Category Archives: Waccabuc NY

Third quarter homes sales slow but steady | #Waccabuc Homes

Leave a reply

If you suspect there were fewer home sales this summer you are correct. But that is not necessarily a bad sign for the real estate market.

Homes sales are returning to a more stable market, say Realtors, noting that a lower number of closings recorded this third quarter compared with the same time period last year is actually a reflection of the long bad-weather winter that held down showings and inventory.

“There is not a lot of volatility in the current market. We are clearly in a stable recovery. And stability is good for the real estate market,” said J. Philip Faranda, president of the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service, part of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, which released its quarterly report Tuesday.

Home sales in all four counties serviced by the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service was 4,545 units, just 90 units or 1.9 percent fewer than in 2013.

Westchester, the largest county in the MLS region, posted a sales decrease of 2.7 percent, to 2,863 units. Rockland followed closely with a 2.4 percent decrease. In Putnam sales actually increased by 3.1 percent, although that was measured against a small base of a few hundred units, according to the association.

“The pace of real estate sales in the third quarter of 2014 was just a shade slower than it was in 2013 when there was a very strong post-recession recover under way,” says the realty group.

By contrast in the first quarter of the year sales soared with a roughly 10 percent jump, but have clearly quieted down.

“Even though sales are down, prices are up — which is a very good sign of the recovery,” said Joseph Rand, manager partner of Better Homes & Gardens Rand Realty.

His high-end condominium in Nyack recently sold at just under $1.3 million.

“We are seeing growth and the market is getting stronger,” he said. “Don’t read too much into one quarter. Now the trajectory is very good and well paced.”

Nationally, there was a decline in existing home sales this summer with analysts seeing it as part of a larger market reset over the past seven or so years.

National Association of Realtors’ Chief Economist Lawrence Yun says one possible reason for the slight decline in sales this summer are modest price appreciations in homes and a lower inventory. The market is less appealing to investors, he said.

Another example of stability in the market is that mortgage interest rates remained relatively low. The average rate for a 30-year conventional mortgage hovered between 4.4 and 4.2 percent during the quarter.

All-cash sales remained popular in closing a deal, said RealtyTrac in noting that almost half the homes sold in the New York metro area in the first half of 2014 had no loan situation.

Price levels appear to be emerging from the recession with increases in median home prices in Westchester and Rockland counties.

The median sale price of a single-family house in Westchester was $682,500, up by 4.7 percent over 2013. In Rockland, the median house was $415,000, up by 2 percent.

However, in Putnam County there was a decrease in single-family houses with the current median price at $320,000, down 3.8 percent from last year but with a relatively low sales volume.

 

read more…

 

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/2014/10/16/

 

Clark Gable and Carole Lombard’s getaway home in Palm Springs selling for $2.2 million | Waccabuc Homes

Leave a reply

Frankly, my dear …

A Spanish Colonial estate well-known among Hollywood film followers has come on the real estate market in Palm Springs’ coveted Old Las Palmas neighborhood for nearly $2.2 million.

It was the home of Clark Gable, the heartthrob in “Gone With the Wind,” and the American film actress he married in 1939, Carole Lombard.

Restored to its glory days, the Gable-Lombard House near O’Donnell Golf Club is still in the hands of a Hollywood luminary: film producer Joel Douglas, the younger brother of actor Michael Douglas and son to mid-century movie idol Kirk Douglas.

The Douglas family calls the estate Casa Del Corazon.

“It’s a beautiful home with a rich history and a wonderful feel,” Realtor Gregg Fletcher said of the rose-colored gem at 222 W. Chino Drive.

Fletcher calls the home one of the finest historic properties he has represented in the Palm Springs market.

“It’s got provenance,” he said. “There’s real pride of ownership in this house.”

To Joel Douglas, a co-producer of the 1980s action-adventure rom-com “Romancing the Stone” and its sequel, “The Jewel of the Nile,” Casa Del Corazon lives up to its name: “It is the House of the Heart,” he said.

“It’s been a grand old home that’s worthy of attention,” Douglas said.

