Market

Commentary, Industry News, Market

Just Because the Market is “Hot” Doesn’t Mean Real Estate Agents Have it Easy

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 […]
Market

No, Rising Mortgage Rates Will Not Crash Property Values

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 […]
Market

How Low is the Housing Inventory? Pretty Bloody Low, That’s How Low

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, […]
Commentary, Market

A Tale of Two Real Estate Markets- in the Same Place

It might seem contradictory to say there are two distinct markets in the same geographical footprint, but what we’re seeing in Westchester and the surrounding counties is in fact two entirely different markets. I know that there are tons of market reports out this time of year (the beginning of Q2, that is), but I’ll […]

Commentary Just Because the Market is “Hot” Doesn’t Mean Real Estate Agents Have it Easy 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 […]

Market No, Rising Mortgage Rates Will Not Crash Property Values 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 […]

Market How Low is the Housing Inventory? Pretty Bloody Low, That’s How Low 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, […]

Commentary A Tale of Two Real Estate Markets- in the Same Place It might seem contradictory to say there are two distinct markets in the same geographical footprint, but what we’re seeing in Westchester and the surrounding counties is in fact two entirely different markets. I know that there are tons of market reports out this time of year (the beginning of Q2, that is), but I’ll […]

Commentary Waiting for the Flowers? Bad Idea. The spring real estate market in New York starts January 2 for a variety of reasons. The holidays are behind us, NYC buyers get an early start, and often, those who need to sell know that if they wait too long there will be a smaller selection from which to buy if they don’t sell […]

Market News12 Interview on the NY Mansion Tax I was interviewed on News 12 this past Sunday on the “mansion tax,” a 1989 law that adds a 1% tax on properties sold for $1 million or more. In 1989, one million dollars probably did but an actual mansion, but in 2018, in a county with a median home value pushing $700,000, it doesn’t. […]

Market Second Quarter Single Family Home Sales in Westchester 2011-2017 These are, respectively, the number of closed single family homes for the second quarter (April 1-June 30) in Westchester County along with the median price for the years 2011 through 2017. All data is courtesy of the Hudson Gateway MLS. Year Closings Median Price 2011 994 […]

Commentary On Low Inventory of Homes for Sale Westchester and the surrounding counties are seeing a peculiar phenomenon causing no small amount of consternation to home buyers. There simply aren’t many homes for sale. This is especially the case for homes one might consider in the starter home category; we have buyers who are seeing very little for sale, and what they do find is […]

Buying The Most Compelling Economic Indicator for Real Estate on Earth As the real estate market cycles into a recovery, talking heads are discussing what index will be the most accurate predictor of the 2014 market. Will it be new housing starts? Employment? The DOW? I beg to differ. In 2014, we’ll be busier than any year since 2005 due in the largest part to one […]

Market What Can You Buy in Ossining for $675,000? What does $675,000 buy in Ossining, New York? I’ll tell you. $675,000 just got someone a 2004 built 3600 square foot 5 bedroom 3.5 bath colonial with a killer view of the Hudson River from the rear deck. The Birch Court neighborhood is on the old grounds of the Briar Crest nursing home, and the […]

Market What can you buy in Ossining for $260,000? What does $260,000 buy these days in Ossining, New York? I’m glad you asked. Interesting story: I was referred to a very nice couple who had a cute little cape in the Campwoods neighborhood that had just expired off the market after being listed by a major franchise in our area. They were assured by […]

Commentary A Tale of Two Tweets: AOL Real Estate Schools Forbes I follow both Forbes and AOL Real Estate on Twitter. I have always viewed Forbes as the standard of excellence in financial journalism, but in my view, this morning they got schooled by AOL in responsible reporting. Both linked to recent stories on the real estate market on Twitter this morning, and both could not […]

Buying Buyers: I’m Not Lying About Other Offers on my Listing Three times in the past two weeks, we have had listings go in bidding wars. Three times in the past two weeks, we have had buyer agents tell me that their buyer client did not believe me that they had competing bids. In each case, those buyers all lost the house. In my own company, […]

Market The Wind at Our Backs It has been weeks since I last updated this blog, and it isn’t writers block, indifference, or slow news days. I am busy. I don’t mean active, or experiencing the typical cyclical upswing of the spring season. I am busy. Really busy. I started the firm in late 2005, and it took me 9 months […]

Commentary In Defense of the Mortgage Interest Deduction 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 […]

Market Stronger November Confirms Westchester’s 2012 Market “PREcovery” 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 […]

Market September 2012 Westchester Real Estate Market Report The results are in for the month of September for single family home sales in the county and they are mixed. According to the Hudson Gateway MLS data, September 2012 was slightly weaker than the same time period in 2011, but overall 2012 is still well ahead of last year’s pace. Median price is down […]

Market August 2012 Westchester Real Estate Market is Strongest in 5 Years August of 2012 will be remembered for the completion of the first two thirds of a year which has been the first upward year in sales totals since the boom. According to the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service statistics for single family home closings in August, we saw the highest sales volume since 2007. Here are the breakdowns for […]

Market What Does $475,000 Buy in West Harrison? What can you buy in West Harrison for $475,000? One buyer recently closed on a beautiful 3 bedroom 2 bath cape in Silver Lake for $475,000 this past week. The home had great hardwoods, a bright, airy sun porch, a full walkout basement and a garage. It also had a large eat in kitchen, plenty […]

Buying What Does $245,000 Buy in Greenburgh? What can you buy for just under $250,000 in Greenburgh? I’m glad you asked. $245,000 buys you a 3 bedroom condo in Granada Crescent in White Plains with 2 full baths, a balcony, and a beautiful swimming pool right in the middle of the complex like the one we just closed on last week. The […]