Back to the zinc mine after stealing some rest over the July 4th weekend. A few thoughts thus far as I rely on “mental muscle memory” to get going: To my colleague agents who email me their listings: cut it out. I read the hotsheets and I have amazing technology to match buyers and sellers. […]

I review market statistics ever quarter, and since we just passed the halfway point of 2011 I found some very powerful data on the relationship between percent of asking price that Westchester County homes sell for and how long they have been on the market. As the table from the Empire Access MLS below illustrates, the percentage […]

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which […]

This is the market report for Chappaqua, NY for the 2nd quarter of 2011. It covers single family homes in the Chappaqua from April 1, 2011 to June 30, 2011. All data is from the Empire Access MLS.  In the 2nd quarter  of 2011, Chappaqua had 35 closings at a median sale price of $745,000. In the 2nd quarter  of 2010, Chappaqua […]

This is the market report for Briarcliff Manor, NY for the 2nd quarter of 2011. It covers single family homes in the Briarcliff from April 1, 2011 to June 30, 2011. All data is from the Empire Acess MLS.  In the 2nd quarter  of 2011, Briarcliff Manor had 7 closings at a median sale price of $650,000. In the 2nd quarter  of 2010, Briarcliff had […]

This is the market report for Ossining, NY for the 2nd quarter of 2011. It covers single family homes in the Ossining School District from April 1, 2011 to June 30, 2011. All data is from the Empire Acess MLS.  In the second quarter  of 2011, Ossining had 28 closings at a median sale price […]

Forbes.com has published one of those silly For Sale By Owner glorifying articles we sometimes see and the advice in it is so poor it borders on comedy. I’ve blogged before on the trainwrecks I saw when I ran a flat fee MLS for sale by owner assistance business, and I feel quite qualified to […]

I have stopped doing monthly market reports in favor of quarterly version in the hope of smoothing out the data and minimizing anomalies. Even so, the results of this quarter’s data for Croton-Harmon schools are impressive. All data is taken from the Empire Access Multiple Listing Service.  In the 2nd quarter of 2010, 17 single […]

They did a fireworks show on the Hudson River this evening right on the Ossining, NY waterfront. The kids lobbied hard to go, and even though I was kind of tired and we can sort of see it from our upstairs rear window, I gave in. Up close was much better. I’m glad we went.  […]

There are some periods of the market cycle that don’t appear for everyone. For example, if you’re in Florida, you don’t blog about the time of year when the ground gets frozen and you have to break out the hammer and chisel to install a yard sign. This week is also an annual milestone for […]

I seldom reblog, but Ruthmarie Hicks has written an excellent piece on the importance of buyers needing to do their homework before just gallivanting all over the county looking at homes they might never buy if they knew better.  Ruthmarie then goes the extra mile in giving resources where buyers can go online to get […]

A quick perusal of my inbox confirms the fetish-like obsession that lenders have with paperwork. They just love it when a tree dies.  Case 1: An active short sale file with a 2nd lender is about to go under contract with a buyer, thank goodness. For the past few weeks, a lady at that lender […]

$350,000 just bought a beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 updated bath dutch colonial with an newer stainless steel kitchen in Lakeland schools on a level acre of land. It also boasted a sun room with sliding doors to a deck, central air conditioning, and a full basement.  What is really great about this closing was that […]

Interesting day of showing homes to a buyer client.  Of the 5 homes we saw, 3 were an instant “NO.” And they all had something in common: Poor upkeep and, shall we say, optimistic asking prices.  Home #1: Lots of updating was needed, but the deal killer was, if you can believe it, drop ceilings […]

Yesterday was the last day of school, and as the two oldest got on the bus, Ann said “Goodbye first and third grades, hello second and fourth!” This really struck me, because it seems like a few weeks ago that Luke and Catherine were little toddlers. One of the very sweet things Catherine does is […]

In December of 2008 I posted a blog article articulating my support of gay marriage, and why the real estate industry should support marriage equality. Tonight, by a margin of 33-29 with four Republicans crossing over, the State Senate of New York agreed with me, paving the way for the bill to be signed into […]

Some towns have notable native sons who leave us and make us proud. My hometown of Ossining, NY has a special one-Peter Falk.  “Just One More Thing” is not just the title of the late Peter Falk’s autobiography, it was his classic tagline in his signature role of Detective Columbo. Sadly, the world said goodbye to […]