The half-acre estate, laden with banana plants, decades-old palm trees, rosebushes and flowering vines, looks like a set from a Hollywood movie in the Golden Age. The home has unique details, from its weather vane to the mission bell in a portico near an iron gate.

The four-bedroom home, filled with movie posters, pictures of celebrities and fine artwork, is open and bright and has been restored such that it retains its architectural design elements.

 

 

read more….

 

 

http://www.pe.com/articles/douglas-751854-home-lombard.html

Ex-Clipper unloads mansion for just over a third of what he paid | Waccabuc Real Estate

Leave a reply

Former Los Angeles Clippers guard-forward Quentin Richardson has sold his 10,900-square-foot mansion in Palos Heights, Ill., for $800,000.

The Chicago native and DePaul University star paid $2.2 million for the property in April 2006.

The contemporary residence, built in 2002, features a two-story floor plan with an indoor pool and spa, a chef’s kitchen, an office, five bedrooms and six fireplaces.

Among amenities is a finished basement level containing a home theater, game room, weight room and wet bar with custom lighting. The first-floor master suite has a walk-in closet and a separate sitting room set behind sliding glass doors.

Through a screened porch, the home opens onto half-acre grounds containing a paver patio, expansive lawns and a gazebo.

The 34-year-old was made the 18th overall pick by the Clippers in 2000 and played four seasons in Los Angeles before departing as a free agent in 2004. In August, he joined the Pistons’ front office as a director of player development.

read more….

http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/hot-property/la-fi-hotprop-quentin-richardson-house-20141009-story.html

How high-cost housing conquered D.C. in a single decade | Waccabuc Real Estate

Leave a reply

Back in 2005, before the new apartments went up in NoMa, and along 14th Street, and near the Nationals’ ballpark, there was more housing in D.C. renting for less than $500 a month than for more than $1,500*. In the decade since, fortunes at the top and bottom of the city’s housing market have swiftly flipped. By 2012, the most expensive rental units outnumbered the cheapest ones — by more than a three-to-one ratio.

The changing shape of the city’s housing over this short time reflects two powerful trends that are playing out in other big cities, too: Housing that was once more affordable has grown less so, while most of the new housing that’s been built has catered to wealthier (and newer) residents.

The below chart, from a stark new data visualization of the city’s housing market by the Urban Institute, tells the rental side of this story. It shows that, yes, the city has more rental housing today than a decade ago. But those gains have been to the benefit of people able to pay more than $1,000 a month for housing — and at the expense of residents who can only afford substantially less than that:


Aggregate all rental housing, without taking into account number of bedrooms. Interactive version here. (Urban Institute)

“We want to provide people with some context and some more hopefully objective information about the changes happening in the city, because everyone knows the city is changing — it’s very visible,” says Peter Tatian, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute who worked on the project. “But people experience and perceive that change in different ways depending on their point of view.”

 

 

read more….

 

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/10/07/

17 Unexpected Things Converted Into Minimalist Homes | #WaccabucNY Homes

Leave a reply

34 images

For an architect, there’s something undeniably god-like about synthesizing the old and the new. Adaptive reuse—in this case turning non-residential buildings into houses—lessens the physical proximity of the past to the future by sublimely juxtaposing sterile white voids with, say, a primal industrial exoskeleton. Modernizing doesn’t simply mean adding a kitchen island and green roof; it often comes with the responsibility of intense and demanding site concerns. A Victorian water tower comes with six-foot-thick walls, while the façade of a medieval castle is relegated to mere ornament in the pursuit of both safety and functionality. Inspired by Curbed’s avid Pinterest community, here’s a look back on a wide array of completely insane projects that (seemingly sane) architects have chosen to take on. Intrigued? Find some examples below, and visit the Pinterest board to see the ones that didn’t make the cut.

