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Pound Ridge Real Estate Report | January 2011 | RobReportBlog

January 2011 has 56 active homes on the market in Pound Ridge NY. The high price is $10,000,000 and the low price is $380,000. The median unsold price is now $974,500, with the average Pound Ridge NY home is 3932 square feet, has been on the market 175 days and is asking $369 per foot.

Pound Ridge NY Homes 2010 Sold Statistics

55 sold UP 103%

3680 average square feet

169 average days in market

$793,350 median price DOWN 6.1%

$3,325,000 high price

$295,000 low price

$277.15 average square foot price

91.75% average sold price to asking

Pound Ridge NY Homes 2009 Sold Statistics

27 sold

3317 average square feet

195 average days in market

$845,000 median price

$2,749,000 high price

$375,000 low price

$297.21 average square foot price

92.08% average sold price to asking

Pound Ridge NY Real Estate saw a big resurgence in 2010 compared to 2009. Sales are up 103%. Good market news. Sellers have been more realistic and realize there are less buyers, more inventory and prices have to come down. Median Pound Ridge NY price is down 6.1%.

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3 Options To Sell Your Home In Pound Ridge NY | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate

GETTING READY TO put your house on the market? Before you do, you’ll have to decide whether you want to hire a full-service broker, work with a discount broker or sell the place on your own. It’s not an easy decision — there are advantages and disadvantages to each method.

A traditional broker, for example, will present you with a complete marketing plan and expose your home to as many buyers as possible. You could, however, save yourself thousands of dollars by selling your property on your own. But some would argue that the headache isn’t worth it.

Here are some pros and cons to consider before you take the plunge.

Traditional Brokers
The Pros: Great exposure. Traditional real estate agents share their property listings in a database called the Multiple Listing Service. This database contains the vast majority of all properties that are for sale and is used as a standard by agents nationwide. (Manhattan, however, doesn’t have a local Multiple Listing Service.) Through the MLS, the details of your property can be easily accessed by prospective buyers either through their agents or directly by them on the Web. And since the listing broker is willing to split the 6% commission with any real estate agent who finds a buyer, there’s plenty of incentive to show a competitor’s inventory.

A good agent will do all the work for you. He or she will take control of the transaction and do everything from setting an accurate asking price and prescreening prospective buyers to showing your home and negotiating the final price. All you’ll need to do is keep the place tidy. This should free you to spend your weekends looking for your new abode.

The Cons: Brokers are expensive. Most of them charge a commission of as much as 6% for their services. So if your four-bedroom colonial sells for $500,000, you’ll have to cut a check for $30,000 at closing. Keep in mind, however, that all fees are negotiable.

An agent may not always have your best interests in mind. Take, for example, the so-called open house, where buyers are invited to view a home en masse. These events rarely lead to a sale. So why are they popular? Brokers like them, because they’re often used as a means for generating buyer leads.

A broker is in control of your transaction. So be prepared for strangers to traipse through your house for a “viewing” at practically any time of day. More important, your broker will be negotiating on your behalf, and you’ll have to trust that he or she is providing you with all of the information you need to make a final decision. Worst case, you may find your agent encouraging you to reduce your price just to make a quick sale so he can move on to another property.

Discount Brokers
The Pros: Discount brokers are cheaper than traditional brokers. Companies such as Foxtons, eRealty.com and zipRealty.com charge sellers between 2% and 5% for their services. (Typically, the higher the fee, the more service that’s provided.) So the commission for that same four-bedroom colonial could cost you between $10,000 and $25,000, compared with the $30,000 a traditional broker would charge you.

You’ll reach more potential buyers with a discounter than if you sell your home on your own. Discount brokers spend millions of dollars each year on advertising in the U.S. and abroad. A large percentage of homes handled by these low-cost brokers sell without being listed on the Multiple Listing Service.

Some discounters will prescreen for qualified buyers and weed out the riffraff. If you use a discount broker that runs credit checks on potential buyers and makes sure they’re preapproved for a sufficient mortgage, you can have confidence that people looking at your property are serious buyers.

The Cons: You get what you pay for. Some discounters merely list your property on their Web sites. Or they’ll field calls from prospective buyers, but you’ll have to give the official home tour and deliver the hard sell. If this is all the service you’re getting, some industry insiders argue you might as well run an ad yourself.

You’ll have to pay up to get your home in the Multiple Listing Service database. While discounters can offer you this service, you won’t get it for 2%. Many discounters will charge you a higher fee, say 4% to 5%, for the listing.

Don’t expect agents to bang down your door. Even if your home is listed in the Multiple Listing Service database, some agents may refuse to show your property. Why? The discounted commission. Rather than the traditional 3% buyer’s commission, many discounters will offer agents just 2% or 2.5%. While that may seem like splitting hairs to you, the difference can really add up. If an agent can make $10,000 selling one $500,000 home vs. $30,000 on a comparable property, which one do you think he’ll show first?

