12/30/08

The Latest (Not The Greatest) Real Estate Numbers

We don’t want to bum you out—but, hey, this is journalism and we tell the truth. So here is some decidedly depressing news—though there is some positive news for buyers (if there are any).

The most recent (3rd quarter ‘08) residential real estate sales report from the Westchester County Board of Realtors (WCBR) finds the median sale price of a single family Westchester home $710,000, 2.7 percent less than a year ago ($730,000).

The third quarter wasn’t good either for selling either--the number of single-family home sales dropped 21.7 percent from 1,679 to 1,315.

Ready for some more bad news? The number of sales for two-family houses and coops continued their downward trend as well, falling 37.3 percent and 23.5 percent...

Posted at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

12/29/08

Staging Helps to Sell a Home

From Home to House: A Staging Tale

Posted at 01:16 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1

12/18/08

Has Anything Sold?

A status check of recent real estate featured on The Speculator.

Posted at 02:03 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

12/11/08

GRT RE HLP

Perusing the For Sale listings in the real estate section of a newspaper seems to require knowledge of another language—real estate alphabet soup. Why all those abbreviations? Real estate advertising is priced according to length—so, fewer letters, smaller charge.
So, here we help you learn the lingo. And if you do, you’ll be on your way to that TUDR w HWF, FP, GMT KIT, and INGRD PL you’ve always wanted.    
 
The Basics:
AC = acre
A/C = air conditioning
APPLS = appliances
BA = bath
BR or BD = bedroom
BSMT = basement
CPT = carpet
DR = dining room
D/W = dishwasher
EIK = eat-in kitchen
FDR = formal dining room
FLRS = floors
FM or FR = family...

Posted at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

12/04/08

Sale Prices Down, Buyers Up (i.e., Happy)

Any Westchester realtor will tell you that home prices are down—ALL home prices. Indeed, homes are selling below list prices. “Selling a property above list price is a fading memory,” says Deborah Camacho of United Realty Services of New York.

Realtor Susan Pratt of Houlihan Lawrence in Pound Ridge agrees. “People are looking for deals. There’s plenty of product out there so sellers have to price well.” Is well a euphemism for, ahem, low?

Pratt just helped a Brooklyn couple buy a Pound Ridge home that was owned by the granddaughter of Nelson R. Rockefeller; it’s at 247 Stone Hill Road. It was listed at $1.195 million and sold for. . .$999,000. “We negotiated the price under a million and avoided the...

Posted at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0