Tag Archives: Chappaqua Real Estate

Chappaqua Real Estate

Sure, you can have a pay rise – just get a company logo tattoo | Chappaqua Realtor

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Sure, you can have a pay rise – just get a company logo tattoo – Americas – World – The Independent.

 

Some employees of a real estate company in New York are really pushing the meaning of ‘company loyalty’, by voluntarily being inked with the company’s logo.

 

It’s not entirely without an incentive though. According to CBS, the quick-thinking CEO of Rapid Realty, Anthony Lolli, offered a pay rise of 15 per cent to employees who get tattoos of the Rapid Realty logo.

Lolli told CBS that he got the idea from an employee who voluntarily got the logo tattooed on his body, and apparently the novel move has proved popular with staff. Around forty willing members of staff have gotten inked with the green and black logo or said they would take their boss up on the offer.

The tattoo costs $300 (around £192), and can be placed anywhere on the body. Lolli himself has yet to get inked, but says he plans to eventually.

Staff member Robert Trezza told CBS: “I think it’s a good opportunity to show commitment to a company that makes going to work fun every day,” while another added: “My wife was a little concerned, but I said, you know what, it was the best commitment I could think of.”

Home Prices Reach 2003 Levels; Every Case-Shiller Market Posts Yearly Gain | Chappaqua Real Estate

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Data through February 2013, released today by S&P Dow Jones Indices for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, showed average home prices increased 8.6 percent and 9.3 percent for the 10- and 20-City Composites in the 12 months ending in February 2013. The 10- and 20-City Composites rose 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent from January to February.

All 20 cities covered by the indices posted year-over-year increases for at least two consecutive months. In 16 of the 20 cities annual growth rates rose from the last month; Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis and Phoenix saw slight annual deceleration ranging from -0.1 to -0.4 percentage points. Phoenix continued to stand out with an impressive year-over-year return of +23.0% while Atlanta and Dallas had the highest annual growth rates in the history of these indices since 1992 and 2001, respectively.

In February 2013, the 10- and 20-City Composites posted annual increases of 8.6 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively.

“Home prices continue to show solid increases across all 20 cities,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “The 10- and 20-City Composites recorded their highest annual growth rates since May 2006; seasonally adjusted monthly data show all 20 cities saw higher prices for two months in a row – the last time that happened was in early 2005.

“Phoenix, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Atlanta were the four cities with the highest year-over-year price increases. Atlanta recovered from a wave of foreclosures in 2012 while the other three were among the hardest hit in the housing collapse. At the other end of the rankings, three older cities – New York, Bostonand Chicago – saw the smallest year-over-year price improvements.

via realestateeconomywatch.com

Villa Sorriso: Robin Williams’ Napa Valley Estate for Sale | Chappaqua Homes

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Hollywood comedian Robin Williams is interested in selling his massive Napa Valley estate, Villa Sorriso. The villa is on 653 acres and includes a 20,000-square-foot main house; solar farm; and 18 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc grapes.

Villa Sorriso is built atop the Mayacama Mountains, which separate the Napa and Sonoma valleys. The five-bedroom, 12-bathroom Italian villa was designed by David Gast & Associates and is faced with Portuguese limestone. The interior features formal living and dining rooms, a gourmet eat-in kitchen, and numerous temperature-controlled vaults for both wine and art storage. The kitchen is understated yet elegant, with stainless steel appliances surrounded by marble and butcher block counters. The living room is simple yet elegant, including a terrace with views of the estate.

No actor’s house would be complete without a state-of-the-art movie theater. The house also features five luxurious bedroom suites, each ornately adorned with contemporary trappings. Each bedroom has its own en suite bathroom and jaw-dropping views from every window.

In addition to 20,000 feet of interior living space, the grounds are truly the spectacle of the property. Steps from the master suite is a 65-foot, infinity-edge swimming pool surrounded by antique stonework and a multitiered sculpture garden, perfect for entertaining. Tennis courts, hiking trails, and a private lake complete with rowboat highlight the variety of different outdoor activities on the estate.

via movies.yahoo.com

April Fools’ Day real estate roundup | Chappaqua Real Estate

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On the first day of April each year, communities, businesses and news outlets come up with stories intended to fool, amuse, and, sometimes, satirize. Here’s a roundup of the posts Inman News came across in the residential real estate space today.

National Association of Realtors shutters Realtors Property Resource: If you’re a member of the National Association of Realtors, as of today, you no longer have access to, or are paying for, the funds-draining national property database Realtors Property Resource, according to Greg Robertson on his blog at Vendor Alley.

“Our long national nightmare is over,” said NAR CEO Dale Stinton, via a “quote” in a purported NAR press release shown on the blog.

Never fear, Realtors, the post says that NAR has decided to invest in another industry important to agents — cars. “Today’s cars aren’t designed for the average Realtor, so we thought we needed to do something about it,” said NAR President Gary Thomas in a “statement.”

Seattle broker launches homebuying tournament platform for listings: For those home sellers in Seattle who know that a playoff system is the best way to determine a winner (see college football), Seattle brokerage Findwell has launched a new “March Madness”-like bracket system that will help them find the best buyers.

