Tag Archives: North Salem NY Realtor

North Salem NY Realtor

All-cash deals make huge comeback | North Salem Real Estate

Call it the summer of the cash sale. All-cash home purchases skyrocketed during the summer months of 2013, with their share of total sales growing by more than 40 percent from the beginning of June to the end of August, amid sustained appetite from investors, a recent spike in interest rates and tight inventory.

Cash purchases accounted for 45 percent of sales in August, up from the 2013 trough of 32 percent seen in April and May, according to RealtyTrac data provided exclusively to Inman News. RealtyTrac That indicates that the market share of cash sales has increased 41 percent in just the last three months.

The recent meteoric rise in cash sales’ market share hit its fastest clip yet in August, with cash purchases’ share of total sales jumping 6 percentage points month over month to 45 percent. That’s the highest level that RealtyTrac has recorded since March 2012, right around when home prices hit their post-meltdown low.

Looking back a year, cash sales’ market share was up a whopping 50 percent in August, RealtyTrac said.

 

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http://www.inman.com/2013/09/26/cash-sales-share-of-total-purchases-skyrockets-by-nearly-a-third-in-2-months/#sthash.nABqVPhW.dpuf

Gorgeous Sagaponack Six-Bedroom is Yours for $10.95M | North Salem Real Estate

This house really is beautiful. We love all the white, which contrasts beautifully with the piano-finish floors (hopefully the new owners will have staff with Swiffers on standby). The kitchen and bathrooms are faultless, the pool and landscaping are perfection. There’s 1.6 acres in a great location, and six bedrooms and 7.5 baths inside. As for the artwork, we’re on record in favor of Damien Hirst dot paintings, but the Beatles? Unless you were actually in the Beatles (and that guy lives in Amagansett, not Sagaponack), come on. Also, photographers gotta be more careful with the wide-angle lenses. Yes, they can make the rooms look bigger, but they can also give a funhouse-mirror effect that’s offputting. Again, minor complaints in a stunning house. · Sagaponack Sanctuary With Style [Saunders]

 

 

 

10 Stylish Options for Shower Enclosures | North Salem Real Estate

A shower is one of the first things you notice when you step into a bathroom, so make sure your enclosure not only matches your style but also accentuates your bathroom.
We’ve all seen or lived in a home with the ever-so-famous enclosure framed in polished brass, but there are tons of other options with which to surround your shower. Whether you go for framed or frameless, or with no enclosure at all, choose your style wisely.

traditional bathroom by Specialty Tile Products

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1. Frameless glass shower enclosure. This is a very popular option right now because of its flexibility; a frameless glass enclosure lends itself to any style, whether it’s a clean, sleek design that appeals to modern tastes or a simple and understated one with an elegant and classic look.
The glass itself is fairly easy to clean and maintain; it’s even more so if you get glass with a finish baked on that repels soap scum and water spots. Overall, frameless glass is a great way to showcase your shower.
modern bathroom by Robert Nebolon Architects

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2. Aluminum and glass shower enclosure. Need a little something more to spruce up your shower? Don’t be afraid to be unique and try a shower surround that has flair. Created with glass panels set into an aluminum frame, this shower enclosure mimics the look of the tile in the back of the shower. The dark metal mixed with the clear glass gives the enclosure an eclectic feel.
traditional bathroom by J Allen Smith Design/Build

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3. Glass block shower enclosure. Eliminate the need for a door with a glass block enclosure. Glass block surrounds are versatile, and there are textured patterns on the blocks themselves. They have strong lines and give your bathroom a clean, cool look.
The options are virtually limitless with glass blocks. You can find different block styles, thicknesses and even colors.

Historically Sensitive Renovation over $300,000: Search and Rescue | North Salem Real Estate

 

Project Info

Designer: Judy Mozen / Handcrafted Homes, Roswell, GA Contractor: Judy Mozen, Randy Urquhart / Handcrafted Homes, Roswell, GA

Priorities

• Restore and repair an exterior façade using similar designs and, where possible, like materials

Launch Slideshow

Design-builder Judy Mozen, owner of Handcrafted Homes, faced the daunting task of restoring and repairing the exterior of the historic Beaux Arts home of Asa Candler, the founder of Coca Cola.

Search and Rescue

Play Slideshow >>

Search and Rescue

  • Design-builder Judy Mozen, owner of Handcrafted Homes, faced the daunting task of restoring and repairing the exterior of the historic Beaux Arts home of Asa Candler, the founder of Coca Cola.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp7C01%2Etmp_tcm17-1999197.jpg

    Design-builder Judy Mozen, owner of Handcrafted Homes, faced the daunting task of restoring and repairing the exterior of the historic Beaux Arts home of Asa Candler, the founder of Coca Cola.

