Tag Archives: Katonah Real Estate

Katonah Real Estate

Tight market forces pushing real estate market in Pasadena region | Katonah Real Estate

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Home prices in Pasadena rose last month, reflecting an ongoing trend in which a dwindling number of homes on the market has sparked bidding wars that drive up prices, according to the latest real estate figures.

Despite the trend, median prices in surrounding communities did not fare so well.

The median price of a single-family home in Pasadena was $599,000 last month, an 11% climb from $538,000 in December 2011, according to statistics compiled by Realtor Keith Sorem with Keller Williams Realty in Glendale.

The median price of a condominium also increased slightly, from $400,000 in December 2011 to $404,000 last month.

Meanwhile, the number of single-family homes on the market continued to slide. There were 115 homes on the market last month, a 54% tumble from the 249 homes a year ago.

Condos saw a similar decline, from 174 in December 2011 to 99 last month — a 43% drop.

But in San Marino, the median price of a single-family home fell nearly 17%, from $1.81 million in December 2011 to $1.51 million last month.

Only eight homes were for sale in San Marino last month, a roughly 58% drop from the 19 on the market the year prior.

Median prices also slid in South Pasadena, with the median price for a single-family residence falling from $915,000 in December 2011 to $894,000 last month. The median price of a condo fell by 23%, from $530,000 to $405,000.

There were 15 homes for sale in South Pasadena last month, a 28% decrease from 21 a year ago. And only one condo was on the market last month, down from 11 in December 2011.

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Follow Daniel Siegal on Google+ and on Twitter: @Daniel_Siegal

 

via pasadenasun.com

Elliman Reports Long Island Sales Up for 2012 | Katonah NY Realtor

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‘In the final quarter of 2012, Long Island inventory fell to its lowest level in seven years. The market continued to gain momentum towards the end of the year, evidenced by the fact that there was a larger increase in signed contracts than in closed sales this quarter. In fact, Long Island finished 2012 with more sales than in 2011, the first year-over-year increase since 2006 and a clear sign that the market has finally turned the corner. We are excited about the improving conditions and expect to see an even better market in 2013.’    elliman.com  reports

via trulia.com

Eurozone Flops Drag Down Global House Prices | Katonah Realtor

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The flagging Eurozone is blamed for weighing down global house prices.

By the end of September 2012, house prices were only 5.2% above the lows recorded in the wake of the global downturn in 2009, says global real estate firm Knight Frank.

They say that stalling house prices in the Eurozone’s 17 countries are dragging down the global average and as a result, prices fell by 1.8% in the year to September 2012.

The figures hide some poor performing economies – sluggish Ireland was pushed out of bottom place with a 9.6% fall in property values by Greece’s even worse 11.7% drop in prices.

British property prices continue to struggle, recording a 1.6% drop in the third quarter.

Hardest hit

A Knight Frank spokesman said: “Eurozone house prices continue to be the hardest hit and, as a result, European countries now make up the bottom 12 places of our index.

“It’s no coincidence they are there since the economy is in a second recession in three years.

“The Eurozone isn’t alone – many of the world’s housing markets are in need of an effective stimulus to help them from flagging.”

Other poor European performers include Spain, with a 9.3% price reduction, Portugal with a 3.5% decrease and prices in Italy slumped 3.5%.

The figures, which are based on government or central bank data, also reveal which countries experienced a boom in their house prices.

South America experienced 9.8% growth – led by Brazil, where prices surged by 15.2% in 12 months.

Asia Pacific house prices chalked up a 4.2% increase, seeing Hong Kong perform best with a 14.2% increase.

Price stagnation

Turkey climbed to third place with an 11.5% growth in house prices.

The report also highlights prices in the US have picked up, which will have a positive effect on global property markets. Prices rose 3.6% year on year..

US vacancy rates are also at their lowest since 2005 and housing starts are up 49% on 2011.

“Prices this year in Europe will be affected by lack of confidence, property affordability and the levels of debt. In the US, strict lending criteria is in place, but we are also seeing early signs of economic growth,” said the report.

