Category Archives: Bedford

Fewer Americans are moving | Bedford NY Real Estate

Some say there is no spark in today’s economy. Others claim we’ve hit a speed bump. Nonetheless, everyone will agree the housing market is light years ahead of where it stood a year ago. But has the recovery cooled?

Back in my younger days — about six months ago — when my husband and I were looking to buy our first house, the market was pure insanity. I’m talking about ten-offers-in-one-day insanity. It was undeniably a seller’s market. Homes were flying off the market in hours and any offer below list price was laughable.

We were even forced to throw in a picture of our pup to help persuade the sellers to chose us.

Nolan

But it seems that the market has slowed considerably since then. In fact, this year the number of people moving to a new home fell dangerously close to the record lows set in 2011 after rising in 2012, according to data from Trulia (TRLA).

“Last year the Census reported an increase in mobility in 2012 to 12.0%, led by an increase in longer-distance moves.  However, new 2013 data suggest that the mobility rebound we saw in 2012 might have been short-lived,” said Trulia Chief Economist Jed Kolko.

We can only assume rising interest rates coupled with an increase in home prices is the culprit behind this. Historically, rates are still very low at 4.62%. (My father-in-law’s first house was financed at 14% or something equally ridiculous.) But compared to the 3.5% I was able to get six months ago, this seems high to a lot of people.

And after all… isn’t my generation, the Millennials, a big weight holding housing down? We are drowning in student debt, unable to find high-paying jobs and are scared to death of an interest rate above 4.0%.

Heck… the fear of closing with an interest rate above 3.5% motivated me to put in an offer above list price just so I could sneak into the house I bought six months ago before rates rose any further.

So what is the solution here? How can we get the momentum back?

Well, it doesn’t appear feasible for my generation to even put together a downpayment on a home, let alone finance a mortgage with the amount of student debt we are facing. What we need is move-up buyers, and we need them fast.

 

 

 

 

7 Website Essentials to Land More Sales (Infographic) | Bedford NY Realtor

So much in business isn’t black and white, but there are some simple ways to  increase your customer engagement and attract more sales. Creating a  user-friendly website is a good place to start. For example, according to  information compiled by online marketing firm Reach Local, 46 percent of consumers use their smartphones  to research products or businesses. So, making your website mobile-friendly is  crucial.

For more tips to improve your company’s website, check out the infographic  below.

 

 

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/228217#ixzz2h2g3YjRW

30 Facebook Timeline Contest Ideas That Drive Likes and Comments | Bedford NY Realtor

Brands are asking this question

These new guidelines though have raised the following question.

With many great tools to manage likes and comments, how do you go about  ensuring that Facebook Timeline Contest you post actually gets  engagement?

The status updates below are meant to inspire you with ideas that take  advantage of the new Facebook changes and create and drive engagement.

30 Facebook Timeline Contest Ideas

  1. We’re almost to 40,000 fans. Click like to celebrate! The 100th like will  get a free [INCENTIVE]
  2. Comment “Coupon” below to get 20% off your next purchase at [FAN PAGE NAME].  Enter before 5pm EST tomorrow!
  3. We’d love getting to know you as well as your best friend knows you! Leave a  comment below and attach a picture of you and your best friend for your chance  to win [INCENTIVE]. We’ll pick a winner at noon PST tomorrow.
  4. Comment below for your chance to win a free T-Shirt: The best kind of  [INSERT] is _____________. Get the most likes on your comment by 2pm EST  tomorrow to win!
  5. Comment below, what year was [FAN PAGE NAME] founded in? The first person to  guess it right gets [INCENTIVE]
  6. On a scale 0-10+ what do you think of our new product pictured below? The  person who leaves the best feedback in the comments will win the product totally  free! Winner chosen at 2pm EST tomorrow.
  7. Who is excited for Winter? Like this post for your chance to win  [INCENTIVE]. We’ll pick a winner at 1pm EST tomorrow.
  8. Tomorrow is our 50% in store sale! Click like for your chance to win your  entire purchase, free (max $500). We’ll pick a winner at 9am EST tomorrow!
  9. We’re launching a new menu item and want your feedback. Comment below and  tell us what ingredient you think we should add to the menu item pictured below.  The winner will get a free year of the menu item! We’ll announce the winner on  our fan page at 2pm EST tomorrow.
  10. TRIVIA: How many fortune 500 brands do we work with? Comment below  with your guess for a chance to win a free $500 service plan! Winner will be  announced at 1pm EST tomorrow.
  11. Click “Like” if you can’t wait for the weekend. At 2pm EST tomorrow we’re  picking a winner who’ll get a weekend trip for two to Myrtle Beach!
  12. Caption this! Comment below with your idea. The comment that gets the most  likes will win a [INCENTIVE]. Winner will be picked tomorrow at 5pm EST.
  13. Guess how many Jelly Beans are in the jar pictured below. The person who  comments closest to the actual amount will win a free year of Jelly Beans!  Winner picked at 5pm EST tomorrow.Pro Tip: Get a picture of whatever your  product is with “a lot” of the product featured. This could be your new books  stacked on a bookshelf if you’re an author or 100′s of pairs of shoes if you’re  Nike. Ask your fans to guess #’s. Its quick, fast, and easy for them to  participate.
  14. On a scale of 0-10+ how much do you love [ENTER BUSINESS NAME]. Tomorrow at  2pm

