There has long been an argument on how best to handle the first 30 days of a listing, and that is whether or not to speculate a bit at a slightly higher price, or to enter the market at a more aggressive number in the hope of a knockout punch. Some sellers, when they get an early offer, express an interest in holding out for a higher number; after all, they’ve only been on the market a week or a month. Many licensees I know believe that the best offer typically comes early. 

What is the truth? Every listing is different, and some early offers do in fact turn out to be hopeless lowballers. But overall, the data does seem to point out that early offers are higher than offers that come once the listing has been around the block a few times. 

In the first quarter of 2010, the Westchester -Putnam MLS has the following data for percentage of list price that homes sold for in 30 day increments. 

0-30 days:     97.5%

31-60 days:   95.7%

61-90 days:   95.1%

91-120 days: 94.7%

121+ days:    92%

Clearly, sale prices in the first 30 days on market are the highest percentage of asking price, but the first 90 days overall are fairly strong. Since less than 1% of sold homes even close in the first 30 days (30 days is almost ridiculously fast in New York), the most significant statistic in my view is the fact that even up to 90 days, the percentage of asking price is above 95%. Once you go past 4 months, it drops to 92%, and that is probably after a price reduction, which really makes it less than 90% of original asking price in most cases.  

Here’s an illustration that occured last spring of two virtually identical homes next to each other. 

Listing 1: Listed for $525,000 goes under contract in 44 days, sells for over 95% of asking price on day 82.

Listing 2: Listed for $549,000, undergoes 3 price reductions, is vacant at day 90, and finally closes at less than 92% of original asking price after 240 days, 150 of them vacant.  

The MLS statistics on the 2nd one are misleading, because the asking price by the end was reduced such that the final sales price was over 98% of asking. But it took 8 months! And overall the statistics are not promising. 

Here is the most telling statistic of all: 73% of all closed sales occurred after 120 days on market. Stale listings, that is, listings that have been on the market a longer time, sell for less. Unfortunately, most listings do take longer, and that is because most licensees are failing to educate sellers of this fact. 

Speculation at higher prices is, overall, incredibly costly in time, effort, stress, and overall costs. Sellers should be wise to this fact. Price it right, price it early, and you’ll sell for more, faster. 

One of the most misunderstood aspects of real estate is the tension on the part of agents, landlords and tenants when it comes to the sale of the rental property. It is really a 3-headed monster. 

Landlords selling their property often want to “keep it a secret” that the building is for sale; they fear that the renters will leave if they find out.

Tenants are often suspicious and uncooperative with showings, because they fear that new owners will force them to move from their home.  

Agents view tenants as problem children, because they are not easy to confirm showings with, are hard to reach, or do not allow access despite the terms of their lease requiring cooperation. Because of this, many agents dislike listing rental property or don’t give it their best effort.  

These misconceptions often make an otherwise straight forward process a nightmare. It does not have to be that way.Tenants who have a lease in force are protected from being forced to move by the terms of their lease.

In the State of New York, all rental property is sold subject to tenants’ rights. Simply put, no owner, old or new, can break a lease. If a tenant has a 3-year lease and the home changes ownership 6 months into the term, they still have 2 1/2 years of right to quiet enjoyment of their home. This is the case if King King himself bought the place. He can’t break their contract. 

If more people understood this fact, there would be far fewer problems selling rental property, and tenants would sleep far better at night. Rather than the landlord and listing agent conspiring to work in stealth, the better course of action would be to be upfront with the tenants, remind and reassure them of their rights, and operate transparently thereafter without the cloak and dagger headaches. 

Last week I wrote a blog post entitled Developers Should Spare the Trees. In it, I decried the clear cutting, scorched-Earth methodology of removing every single tree in the building of a new subdivision. Lo and behold, this past week, while driving not far from the inspiration of that post, I came upon the Sagamor subdivision in Hopewell Junction. 

I forget what initially caught my eye; it might have been a clump of trees near new-looking homes, but it doesn’t matter. I turned into the neighborhood and was happy to see that the developer did a fantastic job of keeping trees while still building beautiful homes. 