Onward! >>
  • ↑ A Seattle boat house comes back to life as a vacation cottage.
  • ↑ Our favorite thing about this minimalist retreat by Bosworth Hoedemaker? It still serves as a boat shed.
  • ↑ This sleek home is cut From a 150-Year-Old water tower.
  • ↑ The couple had to contend with Gothic six-foot-thick walls, a veritable graveyard of pigeons, and steel water tanks. However, it was worth it because that view.
  • ↑ Former Netherlands church reborn as svelte modern home.
  • ↑ The main spatial void is broken up into miniaturized rooms with pristine wide modular volumes that create a ghost-like presence within the church.
  • ↑ A Run-down garage is reborn as an illuminated lakeside cabin.
  • ↑ Seattle firm Graypants, Inc. describe the task as, “reinvigorating a tired, post World War II structure (aka: shitty garage).”
  • ↑ This minimalist open-plan abode was once a drab cabin. Third-generation architect Takaaki Kawabata subtly transforms an upstate N.Y. log cabin into a sublime meditation on Japanese communal living.
  • ↑ Revamping a Montreal storefront into a peekaboo apartment.
  • ↑ The pristine white surfaces of this former storefront juxtapose purposefully with exposed I-beams and unrefined brick walls.
  • ↑ There’s a glossy home inside this Netherlands church.
  • ↑ Ruud Visser Architects build a generic single family home and delicately place it within the gutted exoskeleton of a former church.

 

read more…

 

 

http://curbed.com/archives/2014/09/30/for-an-architect-theres-something.php

10 most distressed properties in NYC | Waccabuc Real Estate

Leave a reply

Savvy real estate investors made a killing on distressed properties in the wake of the financial crisis. But as the market continues to get stronger — and as distressed assets continue to be worked out — the well has dried up.

“Last August, we had $4 billion in loans delinquent for more than 60 days in New York City, now we’re down to $3.5 billion,” said Joseph McBride, a research analyst at commercial mortgage analytics website Trepp. “There were 35 loans on the list last year, now there are 25.” The overall delinquency rate for properties in the city also fell, to 5.43 percent from 6.5 percent.

“It’s a good sign for the city, obviously,” added McBride, noting that he expected the overall amount of delinquent loans to drop even further next year. Despite an outlier like the $3 billion outstanding loan on Stuyvesant Town – Peter Cooper Village, McBride said lower-balance loans are getting resolved in a far timelier manner.

“Once that thing [Stuy Town] gets resolved,” he said, “it’s a huge rock in the pipe that’s cleared out.”

The majority of delinquent loans are for multifamily properties with pro-forma underwriting, Trepp analysts said, meaning that the borrower was betting on rents to appreciate.

Here are the 10 largest delinquent loans on New York City real estate assets, according to Trepp data from August.

1) Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village (Manhattan)
Outstanding balance: $3 billion

Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village

Stuy Town’s financial troubles started after a disastrous $5.4 billion takeover led by Tishman Speyer and BlackRock at the very height of the property boom in 2006. The buyers turned over the keys to the complex in 2010, making it one of the largest casualties of the real estate downturn.

Senior bond holders represented by CWCapital Asset Management now control the sprawling, 11,000-apartment, 110-building complex, which a recent deed transfer valued at just over $4.4 billion. Last month, CWCapital, which is angling to sell the complex, agreed to extend a deadline on talks to keep it affordable. Private equity giant Fortress Investment Group, which owns CW Capital, is said to be readying a $4.7 billion bid for the complex.

An estimated 5,000 apartments in the complex are now market-rate.

2) Riverton Apartments at 2156 Madison Avenue (Manhattan)
Outstanding balance: $225 million

The Riverton apartments in Harlem

Stellar Management’s Larry Gluck and private equity giant the Rockpoint Group paid a hefty $135 million for this Harlem rent-stabilized complex in 2005, which has 1,228 apartments in seven buildings, and counts Mayor David Dinkins and the jazz pianist Billy Taylor among its former residents.

A year later, Gluck refinanced Riverton for $250 million, a move that allowed him to recoup his $44 million initial investment and make a hefty profit on the deal, according to the New York Times.

In 2009, Gluck defaulted on the debt and offered to turn over the deed in lieu of foreclosure. The delinquent loan currently stands at $225 million, Trepp’s data show.