 

 

Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/09/19/30-facebook-timeline-contest-ideas-that-drive-likes-and-comments/#a8ptci7hSuZceuRP.99

Westchester Magazine Weekend Update | Bedford NY Homes

October 4
If you’re in the mood for some smooth pop-vocal styling, get to Tarrytown Music Hall to see pop-song writer, singer, and opera composer Rufus Wainwright as he plays from his seventh studioMore
You probably never thought you’d get to (safely) sleep with wolves, did you? Well, now the chance is here. Bring a tent and camp out under the stars with the 22 wolves that call the Wolf Conservation Center More
October 5
Bring your bookworms to the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival to meet 65 authors of books like Ella Enchanted andThe Magic School Bus Series. Along with author readings and … More
Well, it’s time once again to scare the bejeezus out of ourselves, Westchester. For the fourth year, Philipsburg Manor becomes Horseman’s Hollow, a haunted attraction based on the scariest… More
 

Pick and pickle fresh carrots, dosey doe your partner, hop on a hayride, and show off your farmer skills at the Farm Olympics-all while supporting Stone Barns’… More 

It’s pumpkin season, and that means it’s time for the annual Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor. More than 5,000 individually hand-carved jack o’lanterns will light up your…More
Head to the 2nd Annual Hudson Hop and Harvest at the Riverfront Green Park, which will be the only place you can enjoy craft beer, farm-to-table-made food, and indie music-all in the same place…More
After the Hudson Hop and Harvest, continue the fun with Brew Blues at Paramount Hudson Valley. You can sip even more brews while listening to some great blues music provided by the…More

Study Finds Bedford’s 500-Year-Old Oak Tree In Good Health | Bedford NY Homes

A high-tech study conducted on Bedford’s most famous tree, a 500-year-old white oak at the intersection of Route 22 and The Hook Road, has found it to be in “overall good health” and should live for many more years to come with proper care.

After a limb recently fell off, SavATree took an in-depth look into the tree using visual observation and radar to assess its health.

The scan inspected a 27-inch section of limb that had previously been cut and stands 20-feet above the ground. Radar was also used to explore the trunk and the roots at different points.

The scan found very early stages of saprot in both the branch and a part of the tree, but the study says there is “no cause for alarm.”

“There is no treatment or cure to stop decay in the tree, but optimizing tree health can delay the process and maximize tree longevity,” according to the study.

The study recommends trimming the “crown” area of the branches by 10-percent this winter and another 10-percent over the following three years depending on the tree’s response. This is expected to help bring the weight of the branches closer to the trunk, lowering the chance of a branch breaking off and falling.

It also recommends to include ArborBalance in the tree’s regimen, replace the current turf near the roots with composited mulch and place benches and paths outside of the zone where visitors could potentially get hit by a falling branch.

It is estimated to cost the town $5,650 over the next three years to maintain the tree.

The oak is more than 30 feet thick at its biggest girth and its branches spread more than 120 feet from tip to tip.

The land the oak sits on has been owned by the town since 1977.

See the full SavATree study here.

 

 

 

http://mtkisco.dailyvoice.com/lifestyle/study-finds-bedfords-500-year-old-oak-tree-good-health

Younger Buyers Dominate Luxury Market | Bedford Real Estate

A new survey by Coldwell Banker Previews International® and the Luxury Institute finds that wealthy younger buyers are driving the luxury real estate market, and they are willing to pay more than similar wealthy buyers age 55 and older.

According to the survey of Americans age 21 or older with a minimum gross annual household income of $250,000, 43 percent of younger wealthy consumers are considering the purchase of residential property in the next 12 months, compared to 21 percent of those age 55 and older. On average these younger wealthy consumers spent more than $2.1 million on their most recent purchase of residential property, approximately twice the average amount spent by older and similarly wealthy luxury buyers, which was $1.1 million.