    600

    James Lawrence

    Design-builder Judy Mozen, owner of Handcrafted Homes, faced the daunting task of restoring and repairing the exterior of the historic Beaux Arts home of Asa Candler, the founder of Coca Cola.

  • The homes exterior was in a massive state of disrepair with serious structural damage: wood rot, lack of structural support in many places, brick work that needed tuck-pointing.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp76EF%2Etmp_tcm17-1999194.jpg

    The homes exterior was in a massive state of disrepair with serious structural damage: wood rot, lack of structural support in many places, brick work that needed tuck-pointing.

    600

    James Lawrence

    The home’s exterior was in a massive state of disrepair with serious structural damage: wood rot, lack of structural support in many places, brick work that needed tuck-pointing.

  • After a lengthy search Mozen discovered three brothers in Chicago at Renaissance Roofing who owned an old government press. Handcrafter Homes hand delivered sample of the original metal tiles. The brothers made  on by one  4,240 pieces of galvanized steel tiles, 720 pieces of valley and eave, 257 pieces of decorative hip/ridge, and 4 decorative finials. The pieces were coated in Kynar finish.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp72D8%2Etmp_tcm17-1999190.jpg

    After a lengthy search Mozen discovered three brothers in Chicago at Renaissance Roofing who owned an old government press. Handcrafter Homes hand delivered sample of the original metal tiles. The brothers made  on by one  4,240 pieces of galvanized steel tiles, 720 pieces of valley and eave, 257 pieces of decorative hip/ridge, and 4 decorative finials. The pieces were coated in Kynar finish.

    600

    James Lawrence

    After a lengthy search Mozen discovered three brothers in Chicago at Renaissance Roofing who owned an old government press. Handcrafter Homes hand delivered sample of the original metal tiles. The brothers made – on by one – 4,240 pieces of galvanized steel tiles, 720 pieces of valley and eave, 257 pieces of decorative hip/ridge, and 4 decorative finials. The pieces were coated in Kynar finish.

  • The roof had a major valley rafter cut in the attic that had to be restructured. The valley pitch had to be altered slightly to control the flow of water to the hidden gutters.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp6AB8%2Etmp_tcm17-1999187.jpg

    The roof had a major valley rafter cut in the attic that had to be restructured. The valley pitch had to be altered slightly to control the flow of water to the hidden gutters.

    600

    James Lawrence

    The roof had a major valley rafter cut in the attic that had to be restructured. The valley pitch had to be altered slightly to control the flow of water to the hidden gutters.

  • One obstacle was removing old plaster pieces, which were held together by lead paint and crumbled when touched. Mozen commissioned knives to be made to reproduce the mouldings; they used resins to create the pieces. So much structural damage existed on the columns, capitals, and entablature that they had to be locked together with 2x4s to secure them during the repair work.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp672C%2Etmp_tcm17-1999186.jpg

    One obstacle was removing old plaster pieces, which were held together by lead paint and crumbled when touched. Mozen commissioned knives to be made to reproduce the mouldings; they used resins to create the pieces. So much structural damage existed on the columns, capitals, and entablature that they had to be locked together with 2x4s to secure them during the repair work.

    600

    James Lawrence

    One obstacle was removing old plaster pieces, which were held together by lead paint and crumbled when touched. Mozen commissioned knives to be made to reproduce the mouldings; they used resins to create the pieces. So much structural damage existed on the columns, capitals, and entablature that they had to be locked together with 2x4s to secure them during the repair work.

  • Hidden gutters had leaked behind the cornice and frieze  soaking and rotting the wood all the way through to the framing behind the interior entry hall plaster and gold painted crown moulding.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp6363%2Etmp_tcm17-1999185.jpg

    Hidden gutters had leaked behind the cornice and frieze  soaking and rotting the wood all the way through to the framing behind the interior entry hall plaster and gold painted crown moulding.

    600

    James Lawrence

    Hidden gutters had leaked behind the cornice and frieze – soaking and rotting the wood all the way through to the framing behind the interior entry hall plaster and gold painted crown moulding.

  • Engineer Clint Shaeffer at Quinn and Associates detailed the sizes and spacing of repairs to the structural wooden columns. The new staves were made and hand-sanded into place to preserve the design of the tapered columns.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp5F7A%2Etmp_tcm17-1999184.jpg

    Engineer Clint Shaeffer at Quinn and Associates detailed the sizes and spacing of repairs to the structural wooden columns. The new staves were made and hand-sanded into place to preserve the design of the tapered columns.

    600

    James Lawrence

    Engineer Clint Shaeffer at Quinn and Associates detailed the sizes and spacing of repairs to the structural wooden columns. The new staves were made and hand-sanded into place to preserve the design of the tapered columns.

  • The curved porch demolition exposed a completely rotten structure, and a previous owner had cut joists to install lights and a fan.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp5BEE%2Etmp_tcm17-1999183.jpg

    The curved porch demolition exposed a completely rotten structure, and a previous owner had cut joists to install lights and a fan.

