Bedford NY Real Estate | Robert Paul Talks Life in Bedford NY

Photo by Gail Albert Halaban via  Design Boom "I like to look into people's windows," declares New York artist  Gail Albert Halaban , whose latest  photo series  peeps into the apartments of Parisians. "I know it sounds kind of creepy. Many people may even think it's illegal," she continues in a  video  about her work, but "I am a friendly window-watcher." The photos, cinematic and intimate portraits recently published in her new book  Paris Views,  appear voyeuristic but are actually painstakingly stage-directed; Halaban has gained consent from all the parties she is seemingly spying on. The results are lovely, and, just like window-watching from a city apartment, hard to look away from. read more... http://curbed.com/archives/2014/11/04/gail-halaban-photography-paris.php

Photo by Koichi Torimura via Design Boom While many of us fret over the erosion of privacy, some of Japan's most radical architects continue to design homes that do away with it almost entirely. The country's latest very transparent urban dwelling is an all-white honeycomb-like stack of platforms called the S House. The bathroom is its only walled-off interior space. Step inside. >> Design Boom theorizes that the project "represents the simultaneous diversity and order that is ever present in our cyber lives." Yuusuke Karasawa Architects designed it so that the alternating rectangular platforms are connected by diagonal sections that line up with the crisscrossing lines in the facade. Aside from the bathroom, the only "room" that breaks out from the purposeful uniformity of the others is the kitchen. Take in more views of the project over at Design Boom. . read more..... http://curbed.com/archives/2014/10/13/s-...

Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose slightly this week but remained near their lows for the year. Mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday the nationwide average for a 30-year loan edged up to 4.12 percent from 4.10 percent last week, where it had stayed for three straight weeks. The average for a 15-year mortgage, a popular choice for people who are refinancing, rose to 3.26 percent from 3.24 percent. At 4.12 percent, the rate on a 30-year mortgage is down from 4.53 percent at the start of the year. Rates have fallen even though the Federal Reserve has been trimming its monthly bond purchases, which are intended to keep long-term borrowing rates low. The purchases are set to end next month. Mortgage rates often follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. The 10-year note traded at 2.54 percent Wednesday, up from 2.41 percent a week earlier. It was trading at 2.53 percent Thursday morning. Bond yields rise when bond prices fall. To calculate average mortgage ...

34 images <div class="gallery loaded"><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2014/08/12/chesterfield-missouri-real-estate-ralph-fournier.php"><img src="http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/53e9a7aef92ea17cfa01a8a4/l25b4d844-m0o.jpg" width="500" height="375"></a><br /><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2014/08/12/chesterfield-missouri-real-estate-ralph-fournier.php" style="font-size: 9px; text-align: center;">Click here to view the full photogallery.</a></div> Photos by TripleRPhotography Location: Chesterfield, Mo. Price: $2,000,000 The Skinny: For every starchitect who ascends to a certain level of critical approbation there are plenty who toil away on the regional level, shaping entire cities, even states, while remaining relatively unknown outside of a small coterie of architectural historians. Missouri's Ralph Fournier is one of these regional stars, an a...

5 images <div class="gallery loaded"><a href="http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/06/25/how_much_for_a_garden_duplex_on_the_upper_west_side.php"><img src="http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/53ab04b5f92ea1517b006c66/77987933.jpg" width="500" height="334"></a><br /><a href="http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/06/25/how_much_for_a_garden_duplex_on_the_upper_west_side.php" style="font-size: 9px; text-align: center;">Click here to view the full photogallery.</a></div> What: 2BR/2BA garden duplex next to Riverside Park, in the West 80s. Square Footage: 1,278 CC/Taxes: $2,342 What definitely looks like a recent renovation has left this duplex on the Far West Side looking a little confused, with a mixture of exposed brick and plain white walls that don't really seem to be cooperating with one another. It's impossible to ignore the apartment's good aspects,...

Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell this week for a second straight week as the spring home-buying season has gotten off to a slow start. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate for the 30-year loan declined to 4.21 percent from 4.29 percent last week. The average for the 15-year mortgage eased to 3.32 percent from 3.38 percent. Mortgage rates have risen almost a full percentage point since hitting record lows about a year ago. Warmer weather has yet to boost home-buying as it normally does. Rising prices and higher rates have made affordability a problem for would-be buyers, while many homeowners are reluctant to list their properties for sale. Roughly a third of homeowners owe more on their mortgage than they could recoup from a sale. Data released Tuesday showed that U.S. home prices rose at a slightly slower pace in the 12 months that ended in March, a sign that weak sales have begun to restrain the housing market's sharp price gains. Rea...

