Tag Archives: Mt Kisco Luxury Real Estate

Classic European architecture mixes with modern furnishings in a newly open Edwardian home | Mt Kisco Homes

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Architect Stephen Sutro of Sutro Architects grew up in San Francisco just four blocks from this home, alongside one of the owners, who was a childhood friend. Years later, when the friend and her husband hired Sutro for this project, that long relationship made it easy to communicate and share ideas for the transformation of the couple’s Edwardian flat from a dark warren of small rooms to a light-filled family dwelling.
Houzz at a Glance Who lives here: A couple and their 2 children Location: San Francisco Size: 2,900 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms Year renovated: 2013
Photography by Aaron Leitz

“We call this project Parisian Modern Flat, because it uses the European idea of classic architecture as the backdrop for modern elements and furniture,” says Sutro. The architect reordered the rooms, making a large, open space up front and relocating the bedrooms in the rear of the house. Now the living room, dining room and kitchen are in one space.
Sofa: Dizani; art: Matt Lipps
The architect staged a delicate design balance. “By using classic molding and a herringbone-patterned floor, we referenced the era in which the house was built,” the architect says. A sofa with multisided seating has decidedly modernist attributes; it allows people to relax and enjoy the contemporary fireplace, the avant-garde photo collage, the more traditional bay window or the modern kitchen. “It is the perfect piece, because it has seating on all four sides,” says the architect. “It knits the room together.”
“The modern interventions create an interesting juxtaposition and a pleasant tension between the old and new,” says Sutro. The design of a fireplace in Tom Ford’s New York City flagship store inspired the architect to create this wood and limestone surround and mantel in the living room.
“The Lindsey Adelman light fixture defines the dining area and adds a formality to it,” says Sutro. Although the architect removed the division between the rooms, he left a suggestion of a wall between the dining room and kitchen to make a slight visual separation. “It’s just enough to suggest two spaces,” he says. “Dim the lights in the kitchen during a dinner party, and it seems to disappear.”
Light fixture: Lindsey Adelman; dining table: Link by Jakob Wagner, B&B Italia; dining chairs: Masters by Philippe Starck, Kartell

Mortgage applications plummet heading into the FOMC meeting | Mt Kisco NY Homes

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Mortgage applications filed in the U.S. plummeted 5.5% as both the refinance index and home purchase index declined ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee.

The Mortgage Bankers Association pointed to the meeting as a fear factor for the market since talks of a potential mortgage-backed securities or Treasurys tapering could come out of the Fed today.
If the Fed decides to begin tapering this month, the market will know by this afternoon.

The refi index alone fell 4%, while the purchase index declined 6% ahead of the meeting.
“Mortgage applications fell further last week, with the market index falling to its lowest level in more than a dozen years,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics. “Both purchase and refinance applications fell as interest rates increased going into today’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting.”

The refi share of mortgage activity increased to 66% of total applications from 65% the prior week. Meanwhile, the adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity remained unchanged at 8% of total applications.

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/28336-mortgage-applications-plummet-heading-into-the-fomc-meeting

 

Why today’s homebuyer needs a real estate agent more than ever | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Last summer I got an email from a local real estate attorney who wanted to buy a house. He’d just gotten engaged and wanted to save some money by representing himself.

This attorney wanted to do all the work an agent would do to find and buy his first home, and get paid a commission for his work. I explained to him that the commission is payable to the listing agent who agrees to pay a portion of it to the Realtor representing a buyer.

Usually, if there’s no buyer’s agent, the seller’s agent gets the entire commission. Some agents will accept a reduced commission for representing both parties.

The seller saves some money that way. Sometimes the savings get passed along to the buyer. I get several emails each year from homebuyers, usually first-timers, who want to know how they can get a real estate license so they can save money on the purchase of a home.

They find me through my blog, and apparently decide that I am too scary to work with, but not so scary that they can’t ask me a question or two. I always let them know that they do not need a license to buy a home, and that they do not need a real estate agent.

After I explain to them how to get a license — and that they have to work through a broker, who generally gets a percentage of each commission — they start to let go of their dream of being paid to find their own home. The buyers who want to do this are usually planning on buying a home that costs $300,000 or more — higher than average for a first-time homebuyer in this market — and planning on saving at least $9,000 by doing the work themselves.

 

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/12/12/why-todays-homebuyer-needs-a-real-estate-agent-more-than-ever/?utm_source=20131212&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinespm#sthash.GuPAbDvB.dpuf

Design Details In New Batch of Hyde Midtown Renderings | Mt Kisco Realtor

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now.jpg The folks at exMiami have procured more renderings of the Related Group’s Hyde Midtown condo tower project, which they say show the “Arquitectonica touch” (more renderings at exMiami, this way).  A sales center is currently under construction at the 3 Midtown site.