The homes themselves are very nice; typical houses are about 2500-3000 square feet above ground, and most if not all are center hall colonials with large yards (an acre or more) and 2-car garages. The development was completed around 2001. Recent sales in Sagamor are well above $500,000. The development is in the Wappinger Falls school district, with John Jay High school, Van Wyck Middle school, and Gayhead Elementary as the local public schools. 

Sagamor is located less than a mile from the Taconic State Parkway, so it is a very good location for commuters who need to get on the highway without a long trip. it is also right off of county Route 82, making it very convenient in inclement weather- county roads don’t stay unplowed for long.

I actually wasn’t going to do another piece on a Dutchess county neighborhood for a while, but the trees had me when I drove in. Big, majestic trees older than I am, proudly pointing skyward, spared the bulldozer because the builder was too smart to put dollars over beauty and nature.  Hats off to the builder!

This past December I blogged about 2 neighboring homes for sale in Nyack, NY that were featured in a New York Times article discussing the merits of using a broker to sell a home and the reasons people sell by owner. The homes were side by side; I was familiar with both, and even showed the one listed to buyers last autumn. 

I was in the neighborhood again yesterday, and what I found was worth capturing with a photo. 

Yes: The home listed with the broker, my capable friends at Wright Brothers in Nyack, is under contract at an asking price of $839,000. The FSBO remains unsold, according to the owner’s website, at $795,000. Unless the REALTOR-listed home sold for considerably under contract, where is the savings? 

Will the NY Times do a follow up article on how this shook out? I doubt it. 

Meanwhile, the FSBO is still in limbo, unsold (if the website is accurate; If sold also, it can’t be for more than 795k), unlisted, and, save for the owner websites, invisible to the buying public, with an amateur at the rudder of the ship. 

Savings, I suppose, is in the eye of the beholder. 

This past November I blogged my thoughts on eclipsing 100,000 points on ActiveRain and, more importantly, the good things that occurred on the way. Today, 4 months and a day later, I hit 200,000 points. More happy things have happened out of my blogging efforts. A few highlights:

• I might write about this after it closes, but one buyer who found me online and asked to work with me just got his mortgage commitment on a new purchase. He started his search for an agent online and found my blog. His initial email was such a validation of my online efforts I am still smiling about it 6 weeks later. When I get his permission I’ll reproduce it. 
• I’ll blog about this after it closes as well, but I recently listed a beautiful property without having to make a presentation. I was just called over to price and list it. The pre-listing package, if you will, was already online. No one needed to be convinced.  
• I was quoted in an MSN Money article on the real estate market one month ago.
• I am quoted in April 2010’s REALTOR Magazine.
• We continue to receive referrals; I don’t have time to count. Regardless, we greatly appreciate those who think of me when they think Westchester County, NY (and surrounding areas) real estate. 
• We continue to bring aboard good agents. This April we will hit 21 excellent people on the team. The most recent team member walked in and asked to associate after his old firm closed. My blog is a great recruiting tool because it allows agents to “interview” me. 
• I have opened a branch office in Upper Manhattan. Two dynamic agents are on that growing team. That’s a series of blogs for another time, believe me.

Outside of business we have made great connections with fellow ‘Rainers. They have been a great source of support, morale boosting, and friendship.

• Ann and I have connected with fellow parents of children with autism. I wish we had more time to communicate; sadly, self-employment and autism don’t help in the spare time department. However, the fellowship of just knowing that there are those like us out there helps enormously. 
• I have broken bread recently with Eileen Hsu and Morgan Evans and Loreena and Mike Yao. I also met many others at Raincamp NYC. 
• I have had phone conversations with a number of ActiveRainers, including Lenn Harley, Irene Kennedy, & Barb Szabo on ways either I could help them or vice versa, or just to share a laugh. 
• Countless emails and tokens of support and friendship. In this market, smiles make a difference.  
• We have even received a wedding invitation, which we greatly appreciate (can you say “date night”). 

This is not about points, but the great things that happen as they accumulate. AR is not a blogging platform or SEO and networking tool as much as it is a community. Ann and I are grateful to be part of it. It all comes from putting yourself out there, consistently. 

