Tag Archives: Westchester NY Homes for Sale

Westchester NY Homes for Sale

For People Of Color, A Housing Market Partially Hidden From View | Katonah Real Estate

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We’ve written before about the wealth gap between whites and people of color — a divide that’s only grown wider over the past half decade. And since so much of Americans’ household wealth is wrapped up in homes, a significant amount of that wealth gap has been chalked up to an array of barriers to homeownership for people of color.

 

Here’s another sobering data point to that end: A new study has found that blacks, Latinos and Asians looking for homes were shown fewer housing options than whites who were equally qualified. And fewer options meant higher housing costs.

 

The study, conducted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Urban Institute (a nonpartisan think tank in Washington) used a method called “pair testing.” Two people — one person of color and one white person — called and then visited a real estate office to ask about an available property for rent or sale. Both of the pair testers told real estate agents that they had about the same income, assets and employment. Both testers were greeted politely and given appointments to look at properties. But whites were told about and shown more units. They were also more likely to be offered lower rent than their testing partners.

 

According to the study, the problem wasn’t regional but national. The researchers said they did this more than 8,000 times in 28 different metropolitan regions.

 

Here’s how their findings broke down:

 

Black renters learned about 11 percent fewer rental units, and black homebuyers were shown about a fifth fewer homes.

Asian renters learned about 7 percent fewer rental units, and Asian homebuyers saw about a fifth fewer homes.

Latino renters learned about 12 percent fewer units. (Interestingly, the study found that there was not a statistically significant difference in the way whites and Latino homebuyers were treated.)

“Those most serious and severe door-slamming kinds of discrimination aren’t happening so frequently,” said Margery Turner of the Urban Institute. “But it’s disappointing to conduct a study on housing discrimination in 2012 and find that it still persists.”

 

The researchers also found that “minority homeseekers whose ethnicity is more readily identifiable” were more likely to be discriminated against.

 

For People Of Color, A Housing Market Partially Hidden From View | WWNO.

Don’t Call It Home Staging. Call It Superstaging! | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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It’s not news that San Francisco home sales have been rocketing above expectations since the beginning of the year. Bay area buyers have seen themselves outbid by the cost of a mansion in their home towns; sellers have found that even an unstaged home, or even raw fixer-upper, will sell above asking within a week.

 

You might think this’d encourage laziness among sellers, but at least one boutique agency is thinking just the opposite: a little extra effort might result in record sales within record times. They call it simple marketing, but I call it “uberstaging.”

 

Climb Real Estate has been creating a niche for itself with its rolling Airstream satellite office. Now they’re talking their sellers into spending as much as $50K on pre-sale improvements, betting that the payoff will more than cover the cost.

 

The first step is to identify the potential buyer. In the case of this property, on Page Street in Hayes Valley, they  pitched their concept toward a single, professional woman in her 30s buying her first home – a powerful buying force in today’s market, by the way. Then they hired a interior designer Ian Stalling, art consultants from Art Haus, color consultant Wendy Trotter, and even landscape designer Dat Pham to create a space designed specifically for this fictitious buyer.

 

“This isn’t about the four walls,” says Chris Lim, Climb’s marketing director. “It’s about what happens in those four walls. How is your life going to be better if you buy this property? Is it that Blue Bottle coffee is just down the street? Is it the restaurants and the easy commute to downtown? How do you create a storyline that will convince someone that this is meant to be her home?” The stack of takeout menus and bottles of coffee in the kitchen are only the beginning of that story.

 

Don’t Call It Home Staging. Call It Superstaging! | Houses | HGTV FrontDoor.

Top 10 Tips for Home Sellers | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Top 10 tips for Home Sellers

1) Know what comparable homes in your area have sold for.

Knowing what other homes in your area have sold for will help you get top dollar for your home at sale time.

Keep an eye out for homes that are similar to yours. Watch the sales prices of homes that are similar models, have the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms, finished basements, garages, decks or patios, additions, and other similar features to your home.

Home sales prices are public information, you can consult your county or state to find out this information.

2) Learn the lingo.

The process of selling a home brings with it a host of terms that you may have never heard before. Click here for the definitions to some important words you’re likely to encounter.

