Tag Archives: Westchester NY

Westchester NY

Talk of doing away with Fannie and Freddie is just that | Pound Ridge Real Estate

A quick bye-bye to Fannie and Freddie? Don’t bank on it.

With the sudden gush of congressional proposals designed to kill the two government-sponsored companies as fast as possible — the most recent floated at the end of last week by a key committee leader in the House — you’d think Fannie’s and Freddie’s days are numbered.

In the long run they probably are, but a close look at legislative plans such as the “PATH Act” (Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners Act) offered Friday by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) tells me that Fannie and Freddie are going to be around for years — maybe into the next decade, beyond 2020.

Depending on how you see their current and past roles supplying the bulk of funds for home mortgages along with FHA, that’s either good news or terrible news.

Here’s how I see it.

Fannie and Freddie have been in “conservatorship” — which was designed to be a short-term legal purgatory allowing the White House and Congress time to figure out what to do with both companies — for nearly five years. Despite a bold-sounding commitment by the Obama administration in early 2011 to work with Congress to return housing finance primarily to the private sector and out of the grips of federally chartered Fannie and Freddie, 2013 has been the first year we’ve seen a serious proposal for how to do that.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/07/16/talk-of-doing-away-with-fannie-and-freddie-is-just-that/#sthash.sDJFtI8F.dpuf

Caramoor Opera Review | Waccabuc Real Estate

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A production of the 1855 French opera “Les Vêpres Siciliennes” by Verdi performed on Saturday at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah was praised in a review in Sunday’s edition of The New York Times.

The Katonah Museum of Art’s new Collage Center might feature artists from around the world, but at the center of it all is North Salem native Pavel Zoubok.

The Bedford Central School District updated its 2013-14school calendar this week, adding dates that teacher and superintendent conferences will take place.

The Journal News is seeking more information on gun owners in Westchester County several months after it posted a controversial map on the publication’s website that gave the names and addresses of legal gun owners, according to an article on the Fox News website.

Caramoor Opera Review Tops Bedford News This Week | The Bedford Daily Voice.

Hottest Digs of June 2013 | South Salem Real Estate

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With summer in full swing, Zillow Digs users were inspired to create an oasis fit for a staycation this June. Check out what you and your friends Dug the most:

No. 10

Previously cluttered, this laundry room gets an perky update with a coat of bright green paint.

No. 9

Natural elements, such as this intricate stone backsplash and wood cabinetry, work in tandem to create a kitchen space that feels simultaneously rustic and fresh.

No. 8

It’s a hit! This transitional garden area makes a comeback this month as summer blooms across the nation. When asked to describe this project, Zillow Digs architect Rick McDermott said, “…The homeowners have transformed it into a beautiful lush shade garden.”

No. 7

Vacation season has arrived and this tropical-inspired bedroom has Zillow Digs users dreaming of their own paradise by the sea.

No. 6

Zillow Digs designer Beth Whitlinger created a seamless flow between this sumptuous marble kitchen and full-size dining area, complete with a window seat for after-diner star gazing!

No. 5

Floor-to-ceiling windows offer an affordable lighting solution during daylight hours, while a medieval-inspired chandelier boosts this living room’s rustic ambiance post-sunset.

No. 4

No need for cheesy Yule Log videos. This dual fireplace/TV wall offers the best of both entertainment worlds.

Hottest Digs of June 2013 | Zillow Blog.

Housing market heats up with young buyers but average real estate agent age 57 | Waccabuc Real Estate

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As the housing market heats up again, the real estate industry is facing a new challenge: finding enough younger agents.

Even though many of the top agents make well into six-figures, a new survey shows real estate executives here and across the country are worried about not attracting new blood.

“Clearly there’s a resurgence in the housing market among the Gen X and Gen Y participants, and that’s the next market,” says Kevin Hawkins, the vice president of Imprev Inc., a Bellevue real estate marketing firm that did the survey. “The concern of brokers is not just for today, but what business is going to look like tomorrow.”

While buyers are getting younger, agents are not. Only six-percent are under the age of 34.

“The average age of a realtor is 57 years old. The average age of an American worker is 41 years old. If you look at the typical age of a first time home buyer, it’s 31. So, there’s clearly an age gap,” he says.

During the housing meltdown between 2007 and 2010, there was a tremendous weeding out process in the industry. Hawkins says it was survival of the fittest, and many of the less-experienced agents got out of the business.

But the housing market is booming again, yet 42 percent of the real estate executives surveyed said the need for more agents is their number one concern. They’re worried that younger, qualified candidates are going into other industries, and they’re taking their talents with them.

“Younger agents are much more adept with technology and the internet and all the other tools that people want to use when they first start looking for a home. The surveys show that older agents are more reluctant to adopting the new technologies,” Hawkins says.

