Category Archives: South Salem

Home prices cooling, but double-digit gains remain common | South Salem NY Real Estate

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Home prices in Southwest Florida continue to post double-digit gains, despite some predictions that those hefty increases that have been a hallmark of 2013 will begin to taper off.

Prices of single-family homes in the Sarasota-Manatee region climbed 11 percent in October over last year, according to the latest report from real estate data provider CoreLogic.

That fell short of the 12.5 percent increase reported nationwide, which marked the 20th straight monthly boost in homes prices in the U.S.

But prices outpaced the U.S. in Charlotte County, where they jumped 14.7 percent in October over the same period in 2012.

Both regions, however, topped the national average for month-to-month price gains.

Home prices from September to October rose 0.4 percent in Sarasota-Manatee and 0.5 percent in Charlotte, compared with a 0.2 percent average hike throughout the country.

That small nationwide gain, experts suggest, indicates prices may be starting to level off.

“In October, the year-over-year appreciation rate remained strong, but the month-over-month appreciation rate was barely positive, indicating that house price appreciation has slowed as expected for the winter,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic.

 

 

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20131216/ARTICLE/131219721/-1/sports03?Title=Home-prices-cooling-but-double-digit-gains-remain-common

New home purchases decrease 18% | South Salem NY Real Estate

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Even while mortgage applications for new home purchases in November were down 18% from October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the size of the average loan continued to trend upward.

The average loan size for new homes reached $295,523 in November, according to the MBA’s Builder Application Survey.

Since the MBA started publishing the monthly survey this summer, average home loan size has increased more than $12,000 from the June average of $283,000.

The number of new homes sold in November decreased to 32,000, from 40,000 in October.

The MBA estimates that sales of new single-family homes were running at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 455,000 in November.

By product type, conventional loans composed 66.2% of loan applications, FHA loans composed 19.9%, RHS/USDA loans composed 1.1% and VA loans composed 12.9%.

MBA’s Builder Application Survey tracks application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of homebuilders across the country.

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/28282-new-home-purchases-decrease-18

 

Warren Buffet’s new real estate brand wants to learn from — and recruit — millennials | South Salem NY Homes

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A group of younger agents will help Warren Buffett’s new real estate franchise brand, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, buck the aging agent trend and connect with the perspective of a younger generation.

The Irvine, Calif.-based franchisor has selected 10 agents, all 35 years old or younger, to serve a two-year term on the “REthink Council,” from a pool of more than 40 applicants, based on their ideas and proficiency — transaction sides, sales volume and awards.

The council will provide input to BHHS leadership on how to connect with millennials, the 20- and 30-somethings born during the early 1980s through the turn of the century.

The new franchise network — which 51 brokerages have committed to affiliate with — wants to become an attractive brand for younger agents, and share innovative ideas with member brokers and the industry at large.

The dearth of younger agents was part of the motivation for establishing the REthinkCouncil. Millennials are not only scarce among the ranks of real estate buyers and sellers, but underrepresented in the ranks of real estate agents.

Agents under the age of 40 made up just 11 percent of the Realtor population in 2013, according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2013 member profile, down from 20 percent in 2003.

 

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/12/12/warren-buffets-new-real-estate-brand-wants-to-learn-from-and-recruit-millennials/?utm_source=20131212&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.f4OPAxYE.dpuf

South Salem, Mt Kisco Have Lowest Ask Price | #RobReportBlog

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South   Salem, Mt Kisco Have Lowest Ask Price | #RobReportBlog
Katonah$359,000.00
Pound   Ridge$285,000.00
South   Salem$205,000.00
Mt Kisco$225,000.00
Chappaqua$380,000.00
North   Salem$235,000.00
Armonk$499,000.00
Bedford$415,000.00
Bedford   Hills$289,000.00
Bedford   Corners$495,000.00

How to Create a Social Media Strategy By Spying Your Competitors | South Salem NY Realtor

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Are you struggling to create a social media strategy for your business?

Lacking insight into the social behaviors of your customers?

No data, no problem!

Chances are your competitors have done all the hard work and all you need to do is look for it.

In this post, I’ll show you how to research the competition’s social game plan so you can build a solid social media strategy of your own.

Finding the Fundamentals

When it comes to social media marketing, you need to answer a few fundamental questions:

  • Should your business be on social media?
  • What networks should you choose?
  • How do you create a great profile?
  • What type of content should you post, and when should you post it?

Everyone must answer these questions, including business owners who want to create a strategy for their own business, marketing managers who need to convince their CEO to invest in social media and consultants who create strategies for clients in a wide variety of industries.

Fortunately, you can find answers through the process of competitor research.

Keep reading to discover how to get insight on your competitors.

#1: Comparing Audience Size

While you shouldn’t obsess about how many fans or followers your competitors have, noting these numbers at the beginning of your campaign can help you answer the following important questions.

how many fans do your competitors have

Noting the number of fans your competitors have can help you answer a few important questions relevant to your own business. Image source: iStockPhoto

 

1. Should your business be on social media?

If your competitors have an audience on social media, whether it is 100 people or 100,000, the answer should be yes. Otherwise, your competitors are tapping into a customer base that your business could be completely missing out on.

2. Which networks should your business focus on?

Do all of your competitors have strong presences on some networks, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, but not others, such as Pinterest? If the answer is yes, then it means two things: 1) businesses in your industry do not do well on Pinterest or 2) with creativity, you have a chance to reach a group of customers with little competition.

3. Have you reached all of your target audience?

Competitor research isn’t just limited to businesses starting their social media strategy. If you have been using social media for a while, but not getting results, take a look at the size of your competitors’ social media audiences to help you gauge whether you are reaching as many of your potential customers as possible, or whether you still have room to grow your network.

