Tag Archives: Cross River NY

Vacation homes are back in vogue | Cross River Homes

Leave a reply

 

Vacation home sales rose strongly in 2013, while investment purchases fell below the elevated levels seen in the previous two years, according to the National Association of Realtors.

NAR’s 2014 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, covering existing- and new-home transactions in 2013, shows vacation-home sales jumped 29.7 percent to an estimated 717,000 last year from 553,000 in 2012.

Investment-home sales fell 8.5 percent to an estimated 1.10 million in 2013 from 1.21 million in 2012.

Owner-occupied purchases rose 13.1 percent to 3.70 million last year from 3.27 million in 2012. The sales estimates are based on responses from households and exclude institutional investment activity.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun expected an improvement in the vacation home market. “Growth in the equity markets has greatly benefited high net-worth households, thereby providing the wherewithal and confidence to purchase recreational property,” he said. “However, vacation-home sales are still about one-third below the peak activity seen in 2006.”

Vacation-home sales accounted for 13 percent of all transactions last year, their highest market share since 2006, while the portion of investment sales fell to 20 percent in 2013 from 24 percent in 2012.

Yun said the pullback in investment activity is understandable. “Investment buyers slowed their purchasing in 2013 because prices were rising quickly along with a declining availability of discounted foreclosures over the course of the year,” he said.

“In 2011 and 2012, investment property was a no-brainer because home prices had sharply over corrected during the downturn in many areas, creating great bargains that could be quickly turned into profitable rentals. With a return to more normal market conditions, investors now have to evaluate their purchases more carefully and do their homework,” Yun added.

The typical vacation-home buyer was 43 years old, had a median household income of $85,600 and purchased a property that was a 180 miles from his primary residence.

Buyers plan to own their recreational property for a median of six years, down from 10 years in 2012.

 

 

http://www.rew-online.com/2014/04/10/report-vacation-homes-are-back-in-vogue/

 

Consumer credit ticks higher in February | Cross River Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

Consumer credit edged higher in February, increasing at a seasonally adjusted rate of 6-1/2%, the latest report from the Federal Reserve said.

In addition revolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 3-1/2%, while nonrevolving credit grew at an annual rate of 10%.

“Consumer credit rose a sharp $16.5 billion in February but the revolving component, where credit cards are tracked, continues to be very soft, down $2.4 billion in the month,” analysts with Econoday said.

“Strength once again is entirely in the non-revolving component, up $18.9 billion and reflecting demand for car loans as well as the government’s acquisition of student loans. The consumer, still hesitant to use credit cards, hasn’t been a leading force for the economy,” Econoday added.

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29586-consumer-credit-ticks-higher-in-february

Menachem Stark did not leave a will | Cross River Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

Brooklyn developer Menachem Stark, whose slaying has yet to yield an arrest, did not have a will, according to court records. His widow Bashie Stark was appointed yesterday as administrator of the estate, which will be required to list all of Stark’s assets in bankruptcy court as well as surrogate’s court. Bashie’s seven children have been named as beneficiaries.

“The assets of the estate are unknown,” Seth Rubenstein, a lawyer for the widow, said. “The administrator must appear in a bankruptcy proceeding whose resolution may or may not bring assets into the estate.”

The 39-year-old developer’s body was found in a Long Island dumpster in January. Stark owed several million dollars to multiple creditors and was the defendant in several lawsuits. Investigators said earlier this week they are closing in on a suspect in the killing.

 

 

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/04/02/menachem-stark-did-not-leave-a-will/

The Hidden Costs of Buying a Home | Cross River Homes

Leave a reply

 

You’re looking for a house and see the perfect listing. It has a big number on it. For simplicity’s sake, say $200,000. If you’re like most prospective homeowners, you think you will soon be talking to a lender and getting a loan for this amount.

But as veteran homebuyers already know, you are going to pay much more than $200,000.

True, almost everything we buy has a hidden cost. You buy a toothbrush for a couple bucks, and since you’ll have to purchase toothpaste, the ownership cost of a toothbrush is more than $2 — especially if you throw in a toothbrush holder. Obviously, the hidden costs of buying a house are far more complex. And if you aren’t prepared for them, you may come away from the experience feeling as if you’ve been kicked in the teeth.

So if you’re thinking of buying your first house, be on the alert for these hidden costs.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/hidden-costs-buying-home-151852332.html

Hudson River Greenway plan wilts Riverdale | Cross River Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

Residents of the affluent Bronx enclave of Riverdale have long dreamed about gaining easy access to their two-mile stretch of Hudson River shoreline.

No wonder, then, that they were thrilled by a recent proposal to connect that waterfront strip with the existing Hudson River Greenway. It was only when they looked at the fine print of that plan that some Riverdale residents said their dream had turned into a nightmare—into something that threatens the character of their leafy neighborhood while barely offering any additional river access.

