Tag Archives: Chappaqua Homes

Chappaqua Homes

Cubist Confection Oriented Toward Nature | Chappaqua Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

modern exterior by splyce design

When a Vancouver couple decided to give up their downtown condo for something closer to nature, they never realized just how close nature would get.
The cubist confection they built in West Vancouver embraces ocean and forest with unparalleled gusto, capturing views from every angle and allowing air to flow so fluidly through the building that the house cools itself.
Overlooking English Bay to the south and a steep, wooded creekside bluff to the west, the house makes the most of a limited footprint through a stacked floor plan and dramatic cantilevers.
Houzz at a Glance Who lives here: The owner of an electrical wholesale business, a psychotherapist and their daughters, ages 2 and 6 Location: West Vancouver, British Columbia Size: 4,600 square feet (427 square meters); 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms

Pitfalls of pocket listings for buyers and sellers outweigh potential upsides | Chappaqua Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

The idea of selling a home without ever listing it can be appealing to many. Similarly, ringing the doorbell on the “perfect home” and finding an owner willing to sell can put a broad smile on a buyer’s face.

The risks however, routinely make buying and selling “pocket listings” dangerous to a person’s financial well-being — particularly for sellers.

The term pocket listing typically refers to an agreement between a seller and real estate broker that allows the broker to market the property outside of the multiple listing service.

The property is advertised through the broker’s “network” and a buyer is targeted by what amounts to “word of mouth.”

There are a number of caution points for any seller contemplating a pocket listing:

  • The home might sell for less than market value. How is the sale price being established? Is the seller depending on the agent to stipulate price? Don’t rely solely on a prelisting appraisal; there are many buyer and seller variables that cannot be accounted for by an appraiser. If the home isn’t exposed to the maximum number of potential buyers (usually accomplished via the MLS) how can the seller be confident that the best price was received? When a shortage of quality listings exist, multiple offers and bidding wars might be seen – which doesn’t happen without adequate exposure.
  • What are the motivations for a seller to consider a pocket listing? If the idea is to save on agent commissions, the expectation is often different than the reality. A 4 percent commission might be 1 or 2 percent less than market and appear like a bargain, but a seller should look at the big picture. Agents soliciting pocket listings typically already have a buyer lined up so the conventional agent split doesn’t apply. So while the total fee might be less than market, it’s more for the agent since they keep it all. It’s also not uncommon for pocket listings to have clauses that address fees due in the event a buyer’s agent is involved. It’s not uncommon for the end result to be a commission that approaches the norm and a selling price below market.
  • There is simply no suitable substitute for the exposure obtained by the MLS. A pocket listing – like homes offered for sale by owner – simply cannot compete with a traditionally listed home. The major public real estate sites pull information from the MLS. Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest might get someone interested in a home, but home buyers look where the homes are. It’s worth noting that an estimated 45 percent  of home buyers in 2013 found the home they bought on the Internet, not through their agent.
  • Sellers make have to make unnecessary repairs or concessions. Potential issues that plague a “normal” sale will be present with pocket listings as well. However, a competitive environment provides options to a seller. Repair issues, appraisal problems or other challenges can better be negotiated or ignored when there are multiple interested buyers.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2014/04/09/pitfalls-of-pocket-listings-for-buyers-and-sellers-outweigh-potential-upsides/?utm_source=20140409&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinesam#sthash.MCWOFdHE.dpuf

Chappaqua Will Enjoy Sunny Skies Before Rain, Cold Moves In Friday | Chappaqua Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

Westchester County will enjoy more sun and spring warmth on Thursday as high temperatures push toward the 60-degree mark, the National Weather Service said.

But rain and cold is likely late Thursday night, mainly after 2 a.m. as temperatures drop into the mid- to upper 30s, the weather service said.

Rain and drizzle are likely, mainly in the afternoon on Friday. Skies will be cloudy and high temperatures will be much cooler, in the 40s. The chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Rain with areas of fog will continue Friday night as temperatures plunge again into the 30s. The chance of precipitation is 80 percent overnight.

Sprinkles are likely to continue Saturday, mainly before 8 a.m. It will be mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high in the 50s. Stronger west winds of 6 to 14 mph will develop, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Saturday night will be clear with a low dropping into the upper 20s.

It will spring-like again Sunday, with sunny skies and temperatures in the 50s.

 

http://chappaqua.dailyvoice.com/news/westchester-will-enjoy-sunny-skies-rain-cold-moves-friday

 

Sagging Sales: It’s Not Just the Weather | Chappaqua Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

It’s hard to build, buy or sell a home in when ice coats the drive and below freezing winds discourage roof inspections.  There’s no doubt this year’s endless winter have curbed construction and sales.  However, sagging sales are not just a function of the nasty weather that will melt away with the first warm days.

If that were the case, how do you explain California?

In February, California sales were 18.9 percent below the average of 31,660 sales for all the months of February since 1988, according to DataQuick.  An estimated 25,680 new and resale houses and condos sold statewide last month, down 0.6 percent from 25,832 in January and down 10.6 percent from 28,719 sales in February 2013, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

PropertyRadar reported California single-family home and condominium sales fell 1.4 percent in February 2014 from January and declined 16.1 percent from February 2013.  Last month marked the lowest February sales since 2008. “Rapid price increases and rising interest rates in concert with sluggish income and employment growth have slowed demand…” said Madeline Schnapp, Director of Economic Research for PropertyRadar.  “Tougher borrowing standards, elevated prices, increasing borrowing costs and historically low inventory continue to exert a drag on market activity.”