The more detailed renderings show that the ground floor, if not exactly a head-turner, is at least well-designed. · New Hyde Midtown Renderings Show Arquitectonica Touch [exMiami] · Previous Hyde Midtown coverage [Curbed Miami]

BoomTown earns Google Partner status | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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BoomTown is set to receive special training and support from Google that it says will help it improve the marketing services that it offers agents.

The customer relationship management (CRM) system and marketing services provider has achieved certified Google Partner status in search advertising, giving it exclusive access to private Google events, Google beta programs, marketing support and a Google Partner profile page, the company said.

“BoomTown is proud to be part of the Google Partner program, and thrilled to offer this heightened level of service to our clients,” said Rivers Pearce, director of inbound marketing at BoomTown, in a statement. “We work diligently to exceed client expectations, and demonstrate their PPC dollars are expertly managed.

This partnership enables us to continue maintaining Google’s high standards while enjoying the benefits and continued learning provided in the partner program.”

 

 

 

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/12/02/boomtown-earns-google-partner-status/#sthash.mHtJldSo.dpuf

Residential home sales continue to climb: RealtyTrac | Mt Kisco Homes

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Properties and residential homes for sale, including single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes, continue to rise, increasing to an estimated annualized pace of 5.649 million in October, a 2% hike from a month ago and an increase of 13% from October 2012, the latest RealtyTrac Residential and Foreclosure Sales Report revealed.

But despite the national trend, three top indicator states still posted decreases for the third consecutive month: California, Arizona and Nevada, which are down 15%, 13% and 5%, respectively, from a year ago.

Meanwhile, the national median sales price of all residential properties—including both distressed and non-distressed—sat at $170,000, unchanged from September, but 6% higher than October 2012. This is also the 18th consecutive month median home sales have increased on an annualized basis.

The median price of a distressed residential property, in foreclosure or bank owned, hit $110,000 in October, 41% lower than the median price of $185,000 for a non-distressed property.

“After a surge in short sales in late 2011 and early 2012, the favored disposition method for distressed properties is shifting back toward the more traditional foreclosure auction sales and bank-owned sales,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac.

“The combination of rapidly rising home prices — along with strong demand from institutional investors and other cash buyers able to buy at the public foreclosure auction or an as-is REO home — means short sales are becoming less favorable for lenders,” Blomquist added.

As a result, short sales made up 5.3% of all sales, a 6.3% drop from the previous month and down from 11.2% in October 2012.

Nevada, Florida, Maryland, Michigan and Illinois ranked as the states with the highest percentage of short sales last month.

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/28121

Newly Re-Elected Legislator Harckham Looks To Control Taxes, Spending | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Peter Harckham, who will continue for another term representing District 2 in the Westchester County Board of Legislatures, spent part of Wednesday looking ahead to his new term.

With 86 percent of precincts reporting, Harckham is leading challenger Andrea Rendo, 53 percent to 47 percent, though Rendo has conceded defeat.

Harckham, the minority leader, said his re-election was gratifying.

“We have a good team and we executed our plan,” Harckham said. “I look forward to working with the people of Northeast Westchester for two years.”

Harckham said he will try to keep taxes and spending down, and work on a pilot program with the Department of Environmental Protection to have alternative septics in the watershed. He also plans to work on legislation to require cell towers to have generators, and work on eviction and foreclosure prevention.

Harckham said County Executive Robert Astorino’s re-election means the people of Westchester want divided government.

“It’s tough to be an incumbent,” Harckham said. “He ran an aggressive race. People want checks and balances. It’s up to us to work together in a bipartisan fashion.”

 

 

 

http://mtkisco.dailyvoice.com/news/newly-re-elected-legislator-harckham-looks-control-taxes-spending

Home Prices Climb in 88% of U.S. Cities | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Prices for single-family homes climbed in 88 percent of U.S. cities in the third quarter as buyers competed for limited inventories that included fewer discounted foreclosures.

The median transaction price rose from a year earlier in 144 of 163 metropolitan areas measured, the National Association of Realtors said in a report today. A third of areas had double-digit increases.

Potential buyers view a home under construction in South Barrington, Illinois. Home prices are extending a recovery across the country, fueled by a tight supply of listings and a smaller share of distressed sales, which drag down values. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

Home prices are extending a recovery across the country, fueled by a tight supply of listings and a smaller share of distressed sales, which drag down values. The U.S. housing market had five months of inventory in the third quarter, down from 5.9 months a year earlier, data from the Realtors group show. Completed foreclosures in September plunged 39 percent from a year earlier, according to CoreLogic Inc.