3) Landscaping can add as much as 10 to 15 percent to the value of your home.

Add a few trees and shrubs to your landscape and you’ll not only improve the view, attract birds and wildlife, but also make your home more energy efficient. And that’s attractive to potential buyers.

Properly positioned deciduous trees (trees that shed their leaves in the fall) can save you up to 25 percent of your typical energy bill for heating and cooling. These trees provide cooling shade in the warm summer months; and in the cold winter months block chilling winds, yet let through precious sunlight that warms your home.

Computer models from the Department of Energy have predicted that just three trees, carefully placed around the house, can save an average household between $100 and $250 in heating and cooling energy costs annually.

Well-planned landscaping can reduce your energy costs by as much as 50 percent. And you don’t have to just use trees. Fences, walls and rows of shrubs can block winter winds and shade during the summer, and vines grown on trellises can shade windows or the entire side of a house. To deflect winter winds, plant evergreen trees and shrubs on the north and west sides of your house. To deflect summer winds, plant on the south and west sides of your house.

Make sure when you select your trees, shrubs and other plants, that you choose plants that are suitable for your environment. For example, in warm climates that lack significant rainfall, choose specimens that are drought-tolerant. If you choose the wrong plants, you’ll end up spending in plant maintenance and water what you saved on the energy costs.

Not sure what trees to plant? The Arbor Day Foundation (www.arborday.org) has a “Tree Wizard” that you can consult to determine the best trees and shrubs for your region of the country.

4) A shiny coat of paint and a little straightening up go a long way

Spend a day of your time and a few dollars for a new can of paint, and not only can you give an old room a new look, but you’ll add some value to your home come sale time.

Not sure what color to paint? Flip through some magazines or watch the many home improvement programs in television. There are excellent redecorating ideas out there that can make a drastic improvement in your home for little money.

Also, try to look at your home the way a stranger might see it, and make some small improvements that could go a long way.

  • If there are kids’ toys on the floor, put them away.
  • Stains on the carpet? Hit them with some spot remover.
  • Have a cat or dog that sheds all over everything? Take a sticky lint remover to your chairs and drapes.
  • Remove light fixtures and clean them out, the brighter light will make your house look cleaner.
  • Burn scented candles to let off a pleasant aroma – but do not forget to blow them out if you leave and don’t leave them burning around small children.
  • Dust blinds, banisters and windowsills – these areas don’t always get caught by the duster.

5) Thinking of doing a remodeling project to add to your home’s value come sale time? Here are some important features homebuyers are looking for in the homes they buy today.

General features

  • Floor plans that reflect an open, casual lifestyle
  • Upstairs laundry rooms
  • Linen closets
  • Decorative moldings
  • Recessed lighting

Entertainment spaces

  • Big family rooms
  • Sunrooms and other areas that encompass the kitchen
  • Small living rooms

Kitchens

  • Natural wood cabinets
  • Hardwood floors
  • Solid-surface and granite countertops
  • Stainless steel appliances

Bathrooms

  • Large showers
  • Separate, compartmented toilets
  • Soaking tubs

Community

  • Tot lots and playgrounds
  • Parks and trails
  • Community swimming pools

*Compiled from multiple industry sources

6) Help your home sell faster by including features that will appeal to an older buyer.

These features can make your home more marketable to a wider variety of home buyers, which makes these features a better “bang” for your remodeling “buck”. Many of these features can be put in for little or no additional cost during your remodeling project.

General features:

  • Path lighting to front or rear doors
  • At least one entrance with no steps
  • A shelf by the front door
  • Handrails on any steps or porches
  • One-story layouts, should you be designing a new home
  • Improved lighting with recessed fixtures in common areas and hallways
  • Lever handles on doors and windows
  • Lower light switches and thermostats; raised outlets
  • Wider doorways

Kitchen/laundry room features:

  • Lever-handle faucets with pull-out spray
  • Rolling island that can be placed back under the counter
  • Revolving corner shelves and pull-out shelves
  • Lower, side-opening oven
  • Side-by side refrigerator with slide-out shelves and a water/ice dispenser
  • Cooking range with controls on front
  • Larger cabinet and drawer pulls
  • Front-loading washer and dryer

Bathroom features:

  • Two to three attractive looking grab bars in shower
  • Lever handles on faucets
  • Slide-bar-type hand-held shower, for sitting or standing
  • Inset shampoo nooks
  • Curbless showers – nothing to step over
  • Tub and Shower controls moved closer to entry point

*Source: National Association of Home Builders

 

Top 10 Tips for Home Sellers – AHAA – Association for Homeowners Across America.