As it stands, the Hudson River Greenway’s popular bicycle and pedestrian trail begins at Battery Park at the bottom of Manhattan and runs all the way up through Westchester County. Or at least it would if only a way could be found to close a three-mile-long gap along the waterfront in the Bronx and Yonkers, just to the north. To do that, the New York Metropolitan Transit Council, an organization of regional governments charged with studying transportation-related issues for New York City, Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley, is recommending an elaborate $75 million multistage plan.

The problem in Riverdale is that the tracks used by Metro-North and Amtrak run close to the water, making pedestrian access perilous.

Interim trail

The NYMTC’s plan, submitted to the community board in February, essentially dodged the problem. It calls for an interim path beginning just over the Henry Hudson Bridge and running north through local streets in Riverdale, affording users a visual but not a physical connection with the shore. Accommodating those cyclists and walkers would require some widening of roadways, installation of sidewalks where none exist and paving paths through Riverdale Park–steps that have many residents up in arms.

They note the area’s rich history, including the stately mansions built by generations of Manhattan moguls, as well as its historic churches and elite educational institutions, including the Riverdale Country School–the most expensive private school in New York City.

“What has been presented will change the visual character and bucolic nature of our neighborhood,” said Frank Anelante, chairman of the Riverdale-Spuyten Duyvil Coalition. “The reconstruction required would necessitate the taking of property from homeowners, obliterating front lawns and driveways.”

Gary Klingsberg, a resident of Palisade Avenue, a street along which a portion of the path would be built, said he recently walked the suggested route, from the Henry Hudson Bridge to Riverdale Park, and found the twists and turns of the terrain dangerous, with very little space to expand existing sidewalks without infringing on people’s property.

 

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140310/REAL_ESTATE/303099988/hudson-river-greenway-plan-wilts-riverdale#

Building boom signals stock market bust | Cross River Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

According to a study recently published in the Journal of Financial Research, not long after construction begins on a number of large buildings or they are actually finished, the stock market goes into the dumpster.

Its author, Guenter Loffler, a professor of finance at Ulm University in Germany, studied the correlation between skyscraper construction and stock market trends from 1871 to 2009.

He told the newspaper Real Estate Weekly recently that skyscraper construction is a better predictor of stock prices than more commonly used indicators, such as corporate profits or price/earnings ratios.

He offers plenty of examples.

In 1929, the Chrysler Building was under construction, while work was about to begin on the Empire State Building. This was an era that Real Estate Weekly considers to be “the greatest skyscraper boom in history.”

The stock market crashed later that year.

In 1993, construction began on the world’s tallest building, the Petronas Towers located in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. Before its doors were opened, this super skyscraper was engulfed in the Asian Financial Crisis that sent stocks sinking around the world.

Fourteen years later, in 2007, construction began on what was slated to be the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, the Chicago Spire. Like in the past, this was just one of the many towers being erected at that time. Indeed, the total square footage underway in 2007 was more than twice the average of the previous 20 years, writes Prof. Loffler.

As you might recall, the stock market peaked in October of that year and worked its way lower before plunging in September, 2008. The Spire was postponed indefinitely, as were a number of other buildings.

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/building-boom-signals-stock-market-bust-2014-03-04?siteid=yhoof2

Bring That Novel You’ve Been Working On to This Dapper Cabin | Cross River Real Estate

Leave a reply

 

Writers-Shed-by-Weston-Surman-Deane-Architecture_dezeen_ss10.jpgPhoto via Dezeen

Some aspiring writers are holding off on their true calling until they’ve “done enough living.” Others have demanding day jobs, dogs to walk, Peace Lilies to water. Here’s another excuse to add to the pile: not having a super natty writing shed to type away in. This cabin, completed in April of 2013 and recently shortlisted for the 2014 Architects Journal Small Projects Award, would fit the bill rather nicely. Unlike the Walden-chic abodes of rural wordsmiths, this one’s an urban retreat, sitting in a backyard garden in the London borough of Hackney. Described by its designers, the firm Weston, Surman & Deane, as “a haven in the city; a fairy-tale hut” responding to their client’s “passion for children’s literature and mythologies,” it glows like a cottage in a treacly pastoral scene.

That nice orange hue was achieved by situating a sliding glass door behind a facade of cedar slats. For daytime writing sessions, there’s a large north-facing skylight. Heat is provided by a wood-burning stove, which can be fed with the wood kept in a thin storage area on the porch. Around the stove, there’s a staggered bookcase built from rectangular partitions of oiled chipboard, the largest of which frames a reclaimed sink with garden taps and a brass splash back.

 

http://curbed.com/archives/2014/03/03/bring-that-novel-youve-been-working-on-to-this-dapper-cabin.php