I like money, friendship and smiles. That’s why I am here.   

Drive through Swiss Hamlet just once and you’ll appreciate the name; beautiful homes in classic styles with stunning views of the valley. Residents have a full homeowners association which includes tennis courts, a clubhouse, and beautiful swimming pool. The amenities are run by the Swiss Hamlet Homeowners Association, located in the clubhouse right in the middle of the neighborhood.  

Swiss Hamlet homes range in age from those built in the early 70’s right through new builds. One interesting constant, aside from the fact that nearly all are quite upscale, is that they are constructed with environmentally friendly materials (long before it was a trend): natural siding and wood roof shingles (as opposed to asphalt) are the norm. And the architecture of Swiss Hamlet homes are often stunning, especially if you like older styles, like tudors. 

I love stone homes and slate roofs. I listed my first Swiss Hamlet house in 2007 and have loved it ever since. It is actually a natural for a Westchester broker like me to end up there, because Westchester expatriots love neighborhoods like Swiss Hamlet- Westchester living with Dutchess prices. Moreover, even though it is a sleepy, woodsy area, the Taconic parkway is 5 minutes away, making it a perfect commuter locale. 

One thing a builder cannot give you is a view, and the fantastic view is the first thing that hits you when you drive into the neighborhood. On a clear day the residents can see for miles, even when the trees fill in with leaves. 

Swiss Hamlet is served by the Wappinger Falls School District. The elementary school is Fishkill Plains. The middle school is Van Wyck, and the high school is John Jay. If you’d like to see if the area is good for you, you can browse listings in Swiss Hamlet and the surrounding area. 

Dear Buyer and Buyer Agent: 

My clients and I are in receipt of your lowb-, um, offer. We are grateful that you are interested in the home- it has served my clients well for years. I can only hope that if you live there too that it will be the source of much joy and many happy years for you and your family should we do business. There is just one thing, however, that we’ll need to rectify in order to do business with you, and that would be the amount you are willing to pay to live in this property. You see, offering fewer than 75c on the dollar for the place hurts you more than it hurts us. Here’s why. 

• You probably don’t want to live in a community that has had its prices knocked back to the year 2000. But if you got the place for $430,000, that is the trend you’ll unwittingly start. The sale will be in the recent market history and adversely affect the prices of the other units, because future buyers will want to pay 430 and not 600. Places will take longer to sell for less, and your “good deal” or “steal” will start a domino effect in the complex. That effects you, not me. I won’t be living there. You will. 
• If, God forbid, you have to sell in the next 2-5 years, you are going to want the same $600,000 everyone else is asking for (and getting) now. But you won’t, because the 430k purchase will be public record and everyone will know it. They’ll also know you didn’t put $170,000 into the place because it was built in 2000. Real estate isn’t appreciating at 45%, so you’ll have no justification whatsoever for such a disparate price in such a short time.
• If you don’t believe me, ask anyone in a small community how much just one foreclosure has decimated years of appreciation for everyone else. And you don’t want to live in a stagnant complex do you? Of course you don’t. You want your home to appreciate and grow in value! Right? You want all the “steals” to end with your purchase. But that’s not the way it works. Capeesh? 
• Now, this certainly doesn’t apply to us, because my clients are interested in doing business and are very non-judgmental. But you know, there are some people out there that just might conclude, however erroneously, that an offer like this means that you aren’t really serious about doing business, getting a nice home for your family at a fair price, and that you are actually a speculative, self interested rectal cavity. And we know that’s not true about nice folks like you. 

If you’ll permit me, I’d like to give you some unsolicited advice that might serve you well. Explaining your low offer by knocking the crap out of a 7-year old unit isn’t a winning strategy. You see, we know you are going to live here should we do business. And you wouldn’t live in an outdated, run down, inferior unit that backs up to a swamp, because you have too much self respect for that. 

We are countering your offer at $575,000. Here’s a thought: Go back and sit down together and resubmit your offer, sans insults and knocks on my clients’ home, and produce a number that will benefit both you and us. You won’t get a steal. If you want a steal I know a nice shelled out gut job on the other side of town you can get with the window bars pre-installed. We wish you nothing but the best. 