“Most regions of the country are experiencing strong home-price appreciation off a low base,” Neil Dutta, head of U.S. economics at Renaissance Macro Research LLC in New York, said yesterday in a telephone interview. “Cities with the biggest price appreciation are in places that had bigger busts.”

Price gains are at unsustainable levels, with cities such as San Francisco and San Jose, California, approaching records, Fitch Ratings said today in a report. Much of coastal California is more than 20 percent overvalued, the firm said.

 

Biggest Increases

 

The nationwide median price for an existing single-family home rose 12.5 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier to $207,300 the Realtors group said.

The best-performing areas were Sacramento, California, and Atlanta, where prices jumped 41.8 percent. They were followed by Las Vegas and Punta Gorda, Florida, which had a 31.9 percent gain. Other cities with large increases were Los Angeles, with 26.2 percent, and Phoenix, with 25 percent.

The areas with the biggest declines were all in Illinois, led by Peoria, where prices fell 13.9 percent from a year earlier. Following were Kankakee, with a 9.9 percent drop, and Rockford, with an 8.4 percent decrease.

Rising home prices and borrowing costs are causing some buyers to hold back. The average rate for 30-year fixed loans was 4.1 percent last week, up from a near-record low of 3.35 percent in early May, according to McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac.

 

Sales Slip

 

Contracts (USPHTMOM) to buy existing homes dropped the most in more than three years in September, the Realtors association reported last week.

“Rising prices and higher interest rates have taken a bite out of housing affordability,” Lawrence Yun, the group’s chief economist, said in today’s statement. “However, we have the ongoing situation of more buyers than sellers in the market, so lower sales will help to take the pressure off home-price growth and allow them to rise slowly at a single-digit growth rate in 2014.”

 

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-06/

 

Billionaire Activist Wants $48M for Award-Winning Penthouse | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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[Photos via BHS.]
22 images

Back in 2002, billionaire activist Jon Stryker snapped up two adjacent apartments atop the Beaux-Arts Prasada on Central Park West for $12.8 million, setting what was then an Upper West Side record for the the most expensive single-occupancy apartment purchase. Well, times, they have a-changed, and prices, they have a-soared. And Stryker just listed the combined, renovated triplex penthouse—clocking in at 5,600 square feet with five bedrooms and six baths, plus two levels of outdoor space, exposures in every direction, and Central Park views—for a whopping $48 million (h/t The Real Estalker.)

Though he’s trained as an architect himself in his native Michigan, where he is the heir to the fortune of a medical-equipment firm that bears his surname, Stryker currently devotes his time to philanthropy as one of the largest donors to gay and lesbian charities and conservation groups. Since he’s busy getting a species of monkey named after him and fighting for social justice and all, Stryker tapped notable design firm Shelton, Mindel & Associates to carry out the makeover. The units apparently came with, erm, “nymph sconces and endless stained-glass windows.” Eleven years later, the sprawling apartment still retains some classic touches, like detailed millwork and coffered ceilings, but the vibe is decidedly updated. Earning an award for its interiors from the American Institute of Architects, a 2010 jury deemed it “beguilingly timeless” and “masterfully done.” Agree or disagree?

If the photos don’t speak for themselves, there’s this from listing agent Brown Harris Stevens:

Featured in Architectural Digest, this unique mansion in the sky is in mint condition and features soaring ceilings, pristine hardwood flooring and expertly crafted millwork throughout. There are 4-5 bedrooms, 6 baths, 45 windows and 2 fireplaces. A stately foyer leads to a 19-foot gallery opening onto a dramatic corner entertaining expanse, with a fireplace a double-height coffered ceiling, a mezzanine balcony and a series of eight 7 windows capturing breathtaking direct Park views. …  Upstairs, there is a magnificent altelier, with 3 walls of floor-to-ceiling windows, limestone flooring. and French doors leading onto an extraordinary private decked terrace of approximately 3,000 sf with attractive plantings. A staircase from the terrace leads to a second, tower rooftop terrace of approximately 480 square feet, offering 360 degree views.

Stryker has plenty of other real estate holdings in Michigan, Palm Beach, and upstate New York, so perhaps he was ready to sell while the market is going gangbusters in order to harness some more millions for his charity work. · Listing: 50 Central Park West [Brown Harris Stevens] · Floor Plan Porn: Jon Stryker [The Real Estalker] · Historic Central Park Triplex [Shelton, Mindel & Associates] · 2010 INSTITUTE HONOR AWARDS FOR INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE RECIPIENT: Historic Central Park West Residence [AIA] · West Side Record [NYO]

New York could authorize seven Las Vegas-style casinos | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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Voters are holding the cards as to whether New York will authorize seven Las Vegas-style casinos following months of debate over the benefits of expanded gambling and the rewording of Tuesday’s ballot question. Although there are many online casinos operating in the states as of now which allow people to play games like Slots LV free spins, a physical establishment of a casino would most certainly increase the economy on a financial level drastically.

