Category Archives: Cross River NY

Cross River New York Real Estate for Sale

With Manhattan Real Estate Prices Flat, Bidding Wars Emerge | Cross River Real Estate

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The median sale price for the first quarter was $775,000, unchanged from the same period in 2011, according to a report from Streeteasy.com that will be released on Tuesday. Reports from New York City’s largest brokerages also indicate relatively steady pricing, with one showing the median dropping by 1 percent and others an increase of 4 percent to 6 percent.

The average price rose, with Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property showing a 9 percent increase over last year to $1.48 million. That number, however, was skewed by strong sales in the luxury market, including an $88 million penthouse at 15 Central Park West.

Hall F. Willkie, the president of Brown Harris Stevens, which represented the buyer and the seller in the $88 million deal, said the sale “had an immediate effect on comparable properties, but it also had an impact on the overall market in terms of confidence.”

“It provided an emotional lift across the board,” he continued.

The reports reflect deals that went into contract late last year and that closed through the end of March, but brokers said many of the sales that had gone into contract in recent weeks involved multiple bids above the asking price.

Bidding wars returned to the market last year, but Halstead’s president, Diane M. Ramirez, said that until recently most of the bidding merely drove the sale price close to the list price. “It’s definitely a good sign that things are now starting to go over ask,” she said.

That trend has been seen at all levels of the market, Ms. Ramirez added, but typically only when an apartment is in good condition, in a good location and priced well. She said sellers who listed their homes above the market rate to add a cushion for negotiation were making a mistake.

“If you’re not priced correctly, everyone will walk right by you,” she said.

Pamela Liebman, the chief executive of the Corcoran Group, said that after two years of stable pricing, “I think we’ve finally gone beyond steady and are starting to get into a real uptick.” Corcoran’s report showed the strongest numbers, with the median rising 6 percent to $809,000.

Ms. Liebman said luxury sales buoyed the market. She mentioned two listings that recently drew multiple bids and went into contract within a few weeks of coming to market: a $24.5 million duplex on the Upper East Side and a $7.95 million West Village town house. “I think buyers have gotten the message that if you’re ready to buy, be prepared to bid aggressively and to sign quickly,” she said.

A $24 million apartment owned by the reclusive heiress Huguette Clark, who died last year, also went into contract within a week of being listed last month. Mr. Willkie, whose agency represents the Clark estate, would not say if the bidding pushed the price for the 12th-floor apartment over the asking price. Mrs. Clark’s two other apartments in the same Fifth Avenue building, priced at $12 million and $19 million, are still available.

On the low end, Jonathan J. Miller, the president of the appraisal firm Miller Samuel and the author of Elliman’s report, said there was a surge in sales of studios and one-bedrooms. The market share for those small apartments rose to 56.2 percent, the highest percentage since late 2009 and up from 49.4 percent last year.

“The entry level came back strong,” said Dottie Herman, the chief executive of Prudential Douglas Elliman, “because people know that rents are only going to go up, and at the same time they’re worried about interest rates spiking. All those things make it more appealing to buy right now.”

via nytimes.com

Ocean City, Md.: America’s Most Affordable Fun City | Cross River Real Estate for sale

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Ocean City, Md., a resort town about 70 miles south of Dover, Del., that attracts many visitors from Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Wilmington, has long drawn large crowds with its beach, bay, and hundreds of dining and nightlife offerings. A popular destination for young singles and families, the town of 10,246 people swells to about 250,000 during the summer, according to city estimates. Surprisingly, living in the middle of all this action also can be affordable. Homes in the Ocean City area have a median price of $243,600, compared with the state median of $232,500, according to Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate and real estate data provider Onboard Informatics.

Ocean City—also known as OCMD to habitués—emerged as the country’s most affordable and fun city in a ranking by Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate’s Lifestyle Search. “”There are two or three ultra-cool cities that everyone wants to live in,” says Sherry Chris, chief executive of BHG Real Estate. “The problem is it’s very expensive to live in those cities, so that eliminates them as a possibility for many people.” As lifestyle and community are more important for “echo boomers,” or 18-to-34-year-olds, than older buyers, Chris says, identifying affordable places with active downtown areas and a cool atmosphere are key to attracting the current generation of home buyers.

After Ocean City, the next most affordable and fun cities were the Ala Moana-Kakaako section of Honolulu (No. 2), Tempe, Ariz. (No. 3), Scottsdale, Ariz. (No. 4), and Greenville, S.C. (No. 5).

DOWNTOWNS, COLLEGES, AND RESORT AREAS

To select the country’s most affordable places, Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate, along with its data partner Onboard Informatics, analyzed 6,106 Zip Codes nationwide where the median home price was within 20 percent of the state’s median. It then selected the Zip Codes with the greatest number of bars and restaurants as of July 2011. Restaurants range from chains and casual eateries to fine dining venues, and bars include pubs, lounges, and clubs, says Pete Goldey, chief information officer at Onboard.

The downtown areas of such cities as Sacramento and Orlando made the top 25. The list also includes several vacation areas and college towns. Tempe, for instance, is home to Arizona State University, and Wilmington, N.C., (No. 7) is home to the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Also on the list are such resort areas as Myrtle Beach, S.C., and the Wildwoods in New Jersey, as well as several cities in Hawaii.

“College towns and vacation destinations have a higher percentage of eating and drinking establishments because they are catering to a nonpermanent client base,” says Goldey. These customers tend to spend more time and money “going out and being social.”

YEAR-ROUND RESIDENTS

Ocean City may be bustling during warm months, but during the winter many businesses on the boardwalk close or keep shortened hours, says Donna Abbott, the town’s communications manager. About three-fourths of housing units are for seasonal or recreational use, according to 2010 Census data, and only 12.8 percent are occupied.