    600

    James Lawrence

    The curved porch demolition exposed a completely rotten structure, and a previous owner had cut joists to install lights and a fan.

  • Mozen couldnt find a ready-made tile that was  porcelain without a bevel. She researched until she found a small entrepreneur who was able to make the field tiles in a snowflake design and the Greek key border. She created a CAD drawing assigning two layout patterns that would allow the craftsman to make one sheet of snowflake and one without  to keep from having hundreds of little tile pieces to install.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp544C%2Etmp_tcm17-1999182.jpg

    Mozen couldnt find a ready-made tile that was  porcelain without a bevel. She researched until she found a small entrepreneur who was able to make the field tiles in a snowflake design and the Greek key border. She created a CAD drawing assigning two layout patterns that would allow the craftsman to make one sheet of snowflake and one without  to keep from having hundreds of little tile pieces to install.

    600

    James Lawrence

    Mozen couldn’t find a ready-made tile that was ¾” porcelain without a bevel. She researched until she found a small entrepreneur who was able to make the field tiles in a snowflake design and the Greek key border. She created a CAD drawing assigning two layout patterns that would allow the craftsman to make one sheet of snowflake and one without – to keep from having hundreds of little tile pieces to install.

  • The porchs tiled floor before its restoration.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp4E50%2Etmp_tcm17-1999181.jpg

    The porchs tiled floor before its restoration.

    600

    James Lawrence

    The porch’s tiled floor before its restoration.

  • The curved porch restored to its original elegance.

    http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/tmp4631%2Etmp_tcm17-1999180.jpg

    The curved porch restored to its original elegance.

    345

    James Lawrence

    The curved porch restored to its original elegance.

Solutions

This circa 1910 Beaux Arts home was built for Asa Candler, the founder of Coca-Cola, in Atlanta’s Inman Park neighborhood, now on the National Register of Historic Places. Handcrafted Homes was tasked with restoring and repairing this highly damaged and neglected 10,000-square-foot home’s exterior.

Design-builder Judy Mozen says the team’s greatest challenge came from the requirement to restore using similar designs and materials. “The search for products and in certain instances, for the craftsmen to create these products, necessitated an elaborate investigation that preceded the actual beginning date of the work.”

Mozen created mock-ups when necessary and contacted craftsmen across the United States. She found three brothers in Chicago–Renaissance Roofing—with an old government press who made 4,240 pieces of galvanized steel tiles, 720 pieces of valley and eave, 257 pieces of decorative hip/ridge, and 4 decorative finials.

She discovered a small entrepreneur at American Restoration Tile in Arkansas who was able to make the porch floor’s field tiles in a snowflake design and the Greek key border. To prevent having hundreds of tiny pieces to install, Mozen created a CAD drawing for two layout patterns, one with the snowflake and one without.

Craftsmen commissioned special knives to help reproduce the mouldings and an Excel spreadsheet helped them keep track of all the various designs. They also had new staves made and hand-sanded into place to preserve the tapered columns’ design.

Judges’ Comments

This is a fabulous restoration. They truly restored the exterior of this house using original materials; where there was wood they used wood, they didn’t use fiberglass. You can see the marks in the scrolls on the capitals. How often do you see an exterior tile floor? They restored it and it looks incredible.

This was the best binder in the whole competition. They did a great job of pairing up the before and after shots to tell the story through the binder.

 

 

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http://www.remodeling.hw.net/awards/search-and-rescue.aspx?utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=jump&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=RDU_081513&day=2013-08-15

 

North Salem Weekly Real Estate Report | North Salem Real Estate

North   Salem NY Weekly Real Estate Report8/28/2013
Homes for sale50
Median Ask Price$799,000.00
Low Price$250,000.00
High Price$18,500,000.00
Average Size3413
Average Price/foot$357.00
Average DOM167
Average Ask Price$1,511,404.00

Florida Luxury real estate market takes off again | North Salem Real Estate

Southwest Florida’s luxury real estate market has awakened from its prolonged hibernation with a vengeance this summer — the season when activity for high-end home deals is usually at its slowest.

From locals seeking an upgrade to European investors and even athletes training at Bradenton’s IMG Academy, an influx of millionaires scouting homes in the region has helped the industry dodge its typical summer lull in a big way.

Some areas are leading the charge, but in all, brokers say luxury real estate is clearly mounting a comeback.

“There’s a slight frenzy going on right now,” said Michael Moulton, an agent with brokerage Michael Saunders & Co.’s Longboat Key office. “Things are selling good across the country right now, and with inventory dwindling, people are trying to take advantage of the market before prices rise like they did below the $1 million mark.”

Buyers in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties snapped up 56 homes priced above $1 million in July, a 51 percent increase from June and a 124 percent jump from the same time last year, property records show.

