Bedford NY Area Strong Markets | Weak Markets | RobReportBlog
Strong Markets
South Salem up 26%
Armonk up 85%
Chappaqua up 15%
Bedford Corners up 25%
Bedford Hills up 11%
North Salem up 55%
Weak Markets
Pound Ridge down 11%
Bedford Village down 4%
Katonah down 4.5%
Looking at sales over the last six months compared to the same period last year.
Source: IMDb
If you live in Brentwood Circle, there’s a good chance Reese Witherspoon is the girl next door. With two existing homes in the neighborhood, the Oscar-winning actress has purchased another for $3 million.
The ranch-style home is described by the listing agent as an “enchanted cottage” that’s “warm and inviting.” With a glass art studio and hillside gardens, the home offers a retreat from downtown L.A.
It isn’t surprising Witherspoon would choose a getaway outside the city center — her Ojai ranch provided the feeling of being in the country while only an hour removed from Los Angeles. And, with a recent trip to jail on a disorderly conduct charge, the actress is likely looking to steer clear of the paparazzi.
It also isn’t surprising Witherspoon bought a few houses down from her existing property; celebs have a track record for hopping around the same neighborhood or owning several properties within the same ZIP code. Actress Kate Hudson is known for buying a $5.8 million home next door to her longtime Pacific Palisades residence, and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison also recently added to his collection of homes on Malibu’s “Billionaires’ Row.”
While celebs typically move up with successive home purchases, however, Witherspoon paid less for this property than her two other Brentwood homes. It’s also the smallest of the three, measuring 3,053 square feet
Have you ever received an internet lead that only provided an email address? You were diligent in responding quickly to this lead, and sent them a detailed emailed response
providing them with all the details they requested and a nice call to action to engage them. Sometimes after you send that important follow up email, you mentally block that activity out of your mind and push it into the archives of your brain. The problem is your leads can slip through the cracks without a gentle reminder, informing you if that person responded.
Yesware, a free(ish) email tool, just released a new update that will help you with all of your non-responders. Draft an email, hit the reminder button and set a time. It is that simple!
Watch the video below to get a quick 1 minute overview on how it works!
When I stumbled upon Twitter 54 months ago I was bemused, flummoxed and even curious. What is this social network that keeps me to 140 characters, sounds like a bird and seemed…well…. pointless?
I tweeted here and there and collected 31 followers in 90 days of meandering. Even followed people with large Twitter tribes on topics as diverse as food, photography and politics. Malcolm Turnbull, the local senator must have thought I was a Twitter groupie.
Luckily he didn’t report me for stalking.
My progress on Twitter was slow, confused but persistent. Despite this I continued to tweet, retweet and play. My curiosity was undiminished.
Obsession on Twitter is not unknown. Some people such as Jennifer Aniston’s boyfriend at the time tweeted so much that she decided that he loved Twitter more than her.
She moved onto boyfriend number twenty seven.
Twitter’s sometimes chaotic nature does make management of the torrent of tweets seem like herding cats. It is essential that you plug your Twitter account into a management tools such as Hootsuite and Tweetdeck. This will help you manage your stream with lists of people and hashtags that categorise on topics.
The real power of Twitter is that you can build a follower base that allows you to share a focused stream of content that adds value to your followers daily lives.
There are no fancy Facebook “Edgerank” algorithms to throttle your tweets and choke your content distribution.
Its pure and wild. I like that.
So what are some fundamental principles that you should embrace if you want Twitter to work for you?
Here are 10 commandments that may guide you to the Twitter promised land of a large and loyal following. That engages with you and shares your content with speed and velocity.
Moses used this term so I thought that I couldn’t go wrong if I borrowed the term “Thou shalt”
If you are using Twitter for purely personal reasons then go crazy and knock yourself out with a crazy and cute bio. If you are serious then make sure that when they read it they know in a heartbeat what you are about.
I don’t know how many times I have looked for a link to take a deeper dive into a Tweeter to see what they do and where they have come from but get stymied. If you don’t have a blog then take them to your Linked account or Facebook page.
Let them discover the real you. The bio is just the start
Build a tribe of Twitter followers who are passionate and interested in your topic of interest. That can be done with tools such as Tweepi or Twellow.
This may seem evil to some but as you grow your follower base things like following back become time consuming and unmanageable. Automate the boring tasks such as content distribution and follow back but not the conversation and engagement
Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/05/08/the-10-commandments-of-twitter/#rCCZyAZAUwH7oUCG.99
With more than 100 forecasters predicting Zillow’s Home Value Index could end the year up an average of 5.4% from last year, fears of a market bubble resurfaced.
According to the latest Zillow ($62.94 0%) Home Price Expectations Survey, the median U.S. home value is expected to rise to $165,280, on average by the end of 2013.
At the end of 2012, the U.S. Zillow Home Value Index stood at $156,800.
