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Quality. A photo’s quality has a huge impact on its visibility. “Everyone on the Houzz site makes or designs a visual product, so having really nice photos that show off a variety of work is key,” says Caitlin Walker of Mercury Mosaics. “You can create a beautiful design and have bad photos that don’t do it justice. Reward your hard work with good photos!”
Houzz always recommends uploading high-resolution photos taken by a professional photographer. Bigger is better: High-resolution photos with a minimum width of 1,000 pixels look best and will likely get many more views. And a professional photographer can make each image light, bright and fresh. (Don’t forget to credit the photographer in your photos.)

Urrutia Design

“It’s really taught me how critical it is to take proper and professional photos of projects,” says designer Jason Urrutia. “It’s an investment but well worth the cost. It’s another step of branding — it says that you mean business, you care about your project and that your design is to be taken seriously.”

Avalon Interiors

Variety. Upload a diverse portfolio of work, from your most amazing projects to the simpler but still stylish spaces. Include a variety of shots, from full room shots to details. Even open drawers and take photos of the insides! You’d be surprised how popular those photos are. Don’t underestimate the selling power of your simpler designs — sometimes those are the most inspiring for homeowners.
Style. Every year Houzz puts together a series of ideabooks that highlight the most popular photos of that year, according to how often they’ve been added to users’ ideabooks. And every year we spot certain consistencies in the most popular images: They’re chock-full of take-home ideas. Tracy Kundell found this to be true for the bathroom photo shown here — one of the most popular on the site, added to more than 255,000 ideabooks. “Almost everyone has a home with a bathtub that can be converted, such as this space,” she says. “More and more people prefer larger showers to shower-tub combinations. This layout is a very common builder layout, too.”
Work with your photographer to highlight your best work in beautiful photos that will show clients what you’ve got. Make sure your identity as a designer is coming through and that each photo doesn’t just look great, but shows potential clients how you can make their style shine through, too.

Chalet

http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/19536345

How Do Great Photos Pay Off?
The more popular a photo becomes on Houzz, the easier it is to find. Houzzers may see it in another Houzzer’s favorite photos, in a featured ideabook or on the Houzz homepage. How is this beneficial to pros? It’s more eyeballs on your work — homeowner eyeballs, to be exact. A great photo on Houzz can directly result in client referrals.
Architect John Mattingly found this to be true for the incredibly popular bedroom shown here, added to more than 200,000 ideabooks. Many designers and homeowners have contacted him about some of the room’s components or the entire project. He’s also sold a few furniture items that he custom designed for this particular home.
When Urrutia’s popular bedroom photo (the second photo above) was added to 180,000 ideabooks (and counting), interest in his business increased. “I’ve heard tons of comments from clients about this photo and this room in particular,” he says.

August Prices Rise to 12.8 Percent Over 2012 | Katonah NY Real Estate

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/10/august-prices-rise-to-128-percent-over-2012/

S&P Dow Jones Indices released for its S&P/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices showing that the 10-City and 20-City Composites increased 12.8% year-over-year. Compared to July 2013, the annual growth rates accelerated for both Composites and 14 cities.

On a monthly basis, the 10-City and 20-City Composites gained 1.3% in August. Las Vegas led the cities with an increase of 2.9%, its highest since August 2004. Detroit and Los Angeles followed with gains of 2.0%.

In August 2013, the 10- and 20-City Composites posted annual increases of 12.8%.

“The 10-City and 20-City Composites posted a 12.8% annual growth rate,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Both Composites showed their highest annual increases since February 2006. All 20 cities reported positive year-over-year returns. Thirteen cities posted double-digit annual gains. Las Vegas and California continue to impress with year-over-year increases of over 20%. Denver and Phoenix posted 20 consecutive annual increases; Miami and Minneapolis 19. Despite showing 26 consecutive annual gains, Detroit remains the only city below its January 2000 index level.

“The monthly percentage changes for the 20-City composite show the peak rate of gain in home prices was last April. Since then home prices continued to rise, but at a slower pace each month. This month 16 cities reported smaller gains in August compared to July. Recent increases in mortgage rates and fewer mortgage applications are two factors in these shifts.