17 images <div class="gallery loaded"><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2014/04/30/an-1892-frank-lloyd-wright-house-now-wants-just-775k.php"><img src="http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/5360f0a2f92ea1704c0050f2/1019-Chicago-ave-18.jpeg" width="499" height="333"></a><br /><a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2014/04/30/an-1892-frank-lloyd-wright-house-now-wants-just-775k.php" style="font-size: 9px; text-align: center;">Click here to view the full photogallery.</a></div> Over in the Chicago suburbs, an early design by "America's architect" Frank Lloyd Wright asks $775K, which may seem cheap for a 2,661-square-foot four bedroom by a master—particularly a house that, as Curbed Chicago writes, "utterly oozes Wright's Prairie charm"—though if one considers the several other FLW spreads to have hit the market in the last year or so, i...

10 images <div class="gallery loaded"><a href="http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/04/21/very_white_contemporary_townhouse_asks_38k_a_month.php"><img src="http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/535539bbf92ea102e601fb11/4.jpg" width="500" height="375"></a><br /><a href="http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/04/21/very_white_contemporary_townhouse_asks_38k_a_month.php" style="font-size: 9px; text-align: center;">Click here to view the full photogallery.</a></div> A minimally furnished contemporary townhouse at 240 East 61st Street is on the rental market asking $38,000 a month. The renovated home comes with a garden and small terrace looked over by a wall of glass and steel that allows light into the five-story Lenox Hill townhouse. The second floor master suite comes with pretty gracious closet space, although that seems to be sorely lacking elsewhere throughout the hous...

U.S. housing starts rose but below market expectations and building permits fell in March, pointing to underlying weakness in the housing market that could persist despite improving weather. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday groundbreaking increased 2.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 946,000. February's starts were revised to show a 1.9 percent rise rather than the previously reported 0.2 percent fall. Economists polled by Reuters had expected starts to rise to a 973,000-unit rate last month. "Given the weather, housing is still disappointing," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida. Compared to March last year, starts dropped 5.9 percent, the biggest decline since April 2011. While a brutally cold winter weighed on home building in December and January, activity has also been hampered by shortages of building lots and skilled labor as well as rising prices for materials. A report on Tuesday showed h...

First-Quarter Home Sales Spike In Westchester | The Chappaqua Daily Voice

Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft just published a blog on their websites laying out where the housing market is headed this spring . And like Fannie Mae , the outlook is rosy compared to winter . And while the three main facts backing up Nothaft are listed here, there are many more intersting point mentioned on the Freddie Mac blogpost. Nothaft writes, "as we move to a purchase market, how does the overall housing market stack up?" "Housing is stronger today than at any point since the Great Recession began and hit bottom in 2009," he said. A few points from Nothaft that prove housing is going to keep trending upward: 1. Home sales are up 13% since their low point. Expect home sales to increase about 3% in 2014 as the purchase market continues to evolve. 2. Housing starts are up 50% since they bottomed out. Expect almost 20% growth for this sector in 2014, which will begin to help ease tight inventories in many markets. 3. House Pri...

From left: Rendering and exterior of Pier A     One of the city’s historic piers, located on the Hudson River in Lower Manhattan, will reopen this summer following a five-year renovation. The three-story building on Pier A, which first opened 126 years ago and served as the headquarters for the New York Harbor Police and Department of Docks, was gutted and repaired by the Battery Park City Authority in 2009 and later turned over to the Poulakakos family and the Dermot Company for restoration, as previously reported . The project also hit a snag when Hurricane Sandy hit, according to the pier’s website. Refurbishing the building, which has been vacant since 1992, cost the Poulakakos family and Dermot about $36 million . The 39,000-square-foot building’s revamp, slated to finish this June, is headed by Irish designer Danny McDonald, Tribeca Tribune reported. The vintage structure will house an oyster bar, information center, upscale restaurant, historic photo gallery,...

During my 25 years as a designer, I have compiled a list of habits I’ve observed in the decorating and design world. Habits that I believe need to be broken. Many of these may have begun as good intentions — but we all know where that path leads! I’ve assembled 12 of those habits here. I’ve struggled with each and every one of them personally and feel I have come out on the other side a better designer for it. Although each lesson is valuable, in the hierarchy of habits to be broken, there is none more important than No. 12. Hugh Jefferson Randolph Architects Save to Ideabook Email Photo 1. Foyer neglect. Mama always said you never get a second chance to make a first impression. And she was right. Don’t let your entry hall fall prey to lack of attention. How to break this habit? Most of us with attached garages never use our foyers — and it shows. So use it. Showcase a favorite object that has a story behind it. This will immediately set a personal tone in your h...

