MOUNT VERNON—Multifamily investors, who have bypassed this storied Southern Westchester locale for decades for such Westchester cities as Yonkers, New Rochelle and White Plains, are finally taking notice of the City of Mount Vernon for both its opportunities and challenges. Mayor Richard Thomas, who took office in January 2016 on a platform of reform, an…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Declining for-sale home inventory may finally be catching up with the nation’s residential sales market. The National Association of Realtors reports that pending home sales in April fell for the second consecutive month. NAR in a report released on May 31st, stated that its Pending Home Sales Index fell 1.3% to 109.8 in April from…
Read MoreNYACK—Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty and Edward Hopper House have announced the creation of Museum School Partnership programs for five local Hudson Valley public schools with monies raised during a fundraiser held last year. The $21,300 raised at the Oct, 15, 2016 benefit ultimately created partnership programs at five local schools: Lime Kiln Elementary in Suffern…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—U.S. real estate markets are increasingly becoming international, and changing demographics brought forth by immigration and growing interest from foreigners are positioned to bolster home sales activity and prices. That was the collective forecast from speakers at an international real estate forum organized by the REALTOR® University Richard J. Rosenthal Center for Real Estate Studies…
Read MoreRAMAPO—At a press conference staged near a controversial housing development at Patrick Farm here, Rockland County Executive Ed Day signed an Executive Order prohibiting county departments from issuing permits that do not comply with the General Municipal Law. “When it comes to development, for far too long we see laws disregarded or broken—with no consequences,”…
Read MoreNEW YORK—The multifamily development floodgates opened last year when developers put their money on the State Legislature enacting a replacement for the 421-a tax incentive legislation. New York Building Congress president and CEO Carlo A. Scissura believes that developers bet on New York State passing a new 421-a tax incentive program this past legislative session…
Read MoreYONKERS—Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano and other state and city officials joined Ginsburg Development Corp. in cutting the ribbon on its $100-million River Tides at Greystone luxury rental apartment project. The 330-unit building is GDC’s third major luxury rental development to open in Westchester since the veteran development firm shifted its…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Potential homebuyers have a lot to contend with from tight credit and low inventory to rising prices. However, for buyers who are able to muscle past these hurdles, Realtors know that tough-to-make deals can still fall apart when needlessly high regulatory burdens get in the way. That point was made clear by and received loud…
Read MoreSEATTLE—Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty reported recently that it had launched a new combination of the latest in agent productivity technology. Agents now have access to the Moxi Engage CRM from Moxi Works, which is fully integrated into an advanced automated marketing platform from Imprev, Inc. “There’s a great technology race in…
Read MoreNANUET—Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty reported on May 15th that it acquired ERA Tucker Associates of Nanuet. “We have decided to merge with Rand Realty so we could be a part of the development of the Rockland County market and any other adjacent markets in New York and New Jersey,” said Sharon Tucker, manager…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors held its very first “RPAC-A-Thon” recently at its White Plains headquarters, raising more than $8,000 for RPAC, the Realtors Political Action Committee. The initiative, supported by the New York State Association of Realtors, brought in a dedicated group of HGAR members who reached out with phone calls to…
Read MoreBuying or selling a home can be stressful enough for humans, but when you enter your four-legged family members into the mix, the fur could really start to fly! In addition to constantly cleaning up shedding pet hair, home sellers are often at a quandary of where to keep their pets during home showings. Dana…
Read MoreBRONXVILLE—Citing a continuing trend in the real estate brokerage business away from provincial offices that service a few communities, the ownership of Bronxville Real Estate announced today that it will now operate as Park Sterling Realty. The firm’s rebranding is intended to convey the geographic reach of its customer base that far extends from the…
Read MoreNEW YORK—The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a unanimous ruling found that Westchester County has failed to comply with certain requirements of the 2009 fair housing court settlement. In a scathing rebuke of the county’s long-held arguments to the contrary, the Second Circuit Court upheld previous federal district court rulings that the county had…
Read MoreRYE BROOK—Residential brokerage firm Houlihan Lawrence announced on April 25th that it entered an exclusive marketing partnership with BLADE, a private aviation startup that has been coined by some as “the Uber of Helicopters.” The partnership, which began this month, will bring prominent exposure for properties listed with Houlihan Lawrence, appearing to BLADE fliers throughout…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—As promised the Trump Administration unveiled a tax reform plan on Wednesday (April 26) that at first blush has some benefits and some drawbacks for the real estate industry. While representatives of the residential sector are pleased that the Trump economic plan does not tamper with the Mortgage Interest Deduction, the National Association of Realtors…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—The Trump Administration’s decision earlier this week to impose tariffs or duties on Canadian imported lumber could have significant impacts on prospective new homebuyers as well as the U.S. economy, the National Association of Home Builders warns. Earlier this week, the Trump Administration announced it was imposing tariffs on imported Canadian lumber ranging from 3.02%…
Read MoreWestchester County is vibrant and spring always ignites a sense of urgency in the residential sales market. Buyer demand is high and sellers who have priced their homes wisely have seen them sell quickly. However, overvalued homes sit on the market for some time. The strong buyer demand, combined with low for-sale inventory, have fueled…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Hudson Valley Realtors are overwhelmingly confident the heady times of strong sales and rising prices will continue throughout this year. However, there is also a consensus that continued declines in for-sale inventory will limit buyer options and could put a damper on buyer demand sometime in the future. First quarter home sales in the…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Growing consumer interest and demand for greener, more sustainable properties is driving a dialogue between Realtors and homebuyers and sellers. Over half of Realtors find that consumers have interest in real estate sustainability issues and practices, according to the National Association of Realtors’ recently released “Realtors and Sustainability” report. The report, stemming from NAR’s new…
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