For Sale by Owner
The Pros: More money in your pocket. That’s right, you get to keep whatever your home sells for. You can put that 6% commission toward the down payment on a larger home or toward more important expenses, such as your child’s education.

No one knows your home better than you do. So doesn’t it make sense that you could point out all of the amenities and sell it better than an agent? Many agents showing a home are walking through it for the first time.

If you want something done right, do it yourself. Selling your own home gives you complete control over the transaction. You set the price, you set up convenient times to show the home, and you get to negotiate with a buyer. This way, you’ll know when it’s time to cave and lower your price or stay firm because your house is attracting a lot of interest.

The Cons: Less exposure. If you try to sell your home without the assistance of a broker, you’ll dramatically limit the number of potential buyers who’ll view your property. First, your house won’t be included in the Multiple Listing Service. Second, buyers feel more comfortable using a broker, since they want to see all of the available homes in a given neighborhood and have a professional on hand to help analyze the properties.

Expect your home to sell for less. According to the National Association of Realtors, homes that sold with a broker went for a higher median price than those sold by an owner. Many buyers believe they can negotiate more vigorously if they’re buying directly from an owner who’s avoiding a hefty broker’s fee.

Selling your own home can be a hassle. You have to set a price, place ads in the paper, field calls from prospective buyers and then put on your best smile and sell that house like a pro. And don’t forget about the negotiations. Some industry insiders even argue that buyers feel more comfortable talking money with a third party. Now try juggling all that’s involved while holding down a full-time job and looking for a new home for your family to move into. Some argue that avoiding the headache is well worth the 6% commission.

Smart Money Article

Pound Ridge Homes

New Agency Disclosure in Pound Ridge NY | Pound Ridge Real Estate

A New Broker Disclosure Law in New York _ Pound Ridge Real Estate

AS if the process of shopping for an apartment weren’t fraught enough, potential buyers and renters will have to deal with another wrinkle this year, when a new real estate broker-disclosure law goes into effect in New York.

The law requires a real estate agent to have clients sign a form stating that they understand whom the agent represents and to whom the agent will give “undivided loyalty,” as soon as they enter into a relationship.

Brokers are interpreting that to mean that the form does not have to be produced for everyone who walks into an open house, but rather as soon as someone starts asking substantive questions about a property, and certainly when someone asks for an appointment to see it a second time. Given that many apartment hunters are reluctant even to put their names on a sign-in sheet at an open house, agents do not want to have to present them with forms any sooner than necessary.

The disclosure law is designed to clarify the roles of buyers’ and sellers’ agents, in order to, as the form itself states, “help you to make informed choices about your relationship with the real estate broker and its sales associates.” The form goes on to define the various categories of agent.

Assemblyman Jonathan L. Bing, a Democrat who sponsored the legislation, says the new law increases consumer protection because previous disclosure forms were required only in transactions involving single-family homes and buildings with four or fewer units. Mr. Bing said the state and city Realtors’ associations had joined with him in urging passage of the law because it simplifies disclosure of dual agency, in which an agent represents both a buyer and a seller. Buyers can now sign one form providing advance consent to dual agency rather than having to sign a form for each listing that they might see.

“This is a consumer protection law,” said Neil Garfinkel, residential counsel to the Real Estate Board of New York, “but it also protects brokers, because now they will have a written record of what they’re already required to do now verbally.” If a complaint is filed against an agent for not producing a disclosure form, the penalty is a fine of up to $1,000 and, potentially, a requirement that the agency return the commission.

The law will also apply to sellers and landlords, but for them it will presumably be less jarring, because they will already be in negotiation with an agent for an exclusive contract. The disclosure forms will be fairly straightforward when agents are acting either for the buyer or for the seller. But often circumstances are less clear-cut, because they are acting as dual agents.

Full Story

US Population Grows 10% – South and West Grow Most | Pound Ridge Real Estate

The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday released the first results from the 2010 census. It showed there are 308.74 million Americans, an increase of 27 million or 9.7 percent since 2000.

About 13 million of the increase is new immigrants, while 17 million came from births by existing residents. Nearly 80 percent of the population growth was among minority families, with Hispanics registering the biggest gains.

Most of the population growth is in the South and West. The 10 fastest-growing states had average population gains of 21 percent. The states were:

1. Nevada
2. Arizona
3. Utah
4. Idaho
5. Texas
6. North Carolina
7. Georgia
8. Florida
9. Colorado
10. South Carolina

States with slower growth included Ohio, New York, and Illinois. Michigan was the only state that actually lost population.

NAR Article

Pound Ridge Homeowners Should Buy a Second Home in Florida Now | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate