Residential

Existing U.S. Home Sales Rose Slightly in January; Northeast Home Sales Fell More Than 2%

February 22, 2021

WASHINGTON —Existing-home sales rose in January, marking two consecutive months of growth, according to the National Association of Realtors. From a month-over-month perspective, buying activity varied in the major regions. Year-over-year, all four areas recorded double-digit gains in January. Existing-home sales in the Northeast in January declined 2.2%, recording an annual rate of 870,000, a…

NAR Study: Black Home Buyers More Than Twice as Likely to be Rejected for Mortgage Loans than White Home Buyers

February 19, 2021

WASHINGTON—Minority homeownership continues to stubbornly lag behind the national rate, with Black Americans facing some of the toughest hurdles to achieving this essential part of the American Dream, according to a report released recently by the National Association of Realtors. The homeownership rate for Black Americans—42%—is nearly 30% less than the rate for white Americans…

$33-Million Rental Project in Yonkers Gets Final Approval of IDA Incentives

February 12, 2021

YONKERS—The Yonkers Industrial Development Agency Board reports it recently granted final approval of financial incentives for 56 Prospect St., a $32.6 million, 126-unit apartment building. The project, which received final approval at the IDA’s Feb. 5 meeting, will be comprised of 90 studios, 18 one-bedroom units and 18 two-bedroom units with a rooftop terrace overlooking…

RXR Realty Tops Off New Rochelle Apartment Tower

February 11, 2021

NEW ROCHELLE— RXR Realty, master developer of Downtown New Rochelle, announced on Feb. 10 the topping out of One Clinton Park, a 28-story mixed-use tower under construction here. The project created 250 on-site construction jobs, employing a diversity of contractors, including MWBE firms and local New Rochelle companies. One Clinton Park features 352 state-of-the-art, highly…

Rising Ground Puts 32-Acre Yonkers Campus on Market for Sale; Broker Expects Sale Price ‘North of $60 Million’

February 10, 2021

YONKERS—Human services organization Rising Ground announced plans today to offer for sale its Leake & Watts campus in Yonkers, a property the organization has owned for more than 130 years. Matt Del Percio, president of the Rising Ground Board of Directors, said the 32-acre property at 463 Hawthorne Ave., overlooking the Hudson River, was recently…

Senate Majority Advances Housing Discrimination Legislative Package

February 8, 2021

ALBANY—The leadership of the State Senate Democratic Majority announced on Feb. 8 it will advance major legislation to continue addressing housing discrimination across New York State. The legislative package was created following two public hearings on housing discrimination that included 25 subpoenas. The package of bills is also in response to legislative suggestions outlined in…

NYC Brokerage Firm Triplemint Expands to Westchester County

February 3, 2021

NEW YORK—New York City-based residential brokerage firm Triplemint reported on Feb. 3 it had expanded its operations to Westchester County with the defection of a number of Douglas Elliman agents. Triplemint reported that the Berkowitz Marrone Team led by Owen Berkowitz and Carol Marrone, who were the founding members of Douglas Elliman Westchester, have joined…

Westchester IDA Looks to Enact New Policy to Ensure Local Labor Works on Incentivized Projects

January 29, 2021

WHITE PLAINS—The Westchester County Industrial Development Agency has proposed a set of new local hire labor policy directives for certain development projects securing incentives from the agency. The policy is geared to ensuring projects that are approved for bond financing or other incentives from the IDA hire 85% of its construction workers from the local…

SALT Cap Repeal Bill Introduced in Congress

January 29, 2021

WASHINGTON—U.S. Reps. Mondaire Jones (D-NY), Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer on Thursday introduced the SALT Deductibility Act that would remove the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions imposed in 2017 under the federal tax reform law. The SALT Cap was highly criticized by New York politicians, as well…

C.S. McClellan Partners with Compass Real Estate

January 29, 2021

PELHAM—Compass, the real estate technology company, announced recently a new partnership with C.S. McClellan Real Estate, led by Sona Davidian, who maintains the boutique firm's total ownership. Founded in 1878 by the McClellan family, Davidian has owned C.S. McClellan since 1989, when she purchased it directly from the McClellan family. The company has a rich…