“Denver and Dallas again set new highs. All the other cities remain below their peaks. Boston and Charlotte are the two MSAs closest to their peaks with only 8-9% left to go. Las Vegas is still down 47.1% from its peak level.”

As of August 2013, average home prices across the United States are back to their mid-2004 levels. Measured from their June/July 2006 peaks, the peak-to-current decline for both Composites is approximately 20-21%. The recovery from the March 2012 lows is 22.1% and 22.7% for the 10-City and 20-City Composites.

All twenty cities posted monthly gains in August, although most cities showed deceleration compared to July. Las Vegas was at the top of the range at +2.9% and Seattle was at the bottom with a return of +0.5%. Month-over-month, San Francisco has been losing momentum as prices increased 4.9% in April 2013 and 0.9% in August 2013.

Katonah Credit Score Tips for November | by Tracey Becker | Katonah Real Estate

tracy@nothshoreadvisory.com

CREDIT SCORE TIPS FOR THOSE WHO ARE PURCHASING A PROPERTY OR APPLYING FOR FINANCING:

Check your credit scores at least a year or two prior to looking for properties.
If you are purchasing your scores online buy them from the MYFICO.com site. Other sites may have totally different score ranges then the score the banker is using for loan approval. There are Fico, Vantage, Plus, Equifax, Credit Karma, and many more scores available online.
Lenders usually take the “middle score” not the “median or average” of the three credit bureau Fico scores. Order all three Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax Fico scores from the site to find out what your middle score is.
A FICO score of a 740 plus is considered excellent. If you have a score under a 740 talk to a credit expert and get advice on how to improve it. Do not get credit advice from a Dentist, Uncle, Parent, or anyone who is not credit qualified. Sadly so many do and wind up hurting their credit.
Pulling your own credit scores at the MYFICO site will not drop your scores at all.
Keeping balances low “under 10% of aggregate and individual limits” on revolving credit for at least 2 months prior to mortgage application will give creditors enough time to make sure balance updates are posted to the three credit bureaus. This will reflect a higher score when the banker pulls credit.
Do not co-sign for any credit if you are not in full control of making timely payments or prepared to pay the full debt yourself.
Do not open credit or close credit since scores can drop dramatically. Opening credit can reduce the average age of credit. Closing credit can take away from a well balanced credit portfolio or reduce aggregate limits on revolving credit which can drop scores dramatically. In some cases credit needs to be opened for loan approval but only your banker can advise you of this.
Make sure all payments are paid on time and if you set up auto pay write down/file confirmation numbers.
If you change bank accounts or close a credit card make sure ALL auto pay’s associated with the account are transferred to the new account immediately. Many consumers forget to put E-Z pass or their gym payments on the new bank account or credit card and wind up with new late payments or collections on credit.
Remember the higher your Fico score the more options you will have as a borrower. Even .25% more of an interest rate can mean higher payments costing hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of a 30 year loan. A higher credit score can also give a buyer the ability to qualify for a larger mortgage if needed.

Tracy Becker

914-524-8300 x102

www.northshoreadvisory.com

Abandoned Buildings, Red Tape Mark a Year on Staten Island | Katonah NY Real Estate

‘The buyout is the only way’ >>

This three-part photo essay traces the recovery efforts in the year since Hurricane Sandy, as documented by photographer Nathan Kensinger. Throughout the year, his Hurricane Sandy photo essays have appeared in Curbed’s Camera Obscura column. His photographs are also included in exhibits opening this week at the Museum of the City of New York and the Brooklyn Historical Society, which are dedicated to the one-year anniversary of the storm.

[In the year since Hurricane Sandy, Staten Island neighborhoods like Ocean Breeze have seen little progress in their recovery efforts. All photos by Nathan Kensinger.]

It has been one year since Hurricane Sandy landed on Staten Island, destroying many of its waterfront neighborhoods. Despite an outpouring of volunteer support and a huge cleanup effort, these communities are still visibly suffering from the impact of the storm. In neighborhoods like Ocean Breeze, Midland Beach, and New Dorp, ruined buildings, abandoned homes, empty lots and overgrown foundations remain a common sight. A host of government programs have assisted residents during their recovery, but many homeowners are frustrated by the lack of progress and are not planning to return.

