed in 1985 by state lawmakers because of a “lack of confidence” in Long Island Lighting Co.’s ability to supply power reliably and economically after its investment in the ill-fated Shoreham nuclear plant. Shoreham, the most expensive U.S. nuclear power project, never operated commercially after the state raised questions about the ability to evacuate Long Island in the event of a radioactive release.

LIPA bought the lighting company’s remaining assets in 1998, including its power lines and power plants.

The authority has about $7 billion in debt and $4 billion of assets, Lawsky said.

New Contract

National Grid operates, maintains and repairs LIPA’s power lines through Dec. 31, 2013. The authority picked in 2011 Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PEG), owner of New Jersey’s largest utility, to take over the contract in 2014. The management structure is unique to LIPA.

Public Service is preparing to manage LIPA’s lines and intends to work with Cuomo and legislators as needed, Karen Johnson, a spokeswoman, said today in an e-mail.

LIPA is “reviewing the report and will continue to cooperate with the state and the Moreland Commission to do what is in the best interest of Long Island’s ratepayers,” Mark Gross, an authority spokesman, said in an e-mail.

The New York Public Service Commission, which regulates investor-owned utilities, needs the authority to impose stronger sanctions to compel better performance, said Robert Abrams, the other commission co-chairman and a former state attorney general.

Maximum Penalty

The maximum penalty for violating the commission’s orders is $100,000 a day, Abrams said. A more effective sanction would be 0.02 percent of gross revenue, or about $2 million a day for Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED), the state’s largest utility owner, he said.

Storm response plans should be subject to commission approval and compliance enforced by more staff, Abrams said.

“Superstorm Sandy devastated our region,” Chris Olert, a Con Edison spokesman, said in an e-mail. “All of us must participate in the discussions on infrastructure investments and new policies.”

Higher Costs

An October 2011 strategic review of LIPA by the Brattle Group concluded that privatization may raise costs by $438 million a year because an investor-owned utility can’t issue tax-exempt bonds. Cost of capital for the privatized utility would be 10.73 percent compared to LIPA’s current cost of capital of about 5 percent, it concluded.

A 10-year LIPA bond backed by bill payments traded Dec. 31 with an average yield of 2.27 percent, 0.58 percentage point above an index of benchmark municipals with similar maturity, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That yield difference has narrowed from when the bonds first priced in June with a spread of 0.81 percentage point.

Privatizing the Long Island authority “is just not realistic and practical,” said Matthew Cordaro, a former chief operating officer of Long Island Lighting. Refinancing LIPA’s tax-exempt bonds would raise power rates that are already among the highest in the country, he said today in a telephone interview.

Converting the authority into a full-service municipal utility that employs professional managers is a better option, he said.

via bloomberg.com

Mortgage Rates Seen Staying Below Four Percent | Bedford Hills NY Homes

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Though a number of critical questions face the US economy, from the unfinished business in Washington like the debt limit and spending cuts to lackluster growth, the outlook for mortgage rates is relatively predictable and not very exciting.

Rates will stay low, below 4 percent on a thirty-year fixed mortgage, predicts Bankrate.com senior financial analyst Greg McBride.  Even the prospect that Congress might finally act on reforming the GSEs does not deter him from his view that the Fed will not abandon QE3 in light of the fragility of both the national economy and housing economies.

With Fannie and Freddie originating 90 percent of new mortgages, removing the government guarantee that helps make these loans possible would ruin the recovery.  “Say what they want about ending the GSEs, it’s not going to happen,” said McBride.

Nor does he see significant changes in lending standards that many claim are making it too difficult for first-time buyers to get financing.  “Today’s median FICO of 750 and other financial qualifications are not insurmountable to young buyers with low debt and good jobs.” he said.

“Lukewarm jobs reports of 155,000 to 160,000 new jobs are not enough.  We need to see job growth twice that size before the Fed should even think about changing its policies,” he said.

This week on Bankrate.com’s  Rate Trend Index, 55 percent of the panelists believe mortgage rates will rise over the next week or so, 27 percent think rates will fall, and 18 percent believe rates will remain relatively unchanged (plus or minus 2 basis points).

