Tag Archives: Chappaqua NY Homes

Chappaqua NY Homes

[UPDATE] Explosions at Boston Marathon: Westchester Takes Local Security Precautions | Chappaqua Real Estate

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Westchester County is reacting to the deadly explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon today by increasing security throughout the county.

A county police spokesman said Westchester has deployed its aviation unit helicopter and its marine unit on the Hudson River. The county’s bomb squad is on standby and security has been increased at Westchester County Airport.

The helicopter is conducting aerial surveillance of critical infrastructure around the county.

“My heart goes out to the victims and their families of the horrific tragedy at the Boston Marathon. As a result of the events in Boston, Westchester County is on a heightened level of readiness,” said Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino. “I have ordered Westchester County Police to immediately take a number of precautionary actions including the deployment of the Aviation Unit helicopter to conduct aerial surveillance of critical infrastructure around the county and the Marine Unit to do the same along the Hudson River

via bedford.patch.com

Drunk people: best focus group ever? | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

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If you’re an app developer, you may want to stop wasting your time with focus groups and get wasted in a bar instead. 

Dave Lieb, the founder of file-sharing app Bump, recently told Fast Company that one of the most effective testing methods the company used to hone its product was to introduce it to drunk people in bars. Lieb argues that in a society that breeds distraction and multitasking, there’s no better demographic to test a product on than those who are mentally impaired. 

“Drunk people are maybe a good approximation of distracted people,” Lieb told Fast Company.

By inviting revelers to use Bump, Lieb and his team gained valuable insights into how to make Bump, which enables users to transfer data by bumping their phones, more user-friendly and attractive. For example, Lieb realized that having the app require users to be on certain pages on their phones to transfer information made it too challenging to use for intoxicated people. As a result, the company made all pages “bumpable.” 

The company also learned that brand awareness doesn’t necessarily translate into usage when a bachelorette party cheered after learning that a Bump employee worked at Bump only to reveal that none of them actually had Bump. After that experience, Bump decided to expand its product to allow users to transfer all manner of data, not just phone contacts. 

via inman.com

Fear Motivates First-Time Homebuyers | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

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Worried about predictions of rising mortgage rates, additional increases in home prices and new costs for FHA borrowers, first-time homebuyers are kicking off the spring buying market in years, despite skimpy inventories and late winter weather across much of the nation.

According to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey, first-time buyers accounted for 34.5 percent of home purchase transactions in February based on a three-month moving average, the second monthly increase for first-time homebuyers.

First-time homebuyer traffic surged in February. The HousingPulse Homebuyer Traffic Diffusion Index for first-time homebuyers, an indicator of future home purchases, hit a four-year survey high of 66.4% in February. Any score above 50 percent with the index reflects an increase in home shopping traffic.

“First-time homebuyers are the wildcard in the upcoming spring-summer homebuying season,” said Thomas Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys. “We see strong first-time homebuyer traffic, but it’s still not clear that the traffic will translate into increased purchases, because first-time homebuyers are dependent on low-downpayment financing, such as FHA mortgages, and announced FHA program changes will take effect this spring.”

In the April to June timeframe, FHA will be increasing its Monthly Insurance Premium and require payment of the MIP for the full term of the loan.

While first-time homebuyers represented the fastest growing category of home purchasers between January and February, purchases by current homeowners saw the biggest drop fell from 44.3 percent to 42.5 percent. That was the lowest market share for current homeowners recorded by the HousingPulse survey since last June.

The Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance findings are similar to data released by Realtor.com last week that suggests buyers are getting an early start this year (See Early Bird Buyers Try to Beat Tight Inventories).

via realestateeconomywatch.com

Great experiences trump all in pursuit of client loyalty | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

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Real estate has changed dramatically during the past decade. The stream of property information now available online — largely through companies such as Trulia and Zillow — has eliminated agents’ monopoly on access to information and, in doing so, transferred power to every consumer with an Internet connection.

Buyers and sellers now control the real estate process, a massive shift that has forced brands and agents to react. Those reactions, however, are too often misdirected toward quantity (leads bought in bulk, higher conversion rates, more Facebook or LinkedIn connections) as opposed to quality, a costly mistake for real estate professionals.

As companies such as Amazon, Starbucks and Zappos have shown us, great experiences are the best way to grow business. Agents must heed those lessons and connect personally with their customers, not through “spray and pray” marketing tactics that treat clients as just another number.

via inman.com