Related posts:

We have just closed on 155 North Regent Street in Port Chester, and to celebrate that closing I’ll post a rundown of the real estate market in that distinguished village. Port Chester has a warm place in my heart. It was where “the office” was where my father worked when I was a child. Whenever I think of Port Chester, I think of my Dad, young and healthy. 

Port Chester borders Greenwich, Connecticut on the Byram River. It has a very vibrant, charming downtown, and plenty of pre-war architecture. 

It has some fantastic dining, including the Willett House, which I have posted on before. One notable landmark of the village is the “Lifesaver Building,” a condominium which was the actual home of Lifesavers candy when I was a kid. 

On to the data:

There are 94 single family homes available for sale in the Post Chester school district. The median price for a single family home is $485,000. 4 others are pending sale, and 26 homes have sold in the past 6 months for a median price of $422,500. In the corresponding period (9/24/08 through 3/23/09) there were 23 sales for a median price of $440,000. Transaction totals are up a tick, and median price is down 4%- not terribly bad in light of the economy. 

With 94 single family units to choose from, Port Chester offers plenty of possibility. And good food. 

George Mantor’s article “Is It Time to Go on The Offensive?” has me thinking. Mantor echoes the dissatisfaction most of us have with both the government and large banks, and he announces that he is switching to a credit union for his banking. He is using his economic vote. Should we all? 

In 2005, when I started my company, I grew dissatisfied with Chase. I thought I’d stay local and started an account with a community bank in town. Checks took a long while to clear, my ATM card incurred a fee everywhere, and Internet banking wasn’t available. That account was closed within a year. It wasn’t convenient. I elected to go with a large institution. So, my accounts and money went to Washington Mutual. They were friendly and convenient. What I didn’t know was that they were going bankrupt. 

Chase absorbed Washington Mutual in late 2008. After 2 1/2 years of happy banking, I was back with that large, uncaring monolith. Little changed at first- it was the same branch and staff. Today, however, I am back to 2005 with Chase. The branch staff are new and uncaring save for one (nervous) holdover teller from the WaMu days, and customer service is an exercise in futility. 

Is Mantor’s method the way to go? Is switching my business to a credit union or smaller local bank going to make a difference? If thousands of us switched billions of assets away from the Giants, would they change their tune? And would we be able to put up with less convenience, slower processing and other disadvantages of a smaller place? Or have the smaller operations caught up? To me, a credit union with Internet banking would sound perfect. 

Would we do better with smaller banks in spite of small inconveniences? And would it make a difference if we did? 

To get the word out about the FREE Westchester County home buyer seminar this coming April 7 at 6pm at the Tuscan Grille in Briarcliff Manor, we have set up www.TheKeysToHome.com. 

The theme of the seminar, The Keys, is very appropriate. The “key” to getting your own set of “keys” to a home is the knowledge that comes from a well presented seminar that breaks the process down so that all the ambiguity, stress, and mystery are taken out in place of good instruction, coaching and know-how. If I know it, you’ll know it. 

• No more wondering what is next. You’ll already know. The whole sequence is spelled out A-Z. 
• No more stressful waiting until your agent or lender calls back- you can anticipate the next step with knowledge instead of scratching your head.
• You’ll understand the terminology, and what it really means to buy a short sale or REO. 
• Once you understand the process, you can relax and have fun finding a home. You can negotiate from a position of knowledge as well. 

While driving through Dutchess County today, I was reminded of a pet peeve in real estate that I have long meant to blog about: builders who cut every, single solitary tree down when they build a subdivision and then plant a few saplings in their place. It seems to be particularly bad in the Hudson Valley north of Westchester County. I know people cannot have a tree in their living room. What I don’t get is how you cannot leave 1 decent tree standing for acres and acres in order to build a few houses. And those 3 sick saplings they stick in the ground  are hardly a substitute for the proud trees that once stood there. 

It takes decades for the replacement trees to grow in. Mature neighborhoods shouldn’t take decades. One county over in Connecticut they have great neighborhoods where the builders built around mother nature, not on her grave. I hate a scorched Earth- it seems so barren and austere, especially when the immediate area surrounding the neighborhood is so rich with growth.  

