Tag Archives: Katonah

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Westchester County Executive Launches “Ask Astorino On Tape” | Katonah Real Estate

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Over the past year Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino has visited 22 municipalities across the country for “Ask Astorino” town hall meetings. This week he released a new video highlighting some of the most frequently asked questions of the meetings.

“It’s not always easy to find the time to attend a town hall meeting,” said Astorino. “This video is an alternate way to find out how county government is working for you. I welcome your feedback.”

Hundreds of Westchester County residents have attended the town hall meetings, where Astorino has addressed topics such as taxes, housing, Playland andcrime. In the new video, Astorino addresses topics such as the role of the county government, his efforts to reduce taxes and promote business, and his motivations for running for county executive. He highlights accomplishments such as reducing the budget from $1.8 billion to $1.7 billion, and how the county dealt with Hurricane Sandy. It also includes scenes of his home life as he takes viewers through a typical day in his life.

“I’m still in awe of what this job is and what it means,” Astorino, who is running for re-election in November, says in the video.

 

Westchester County Executive Launches “Ask Astorino On Tape” | The White Plains Daily Voice.

Westchester County Executive Launches “Ask Astorino On Tape” | Katonah Real Estate

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WESTCHESTER, N.Y. — Over the past year Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino has visited 22 municipalities across the country for “Ask Astorino” town hall meetings. This week he released a new video highlighting some of the most frequently asked questions of the meetings.

“It’s not always easy to find the time to attend a town hall meeting,” said Astorino. “This video is an alternate way to find out how county government is working for you. I welcome your feedback.”

Hundreds of Westchester County residents have attended the town hall meetings, where Astorino has addressed topics such as taxes, housing, Playland andcrime. In the new video, Astorino addresses topics such as the role of the county government, his efforts to reduce taxes and promote business, and his motivations for running for county executive. He highlights accomplishments such as reducing the budget from $1.8 billion to $1.7 billion, and how the county dealt with Hurricane Sandy. It also includes scenes of his home life as he takes viewers through a typical day in his life.

“I’m still in awe of what this job is and what it means,” Astorino, who is running for re-election in November, says in the video.

 

Westchester County Executive Launches “Ask Astorino On Tape” | The White Plains Daily Voice.

First Wave of Boomers Increasingly Likely To Age in Place | Katonah Real Estate

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A new survey of the oldest baby boomers–people born in 1946–finds this group even more likely than they were five years ago to keep living where they are rather than move as part of retirement.

The poll in late 2012 of 1,003 of the so-called “oldest boomers,” including 447 who also were surveyed in 2007, found 82% aren’t planning any future moves. That’s up from 75% in the 2007 survey, conducted at about the time the housing market collapsed. Survey results have a margin of error of plus/minus 3.2 percentage points.

“Of the oldest boomers who did move or are planning a move, more than half (53%) chose to downsize into a smaller home,” said Amy Goyer, who wrote the report on behalf of MetLife’s Mature Market Institute. “Just 16% plan to or have moved to an active adult community, significantly up from 9% in 2008. The oldest boomers have most likely raised their families, as moving (or planning) to a larger home is down to just 4% in 2012 from 12% in 2008. Almost a quarter (23%) said they had plans or had moved to an ‘other’ situation in 2012 (down from 37% in 2008)—perhaps some of these families are living in multigenerational households.”

Later in her report, Goyer said the survey results point to the need for aging in place options, “including community infrastructure, home and community-based services, transportation, technology and smart home design/modification options that not only make it possible to remain at home throughout the aging process, but to also beautify and add value to the home and community for all ages.”

About 93% of these oldest boomers own their home, with an average value of $254,000. Four out of 10 have paid off their mortgages, but 8% are upside-down, owing more on their loan than the home is worth, the survey found. As for income, 58% said they’re taking in less than before retirement, but only 20% reported a decreased standard of living and 18% said their standard went up. One possible reason why: One-third had received an inheritance, with the average value reported in 2012 reaching $110,000.

 

First Wave of Boomers Increasingly Likely To Age in Place–Survey – Remodeling Trends, Active Adult, Aging In Place, Universal Design – Remodeling Magazine.

Caramoor In Katonah Celebrates Verdi’s Bicentennial Saturday | Katonah Real Estate

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Caramoor Summer Music Festival and Bel Canto at Caramoor will present a celebration of Giuseppe Verdi’s bicentennial on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

“Verdi in Paris” highlights the influence the composer’s  time in Paris had on his music. The composer’s long association with the city yielded some of his most significant contributions to opera.

Will Crutchfield, Caramoor’s director of opera, will lead the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in two of the composer’s grand operas composed explicitly for the Paris Opera – “Les vêpres siciliennes” and “Don Carlos” – in their original language.

This semi-staged concert performance will be preceded by lectures and recitals in the Spanish Courtyard.

To order tickets, call the box office at 914-232-1252 or visit www.caramoor.org. 

