Category Archives: Chappaqua

All-cash deals make huge comeback | Chappaqua Homes

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Call it the summer of the cash sale. All-cash home purchases skyrocketed during the summer months of 2013, with their share of total sales growing by more than 40 percent from the beginning of June to the end of August, amid sustained appetite from investors, a recent spike in interest rates and tight inventory.

Cash purchases accounted for 45 percent of sales in August, up from the 2013 trough of 32 percent seen in April and May, according to RealtyTrac data provided exclusively to Inman News. RealtyTrac That indicates that the market share of cash sales has increased 41 percent in just the last three months.

The recent meteoric rise in cash sales’ market share hit its fastest clip yet in August, with cash purchases’ share of total sales jumping 6 percentage points month over month to 45 percent. That’s the highest level that RealtyTrac has recorded since March 2012, right around when home prices hit their post-meltdown low.

Looking back a year, cash sales’ market share was up a whopping 50 percent in August, RealtyTrac said.

Read more…

 

http://www.inman.com/2013/09/26/cash-sales-share-of-total-purchases-skyrockets-by-nearly-a-third-in-2-months/#sthash.kfMp9Gaz.dpuf

Southampton Shingle Style Oceanfront for $45.5M | Chappaqua Real Estate

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Buyers looking for $40+M oceanfront in Southampton are spoiled for choice this week! This property is 4.5 acres with 500 feet of beachfront, which compares favorably with the neighboring Gin Lane lots offered earlier this week. There’s also private frontage on Wickapogue Pond. The house was designed by Francis Fleetwood and is about 6700sf, with terraces and water views aplenty. It’s decorated too fussily for our tastes, but is still lovely, with seven bedrooms and nine baths and an elevator. There’s also a six-car garage, pool with water views to the ocean and pond, and sunken tennis court. · Southampton Village [Elliman]

Millwood Fire Department to break ground on new firehouse | Chappaqua Real Estate

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After years of planning, the Millwood Fire District and the Millwood Fire Company #1 will hold a groundbreaking ceremony Sunday, Oct. 6 for the new firehouse in the hamlet in the town of New Castle. The event will kick off the Fire Company’s annual open house.

From the invitation:

Celebrations start at 11:15 at Station #1 located at 60 Millwood Road in downtown Millwood. We’ll gather for coffee and donuts at the old firehouse before making our way to the new site for the groundbreaking ceremony. We’ll then return to Station #1 for a BBQ, truck rides and crafts for the kids, a trolley ride through the District, as well as fire safety education for kids and adults. Open House starts at 1 PM.

 

 

http://northernwestchester.lohudblogs.com/2013/09/25/millwood-fire-department-to-break-ground-on-new-firehouse/

The Beautiful Thing About Dad’s Chair | Chappaqua Real Estate

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n a recent weekend afternoon, I awoke from a much-needed nap to find a curious new addition to our living room: a big, bulky, well-worn, dark blue leather recliner. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief like it was Christmas morning. Funny how you can never know how much you really needed something until it’s right there in front of you. My wife’s father had just dropped off the chair. It was a gift from his mother, my wife’s grandmother. I’m told that my wife’s grandfather had sat in this chair for many, many years before he died. I stared in awe at the thing. I finally had my first Dad Chair. And then a peculiar thing happened. Neither my wife, son nor I had laid claim to the chair, but in my mind it was immediately obvious that it was mine. This was for Dad. Me.
I felt territorial and possessive. My mind raced with thoughts of me sitting in the chair drinking scotch and saying wise things, of reading thick leather-bound literary tomes and, of course, watching football games every Sunday. But we don’t even have a TV. And I hate scotch. And I read trashy detective novels and rarely say wise things! What gives?

by Mitchell Parker

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You can see here that the chair is nothing outstanding. (But man, it’s comfortable.) So why am I feeling so animalistically “manly” about a simple piece of furniture?
Turns out, there are a lot of factors involved with my brutish behavior. “Generally, the Dad Chair is a protected base for the dominant male in a home,” says environmental psychologist Sally Augustin. By “generally,” Augustin is referring to the obvious fact that there are many different households, some without any males at all. My emotional behavior concerning this chair is really a culmination of biological as well as cultural influences.
eclectic living room by Shannon Malone

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Let’s take a look at the latter. “There is a lot of nonverbal communication going on with these chairs,” Augustin says. “From the first ‘50s sitcoms, dads have had control of the living room recliner, and that recliner now screams Dad to all of us raised in the West.” That might help explain my impulse to drink face-contorting malt whisky and watch a sport I care very little about.
And I do have many memories of my father’s claimed territory throughout multiple houses we lived in when I was growing up. He never really had a Dad Chair, but he certainly had his spot, marked by an indention in the sofa, where he would sit every night, his knees bent and his feet tucked up under himself, with a slight lean against the left armrest so he could reach his glass of wine on the side table. He and my mother moved to a new place in San Diego about a year ago, and sure enough, the sofa arrangement is the same, and his spot was reclaimed.

