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

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Whether you are thrilled and overjoyed at the results -- or wearing sackcloth and rending your hair -- the results of this month's elections were, shall we say, sobering for the Republican party. Not only did President Obama win re-election, but the Democrats strengthened their hold on the Senate, in a political environment that nearly everybody thought was disadvantageous to Democrats. An election that most talking heads thought would be razor-thin turned out to be as close a contest as Oregon vs. USC . Since you're reading this on Inman, your primary concern is what the election portends for real estate. Fortunately for us, Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, fielded some great questions on this very topic from NAR's director of digital engagement, Nobu Hata. Unfortunately for us, Dr. Yun's answers seem somewhat contradictory and therefore require further bloviatings from op/ed columnists such as yours truly. ...

Drilling for oil and natural gas in shale rock is supporting 1.7 million U.S. jobs this year, including workers outside the energy industry such as waiters and shop clerks, according to researcher IHS Global Insight . Job tied to unconventional oil and gas production will reach 3.5 million by 2035, according to the report backed by the industry and released today. Because U.S. unemployment is high, many finding jobs related to drilling otherwise would be unemployed, said John Larson, a vice president at IHS and the study’s lead author. The IHS report was funded by groups such as the American Petroleum Institute and the Natural Gas Supply Association. In January, President Barack Obama cited an earlier IHS study that predicted drilling for shale gas alone would create more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. “We look at this in the near term, and we believe that many of these jobs really are net new jobs because these individuals would not be able to find...

If you’ve never heard of Brian Solis or read his book The End of Business as Usual , I recommend getting on that. In the meantime I wanted to highlight a passage from this book because I feel it gets right to the heart of where marketing is today… “It’s easy for a brand to assume that customers are alike. After all, they share the same needs, wants, and desires. They face the same challenges and hurdles in life, personally and professionally. They each follow the same routine in making purchase decisions. Customers equally subscribe to the same sources for information and idly wait by their smartphones, tablets, laptops, and TVs awaiting the next set of instructions from brands that reveal their next move. Does this sound like you? Of course not!” Yet, so many businesses still market under these assumptions. Why? Because they are either uninformed or unispired and in either case unwilling to break free from the mold of business as usual to try something new. In his book, Brian...

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  Consumer sentiment rose in the latest Reuters / University of Michigan survey, but the uptick did little to end the gloom-and-doom view of the economy. The consumer sentiment index for September increased to 57.8 from 55.7 the previous month. Analysts surveyed by Econoday expected a reading of 56 with a range of estimates between 52 and 59.6. In mid-July, the index slid to 54.9 before ending the month slightly higher. Econoday said the index last slipped below 55 in November 2008 in the wake of Lehman Brothers' collapse. Consumer expectations for the next six months is at levels last seen more than 30 years ago due to the weak jobs market and recent trouble in the financial markets, according to Econoday. The assessment of the six-month outlook is at 47. "As recently as May, this component was approaching a respectable 70," Econoday said. via housingwire.com

Pound Ridge NY Real Estate Weekend Report |  RobReportBlog  |  Pound Ridge NY Homes     69   homes available $1,150,000   median price $6,000,000   high price $380,000   low price 4073    average size $353    average price per foot 153   average days on market       Pound Ridge NY Homes Pound Ridge Luxury Homes

A New Broker Disclosure Law in New York  _  Pound Ridge Real Estate   AS if the process of shopping for an apartment weren’t fraught enough, potential buyers and renters will have to deal with another wrinkle this year, when a new real estate broker-disclosure law goes into effect in New York. The law requires a real estate agent to have clients sign a form stating that they understand whom the agent represents and to whom the agent will give “undivided loyalty,” as soon as they enter into a relationship. Brokers are interpreting that to mean that the form does not have to be produced for everyone who walks into an open house, but rather as soon as someone starts asking substantive questions about a property, and certainly when someone asks for an appointment to see it a second time. Given that many apartment hunters are reluctant even to put their names on a sign-in sheet at an open house, agents do not want to have to present them wit...

