First, some background: In late 2019, Long Island Newsday published the shocking results of an investigation where reporters of different ethnicities and races went undercover as prospective homebuyers and the different ways they were treated by the real estate agents they engaged. Long Island Divided made national news and reverberated across the industry as professionals […]

I don’t think I’ve seen the following thought written anywhere lately, but I’ll say it: The average real estate agent has never worked harder than they have in this market.  That seems contrary to the public perception that rising prices and a “hot” market is when agents have it easy, but extreme conditions aren’t conducive […]

I got a question from a client about the effect that installing solar panels might have on their home’s value. It’s a good question, actually. Years ago when hurricanes knocked out power in our area for more than a week, I opined that backup generators would become the new status symbol. While I wasn’t wrong, […]

I’m relatively old. I remember Nixon resigning office, Tang commercials, news stories on the war in Vietnam, and lots of other things from when Kitchens were green and gold. I remember when mortgage interest rates topped 20% in the early 1980s, and my father telling my mother how rates didn’t matter, payment amounts did. He […]

Last week saw a posting by a manager at another firm of their agent holding up a commission check, congratulating the agent on their recent closing.  As we used to say back in the 80s, gag me. Yes, I know we work on commission and closings should be celebrated. But spiking the ball over your […]

You’ve read it before, unless you just learned to read (in which case house hunting is a long way off for you), on financial platforms, blogs, real estate websites, magazines, newspapers, and maybe even ancient hieroglyphs: get pre approved before you start looking at homes. This is what you’ve never read from any credible source: […]

While making a training video on market reports for the agents this past week, I clicked on an old market report I wrote in November 2011 for Ossining. Among other things, I noted that there were 119 single family homes available for sale in the school district at that time. In working on current data, […]

Writing the year’s wrap up used to be my New Years eve ritual, but with the scale of the job these days it’s impossible to quantify everything by midnight on 12/31. So let’s dive into my happy summary of a great year for the brand on the first business day of the new year. The […]

I recently closed on this listing for over $50,000 over asking price. This is an example of how values have grown in the area. The description of the home in the MLS is as follows: “This is the village of Briarcliff Manor lifestyle you’ve sought in a 5 bedroom split that lives like a colonial. […]

We were actually gratified to list and sell this property after selling it to the owners a few years prior. They did benefit from appreciation, selling for $568,000 after purchasing it for $395,000 7 years before. As described in the MLS: This is a adorable 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch home on nearly half an […]

This marks the first time I have not posted this update on New year’s eve, so it feels weird to wrote a piece about 2020 in February 2021. However, I’ve got great reasons. 2020 was by far the most surreal year of most of our lives. When the pandemic restrictions began in March, one had […]

$575,000 buys an awfully nice home these days, like the 3 bedroom, 2 bath split we recently closed for a seller client on Leawood Drive. As the MLS described: This is a TRUE GEM in a four cul-de-sac neighborhood of about 70 houses! Besides being completely renovated and move-in ready, what sets this house apart […]

I’m so glad you asked! If your budget is in the low 500’s, you might like a home like the one we just closed on Avis Court, a 3 bedroom 2 bath split on nearly 3/4 of an acre on a cul de sac. The final sale price was $513,500. Best of luck to my […]

If your budget is $625,000 you might be able to buy a home like the raised ranch we recently closed on Country Club Lane with a Hudson River View. As described in the MLS: Your opportunity to own a home with breathtaking year-round views of the majestic Hudson from the living room, dining room, master […]

$560,000 will buy you a mighty nice 3 bedroom 3 bath split on a dead end like the one we closed on last month. As described in the MLS: This wonderful, pristine house on a quiet cul-de-sac is ready for you to move right in! With a three-season Sunroom and HUGE basement area to make […]

(Note: the following piece was originally published in Inman News) Like many of my colleagues, I’ve been reading — with great concern — about how the ripple effect of the coronavirus pandemic is playing out and how it will affect my business.  However, unlike many of my colleagues across the nation, I am seeing serious […]

If you like a 3 bedroom, 2 bath Tudor styled cape on a landscaped lot with a detached 2 car garage, this was the place that we closed on last week. The MLS description: Tudor-inspired Cape with oversized yard & a fantastic two car detached garage with loft on a quiet street near everything. Solar […]

Spoiler alert: Best year ever by every metric we employ.  Last year’s summary was wrapped up thusly:  In years past, I’ve made numerical predictions, but this year I’m going to be a bit more coy. I’m looking for good agents who want to grow their practices the right way. My role is evolving from chasing […]

I am linking to a short video I posted on LinkedIn recently that acknowledged the firm’s milestone in exceeding $100,000,000 worth of real estate sold in our “home field” MLS for the first time in our history. The MLS scene here is very fragmented, and we belong to several systems (7 to be exact, all […]

In one corner, we have the Hudson Gateway MLS- weighing in at over 1300 firms, 1650 offices, and 13,000 agents. In the other corner, we have J. Philip Real Estate, weighing in at about 80 active residential agents and 2 Westchester offices, with a 3rd in Putnam. Comparing the first half of 2018 to that […]