Eight buyers –- six chosen based solely on ranking of initial offer price and two at-large bids — will be pitted against each other in three single-elimination rounds, Findwell explained in a blog post.

via inman.com

U.S. Gives Westchester Deadline to Comply With Housing Pact | Chappaqua Real Estate

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Four years after Westchester County entered into a landmark desegregation agreement with the federal government, relations between the two sides are hanging by a thread amid federal threats of contempt suits and revocation of money. The showdown is raising unsettling echoes of the disastrous 27-year-long court fight over housing that virtually bankrupted Yonkers, the county’s largest city.

The United States Justice Department last week sent Westchester officials a letter saying that the county had failed to enact legislation prohibiting housing discrimination based on source of income as ordered by the settlement and by a federal court ruling. The letter said the Justice Department would seek a contempt ruling against the county and County Executive Robert P. Astorino if he did not comply by Thursday.

Additionally, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has said it will revoke $7.4 million in money allocated to Westchester and send it elsewhere if the county does not take steps to comply with at least two elements of the settlement by the same date.

With the deadlines looming, the Westchester County Board of Legislators voted 12 to 4 on Monday to authorize a lawsuit challenging HUD’s decision to take away the $7.4 million, which would have gone to support housing and community needs.

Mr. Astorino, a Republican who was elected after the settlement was reached and has made his opposition to elements of it a centerpiece of his administration, used his annual State of the County address on Tuesday to reiterate his stark differences with the federal government.

He accused the federal government of going beyond the original agreement, trying to undermine all zoning decisions in the county and making “outrageous” demands not in the agreement.

“Washington bureaucrats, who you will never see or meet, want the power to determine who will live where and how each neighborhood will look,” he said. “What’s at stake is the fundamental right of our cities, towns and villages to plan and zone for themselves.”

He added: “Westchester residents didn’t stop becoming American citizens the day the deal was signed in 2009.”

The complaints have vividly shown the tensions between Westchester and federal housing officials since the Obama administration and the county reached one of the most ambitious desegregation settlements in decades, after a discrimination ruling against the county in 2009. In the settlement, the county agreed to create 750 houses and apartments for moderate-income people in overwhelmingly white communities and aggressively market them to nonwhites in Westchester and New York City.

via nytimes.com

Chappaqua NY Sales Up 15% | Median Sold price Ip 5% | RobReportBlog

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Chappaqua NY Real Estate ReportRobReportBlog20136 months ending 4/22201238Sales33$856,000.00median sold price$810,000.00$335,000.00low sold price$225,000.00$2,250,000.00high sold price$2,600,000.003322average size3540$284.00ave. price per foot$277.00208ave days on market195$935,726.00average sold price$975,676.00
via trulia.com

Monday Morning Cup of Coffee: Rising home prices raise concerns | Chappaqua Real Estate

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HousingWire’s Monday Morning Cup of Coffee takes a look at news from the weekend, with more coverage on bigger issues.

With existing home prices up 10% in February from one year prior and inventories at a 20-year low, many homebuyers are facing a dilemma, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal: paying more for a home today, compared with a year ago, or paying even more tomorrow at a time when interest rates might also be higher.

For many buyers looking to get into their first home, high unemployment, low savings, high debt loads and tight credit standards are making homeownership nearly impossible.

Many experts are concerned that if prices keep rising at their current pace, an affordability problem may arise — especially once rates reach above 6%.

Budget cuts due to the federal sequester are already taking a toll on public housing, as the New Albany Housing Authority is adjusting to an 18% annual budget cut, News and Tribune reported.

According to the article, the reduction in the operating budget could lead to the merger of some NAHA offices and potentially even result in employee furloughs, reduction of services and possibly the loss of public housing units.

The NAHA Executive Director Bob Lane says this could force the housing authority to close 40 Section 8 housing units in the next few years if the federal matter isn’t resolved.

With inventories so small, homebuilders are desperate to find quality land to expand the housing inventory. However, in Dayton, Ohio, ready-to-build land is one of the biggest challenges faced by homebuilders, writes Dayton Daily News.

Homebuilding, which is expected to continue improving slowly throughout 2013, could face series issues by 2014 if this turns out to be a good year for local homebuilders.

“I think the problem will get progressively worse as we have chewed through the inventory of lots, and then it will take a little while to bring new lots online to hopefully fill a demand that should be there,” said Walt Hibner, executive director of Home Builders Association of Dayton.

According to the article, it takes time for a new development to get through the approval and financing process.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. closed its fifth institution in the nation this year. 

Gold Canyon Bank in Gold Canyon, Ariz., was closed by the Arizona Department of Financial Institution, which appointed the FDIC as the receiver. As a receiver for Gold Canyon Bank, the FDIC named First Scottsdale as the winning bidder to take over the failed bank’s assets.

The former Gold Canyon Bank has a single branch in Peoria. The bank’s offices will reopen under the First Scottsdale Bank name on April 8. 

As of Dec. 31, 2012, Gold Canyon Bank had approximately $45.2 million in total assets and $44.2 million in total deposits.

Read the full statement here.

via housingwire.com