The year 2019 was a tough year for the real estate industry. Legislation was proposed to limit the fee earned by a real estate licensee to one month's rent. Fortunately, the bill lost traction for the time being. In June of 2019, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019…
Read MoreHARRISON—A report released on Dec. 8 by locally-based brokerage firm RM Friedland shows that over the past decade, multi-family development in the northern suburbs of Westchester and Fairfield counties has grown at an unprecedented rate. That upward trend is expected to continue due to the pandemic-driven migration from Manhattan, RM Friedland states in the report.…
Read MorePurchasers can spend weeks, months, sometimes even years searching for that perfect place to call home. Finally, they find it—a great space, perfect location, priced within the budget. New York is a caveat emptor state—buyer beware—and before a purchaser signs a contract for the perfect home, they need to do due diligence. When buying a…
Read MoreGOSHEN—The Orange County Legislature in a unanimous 21-0 vote approved County Executive Steve Neuhaus’ proposal to sell three historically significant properties in Downtown Newburgh to make way for a hotel development. The three properties on Grand Street will be sold to Sullivan County-based Foster Supply Hospitality for $1.25 million. The proposed project will be developed…
Read MorePORT CHESTER—The eight-year-old The Mariner multifamily property here at 21 Willett Ave. has been sold in a deal valued at $32.25 million. The transaction was reported by Bethesda, MD-based brokerage firm Walker & Dunlop Inc., which represented the seller—institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management—in the deal. The firm did not identify the buyer…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Pending home sales fell slightly in October, according to the National Association of Realtors. Contract activity was mixed among the four major U.S. regions, with the only positive month-over-month growth happening in the South, although each region achieved year-over-year gains in pending home sales transactions. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator of home…
Read MoreALBANY—In response to rising COVID hospitalizations throughout the state, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today that the state is entering a new phase in its “war against COVID.” The governor and the New York State Department of Health are issuing directives that focus on a new strategy geared to ensuring sufficient hospital capacity throughout…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced on Nov. 24 the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2021. For high-cost areas in which 115% of the local median home value exceeds the baseline CLL, the maximum loan limit will be higher than the baseline loan limit.…
Read MoreYONKERS—The Yonkers Industrial Development Agency (YIDA) Board voted on Nov. 23 to grant preliminary approval of financial incentives for the $37.6-million acquisition and rehabilitation of the Jackson Terrace Apartments, a complex featuring 181 affordable low-income housing units. Located at 100 Herriot St., the 12-story building is being acquired by the New York City-based Hudson Valley…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—CoStar Group Inc. reported on Sunday that it had reached an agreement to acquire Homesnap, Inc. for $250 million in cash. Homesnap is an industry-leading online and mobile software platform that provides user-friendly applications to optimize residential real estate agent workflow and reinforce the agent-client relationship. More than 300,000 agents nationwide use the application an…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Jeffrey E. Levine, the founder and chairman of New York City-based The Douglaston Companies, announced on Nov. 23 the launch of DD Nationwide, which will be under The Douglaston Companies umbrella. DD Nationwide was established to pursue real estate development opportunities outside of the New York metropolitan area to further broaden Douglaston’s robust scope…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—On Thursday (Nov. 19), the U.S. Department of Justice announced the filing and proposed settlement of an antitrust case against the National Association of Realtors that alleged the association established and enforced illegal restraints on the ways Realtors compete. With the case filing, the Antitrust Division simultaneously filed a proposed settlement that requires NAR to…
Read MoreCHICAGO—Newly-installed National Association of Realtors President Charlie Oppler issued a formal apology on Nov. 19 for the association's past policies that contributed to segregation and racial inequality in America. During a virtual fair housing summit hosted by The Hill and co-sponsored by NAR, Oppler offered an emotional apology on behalf of the industry for NAR's…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Existing-home sales continued to trend upward in October, marking five consecutive months of month-over-month gains, according to the National Association of Realtors. All four major regions reported both month-over-month and year-over-year growth, with the Midwest experiencing the greatest monthly increase. Existing home sales rose 4.7% in the Northeast in October. Total existing-home sales—completed transactions that…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Charlie Oppler was installed on Wednesday as 2021 president of the National Association of Realtors during the 2020 Realtors Conference & Expo. Oppler was NAR's 2020 president-elect and 2019 first vice president. A Realtor since 1981, he is the CEO of Prominent Properties Sotheby's International Realty, which operates 15 offices across northern and central New…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—The coronavirus pandemic initiated several shifts in America's housing market over the past eight months. Changes in the behaviors of home buyers and sellers were especially notable as buyers' usual tendencies altered, and the urgency to sell accelerated. This is according to new data from the National Association of Realtors 2020 Profile of Home Buyers…
Read MoreWASHINGTON—Every metro area tracked by the National Association of Realtors during the third quarter of 2020 saw home prices increase from a year ago, according to NAR’s latest quarterly report, released on Nov. 12. Due in large part to record-low mortgage rates and depleted nationwide housing inventory, median single-family home prices grew year-over-year in all…
Read MoreYONKERS—One of the largest affordable housing redevelopment projects in the region reached a significant milestone with the recent closing on financing for 178 Warburton at The Ridgeway, a new $56-million mixed-income residential complex of 81 apartment homes in Southwest Yonkers that is being developed by the Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers and…
Read MoreGrowing your international residential real estate business in today’s “new normal” times requires listening, learning, pivoting and adapting. That advice, courtesy of Kevin Brown, senior global real estate advisor and associate broker with Sotheby’s International Realty in Manhattan, was presented on Nov. 5 during the 2020 Global Real Estate Summit, held virtually this year. Brown…
Read MoreYONKERS—Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano announced on Nov. 5 he recently sworn in Commissioner Louis J. Albano and Deputy Commissioner Lee J. Ellman to head the city’s Department of Planning & Development. The Yonkers City Council confirmed the mayor’s appointments at its Council meeting last week. “Collectively, Lou and Lee bring over 70 years of experience…
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