Tag Archives: South Salem NY Homes for Sale

7 Niche Social Networks for Strategic Networking | South Salem NY Homes

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Do you find it hard to connect with your ideal audience using the larger social networks?

Have you considered a smaller social network?

In this article, you’ll find 7 niche social networks built to serve specialized markets.

Why Niche Social Networks?

Ask almost anyone what to include in your social media strategy and you’re likely to hear Facebook, Twitter or Google+ in the response.

But you may find it useful to tap into a specialized network.

Use a niche social network to reach a narrowly targeted audience where strategic networking can help you connect with potential customers and business partners of all kinds.

A niche social network within your industry can work wonders to reach people of interest there.

You can also look for niche sites where people come together around one of the core values or interests of your business. It’s an easy way to find and connect with like-minded people for more strategic networking.

The easiest and fastest way to find these niche sites is likely to be a good old Google search. For example, see below:

Use a Google search to find niche social sites relevant to your business.

Use the examples below to inspire you to connect with niche social networks for more targeted networking.

#1: Build Sustainable Relationships on Wiser—The Social Network for Sustainability

Is your business actively involved in sustainability and environmental topics? This is something that’s becoming very important to many businesses and Wiser is a network built specifically to encourage dialogue about all things environmental.

If your company is green, you can use Wiser to add partner organizations, promote events and share resources that raise your company’s profile where it counts.

Adding an organization in Wiser.

Much like with LinkedIn, you can also add groups where you can discuss issues close to your heart and propose solutions.

Create a profile on Wiser today and start to network with people whose values align with yours.

 

 

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/niche-social-networks/

 

It’s official: JPMorgan signs $13B RMBS settlement | South Salem Real Estate

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Mega bank JPMorgan Chase (JPM) signed an agreement with government agencies to end all existing legacy mortgage-backed securities issues for $13 billion.

New York Attorney General Eric Shneiderman, who co-chairs a working group overseeing legacy mortgage investigations, announced the deal, calling it the largest settlement with a single entity in American history.

Schneiderman chairs the RMBS working group, which has spent the past year investigating RMBS issues on behalf of state and federal regulators. The bank reached the deal with the RMBS Working Group, the Department of Justice, and countless other agencies.

The settlement reportedly resolves federal and civil claims related to the bank’s packaging, marketing, sale and issuance of mortgage-backed securities prior to the housing downturn. It also covers legacy issues left over from Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, two entities JPM took over in the wake of the financial meltdown.

As part of the final agreement, JPMorgan will pay $9 billion, while also providing $4 billion in consumer relief in the form of loan modifications for borrowers at risk of foreclosure.

New York state alone will receive $1 billion from the settlement, including $613 million in cash and another $400 million in consumer relief for struggling borrowers in the state.

Some of the aid will fund families impacted by Superstorm Sandy, with the rest going to legal services and counseling for distressed New York homeowners.

The RMBS Working Group that Schneiderman co-chairs helped usher in the deal. The organization is a joint state and federal effort launched back in 2012 to engage several agencies in the fight against legacy RMBS issues. Those entities include the Department of Justice and various federal and state law enforcement groups.

“Since my first day in office, I have insisted that there must be accountability for the misconduct that led to the crash of the housing market and the collapse of the American economy,” said Attorney General Schneiderman in a statement. “This historic deal, which will bring long-overdue relief to homeowners around the country and across New York, is exactly what our working group was created to do.”

 

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/28036-its-official-jpmorgan-signs-13b-mbs-settlement-deal-with-the-doj

6 Reasons Social Media Is Critical To Your SEO | South Salem Real Estate

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Once upon a time, “the old SEO” ruled the website marketing world. This was during the early, pioneering days of online marketing — before it was typical for a small business to have a website and long before your grandmother had an online presence that could rival a teenager. The old SEO strategy centered around one primary factor: Link Building. But today, link building as a direct SEO tactic is completely dead. The fact is, Google has found smarter ways to measure the popularity of your website: it’s called social media.

The fact that social media is critical to your online presence (and your search engine rankings) is often a tough pill for small business owners to swallow. It can be a difficult marketing strategy to measure, and it can seem like a strange way to grow their business.

