MOUNT KISCO—After serving as Mayor of New Rochelle for nearly two decades, Noam Bramson will be leaving city government at the end of this year for the private sector. Earlier today, Sustainable Westchester announced that Mayor Bramson will take over as Executive Director of the Mount Kisco-based non-profit effective in January 2024. Bramson has served…
Read MoreWith the COVID-19 pandemic mostly in the rearview mirror, but economic headwinds on the horizon in 2023, Real Estate In-Depth thought it would be a good time to sit down with Westchester County Executive George Latimer to discuss some of the key issues the county is facing. Latimer, a veteran politician, is in the final…
Read MoreTARRYTOWN—The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors along with six other regional Realtor Associations, will be holding the 2nd Annual Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Summit on June 5 and 6 at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center in Tarrytown. OneKey MLS is the Premier Sponsor for the event. HGAR is teaming up with the…
Read MoreShould New Plan Utilize a Carrot or Stick? RYE—In the aftermath of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s failed “New York Hosing Compact” bold initiative that called for the development of 800,000 new housing units statewide to address what she termed is a housing crisis in New York State, real estate executives and government officials at a recent…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Existing-home sales decreased more than 3% in April, according to the National Association of Realtors. All four major U.S. regions registered month-over-month and year-over-year sales declines. Home sales in the Northeast fell less than 2% last month, according to the NAR report. Total existing-home sales slid 3.4% from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—The Westchester County Tourism & Film was recently awarded a $520,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce, through the Economic Development Administration, as part of the American Rescue Plan. This EDA Tourism Recovery Action Plan will support the development of the Westchester County Tourism Recovery Plan with research, strategic planning and prioritization of…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said the Federal Reserve's most recent rate hike was unnecessary, and he expects the Fed will stop raising interest rates further, during the “Residential Economic Issues & Trends Forum” held at NAR's 2023 Realtors Legislative Meetings on May 10. Yun discussed recent developments in the U.S. economy…
Read MoreALBANY—New York State released a 247-page report on May 5 that paints a damning picture of Fair Housing issues in the state, including the significant extent of housing segregation and racial discrimination in regions across the state. The “Fair Housing Matters NY” report authored by the New York State Homes and Community Renewal's Fair and…
Read MoreALBANY—A new record of approximately 120 HGAR members and staff traveled to Albany on Tuesday, May 2 to meet with state lawmakers from the New York City/Hudson Valley regions to advocate on key real estate-related issues and legislation as part of the New York State Association of Realtors Lobby Day. HGAR President Tony D’Anzica reported…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—The negative trifecta of high inflation and mortgage interest rates and low inventory continues to put a significant dent in home buying sales volume in the New York City/Lower Hudson Valley market. Single-family home prices values continued to rise in the first three months of this year in some markets, but indications are that…
Read MoreAnyone who has ever been to a Disney theme park is familiar with the popular boat ride attraction featuring dolls of the world singing and dancing throughout the seven continents. “It’s a Small World” is meant to show how today’s world is really smaller than we think—given the technology now that can bring us all…
Read MoreKANSAS CITY, MO—– A newly released housing report by the National Association of Realtors reveals middle-income homeowners accumulated $122,100 in wealth as their homes appreciated by 68% in the last 10 years. The report indicated all income earner brackets benefitted from home appreciation, however, some stark inequalities in benefits were revealed. The report, Wealth Gains…
Read MoreALBANY—As some critics of Industrial Development Agencies continue to call for additional oversight over their decisions and tax breaks granted to developers, a report released on April 11 indicates that a total of 107 local and county Industrial Development Agencies in New York State added $126 billion to the New York State economy in 2021…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—The chief executives of five major business organizations in Westchester County, including the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, have jointly sent a letter to the Westchester State Delegation urging them that incentives alone will not solve the housing crisis in Westchester County and therefore lawmakers should enact some key facets of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—The share of baby boomers has surpassed millennials and now makes up the largest generation of home buyers, according to the latest study from the National Association of Realtors released on March 28. The 2023 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report, which examines the similarities and differences of recent home buyers and sellers across…
Read MoreWhen Real Estate In-Depth pondered who would be the candidate for the Five Questions feature for Women’s Month, the logical choice was MaryAnne Gilmartin. Her background in real estate as she tells it almost began by happenstance, but her hard work has led her to found her own New York City-based real estate development firm—MAG…
Read MoreALBANY—As negotiations continue at the State Capital on the 2023-2024 New York State Budget, Gov. Kathy Hochul and state legislative leaders agree that the state is facing a housing crisis. The issue seems to be how to go about solving it, through offering carrots in the form of incentives to spark new affordable housing construction…
Read MoreSANTA CLARA, CA—While any astute real estate professional will tell you it's nearly impossible to time the real estate market, there is one week that is most likely to get home sellers the best possible outcome, according to Realtor.com. Nationally, homeowners who list the week of April 16-22, 2023 will hit the sweet spot in…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Commercial brokerage firm CBRE announced on March 14 that the headquarters building for the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors has been sold to Hines U.S. Property Partners. Hines U.S. Property Partners is the flagship commingled U.S. core plus fund for Hines, which is headquartered in Houston. No financial terms of the transaction were disclosed…
Read MoreALBANY—New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Feb. 24 a $2.2-million expansion of New York’s Fair Housing Testing Program designed to root out discrimination in home rental and sale transactions. New York State has partnered with six nonprofit organizations across the state to deploy undercover testers to act as potential renters and home seekers. The…
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