According to the California Association of Realtors. February marked the fourth straight month that sales were below the 400,000 level and the seventh straight decline on a year-over-year basis. Sales in February slipped 0.7 percent from a revised 363,930 in January but were down 13.7 percent from a revised 418,520 in February 2013. The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2014 if sales maintained the February pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors.

 

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2014/03/sagging-sales-its-not-just-the-weather/

 

Grow a Kitchen Garden in 16 Square Feet | Chappaqua Real Estate

Leave a reply

With just a patch of soil and sunlight, you can create a mini kitchen garden. It won’t feed your family for the summer, but it can make your meals more interesting, and perhaps get kids interested in growing food or at least help them understand where it comes from. The trick is to choose the right crops. Varieties should be compact enough not to outgrow the space and should be productive over a season — so you are not eagerly waiting for weeks for a harvest that lasts minutes. Looking for Inflatable Hot Tub for your Garden? If in this blog the top pick is not what you are looking for, there’s plenty of other hot tubs to choose from.

If you don’t have space in the ground, you can grow vegetables in a convenient  raised bed or planting box. This one is 4 feet by 4 feet, constructed of two 2-by-6s on each side. Fill the planter with a commercial soil mix; if you plant in the ground, improve the soil by adding a layer of several inches of organic matter, and work it in to a depth of 8 to 10 inches.
Make sure the spot gets sun for a good part of the day. Choose smallish varieties. There are many ways to go. Here in front is a row of leaf lettuces. Just behind, there’s a scattering of beets plus a few daffodils. In back there’s a row of chard and a single rosemary shrub. Make sure that the plants you select have compatible demands for water, light and feeding.
Salad Greens
For the planting’s front row, choose low-growing leaf lettuce varieties or curly endive, which has an appealing bitterness. These are greens that you can keep cutting rather than waiting for them to form mature heads. Most leaf lettuces do best in cool weather. As summer moves in, you can replace them with chard, herbs or other more heat-tolerant types.

When Housing Prices Become Fish Stories, the Economy Suffers | Chappaqua Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

Over at Wonkblog, Christopher Ingraham points us to new research from Ireland suggesting that an awful lot of people don’t know how much they paid for their houses. I’ve adapted the main chart from the study on the right. As you can see, most people who get this wrong underestimate how much they paid—sometimes by gigantic amounts. Very few people overestimate how much they paid, and virtually no one overestimates by more than a quarter or so.

What accounts for this? As it happens, the authors are mostly concerned with how this poor recall affects estimates of the wealth effect—which I admit I didn’t really understand.1 Because of this focus, they don’t spend a lot of time speculating on the underlying causes. But they do mention that the older the loan, the less accurate people are; that younger people remember better than older people; and that errors are smaller among the well-educated.

But none of this explains why the bad recall is overwhelmingly on the low side. So here’s my guess: people lie. Or, more charitably, they’re in denial. They don’t want to admit to themselves or their friends how much they lost during the housing crash. Or, when prices are rising, they like to brag about how much they’ve made. Everyone else claims to have made a killing, so they slice a little bit off their buying price to make it seem like they made a killing too. No one wants to be a sucker, after all. Do this enough times, and eventually you come to believe it yourself.

 

 

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/03/when-housing-prices-become-fish-stories-economy-suffers

Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Rose 13.2% in Year to January | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

Residential real-estate prices climbed at a slower pace in the year through January than a month earlier, indicating momentum in the housing market may be cooling.

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities increased 13.2 percent from January 2013, the smallest gain since August, after rising 13.4 percent in the 12 months through December, the group said today in New York. The median projection of 30 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 13.3 percent advance. Compared with the prior month, prices rose 0.8 percent.

Price appreciation on a year-over-year basis has eased in recent months as higher mortgage rates and unusually severe winter weather slowed demand for properties. Smaller increases in asking prices will help improve affordability, providing support for the residential real-estate market, which has been a source of strength for the economy.

“Prices are rising, even though we should see those gains moderating,” said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc., who correctly forecast the year-over-year gain. “You’re still talking about double-digit percentage increases, which aren’t going to be sustainable over the long term.”

Estimates (SPCS20Y%) in the Bloomberg survey ranged from year-over-year gains of 11.2 percent to 13.8 percent. The Case-Shiller index is based on a three-month average, which means the January figure was also influenced by transactions in December and November.

 

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-03-25/home-prices-in-20-u-dot-s-dot-cities-rose-13-dot-2-percent-in-year-to-january

5 Ways to Allergy-Proof Your Home for Spring | Chappaqua Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

Step 1: Clean the Air

Making your home inhospitable for allergens sounds like a daunting task. In a particulate sense, it’s going to be you against millions of mold spores, dust mites and pollen. Fortunately, though, you’re smarter than these minute microbes, and following these tips can help you keep allergies at bay. A well-ventilated house and nonleaking ductwork is a first line of defense against bringing allergens into your living space. Use HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters in the air conditioning system. Maintain the humidity level in the house at about 50 percent. Mold likes moisture, and dust and pollen are easily stirred in dry air. Keep your windows closed when pollen counts are highest: in the early morning hours, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., and in windy conditions. Pollen and mold spores settle on clothing, so when you come in from outdoors, remove your outer garments in the mud room, and take a shower.

 

http://shine.yahoo.com/photos/5-ways-allergy-proof-home-slideshow-181100929/