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North Salem NY Real Estate

New Single-Family Home Size Increases at the Start of 2015 | North Salem Real Estate

The typical size of newly built single-family homes increased at the start of the year. The trend of increasing new home size leveled off in 2014, but new home size increased during the first quarter of 2015 with a decline in the volume of construction. As first-time buyers return to the market, typical home size is expected to trend lower.

According to first quarter 2015 data from the Census Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, median single-family square floor area increased from 2,445 in the fourth quarter of last year to 2,521 square feet. Average (mean) square footage for new single-family homes increased from 2,677 to 2,736 for the first three months of the year.

On a less volatile one-year moving average, the recent trend of leveling home size can be see on the graph above, although current sizes remain elevated. Since cycle lows and on a one-year moving average basis, the average size of new single-family homes has increased 13% to 2,678 square feet, while the median size has increased 18% to 2,477 square feet.

The post-recession increase in single-family home size is consistent with the historical pattern coming out of recessions. Typical home size falls prior to and during a recession as some homebuyers cut back, and thensizes rise as high-end homebuyers, who face fewer credit constraints, return to the housing market in relatively greater proportions. This pattern has been exacerbated in the last two years due to market weakness among first-time homebuyers.

http://eyeonhousing.org/2015/05/

Buy Julia Roberts’ Hanalei Bay Estate in Kauai, Hawaii for $30 Million | North Salem Real Estate

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Julia Roberts has listed her Hanalei, HI estate with more than 200 feet of beachfront for $29.85 million, Pacific Business News reports.

The estate, which the actress bought for $13.4 million in 2011, is called “The Faye Estate” for the sugar plantation manager who bought it in 1915, four decades before Hawaii became a state.

“H.P. Faye had the vision and the finances to purchase not one but two lots in the best part of the Bay,” according to the listing, which is held by Neal Norman of Hawai’i Life Real Estate Brokers.

The 2-acre property has views “mauka and makai,” meaning toward the mountains and seaward.

The 3,792-square-foot home was built in 1946 and has 7 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. Building may be permitted for up to 9,000 square feet for more buildings and a pool.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-29/buy-julia-roberts-hanalei-bay-estate-in-kauai-hawaii-for-30-million

Southern California housing market is poised for a stronger spring | North Salem Homes

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After two years of slim pickings for Southern California home buyers, the supply of houses for sale may be starting to open up, at least a bit. And that could power the region’s housing market to a stronger spring.

The fundamentals are good. But affordability is going to stare us right in the face again.
– Selma Hepp, senior economist at C.A.R.
Market watchers and real estate agents say they’re starting to see more sellers as prices remain relatively high, interest rates stay low and fewer borrowers owe more on their houses than they’re worth. The number of homes listed for sale in February climbed 9% in Los Angeles County from a year earlier, according to data from the California Assn. of Realtors, and the time it would take to sell every house on the market was at its highest level in three years.

“Supply is not an issue right now, not like it was,” said Rich Simonin, chief executive of Westcoe Realtors in Riverside. “It’s not a problem.”

That’s a shift from the last few years, when many sellers held their homes off the market and bidding wars were common for the rare well-priced listing. More supply should help keep prices in check, economists say, and coupled with an improving economy could help fuel a broad recovery in the region’s housing market over the next few months.

But so far the housing market has been in a slump.

lRelated Housing starts fall in February as home builders hit the brakes
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Housing starts fall in February as home builders hit the brakes
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Home sales in the six-county Southland fell 2.7% in February from a year earlier, according to figures out Tuesday from CoreLogic DataQuick; it was the 15th time in 17 months that sales have fallen. Although the region’s median sale price of $415,000 was up 8.4% compared with February 2013, it has been basically flat since last summer, when it plateaued as many buyers hit a ceiling for what they could afford.

Selma Hepp, senior economist at C.A.R., says measures of buyer interest — online real estate searches and open-house traffic — have jumped in recent weeks. If that activity translates into sales, it could put a new round of pressure on pricing, she said.

http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-home-sales-20150318-story.html

London’s ‘iceberg homes’ plumb the city’s depths | North Salem Real Estate

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In London’s most upmarket districts, shovel-wielding teams are hard at work in what look like mines hidden beneath luxury homes, sidestepping the British capital’s planning rules by expanding underground.