“This trend towards younger luxury buyers is leading a change in desired home amenities,” said Betty Graham, president, Coldwell Banker Previews International NRT. “Whether these younger buyers have young families or are single without children, they are looking for homes that fit their active and unique lifestyle.”

So what are they buying? The survey found:

  • Younger buyers are significantly more likely than wealthy buyers age 55 and older to want homes with amenities such as a pool, outdoor kitchen, home gym, home theater, wine cellar and four or more garages.
  • Wealthy consumers under age 55 are more than twice as likely (23 percent) to value Green or LEED certified residential properties than their older counterparts (11 percent).
  • Open floor plans and a fully automated and “wired” home environment are the top features wealthy consumers, regardless of age, say have become important to them in the last three years. Less importance is placed on staff quarters, tennis/sports courts and separate catering kitchens.
  • “Luxury homes are for more than successful and retired empty nesters,” said Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. “Today’s luxury buyer is both dynamic and diverse, and it’s reflected in the homes and products they’re buying.”

For majority of luxury buyers, location is the most important factor when considering the purchase of residential property.  Seventy (70) percent of wealthy consumers identified location as the most important factor in their last residential purchase. Other elements included the condition of the property — brand new with no work required, as opposed to needing major renovations (10 percent), price (8 percent), home amenities (6 percent) and view (6 percent). The most commonly cited reason for wealthy consumers not considering the purchase of a residential property was the desire to keep assets liquid (24 percent).

 

 

 

Bedford NY dealing with federal government shutdown | Bedford NY Real Estate

Westchester residents must now deal with a federal government shutdown and its ramifications for the first time in 17 years Tuesday morning after Congress failed to agree on a spending plan.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a spending bill that denies funding for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which will start Tuesday. Oct. 1 also marks the first day of the Fiscal Year, which lasts through Sept. 30, 2014. The Democratic-controlled Senate then voted to kill that House legislation last night, creating the impasse that has led to the shutdown.

Since 1977, there have been 18 government shutdowns. None lasted more than three days.

While much is unknown about the latest, including how long it will last and its economic effects, one thing is certain. Millions of Americans, and thousands of Westchester residents, will be missing services.

Here is what will occur as long as long as the shutdown is in effect:

* Approximately 800,000 Federal workers deemed “non-essential” will be placed on furlough, resulting in an approximate loss of $1 billion a week in wages to Federal workers.

* National Parks will be closed first thing this morning. This includes such iconic sites as the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in Manhattan and the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. In Westchester, the lone facility impacted will be St. Paul’s Church in Mount Vernon.

* Permits for guns, alcohol and tobacco will not be processed.

* Social Security checks will continue to be issued.

* The Postal Service, which functions as an independent business unit, will remain open.

* Medicare will continue to operate as is.

* Affordable Care enrollment will still begin as scheduled today, Oct. 1, with health-care coverage starting in January, 2014.

* There is funding for food stamps to last another full year thanks to the 2009 Recovery Act.

* Armed forces, fire, police, public safety, medical and air traffic services will continue.

* There is no telling how long passports will be available during the shutdown. It depends on the undisclosed amount of money the State Department has to appropriate  beyond the amount allocated by Congress.

* Most food safety inspections will continue.

* Veterans’ Affairs services will be closed, but Veterans’ hospitals will remain open

 

 

http://bedford.dailyvoice.com/news/westchester-dealing-first-government-shutdown-17-years

JPMorgan CEO meets with US Attorney General | Bedford Real Estate

Whether the settlement hits $11 billion or not, talks are in the works to bring something into fruition to resolve the government’s lingering mortgage securities issues with JPMorgan Chase (JPM). The bank’s CEO Jamie Dimon arrived at the Justice Department Thursday as talks of a settlement intensified. Per The Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Dimon arrived at the Justice Department building around 9:20 a.m. to meet with Attorney General Eric Holder from Phoenix Law Firm, according to a person familiar with the meeting. Mr. Dimon and Mr. Holder are meeting face-to-face to discuss terms of a potential deal, according this person. Like all visitors to the building, Mr. Dimon showed identification to the guards—in his case a New York State driver’s license—and proceeded inside.

                    Source: WSJ

Bridgehampton House by Architect Peter Cook Pictured in Beach Magazine | Bedford NY Real Estate

Hamptons architect Peter Cook‘s houses gracefully reference classic Shingle Style, with modern updates. As a local, Cook knows that location is ultra-important in the Hamptons. He says, “Our clients buy these properties because of the views, so it’s very important to capture them as you move throughout the house. Orientation of the sun dictates a lot. Take a swimming pool, for example. You want to sit in the chair and face the sun without having your back to the pool. That decides how you place things on the property. The spaces you move through—the hallways, stairways, rooms—should have light and natural views that allow you to really experience the property.”