“In Asia Pacific, there are various regulatory measures in place to keep house price increases in check.

“The picture is not uplifting and the current stagnation looks set to continue well into 2013.”

via iexpats.com

Westchester County to Offer Free Flu Shots | Katonah NY Realtor

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Press Release from the Westchester County Department of Health:

County Executive Robert P. Astorino announced today that the Westchester County Department of Health will offer free flu shots to residents today, Thursday, Jan. 24, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Westchester County Center in White Plains.

“With so much demand for the flu shot right now, some doctors and pharmacists are having a hard time keeping up,” Astorino said. “By offering free flu shots, we aim to help those residents who have not yet gotten vaccinated.’’

The county has 1,000 doses which can be given to adults and children ages 9 and up. Residents are strongly encouraged to register in advance for the flu clinic at www.health.ny.gov/Go2Clinic. Those without Internet access can call 914-995-7425, weekdays, starting Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“It’s important for everyone 6 months and older to get a flu shot every year,” said Health Commissioner Sherlita Amler, MD. “We hope residents will take advantage of this opportunity, because flu season can last well into the spring. It’s also equally important to wash your hands frequently, to avoid sick people and to stay home when you are sick. Most people will recover on their own from the flu with no need to go to an emergency room or the doctor.”

Residents can also visit the health department Web site to find providers and pharmacies who are giving flu shots. Physicians can call the health department if they have excess vaccine to share with other providers or if they are willing to give vaccines to people who are not their patients.

The flu shot is safe and provides protection against the three strains of the flu that are circulating this season.

To prevent spreading the flu, cough or sneeze into your elbow and wash your hands often with soap and water. If you do get a respiratory infection, stay home until 24 hours after your fever subsides, to avoid spreading your germs. Clean surfaces you touch frequently, such as doorknobs, water faucets, refrigerator handles and telephones. Get plenty of rest, exercise and eat healthy food.

For more information, visit www.westchestergov.com/health, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/wchealthdept, follow us on Twitter @wchealthdept or call us at 914-813-5000.

via portchester.patch.com

Armonk NY Leads Bedford and Katonah in 2012 Sales Price/foot | RobReportBlog

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2012 Average Sold Price per Foot$328.00   Armonk$290.00   Chappaqua$262.00   Pound Ridge$224.00   North Salem$322.00   Bedford NY$232.00   South Salem$288.00   Bedford Hills$256.00   Mount Kisco$303.00   Katonah
via trulia.com

8 Ways to Brand Yourself on YouTube | Katonah Realtor

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How do you develop a brand on YouTube?  It definitely takes more than just an awesome logo.  Why is branding important?  You want to give people something familiar and recognizable in which to attach your content so that viewers will likely want to check out all of your other videos and ones you upload in the future.  It makes you easier to find, and trust.  Our own Tim Schmoyer went over to the VidiSEO channel to discuss 8 ways to brand your channel.  The tips he gives are excellent, so you should pay attention if branding is something you’re curious about.

8 Steps to Branding Your Channel on YouTube

Let’s give the floor to Mark Ballek of VidiSEO and Tim Schmoyer:

OK, so let’s review what we’ve learned from this video:

1. Upload A Quality Avatar

Almost everything you do on YouTube will be accompanied by this avatar.  If you subscribe to channels and the kind of person who likes to see all of that channel’s activity, you’ll see that avatar when they like, favorite, share, subscribe, comment…you know, everything.  So you want to pick one that not only looks awesome and would compel people to click on it, but something that looks good even when it’s really small, which is likely when it comes to your activity on YouTube.

2. Watermark Your Videos

This is your logo, usually found in the corner of the screen, and as Tim suggests, “at 60% opacity.”  That way it will be an ever-present reinforcement of your brand on the video, while not being in the way of your content.

3. Mention Your Channel Name

In the first 15 seconds, be sure to find a way to mention your channel name.  “Hello, welcome to [insert channel name here]” is going to be a common one.  It’s a verbal reinforcement of your brand and helps people remember it and associate your content with it.