In the latest survey, conducted in late February, respondents reported they expected average home value growth of just 4.6% in 2013. In 2014, respondents predicted average home value appreciation of 4.4%, up from prior expectations of 4.2%.
While panelists were more skeptical on near-term value appreciation this year and into 2014, their expectations for nationwide home value growth in 2015, 2016 and 2017 were slightly more pessimistic than in prior surveys.
Panelists said on average they expect annual home value growth between 3.5% and 3.7% from 2015 through 2017. This is a modest drop from previously expressed expectations in the 3.6% to 3.8% range.
Cumulatively, respondents anticipate home values to rise 22.3% through 2017, on average.
“The panel’s expectations of near-term home value appreciation remaining above historic norms are consistent with a market struggling to satisfy strong demand from buyers attracted by rock-bottom interest rates and improving economic conditions,” said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries.
Humphries added, “But looking further out, that appreciation will have to moderate as interest rates rise, or else homes that seem affordable today – despite rapidly rising values – are going to look very expensive relative to people’s incomes as it gets more costly to finance a home. How the Federal Reserve handles the eventual winding down of its policy of quantitative easing will be critical in determining if the current period of rapid appreciation is a benign bounce off the bottom, or a more dangerous bubble being re-inflated.”
The more optimistic quartile of panelists predicted, on average, a 6.6% rise in home values in 2013. However, the pessimistic bunch expects an average increase of only 4.2%.
Lewisboro is rich in natural areas and is a component of the biotic corridor. Two Westchester County Parks are on Lewisboro’s borders, and there are 6 town parks and several community preserves.
Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is Westchester County’s largest (4,700 acre) park. In addition to many trails, there are camping facilities and a Trailside Museum. The main entrance is on route 121 in Cross River.
Mountain Lakes Camp is a County park on the northern border of Lewisboro, with beautiful ponds and trails in the forest. The most popular trail leads to Look Out Point which is perched on top of a cliff overlooking Lake Waccabuc,Lake Oscaleta and Lake Rippowam.
Onatru Farm on Elmwood Road is one of Lewisboro’s preëminent parks and includes tennis facilities and playing fields as well as some town offices. This area also includes some walking trails.
The Lewisboro Town Park on Route 35 contains tennis courts, the town pool, ball fields, and outdoor basketball courts. When ice skating is available in winter, a sign is posted. There are also some walking trails in this park that connect to the adjacent Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.
The Leon Levy Preserve was acquired by the town in 2006 as open space. While some trails exist in this 370-acre (1.5 km2) parcel, as of 2008 additional horse and hiking trails are under development and parking is still limited.
The Brownell Preserve is 118 acres (0.48 km2) of forested land given to the town. It has a 2-mile (3.2 km) trail that loops past an overlook of Lake Katonah.
The Old Field Preserve was obtained in 2003, and contains about 100 acres (0.40 km2) of woods, wetlands, and sizable old fields (thus, the name). The meadows will be preserved to support the birds and animals that are dependent upon this increasingly rare habitat.
Fox Valley Park has a variety of sports facilities for the town, including very busy soccer fields, ball fields, and tennis courts.
See Walking Wild Lewisboro for information on park facilities and trail maps.
LEWISBORO — The Katonah-Lewisboro District Teachers’ Association has ratified an agreement on a new two-year contract with the school district to replace the contract expiring at the end of the current school year.
The school board will hold a public forum on the agreement on Jan. 6 before voting on whether to approve it on Jan. 13. The agreement covers the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years and includes very low raises for teachers.
Board of Education President Michael Gordon said the board’s goal has been to reach a fiscally responsible budget that preserves programming.
“Since so much of our budget is devoted to personnel expenses, obviously what we pay to our teachers and provide them in benefits is a significant issue,” he said.
In the first year the contract agreement calls for a 1 percent raise that is deferred to Feb. 1, 2012. Salary adjustments for education credits are also deferred until February. Teachers will also take a half-day furlough when school is not in regular session. The union will contribute to the cost of a $10,000 retirement incentive.
In the second year, a 1 percent salary increase will take effect at the beginning of the school year and another 1 percent increase on Feb. 1. Teachers will have to take a one-day furlough and contribute 13 percent to health insurance premiums, up from 11 percent.
Armonk NY real estate was UP 34% in 2010 compared to 2009. Very good news. The Armonk NY median price dropped 6.37% to $955,000. Sellers understand there is a lot of competition to sell and need to price accordingly.
2010 Armonk Sales Numbers
82 sold
3664 average square feet
$4,000,000 high price
$460,000 low price
$955,000 Median price
$337 average price per foot
215 average days on market
92.95% average sold to ask price
2009 Armonk Sales Numbers
61 sold
3906 average square feet
$5,100,000 high price
$425,000 low price
$1,020,000 Median price
$338 average price per foot
190 average days on market
91.56% average sold to ask price