The recently installed 2022 President of the New York State Association of Realtors Jennifer Vucetic AHWD, CIPS, GREEN, MRP, SFR, PMN, CBR, ITI, C2EX, EPRO, takes the helm of the organization at a time of drastic change with COVID infections on the decline throughout the state, but the specter of rising interest rates and low…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—The U.S. homeownership rate climbed to 65.5% in 2020, up 1.3% from 2019 and the largest annual increase on record. More Americans are likely to own a home now than during any year following the Great Recession (65.4% homeownership rate in 2010); however, Black Americans continue to face significant obstacles along the path to homeownership,…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—A panel of commercial real estate brokers from the New York City/Hudson Valley market that were part of a recent virtual panel hosted by the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors were upbeat about many sectors in 2022, particularly the industrial, flex, health care and medical office segments. The region’s office market remains troubled as…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—A panel of real estate executives agreed that the exodus from Manhattan due to COVID-19 is over and that the recovery in the Manhattan luxury housing market has gained momentum that will continue this year. In addition, the recovery, fueled by a roaring stock market, low interest rates and rapidly declining COVID infection rates,…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Argent Ventures, a privately held New York City-based investment firm, has acquired the twin-tower White Plains Plaza office property here from Ivy Realty of Greenwich, CT and DW Capital of New York City for $105 million. The deal represents the largest single asset office sale in Westchester County since 2010. The purchase expands Argent’s…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Talk to any Realtor anywhere in the country, and they’ll tell you that even after more than a year, it’s still a seller’s market out there. Layla Boyles, broker/owner at CENTURY 21 Realty Center in Monroe, said she continues to see multiple offers and bidding wars for many Orange County properties, with the average…
Read MoreGOSHEN—“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” After a Request for Proposals in 2020 to sell the more than 258-acre Camp LaGuardia property that is located in the villages of Chester and Blooming Grove failed to find a viable buyer, Orange County says it has put the property once again on the market…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—The surging residential real estate market of the last two years led to record-high home prices and record-low inventory. This simultaneous "double trouble" has made it increasingly difficult for consumers, particularly Black Americans, to achieve homeownership, according to a new analysis released on Feb. 7 by the National Association of Realtors and Realtor.com. “The Double…
Read MoreNANUET—Howard Hanna | Rand Realty announced on Feb. 1 its expansion into the Fairfield County, CT market with the recent acquisition of the Madison and Post Real Estate Agency. The transaction will expand the footprint of Howard Hanna | Rand Realty with three new locations in Ridgefield, Stamford and Westport, CT. “Fairfield County is one…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—After residential sales volume in the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors’ market area reached historically high levels in 2021, brokers expect continued strong sales activity this year, although not at the feverish pace the industry enjoyed in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. To say there are headwinds facing Realtors and consumers in 2022…
Read MoreThe embattled Orange County Industrial Development Agency is in the midst of implementing reforms in response to a corruption scandal that rocked the agency and the county’s business community last year with guilty pleas by two of its chief administrative officers and a member of its Board of Directors. Shortly after the three individuals— Orange…
Read MoreALBANY—The prospect of major upgrades—including the construction of what business and government leaders say is a much-needed third lane on portions of Route 17 in Orange and Sullivan counties—just got a step closer. Although not included in her State of the State speech on Jan, 5, accompanying material given to state lawmakers included a directive…
Read MoreYONKERS—Great Point Studios officially opened the doors to its long-awaited Lionsgate Studios Yonkers on Jan. 11 at 45 Wells Ave. and announced that it will move forward with a more than $500-million expansion plan nearby. The expansion project announced by Great Point Studios Founder and CEO Robert Halmi calls for a 1-million-square-foot facility that will…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Residential sales in 2021 in the counties served by OneKey MLS, Inc. reached a historic peak. This, despite a slowing of sales in the fourth quarter in all areas served by OneKey MLS with the exception of Bronx County. Arguably, some of the slowdown can be attributed to the dearth of inventory in the…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Existing U.S. home sales rose in November, denoting three consecutive months of increases, according to the National Association of Realtors. Three of the four major U.S. regions reported growth in monthly sales, while the fourth region—the Northeast—held steady in November. From a year-over-year perspective, only one region experienced a rise in sales as the three…
Read MoreALBANY—New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a legislative package on Dec. 21 totaling nine bills geared at combating housing discrimination and addressing issues raised in a Newsday expose entitled “Long Island Divided.” The centerpiece of the legislation is the Anti-Discrimination in Housing Fund that will permit the state to conduct fair housing testing. Other initiatives…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—As part of the National Association of Realtors’ Real Estate Forecast Summit held on Dec. 15, real estate economists and experts predict a continued strong market, marginal improvement in the nation’s for-sale inventory crisis and higher interest rates. The virtual program began with an opening address by 2022 NAR President Leslie Rouda Smith, followed by…
Read MoreNEWBURGH—The consensus from a panel of veteran New York Realtors is that while some headwinds exist for the housing market in 2022, conditions are favorable for continued strong sales and rising prices. One panelist said that despite a slowdown in sales, “there is still a lot of meat on the bone” in the current strong…
Read MoreNEW YORK—The Penn Station Access Project, which has been widely supported by politicians and business interests in the Bronx and Westchester has reached a critical stage—the award of a contract to undertake the work that will provide direct Metro-North service from the Bronx, Westchester and Connecticut to Penn Station and Manhattan’s west side. Penn Station…
Read MoreBEDFORD HILLS—At a press conference earlier today (Dec. 6), U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-18) expressed confidence that the reform of the unpopular SALT Cap is at hand. There have been reports that Senate Democrats are at odds over the particulars of how to reform the SALT Cap, which is to be part of President…
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