NJ Developer Proposes Redevelopment of Former Kmart-Anchored Center in Yorktown

January 28, 2021

YORKTOWN—A New Jersey-based real estate development firm has unveiled plans to reposition a mostly vacant shopping center that was anchored by Kmart and Food Emporium here into a new mixed-use development that will feature 150 rental housing units and ground-floor retail. The plan by Oster Properties of Englewood Cliffs, NJ was presented for the first…

Foley Promoted to CEO of Building and Realty Institute

January 27, 2021

ARMONK—One year after joining the Building and Realty Institute as its executive director, Timothy Foley of Scarsdale has been promoted to chief executive officer of the locally-based organization. “BRI has grown as an organization while staying true to our mission to advocate for the best interests of the realty industry to government and the community,…

NYC’s Residential Market Recovery Hinges on COVID Vaccine and its Impact on Consumers and Business

January 25, 2021

WHITE PLAINS—Residential brokerage experts in the New York metro region believe the home sales boom in the New York City suburbs will continue in 2021 while the recovery of New York City’s market will depend heavily on the success of the COVID vaccine and its impact on if and when residents and businesses will return…

Study: Orange, Rockland, Dutchess Housing Markets Among Most Vulnerable to COVID-19 Economic Impacts

January 25, 2021

IRVINE, CA—A recently released study has found that pockets of the Northeast, including three counties in the Hudson Valley region, were most at risk to the impacts of the coronavirus heading into 2021. The report released on Jan. 21 by property database curator ATTOM Data Solutions found that 18 of the 50 U.S. counties most…

NAR: 2020 Annual U.S. Sales Registered Highest Level of Activity Since 2006; Northeast Home Sales Spiked 27.4% Last Year

January 22, 2021

WASHINGTON—Existing-home sales rose in December, with home sales in 2020 reaching their highest level since 2006, the National Association of Realtors announced today. Activity in the major regions was mixed on a month-over-month basis, but each of the four areas recorded double-digit year-over-year growth in December. Total existing-home sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes,…

Realtors Overcame Pandemic Restrictions To Post Significant Sales Increases in 2020

January 21, 2021

WHITE PLAINS—Realtors in the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors’ market area that includes the lower Hudson Valley region, adapted to state-imposed restrictions early in the pandemic and rode the wave of pent-up buyer demand to post sales increases as compared to 2019 activity. Sales in Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Sullivan and Putnam counties soared in the…

A Quarter Century of Home Sales Market Coverage

January 20, 2021

From the Archives: For 25 years, Real Estate In-Depth has covered the region’s home sales market. For example, the newspaper reported in 2002 the Westchester average single-family home price broke the $500,000 barrier for the first time. Five years later, the housing market saw home sales decline 13%, a precursor to the recession that followed.

NJ Brokerage Merges with Howard Hanna Rand Realty

January 15, 2021

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NJ—Locally-based Plawker Real Estate, one of Bergen County’s leading brokers, recently announced that it has joined forces with real estate brokerage firm Howard Hanna Rand Realty. The Plawker Real Estate office at 601 Palisade Ave. in Englewood Cliffs will now operate as Howard Hanna Rand Realty – Plawker Group. Additionally, the Plawker Commercial…

Demolition Begins on Yonkers Public Housing Project

January 13, 2021

YONKERS—City of Yonkers officials and executives from the Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers and The Community Builders gathered on Jan. 11 for the demolition of a 1940’s era public housing apartment building that is being replaced with 178 Warburton at The Ridgeway, a new $56-million mixed-income residential complex of 81 apartment homes.…

Gov. Cuomo Calls for Extension of Commercial Tenant Eviction Moratorium; Proposes Banning Late Fees, Penalties on Residential Leases

January 9, 2021

On Jan. 8, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he would be proposing an extension of the commercial tenant eviction moratorium and measures geared to strengthening protections for rental apartment tenants during the coronavirus pandemic. The proposals, part of the governor’s upcoming State of the State address, will advance legislation to codify an existing Executive Order to…