There is nothing aesthetically pleasing about a barren landscape in a new subdivision. The way houses just stick out with no trees to frame them, shade them or accent them is antiseptic and unappealing. It is also a waste. I wish builders and developers who engage in this practice would cut it out, and I also wish that the municipalities that bug the rest of us about relatively minor issues in comparison would not allow it either. 

We’ve chosen the Tuscan Grille in Briarcliff Manor for our upcoming home buyer seminar this April 14 at 6pm. Tuscan Grille, formerly Torchia’s, is located at 518 North State Road in Briarcliff Manor. This will not be your average seminar- we’re going to cover things seldom discussed that will give attendees a tremendous advantage in getting financing, negotiating the best deal, and finding their dream home without turning the home buying process into a new part-time job or ordeal. We’ll also define, describe and offer strategy on all the new phenomenon in 2010 housing, such as the new mortgage landscape, short sales, and the buyer’s market. All are welcome. 

There will be limited seating, so to reserve a spot simply call 914-762-2500 or email us to RSVP. 

Directions to Tuscan Grille: From Southern Westchester, take the Taconic Parkway north to 9A North (exit after route 117). Make a right onto North State Road at the intersection of North State and 9A. Tuscan Grille is about a mile down on the right. From Northern Westchester, get on 9A south and make a left onto North State Road. 

2010 is one of the very best years EVER to buy a home. This seminar will explain why, but, more importantly, how you can get the home of your dreams at terms so favorable that we may never see them again. 

If you talk to different people in Westchester County, you’ll get different opinions as to the direction the market is taking. One appraiser tells me he’s never seen things so dead; another lawyer feels like things have picked up noticeably. With the April 30 deadline for the tax stimulus fewer than 6 weeks away, we all wonder what May 1 will bring. 

I for one am busy, and I don’t take it for granted. But how is the market doing overall? And how much effect did the stimulus really have on Westchester County real estate? 

If one looks at the numbers from the MLS data for the time from January 1-March 20 for 2009 and 2010, the answer would have to be that the market is indeed up. 

For the first 80 days of 2009, there were 371 single family homes sold in Westchester at a median price of $535,000. 

In the same period this year, there were 645 single family homes sold in Westchester at a median price of $604,500. That is a 74% increase in total transactions and a $69,500 increase in median price. 2010 is off to a far better start than 2009. 

How much of it is due to an organic improvement in the market and the stimulus? God only knows. If the market tanks on May 1, the answer will be a great deal was due to the tax credit. If the Spring market continues to be busy, we can only hope that the momentum lasts through the rest of the year and that we have turned the corner. We are still a long way off from a sellers market, but stability and consumer confidence would be a welcome thing in Westchester and the surrounding market areas. 

While driving up Broadway in Yonkers yesterday I spotted some deer grazing on the lawn of the Richmond Children’s Center. I thought I’d stop to take a quick snapshot, when I realized that this wasn’t a deer or two that wandered, it was SEVEN of them, grazing quite brazenly, in an area that is virtually miles from woods and is densely developed. I was not alone; others stopped to see this rare sight.  

Yet again, Yonkers surprises me. 

My parents met and married while living in Yonkers- I have deep roots there. I am working on a deal not far from the neighborhood. Yesterday was a hectic day, but this incredible sight was food for the soul in the midst of the chaos. The lady across the street at the end of the video lives right nearby and she said this was the first time she had ever seen that many deer in the area. They would have had to cross a bridge just to get there, unless they just walked down Broadway.

Incidentally, this is THE Broadway, the continuation of Broadway in Manhattan, which goes all the way to Albany. 

Perhaps they were on their way to an audition and were taking a break. They sure didn’t have stage fright. 

Astonishing.

New HAFA rules are forcing home sellers to negotiate directly with subordinate liens, or, in common terms, second mortgages, on their own, according to Bankrate.com. The way the rules are written, there is a financial incentive for the 2^nd mortgage  to settle and release the lien, but the onus of getting assurances that the bank will settle rests on the borrower, which seems incongruous with the intent of the law. If the law is that the bank gets $3,000 from the government to settle, then it is the government who should be getting written assurances that they will indeed settle, not the borrower. The article points out that distressed sellers are already beleaguered and beaten up and in no condition to play hardball with another bank.