Also, while young beachgoers, reveling tourists, and families make up a large portion of visitors, 35.3 percent of year-round residents are age 62 and older.

Still, the promise of affordable fun—compared with pricier second-home markets in the region, such as the New Jersey shore—continues to attract home buyers. The number of sales in Ocean City and West Ocean City totaled 503 in the first half of 2011, up 13 percent over the same time last year, according to data from Remax Premier Properties agent Nicholas Bobenko, an Ocean City native.

“There are people who gravitate here because of the people and great way of life,” Bobenko says. “There is a ton of activity, it’s a safe town, and there’s low crime.” The city is also part of the Worcester County Public School District, which has a few highly ranked schools, according to greatschools.org.

During peak season, tourists and students may help drive affordability and entertainment in some of these cities, says Chris, but “as a result there are a lot of fun things to do in the area for people who live there year-round.”

Click here to see America’s 25 Most Fun, Affordable Cities.

via businessweek.com

Increase Your Profits on New Customers – A Simple Formula | Cross River Real Estate

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Follow this simple formula to increase your profits on every new lead or customer you get.  It will also insure that you maximize your ROI on each customer

What if you had a way to determine the MOST profitable ways to get new customers?

Imagine… you could focus more (all?) of your efforts on those methods and sources that were providing you leads and customers at a maximum profit margin.

Plus, you could stop spending your money on those sources that were not bringing you profitable leads and customers.

Good news!  It is not as hard or mysterious as you might think.

This is the second part of a simple profit formula of which a surprising number of small and even medium sized businesses don’t take advantage.

STOP!  If you haven’t already reviewed Part 1 of the profit formula, go to How To Determine If Your Advertising Is Making Or Losing Money… then come back here, where we pull it all together.

Part 2 Of The Profitability Equation

The second half of the powerful equation we want to explore here is called “Your Customer Acquisition Cost.”

If you know this number you are armed to make intelligent decisions on—

  • Which lead and customer sources to increase… and which ones to decrease (or stop all together)
  • Ways to increase your profit margins through increased efficiencies in acquiring customers (including possible economies of scale [like buying certain leads in bulk].
  • Where to set your retail prices
  • Ways to insure a solid ROI on EVERY lead and customer… and not inadvertently lose money.

Let’s face it.  It is sooooo easy to get excited about new leads and customers, and be busy, busy… but in the end have no real profit to show for your time and energy.

Do you really want to do that?  If you take a little time on the front end, you can be much richer on the back end 🙂

Let Me Show You How This Works

Watch the brief video below that explains—

  1. The concept of your Customer Acquisition Cost
  2. How to determine this number for each lead or customer
  3. How knowing this number gives you a decided advantage in the marketplace.

When you watch the video, you will see why you can compete with even the biggest companies in your area… by working smarter, not harder, in your business.

This video is a visual explanation of an important concept found on pages 7-8 of the 15 Proven Ways To Grow Your Business.  Click on the link to download your free copy today.

If you will consistently implement this concept, along with part 1 of the formula (How To Determine If Your Advertising Is Making Or Losing Money), you will be ahead of the majority of businesses who are “too busy” (or ignorant) to use this powerful formula on a consistent basis.

Wouldn’t you rather work smart… not just hard?

For more great (free!) information and ideas on marketing your business, visit 2ndMileMarketing.com.

Author:      Patrick McDaniel on the Web Patrick McDaniel on Facebook Patrick McDaniel on Twitter Patrick McDaniel on LinkedIn Patrick McDaniel RSS Feed

Pat McDaniel is the online marketing mad scientist at 2nd Mile Marketing.  (Sadly, no Igor on staff).  To get more free marketing ideas for your business, visit 2ndMileMarketing.com

Pat helps small-medium sized businesses attract… more leads/inquiries, better margin leads, and ultimately more customers or clients… by creating an automated online lead… View full profile

This article originally appeared on Marketing Insights by 2nd Mile Marketing and has been republished with permission.

Find out how to syndicate your content with Business 2 Community.

via business2community.com

Cross River NY Homes | Small Fruits in the Garden

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Small Fruits in the Garden

An easy way to add homegrown fruits to your meal is by incorporating small fruits into your garden. Small fruits include strawberries, brambles, grapes, blueberries and such. They are ideal for home gardens because they don’t require the space or care of fruit trees.

General Culture

Here are a few basics about selecting and growing small fruits.

  • Most small fruits have the same basic growing requirements: full sun and well-drained soil.
  • Select varieties that are suited to your climate and look for those that are known to be disease and pest resistant.
  • Buy healthy plants from a reputable source.
  • Get off to a good start with well-prepared soil, the right amount of sunlight and proper planting techniques.
  • Grapes and brambles have specific pruning guidelines. Don’t let that put you off. You’ll find it’s easier than you think.

Incorporating into Garden

You don’t have to have a dedicated area for small fruits. Edge a raised bed with strawberries or plant a blueberry hedge. You can train blackberries and raspberries to grow up trellises and grapes will easily grow over an arbor. Learn about the plant’s characteristics and incorporate it into your garden’s design just like a shrub, annual or perennial.

Strawberries – Strawberries form a carpet of semi-evergreen leaves that are tinged with red in fall. Plants produce runners with baby plants that can be transplanted to new areas.

Read about growing strawberries.

BowlRead about growing grapes.

Blueberry – Blueberries would be an excellent landscape plant even if they didn’t produce tasty berries. The fall foliage makes them a colorful fall focal point.

via pallensmith.com