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Westchester County Tourism Receives Major Grant For Action Plan to Boost Post-Pandemic Tourism

May 15, 2023

WHITE 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…

NAR Chief Economist Yun Says Fed’s Last Rate Hike Was Unnecessary

May 11, 2023

WASHINGTON—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…

Fair Housing Report Reveals 44% of Downstate New Yorkers Live in ‘Highly Segregated Counties’

May 8, 2023

ALBANY—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…

Record HGAR Contingent Traveled to Albany To Press Lawmakers on Key Real Estate Bills

May 3, 2023

ALBANY—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…

High Rates, Low Inventory Weigh on Regional Housing Market

April 20, 2023

WHITE 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…

It’s a Small World After All: HGAR Global Initiatives Paying Dividends

April 20, 2023

Anyone 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…

Home Appreciation Nets Middle-Income Homeowners $122,100 in Past Decade

April 18, 2023

KANSAS 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…

Value of IDA Projects in New York State Increased to $126B in 2021

April 13, 2023

ALBANY—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…

Five Business Organizations Tell Westchester State Delegation Housing Incentives Alone Will Not Work

March 29, 2023

WHITE 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…

Baby Boomers Overtake Millennials as Largest Generation of Home Buyers

March 28, 2023

WASHINGTON—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…

Five Questions With: MaryAnne Gilmartin Founder &CEO, MAG Partners

March 23, 2023

When 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…

Governor, Legislature Debate How to Fix State’s Housing Crisis

March 20, 2023

ALBANY—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…

Survey Says ‘The Sweet Spot’ to Sell a Home will be April 16-22

March 15, 2023

SANTA 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…

HGAR Headquarters Property Sold to Hines for $110 Million

March 14, 2023

WHITE 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…

NY State Expands Fair Housing Testing to Combat Housing Discrimination

March 1, 2023

ALBANY—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…

$229-Million Amazon Warehouse in Slate Hill Seeks Incentives from Orange County IDA

February 22, 2023

SLATE HILL—Scannell Properties of Indianapolis, IN and Seattle, WA-based Amazon have filed a joint application with the Orange County Industrial Development Agency for tax incentives in connection with their proposed $229-million, 925,000-square-foot warehouse distribution project to be built on 100 acres of a former commercial sand gravel mine here. The proposed “Slate Hill Commerce Center”…

Mid-Hudson Region Scores Big with State Funds For Downtown Revitalization, Infrastructure Projects

February 22, 2023

WHITE PLAINS—New York Gov. Kathy Hochul traveled from Albany to the Pace University Elisabeth Haub School of Law here on Feb. 21 to announce a host of funding awards to communities in the Mid-Hudson Region to finance downtown revitalization campaigns and infrastructure projects. Gov. Hochul announced that the City of Port Jervis will receive $10…

New Study Concludes 2019 Rent Laws Having Tangible And Unintended Consequences on County Buildings

February 17, 2023

ARMONK— The Building and Realty Institute released a new study on Feb. 16 entitled: The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act: An Analysis of Early Impacts in Westchester County” that revealed both tangible fiscal impacts, as well as unintended consequences of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) enacted into law in 2019 on…

2023 HGAR President D’Anzica Pledges ‘Building Bridges That Unite Us’ Platform

February 15, 2023

NEW YORK—Approximately 300 Realtor members, as well as federal, state and county political leaders were on hand for the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors’ 2023 Installation gala on Feb. 2 at the lavish Marina Del Rey in the Bronx. The highlight of the program entitled “Building Bridges That Unite Us” was the installation of veteran…

Some Local GOP Politicos Line Up Against Gov. Hochul’s Housing Plan

February 15, 2023

MOUNT PLEASANT, NY—Add Mount Pleasant Town Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi to a growing list of mainly Republican government officials who have come out against Gov. Kathy Hochul’s “New York Compact” housing plan that calls for the development of 800,000 new housing units over the next three years. Fulgenzi in a prepared statement cited the state’s home…