4. Brand Your Channel Page

Over on the sidebar of your channel page, you should have all of your social media links.  The page should have your logo in the background image somewhere.  Also, take the time to give a succinct description so that people can tell who you are and what you’re about, and not so long that it would be cut off and they would have to click to see more.

5. Add A Brand Tag to Videos

When you upload a video, you’ll be putting tags that describe the contents so that they can be found in search.  But you also want to put a “brand” tag at the end.  While tags at the end of a series of tags are not given as much weight, what they will do is give YouTube a frame of reference so that your videos show up in the “Related Videos” section while people watch your content, and not some other channels’.

6. Branded Intro Bumper

Place a video bumper no longer than 5 seconds at the beginning of the video somewhere, either right at the beginning or right after your intro.  This is more visual reinforcement of your brand and you can make these look pretty cool with simple graphics and sound.  But don’t make them too long or people will start leaving your videos en masse.

7. Branded End Slate

At the end of most popular channels’ videos you will see a whole bunch of links and previews of other videos that people can click and watch.  Throw your logo in the background somewhere, and now you’re associating this content with other content people might enjoy, all the while reminding them, “Hey, this channel, this brand, is awesome.  Watch more.”

8. Turn Off Channel Ads

It might seem counter-intuitive but this would be for your channel page only.  Taking ads off of that ensures that when people visit your channel page that they are seeing just you and only you, and not a whole bunch of unrelated images that might confuse them.

We’d like to thank Mark Ballek and Tim Schmoyer for breaking down how to brand your channel.  These are all fairly simple to do, so if you want to brand your channel, follow these easy steps.

via reelseo.com

Facebook Graph Search: Why This Could Be So Important for the Future | Katonah Realtor

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Last week Facebook launched Graph Search.  This is an attempt to turn Facebook into Google – i.e. make it a place where people go to ask questions, but with the supposedly added bonus that the information you receive is endorsed by people you know rather than people you don’t.

This is a very important step, not just for Facebook, because it could come to be understood as one of the critical opening skirmishes in the Battle of Big Data.  How it plays-out could have enormous implications for the commercial future of many social media properties, including Google.

This is how the Battle of Big Data squares-up.  On the one hand you have platforms, such as Google and Facebook, amassing  huge behavioural data sets based on information that users give out through their usage of these infrastructures.  Googlebook then sells access to this data gold mine to whom-ever wants it.  On the other hand you have the platform users, who, up until this point, have been relatively happy to hand-over their gold.  The reason for this is that these users see this information as being largely inconsequential, and have no real understanding of its considerable value or the significant consequences of letting an algorithm know what you had for lunch.  The fisticuffs begins when these users start to understand these consequences – because in most instances, their reaction is to say “stop – give me back control over my data.”

There is an enormous amount riding on this.  If users start to make demands to repatriate, or have greater control over, their data – this delivers hammer blows to the commercial viability of Googlebook type businesses, who are either making huge amounts of money from their existing  data goldmine, or have valuations that are based on the future prospect of creating such goldmines.  It also starts to open-up the field for new platforms that make data privacy and control a fundamental part of their proposition.

Initial reports from the field are not encouraging (for Facebook).  There were immediate issues raised about privacy implications which Facebook had to pacify (see this Mashable piece) and significant negative comment from the user community – as reported in this Marketing Week article.  See also this further analysis from Gary Marshall at TechRadar.  It will be very interesting to see how this plays-out.

From another perspective, I think this announcement illustrates what Facebook believes is its advantage over Google – i.e. its sociability and the fact that it can deliver information that is endorsed by people that you know.  The interesting thing about this is that the power of social media lies in its ability to create the processes that allow you to trust strangers.  The value of the information can therefore based on the relevance or expertise of the source – not the fact that they are a friend.  Google is the master of this in a largely unstructured way, and services such as Amazon or even TripAdvisor can deliver this via a more structured process.  Facebook can’t really do this, because it neither has Google level access to enough broad-spectrum data, not does it have processes relevant to specific tasks (Trip Advisor for travel – Amazon for product purchase).

via socialmediatoday.com