The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday released the first results from the 2010 census. It showed there are 308.74 million Americans, an increase of 27 million or 9.7 percent since 2000. About 13 million of the increase is new immigrants, while 17 million came from births by existing residents. Nearly 80 percent of the population growth was among minority families, with Hispanics registering the biggest gains. Most of the population growth is in the South and West. The 10 fastest-growing states had average population gains of 21 percent. The states were: 1. Nevada 2. Arizona 3. Utah 4. Idaho 5. Texas 6. North Carolina 7. Georgia 8. Florida 9. Colorado 10. South Carolina States with slower growth included Ohio, New York, and Illinois. Michigan was the only state that actually lost population.   NAR Article Pound Ridge NY Homes Pound Ridge Luxury Homes  

  Whether buying or selling a home, you  need a real estate agent to help with the transaction. A real estate agent has access to information not available publicly that can help in pricing the home or determining if the asking price is fair. Additionally, an agent will help in dealing with potential buyers, marketing the home and handling the details of the sale or purchase.  Proprietary Knowledge   In most communities, homes for sale appear in a locally-produced publication called the Multiple Listing Service . While much of the information on homes in the MLS can be found on the Internet, not all of it can. You need a real estate agent to help with the purchase or sale of your home because an agent will have access to all of the MLS information. This proprietary information includes the actual sales price of each home sold, not just the listing price. Additionally, the MLS information will include the number of days a home was on the market prior to c...

Sellers: Price to Your Market In this tough market, price reductions are more acceptable than they used to be, real estate broker and author Dian Hymer says. Certainly, they are more common because sellers have more difficulty setting reasonable prices, especially when prices change frequently. With buyers ignoring properties they believe are overpriced, it is especially important for sellers to quickly correct noncompetitive pricing, according to Hymer. Sellers should be prepared to lower their price more than once if they are out of sync with the market. The best measure is the sale prices of comparably priced properties that closed after the house was put on the market. NAR Article Pound Ridge NY Homes Pound Ridge Luxury Homes

When you think “Casino Royale,” you think James Bond, right? After a visit to Pinocchio in Pound Ridge that just might change. The Casino Royale is Pinocchio’s pizza version of Clams Casino — a crispy pie topped with baby clams, slab bacon, tomatoes, white wine, garlic and roasted red peppers. It’s just like the clams appetizer at your favorite checkered-clothed Italian restaurant — only better. A lot better. So good, in fact, that the Casino Royale won the top award for best seafood pizza in the 2008 North Atlantic Pizza Show. And that’s not the only award Pinocchio has to its name. Bruno DiFabio, who owns Pinocchio, Amore Pizza in Scarsdale and two branches of Pinocchio Pizza in Connecticut, is the 2009 U.S. champion, a six-time World Pizza champion, and he won the Best Traditional Pizza medal at the 2010 World Games at the Las Vegas Pizza Expo. (Yes, there is such a thing.)? He has 16 medals in all, and has appeared on “R...

Predictions for the 2011 Pound Ridge NY real estate market. Freddie Mac analysts point to five features that they believe will likely characterize the 2011 housing and mortgage markets: 1. Low mortgage rates . With Fed observers expecting the central bank to keep the federal funds rate at its current target range of 0 percent to 0.25 percent for most (or all) of 2011, relatively low mortgage rates will be a feature of the 2011 mortgage market. Thirty-year fixed-rate loans are likely to remain below 5 percent throughout the year, and initial rates of 5/1 hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages will likely remain below 4 percent in 2011. . 2. Prices have hit bottom . House prices are likely to begin a gradual, but sustained recovery in the second half of 2011. 3. Housing will remain affordable . With affordability high, many first-time buyers will be attracted to the housing market in the New Year, likely translating into more home sales in 2011 than in 2010. 4. Refinances will dwindle ....

FOUR residences in Westchester County — two multifamily and two single-family homes — are among 13 winners of the 2010 Design Awards given every year for the past 20 by the 600-member Westchester-Hudson Valley chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The awards, conferred late last month at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, acknowledge “design excellence and the best architecture recently produced in the chapter area or by a chapter member,” said Raymond Beeler, a Pelham architect and a chairman of the awards committee. Thematically they seem to share a focus on the environment, and the safest, most practical ways to live within it. The four structures are: FLOOD HOUSE, MAMARONECK This 1,700-square-foot two-family house near Long Island Sound was built by Habitat for Humanity for a mother and daughter who lost their 1940s single-family cottage when the Mamaroneck River flooded in April 2007. Built on concrete piers, the new reside...