August | 2011 | Rivertowns Real Estate News

August 2011
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Top Five Reasons To Own A Home

Posted on August 31, 2011 7:49 pm by Scott Rosasco

The top benefits of homeownership haven’t changed, even in the face of a down economy. Here are the top five:
1. Savings: Be sure to check out the calculator at the end of this article. You’ll find that long-term homeownership is still a way to get big savings.
2. Tax Breaks: They’re not on the chopping block just yet. Many homeowners are still able to take the mortgage interest deduction (MID) each year, along with great rebates and credits associated with upgrades made to your home.
3. Equity: When you pay a landlord, it’s money down the drain. When you pay on a mortgage, you are paying towards owning a piece of something. You may still owe $100,000, but perhaps the home is worth $200,000. This means you have $100,000 worth of equity you’ve built up over time.
4. Budgeting: Unless you live in a rent-controlled apartment (and not many do), then each lease renewal could mean a jump in prices. A fixed-rate mortgage, however, means your monthly payment is the same amount for the life of the loan. A $1,000 a month payment on a 30-year mortgage is the same now as it will be in 30 years!
5. Security: When you own, it’s yours. You can paint, improve, and decorate. The trees and flowers are yours to enjoy — for a lifetime if you wish. Most homeowners are in neighborhoods with other homeowners, meaning more time to build relationships and friendships. Recent studies have also shown that homeowners rank themselves as healthier than their renter counterparts.
Should you rent or buy? For a strictly financial evaluation, be sure to check out The New York Times’ Interactive calculator to crunch the numbers. This advanced calculator takes into account everything from yearly costs to selling costs and broker fees.

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Easy Concrete Countertops

Posted on August 25, 2011 10:46 pm by Scott Rosasco

In the competitive real estate markets of Dobbs Ferry, Irvington, Hastings-on-Hudson and the rest of the Rivertowns, where up to the minute styling and move-in condition are the cornerstones of a successful sale, can it really be this easy to get the now trendy look and easy durability of concrete kitchen countertops? According to this homeowner, on her great blog, it’s almost as easy as mixing and pouring the concrete. Perhaps having a handy partner helps and also assuming you don’t mind doing it all in your kitchen, since most of us tend to do things twice. The first way the hard, messy way, and the second, the clean, right way. And all of this, supposedly, for not much more than $200. Read more at:
http://designstocker.blogspot.com/2011/05/big-kitchen-reveal.html

And for an even more in-depth look at how this was done:
http://designstocker.blogspot.com/2011/08/concrete-countertops.html

Filed under: Rivertowns Design | Tagged: Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington, Rivertowns Design | 2 Comments »

Mortgage Rates Lowest in 50 Years

Posted on August 18, 2011 7:53 pm by Scott Rosasco

Mortgage rates for buyers in the Rivertowns and the rest of the country are at the lowest point they have been in the past 50 years. That is a staggering observation and something that should be taken seriously by any first time homebuyers or those considering moving up to a larger home or downsizing. With rates this low and prices some 30% off their pre-2008 levels, one would be hard pressed to find a better time to purchase real estate. The current rate for a fixed 30 year mortgage with no points is 4.15%. 15 year fixed rate products averaged 3.36% and 5 year hybrid ARM’s averaged 3.08%. Read more at:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mortgage-rates-hit-record-lows-freddie-mac-2011-08-18?reflink=MW_GoogleNews

Filed under: Real Estate | Tagged: Real Estate, Rivertowns | Leave a comment »

Ten Tax Tips for Individuals Selling Their Home

Posted on August 16, 2011 9:57 pm by Scott Rosasco

IRS Summertime Tax Tip 2011-15

The Internal Revenue Service has some important information to share with individuals who have sold or are about to sell their home. If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may qualify to exclude all or part of that gain from your income. Here are ten tips from the IRS to keep in mind when selling your home.