Bankrate.com surveys experts in the mortgage field to see if they believe mortgage rates will rise, fall or remain relatively unchanged. The panel is comprised of mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers and other industry experts who provide residential first mortgages to consumers.

via realestateeconomywatch.com

A Closer Look At The Fiscal Cliff Deal’s Impact On The Built-In-Gains Recognition Period For S Corporations | Bedford Corners NY Homes

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Last week, in a post titled “Secrets of the Fiscal Cliff,” I set about identifying six of the lesser publicized tax aspects of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA). In the final item, I wrote the following:

Ask a C corporation shareholder why he hasn’t converted to an S corporation, and the most common response is “the built-in-gains tax.” As a reminder, the built-in-gains tax prevents a C corporation from circumventing double taxation by converting to an S corporation and then immediately selling its assets or liquidating. In simple terms, it does so by requiring an S corporation to pay corporate level tax on any gains that were inherent in the assets of the S corporation on the date of the election and that are recognized within the first 10 years after the S election is effective.

Recent law changes, however, have provided for truncated recognition periods for existing S corporation that have reached certain landmarks in their 10-year period. For example, the 2009 Recovery Act provided that for S corporation tax years beginning in 2009 and 2010, no tax would be imposed on the net unrecognized built-in gain of an S corporation if the seventh tax year in the recognition period preceded the 2009 and 2010 tax years.

Note, however, that these law changes merely abbreviated the recognition period for certain existing S corporations that have already begun their recognition periods. For newly electing S corporations, the recognition period has always remained 10 years. Until now. The fiscal cliff deal surprisingly calls for only a 5-year recognition period for corporations that elect S status in 2012 or 2013.

I reached this conclusion based on the language of Section 326 of the ATRA, which reads:

EXTENSION OF REDUCTION IN S-CORPORATION RECOGNITION PERIOD FOR BUILT-IN GAINS TAX.

IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (7) of section 1374(d) is amended by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new subparagraph:

(C) SPECIAL RULE FOR 2012 AND 2013.—For purposes of determining the net recognized built-in gain for taxable years beginning in 2012 or 2013, subparagraphs (A) and (D) shall be applied by substituting ‘5-year’ for ‘10-year’.’’

For a point of reference, pre-ATRA  Section 1374(d)(7)(A) read:

(7) Recognition period.

(A) In general. The term “recognition period” means the 10-year period beginning with the 1st day of the 1st taxable year for which the corporation was an S corporation.

Putting it all together, I concluded that Section 326 of the ATRA provided a different type of relief from previous amendments to Section 1374. The fiscal cliff deal, it appeared to me, was abbreviating the typical 10-year recognition period for newly electing S corporations in 2012 and 2013 on a prospective basis. Why did I reach this conclusion, particularly in light of the fact that previous amendments to the recognition period had all been made on a retroactive basis?

For starters, the previous changes to Section 1374(d)(7) used very specific language to indicate the effect of a truncated recognition period. Consider Section 1374(d)(7)(B), which was added in 2009:

(B) Special rules for 2009, 2010, and 2011. No tax shall be imposed on the net recognized built-in gain of an S corporation—

(i) in the case of any taxable year beginning in 2009 or 2010, if the 7th taxable year in the recognition period preceded such taxable year, or

(ii) in the case of any taxable year beginning in 2011, if the 5th year in the recognition period preceded such taxable year.

Looking at it logically, I assumed that if Congress intended Section 326 of the ATRA to simply exclude from built-in-gains any gain recognized in 2012 or 2013 by an S corporation that had reached the five-year point in its recognition period, it would have written the proposed Section 1374(d)(7)(C) in the same manner as Section 1374(d)(7)(B). More to the point, Congress could have avoided adding a new subparagraph and simply amended Section 1374(d)(7)(B)(ii) by adding 2012 and 2013.

Adding a differently worded new subparagraph didn’t make sense, which is why I concluded that the language of new Section 1374(d)(7)(C) was meant to accomplish something else: to shorten the recognition period to five years for corporations electing S status in 2012 or 2013.

