ARROYO GRANDE, CA—The Board of Managers of the National Broker Portal, a joint venture between Broker Public Portal (BPP) and Homesnap, announced on Sept. 9 that Joseph Rand of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate|Rand Realty of Nanuet has been named executive director of the Broker Public Portal with Homesnap. Rand will remain the Chief…
Read MoreNANUET—While the third quarter 2020 residential sales numbers will not be released by OneKey MLS until next month, Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty executive Joseph Rand in a sneak preview said the region is currently enjoying a very robust sales market. “The (sales) surge continues,” Rand said. He noted that in August, new deals…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—In some good news in the times of COVID-19 for the Westchester County economy, The NRP Group announced on Aug. 31 it had broken ground on a new community of 303 market-rate apartments along the I-287 corridor in White Plains. Situated on a 70-acre site at 1133 Westchester Ave. that previously served as the…
Read MoreTARRYTOWN—Legends Realty, after nearly 10 years as an affiliate of William Raveis Real Estate, has joined the growing The Corcoran Group, LLC. The brokerage firm, which has locations in Tarrytown, Briarcliff Manor and Irvington, now operates as Corcoran Legends Realty. The launch of the Legends affiliate was announced today virtually by The Corcoran Group President…
Read MoreNEWBURGH—While Orange County is in the midst of a solicitation for two storied properties on Grand Street here, the City of Newburgh has issued a Request for Proposals on Aug. 24 for developers to redevelop the iconic City Club Building at 120 Grand St. The Mayor’s Strategic Economic Development Advisory Committee, in coordination with the…
Read MoreNYACK—Locally-based R2M (Ready to Move) Realty is putting the finishing touches on its new branch location at 42 East Central Ave. in the heart of Pearl River that will open its doors next month. Broker/Owner Kenyatta Jones-Arietta told Real Estate In-Depth that a planned soft opening for the new office is scheduled for Thursday, Sept.…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—A little over a week after first proposing a controversial 0.5% Adverse Market Refinance Fee on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced on Aug. 25 that it would delay the fee’s implementation until Dec. 1, 2020. The FHFA first announced the Adverse Market Refinance Fee on Aug. 12 and…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—A majority of economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics believe that the U.S. economy is in recession and do not expect the downturn to end until the latter part of 2020 or the early stages of 2021. On a darker note, NABE President Constance Hunter, CBE, chief economist, KPMG, said that 80%…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Proof that the local home sales market is very strong despite the COVID pandemic can be found in the latest statistics released today by the National Association of Realtors. NAR reports that existing-home sales in the Northeast rose by a record 30.6% in the month of July. NAR reported that nationwide home sales continued on…
Read MoreALBANY—While noting that July labor statistics are expected to be released soon, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli issued a report today that chronicled both the devastating impacts to the state’s labor force in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and the recent inroads that have been made toward recovery since the state’s economy…
Read MoreNEW CITY—Saying the county is “being battered from all sides” from the coronavirus and faces significant revenue shortfalls ahead, Rockland County Executive Ed Day submitted three draft Resolutions to the County Legislature on Aug. 18 that include reviving a plan to sell a shuttered county-owned office building and raising the county’s sales tax. Day says…
Read MoreGOSHEN—In an attempt to take advantage of real estate and business market trends in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Orange County has decided to market more than 250 acres of land adjacent to Route 17 to New York City businesses looking to relocate out of Manhattan. Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus recently told Real…
Read MoreALBANY—As the New York State economy continues its reopening process and the state continues to post low COVID infection numbers, local sales tax collections are improving, although still down compared to last year. Sales tax revenue for local governments in July fell 8.2% compared to the same period last year, according to New York State…
Read MoreWASHINGTON— In the era of COVID-19, the value of homes seems to have some immunity to the virus. The overwhelming majority of the nation’s metro areas enjoyed home price increases in the second quarter of 2020, according to the latest quarterly report by the National Association of Realtors released today. Median single-family home prices rose…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors’ 104th Annual Meeting & Member Appreciation Day will be like none other in the association’s history. The October gathering, which normally draws more than 1,200 Realtors and related professionals to the DoubleTree Hotel in Tarrytown, will be held virtually this year, via Zoom webinar, for safety concerns as…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Foreign buyers purchased $74 billion worth of U.S. existing homes from April 2019 through March 2020, a 5% decrease from the previous 12-month period and the second consecutive annual decline in foreign investment in U.S. residential real estate, according to a new survey from the National Association of Realtors. Foreign buyers purchased 154,000 properties, down…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Corcoran Group, LLC announced recently the launch of its newest affiliate, Corcoran Country Living, which is based in the Hudson Valley. The announcement was made virtually by Pamela Liebman, president and CEO of The Corcoran Group. This is the sixth Corcoran affiliate to launch in the U.S. since the start of the year, and…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Fort Schuyler House, Inc., MDG Design + Construction, LLC, Smith & Henzy Advisory Group, Inc., Concord Management of New York, and partners recently celebrated the completion of the $52.7-million revitalization and refinancing of Fort Schuyler House, an affordable senior housing development in the Bronx. The project preserves the affordability of Fort Schuyler House’s 138…
Read MoreALBANY—The fallout from an investigation late last year by Newsday that uncovered housing discrimination practices on Long Island has led to new harsh regulations imposed by New York State, including possible suspension or revocation of a Realtor’s license if found to have violated the state’s Human Rights Law. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Aug. 3 signed…
Read MoreNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the National Governors Association are pressing Congress to include billions of dollars in financial assistance to state governments as part of the next COVID-19 aid package currently being debated in Washington, D.C. Gov. Cuomo in a letter to the New York Congressional delegation said that New York State is…
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