Fair & Affordable Housing Expo, March 14, 2015, Westchester County Center

Mixed-Use TOD Project Breaks Ground in Mount Vernon

MOUNT VERNON– MacQuesten Development LLC and New York State Homes and Community Renewal held a groundbreaking ceremony late last month on a new $31.5-million mixed-use Transit-Oriented Development for downtown Mount Vernon. The Modern, to be built on an underutilized former industrial area, will include 80 affordable rental apartments and approximately 9,400 square feet of commercial,…

State Budget Includes Infrastructure Spending, Education, Ethics Reform

ALBANY—The New York State Legislature passed a $142-billion budget on-time budget on March 30 that includes some controversial education reform, campaign finance reform, as well as enhanced infrastructure spending thanks to $5.4-billion in bank court settlement revenue. For the real estate industry, Gov. Cuomo earmarked some of the one-time bank funds for financing of the…

Education April 2015

WHAT’S NEW FOR HGAR EDUCATION IN 2015? AFTER HOURS PROGRAM Complete Your Required 22.5 Hours Of Continuing Education In The Evenings.8 Evening Sessions, including the required 3 hours of Fair Housing for only…..$199.00/Members $269.00/Non-Members (pre-registration required) Goshen – May 2015 -6:00pm-9:15pm 5/5/15-Distressed Market Guide; 5/7/15-Fair Housing; 5/12/15-NAR Ethics; 5/14/15-Short Sale Solutions; 5/19/15-Real Estate Auctions 101; 5/21/15-Communication Skills;…

BOARDROOM Report: April 2015

Communications and Member Services Director of Communications Mary Prenon provided the report from the Communications Council, advising that a new HGAR Member Perks Program has been launched. Enrollment is free and the program provides access to exclusive offers and discounts from popular merchants. Approximately 400 people have already signed up. Prenon further advised that the…

Finding the Housing Market’s ‘Sweet Spot’

Spring is in full spring! Whatever does that mean? One sure sign of spring is that golfers are returning to the links. So why not examine the Westchester County real estate market using a golf analogy? But first, a little background. The fourth quarter of 2014, as well as 2014 as a whole, showed strong…

ERA Insite Brokers Townhouse Development Sale in White Plains

WHITE PLAINS–  ERA Insite Realty Services in White Plains represented both the seller and purchaser of a multi-unit townhouse development close to downtown White Plains that recently closed, the company reported recently. The property sold for $2.5 million. The seller, Chris Suriano, was represented by Michael D’Onofrio and Louis Budetti, and the buyer, 24 Gatehouse…

Annual KW ‘RED Day’ Set for May 14

WHITE PLAINS— Keller Williams associates will be taking the day off on Thursday, May 14, 2015, but it will hardly be a day of rest. Associates have chosen to “Give Where They Live” as part of RED Day, the company’s annual day of service, dedicated to renewing, energizing, and donating to their local communities. As…

Pending Home Sales Rise Behind Gains in Midwest, West

WASHINGTON—Pending home sales in February increased to their highest level since June 2013 as sizeable gains in the Midwest and West offset smaller declines in the Northeast and South, the National Association of Realtors announced on March 30. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 3.1% to 106.9 in…

Northeast Existing-Home Sales Fall More Than Six Percent in Feb.

WASHINGTON—Existing-home sales increased modestly in February, but constrained inventory levels pushed price growth to its fastest pace in a year, the National Association of Realtors reported on March 23. Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 1.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million…

Realtors Predict a ‘Normal’ Spring Home Sales Market

WHITE PLAINS—For the second year in a row, a harsh winter that featured significant snow, extreme cold and on many days biting winds kept many prospective homebuyers bundled up next to the fireplace and away from Realtor Open Houses. Despite the long winter of 2014-2015, homes sales in the four-county region of the Hudson Gateway…

Existing U.S. Home Sales Turned Frosty in January

WASHINGTON—Existing-home sales declined in January to their lowest rate in nine months, but the pace was higher than a year ago for the fourth straight month, according to the National Association of Realtors. All major regions experienced declines in January, with the Northeast and West seeing the largest sales decreases. Total existing-home sales, which are…

Survey: Majority of Realtors Feel Safe on the Job

WASHINGTON—A new survey from the National Association of Realtors released on March 2nd found 96% of Realtors have never been the victim of crime, but 40% have found themselves in situations where they have feared for their safety or the safety of their personal information. Some of the most common circumstances that resulted in fearful…

Trion Adds Three Complexes To Westchester County Portfolio

YONKERS—Trion Real Estate Management reported it is now managing three new residential complexes in Westchester, bringing its real estate management portfolio to more than 1,700 units throughout 26 properties. The Trion team was selected to take over the management of Whiteoak Condominiums in White Plains, Boulder Condominiums in Bronxville, and The Commons Cooperative in Peekskill,…

Toll Brothers City Living Closes On Two Manhattan Properties 

NEW YORK—Toll Brothers City Living, the urban development division of Toll Brothers, Inc., announced recently that the firm closed on two new properties at 100 Barrow St. in the West Village and two parcels located at 351-355 Broadway in Tribeca. “We’ve been working on these two deals for a considerable amount of time, and are…

WRO Files Suit Against Village of Bronxville for Alleged Housing Discrimination in Zoning

WHITE PLAINS—Westchester Residential Opportunities reported on Jan. 15 that it had filed suit in federal court here against the Village of Bronxville and developer Gateway Kensington LLC for illegal housing discrimination against families with children. WRO Executive Director Geoffrey Anderson stated, “Housing discrimination in all forms must be challenged, so that families and people of…

Houlihan Lawrence Acquires Greenwich, CT Brokerage 

RYE BROOK—Houlihan Lawrence announced on Feb. 23rd it had acquired Shore & Country Properties, a residential brokerage in Greenwich, CT. The Shore & Country acquisition comes on the heels of the recent announcement that the former Kelly Associates offices in Darien and Rowayton, CT have joined the Houlihan Lawrence network. In less than 18 months…

County Brokers Deal on Affordable Units At Avalon’s Harrison Multifamily Project

HARRISON—The Astorino administration announced on March 12 it had brokered a deal between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, developer AvalonBay Communities and the Town of Harrison to set aside 5% of the planned 143 residential units to be developed on land adjacent to the Metro North Harrison train station here. The lack of affordable units at…

Significant Changes Coming to Fair Lending Rules

This column has frequently addressed issues of fair housing. Never previously addressed is the issue of fair lending. Realtors need a clear understanding of the significant changes that will become effective on August 1, 2015 when the TILA/RESPA final rule will become effective. What is TILA and What is RESPA? TILA is the Truth in Lending…

GATEWAY PERSPECTIVES: Spring Thaw?

Let’s hope so, (he said, knocking on a lot of wood). The title of my last article for this publication was “Deep Freeze.” In hindsight I should have called it “Deep Freeze with Several Snow Storms Thrown in for Good Measure,” as we were pummeled with snow storms every week and the bitter cold persisted.…