Some of their more hi-tech kit may end up buried there — it is reported that the cost of bringing it back above ground is more than its value — and the bowels of the British capital have already become a graveyard for around 1,000 excavating machines.

The trend started in the late 1990s, when residents developed small basements, calculating it was a cheaper way of increasing floorspace than moving house while sticking to the strict height rules imposed by the city’s conservation bodies.

But Paul Schaaf, partner of architectural firm The Basement Design Studio, told AFP that since the 2008 recession, his firm has largely been called in to help with vast spaces beneath houses in the opulent neighbourhoods of south and west London.

“We ended up doing different ones, larger ones where people weren’t so much affected by the recession in well-established residential properties, in Kensington and north London,” he said.

Permit applications for this type of work have soared: in 2013, Kensington and Chelsea Town Hall received 450 compared to just 20 a decade ago.

“We’re talking about two or three floors down and extending beyond the boundaries of the garden. It can sometimes go under the road,” complained Murad Qureshi, a Labour member of the London Assembly, the elected body that holds the London mayor to account.

Often the new spaces house luxurious marble swimming pools, home theatres or garages for classic cars.

“This is really the super-rich extending very large properties even further, ” Qureshi said, calling the properties “iceberg homes”.

Last year, Qureshi unsuccessfully tried to impose limits on such developments in the capital.

“A lot of local residents are very concerned about these extensive developments causing floods, sink holes, structural damage to neighbouring properties and the construction of these deep basements is very disruptive to the immediate neighbourhood,” he said.

– ‘Living in a building site’ –

The work can take several months, even years.

At the chic Orme Square in Westminster, a sewer recently collapsed. The road above had been carrying trucks laden with soil removed from the home of a famous English television presenter.

For two fed-up residents, who wished to remain anonymous, the link is clear.

http://news.yahoo.com/londons-iceberg-homes-plumb-citys-depths-102322228.html

Will Neverland Ranch Become a Rehab Center for Abused Kids? | North Salem Real Estate

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Photos by Getty

Neverland Ranch, the 2,700-acre abandoned fantasyland built by late King of Pop Michael Jackson, recently went up for auction and bidders have beencoming forward with varied visions for its future. Among these proposals are offers to turn the place into a Jackson shrine, à la Elvis’ Graceland, and one plan to transform the estate into a sexual assault rehab center for children.

After purchasing the property in 1988, Jackson souped it up with amusements like a roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, a train, horse stables, and movie theaters—most of which are gone by now. After the singer’s death in 2009, Neverland fell into the hands of real estate investment firm Colony Capital, which has valued the property at $75M and is now fielding buyers’ offers.

According to Page Six, the local businessman who proposed turning Neverland into a rehab center offered somewhere around $40M. He envisions having trained therapists treat victims through equine-assisted therapy.

Photo via Getty Images

Two bidders, one of whom already has a huge collection of the singer’s memorabilia, want to create a Michael Jackson shrine. But one source close to the sale process tells Page Six that’s an unlikely outcome, since Jackson’s estate executors will have to grant permission to use his likeness. Plus, Neverlands’ narrow mountain roads aren’t conducive to what could be thousands of visitors a year.

http://curbed.com/archives/2015/02/03/neverland-ranch-rehab-center.php

Designing beautiful welcome spots | North Salem #Realtor

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Source: Zillow Digs

First impressions are lasting impressions. That’s why creating a stylish, yet organized entryway benefits both you and your guests. Such an entryway is more than a simple doorway — it’s a transitional space from the outside world to the comfort of your home.