“It’s been hell,” said Jean Laurie, the president of the Ocean Breeze Civic Association, whose neighborhood and house were badly damaged by the storm surge. “We still don’t have a home,” she said. “Before you know it, it’s going to be two years. And then what?” After demolishing their storm-damaged residence in April, Jean and her husband Burt hoped they would be able to rebuild quickly. But, like several of their neighbors, their lot remains empty. “I don’t know anyone on Staten who has built a new house,” said Burt. “There is too much red tape.”

“We still don’t have a home. Before you know it, it’s going to be two years. And then what?” —Jean Laurie, president, Ocean Breeze Civic Association

Most residents in Ocean Breeze have given up on the idea of rebuilding, and now hope to sell their entire neighborhood to the state to be demolished, much like the buyout planned for nearby Oakwood Beach, where 400 homes will be torn down and the land returned to nature. “They should never have houses here, never,” said Joe Herrnkind, a 15-year resident of Ocean Breeze whose home was destroyed by flooding. “The buyout is the only way,” said Herrnkind. “I’m looking for a buyout from the government only. No one else. Knowing what I know, I don’t want anyone else to suffer this way.” In sharp contrast to the headway made in the Rockaways, Staten Island’s storm recovery seems far from complete.

October 2013: In the empty lot where their home once stood, Jean and Burt Laurie display a handmade protest sign. Like 5,500 Staten Island residents, they registered for the city’s Build It Back program. They are still waiting to receive a phone call from the government.

October 2013: Their collection of photos documents the damage in Ocean Breeze, where 20 houses were destroyed. About 30 of the remaining 109 homes are occupied, according to the Staten Island Advance.

November 2012: In the days after the storm, Jean Laurie and her husband helped coordinate with volunteers to distribute supplies from in front of their flood-damaged home.

April 2013: When her home was demolished in April, Jean planned to rebuild quickly. “We want to revitalize the area,” she told Curbed at the time. “We don’t want to leave it in shambles.”

April 2013: Jean still hopes to rebuild, but “almost every single home owner that is here has signed up for the buyout,” according to her neighbor Joe Herrnkind. “You’d have to be crazy to stay.”

October 2013: One year after the storm, empty homes in Ocean Breeze are still being gutted by city workers. Roughly 400 people are waiting to rebuild their homes in Staten Island, according to the Staten Island Advance.

October 2013: Progress has come to a standstill in several Staten Island neighborhoods. In Midland Beach, this pile of debris from a ruined building has sat next to a local home for the entire year. Abandoned and empty homes can be found throughout the area.

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/10/29/abandoned_buildings_red_tape_mark_a_year_on_staten_island.php

50 Years Later, Relive the Destruction of Old Penn Station in Photos | Katonah NY Real Estate

Penn Station is falling down, falling down >>

54 images

It was 50 years ago today that demolition began on the New York icon that evokes intense nostalgia and mourning even today: the old Pennsylvania Station. To honor the day, Atlantic Cities rounded up some beautiful photos of the transit hub in its prime, but Curbed has opted to immerse us all in sad images of the de-construction process, as plans for Madison Square Garden loomed ahead. After all, it was the painful ripping apart of the soaring archways, domed ceilings, handsome columns, and more that lit a fire under the arse of the coalition that eventually made New York’s landmarks law a reality. The extensive demolition porn of yore comes to you courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York’s wonderfully extensive photo archives. Below, you’ll also find a handful of photos of Penn when it was still gloriously intact, which kinda intensifies the grief a little. While the site’s future remains uncertain—could we feasibly see a bonkers starchitect-designed railway station in our lifetimes?—the past is, sadly, a done deal.

Here now, what the pretty station looked like before the wrecking ball descended.

16 images

· Museum of the City of New York Collections [official] · 10 Gorgeous, Nostalgic Photos of New York’s Old Penn Station [Atlantic Cities] · All Penn Station coverage [Curbed]

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/10/28/50_years_later_relive_the_destruction_of_old_penn_station.php

Appreciating Values Make it Easier to Move | Katonah Real Estate

http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com/2013/10/rising-values-make-it-easier-to-move/

One in three Americans would consider moving to another state in the next one to two years for financial as well as lifestyle considerations, according to a new survey by ERA Real Estate

“While U.S. unemployment has declined and real estate values have been on the rise, many Americans who met with financial challenges during the last five years may be looking to make a change by moving to a new job market,” said Charlie Young, president and CEO of ERA Real Estate. “That not only makes good financial sense, but would likely increase their quality of life.”