But the days of easily measuring your SEO strategy are long gone. It’s no longer about building X amount of links and creating Y amount of optimized content pages on your website. These old approaches to getting search engine attention are very static. The new strategy is about being dynamic, engaged, and interactive within your marketplace and when acquiring SEO for commercial real estate companies. Social media is the only place you can make that happen.

Here are six reasons social media needs to be an important part of your website marketing and SEO strategy for years to come:

1. Link building was always about social proofing.

Think about it – why did Google ever allow links to determine which websites ranked above all the others? The answer is simple: links were like “votes” for your website. The more votes you get, the better off you are. So SEO companies started building links (aka “votes”) manually. Then, Google — to counter all of the fake voting — figured out that some votes should count more than other votes. So SEO companies went around manufacturing websites with the best votes. And Google, finally, realized that SEO link building would never work long-term for ranking websites. So Google started penalizing websites with “fake votes” (which is basically anyone who pays a company to do SEO link building for them). Seeing a trend here? The idea behind links as a ranking factor is a very good idea, but since it’s become so easy to manipulate, Google has been forced to turn to social media channels which do the same thing but are much harder to manipulate. Link building was always about social proofing.

2. Social media allows you to “crowd source” your link building.

When you have a following on Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn, you create a team of fans who can share your content. That’s what social media is all about, folks — being social! (Imagine that.) So when you write a new blog post on your business blog, you can take that content and share it on Twitter and then get some of your followers to share your content. You can also get your website visitors to share pages of your site and your blog on social media by adding simple social buttons to allow people to quickly and easily “vote” for your content right there on your website. Sure, many of these people will never become your actual customers, but that’s not your objective here. Your objective is to build buzz and attention around your website.

3. Being social is the fastest way to multiply your presence online.

The problem with old school SEO link building is your always building “signs” to your website in places where nobody is looking. It’s something like buying a billboard in the desert. Social media, on the other hand, is a dynamic world of interaction and activity where things are constantly happening in real time. This is why it’s so crucial that you have a social media PRESENCE — not just social media accounts where you never or rarely post anything. You’ve got to be active, you’ve got to be social. This is the fastest way to multiply your online presence simply because it’s where everyone is. If you get in front of the right people (which is a matter of consistency, not luck) then you can build some buzz around your business and your website.

4. Social signals is a real thing.

I’m sure you’ve heard the term “social signals” floating around out there. Love it or hate it, this is a real thing. Google is definitely measuring your website’s “pulse rate” on social media channels. How often do you share content on social channels? How often do people visit your website for social channels? How many fans/followers do you have? Does your website have social sharing elements available for visitors? Social signals really is the new “link building” metric you should be concerned about and worried about. Forget about how many links you have — especially if you’re building fake links — and start worrying about the health of your social media presence.

http://socialmediatoday.com/stephaniefrasco/1901891/

Consumer confidence in homebuying hits all-time low | South Salem Real Estate

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Consumer confidence in housing significantly widened last month, as most taxpayers were turned off by the federal government shutdown and the ongoing debt ceiling debate, taking a toll on American’s outlook toward the housing market.

The share of consumers who believe it’s a good time buy a house declined to 65% — an all-time low — while the number of those who believe mortgage rates will go up in the next year fell to 57%, according to Fannie Mae’s latest monthly survey.

It’s important to note that the survey was conducted primarily in the first two weeks of October – before the government shutdown ended and the debt ceiling agreement was reached.

Generally speaking, buying a home is a bet on the future and the federal freeze created a lot of uncertainty about the near-term economic state, explained Trulia (TRLA) chief economist Jed Kolko.

“Also, affordability has worsened: both rising mortgage rates and rising home prices have pushed more homes out of reach of the middle class, which would also lead to a decline in people thinking it’s a good time to buy,” he added.

The gap between the share of consumers who say the economy is on the wrong track and those who believe all engines are a-go widened from 16 percentage points in September to 40 percentages points in October — a record month-over-month change.