Since the dawn of time, humans have built shelters in the wilderness to protect them from storms and dangers lurking in the dark. Society may have changed, but the yearning persists -- with urbanites in particular seeking to escape the stresses of city life and rekindle their connection with nature. Increasingly, these little hideouts have evolved from simple shacks to sophisticated examples of ultra-compact architecture. Some of the most exquisite of these are featured in Rock the Shack , a new book spanning the world of beautiful bolt-holes, classy cabins and luxurious lairs. Squish Studio, Canada This sharp-edged studio in a breathtaking location in Canada's Newfoundland is part of a small artist community where painters, filmmakers, sculptors and other creators are chosen to spend between two weeks and four months. It's the brainchild of architect Todd Saunders , who wanted the buildings to act as beacons on the coastline: "I wanted the studios to ...

Latest Figures Show New Home Sales and Prices Drop in New York | Chappaqua Real Estate | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Move Inc. and the National Association of Realtors have filed a lawsuit against Zillow and former Move Chief Strategy Officer and realtor.com President Errol Samuelson for alleged breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and misappropriation of trade secrets. Samuelson unexpectedly resigned from Move and joined Zillow as the portal giant’s chief industry development officer on March 5. The complaint, filed today, comes as Zillow announced it had hired another prominent Move exec, Curt Beardsley , as its new vice president of industry development. Beardsley assumed Samuelson’s industry relations role at Move after Samuelson’s departure. Beardsley is not mentioned in the complaint. NAR subsidiary Realtors Information Network (RIN) and Move subsidiaries RealSelect Inc. and Top Producer Systems Co. are also plaintiffs in the suit. In addition to Zillow and Samuelson, the complaint names “Does 1-20″ as defendants. “At Move, we take our trade secrets and intellectual property ex...

Aspirational Modern in Amagansett for $8.25M – On the Market | Chappaqua NY Homes | Bedford New York Real Estate | Bedford NY Homes by Robert Paul Realtor

Insatiable demand from hedge funds, private equity investors and foreign buyers, all armed with ready cash, are elbowing first-time buyers out of the housing market. First-time buyers tend to purchase lower-priced homes, but all-cash investors have cornered the market on those, leaving little behind. All-cash purchases accounted for 42.1 percent of all U.S. residential sales in December, up from 38.1 percent in November, and up from 18.0 percent in December 2012, according to a new report from RealtyTrac . The phenomenon is putting up another roadblock for young Americans already assailed by high student loan debt, poor wage growth and less-than-pristine credit. First-time homebuyers, historically about 40 percent of the market, accounted for just 27 percent of sales nationally in December, the lowest since the National Association of Realtors began tracking this cohort in 2008. The investors are largely hedge funds and private equity, as well as international buyers, such as...

Fresh Food from Local Sources - January 23rd-29th, 2 014 Down to Earth Markets What's New and In Season This Week Apple and Sausage Pie Stone & Thistle Farm Chicken Stock Stone & Thistle Farm Decorated Cookies for your Valentine Meredith's Bread FREE French Baguette with purchase of bread loaf (Reg. $3.50) *Tell Al you read it here to receive free baguette* Orwashers Bakery Gluten Free Cookie Boxes Assorted Flavors Meredith's Bread Saffron-Infused Hummus Taiim Falafel Shack Shepherd's Pie Stone & Thistle Farm Click on a Market to see all vendor and event details... Mamaroneck Winter! Saturdays, 9:00 am-1:00 pm St. Thomas Episcopal Church 168 West Boston Post Road (at Mount Pleasant Ave) Headed to the city soon? Visit a D...

January 9, 2014 Wintering Waterfowl and Eagles All programs require pre-registration To register call 914-762-2912 x 110 unless otherwise noted. Click for more info on Teatown's upcoming programs. Visit Teatown 16 00 Sprin g Valley Road Ossining, NY 10562 914-762-2912 www.teatown.org Nature Center hours: 9:00am-5:00pm everyday Trails are open 365 days a year from dawn to dusk. Teatown Lake Reservation's mission is to conserve open space and to educate and involve the regional community in order to sustain th e divers ity of wildlife, plants and habitats for future generations. Your donation can make an immediate impact to help conserve and protect the diversity of wildlife, plants and habitats... today and into the future. In Teatown's Gallery Recent Works by In...