Washington sixth most expensive housing market | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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It might not be noticeable to anyone buying a house or condominium in the Washington area, but the region has slipped out of the top five most expensive markets.

Washington now ranks No. 6, based on median sales prices in May, according to real estate tracking company Zillow Inc. Price gains in the area are still healthy, but tame compared with some markets.

San Jose, Calif., is the most expensive housing market in the country, with a median sales price of $695,300 in May, up nearly 22 percent from a year ago.

In Washington, the median sales price in May was $331,600, up 6.3 percent from a year ago, Zillow reports.

San Francisco, San Diego, New York and Los Angles all had higher median sales prices than Washington recorded in May.

Detroit remains the cheapest big city for homebuyers, with a median sales price last month of just $87,400. Pittsburgh was second lowest, with a median $111,800.

 

Washington sixth most expensive housing market – Washington Business Journal.

Fed bungle may prompt higher mortgage rates | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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The days are getting shorter now, football closer — at least the Fed can’t take that away from us. Given its fantastic bungling this week, it might try.

First, let’s get the fairy tales out of the way. No, President Obama has not asked Fed Chair Ben Bernanke to leave; Bernanke is exhausted (which may explain some of this week), and orderly competition to succeed him began in January. And no, the market wrecks this week do not invalidate the quantitative easing (QE) campaign. It was exactly the right thing to have done.

Bernanke is an American hero, his inventiveness and courage without parallel in our peacetime history. However, the skills and instincts necessary to save us in the post-Lehman event are completely different from those required to manage a gradual tightening of policy.

Bernanke on May 22 did an expert and appropriate job of mumbling. Markets needed to be warned that QE might taper in the next several months, and be reminded that someday QE would end altogether, and in the long run Federal Reserve policy would normalize. The Fed chair’s muffled jawbone took the 10-year T-note from a broad range 1.7 percent-2.05 percent into June’s 2.08 percent-2.25 percent, mortgages just above 4 percent.

The economy may or may not be self-sustaining, but asset prices in 2013 might have begun to pre-bubble. Maybe. New Fed Gov. Jeremy Stein began to thump the bubble tub immediately on arrival. Household net worth jumped $3 trillion in the first 90 days of the year, all on stocks and houses. The delicate conundrum: Rising asset values were a principal purpose of QE and have the economy doing better; at what point do they become a bubble? Hedge the bet by bubble-burble.

The June Fed meeting concluded on Wednesday, and the written statement was harmless. Then in the post-meeting press conference Bernanke gave the most unfortunate public performance by a chairman in my memory. He is compelled to transparency and specifics of future intentions, which made QE work, but are disastrous in a tightening cycle. And he clearly does not understand why.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/06/21/fed-bungle-may-prompt-higher-mortgage-rates/#sthash.B3LcAU5U.dpuf

 

Fed bungle may prompt higher mortgage rates | Inman News.

Mobilizing Your Website, What You Need to Know | Bedford NY Realtor

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Is your website or blog mobile-ready?

Are you wondering how to optimize it for mobile users?

To learn about the opportunities available in the mobile marketing world, I interview Greg Hickman for this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast.

More About This Show

Social Media Marketing Podcast w/ Michael Stelzner

 

The Social Media Marketing podcast is a show from Social Media Examiner.

It’s designed to help busy marketers and business owners discover what works with social media marketing.

The show format is on-demand talk radio (also known as podcasting).

In this episode, I interview Greg Hickman, the founder of Mobile Mixed, a website that specializes in training marketers in mobile marketing. He also hosts The Mobile Mixed Podcast. Greg advises big brands on mobile marketing, including AT&T, Electronic Arts, Cabelas and Sony Pictures.

Greg shares what businesses should do to make their mobile experience more user-friendly.

You’ll learn about the best tools available to build your own mobile site and how to discover the kind of devices people are using to visit your site.