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=243682,00.html

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New Architectural Digest “Amazing Kitchens” Design App

Posted on August 14, 2011 4:51 pm by Scott Rosasco

An interesting new “app” for iPhone and iPad users.
“Architectural Digest’s first ever app for the iPad and iPhone, AD Amazing Kitchens is an essential tool for those planning a remodel of one of the most important rooms in the home. Now with new products, more tips, and additional photos, it is your source for endless kitchen inspiriration from Ad, the international design authority.”
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ad-amazing-kitchens/id424382251?mt=8

Filed under: Rivertowns Design | 2 Comments »

Mortgage Rates Down Again

Posted on August 12, 2011 2:09 pm by Scott Rosasco

For the second week in a row, contrary to popular thinking for this point in time, mortgage rates have gone even lower. In response to the European debt concerns and investors rush to U.S. Treasuraries, the 30 year fixed rate mortgage fell to 4.32% this week. This represents it’s lowest point for 2011. The 15 year fixed rate is down to 3.5%.
Additionally, Rand Mortgage is currently offering a 30 year fixed rate product, with no points, at an even 4.0%.
http://www.housingwire.com/2011/08/11/mortgage-rates-plummet-to-new-lows-on-market-concerns

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96 Waterfront Acres Available in Sleepy Hollow

Posted on August 10, 2011 11:00 am by Scott Rosasco

General Motors has issued an RFP “Request For Proposals” to redevelop the former auto manufacturers property on the Hudson River in Sleepy Hollow. Potential developers have until Sept 2, 2011 to make their proposal for the property. While the project is advertised in the RFP as having permits and state approvals, there are still many issues that remain unresolved including obtaining local village planning and building approvals. Additionally, there are toxins on the river bottom adjacent to the site, including lead, deposited by GM during its 82 year occupancy. These will need to be removed by any developer, via dredging or some other means, as part of any decision to move forward. As if that wasn’t enough, there is also a lawsuit over the potential for traffic congestion brought by the neighboring village of Tarrytown that must be resolved as well.
The plan calls for 1,177 housing units, a 140 unit hotel. 172,000 sq.ft. of office space and almost 45 acres for village parkland and other village uses. According to village officials a shovel coud be in the ground by sometime in 2012.
http://gmsleepyhollowdevelopmentopportunity.com/

Filed under: Local News, Real Estate | Tagged: Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown | 1 Comment »

Can You Sell Your Home Without a Realtor?

Posted on August 9, 2011 5:54 pm by Scott Rosasco

According to the experience of Colby Sambrotto, the founder of ForSaleByOwner.com , it can’t be done. Mr Sambrotto, who it would appear would be the best spokesman for his own company and its premise of avoiding Realtors, put his 2.15 million home in NYC on the market and tried to sell it himself online for over 6 months without success. Only when he contacted a local broker did he discover that, among other things, he was priced $150,000 LESS than what the unit was worth, which was attracting the wrong kind of buyers to his home. After listing his unit with the broker, with a 6% commission, and raising the price by $150,000 Mr. Sambratto was suddenly able to sell his property, with the profit more than paying for the services of his Realtor.
http://gawker.com/5827297/for-sale-by-owner-founder-needs-broker-to-sell-his-apartment

Filed under: Real Estate | 1 Comment »

Stop & Shop Expansion Scaled Back in Dobbs Ferry

Posted on August 8, 2011 11:50 pm by Scott Rosasco

The long-awaited Stop & Shop expansion in Dobbs Ferry, which originally included essentially leveling the existing building and constructing a much larger facility, as well as a smaller, independent, free-standing building on the Broadway portion of the old Scott Chevrolet site, has been dramatically scaled back. Budgetary concerns are cited as the reasoning. The new iteration has eliminated the free-standing building on Broadway, along with any associated parking and has also diminished the expansion of the existing facility by approximately 70%. The current proposal is limited to exterior facade changes to the original building along with a re-working of the interior. Also included will be a new loading dock addition constructed to the side of the current loading dock, but with the loading doors oriented to the front elevation, as opposed to the current side elevation location. There will also be a parking area added, mid block, to the Scott Chevrolet property, which will extend from Estherwood Avenue to Walgrove Avenue. Formal plans will be submitted to the various village boards shortly.