One casino would be in the Southern Tier near Binghamton, two in the Catskills and Mid-Hudson Valley region, and another in the Saratoga Springs-Albany area. A New York City casino would be built in seven years, although some casino operators say the law could allow for a New York City casino sooner. People can also play online casino games at legal platform like https://clubvip777.com/web/dafabet/.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo didn’t allow specific sites to be chosen, saying that will be up to the casino developers. His budget office says the state will take in $430 million in new casino revenue, with $238 million for education in a repeat of the strategy that approved lottery games. If you like those kind of games you should check out these betting deals and find out more about this cool betting world. The rest would go to communities near casinos to compensate for public safety and social costs and for tax reduction.  These developments have the potential to allow people to invest in the crypto currency space without owning CC’s outright, or using the services of a CC exchange. Bitcoin futures could make the digital asset more useful by allowing users and intermediaries to hedge their foreign-exchange risks. That could increase the cryptocurrency’s adoption by merchants who want to accept bitcoin payments but are wary of its volatile value. Institutional investors are also used to trading regulated futures, which aren’t plagued by money-laundering worries. You can find more info here about the leading digital currencies news which is used in casino.

Boosters held news conferences statewide touting bipartisan support by local government officials.

“When you’re at 18% unemployment, you’ve lost your industry, the housing market has really taken a hit around here, the potential of 1,500 jobs — it can be a game changer,” Town of Wawarsing Supervisor Scott Carlsen told The Associated Press in an interview.

The latest Siena College-New York Times poll appears to show the efforts have paid off. After New Yorkers have spent years split over the notion of expanding casino gambling, the poll released a week ago found 60% of New York City voters — who are expected to dominate Tuesday’s turnout — support the question. However, in that poll they were still split over whether voters wanted a casino in New York City, which would be authorized in Tuesday’s referendum.

Critics including good-government groups, the state Conservative Party and the state’s Catholic bishops argue that Cuomo’s estimates of benefits are inflated and that the social cost to families and communities will be profound. They also criticized what they called the referendum’s unusually rosy, one-side view of casinos, since Casinos are really popular now a days, there are even some options online for this, and there are also other resources online where you can learn how to play craps and gamble in different sites on the web.

Opponents have little money to combat the multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns of a powerful mix of business, gambling and union interests. And Cuomo had sidelined much of the expected opposition.

He assured Native American tribes that they wouldn’t face competition to their five casinos now operating under federal law. Cuomo also assured no competition to horse racing centers with video slot machines and gave them a chance to pursue casinos. The Board of Elections also moved the casino referendum to the advantageous top ballot position.

If voters reject casino gambling, the law will automatically approve more video slot machine centers. As recent studies have shown, internet gambling is growing across the globe, specially when it comes down to sports betting, people love to bet on websites similar to FanDuel. Players from New York, just like those from the Philippines, Qatar or Kuwait join online casinos and play their favorite games. The state is losing $1 billion a year spent at these offshore because of these unfriendly laws.

Supporters say casinos will recapture more than $1 billion a year now spent at casinos out of state.

“Proposal No. 1 would start to bring that money back to New York and create over 10,000 good-paying new jobs in New York state,” states one of the statewide TV ads paid for by the NY Jobs Now Committee and featuring a hard-hatted everyman.

The key may be in the referendum’s wording.

The Cuomo administration rewrote the referendum from the straightforward form submitted by the attorney general’s office. The Board of Elections added disputed promises that casinos would bring more school aid, jobs and tax breaks, without mentioning the opponents’ concerns about crime, addiction or the declining casino market that has forced some states to subsidize casinos.

An October Siena College poll tested the impact of the rewording. Voters statewide were split on casino gambling in general. But when shown the promises in the rewording, approval reached 55% for the first time.

State Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long called the casino effort “the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on the taxpayers of the state of New York,” while The New York Times called the rewording “advocacy, pure and simple.”

The critical wording was unsuccessfully challenged in court by Brooklyn lawyer Eric Snyder. The state Board of Elections won on a technicality that Snyder didn’t file his lawsuit by the Aug. 19 deadline, although the state didn’t post the rosy wording until Aug. 21. Powerful Republican Sen. John DeFrancisco is pushing a bill to prohibit rewording.

“I hope the voters send the Board of Elections the message that it’s wrong to stack the deck,” Snyder said

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20131104/POLITICS/131109963