When I first moved “upstate” to Putnam County 26 years ago from New York City, I experienced culture shock on many levels. Among the many differences, trees, grass, subdivisions, and the shocking relative quiet among them, one change stood out. I was startled by the lack of diversity. In many respects the adjustment to Putnam…
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As we begin 2022, I have to admit it does seem a bit like “Groundhog Day.” After having high hopes for the new year as 2021 was winding down, we were confronted with yet another COVID variant, Omicron, and everyone is saying, here we go again. We also have the drum beat of negative news,…
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"Carol Burnett and Friends" was one of my favorite shows as a kid growing up. I wasn’t born when the original series aired, but I saw reruns when they ran it in syndication in the 1980s. The sketches were down right hilarious. If you have never seen the show, the powers of the Internet can…
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Sometimes I think I sound like a broken record with some of my columns for HGAR’s monthly publication, Real Estate In-Depth. Since I’ve been CEO of HGAR I have already penned some 120 articles, and my predecessor, Gil Mercurio, penned more than 360! That’s a lot of fresh material which must be cooked up, basically…
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COVID-19’s impact on the local and national CRE market has decreased the relevance of CRE assets. Many assets simply don’t “work” in today’s post-pandemic environment. That doesn’t mean however that there isn’t a “life after death” for these locations. Indeed, they can hold much purpose, if you’re an owner or developer who’s thinking outside the…
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Turkey Day, as I like to call it, is upon us. This is the time of year when many Americans sit down with friends and family to think about what they are thankful for and gorge themselves on tasty vittles. It also can be a very, very stressful time and can trigger deep sorrowful episodes…
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I don’t think it would surprise anyone when I say that organized real estate is always subject to scrutiny and, sometimes, outright attack, and recently it seems that our industry is constantly under siege. During these periods it’s easy to sit on the sidelines and complain. However, if we are going to continue to effectively…
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This year was a year for local, and in some cases state elections, across the country. Virginia and New Jersey both had governor’s races that had surprising outcomes. In Virginia Glen Youngkin, Republican, defeated Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat for Governor. McAuliffe was expected to win easily but issues of jobs, school policies and a tough…
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One of the random calls I get from our members has to do with information being inaccurately reported on the MLS by agents. Whether it is the square footage, a finished basement being legal and more. Although this is not within the scope of my role, there is a process for that and HGAR staff,…
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As reported previously on Real Estate In-Depth, Gil Mercurio, the long-time CEO of this organization, passed away at the end of September. Gil had been my mentor for more than 30 years. His intelligence, humor, leadership instincts and generosity of spirit could not be matched. I experienced his generosity first hand at the very start…
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I recently read a prediction by a friend Steve Hawks of Platinum Real Estate on Las Vegas, who is extremely knowledgeable on all things financial and real estate related. He predicts that home prices are set to soar another 16% in 2022. His predictions are backed or inspired by the top bank in the country—Goldman…
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Several legislative issues are before Congress for consideration and debate. These issues touch every facet of American life. The first issue that Congress must address is the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling is a cap on the amount of additional indebtedness that the federal government can incur to pay its bills. When Congress raises the…
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“We Want You!” “Be All That You Can Be.” If you are a person of a certain vintage, you will remember these slogans on posters and billboards. They were advertisements to join the Army. Later on, commercials that were so gallant and emotional would do the same for the Navy. It struck me that our…
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At the beginning of this month I was asked by RISMedia to share my thoughts on the 20th anniversary of 9-11. I confess that it brought back painful memories. The terrorist attacks occurred during the NYSAR Fall Business Meetings and were held at Lake Placid that year. On September 10th, Ann Garti and I had…
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Shutdowns, civil unrest, fears of war and terrorism, inflation, eviction moratoriums, supply chain breakdowns and workforce problems. These troubles are on the mind of most of the world today, especially business owners and property investors. It’s nearly impossible to predict what will happen economically and otherwise in today’s world. We would do well to simply…
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I just loved Star Trek as a kid growing up. Hey, to be honest, I still love Star Trek. On the right day of the week, you may hear me say something in Klingon or give you the Vulcan greeting. As a young African American girl, it was a big deal to see a person…
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Sometimes it can seem like politics has invaded every aspect of our lives. I suspect part of that feeling stems from the fact that we get so much of our news from the Internet, and sensational, provocative headlines get more open clicks. Also, the phenomena of celebrities commenting on the news being newsworthy is a…
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I had a chance meeting at lunch with a Mother and Daughter real estate team in Briarcliff Manor—Mary Jane Florent and Nancy Beard. Mary Jane was talking about the good old days of real estate. “It was just fun! People trusted each other and everyone got along. Now real estate is fear and blame.” That…
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With the Putnam County real estate market Booming for the past 15 months, I am excited for what I predict the impact will be. With new inventory down nearly 15% year-to-date over last year, sales volume up 31% and the average sales price grew by more than 18% to a whopping $483,201 up from $409,017.…
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Approximately 30 years ago, when I was the Director of Member Services and Professional Standards Administrator for the then Westchester County Board of Realtors, I vividly remember walking over to the Westchester County Legislative offices where the Board of Legislators was conducting a public hearing on co-op transparency legislation, which would require co-op boards to…
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