Posts Tagged Westchester


House Pick for LeBron #3

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Dear LeBron, I know that decision time is coming soon, but I have another house pick that I would like to share with you. This home is located in Purchase, NY, a very short drive to the Westchester County Airport.

Windsor Court is located on 2.14 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens. Enter through the black wrought iron gates and drive into an estate of European Splendor. Set in the circular cobblestone driveway is a three-tier Haddonstone fountain. The main home is almost 14,000 square feet with a total of 23 rooms, including 7 bedrooms and 8.3 baths.  This is a home built for entertaining with a gourmet kitchen and media room. Outdoors there is a large pool and adjacent wet bar/entertainment area. Of course, there is an indoor gym. I’m sure you’re a bit too busy right now to come take a look, but here is a Video Tour with all of the highlights.

Now that you are on Twitter, feel free to follow us for the latest on new listings and local information. We also have a Facebook Page dedicated to all things Westchester called Westchester Life that you might want to check out.

Making The Connection

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A Manhattan real estate agent recently commented that she felt like she was selling commercial real estate, not residential, because her buyers were so dispassionate and detached in the purchase of their future home. 

Purchasing a home has long been about buyers making an emotional connection. The recent downturn has forced buyers to use their head rather than their heart when considering a new home. Crunching numbers has replaced “falling in love” and math trumps sentiment.  

Anecdotally we have seen some buyers making that important connection with a home and using both heart and head to make a decision. Such was the case with a recent home for sale in Westchester. The listing was aggressively priced and several builders loved the land, but they thought the house was a good “teardown” and could yield a decent profit.

The sellers, who have lived in their home for many decades, were adamant their charming home be sold to a family who would cherish it as much as they have. They rejected a builder’s as-is asking price offer.  

Two competing offers surfaced from families who wrote to the buyers, accompanied by family photos, pledging their love and affection for the home – and both gave over asking price offers. The family that ultimately purchased the home are thrilled, and acknowledge that the the attachment they made drove their heart as well as their head when it came to buying this home. 

Do you think that emotions should enter into residential real estate decisions?

Realtor News from Washington DC

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U.S. CapitalHaving just returned from attending the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Mid-Year meetings in Washington DC., I wanted to share some of the highlights of the meetings with you. There were over 8,000 Realtors® that descended upon our Nation’s Capital throughout the week.

I arrived Thursday morning and attended the Large Firm Directors meeting right after lunch. As an aside, did you know that if a waiter breaks an entire glass of water on you and covers you with shards of glass and water, you’ll likely get a free lunch? So yes, I made it to the meeting, albeit a little soggy. While the economic updates are always interesting, the presentation by Dale Ross on RPR (Realtors Property Resource) was pretty fascinating. RPR will serve as an online real estate archive that will provide Realtors® with data on every property and land parcel in the U.S. According to Ross, though RPR is currently being tested in about 12 markets around the Country, a full roll-out may take up to five years.

Realtor USaturday morning I attended the NAR Board of Director’s meeting. The most interesting new initiative presented there was Realtor® University. It’s the association’s answer for raising the bar in our industry. If you are on Twitter, you know that there has been a lot of discussion on this topic in the last 6 months. Realtor® University will be a fully accredited institution that will grant degrees in our field, though accreditation may take 2-3 years. The curriculum will be online, and in addition to master’s degrees, Realtor University will eventually offer internship and job-placement programs. The premise all sounds great, so I guess we’ll see what NAR does with it. I just hope the classes will be more challenging than some of the online license renewal classes I’ve taken over the years. That will be the only way this will truly raise the bar in our profession.

All in all it was a great couple of days – packed with informative meetings and networking with great people. Now I’m looking forward to implementing new ideas in the Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess real estate marketplace.

Houlihan Lawrence Gets Social

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Everywhere you go these days, you hear about Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and all sorts of other social media. Of the many social networking websites, these seem to be the most popular, at least for now. They have become important business tools for real estate firms and professionals and Houlihan Lawrence was an early adopter.

Houlihan Lawrence started using social media in early 2009. We created a company blog, a Facebook Fan Page, a Twitter account and an agent blog site . Additionally, our home tours are on YouTube. It seems like every day we’re finding ways to use social media as well as new places to post real estate news and real estate market statistics.

Real estate has always been a relationship business and social networking is a perfect way to extend and enhance those relationships. Social networking is now a part of our comprehensive marketing strategy, “Reaching every buyer, everywhere”.

One could almost get entirely lost in the social media bubble but let’s not forget the most important part of social media – being social. It’s great to make connections online, but it’s even better to meet someone IRL – In Real Life.