With another 45 luxury deals pending in Southwest Florida — and the average shelf-life for those listings shrinking — industry analysts believe the luxury home market is beginning to flirt with the same boom-like conditions that have amplified the more intermediate price ranges since late last year.

 

 

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http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20130812/ARTICLE/130819911/2055/NEWS?Title=Luxury-real-estate-market-takes-off-again

 

North Salem sales up 11% – Median price up 14% | RobReportBlog

North   Salem NY Real Estate ReportRobReportBlog
20136 months ending 8/72012
29Sales26
$548,000.00median sold price$477,500.00
$200,000.00low sold price$215,000.00
$8,900,000.00high sold price$2,600,000.00
2946average size2667
$258.00ave. price per foot$239.00
206ave days on market226
$889,137.00average sold price$656,150.00
95.31%ave sold to ask93.09%

10 weird renewable energy sources | North Salem Real Estate

'The Flintstones' foot-powered car (© Moviestore Collection/Rex Features)
Putting the ‘new’ in renewable

From Fred Flintstone’s foot-powered car to the Starship Enterprise’s dilithium crystals, Americans have a rich history of imagining alternative fuel sources for petroleum-free worlds.

But what may have seemed like science fiction just two decades ago — think dance floors that produce energy and cars that run on chocolate — is quickly becoming reality.

To be sure, not all of these technologies will make it out of the laboratory, and many are decades away from achieving mainstream adoption. Yet with growing concern about climate change and rising costs at the gas pump, more consumers are opting to think outside the box when it comes to powering their homes and cars.

“You can do lots of things in the lab, but the trick is turning it into a commercial scale that makes economic sense,” notes Greg Pahl, the author of “Biodiesel: Growing a New Energy Economy” and other books about renewable energy. “With the more speculative ones, it may take 20 to 25 years to bring something like that to full commercialization.”

Among the newer alternative fuel sources that are showing potential? Biomass energy, which relies on previously living organisms to create fuel, and wave energy, Pahl notes.

While some renewable energy sources are growing mainstream — such as solar photovoltaic panels, which can be found in 300,000 homes across the U.S. — these weird energy sources are either just gaining a foothold or are in the experimental stage.

Read on to learn more about unusual energy sources that just might change the world.

 

Read more…

 

http://money.msn.com/investing/10-weird-renewable-energy-sources

Why the Fed Wants Higher Prices | North Salem Real Estate

Wealth effects merit increased attention these days. They play a fundamental role in the attempt to find recuperative power as the U.S. economy struggles to exit from the financial crisis. The Federal Reserve, however, ignores wealth effects in its current policy statements. Its formula is outcome-driven. The Fed has identified 6.5% as a target unemployment rate as long as inflation remains below or around 2.5%.

An important issue that the Fed has not discussed in detail is the idea that rising asset values in housing and the stock market will translate into more economic activity, and a speedier economic recovery—the impact of wealth effects.

Wealth effects are determined by changes in asset prices. In the U.S., two asset classes determine the intensity of wealth effects. They are housing prices and the stock market.

IN SOME SEMINAL RESEARCH, economists Karl Case, John Quigley, and Robert Shiller examined the housing sector’s wealth effect for the 37 years ending in 2012. Their findings are published in National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 18667. The authors determined that a major change occurred with the financial crisis that started in 2007.

Prior to the crisis, the U.S. saw decades of housing and business cycles during which housing had only a positive wealth effect. The economists’ research showed that households increase their spending when house prices rise, but there has been no significant decrease in consumption when house prices fall. The wealth effect from housing was always positive until the recent crisis period.

Tim Foley for Barron’s

But the housing crash from 2005 to 2009 introduced a negative wealth effect to the U.S. Technical measures of the response of personal consumption with respect to wealth changes—elasticities, in economics lingo—were large. The Case-Quigley-Shiller study found that real housing wealth gains in the 2001-2005 period pushed up household spending by about 4.3% and the decrease in real housing wealth from 2005 to 2009 was associated with a decline in household consumption of 3.5%.

Separate research by Neal Soss and Henry Mo of Credit Suisse published in February reached a similar conclusion. They said, “Mortgage equity withdrawals, once the main channels through which consumers generated the cash flow to spend beyond their take-home pay, show no sign of recovery following the collapse from 2006-2008. Less cash from monetized home equity implies less purchasing power and consumer expenditures, and hence a smaller housing wealth effect.”

While the Fed says its policy is focused on employment and inflation targets, the Fed decision makers know that smaller wealth effects make their job more difficult. That is why interest rates are being managed to very low levels. The Fed wants housing prices to rise in order to achieve positive wealth effects. To do that, it must make the cost of financing housing cheap and keep it cheap.

 

 

Why the Fed Wants Higher Prices – Barrons.com.