For those consumers who would consider relocation, the primary financial drivers are better job opportunities and a lower cost of living, while curiosity about new places and better weather were equally important in the lifestyle consideration set.

For those who were not interested in a major move, 72% of respondents reported it was because they were happy living in their current local market.

With U.S. Census data pointing to increased “migration” – the number of people who moved out of state or region in 2012 increased 6 percent over 2011 – and ERA brokers citing an increased interest in self-directed relocation, ERA Real Estate partnered with HGTV to dig deeper into the American appetite for relocation.

“As the overall economy and job market improves, people are more likely to consider a major life change that is on their terms, not because they have to,” said Dr. Leslie Reiser, a behavioral expert who worked with ERA Real Estate to understand consumer psychology, attitudes and behavior surrounding relocation.

Moving to a market with better job prospects, a lower cost of living and better weather appears to be favorable to prospective house-hunters, even if it means leaving family and friends behind.

In addition to the consumer survey with HGTV.com, ERA Real Estate also conducted a national survey of its real estate brokers, who cited an improving economy and real estate market as the main reasons that their clients find relocating out of their local market today more attractive than it was 2 to 3 years ago. Other findings include:

About two-thirds (63%) of ERA brokers reported that homebuyers and sellers are more open to the idea of moving to a new area, outside of their current local market

US Default Seen Pushing Housing to the Brink | Katonah NY Real Estate

Housing largely dodged a bullet on the government shut down that went into effect October 1, the pending default, however, is an entirely different matter. As the October 17 default deadline nears, knuckle in the housing industry are turning white.

All the progress that the housing recovery has achieved since the crashed could be erased overnight if the US defaults on its debts, according to the president of the National Association of Realtors. But Gary Thomas is not the only housing leader raising alarms and the debt default clock ticks down.

In testimony before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, NAR president Gary Thomas said that unless the debt ceiling is raised in “a timely manner,” the country would face a recession that would wipe out the recent progress made in home prices, home sales and new residential construction.

Robert Dietz, Vice President for Tax and Market Analysis for the National Association of Homebuilders, says the primary effect of a default or downgrade would be increased uncertainty. “Home buyers are making purchase of a capital asset that they will own, on average, for ten years. Given other sources of uncertainty, particularly from the labor market, the largest impact from a failure to reach a deal that increases the debt ceiling would be to further increase concern and anxiety of families attempting to make long-term economic decisions.

“What the housing market needs now is more, not less, certainty, with respect to housing policy and access to capital via the mortgage markets. This will help stabilize housing prices, thereby helping households repair balance sheets and set the stage for more robust economic growth.”

Writing in Friday’s New York Times, economist Paul Krugman argues that a default would create a shock to the economy on a scale of the Great Recession or the Housing Crash of 2007. The default would put the burden of paying interest on Treasury bonds. Currently the cash-flow deficit is a bit more than 4 percent of GDP, which would have to be closed immediately and the government would then fall even further behind on its bills, he says.

“So, when did we last see a spending shock this big? As it happens, we’re looking at something just about the size of the post-bubble housing bust, which was also about 4 percent of GDP:

NAR’s Lawrence Yun describes a similar scenario. “Should the government decide to pay bills other than interest obligations, we can expect interest rates on Treasury bonds to rise as investors look for more return to compensate for the increased risk of their not getting paid. And if that happens, mortgage rates will rise, because mortgage rates follow Treasury rates.”

Yun says home sales can be expected to drop by 350,000 to 450,000 units for each 100 basis-point rise in mortgage rates.