3) The Shoreham Hotel at 33 West 55th Street (Manhattan)
Outstanding balance: $33.8 million

The 50,000-square-foot, 11-story hotel was owned by ARK Partners, whose principals are Brad Reiss and John Yoon. The loan, which was originated by Column Financial in 2006, was recently moved to special servicer C-III Asset Management, which is pursuing a deed in lieu of foreclosure, according to Trepp.

read more….

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/09/29/10-most-distressed-properties-in-nyc/?utm_source=The+Real+Deal+E-Lerts&utm_campaign=3c27046046-New_York_Daily_Updates_9_30_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6e806bb87a-3c27046046-385733629#sthash.0GAYLxpN.dpuf

NAR economist predicts booming sales | Waccabuc Real Estate

Leave a reply

With 8,000 baby boomers expected to retire daily for the next several years in the U.S., Southwest Florida stands to benefit from a massive influx of home buyers, the chief economist of the National Association of Realtors believes.

Lawrence Yun said the baby boom influx will not be just from the U.S. states, because the phenomenon was not limited to America.

“After the war, servicemen came home and started having babies,” Yun told an audience of 200 Wednesday at the annual Sarasota International Real Estate Conference.

“The same thing happened all over the world.”

Already, half of all foreigners who buy real estate in Florida are retired.

In all, foreign buyers make up about 10 percent of the state’s buyers, Yun noted, though locally that figure may be higher.

While German buyers tend to acquire property in Naples — partly because there’s a direct flight from Frankfurt to Southwest Florida International Airport outside Fort Myers — Sarasota attracts a more diverse international buyer, led by Canadians and residents from Great Britain, Yun said.

Chinese buyers may become a greater presence here, too, because that country’s economy continues to “turn out millionaires right and left,” Yun said. Economic growth there is roughly 8 to 9 percent annually, on par with America’s growth in the 1950s.

“We have seen a surge of Chinese buyers coming into the U.S., primarily on the West Coast,” Yun told the conference, which was sponsored by the Sarasota Association of Realtors’ Global Business Council. “But they will begin to see that other parts of the country are attractive.”

read more….

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20140925/ARTICLE/309259992/-1/todaysweb?Title=NAR-economist-predicts-booming-sales

Going Off-Grid with Solar | #Waccabuc #RealEstate

Leave a reply

Going Off-Grid With Solar

Going Off-Grid With Solar

Volume 1 – SOLAR OFF-GRID BASICS

Introduction

Over the next few months I will discuss with you the topic of off-grid solar systems.  The impetus of developing these articles centers around the growing trend of individuals who desire to become less dependent on their utility grid.

There are a number of system types that can be considered when making this move toward energy independence. Some of the questions that you want to start thinking about are:

Do I want my home to be completely off-grid or do I want the ability to have grid power should the need arise?

I have already installed a grid-tied PV system on my home, can I use my existing system and still have the ability to go off-grid?

I’m not sure I’m ready to invest in a battery based system; however, I would like to plan on adding that to my future or existing PV system.  What options are there for me?

    Now that you have started to think about these questions and which of these applies mostly to your situation we can begin to understand how these relate to the different types of off-grid PV systems.

System Types

    There are a few basic types of off-grid systems to consider when evaluating the prospect of taking your home off-grid.  The types of systems are; PV-Direct, Off-grid and Hybrid.  Each of these types have different attributes that define what they are able to do.  Each serves a specific purpose and is chosen by the needs that you require.

PV-Direct System

    The PV-Direct system is this simplest of all off-grid systems.  It contains the least amount of equipment and is therefore less costly than other off-grid systems types.  Essentially the only components that are required are PV modules, disconnects/fuses/breakers, and the load.  

    The PV-Direct systems are a good consideration if you have devices which are DC powered and are remote.  These could be well-pumps, dc-fan motors or any other DC powered device.  The limitations to these systems are that they can only be powered when the solar resource is available.  This makes them unsuitable for an off-grid home, but can still be considered if your off-grid home is remote and you have a well-pump or perhaps a greenhouse which requires ventilation.