The entryway also offers visitors the first view of your home, so its significance is greater than its size. Your entryway should reflect your home’s style and create a single point from which all the other rooms flow. Doing a garage door repair is one of the most difficult things to face especially if you are not familiar with technical DIY home repairs. Because garage doors are a combination of complicated electronics, hard-to-understand mechanical workings and hard-to-handle materials, most people shy away from doing these repairs and just leave it to a door technician to fix the job. The problem is, repairing of the doors in your garage might cost you a lot of money. A simple garage door installation already costs close to a thousand dollars, Hiring technicians to repair your door’s simple problems will only add up to your expenses. If you have a door in your garage that does not fully go down when it is closed and it springs right back up before even reaching the ground, the main culprit is usually a misplaced door sensor. A door sensor that is not placed properly will most certainly cause your garage door to do unwarranted acts such as not closing down 100%. To fix this, just place your door sensors a little lower than your current placement. You might also want to check if there are objects and hindrances blocking the sensor because it can also contribute to the said problem. Here at Metro Garage Door Repair, we are committed to providing you with the best affordable service in the Dallas- Fort Worth metro area. You can learn more here about the Dallas garage door repair. Those searching for the best garage door repair in San Diego are in luck because with help from the ADSAutomaticDoorSpecialists, you can ensure that the garage door you use often is able to be used again, or that it is running and working how it should be. Your garage door is used for a multitude of things, and when it is not working then you need to call in someone able to provide help. This help is essential in making sure that the door gets back on track to providing the best way to get in and out of the space you are trying to access. Of course, insulation is one of the biggest issues that homeowners have with their garage doors, and in their homes. Making sure this is taken care of is going to solve a lot of issues that you may currently be dealing with. It is not recommended that you insulate the garage door, as this needs to be lifted to let people and cars come in and out from the garage. When there is insulation or other issues that are stuck to the door of the garage, this is going to cause the door to be weighted down, it can be something to cause distress to the doors. Additionally, it is important that you hire a professional to come in and do the insulating and deal with other factors for your door and the garage. The kits might not recommend the best course of action for you to take. If you use the kits and find that this actually does more harm than good, then it might be best to speak with someone that understands and knows how these garage doors work and how they can provide the help needed.

The function

Realistically, entryways are drop zones. Car keys, purses, grocery bags and backpacks — not to mention mail, cell phones, and shoes, coats and scarves — all end up being set down in this space.

Source: Zillow Digs

Is there a closet for coats, umbrellas and hats? If not, a row of hooks can make a good stand-in, as can an old-fashioned hall tree. Baskets mounted on the wall or set on the floor can hold scarves, gloves and hats. A tall canister will keep umbrellas in one spot.

The storage

A console piece with drawers can work wonders as a charging station, and hold mail, keys, garage door remotes and dog leashes for regular walks.

Source: Zillow Digs

If you ask people to take off their shoes at the door, a chair or bench offers a good landing spot. One with storage space underneath is a good option. In tight spaces, you might look for a stool or an ottoman that can slide away under a console table.

For shoe storage, consider cubbies, under-bench storage or even a set of shelves. A simple metal tray will keep rain- and snow-soaked shoes from ruining the floors beneath.

The flow

Keep adjacent rooms in mind when designing your entryway. This space should set the stage for rooms that are immediately visible and establish the flow for the overall home. Color, furniture styling, lighting and artwork need not be identical, but they should be related.

Source: Zillow Digs

The extras

Once you’ve taken care of the necessities, add the extras that will make your entryway truly yours.

A rug will define the space, especially if the entry is part of a larger space such as a living room. A mirror can make the space seem larger, as well as allow a last-minute visual check before heading out the door.

An entryway is also a great spot for a signature piece of furniture or art, or a series of decorative pieces.

with art

Lamps will give the space a warm touch and add needed lighting. An overhead fixture can make a statement upon entry, or even serve as a different type of artwork. Plants and fresh flowers are always welcome.

http://www.zillow.com/blog/designing-tidy-stylish-entryway-167811/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ZillowBlog+%28Zillow+Blog%29

November Sales Lay an Egg | North Salem Real Estate

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Just as the housing industry was preparing to celebrate the first year in a decade when sales progressed at a relatively moderate pace and experts from coast to coast were heralding a return to normalcy, November existing home sales laid the biggest egg in four years.

Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, fell 6.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.93 million in November from a downwardly-revised 5.25 million in October. Sales dropped to their lowest annual pace since May (4.91 million) but are above year-over-year levels (up 2.1 percent from last November) for the second straight month, according to the National Association of Realtors.

If November’s anemic showing is repeated in December, the real estate industry will see sales end the year below the symbolic 5 million mark, a serious sign that the recovering is faltering. Last year sales reached a total 5.09 million units, which was 9.1 percent higher than 2012. It was the strongest performance since 2006 when sales reached an unsustainably high 6.48 million sales were the highest since 2006, and median prices maintained strong growth, after rising 1 percent over November.

NAR characterized November’s performance as “losing momentum” and NAR Chief Economist Lawrence said sales activity was “choppy” throughout the country. “Fewer people bought homes last month despite interest rates being at their lowest levels of the year,” he said. “The stock market swings in October may have impacted some consumers’ psyches and therefore led to fewer November closings. Furthermore, rising home values are causing more investors to retreat from the market.”

The median existing-home price for all housing types in November was $205,300, which is 5.0 percent above November 2013. This marks the 33rd consecutive month of year-over-year price gains.

Total housing inventory at the end of November fell 6.7 percent to 2.09 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 5.1-month supply at the current sales pace – unchanged from last month. Despite the tightening in supply, unsold inventory remains 2.0 percent higher than a year ago, when there were 2.05 million existing homes available for sale.

All-cash sales were 25 percent of transactions in November, down from 27 percent in October and 32 percent in November of last year. Individual investors, who account for many cash sales, purchased 15 percent of homes in November, unchanged from last month and below November 2013 (19 percent). Sixty-one percent of investors paid cash in November.

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2014/12/november-sales-lay-an-egg/

Bathroom Design Ideas | North Salem Real Estate

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If you’ve been thinking about giving your bathroom an overhaul but aren’t sure how, one way to start is to look to the latest design trends for inspiration. We’ve made it our mission to find out what design ideas are expected to make a splash in 2015 to help make planning your bathroom makeover project a little bit easier.To compile our list, we enlisted the help of four award-winning designers, who share here their predictions for thelooks, finishes and features they think will be on everyone’s radar next year. They also reveal how they would work these ideas into their own projects. Start building your beautiful frameless glass shower now, use Glass Shower Direct’s simple glass shower builder to customize your perfect glass shower and have it shipped to your door directly from the factory.

Roselind Wilson Design

1. Feature floor tiles. Statement-making floor tiles proved popular in 2014, and this striking look doesn’t appear to be leaving in a hurry, says interior designer Jasmine McClelland. “I have done a couple of feature floor bathrooms this year. They are stunning and provide a great design opportunity when working with challenging bathrooms that have no clear walls for a feature wall,” she says.

“In smaller bathrooms a feature floor tile adds style without overwhelming the space, and when used in a larger bathroom, the effect is elegant,” McClelland says. “I love the space when the freestanding bath hits the feature tile … beautiful!”

Mark Brand Architecture

2. Natural beauty. Want a bathing area that’s welcoming and serene? Then drawing design inspiration from nature is a great way to warm a typically very hard room of the house and infuse the space with a calming vibe. It’s one of the key bathroom trends of 2015, according to designers Simona Castagna and Darren Genner of Minosa.

An easy way to incorporate this trend into a bathroom design, Castagna and Genner say, is to buy frameless shower door or introduce earthy materials like natural stone or wood-look tiles. The luxe bath seen here features marble floors and an onyx countertop, as well as a walnut-plank feature wall.

Janet Paik

3. Plant life. “I know some of us have been scared off indoor plants … but it’s time to reclaim the idea of indoor plants with cascading creepers that can dress any bathroom,” McClelland says.

If you’re eager to try this trend in your bathroom but want a more sophisticated and design-savvy alternative to potted plants (hanging or not), a vertical garden may be the way to go, McClelland says.

“I love them for the interest and feel they bring to a bathroom and can’t wait to use them more in my designs for 2015,” the designer says. Another benefit of green or living walls is that they are good for the environment (as well as your health and well-being), she says.