Pamela Jensen is a longtime managing broker for Windermere. She has trained many new agents over the last two decades and says being “young” in the industry can work against you.

“What I have found is that if they’re too young, nobody uses them,” she says. “Many homeowners want someone who has owned a home, or who’s bought and sold one. If you’re 23, you haven’t done that.”

She says even the Gen X-ers who work in the tech industry want someone who’s experienced because buying a home is one of the biggest investments they’ll ever make.

But Hawkins says with the average age of a real estate agent being 57, the top execs realize they need to revamp their recruiting strategies so that they can attract younger realtors.

“If they don’t do it now and this group of realtors ages to a point they start retiring, which we’re getting close to that tipping point, then you’ll see a real loss of opportunity of taking that experience and knowledge and imparting it on a whole new workforce,” he says.

Housing market heats up with young buyers but average real estate agent age 57 – Local – MyNorthwest.com.

Rooftop solar takes off across California as costs come down | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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California’s groundbreaking efforts to encourage homeowners and businesses to install rooftop solar panels were so successful in 2012 that the program is now effectively winding down, according to a new report.

A record 391 megawatts of solar power were installed statewide in 2012, a growth of 26 percent from 2011, according to a report by the California Solar Initiative released Wednesday.

“The program has made solar affordable for ordinary Californians,” said Susannah Churchill of the San Francisco-based solar advocacy group Vote Solar. “Solar is a classic California success story.”

In January 2007, California launched an unprecedented $3.3 billion effort to install 3,000 megawatts of new solar over

the next decade and transform the market for solar energy by reducing the cost of solar-generating equipment.

One megawatt is enough to power 750 to 1,000 homes. But because the sun doesn’t shine all the time, solar industry experts say that one megawatt of solar can power about 200 households.

The California Public Utilities Commission’s California Solar Initiative, known as CSI,provides rebates for residential and commercial customers of the state’s three large, investor-owned utilities: Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric.

The initiative’s road map calls for 1,750 new megawatts of solar power to be installed on residential and commercial roofs in the state by

Rooftop solar takes off across California as costs come down – San Jose Mercury News.

11 Brilliant Ways to Crush It on LinkedIn | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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Are you using LinkedIn?

Personally I’ve spent most of my social media energy on Facebook.

But lately I’m thinking I should pay more attention to LinkedIn — since millions of businesses are thriving there.

I know LinkedIn has made a ton of important changes over the past year — many of which have caught my attention.

And their mobile app is better than Facebook’s!

So here’s a list of the best resources I could find on LinkedIn. Enjoy & please let me know if they’re helpful.

11 LinkedIn Resources You Can’t Miss

How to Effectively Use LinkedIn For Business

by Kim Garst

According to Kim, LinkedIn is an amazing tool to promote your product or service. It’s a place to start conversations with others in your niche. It’s a place where having an up-to-date profile can land you your next big opportunity. And if you know how to use it well, the networking & growth potential is astounding.

3 LinkedIn Tools to Grow Your Presence on LinkedIn

by Ian Cleary

LinkedIn can be a very valuable tool for your business but only if you’re using the right LinkedIn management tools? In this article Ian outlines 3 tools that will really help you grow your presence on LinkedIn.

5 Creative Ways to Use LinkedIn Company Pages

by Social Media Examiner

Here Social Media Examiner gives us five brands using their LinkedIn company pages creatively. Check out what these businesses are doing so you can learn to tell your story, generate leads & engage your communities through your LinkedIn page.

LinkedIn: Revolutionizing the World of Recruiting [Infographic]

by MarketingProfs

To find out how LinkedIn is transforming job recruiting, the folks at MarketingProfs did some indepth research. It turns out HR folks aren’t flipping through resumes & paperwork anymore to help companies fill positions. Instead, they’re searching through profiles on LinkedIn, their go-to source for quality recruits.

Turn Your Profile Into Your Portfolio on LinkedIn

by Marketing Pilgrim

LinkedIn now lets you set your profile up to function as a portfolio! So if you have a visual backlog of work, you need to read this post to see how to make it stand out on LinkedIn.

How to Boost Engagement on Your LinkedIn Company Page

by Social Media Examiner

In a recent LinkedIn study, 50% of company followers said they’re more likely to purchase products & services from a business they engage with on LinkedIn. Here are 5 simple ways to boost engagement with your LinkedIn followers.

LinkedIn: Unlock Your Potential on the World’s Largest Business Network

by Kim Garst

LinkedIn is a powerful tool when it comes to finding potential employees, searching for a dream job & expanding your network. It easily outdoes any online job board in all of these areas. Kim covers some easy-to-follow ways to unlock your potential on LinkedIn — and maybe land your dream job.