 

Caramoor In Katonah Celebrates Verdi’s Bicentennial Saturday | The Armonk Daily Voice.

Kat-Lewisboro BOE, Support Staff Association Approve Contract | Katonah Homes

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The Katonah-Lewisboro Support Staff Association (KLSSA) will soon have a new health plan. In an agreement with the Board of Education, the staff will shift from the current self-insured health plan to the New York State Health Insurance Program. (NYSHIP). The new plan will go into effect on July 1 and continue until June 30, 2015.

The school district will realize a savings of roughly $1 million per year with the change. This switch of health insurance provider is similar to the one agreed to by the Katonah-Lewisboro District Teachers’ Association about a month ago.

Included in the agreement with the Staff Association is a two-year freeze in the step schedule. This too will be an economy for the district, saving approximately 0.75 percent of total salaries. A base increase of 1.75 percent for the 2013-14 school year and 2014-15 school year is included in the agreement.

“The tone of negotiations was consistently professional and productive,” said Board of Education President Mark Lipton. “On behalf of the board and the community, I want to thank the KLSSA for their preparation and collaboration in creating an agreement that balances the needs of its members, while responding to the financial realities of our district.”

“The Executive Board of the KLSSA, as well as the membership, are pleased that we were able to come to equitable terms with the school district,” said its president, Jeani Granelli. “During these economically trying times, it can be difficult to balance the financial resources of the school district with the needs of our membership. We thank the BOE for working collaboratively with us to reach this [agreement].”

 

Kat-Lewisboro BOE, Support Staff Association Approve Contract | The Bedford Daily Voice.

Report: Push for homeownership society causes unemployment | Katonah Real Estate

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It may seem counterintuitive, but apparently a new study from leading economists David Blanchflower with Dartmouth’s Department of Economics and Andrew Oswald with the University of Warwick claims increases in U.S. homeownership actually lead to higher levels of unemployment.

This suggestion counters the notion that increased homeownership activity is healthy for the economy, so take it with a grain of salt.

The report, which is available here, was covered on CNBC with the news agency saying the era of building an ‘ownership society’ is now blamed for causing less social mobility and employment options.

Blanchflower and Oswald claim upticks in homeownership lead to lower levels of labor mobility, greater commute times and fewer new businesses.

These issues eventually contributed to fewer employment opportunities, they suggest.

With homeownership-centric areas having more zoning restrictions and fewer businesses coming in, an economic stall is the potential end result, the study suggests.

“Our argument is not that owners themselves are disproportionately unemployed. The evidence suggests, instead, that the housing market can produce negative ‘externalities’ upon the labor market. The time lags are long. That gradualness may explain why these important patterns are so little-known,” the economists write.

CNBC covered the report Friday.

 

Report: Push for homeownership society causes unemployment | REwired.

Houses with solar features rise in popularity | Katonah NY Real Estate

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Sales of new production homes with rooftop solar power systems nearly doubled from 2011 to 2012, suggesting homebuyers are searching for ways to control monthly electricity costs, the California Solar Initiative said.

 

In California last year, an estimated 4,000 new production solar homes were built, 10 times the number built seven years ago during the housing construction boom, said homebuilder KB Home ($20.19 0%) in a press release.

 

SunPower Corp. ($18.47 0%) expects growth to continue, with more than 20% of new production homes being solar powered this year.

 

Putting even more power behind that statement, SunPower announced Wednesday that it will install its 10,000th high efficiency solar power system on a new production home.

 

SunPower will add an upgraded solar power system on the house as well for the home’s soon-to-be owners, Justin Levine and Bethany Rutstein, who are soon to be married.

 

“When you’re watching our monthly expenses carefully, choosing a home with solar is a no-brainer. We chose to build our new solar-powered home with KB Home because we were able to personalize nearly every aspect of our new home, including its energy efficiency through a process KB calls Built to Order,” said Rutstein.

 

“KB Home has partnered with SunPower to build more than 1,500 solar homes across the country, and we see very high levels of satisfaction with our solar homeowners,” said Steve Ruffner, president of KB Home.

 

Houses with solar features rise in popularity | HousingWire.

Soaring Prices Slow Hedge Funds | Katonah Real Estate

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Boasting of spending up to $8 billion dollars to buy tens of thousands of foreclosures to convert into single family rentals, nearly 50 Wall Street investment firms set real estate markets on fire over the past 18 months. Now they are running for cover as soaring prices water down their return on investment.

The winds have already started to shift in the single-family rental business, according to data from RadarLogic. The composite price per square foot paid by institutional investors in 25 of the largest metropolitan area housing markets increased 14.4 percent year over year in March. Over the same period, asking prices for rents have increased just 2.4 percent, according to Trulia, Inc. As a result, yields on single-family rentals are declining.

During the twelve months ending March 2013, purchases of residential real estate by corporations, partnerships and investment trusts in the 25 metropolitan areas included in the RPX Composite increased 41 percent. To put this figure in context, purchases by all other buyers increased only two percent during the same time period. Across the 25 metropolitan areas, institutional investor purchases accounted for 12.2 percent of all property transactions in March 2013, up from 8.8 percent in March 2012, reported RadarLogic.

Conditions for purchasing investment properties have worked in most markets during the intervening weeks. Since March, the median year-over-year list price has risen 2.63 percent according to Realtor.com and much more in some markets where hedge funds have been active like Oakland (up 12.77 percent in April), Las Vegas (up 7.25 in April), Phoenix (up 4.09 percent in April) and Atlanta (up 2.94 percent in April).

A Bloomberg Businessweek article last week reported two smaller investment funds have curtailed purchases. Och-Ziff pulled out of the business last fall and Carrington Mortgage Holdings has stopped buying. The Bloomberg piece by John Gittelsohn reported that funds are buying property now, including homes sold by Carrington, for rents that yield 6 percent to 8 percent a year, before costs such as insurance, taxes and vacancies, according to Bruce Rose, Carrington’s CEO. Carrington’s model called for mid-single digit net returns on annual rents on an unlevered basis, according to Rose. While returns would vary by market, they would generally be in the mid- to high teens over the duration of the holding period, with the profit from home price appreciation.

However, a spokesman for the largest institutional, Blackstone, said, “We’re continuing to purchase homes where they fit into our business plan.”

 

Soaring Prices Slow Hedge Funds | RealEstateEconomyWatch.com.

4 Time Saving Content Curation Tools | Katonah NY Realtor

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Content curation services, which had been one of the choice tools of marketing experts for some time now, are finally entering the mainstream.4 Time Saving Content Curation Tools

Some research done by the guys over at LikeHack showed that this service is now often used not by marketing consultants but by ordinary people. This is due to information overload and the rising need for content filtering.

For this reason, content curation is evolving from not being only a professional tool but a tool that saves web surfers time as personal service.

The demise of Google Reader is only going to accelerate the use of these tools as people switch to these emerging technologies to filter their content to save them time and increase content relevance.

What is content curation?

A content curator is a service that uses algorithms to show the user only the most relevant and appropriate content with respect to a specific niche or topic. It is a great marketing tool with unusually broad filtering capabilities and information selection that can be used to develop and promote a business. In 2012, Forbes called content curation one of the five hottest new web trends.

Companies like American Express and Whole Foods already actively use this marketing tool to curate content that might be of interest to their customers. Other companies use it to create their own online newspapers or select articles for the corporate blog.

The changing trend

However, content curation has been gradually developing from a niche marketing tool into a mainstream product. Personal content curation services are proliferating*:

Content Curation tools

Moreover, the team at LikeHack used SEMRUSH to analyze the search engine traffic  to curation sites like paper.li and observed that the increase in the number of visits slowed to nothing in the past six months.

Paper.li traffic:

Paper li content curation

It is important to note that the actual popularity of the phrase “content curation” has not decreased. On the contrary, GoogleTrends clearly show that the popularity of the keyword query and its various forms is growing.

What does this mean?

It means that more and more people are interested in content curation; it is no longer just for marketing professionals..

Why is this happening?

Everybody knows that the amount of information exchanged through social networks and feeds is growing exponentially, following the well-known Moore‘sLaw. According to LikeHack’s research based on 3 million user accounts, people spend approximately one hour every day looking through unnecessary information. There are several services available today which solve this problem, and they are growing in popularity:  Likehack, Storify, Pearltrees, Getprismatic and others.

For example, here are the stats for GetPrismatic:

Get Prismatic content curation tool

Traffic to the site has grown considerably. A similar trend can be observed with other services. Today there are services that allow you to filter your Facebook, Twitter and RSS feed, showing only what’s most interesting and relevant.


Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/05/23/4-time-saving-content-curation-tools/#A56VccFwCxiAC6dE.99 

 

4 Time Saving Content Curation Tools | Jeffbullas’s Blog.

Lenders prep for increase in millennial housing demand | Katonah Real Estate

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The pent-up demand for the millennial generation to buy houses is starting to surface, according to a report from Rob Chrisman.

Millennials, which range from 18 to 34, have put off buying houses due to the recession, high unemployment and student loan debt.

In the report, Chrisman explained that a lot of lenders are prepping for the upcoming demand.

Hamilton Group Funding, a Florida based mortgage banker, is continuing its aggressive expansion plans in multiple states, seeking to acquire mortgage firms or branches with $50 to $250 million in annual residential production, Chrisman said.

In addition, Chrisman noted that First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation is growing its retail division, adding loan officers and operational staff in New Jersey.  

Millennials are 90 million strong according to Chrisman, and as the demand increases, the industry will have to prepare itself to meet the surge. 

 

 

Lenders prep for increase in millennial housing demand | HousingWire.