MINOSA

4. The master suite retreat. Is your master bathroom cramped, not particularly inviting and tucked away out of sight? Then you may be more than happy to try this design trend when renovating your home.

Castagna and Genner say people want bigger bathrooms that are connected to the bedroom or closet, or even more open to the bedroom. People want to see their beautiful basins, custom vanities and freestanding baths from the bedroom, say the designers, who were the team behind the luxe, open-plan bedroom and en suite pictured here. They’re also using bigger sliding doors so people can open up or close off a space.

Jordan Smith

5. Clever water control. Say goodbye to basic shower and basin faucets, and hello to smart, user-friendly fixtures (such as thermostatic mixers; mixers that control multiple water sources, like the one used in this shower; and touchscreen-operated showers) that give users more control over the flow, mix and temperature of water, says Adelaide, Australia, interior designer Jordan Smith of Brilliant.

“Double showers would be a good place to use this, as multiple people can use the shower at the same time, with individual settings for their own shower,” Smith suggests when explaining how she’d incorporate this trend into one of her designs. “One mixer can control both multiple showers or a combination shower-bath.”

Jasmine McClelland Design

6. Freestanding bathtubs. According to McClelland, our love affair with freestanding baths isn’t over just yet, and not just because they make striking, sculptural design features, but because they help set the mood for rest and relaxation too. “The freestanding bath is more than aesthetic — it is emotive,” the designer says. “Clients connect with the possibility of a bathroom that symbolizes their own space or downtime, and a freestanding bath inspires this feeling of self-indulgence in the midst of a busy life.”

Zillow: Fewer homes underwater in second quarter | North Salem Real Estate

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Although the percentage of underwater homeowners continues to heal, the remaining pain is left to struggling borrowers of low-price homes, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal:

About 28% of homes with a mortgage within the bottom third of home values were underwater at the end of the second quarter, meaning they were worth less than the balance of their mortgages, according to real-estate information service. That compares with about 16% of homeowners in the middle tier and 9.2% in the top tier.

As a result, the article explained that it could prevent owners from moving up to larger homes and thus put a damper on purchases by first-time homebuyers.

Overall, the percentage of homeowners who were underwater in the second quarter dropped to 17% from 24% a year ago.

Source: WSJ

New York Ranks High Among Safest States To Live | North Salem Real Estate

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WalletHub, the personal finance social media network, recently ranked New York as the 10th safest state to live in.

WalletHub compared each of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia in 26 different metrics. The data is broken down into categories that include workplace safety, emergency preparedness, home and community stability, traffic safety and financial security.

The Empire State ranked in the Top 10 in two categories: home and community safety (third) and financial safety (ninth). New York also finished in the top half in driving safety (13th), but ranked dead last in natural disasters (51st).

Massachusetts,ranked No. 1 overall, just ahead of New Hampshire. Neighbors Connecticut and New Jersey ranked ninth and 13th, respectively.

Nevada was ranked last in overall safety, coming in 51st

http://bedford.dailyvoice.com/lifestyle/new-york-ranks-high-among-safest-states-live

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Robert Paul Realtor buying Bedford real estate

Tag Archives: North Salem NY Real Estate

New Single-Family Home Size Increases at the Start of 2015 | North Salem Real Estate

Buy Julia Roberts’ Hanalei Bay Estate in Kauai, Hawaii for $30 Million | North Salem Real Estate

Southern California housing market is poised for a stronger spring | North Salem Homes

London’s ‘iceberg homes’ plumb the city’s depths | North Salem Real Estate

Will Neverland Ranch Become a Rehab Center for Abused Kids? | North Salem Real Estate

Designing beautiful welcome spots | North Salem #Realtor

The function

The storage

The flow

The extras

November Sales Lay an Egg | North Salem Real Estate

Bathroom Design Ideas | North Salem Real Estate

Zillow: Fewer homes underwater in second quarter | North Salem Real Estate

New York Ranks High Among Safest States To Live | North Salem Real Estate