I agree. Distressed home sellers ought not do this on their own. They need an advocate, and a third party with experience is very likely going to get a better result than a beaten up home owner. This is what we do, but rather than make this post a commercial I’ll also add that here in New York, the attorney should be on the front lines dealing with the 2^nd mortgage as well as the first. The attorneys that we have on our team are excellent; the sellers can rest assured that the arrangements they help negotiate are the very best that can be agreed to. They also read the “fine print” with a fine tooth comb. The devil is in the details in these things, especially in New York.

All short sale agreements from lenders should be in writing, and all short sale agreements from lender should specify that they will not go after the borrower for the difference after closing. Anyone can get a short sale with no assurances of financial security after the closing. It takes a professional to ensure that the seller’s obligations in a short sale end at closing with no residual debt. That is our job, and that is how we do our short sales.

Doing a short sale on your own invites peril. We have done dozens, and that puts you in good hands compared to the guy in the mirror

originally posted at NY Short Sale Blog

This is one of those half-written thoughts that I’ve had since 1996 when I entered the real estate industry, walked through the homes of other folks, and began to witness, first hand, how people live other than myself. Specifically, the, shall we say, storage of belongings. What they do with their stuff, and what stuff they deem worth keeping around, intrigues me. 

Some background: my parents were children of the Depression and hated waste. So they became hoard- um, savers. I have many memories of walking through a living room with piles of books, periodicals and newspapers (which they read, at least) next to chairs into the kitchen where I would find a cookie tin with an inviting label. Since my brother was diabetic, this was extraordinary. I’d pounce on it and open it in half a breath only to find it filled with plastic spoons. Bummer. Somewhere around the age of 9 I asked my mother why we had so many plastic spoons. I don’t recall the exact answer but suffice to say I was genetically predisposed to being a BS artist. 

If you opened our hutch drawers they would have lots of STUFF in them: pens, papers, paperclips, screwdrivers, old glasses with broken lenses, checkbooks from closed bank accounts, coupons, soup labels from an old fund raiser, rosary beads, a broken watch, keys from a car we no longer owned, rubber bands, a stethoscope (my mom was a nurse), and, somewhere at the bottom, a local phone book.

The kitchen cupboard was another adventure in sundries, with canned goods that were there when I was 5 and still dear friends when I was in my 30’s. I recall one particular bottle of glucose stuff (“Glucola”) in the refrigerator meant for my brother in case of an insulin reaction that survived 3 icebox migrations that must have been brandy by the time we gave it back to God.  

Fast forward to 1996 and I am in my first month of showing homes to buyers. We are in a kitchen and I get a page (yes, I had a pager back then), and I opened a drawer to get a pen.

There, in their drawer, was a pen.

And a pad.

And nothing else. Nothing. In their drawer.  What kind if sick people are these owners? A closer look at their food pantry yielded nothing but stuff ready to eat. No canned beets. No Rice-a-Roni from 1974. Their spice rack was simply spices. Their silverware drawer had just silverware- and you could see the bottom of the drawer. It was wood. I knew this intellectually, but there was proof. There was no puss ‘n boots potholder to obscure the view. 

1000 kitchens and closets later, I am still awed at people with empty attics, organized closets with nothing but clothes that they wear, and garages with just cars in them. Our garage had a car once. The rest of my youth it looked like a workshop of a guy who graduated at the bottom of the class at mad scientist school. My father was no Frankenstein. I think he liked decoupage. The hard way.  

Of course, I also walk through homes of people I must be related to somehow. I was once in a home with more cats than she’d admit. Dozens. Yet it is the clean, organized people I view with a mix of envy and fear. I envy the simplicity. I fear what part of me I’d have to amputate to be that way. The reprogramming it would take to be that clean and organized scares me. I am proud of one thing I have done mostly on my own with help from my very organized (and tolerant) wife: we have very few plastic spoons.