News – Real Estate In-Depth

News

Westchester Office Market Posted Strong Leasing in First Quarter

April 27, 2017

WHITE PLAINS—The Westchester office market posted strong leasing activity in the first quarter and the removal of some properties from the inventory helped dramatically reduce the county’s office vacancy rate. In a recently released report on Westchester and Fairfield County’s office markets, brokerage firm Colliers International Group Inc. reported Westchester exhibited strengthening fundamentals, while neighboring…

Builders Say Canadian Lumber Tariff Will Be Costly for Homebuyers and Economy

April 26, 2017

WASHINGTON—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%…

Westchester’s Housing Market Offers Opportunities for Buyers and Sellers

April 25, 2017

Westchester 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…

Developers Flock to Westchester’s Cities to Build New Projects

April 25, 2017

WHITE PLAINS—Multifamily development has truly taken hold in downtown districts in White Plains, New Rochelle, Yonkers and Mount Vernon. Private investors are now preparing plans or breaking ground on a host of major transit-oriented projects that will no doubt reshape the skylines and fortunes of Westchester’s major cities. Recently, developers and chief elected officials took…

Legoland Hopes to Begin Construction This Year on $500M Theme Park Project

April 20, 2017

GOSHEN—The developer of LEGOLAND New York hopes to secure approvals for its much anticipated, but somewhat controversial, $500-million theme park here by sometime this summer, which would allow the firm to begin construction before the end of this year. Phil Royle, head of community & project relations for LEGOLAND New York, speaking before about 70…

Hudson Valley Region Banking on Future Biotech Growth

April 20, 2017

WHITE PLAINS—The recent approval by the Westchester County Legislature of a planned $1.2-billion biotechnology park on mostly county-owned land in Valhalla is a clear sign that political and business leaders are counting on the biotechnology and healthcare sectors to be economic engines for the region in coming years. Earlier this month, the Westchester County Board…

Realtors Bullish on Housing Market Prospects But Concerned Over Falling For-Sale Inventory

April 20, 2017

WHITE 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…

County Issues RFP to Privatize Management, Operations at Westchester County Airport

April 19, 2017

WHITE PLAINS—After a proposal to sign a long-term lease with a private investment firm to manage and operate Westchester County Airport met with resistance from county legislators, the Public-Private Partnership initiative is moving forward after all. Westchester County issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Public-Private Partnership for the “Lease, Management Operation, Maintenance and…

Majority of Realtors Say Clients Interested in Sustainability

April 18, 2017

WASHINGTON—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…

George Oros Named Director of Economic Development

April 18, 2017

WHITE PLAINS—Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino announced recently the appointment of George Oros as the new Director of Economic Development. Phil Oliva, the Deputy Director of Communications, succeeded Oros as Chief of Staff. Both appointments were effective March 13. Oros replaced William Mooney III, who had been with the Astorino administration since 2010 and…

Westchester Foreclosure Filings Fell in 2016 But Judgments Remained Troublingly High

April 12, 2017

WHITE PLAINS—Statistics released by the Westchester County Clerk’s office on April 10 point to a falling market share for foreclosed and distressed properties in Westchester County. Westchester County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni reported that foreclosure filings in 2016 were down 54.8% from their all-time high in 2009 (3,123), but judgments on foreclosure actions last year…

CE Touts Transit-Oriented Development, Public-Private Partnerships and Bristles Over Indian Point’s Closure

April 12, 2017

A Conversation with Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino WHITE PLAINS—As Westchester County enters the second quarter of 2017, the commercial and residential real estate markets are robust as businesses and new residents invest in the county. The county’s biotech and healthcare industries are driving economic growth and creating new jobs in their respective sectors, as…

The ‘On or About’ Closing Date and ‘Time of the Essence’ Letter

April 11, 2017

Important Elements of The Real Estate Transaction: Real estate closings in parts of New York State do not always go as smoothly as one would like. In many other states, real estate transactions are handled primarily by the real estate agents and not the attorneys, who negotiate the offers between sellers and buyers and primarily…

Hudson Valley Home Sales Rise, Inventory Falls in First Quarter

April 10, 2017

WHITE PLAINS— High sales rates, a sharp decline in inventory, and an uneven pattern of price increases across the region marked 2017’s first quarter entry to the real estate market recovery of the past five years, according to the recently released “2017 First Quarter Residential Real Estate Sales Report for Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange…

Astorino’s Plan to Sue State Over Indian Point Closure Appears Short Circuited

April 7, 2017

BUCHANAN—Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino is seeking permission from the Westchester County Board of Legislators to file an Article 78 proceeding to require New York State to conduct an environmental review of the impacts of the Indian Point closure deal with Entergy Corp. At press time, however, it appears the county executive may not be…

SPOTLIGHT ON: Donna Riniti

April 6, 2017

Daily Puzzle Solver Donna Riniti, senior managing director of Coldwell Banker’s 63-person Yorktown Heights office, credits a bad experience years ago with a Texas real estate agent for prompting her to get into the real estate business. Originally from Texas, Riniti decided to sell her home on her own prior to moving to the Northeast.…

Haverstraw Establishes ‘No Knock Registry’

April 5, 2017

HAVERSTRAW—The Town of Haverstraw has joined a growing number of Rockland County municipalities to enact a “No-Knock” registry. The Haverstraw Town Board recently approved an amendment to its peddling and solicitor law and established a no-knock registry, according to a report in the Journal News. Town Supervisor Howard Philips told the newspaper that the amendment…

U.S. Office Tenant Demand Cools in Face of Rising Supply

April 5, 2017

CHICAGO—Tenant demand for U.S. office space continued to cool off in the first quarter of 2017. Brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield reports that overall occupancy levels remained stable, while rents continued to rise in most major markets. Neighboring Fairfield County, CT had the highest first quarter office vacancy rate in the nation at 23.1%, followed…

HGAR Panel Helps Debunk Section 8 Myths

April 5, 2017

WHITE PLAINS—Approximately 100 real estate professionals attended a program on April 4th at the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors’ offices in White Plains that provided answers to the sometimes complex and often-times confusing regulations surrounding Section 8 housing and Source of Income legislation. The “Breakfast with Benefits” program entitled “Common Myths About Section 8 Housing”…

BARRISTER'S BRIEFING: What Personal Assistants Can and Cannot Do

April 5, 2017

Personal assistants, although typically unlicensed, can provide an enormous benefit to Brokers and Office Managers in performing necessary administrative tasks. There are instances in which a personal assistant may also be licensed as either a Salesperson or Associate Broker, and work in that capacity as well. However, those types of rare instances invoke tax and…