Nonetheless, the steep decline in Americans’ housing sentiment, which is expected to continue to tumble down as housing debates continue to heat up, Fannie Mae senior vice president and chief economist Doug Duncan doesn’t believe it will derail the gradual healing in housing.

“While this decline in consumer optimism may portend a slowing of the housing recovery, supply constraint data suggest that we are likely to see continued positive growth in home prices,” Duncan said.

He added, “That being said, October’s survey results suggest that consumer attitudes are highly responsive to ongoing debate and decision-making in Washington. Three key budget and debt ceiling dates loom in December, January, and February. The handling of each will likely play a key role in determining the pace and timing of any recovery in consumer sentiment.”

The average 12-month price change expectation continued to fall, dropping 0.2% to 2.9%.

Additionally the share of people who believe home prices will go up in the next 12 months fell to 36%, while those who say prices will go down, increase to 10%.

The share of respondents who say they would buy if they were going to move increased to 70%, a new high.

Interestingly, the share of consumers who said their personal financial situation would get worse in the next 12 months hit a new high of 22%.

Consequently, the amount of respondents who say the economy is on the right track fell 12 percentage points, which is the biggest monthly record change in the survey’s history.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/27847-consumer-confidence-in-homebuying-hits-an-all-time-low

Survey shows most brokers don’t fear Zillow, Trulia and realtor.com, but they get most leads elsewhere | South Salem Real Estate

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A survey of real estate brokers’ attitudes toward national listing portals like Zillow, Trulia and realtor.com shows that while most don’t feel threatend by them, they’re not depending all that heavily on them for new business, either.

The survey, by Bellevue, Wash.-based Imprev Inc., a provider of integrated marketing tools, also found that while brokers are generally satisfied with the quality of “leads” they get from national sites, they’re less thrilled with the job their agents do following up on them.

The bottom line was that brokers still see traditional methods of drumming up business like open houses, yard signs, walk-in business and getting in touch with past clients as a better value than national portals.

The online survey of more than 260 brokers and franchise executives, conducted in October,  found that among the top three national listing portals — Zillow, Trulia and realtor.com — realtor.com was seen in the most positive light.

That’s perhaps not surprising, given the site’s formal ties to the National Association of Realtors. Zillow, Trulia and other property search portals not operated by a real estate broker are often referred to by industry insiders as “third-party” websites.

While 24 percent of those surveyed had a “negative” (8 percent) or “somewhat negative” (16 percent) view of realtor.com in terms of how the site impacts or could impact their business, Zillow and Trulia tallied higher “fear factor” scores.

 

 

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/11/06/survey-shows-most-brokers-dont-fear-zillow-trulia-and-realtor-com-but-they-get-most-leads-elsewhere/#sthash.uMBIrVjF.dpuf

Mortgage applications tumble 7% | South Salem Real Estate

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Mortgage applications spiraled down for the week ending Nov. 1, decreasing 7% from a week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday.

The refinance index slid 8%, while the purchase index dropped 5% as refinance applications ticked up.

The refinance share of mortgage activity declined to 66% of total applications, slightly down from 67% the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with a conforming loan limit dropped to 4.32% from 4.33%.

Meanwhile, the 30-year, FRM jumbo rose to 4.37% from 4.46%.

The average 30-year, FRM backed by the FHA grew to 4.07% from 4.06%, and the 15-year, FRM increased to 3.44% from 3.42%.

In addition, the 5/1 ARM tumbled to 3.08%, compared to 3.17% a week prior.

 

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/27818

 

 

August Values Rose in Fewer Local Markets | South Salem NY Homes

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Prices increased on a month-over-month basis in 253 of the top 300 markets, fewer than 293 in July, according to Homes.com’s Local Market Index for August.

The downtrend in the number of markets that gain monthly is likely due to both seasonal trends and the state of recovery for these markets. Of the 47 markets that saw declines last month, 40 percent have fully recovered their decline in home prices from the housing bubble, while another 28 percent were found to be unaffected by the boom-bust scenario, illustrating that the weakness is a result of leveling off in home prices.

As a complement to Local Market Index, Homes.com publishes an exclusive Rebound Report, highlighting how the housing recovery process is unfolding across the country. It measures each market’s peak-to-trough decline in index value, which had been attributed to the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble.