Filed under: Local News | Tagged: Dobbs Ferry | Leave a comment »

Second Quarter RE Market Results for Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington, Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow

Posted on August 7, 2011 6:02 pm by Scott Rosasco

According to the Westchester Multiple Listing Service the average sale price in the rivertowns is down this past quarter, over the same quarter last year, by $102,166, representing a 13.4% drop. The average sale price dropped from $762,874 to $660,708. The number of actual listings on the market for the same quarterly period is also down from 210 homes in 2010 to 178 homes this year, in the 6 villages combined. However the average days on the market, from the initial listing date until the final closing date, has decreased somewhat from 210 days in 2010 to 178 days in 2011. This information may tend to suggest that sellers are finally coming to grips with the current real estate market, pricing their homes accordingly and as a result selling them marginally faster. These numbers are somewhat less dramatic when spread out over all the villages and towns in the Westchester County area at large, as can be seen in the enclosed link:
http://www.randcenter.com/marketstatsprint.asp?AgentID=4607&cnt=Westchester&Headline=Rivertowns+Real+Estate+Market&D1=4/1/2011&D2=6/30/2011&D3=4/1/2010&D4=6/30/2010&R1ClosedCount=54&R2ClosedCount=79&R1ClosedCountcnt=995&R2ClosedCountcnt=1203&R1AskingAverage=688058.74074&R2AskingAverage=808072.759493&R1AskingAveragecnt=901871.318592&R2AskingAveragecnt=861296.919368&R1ClosedAverage=660707.962962&R2ClosedAverage=762874.240506&R1ClosedAveragecnt=853438.900502&R2ClosedAveragecnt=813370.453034&R1SoldMedian=603500&R2SoldMedian=670000&R1SoldMediancnt=615000&R2SoldMediancnt=605000&R1ListedMedian=629000&R2ListedMedian=715000&R1ListedMediancnt=699999&R2ListedMediancnt=649222&R1DaysMarket=178&R2DaysMarket=210&R1DaysMarketcnt=187&R2DaysMarketcnt=181&R1ListedCount=172&R2ListedCount=205&R1ListedCountcnt=3324&R2ListedCountcnt=3458&R1P=0&R2P=0&R3P=8&R4P=6&R5P=12&R6P=7&R7P=8&R8P=5&R9P=4&R10P=4&R11P=0&R12P=0&R13P=4&R1Pcnt=26&R2Pcnt=56&R3Pcnt=101&R4Pcnt=163&R5Pcnt=126&R6Pcnt=89&R7Pcnt=79&R8Pcnt=58&R9Pcnt=63&R10Pcnt=114&R11Pcnt=56&R12Pcnt=64&R13Pcnt=234&TotalActive=274&TotalActivecnt=4479

Filed under: Real Estate | Tagged: Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown | Leave a comment »

Rivertown Square Development Review Moving Along

Posted on August 6, 2011 3:47 pm by Scott Rosasco

The review process for the massive development proposed on the Akzo Chemical campus, near New York Sports Club in Dobbs Ferry, is proceeding in a timely manner. The development is slated to include over 200 residential apartments, a 100 unit hotel, a 70,000 square foot supermarket and a number of smaller retail stores.
Among other concerns the village of Dobbs Ferry will have to deal with, traffic certainly reigns at the top. Given that the Saw Mill Parkway is limited to passenger vehicles only, with no trucks allowed, there is some question as to who is going to bear the brunt of what it would seem would be a regular influx of delivery trucks, some of which will be large tractor trailers to service a 70,000 sq.ft. supermarket. Will it be the lone Dobbs Ferry residential street that services the area, Ogden Avenue, or will it be Lawrence Street in Ardsley, which would further exacerbate the Ardsley traffic woes?
Dobbs Ferry is expecting the Draft Environmental Impact Statement from the developer later this month. That document will be expected to answer this question as well as a whole host of others, such as possible negative effects on property values, mitigation measures and alternative plans. Once the DEIS is in the Board of Trustees hands, they will have 45 days to determine its thoroughness and to decide if it is ready to be released to the public for further review. The public will then have at least 30 days, with possible extensions, to weigh in on the DEIS before it is returned to the developer to address any outstanding concerns.
These are important meetings that shouldn’t be missed by interested persons. Village meeting agendas are generally posted in the police station, among a variety of other places.