 

 

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/social-strategy-competitor-research/

 

Refined Casual Style for a Gracious Farmhouse | South Salem Homes

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This Georgia couple enjoyed their lakeside country vacation house so much that they decided to live there. While the rustic 1960s prefab cabin was all they needed for relaxed weekend stays, it was not suitable for full-time living, so they remodeled and expanded the house, making it look like a simple, rambling farmhouse that had grown over time. The new house is more refined than the original cabin but still lends itself well to casual living and maintains that familiar beloved feeling.
Houzz at a Glance Who lives here: A couple of empty nesters who love to entertain Location: Harris County, Georgia Architects: Historical Concepts Interior designer: Melanie Davis Landscape designer: Bill Lincicome Size: 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms
Photography by Blayne Beacham

The idea was to make the house look and feel like a genuine rambling farmhouse with additions built over decades.
The cabin held many great memories for three generations of the family. Their first idea was to preserve the original cabin as a guesthouse and build a new main house. But the owners and designers realized that the cabin’s location atop the knoll was the most picturesque spot on the property.
AFTER: Creating more ways to enjoy the views of the 100-acre farm and lake was a priority. Each room now leads to a porch or is open to the pastoral views. This new front entry unites the original cabin (left) with the addition (right).
The metal roof of the old house was the right choice for the new farmhouse as well. “It’s about as indigenous to this type of farm as the local fieldstone seen on the old stone walls around the property,” says Historical Concepts principal Terry Pylant.
The shaded portion of the plan shows the footprint of the original house, which was kept intact. The placement of the new entry porch and hallways gives the interiors a comfortable flow.

Home buyer demand drops in November | South Salem NY Homes

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Home buyer demand witnessed a steep decline in November, with the number of Redfin customers requesting tours and signing offers dropping 1.2% and 10.6%, respectively, following seasonal trends.

However, the drop was not as drastic as the same month in 2012, which saw tours and offers falling 11% and 13.6%, respectively.

Few buyers tend to shop for homes as the holidays start to loom closer. However, “with October’s budget and debt-ceiling mess in the rear-view mirror and the prospect for higher mortgage rates in 2014, many buyers felt like November was a window of opportunity,” Redfin agent Paul Reid said.

Additionally, Thanksgiving fell on the fourth week of November instead of the third week, giving buyers extra time to shop for houses and offset reduced demand during the holiday week.

Looking ahead, Redfin said, “In December, house hunting generally takes a back seat to retail shopping and holiday preparations for most buyers. We expect demand to drop off dramatically as Christmas nears.”

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/28223

 

Phoenix housing market’s recovery still lagging most metros | South Salem Real Estate

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Metro Phoenix is outperforming most of the country in terms of home-prices, but employment is underwhelming and new-home permits are far below average.

That was the overall conclusion of the National Association of Home Builders/First American Leading Markets Index, which released a report today comparing current economic and housing conditions in about 360 metro areas with the last period of normalcy before the Great Recession.

Overall, the Valley’s economic and housing activity is running at 79 percent of normal growth, landing it in the No. 250 slot and lagging the nationwide average of 84 percent.

That overall figure is an average of three categories — home prices, new-home permits and employment — based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Freddie Mac and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The index considers the last “normal” period for home prices and permitting as between 2000 and 2003, while the base comparison for employment is 2007. Each of the metro areas’ average permit, price and employment levels over the past 12 months are divided by their annual average over the last period of normal growth.

In Phoenix, home prices are exceeding 2000-03 levels by 24 percent, But current permitting levels are only one quarter of what they were during that normal period. Valley employment growth is running at 87 percent of previous norms.

Nationwide, 54 metro areas returned to or exceeded their last normal levels of economic and housing activity, excluding Phoenix.

“This index shows that most housing markets across the nation are continuing a slow, gradual climb back to normal levels,” said NAHB Chairman Rick Judson said in a prepared statement.

 

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2013/12/05/phoenix-housing-markets-recovery.html?s=print

Rent or Buy? Running the Numbers On Five Downtown Studios | South Salem Real Estate

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Every few weeks, our friends at StreetEasy run the numbers on apartments that are listed for both sale and rent in New York to compares the monthly costs for apartment hunters searching for the best deal. The tool doesn’t take into account every single thing (tax deductions are not factored in), but it’s one way to try to answer the eternal “rent or buy” question. Here now, we compare the data on five downtown studios, all of which are members of the Six Digit Club. These numbers assume a 20 percent downpayment and a 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 4.406 percent.

Address: 40 Broad Street, #28C, in FiDi (above) The Skinny: 590-square-foot unit in the amenity-laden Setai Wall Street Sale Price: $699,000 Maintenance/Taxes: $759/month Total monthly costs when buying: $4,047 Rental price: $3,000/month

Address: 23 Waverly Place, #3A (above) The Skinny: A co-op studio with a sleeping loft in a building with a shared courtyard and rooftop deck Sale Price: $529,000 Maintenance/Taxes: $755 Total monthly costs when buying: $2,876 Rental price: $2,795/month

Address: 317 East 18th Street, #SE (above) The Skinny: Near Gramercy Park, a co-op unit with a half-sized kitchen Sale Price: $290,000 Maintenance/Taxes: $890 Total monthly costs when buying: $2,053 Rental price: $2,000/month

Address: 99 John Street, #813 (above) The Skinny: 671-square-foot studio with a home office in the Financial District Sale Price: $775,000 Maintenance/Taxes: $425 Total monthly costs when buying: $3,907 Rental price: $3,650/month

 

 

 

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/11/26/rent_or_buy_running_the_numbers_on_five_downtown_studios.php