Share your feedback, read the show notes and get the links mentioned in this episode below!

Listen Now

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

You can also subscribe via iTunes, RSS, Stitcher or Blackberry.

Here are some of the things you’ll discover in this show:

Mobilizing Your Website

Why it’s important for businesses to think about the unique needs of mobile users

Greg shares why you have to think where your customer or audience is coming from. The way we consume content today—whether it be email, social, using search or listening to podcasts—is mainly through a mobile device.

The first entry point to you, your business or brand is more likely to be a mobile phone. You want the customers’ experience to be very friendly and optimized to whatever device they are on. Around 53% of the US population has a smartphone.

mobile mixed iphone screenshot

Mobile Mixed via smartphone.

You’ll discover why Greg believes email is overlooked when it comes to mobile.

Listen to the show to find out why Greg believes mobile email is an opportunity for marketers.

How to find out if mobile users are coming to your website

Greg recommends that the first thing you should do is look at analysis software such as Google Analytics. It will show you how many people in your current audience are coming to your site from a mobile device. It will also break out the numbers by specific device.

google analytics mobile

Google Analytics offers a great mobile analytics service.

You’ll probably discover that 20-50% of the overall visits to your site are coming from a mobile device.

Secondly, depending on your email service provider, some will offer insights into how many of the email opens are coming from mobile. You’ll find out why this is a good indicator if you’re a big emailer.

Greg shares how you can look to see from a social perspective if people engage with you from a mobile device on Twitter or Facebook.

 

Mobilizing Your Website, What You Need to Know | Social Media Examiner.

Lane Closures, Detours Begin Monday For Route 100-C In Mount Pleasant | Chappaqua Realtor

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Work on the Route 100C bridge over the Sprain Brook Parkway will cause lane closures and detours beginning Monday.

All eastbound lanes on Grasslands Road over the bridge will be closed to traffic, with detours onto Route 9A, Brighton Avenue and Route 100.

No westbound lane closures are planned during the project.

The bridge work is expected to last through August 30.

Residents should expect traffic delays and use alternate routes whenever possible.

 

Lane Closures, Detours Begin Monday For Route 100-C In Mount Pleasant | The Chappaqua Daily Voice.

Mt. Kisco Seafood Named To Best Of Westchester List | Mt. Kisco NY Homes

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MT. KISCO, N.Y. – Mt. Kisco Seafood was honored by Westchester Magazine’s readers in its annual “Best of Westchester” issue.

Mt. Kisco Seafood was selected at the “Best Fish Market.” It’s located at 477 Lexington Ave.

Each year, the magazine has readers select the best restaurants, shopping, spas and more.

 

Mt. Kisco Seafood Named To Best Of Westchester List | The Mt. Kisco Daily Voice.

Surging home sales stir new housing bubble fears | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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There are differences between this run-up in prices and the housing bubble that preceded the financial crisis, said Gary Thomas, theNational Association of Realtors‘ president.

“The boom period was marked by easy credit and overbuilding, but today we have tight mortgage credit and widespread shortages of homes for sale,” Thomas said. The improved housing market and mortgage rates still near record lows, despite a recent rise in rates, is pulling buyers back in the market faster than it’s prompting sellers to put homes on the market. Buyer traffic 29% above a year ago, but the supply of homes for sale is actually down 10%, writes CNNMoney.

 

Surging home sales stir new housing bubble fears | HousingWire.

Home construction climbs 5% in May: McGraw Hill | Chappaqua Real Estate

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At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $495.7 billion, new construction starts in May advanced 5% from April, according to McGraw Hill Construction.

Much of the uptick came from nonresidential building, which registered moderate growth for the second month in a row after its sluggish performance at the outset of 2013.

During the first five months of 2013, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were reported at $187.6 billion, down 3% from last year.

Residential building advanced 3% in May to $206.8 billion.

Single-family housing also edged up 2% in May, the company noted.

The rate of activity for single-family housing continues to be high by recent standards, with May up 26% from the average monthly pace during 2012.

By geography, single-family housing in May revealed gains in the Midwest, up 6%; the West, up 5%, and the South Atlantic, up 2%, respectively.

 

Home construction climbs 5% in May: McGraw Hill | HousingWire.