New Castle Group Hosts Meeting On Coyote Safety | Chappaqua Real Estate

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Team New Castle 2013 will hold a meeting to discuss coyote safety on Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m at Horace Greeley High School.

James Horton of QualityPro Pest and Wildlife Services will discuss different methods of maintaining coyote’s fear of humans, such as hazing. Effective forms of hazing include using a noisemaker such as an air horn when confronted with a coyote.

Horton was the licensed wildlife control expert hired by Rye Brook after a coyote attacked two children, a 2-year-old and a 14-year-old.

Nearby towns such as Rye Brook, Rye, New Rochelle,  Danbury, Conn. and Brookline, Mass. have become proactive, hiring trappers to trap coyotes.

The first 100 guests will receive a free air horn necklace.

Horace Greely High School is at 70 Roaring Brook Rd in Chappaqua.

 

http://chappaqua.dailyvoice.com/news/new-castle-group-hosts-meeting-coyote-safety

 

US Real Estate Market Activity Slows | Chappaqua Real Estate

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Homebuyer traffic slowed in August, according to the latest survey from Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance.

The survey found that all three groups of homebuyers — current  homeowners, investors and first-time homebuyers — pulled back from the  housing market, a sign that future sales activity might weaken.

The sharpest falloff in the HousingPulse homebuyer traffic index  was seen among current homeowners, the largest group of homebuyers.

This makes sense as current homeowners are less likely to trade  up if interest rates rise and home prices no longer look attractive.

But the urgency for first-time homebuyers also appears to have reduced, according to the survey.

Traffic has slowed down for current homeowners and first-time  homebuyers. Investors scored below 50 in the Homebuyer Traffic Index; a  reading below 50 indicates that traffic is below what is considered a  “flat” level, but that figure remains relatively high.

Investor traffic is likely on the decline because there aren’t enough distressed properties on sale.

The HousingPulse Distressed Property Index, a measure of  distressed properties as a share of total home purchase transactions,  fell to 25.4% in August, based on the three-month moving average.

That was not only down from a distressed property share of 35.8%  seen as recently as last March, but also the lowest level ever recorded  by the HousingPulse survey.

The slowdown in traffic could be seasonal as summer draws to a  close but brokers and homebuilders have reported increased buyer  hesitancy.

Home price gains have started to moderate and new-home sales  plunged in July, but existing home sales are still strong. The sales  data doesn’t yet reflect the impact of rising rates because many buyers  rushed to lock in interest rates before they rose further.

The impact of interest rates on sales could be more pronounced in the coming months, however.

Still, it is too early to call an end to the recovery in housing.  Home prices have been lifted off their bottom and the market has  stabilized. There is pent-up demand and a further increase in inventory  and a moderation in prices also could encourage more buyers back into  the market.

A separate survey released  Monday by Bankrate.com showed that 55% of Americans believe home prices  will go up in the next 12 months, while 9% forecast a decline. In  upper-income households, 65% predicted a rise, while 6% forecast a  decline.

 

 

http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/

 

 

 

Case-Shiller: Home Prices Gain in July at Slower Pace | Chappaqua Homes

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U.S. home prices rose 12.4 percent in July compared with a year ago, the most since February 2006. An increase in sales on a limited supply of available homes drove the gains.

The Standard &Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index reported Tuesday improved from June, when it rose 12.1 percent from a year ago. And all 20 cities posted gains in July from the previous month and compared with a year ago.

Still, the month-over-month price gains shrank in 15 cities in July compared with the previous month, indicating prices may be peaking. And the month-over-month gains in the 20-city price index have slowed for three straight months.

Stan Humphries, chief economist for real estate data provider Zillow, said home price should continue to rise but at a slower pace. Mortgage rates have increased more than a full percentage point since May. And more homes are being built. That should ease supply constraints that have inflated prices in some markets.

“This ongoing moderation is good for the market overall,” Humphries said.

Home prices soared 27.5 percent in Las Vegas from a year earlier, the largest gain. San Francisco’s 24.8 percent jump was the second largest and the biggest yearly return for that city since March 2001.

The index covers roughly half of U.S. homes. It measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The July figures are the latest available. They are not adjusted for seasonal variations, so the monthly gains reflect more buying activity over the summer.

Since bottoming out in March 2012, home prices have rebounded about 21 percent. They remain about 22 percent below the peak reached in July 2006.

The housing market has been recovering over the past year, helped by steady job growth, low mortgage rates and relatively low prices.

 

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/09/24/

 

8 Ways to Improve Your Facebook Engagement | Chappaqua Realtor

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Are you looking for fun ways to get your Facebook fans engaged?