But over the weekend, something gave me pause, and it wasn’t just the fact that such an approach would be a departure from previous Congressional motives; it was the language of the title to Section 326 of the ATRA. As indicated above, it reads:

EXTENSION OF REDUCTION IN S-CORPORATION RECOGNITION PERIOD FOR BUILT-IN GAINS TAX.

via forbes.com

Chappaqua NY Homes | Avoiding the Fiscal Cliff, But Not the Steady Decline

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Although it is probably good news that congress and President Obama managed to start the New Year by avoiding going over the fiscal cliff, it is hard not to get a sense that, now that we have avoided that, we can go back to the steady decline that has characterized our economy in recent years. Moreover, while avoiding the fiscal cliff is evidence that our elected officials are not completely unable to work together or govern, there is still reason to believe that congress is not capable of governing the country in a serious way or of addressing any of the myriad problems facing the U.S.

To a large extent, the fiscal cliff was an artificial crisis arising out of the Republican-led congress’ unwillingness to raise the debt ceiling in the summer of 2011. Congress’ inability to function in summer of 2011 led to the formation of a super committee which was supposed to do the work which congress could not. Unsurprisingly, that super committee was similarly unable to function, thus leading to the automatic spending cuts and tax increases which were due to start this year and became known as the fiscal cliff.

In some respects, what is so unusual about the fiscal cliff negotiations is that they represented, for the most part, the every day work of congress. For decades, congress and presidents have been able to work together despite partisan and ideological differences to agree on a budget, tax policies and spending. In recent years this has broken down. In fairness, for much of recent American history, this agreement was reached by increasing borrowing, an option that is politically not as easy today as it was even a decade ago. However, the deficit alone does not explain why this basic act of governance has become so difficult.

It is possible to attribute this to an increase in partisan fighting and an increasingly partisan climate in Washington. This explanation is not entirely inaccurate, but it is also intellectually lazy and suggests a shared responsibility among the two parties that no longer exists. Now, even more than in Obama’s first term, it is clear that the responsibility for most of the obstruction lies with the Republicans in congress who are largely either radical Tea Party types or leaders who are unable to discipline or deliver their caucus. Interestingly, congressional Republicans are now so committed to their extremism and heedless of the political reality around them that they are willing, even anxious, to create political problems for themselves in the name of some ideological purity that is better understood as little more than a deep commitment to disagree with President Obama on absolutely everything.

The fiscal cliff deal has done nothing to change this basic orientation of a significant segment of congressional Republicans, who are still unwilling to take the work of governance seriously, preferring to operate through ultimatums and threats. Currently, this includes a number of prominent Republicans calling for a government shutdown, seemingly because they did not get their way on the fiscal cliff agreement.

In this context, the fiscal cliff agreement means very little. The agreement not only solves nothing, but it buys very little time as the Republicans in congress seem to be pivoting quickly to discussing government shutdowns, refusals to raise the debt ceiling and other measures which will accomplish little and be destructive to the American economy.

The fiscal cliff emerged because of a failure of governance, more specifically, because of a failure of the House Republicans to make governance rather than some ersatz ideological purity a priority. Although the immediate threat was avoided, this basic condition has not changed, meaning the fiscal cliff deal resolved very little. The fiscal cliff was a political construct which turned into a potential political and economic crisis. Interestingly, the lesson some in the Republican Party learned from this is not that creating false crises is a bad idea, but that they can get attention and an opportunity to show how much they oppose the president by creating more of these crises.

Unfortunately, it is likely that the fiscal cliff will be the beginning of a series of crises rather than the resolution or end of a process. It is unclear what can dissuade the House Republicans from continuing to do this. The resounding defeat of their party’s standard bearer in this recent election clearly did not accomplish this. Similarly, it is clear that leaders such as Speaker John Boehner are either unable or unwilling to try to curb this behavior. The cost of this will be quite high for the country. If one party refuses to govern, or sees it as less important than proving some increasingly obscure and irrelevant point, the fiscal cliff of January 2013 will seem like a fond memory within a year or two.

