"Power Corrupts, and Absolute power corrupts absolutely!" (Historian Lord Acton) Just as real estate is local so is politics. Just as real estate goes in cycles so does politics. Local economies affect the real estate market local economies affect politics and both go in cycles. New York State politics has always gone in cycles. Today a democrat will be elected Governor of New York State for the first time in twelve years. Eliot Spitzer the current NYS Attorney General will become the newly elected Governor. He made a name for himself by taking on Wall Street and the Insurance … (8 comments)
real estate: Real Estate In A Post Zillow World
- 10/04/06 02:25 PM
In a recent email from NYSAR New York State Association of REALTORS® there was a link to a podcast presentation by Marc David from Onboard LLC a Wall Street based data collector specializing in real estate data. The presentation is titled Real Estate in a post zillow world. It is quite interesting. It is about an hour so get some popcorn. view presentation here He starts with the day zillow went on line the real estate industry changed. Homegain's stock tanked. It is about circle of trust, immediate results to queries with no strings attached even if their information is inaccurate that is … (15 comments)
real estate: 1997 Tax Reform - Great for Real Estate!
- 09/25/06 08:10 AM
The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 - signed into law by President Bill Clinton together with the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 is probably the most significant change in recent times affecting real estate. This law made some major improvements for Home Sellers, Property Owners and First Time Home Buyers. It simplified taxes for 99% of Homes sold in the U.S. Since 1997 Home sellers are eligible to exclude up to $250,000 if single or up to $500,000 if married, of the capital gain on the sale of the residence. In order to be able to claim the … (1 comments)
real estate: It's Best To Buy And Sell In The Same Market
- 09/20/06 06:38 AM
In real estate it is very difficult to time the market. Markets go in cycles there are tops and bottoms. Bottoms are usually created by pessimism and negativity. Tops are created by “irrational exuberance" To quote Jim Cramer on CNBC's Mad Money “Bears make money – Bulls make money but Pigs get slaughtered." The Fed created the boom in housing by lowering interest rates then they ended it by raising interest rates to take “the froth” out of the housing market. Maybe they will change their mind again. When everyone is bearish based on sentiment rather than the facts, that … (5 comments)
When The Ansonia opened in 1904 it was called: "the most technologically advanced apartment house in the world" Loaded with towers, mansard roofs, ornate balconies, balustrades, and bay windows, the Ansonia is easily Broadway's most opulent structure. When it opened in 1904, this extraordinary, eighteen story Beaux Arts building provided tenants with such luxuries as electric stoves, hot and cold filtered water, freezers, a pneumatic -tube system to deliver messages, and even an early form of central air conditioning. The building also had incredibly thick walls installed to protect against fire, which … (15 comments)
real estate: Manhattan's Last Frontier - The Hudson Yards
- 09/03/06 05:30 PM
Rendering of Hudson Yards http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/hyards/hymain.shtml There is one last frontier available in Manhattan - Hudson Yards, the underutilized area bounded roughly by West 42nd Street and West 30th Street, Eighth Avenue to the Hudson River. 360 acres. The Hudson Yards is owned by the MTA - The Metropolitan Transit Authority an agency of The State of New York. The MTA has had problems with capital. http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/ A pet project of former mayor Rudy Giuliani and current mayor Mike Bloomberg was to build a west side sports stadium. The MTA decided to sell the Hudson Yards to The Jets for $100 million for a Jets Stadium … (2 comments)
real estate: The Psychological Effect of For Sale Signs?
- 08/26/06 10:32 AM
I was in the suburbs today visiting my sister. She lives in Scarsdale. Her mailing address is Scarsdale but she really lives in the town of Eastchester a couple of blocks from where we grew up in a neighborhood called Crestwood. We were driving on Scarsdale Road a narrow winding 2 lane road that looks exactly the same as it did 30 years ago. My sister said:"Do you notice anything? Look at all these houses". Oh yes Coldwell Banker, Prudential, ReMax, Century 21, Houllighan & Lawrence - every home had a FOR SALE sign. I looked at her and I said " Are they … (3 comments)
real estate: Lets make a Deal - Negotiating in the current Manhattan market
- 08/19/06 12:08 PM
In Sunday April 20, 2006 New York Times Real Estate section the feature story By Vivian S. Toy is titled Lets Make A Deal. http://www.nytimes.com/pages/realestate/index.html It has a picture of an apartment with a divider down the middle called asking price and a buyer and seller are playing tug -of-war across the asking price. My broker JoAnne Kennedy, cheif operating officer of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy http://www.cbhk.com/ Is quoted: "We're certainly not where we were in the irrational, exuberance days, sellers have become more realistic. and buyers are finding they have more time to select, and they can make an offer that's not asking … (0 comments)
real estate: WHAT IF 9/11 NEVER HAPPENED? An alternative History in New York Mag
- 08/18/06 03:06 PM
The current issue of New York Magazine has an all blue cover with a photo of the top of the twin towers at the bottom. In the middle of the page in white type it reads: WHAT IF 9/11 NEVER HAPPENED? On the top of the page in light blue it reads: FIVE YEARS LATER. In the right bottom corner it reads: An Alternative History. http://www.nymag.com/ Either I'm losing my sight or something Freudian happened. When I first saw the magazine I thought it said:WHAT IF 9/11 HAPPENED AGAIN? I ignored it and looked at other mail. I was not interested in … (5 comments)
real estate: Bidding Wars in a "Soft" "Cool" Buyers Market?
- 08/15/06 10:45 AM
If it's priced right the buyers will bid on it. I recently had a properrty on the market for 6 months. After 2 price reductions totalling almost $100,000 of the original listing price I received multiple bids. I heard several similar stories from other agents in my office today. One had the property on the market for a year lowered the price several times and finally got multiple bids. Another agent with a property on the market for a long time lowered the price lowered again and had it staged and then received multiple bids. It seems that once the right price level is reached all … (1 comments)
real estate: NYC Coop Law brings Manhattan Real Estate into the 21st Century
- 08/11/06 05:51 PM
There have been lots of blogs and press about ACRIS Automated City Record Information System displaying coop sales records online. Everything from secret plan for the city and state to impose mortgage taxes from appraiser [MillerSamuel] to Jerry Seinfelds signature on a UCC- form. [Gawker] I've been using ACRIS for a couple of years for condos and townhouses. I've been using it primarily for real estate tax records. Every time I get a listing in a condo I check the real estate tax. Many sellers of condos don't know how much their real estate tax is because it's paid by their lender from their mortgage … (0 comments)
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