The National Association of REALTORS is the largest trade association in the country. Most member Realtors join their association because it means MLS access, and don’t quite get the benefits of membership. This isn’t to say that everything local, state and the National associations do is right; I have been a vocal critic  of NAR […]

Home inspections are so important that, unlike most markets, local attorneys will not draw up contracts until they are settled. They are never a contingency of the contract in Westchester. Today we  had a home inspection on a property our clients had a recent offer accepted on, and it did not go well at all. […]

Weekends are busy in real estate, so you can imagine the feeling when my head sank into the couch pillow at 6:20pm when I remembered that I had to drive to New Rochelle meet with a client I promised to see. My client is a retiree, and straight shooter as well, and our conversations are […]

I was fortunate enough to be quoted in Business week in an article entitled Why Redfin, Zillow, and Trulia Haven’t Killed Off Real Estate Brokers.  I spoke with the reporter for what seemed like a good healthy duration on where technology is taking our industry, the significance of its impact on the consumer experience and how licensees ply their trade, […]

As the data below indicate, all is well in Villanova, Pa. I don’t hold a real estate license there, but a chunk of my heart remains. Go Wildcats. —————– Box Score for Villanova win over Georgetown   GEORGETOWN   VILLANOVA   Points 57 67 FG Made-Attempted 23-50 (.460) 16-34 (.471) 3P Made-Attempted 7-18 (.389) 5-10 […]

Forget the fact that I’m busy. Forget the fact that we are seeing multiple offers far more frequently. Never mind that we have more buyers looking, more sales pending, and more offers being made. Ignore the 5 new construction listings the company now carries, which is an all-time high. Those are all anecdotal examples of […]

It is with great joy that we announce the addition of Jennifer Maher to the J. Philip Real Estate family. Jenn is among the most respected and admired names in the Westchester and Putnam real estate community. She is a current Vice president of the Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS,  Chairperson of the Putnam Chamber […]

  AGBeat has an interesting article on how technology has eliminated many “middle men” from their respective industries, but that real estate brokerage has not been among the victims. It is a well done piece, and I agree that technology will never replace agents for many reasons. However, I do take issue with one thing: […]

More homes sold because prices same down. That would be one clear message in looking at the December sales figures for single family homes on the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service in Westchester County. Transaction totals were their highest in six years with no special stimulus and buyer appear to be returning to the market in stronger […]

With 2013 mere hours away I am pleased to close the books on another successful year that saw the company weather the challenges of the changing market and continue on the path of encouraging growth. We eclipsed some goals set in last year’s end of year report, fell short in others, and are set up […]

In the aftermath of the Journal News’ recent publication of the identity of every handgun license in two counties, their claim that it would be good for starting a dialog on gun ownership is proving to be very wrong. There is discussion, not about guns, but about privacy and what constitutes responsible use of public […]

As a guy who is required by statute to respect the confidentiality of those who hire me, I can only shake my head at the violence done to online privacy by the current wave of popular Internet platforms. I don’t recall much of a hubub about privacy in the days that widespread use of the […]

The chatter on the Interwebs lately is that a law that has been sacrosanct for generations, the right of a homeowner to deduct their mortgage interest on their income taxes, is now in jeopardy due to the fiscal cliff we collectively face in the wake of the Recession.  What a shame. It is a shame […]

  Since 1996 I have belonged to Multiple Listing Services from Long Island to Rochester. In full disclosure, I am about to start my 4th term as Vice President of what I believe to now be New York State’s second largest MLS. I have used over a dozen different platforms, and I  know, all too […]

True story: about 2 years ago, while looking at homes in Lower Westchester, my clients and I entered a place that must have had a collection of 200 vases on the shelves of the living room. While over the top, we considered it benign until we walked into the home office upstairs and a coffee […]

We do things a little different in New York from the rest of the country, so a Westchester real estate  transaction will have the home inspection prior to contract  as opposed to being a contingency of the contract in most other markets. But the basics of what I am about to share probably apply to […]

You cannot call a market with so many homes underwater, flat to mildly declining prices and a swollen shadow inventory of distress a recovery. However, with prices no longer falling, transaction totals surging, and inventory declining, we are no longer in the downward spiral that punctuated the crash from 2007-2011. The strong November numbers from […]

The Hudson Gateway MLS statistics for single family home closings for the month of October indicate that the market is markedly better this year than last year, and is the most robust it has been since 2007. Both median price and the volume of closed transactions are up considerably and the number of pending sales […]

Last week I read in Agent Genius about a homeowner that was suing their real estate broker after the theft of $162,000 worth of jewelry from their home during an open house. The homeowners claim that they are entitled to damages because the crime basically occurred on the agent’s watch, and that the agent was […]

Note: It has been a solid month since I last wrote a blog entry. We endured 8 days with no power after hurricane Sandy, then another week with no phone or Internet. The disconnection and subsequent mad rush to catch up on lost work forced me to put many of my writing efforts on hold. […]