Wayne Newtown’s Hideously Overpriced Ranch Asks $70M | Katonah Real Estate

Onward, to a rather complicated history of squabbles. >>

29 images

Arabian horses and lemurs may have once frolicked on the 36-acre grounds of Casa de Shenandoah, Wayne Newton’s Las Vegas estate, but the real zoo these days is its price tag: it’s just been listed for a crazy—nay, insane, nay, utterly inconceivable—$70M. As Redfin Blog points out, there are eight separate homes on the property, a “car museum” (that must mean “garage,” in brokerbabble), 37 stables, an “equestrian pool,” a tennis court, and, best of all, a “jumbo jet and terminal” meant to be used—as if there were any doubt by those marbleized interiors—”for entertaining.” Yet it’s unclear from the photos where, exactly, the “excess of 15-20 Million in improvements” went.

Mr. Las Vegas and his wife, Kathleen, lived at Casa de Shenandoah for nearly 45 years, but in recent years the place has been riddled with lawsuits and squabbles. In 2010, a developer purchased the estate for $19.5M in an agreement that would help the Newtons out of bankruptcy, so long as they agreed to vacate and build a smaller place for themselves right on the property so that the main house could be turned into a Wayne Newton-themed theme park, complete with a museum, gift shop, and dinner theater. Newton didn’t actually seem against the idea; in fact, he retained a 20 percent stake in the development company and seemed to see the financial potential in the museum idea. An excerpt from 2010 AP coverage:

“In Newton’s vision, visitors to Casa de Shenandoah would tour select parts of his 10,000-square-foot home amid the plush white carpets, gold-trimmed doors, impressionist paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and 17th-century antiques collected from European castles.
They might glance at the singer’s favorite space, a cramped office just to the right of his lavish living room, where the ominous red paint splashed on the walls is barely visible behind the shelves and stacks of mementoes collected during his 50-plus years in show business.”

Things didn’t go as planned, though, and last year the entertainer was sued for allegedly dragging his feet on moving out, not handing over the agreed-upon memorabilia, and, uh, “deliberately thwarted construction efforts, including sexually harassing construction workers,” according to the International Business Times. The Las Vegas Sun has a brilliant breakdown of the suit, as well as Newton’s countersuit; as a sneak preview, it involves people accusing each other of shooting Rhodesian ridgebacks.

Back to the estate at hand: this summer, Newton settled for an undisclosed sum and finally left; the animals, according to Redfin, have been sold to wildlife centers; and the developer dropped its plans to proceed with “Graceland West,” as the theme park has been called. Last Dec., a judge greenlit Casa de Shanandoah to go to auction—at which point a relatively decent crop of listing photos surfaced online—but the auction never actually happened. Now, of course, the home where Ellen Griswold has her date with Newton, playing himself, in the 1997 flick Vegas Vacation is seeking someone to shell out $70M. Let’s just hope some of those “impressionist paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir” are factored in.

http://curbed.com/archives/2013/09/10/wayne-newtowns-hideously-overpriced-ranch-asks-70m.php

Westchester County ‘Fortress of Solitude’ Asks $1.575M | Katonah Real Estate

http://curbed.com/archives/2013/10/16/westchester-county-fortress-of-solitude-asks-1575m.php

23 images

Location: Harrison, N.Y. Price: $1,575,000 The Skinny: In 1998, a cosmetics executive paid $625K for a 1960s house on more than an acre of land in Harrison, N.Y., a small, verdant town some 25 miles north of Manhattan. Coming as close to a teardown as possible without actually tearing it down, she spent seven years renovating the place so it would fit the only type of home she had had ever known—a high-rise apartment—giving the quiet suburban property the “feel of a high-end Manhattan loft in the middle of Central Park,” the owners explain by email. The spiky, geometric exterior (actually “the original home’s cedar siding covered with a malleable material that could be molded to create sharp angles,” according to a 2011 Wall Street Journal piece) and confident use of glass were also inspired by Superman’s Fortress of Solitude from the comic series she read as a kid. Inside the 4,247-square-foot contemporary are three bedrooms (including a bi-level master suite with a home office), Volga blue granite floors, remote-controlled skylights, and a Snaidero kitchen with a wood-burning pizza oven. Outside, there’s an 1,800-square-foot deck (with ramps for accessibility), a sculptural waterfall, and “plenty of space for a swimming pool and tennis court,” according to the brokerbabble. Though it’s been on and off the market for a few years, the Fortress of Solitude is currently awaiting for a superhero to pay $1.575M.

Raw Materials Revealed: Brick, Block and Stone Help Homes Last | Katonah NY Homes