Off-Grid System

    The next type of systems is the Off-grid system.  This is the most commonly thought of because it describes a home which is completely isolated from the utility grid by choice or 

Off-Grid System

    The next type of systems is the Off-grid system.  This is the most commonly thought of because it describes a home which is completely isolated from the utility grid by choice or necessity.  These systems contain more components than the PV-Direct system and by extension more energy usability because one of the primary components is energy storage (batteries).

    Before I go further, I want to mention here that there are two types of systems that can be considered in an off-grid system.  Those may be either DC coupled or AC coupled.  I will cover both of these system types in more detail in a later article to help further explain the advantages of each and when they should be employed.

    Off-grid systems are most common for homes that are in remote locations or in areas that are too far from a utility service where the cost of running utility service would be cost prohibitive.  These circumstances are where off-grid PV systems are a great option to consider when traditionally you would need to rely on some type of fossil fuel or natural gas commodity to run a generator, which can be expensive and not environmentally friendly.

    The main components of an off-grid system are the PV modules, charge controller, battery bank, battery management, DC/AC inverter and electrical safety equipment.  You can also consider adding or keeping the aforementioned generator if the loads you wish to power require that extra boost, your batteries need an extra charge or you are really conservative and would like to have it just in-case.

read more…

http://www.civicsolar.com/resource/going-grid-solar?utm

Future Of Lewisboro Elementary A Major Topic For Officials | #WaccabucRealEstate

Leave a reply

The fate of the shuttered Lewisboro Elementary School has emerged as a topic of interest for local officials.

At Monday’s meeting, the Katonah-Lewisboro school board was told a committee is forming to review possible uses for the building. It was indicated that reusing the school, which closed this summer as part of a consolidation of the district’s elementary schools, may be among the board’s goals for the 2014-15 school year.

Interim Superintendent John Goetz said possible committee members could include himself, Assistant Superintendent for Business Michael Jumper and the district’s attorney. School Board President Marjorie Schiff said Board Trustees Peter Treyz and Stephanie Tobin also were interested.

Goetz said establishing the committee should include creating a meeting calendar and ground rules. He said community input would be sought, noting “the people have a vested interest in this.”

The board also was told a committee meeting could be held before the next school board meeting. Schiff said the committee’s report to the board should include a potential timeline and a proposal for community involvement. Goetz concurred with Schiff, explaining  that approach is what is expected.

The school’s future use also is a topic at the town government level. At a League of Women Voters event held last week in Katonah, Lewisboro Supervisor Peter Parsons called LES the town’s “biggest single opportunity.” He suggested possible uses such as additional office space for the town government and a venue for teenagers.

 

 

 

read more….

 

 

 

http://bedford.dailyvoice.com/schools/future-lewisboro-elementary-major-topic-officials

Frank Lloyd Wright’s William Winslow House Now Just $1.7M | Waccabuc Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

wwhouse.png

It’s another week, which means there’s been a price chop on another classic Frank Lloyd Wright home in the Chicago area. But this time, it’s not just any Frank Lloyd Wright home, it’s the William Winslow House – Wright’s first totally independent commission. While some Wright homes aren’t the most practical spaces for daily living, or are very livable, but nearly devoid of their original Prairie School charm, the Winslow House represents somewhat of a middle ground.

The photos are quite lovely. >>

The home has been completely restored, and it is very nice – almost too nice. Families with children and pets might hesitate about living in a piece of architectural history and potentially mucking it up. However, like several other Wright homes before it, the Winslow House has been on the market now for some time, and has now received multiple price cuts.

For the first time in 55 years, the home hit the market last December with an ask of $2.4 million. Just four months later, the home took its first sizable price cut, lowering its ask down to $2.04 million. Two additional price cuts later, the home is now seeking $1.699 million. Last week, we appealed to potential home buyers to save the George Madison Millard House in Highland Park, which has been languishing on the market for years, and is now priced at land value. Similar to the Millard House, the Winslow House just wants a new owner already. Will it be you?

 

 

read more…

 

http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2014/09/15/frank-lloyd-wrights-william-winslow-house-now-just-17m.php