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Follow Lincoln Mitchell on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LincolnMitchell

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via huffingtonpost.com

Foreclosure Supply Plummeted in November | Bedford Hills NY Real Estate

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Completed foreclosures fell 23 percent in November compared to a year ago and the national foreclosure inventory declined 18 percent from November 2011, from 1.5 to 1.2 million properties as demand from investors kept local inventories low.

According to CoreLogic, there were 55,000 completed foreclosures in the U.S. in November 2012, down from 72,000 in November 2011, a year-over-year decrease of 23 percent. On a month-over-month basis, completed foreclosures fell from 59,000* in October 2012 to the current 55,000, a decrease of 6 percent.

Approximately 1.2 million homes, or 3.0 percent of all homes with a mortgage, were in the national foreclosure inventory as of November 2012 compared to 1.5 million, or 3.5 percent, in November 2011. Month-over-month, the national foreclosure inventory was down 3.5 percent from October 2012 to November 2012. Year-over-year, the foreclosure inventory was down 18 percent. The foreclosure inventory is the share of all mortgaged homes in any stage of the foreclosure process.

(See National Foreclosure and Shadow Inventories fell by a Total 500K in 2012).

“The continued fall in completed foreclosures is a positive supply-side contribution in many regions of the U.S.,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “We still have a long way to go to return to historic norms, but this trend is firmly in the right direction.”

Historically, foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month between 2000 and 2006. Since the financial crisis began in September 2008, there have been approximately 4.0 million completed foreclosures .

“The pace of completed foreclosures has significantly improved over a year ago as short sales gain popularity as a disposition method. Additionally, the inventory of foreclosed properties continues to decline while the housing market demonstrates an ongoing ability to absorb the distressed sales that result from completed foreclosures,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic.

Highlights as of November 2012:

  • The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in November 2012 were: California (102,000), Florida (94,000), Michigan (75,000), Texas (58,000) and Georgia (52,000).These five states account for 50 percent of all completed foreclosures nationally.
  • The five states with the lowest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in November 2012 were: South Dakota (10), District of Columbia (62), Hawaii (415), North Dakota (491) and Maine (597).
  • The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Florida (10.4 percent), New Jersey (7.3 percent), New York (5.1 percent), Nevada (4.7 percent) and Illinois (4.7 percent).
  • The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Wyoming (0.4 percent), Alaska (0.7 percent), North Dakota (0.7 percent), Nebraska (0.8 percent) and South Dakota (1.0 percent).

*October data was revised. Revisions are standard, and to ensure accuracy CoreLogic incorporates newly released data to provide updated results.

via realestateeconomywatch.com

Americans are Moving More Often | Bedford NY Real Estate

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Rising home values, affordable prices, pent up demand and fewer households underwater on there are motivating more American families to move more often. The average home buyer is expected to stay in a home only 13 years, down from a peak of 20 years in 2009.

Based on a long-run calculation that averages mobility tendencies over a number of years, the typical buyer of a single-family home-including first-time buyers as well as move up buyers- can be expected to stay in the home is now approximately 13 years, according to recent article published by the National Association of Home Builders.

The NAHB work updates a previous article that used data from the American Housing Survey (funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and conducted in odd-numbered years by the Census Bureau) through 2007. The new study incorporates AHS data through 2011.

The mobility tendencies observed in the 2011 data imply that the expected length of stay in an owner-occupied, single-family home would be about 16 years (the time it would take half of single-family buyers to move out). However, 2011 is likely to be an atypical year, so the article repeats the analysis using mobility tendencies observable in earlier years, with results as shown in the figure below.

If a single estimate is needed for how long buyers who move in today or in the near future can be expected to remain in their homes, the article recommends 13 years, based on the rounded average across all data points.

The article also shows that, over the 1987-2011 period, the expected length of stay in a single-family home has been consistently longer for trade-up buyers than for first-time buyers. Averaged over those years, the expected length of stay in a single-family home is about 11 and a half years for first-time buyers, compared to 15 years for buyers who have owned a home before.

The National Association of Realtors reported that the average tenure is still nine years in its recent 2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, up from six years before the housing crash in 2007, but the average buyers expectation is to live in theuir new home 15 years.

via realestateeconomywatch.com