Filed under: Local News | Tagged: Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry | 2 Comments »

Mortgage Applications Are Up 7.1%

Posted on August 5, 2011 4:49 pm by Scott Rosasco

Mortgage applications are up 7.1% in the last week, as rates fell on all products, as a result of the debt ceiling negotiations. Refinance applications also increased, but are still almost 30% below last years levels. Read more at :
http://www.linkedin.com/news?actionBar=&articleID=678091297&ids=0NdPAOcj8UdPoIczcMcz0Oe3sSb34Uej4Qe3wTdyMPcPoOdjsUdPoIdPAOcjAMe3sS&aag=true&freq=daily&trk=eml-tod-b-ttle-44

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Mortgage Rates Drop Even Further To New Historic Lows

Posted on August 4, 2011 2:38 pm by Scott Rosasco

Mortgage rates dropped lower this past week as a result of the uncertainty garnered by the debt ceiling conversations in Washington. The standard 30 year fixed rate product is down to 4.45%. A 15 year loan term on the same product is even lower, an astounding 3.52%. That makes this a fantastic time to buy real estate, when combined with the historically low prices. These days can’t last forever and in fact on October 1 the Fannie/Freddie loam limits are to be reduced. In an area like the Rivertowns, where, even accounting for 30% drop in prices oer the past few years, loan amounts are still high by comparison with the rest of the US, time may be of the essence to take advantage of the current situation. Read more at:
http://www.linkedin.com/news?actionBar=&articleID=678841981&ids=0NdPAOcj8UdPoIczcMcz0Oe3sSb34Uej4Qe3wTdyMPcPoOdjsUdPoIdPAOcjAMe3sS&aag=true&freq=daily&trk=eml-tod-b-ttle-44

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Westchester Has New Design Standards For Residential Housing

Posted on August 3, 2011 3:58 pm by Scott Rosasco

On July 11, the Westchester County Board of Legislators unanimously approved a bill requiring Universal Design Standards in all county funded, new residential construction. The primary purpose is to help occupants of these properties that are elderly or disabled to stay in their homes as independently and as long as possible. Among other things the new bill requires that no-step entries, one story living spaces, wider doorways and hallways, turn around floor space, grab bars, removable cabinets and reachable switches be incorporated into at least 50% off all housing units which receive some form of support from the county with regards to funding.

Filed under: Local News, Real Estate, Rivertowns Design | Leave a comment »

National Real Estate Trends Not Reflected in Westchester

Posted on August 2, 2011 5:25 pm by Scott Rosasco

Due to the more stable and sophisticated demographic of the typical Westchester homeowner, the county has managed to escape many of the problems which seem to plague other areas of the United States. While overall numbers of actual homes sold in Westchester have certainly dropped, reflecting the national trend and sale prices are significantly lower than in years past, 63 percent of Westchester residents still own their own homes. This figure remains unchanged since 2000, well before the financial crisis began. Westchester has also never seen the high level of subprime mortgage financing more prevalent in other areas. As a result, the number of foreclosures and short sales, which tend to push down sale prices for more traditionally financed homes as well, are significantly lower. In some areas of the South and Southwest US for example, foreclosures and short sales account for 80% of the market. In Westchester by comparison these types of sales account for only 20% or even less, depending on the individual area. Read more at:

http://www.lohud.com/article/20110801/NEWS01/108010320/Local-housing-market-resisted-worst-collapse?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|News

Filed under: Real Estate | Tagged: Westchester Real Estate | Leave a comment »

Summertime Dining on the Water

Posted on August 1, 2011 3:00 pm by Scott Rosasco

One of the really great things about living in the Rivertowns, is the easy access to a number of waterfront restaurants at virtually all price points. From a $12 glass of chardonnay at Half Moon on the Dobbs Ferry waterfront to a $4 plastic cup of pinot grigio at Sunset Cove in Tarrytown. When the light is just right and the breeze is just so, if you squint your eyes you can easily imagine yourself sitting out in the Hampton’s or on the North shore of Long Island. Dining spots on the river though have their own special charms. Some, like Sunset Cove and Striped Bass in Tarrytown are even accessible by boat.
Every Rivertown has its own special place. Harvest-on-Hudson in Hastings-on-Hudson, Half Moon in Dobbs Ferry, Red Hat in Irvington and both Sunset Cove and Striped Bass in Tarrytown.