How to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job

by The 60 Second Marketer

Most people know LinkedIn is used to find new jobs. But are you leveraging LinkedIn in the right way to do that? In this post, the 60 Second Marketer gives you some practical tips on how to land your new job via LinkedIn.

11 Brilliant Ways to Crush It on LinkedIn – Yahoo! Small Business Advisor.

Second quarter market trends defy suggestions of housing bubble | Waccabuc Real Estate

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The average price of a home in Canada increased between 1.2 per cent and 2.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2013, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast, released today.

According to the survey, markets across the country continue to post gains. In the second quarter, standard two-storey homes and detached bungalows both showed a year-over-year average price increase of 2.7 per cent to $419,614 and $386,547, respectively. Average prices for standard condominiums showed a more modest increase during the same period, rising 1.2 per cent to $248,750. Royal LePage forecasts that house prices will see modest gains throughout the remainder of 2013, projecting a 3.0 per cent increase for the full year when compared to 2012.

Dialogue concerning the direction of Canada’s housing market has remained front and centre in recent months. Changes to Canada’s mortgage lending rules in mid-2012 coupled with concerns about consumer debt levels, housing affordability in cities like Toronto and Vancouver and continued international economic uncertainty have prompted a number of analysts to forecast large downward price adjustments.

“As we have stated consistently since the current market downturn began late in the second quarter of 2012, this is a normal cyclical correction which brings fewer home sales and softer prices. Those hoping their predictions of a bursting bubble and cataclysmic drops in home values will come true are out of luck again,” said Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage. “Price appreciation in most markets across the country has been well below the long-term average for Canada and will remain so through to the end of the year. We expect to see the number of homes trading hands to begin to rise slightly on a year-over-year basis in the second half of 2013, with price softness continuing until mid-2014, at which point we’ll see an emergence from the current cycle.”

Recent signals from major financial institutions in the United States and Canada also point to a turn in the tide. In recent weeks, two of Canada’s largest home-loan lenders, Royal Bank of Canada and TD Bank Group, raised their mortgage rates. At the same time, the U.S. Federal Reserve recently hinted that it may start winding up monetary stimulus later this year, should economic improvements continue.

“With the economy on both sides of the border performing better in recent months, a move off the record-low interest rates that we’ve experienced over the past few years is likely on the horizon,” explained Soper. “Paradoxically, we expect the first increases in interest rates to be constructive for the housing market. Rising rates would be driven by a strengthening economy, reduced unemployment and improving consumer confidence. Much of the dampening effect that would come with a transition towards higher rates has already been ‘priced in’ to both consumer attitudes and financial institutions’ current lending policies.”

As of late, the condominium sector has moved to the forefront of discussions concerning the health of Canada’s real estate market with fears of oversupply in major centres like Toronto. Yet, condominium prices remained flat or posted year-over-year gains in nearly all Canadian cities in the second quarter, with a couple of exceptions in British Columbia. While condominium prices in Vancouver saw a 3.3 per cent decrease when compared to the same period in 2012, signs of an early recovery are evident across the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/07/09/5006219/second-quarter-market-trends-defy.html#storylink=cpy

TORONTO, July 9, 2013: Second quarter market trends defy suggestions of housing bubble | PRNewswire | Rock Hill Herald Online.

Improving Your Content Marketing | Chappaqua Realtor

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Content marketing is required for success in today’s competitive business world. No matter which industry you are in, your website visitors want high-quality, information-rich, high-impact and captivating content-marketing-superpowers content with deep industry insight. We are in the midst of the information age; your prospects do a significant amount of research, comparing you to your top competitors. How can you distinguish your company and win content marketing game? A top-notch company blog is the foundation for winning content marketing. If you have committed to content marketing, you may as well dive in, and grant your content marketing some superpowers.

Achieving high rates of social content curation—social sharing—is now vital to SEO and the ranking of search engine results pages (SERPS). Each time someone shares your content with their network of friends and industry contacts, it gets a stamp of approval—increasing its reach and amplifying your chances for higher rates of traffic and lead generation. The need to create content, which readers find valuable enough to share, will ultimately improve the quality of online marketing and the Internet as a whole.

There are no shortcuts to producing highly shareable content, which calls for vision, creativity, a deep knowledge base and a sophisticated understanding of your industry. Consistently creating valuable, relevant and share-worthy content will inevitably improve your search rankings, which are increasingly taking into account the social exposure and influence of content and the authors who create it. Creating highly shareable content will get others to promote your content for you. While originality is an important goal of content creation, highly shared content does have some common characteristics.

Highly Shareable Content Defined

1. It has no typos, spelling or grammatical errors.

2. It features fresh ideas and innovative best practices.

3. Highly shareable content is not overly “salesy” and avoids a primary focus on pushing products or services.

4. It maintains breadth and depth of subject matter.

5. It has captivating images.

6. Highly shareable content leverages newsjacking of hot industry-relevant news.

7. It highlights industry thought leadership.

8. Highly shared titles are actionable, concise, clear, descriptive, authoritative, intriguing and sometimes even a little mysterious.

