Contracts to buy US homes barely budged in January – Yahoo News.
Contracts to buy US homes barely budged in January | North Salem Real Estate
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Instagram for real estate | North Salem NY Real Estate
Did you hear that Instagram is the fastest-growing social media platform globally, increasing its users by 23 percent in the last six months? What about the fact that Instagram is proactively trying to work with businesses now and has started an Instagram Handbook for Brands? Do you know that many of your kids didn’t stop actively using social media? All they did was move from Facebook to Instagram. If none of those questions piqued your interest, there’s no need to continue reading, but if you haven’t adopted a strategy to implement this social network into your business yet, here are five reasons you should. (Please note: These items are intended for the advanced beginner and may not be suitable for someone who does not already have an Instagram profile.)
1. People want to see “behind the scenes”: Real estate is interesting to most people — just look at how many reality television shows are based on our industry. Share your experiences preparing one of your listings before it goes live. Capture the lifestyle of a local community that you’re privileged to be entrenched in. Show how happy your clients are when they find “the one” or when they’re leaving the closing table. As hectic as our jobs can be, they are NOT mundane, and there is beauty in most of the activities and places that are encountered throughout your day.
2. Facebook’s algorithm: It’s proprietary and it seems like Facebook changes it every day, so I can’t prove this point, but Instagram is Facebook’s baby, as evidenced by the $1 billion acquisition of the photo-sharing network in April 2012. Through the Instagram app, you have the option of also sharing your photo to Facebook (on your profile OR business page).
– See more at: http://www.inman.com/next/instagram-for-real-estate-5-little-known-ways-agents-benefit-by-implementing-this-social-media-tool-in-their-business/?utm_source=20140228&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.7m2Tss6L.dpuf
Why Buying a Home Still Beats Renting…for Now | North Salem NY Homes
Buying a home is still cheaper than renting one in every one of the top 100 metro markets, but rising home prices and mortgage rates are making the equation more complicated.
Nationally, it’s 38 percent cheaper to buy than to rent a home right now, according to a new report from Trulia, the real estate online marketplace. The report assumes that owners receive a 4.5 percent mortgage, stay in their home for at least seven years, and are in the 25-percent income tax bracket. Last year, it was 44 percent cheaper.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-buying-home-still-beats-171700965.html
S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Dip For 2nd Straight Month In December | North Salem Real Estate
Home prices across the country fell for the second month in a row in December, according to S&P/Case-Shiller data released today. The 20-City Composite, which tracks single-family home prices in major metro areas, dipped by 1/10th of 1%. It fell by that same amount in November.
However, year-over-year home prices across all nine U.S. Census divisions (tracked by the national S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index) logged an 11.3% gain.
“The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index ended its best year since 2005,” said David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, via a release. “However, gains are slowing from month-to-month and the strongest part of the recovery in home values may be over. Year-over-year values for the two monthly Composites weakened and the quarterly National Index barely improved.”
The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices track the price of single-family homes across the U.S., with the 10- and 20-City Composite indices focused on major metro areas (Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, Washington). The data is reported with a two month lag (it’s February; we’re reporting on December figures).
How to Add a Kitchen Backsplash | North Salem NY Real Estate
Housing Scorecard: America still healing from Great Recession | North Salem NY Real Estate
Despite positive trends in the housing market, officials caution that the economy is still healing from the Great Recession, the Obama Administration said in the November housing scorecard.
Home prices stayed relatively still according to the S&P Case-Shiller home price index, which increased to 165.8 in December from 165.9 a month prior. Year-over-year the index is up from 145.8 in November 2012.
Existing homes sales climbed to 405,800 from 401,700 in November, just marginally down from 408,300 a year prior, the most recent data from the National Association of Realtors said.
The U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that new home sales slightly fell to 34,500 in December from 37,100 in November, but is barely up from 33,000 from December 2012.
Additionally, the supply of existing-homes for sale posted little change from a year ago and ticked up to a 4.6-month supply in December from 4.5-month supply last year, but significantly down from a 5.1-month supply in November, NAR found.
Although foreclosure starts are up from 52,800 in November, coming in at 52,100 in December, starts are still drastically down from 72,500 in 2012, RealtyTrac recent report revealed.
How to Get French Style at Home | North Salem NY Real Estate
“French style is all about being creative and incorporating some surprise into a room,” says Erin Swift. For instance, you could bring an armoire-like this Napoleon III bibliothèque from 1860-into the bathroom, where it can serve as a linen closet to hold toiletries and extra towels.
Box Yourself In
“A plain room can really benefit from decorative molding,” says Swift. If crown molding along the ceiling gets pricey, add molding to the walls. “Measure out squares or rectangles on your walls and have a home-improvement store cut thin molding to your specifications,” she says. “Some people choose to paint theirs white, and the wall a darker color, but I like everything the same. It’s easier to execute-and visually interesting without being distracting.”
Related: How to De-Clutter Your Home-for Good
Go a Little Wild
In France, taxidermy is considered an art form, and some of the finest examples come from Deyrolle, a famous Parisian taxidermy shop that’s been in business since 1831. If exotic mounts aren’t exactly your thing, Swift suggests other wildlife inspirations, such as plaster casts, stone sculptures or, in this case, 19th-century Japanese metal cranes.
Find Your Balance
Swift says the way the French collect and arrange objects comes down to one fundamental principle: Balance. As she notes, it’s related to symmetry but isn’t quite the same thing. Start with objects of similar visual “weight.” In this case, that’s a lamp opposite a marble bust, with the remaining objects (books, plants, architectural fragments) arranged in between.
http://shine.yahoo.com/at-home/french-style-home-175400160.html
7 Homebuying Mistakes to Avoid | North Salem Real Estate
For most people, a home is the largest purchase they’ll ever make, so choosing the wrong property can have disastrous implications for their wallets and well-being. Still, many homeowners feel a strong sense of pride in putting their mark on the property, building equity and having a place to truly call their own. Whether you’re a seasoned or first-time buyer, here’s a look at seven homebuying mistakes to avoid.
1. Using the wrong real estate agent. Just because your sister’s college roommate’s friend just got a real estate license doesn’t mean she’s the right agent for you. San Francisco real estate agent Herman Chan suggests vetting agents and looking for someone who does real estate full time and knows the local inventory. “You can lose an offer if you’re not responsive in a couple of hours,” he says. Request the agent’s sales data, and find out how he or she communicates. Chan recommends asking questions like these to gauge the agent’s tech-savyness: “Is it OK if I text you? Is it OK to DocuSign things? If I can’t make an open house on Sunday, can you shoot me a video?” If you prefer to check texts and emails on your phone, you may not want an agent who insists on faxing contracts.
2. Shopping before you get preapproved. Before you get serious about buying real estate, find out how much mortgage you qualify for and get a preapproval letter from your lender. “If you fall in love [with a property], write that offer and then find out you can’t afford it, it’s an emotional roller coaster you can’t afford,” Chan says. Many agents won’t even take buyers to showings until they have a preapproval letter for that very reason.
http://news.yahoo.com/7-homebuying-mistakes-avoid-152000789.html
Douglas Elliman lists 87-Acre Ridgefield Equestrian Facility For $55 Million | North Salem Real Estate
Double H Farm, a 87-acre Olympic equestrian training facility and family home in Ridgefield, has hit the market for $55 million.
Canada’s top-earning CEO, Hunter Harrison, who heads Canadian Pacific Railroad, owns the property. He purchased the dairy farm in 2005 and transformed it into one of the country’s leading equestrian facilities. The property is listed with Sally Slater of Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
Double H Farm farm extends over 97 acres of rolling hills and vast fenced grass paddocks with never-ending views and dramatic sunsets. It has six bedrooms, seven bathrooms and 14,250 square feet of living space.
The circa-1765 property is rich in history. Formerly known as the McKeon Farm, it was the oldest working dairy farm in Ridgefield. Conservation property is adjacent to the farm.
Since 2005 the farm has undergone a series of renovations to turn it into a world-class Olympic-level equestrian facility and dream estate.
The house was built in 2009. Framed with vintage, reconditioned barn beams from Vermont, the entire house incorporates green technology, geothermal heating and air conditioning systems and radiant heat in the floors. An elevator goes to all levels of the home.
The living room has 38-foot ceilings, a massive limestone and fieldstone gas fireplace highlighted by a scaffolding of barn beams and a wall of glass overlooking the property. The formal dining room has cove lighting and a gas fireplace. The eat-in gourmet kitchen and family room has an informal dining area, top-of-the-line appliances and a massive center island. The fully outfitted outdoor kitchen is built into the screened porch off the kitchen. There is also an office with a gas fireplace.
The first floor houses the luxurious master bedroom with 20-foot domed ceilings, Venetian plaster walls, a limestone fireplace, a large marble bath with two showers, a hot tubs boise (Jacuzzi), a gas fireplace and his and hers closets in addition to a safe room.
The lower level features a state-of-the-art media room with a gas fireplace and a 105-inch plasma television, wine cellar, sauna, golf room with a putting green and golf simulator and a massage room/gym with a bath and steam shower.
The seven-car garage includes mahogany decks with two stone fire pits, a Jacuzzi spa with a waterfall, a Koi pond, an audio-visual room and a “home networking’ system to work every system in the house.
An additional four-bedroom home and the totally renovated historical home, dating from 1765, grace the property sharing views past the pool and tennis court of a bucolic pond and paddocks. Surrounding conservation land protects this special property for posterity.
Double H Farm features two barns with more than 40 stalls. The main barn has 20 spacious and airy stalls, four grooming and wash stalls in addition to laundry, tack and feed rooms. There are three staff apartments with living rooms and kitchens. The second barn, built for the breeding operation, has 14 stalls and two grooming and wash stalls.
For complete information on the property, view the listing website.
http://greenwich.dailyvoice.com/real-estate/87-acre-equestrian-facility-hits-market-55-million