Rising home values in the third quarter saw four more top 100 markets reach full recovery. More than a quarter of the top 100 real estate markets have now fully recovered the value they lost in the housing crash. Nearly half of the remaining markets have recovered 50 percent of their lost value, increasing by four markets from the previous month.

Twenty-two midsized markets showed little to no effect from value lost in the 2007 housing bubble and experienced more stable changes in index values. Half of those 22 bubble-proof markets are from Texas, and more than 70 percent are from energy producing states where typical housing boom-bust scenarios did not occur. The remainder of midsized markets showed 51 markets, or 29 percent, with a 100 percent recovery and 94 markets with a 50 percent or more recovery.

“We found the effects of the housing boom-bust lingering in some areas because of the instability they suffered and the long, steep price slope needed for rebound.  While these particular markets are improving somewhat, higher rates of negative equity increase risk of foreclosure and can lock move-up buyers-who are also sellers-out of the marketplace, thus slowing overall recovery in certain local areas. Yet other markets that did not experience the bursting bubble to the same degree are in a better position to take full advantage of the recovery.  Their prices are appreciating faster, and they are rebounding earlier,” said Brock MacLean, executive vice president of Homes.com.  “The important thing to realize is that all markets are in some form of recovery, and different factors contribute to recovery scenarios across the country.  With data from the top 300 markets, the Homes.com Local Market Index and Rebound Report analyze trends in local communities where millions of Americans live-key trends missed by other real estate reports.”

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/10/6784/

 

Why Home Sales Fell Last Month | South Salem NY Real Estate

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Home sales fell significantly from August to September, and real estate industry experts are pointing to higher interest rates and skittish consumer sentiment for the decline.

The National Association of Realtors is out with data this week showing its benchmark Pending Home Sales Index fell from 107.6 in August to 101.6 in September.

The NAR says that “higher mortgage rate and higher mortgage prices curbed buying power” in September, and the lead-up to the federal government debt standoff Oct. 1 didn’t help matters, either.

“Declining housing affordability conditions are likely responsible for the bulk of reduced contract activity,” says Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist. “In addition, government and contract workers were on the sidelines with growing insecurity over lawmakers’ inability to agree on a budget. A broader hit on consumer confidence from general uncertainty also curbs major expenditures such as home purchases.”

Yun is fairly bearish on sales of existing homes, although residential home prices should weather the storm – at least for the next 60 to 90 days or so.

Overall, he says, pending home sales are at a 2.5 year low on a year-to-year basis. And that’s a troubling sign for the near-term future on home sales.

“This tells us to expect lower home sales for the fourth quarter, with a flat trend going into 2014,” Yun says. “Even so, ongoing inventory shortages will continue to lift home prices, though at a slower single-digit growth rate next year.”

One factor that could derail that prediction are U.S. mortgage rates, which fell last week. According to the BankingMyWay Weekly Mortgage Rate Tracker, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 4.37% to 4.26%. Those numbers are roughly supported by Freddie Mac, which has 30-year rates falling from 4.57% in early September to 4.13% in late October.

Historically, lower mortgage rates lead to stronger home sales, not weaker home sales.

But in a residential home sales market with myriad moving parts, lower interest rates alone — if they remain low, which is no guarantee — may not be enough to propel the housing market forward. A stronger jobs picture, more robust consumer sentiment and some stabilization among warring political factions in Washington, D.C., would all also have to round into form to keep home sales churning.

That may still happen, but after some solid numbers coming out of the real estate market (see here and here), the NAR report is a sobering one for the real estate market.

 

 

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12087307/1/why-home-sales-fell-last-month.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

The Bay Window Goes Modern | South Salem NY Real Estate

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When modern and contemporary architecture “abandon” traditional architectural elements in favor of new forms, one of the elements left behind is the bay window. Yet if we think of these elements as reinterpretations of traditions in architecture rather than abandonments (columns, for example, are turned into skinny pilotis without details like capitals), then the idea of the bay window is alive and well, if less used than it should be.
Here you’ll find six examples that show the benefits of modern answers to bay windows — increased area, light and seating capacity — and the various means of expressing the idea in modern houses and in modern renovations of old houses.

However, we got our window blinds & shades at Affordable Blinds and we could not be more impressed.

This addition to a ranch house looks like the end of a square tube that runs from front to back, with large windows on each side. The front picture window is partially frosted to maintain privacy. In case that you need tile chip repair this company is the best reviewed one online.
Here we are looking toward the front window from the kitchen before it was furnished. Only one thin strip of glass is clear; the adjacent pieces are translucent. Adding cushions to the bay would make it a great window seat; one could peek outside through the vertical strip or just enjoy the light coming in through the painting-like panes of color.
Like the front window, the back window projects from the house, cantilevered a foot or two above the ground. But unlike on the the front, all the glass here is clear, and the area inside is an extension of the floor, giving more space for seating near the kitchen.
This house on New York’s Long Island has a fair amount of ins and outs on its exterior. I’m drawn to the tall portion facing right.
A view from the side reveals a tall bay window adjacent to a section of curtain wall set back from the stone facade. A stair can be seen below the large bay window.
It turns out the bay window is actually an extension of the stair landing. The Eames Lounge Chair in the previous photo indicates that this space is ideal for sitting, relaxing and enjoying the view.

10 Brands with Great Google Plus Pages | South Salem NY Real Estate

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Google+ has risen astronomically since it was launched in 2011. It overtook  social media giant Twitter in January 2013, and is now second only to Facebook  in popularity. With over 700 million registered users, companies have a lot to gain  by maintaining a page on the service. However, some Google+ pages are more  popular than others.

Take a look at this list of 10 brands with great Google plus pages, and get  some tips, ideas and insights for your own business.

#1. Toyota

Toyota has an excellent Google+ page. They share industry news, inspirational  photos and innovative concepts with their followers, and update their page  regularly. However, it’s the ‘Toyota Collaborator’ feature which really  stands out. Using Google+ Hangouts,

  • Users can invite friends to help them design and customise their new  Toyota
  • Up to five people can collaborate on the project, changing paint colours and  wheel rims, discussing the options, and rotating the car to view it from  different angles
  • The interior of the car can be viewed through eye-tracking
  • The finished car can be taken for a virtual test drive on Google Maps

Toyota Google+ page

Source

#2. Cadbury

The layout of a Google+ page – wide and open – lends itself particularly well  to visual content. Pages which recognise this tend to do better than those which  rely solely on text. Cadbury has capitalised on this, ensuring that their page  is full of large, bright, attractive images. Scrolling down the page reveals  striking pictures of their various products, delicious-looking cakes and  biscuits, and lashings of the distinctive Cadbury purple.

Cadbury Google+ page

Source

#3. Hugo Boss

As a high-end fashion retailer, Hugo Boss are experts in visual design.  They’ve carried the clean lines and defined colours of their clothing to their  Google+ page, which reads like the pages of a glossy magazine. The page isn’t an  advert for the brand so much as an aspirational luxury lifestyle guide – and as  a result has gained a large number of followers.

Hugo Boss Google+ page

Source

#4. H&M

H&M, another fashion brand, take a slightly different approach to their  Google+ page. They operate in a different market to Hugo Boss, targeting a  younger generation in search of affordable, throwaway fashion. Along with  product pictures and photography, there are also ‘behind the scenes’ posts about  recent photo shoots, video interviews with famous designers, and guides to  upcoming fashion trends.

H and M Google+ page

Source

#5. Virgin

The ‘80/20’ rule dictates that only 20% of a company’s posts on social media  should actually be about the products it sells. Virgin has embraced this advice  fully, as it fits in with the brand’s lifestyle image. Building on Richard  Branson’s charismatic brand of entrepreneurialism, Virgin’s Google+ page offers  followers a mix of inspirational posts, interviews and debates. Part of the  page’s popularity inevitably lies with having Richard Branson as a CEO, but the  80/20 rule also plays a large role.

 

 

 

Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/10/18/10-brands-with-great-google-plus-pages/#cGwk67ZjJMyqbpCk.99