9. Highly shearable content includes information-rich and captivating infographics.

10. It is visually striking and presented in an organized fashion.

5 Ways to Make Your Content More Formidable

1. Create Easy-to-Process Content

Everyone with an Internet browser is inundated with content on a daily basis. The best way to keep people reading your content is to structure it so that it can be easily skimmed over. Paragraphs should have headlines, and main points should be put into numbered lists and bullet points. People may not want to read every single point you make; this practice allows them to skip some information and search for what they find most intriguing, which increases your chances of high rates of content curation.

Improving Your Content Marketing | Social Media Today.

Reorganize Your Fridge, Revitalize Your Diet | Cross River Real Estate

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If finding something as simple as ketchup in your refrigerator is akin to reaching into astorage unit of forgotten mysteries, it’s probably time to rethink the way you’re storing food. Not only does a well-organized fridge make for a more pleasing kitchen environment overall, but you’ll never again find yourself frantically searching for green onions halfway through cooking dinner. Here are some easy ways to reorganize your fridge and streamline the way you cook and eat, for the better!

Organize by expiration date and throw items away weekly

Unless you’re planning on hunkering down for the next year or so, there’s no need to hoard food or keep leftovers for longer than 2-3 days. Judiciously throw away any foods that are expiring, or close to expiring, at the end of every week. This allows you to start each week with a clean slate — a great motivational tool if you’re following a specific diet plan or just trying to eat healthier.

Invest in quality storage containers

It’s easy to forget which leftover came first when you’re looking at five different to-go boxes. To solve this problem, invest in quality see-through containers such as Tupperware or Pyrex, and label with the contents and date. Clear space in your freezer as well by getting rid of unnecessary box packages, and instead keep everything in airtight plastic containers or bags.

Take advantage of your fridge’s storage

Your fridge comes with drawers and compartments for a reason — they’re optimized for certain foods. Meat should go into the deli drawer. If your fridge doesn’t have one, place meat in the shallowest drawer, which happens to be one of the colder areas in your fridge. Also make sure your vegetables are in the drawer with the highest humidity (most fridges will come with a fruit and vegetable drawer). Be careful with your eggs: They absorb odor, so put them in the airtight egg bin if your fridge has one, or in the centermost area.

Don’t rely on the the refrigerator door

While you may be haphazardly piling various food and drink items into the door of your refrigerator, don’t forget that most foods should be stored in an area that maintains a stable temperature. The frequent opening and closing of your refrigerator door can actually be damaging to many foods and cause them to expire faster than their regular shelf life.

Some foods are better left unrefrigerated

Some foods just do not belong in the fridge. These include potatoes, onions, tomatoes, avocados, peaches and honey. Some foods, such as bread, nut butters, bananas and apples, do not need to be refrigerated, but can be. Additionally, be careful of storing fruits that emit ethylene gas in close proximity with other ethylene-sensitive foods. Apples, for example, release ethylene gas, which will end up spoiling nearby fruits and vegetables.

Reorganize Your Fridge, Revitalize Your Diet | Zillow Blog.

‘The Young and the Restless’ Star Tracey Bregman Lists Longtime Malibu Home | Bedford Corners Real Estate

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You may recall Lauren Fenmore’s romances with Paul Williams, Scott Grainger Sr. or Michael Baldwin. Maybe a cat fight with Sheila Carter or the troubled teenage years of Donna Temple Craig ring a bell. Whatever storyline you follow, Tracey Bregman will be remembered for her soap opera years on “Days of our Lives,” “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless,” earning her the first Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series.

Now with two grown sons and her divorce from Ron Recht behind her, the veteran soap star is moving from her longtime Malibu home. Bregman bought the 6-bedroom for $3.55 million and just listed it for the first time in 9 years for $5.5 million.

The property is ideal for Malibu living: 1.9 acres with ocean views, outdoor patios and a pool surrounded by palm trees. Located at6275 Zumierz Dr, Malibu, CA 90265, a gated entry opens to a tree-lined driveway. Inside, a grand hallway entrance is highlighted by a skylight, walnut floors and a winding staircase.

Built in 2003, the house is a contemporary Mediterranean style, with the living and dining rooms opening to a landscaped entertainment space in the backyard. A plush home office features custom-built bookcases, while the master suite includes a private sitting room and deck.

After winning an Emmy in ’85, Bregman has since received four nominations. Despite her success, she briefly ventured away from acting in 2004, pursuing a yoga-inspired clothing line called Bountiful Buddha.

‘The Young and the Restless’ Star Tracey Bregman Lists Longtime Malibu Home | Zillow Blog.