Wondering how other pages are developing their posts to increase likes, shares and comments?

In this article I’ll show you eight examples of how to create Facebook posts that drive more engagement on your Facebook page.

#1: Solve Problems With Photos

Posts with a simple image and a caption that shows fans the solution to a problem or a way to improve their daily lives receive marked engagement.

Whole Foods uses this post tactic to encourage fan discussions about product-related solutions to common problems.

Whole Foods boosts engagement by sharing lifestyle tips.

 

Tips for posting images to Facebook:

  • Larger images tend to get more likes, shares and comments. Use the Upload Photos/Video function to publish photo files directly into your post instead of posting a link that shows a thumbnail.
  • Optimize images for the 403 x 403 pixel display in the timeline. Larger images display from the center of the image, and some of the edges may not appear in the news feed unless a user clicks through.

Find a great selection of socially recommended how-to’s on Snapguide or Reddit’s Life Pro Tips.

 

 

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-fan-engagement-tips/

 

 

 

Cardinal Dolan Enjoys Event-Filled Visit To Westchester | Chappaqua Real Estate

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Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan commended Archbishop Stepinac High School for its upstanding students and technological innovation during his visit on Wednesday.

Dolan, the Archbishop of New York who was identified as a close contender during the last papal conclave in March, visited the school to say Mass, meet students and faculty, answer questions and tour the new technology center.

“Our board and the entire Stepinac community appreciate not only his visit, but the opportunity to show the Cardinal firsthand how Stepinac has transitioned to a 21st century education model while retaining our deep commitment to our faith,” William F. Plunkett Jr., chairman of the Stepinac Board of Trustees, said.

Some of Westchester’s dignitaries were also present, including County Executive Rob Astorino, Deputy County Executive Kevin J. Plunkett and White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach.

In his homily, Dolan told the 700 students, faculty and staff the story of Cardinal Archbishop Aloysius Stepinac, a Croatian cardinal who maintained his Catholic faith in the face of the Nazi and Communist regimes.

He praised the school for continuing Stepinac’s legacy with its commitment to service and religious lifestyle.

As part of the mass, he blessed over 700 rosaries for each member of the Stepinac community. Later, he answered questions from students about his religious journey and duties as Archbishop.

Dolan concluded his visit by touring the school’s tech center, which has helped make Stepinac the first high school in the United States with a complete online textbook library.

“It sends a message to the community that although Stepinac has a time-honored tradition,” Mayor Roach said of Dolan’s visit. “It is committed to moving forward every day.”

The school presented Dolan with several gifts, including a painting to hang in the school in his honor, a Stepinac hat and sweatshirt, and a memorial tree planted in his honor.

Dolan returned the favor by saying he would grant the students a day off in the near future, which elicited a loud round of applause.

 

 

http://chappaqua.dailyvoice.com/news/cardinal-dolan-enjoys-event-filled-visit-stepinac

Survey: Affluent homebuyers will give up space for amenities | Chappaqua Real Estate

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The vast majority of luxury homebuyers used an agent, are willing to give up square footage for an amenity they want and wouldn’t live in a home that isn’t tech-friendly, according to a survey commissioned by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.

The online survey of 500 affluent homebuyers, conducted by Wakefield Research between May 20 and June 4, also showed that most luxury homebuyers believe homeownership is a more sound investment than the stock market, would rather live in a “smart” home than a “green” home, and would rather have an upgraded home than more square footage.

“The luxury consumer is considered a trendsetter in most industries, and to see the strong connection this consumer has with ‘home’ is very significant as we look at the real estate market as a whole,” said Sherry Chris, president and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, in a statement.

Luxury homebuyer survey statementPercentage of respondents agree
Used an agent for real estate services96%
Willing to give up 1,000 square feet of living space in their next home for a lifestyle amenity they want94%
Believe their house is the best on the block93%
Wouldn’t live in a home that isn’t tech-friendly87%
Homeownership is a more sound investment than the stock market75%
Consider a “smart” home more important than a “green” home66%
Rather have upgraded home than more square footage60%
Own multiple homes58%
Homeownership is a bigger indicator of success than their job or title*57%
Prefer owning multiple “lifestyle” homes to support recreational activities like skiing and theater-going53%

Source: Online survey of 500 luxury homebuyers between May 20 and June 4, 2013, conducted by Wakefield Research *Of those luxury homeowner survey respondents who have jobs

A majority of the affluent homebuyers surveyed said they used an agent for neighborhood lifestyle insight (65 percent) as a source of advance info for new listings (64 percent), as a go-to source for housing trends (55 percent) and for support through the homebuying process (53 percent).

More survey results:

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/09/10/survey-affluent-homebuyers-will-give-up-space-for-amenities/#sthash.r1LgFpQO.dpuf