Until we meet, feel free to follow us on twitter and friend us on facebook. You’ll get up to date market statistics, great area information and tips about buying and selling your home. If there is specific information we can help you with just send us a tweet or pose a question on our facebook page.

Westchester’s Changing Real Estate Landscape

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The real estate downturn was a game-changer for the competitive landscape of real estate companies in Westchester County. Sotheby’s closed one corporately-owned office and sold four offices to a CT-based company, which now operates as a Sotheby’s franchise.  Smaller businesses shut their doors, while other locally-based companies become franchisees of national brands. Even the casual observer may now notice new and unfamiliar company names on real estate office awnings in Westchester County.

While no one could have predicted the severity and depth of the real estate upheaval triggered by frozen credit markets, Houlihan Lawrence’s thorough and rigorous analysis of national, county, industry and company-wide data alerted us to the real estate slowdown long before it became news.  As a result, we made pro-active changes that allowed us to remain a nimble, consumer-focused and innovative company.

Well-positioned for the downturn, Houlihan Lawrence’s 2009 market share increased to 31% — a 19% lead over the number two firm, and greater than the combined total volume of Coldwell Banker, Julia B. Fee/Sotheby’s and Prudential. Our market share trajectory has been moving in the right direction with an increase of 6% since 2007, and almost 10% since 2004.

Market_Share_2004_2009

Houlihan Lawrence has survived and surpassed the competition through many real estate cycles, and we are committed to remaining the dominant real estate services provider in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess Counties.

Out and About in Bedford

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It has bold-face name residents, a bed and breakfast owned by a movie star, and a picturesque village green. Bedford, which includes the hamlets of Bedford Hills, Bedford Village and Katonah, has a sense of authenticity and character that gives it it’s New England charm.farmhouseFromStreetWithSnow

The historic buildings that grace the Village Green set the tone for this Rockwellian community. Bedford Historical Society maintains 10 buildings including The Post Office, Bedford Free Library, Jackson House, and Loudsbery Building.  Galleries, shops and restaurants add sophistication and a sense of surprise.

The outdoorsperson will never tire of all ways in which to absorb the beauty of the area. Bedford Riding Lanes Association maintains 100 miles of trails and dirt for hiking and horseback riding. Drivers enthusiastically give the right of way to neighbors on horseback.

Music lovers flock to Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, a performing arts center in Katonah. Caramoor’s outdoor music pavilion is surrounded by formal gardens and a Mediterranean style villa that houses year-round music educational programs.   The Katonah Museum of Art celebrates the visual arts with exhibitions and educational programs that explore ideas about art, culture, and society.

For foodies, there are local farms like Cabbage Hill, Daisy Hill, and Guard Hill that grow organic fruits and vegetables and are purveyors of artisanal cheeses and meats. Bedford resident Richard Gere may be lurking by the arugula or Martha Stewart could be declaring the peaches a good thing, which makes this rural area of Westchester County a pleasure for all the sense.

A Snowy Day in Rye

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Rye City Snow2

The sun is out, the kids are back in school and it is a normal Thursday. Let’s not forget how beautiful a snowfall can be …  Does this street in Rye look familar?

For Those About to Rock We Salute You!

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Ok, so you thought this would be about AC/DC. Sorry, it’s not. It is however about a group of Houlihan Lawrence sales associates who rock what they do, each and every day.

The Westchester Putnam Association of Realtors, Inc. (WPAR) along with the Westchester Putnam Multiple Listing Service (WPMLS) recently held their 2010 Installation and New Years party. Proudly, several Houlihan Lawrence sales associates were installed in their new 2010 positions:

Nancy Kennedy …Vice President, Westchester
Eileen Barrett …Vice President, Putnam
Harding Mason …Immediate Past President
Pat Held …Area Director
Matthew Bevilaqua …Area Director
Toni Chrystal …President, Women’s Council of Realtors, Empire Chapter

This group stands out not only because of their dedication to their profession and our local Board but also because they are all tops at what they do. This is a group of movers and shakers in the Westchester/Putnam real estate market.

We salute this group because we know they’re going to ROCK in their new Board positions! Congratulations to all!

If You’re Happy and You Know it Clap Your Hands!

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New research by the UK’s University of Warwick and Hamilton College in the US has used the happiness levels of a million individual US citizens to discover which are the best and worst states in which to live. New York came in dead last and I demand a recount!

Surely, they didn’t interview anyone who resides in Westchester, Putnam or Dutchess counties of New York? What do we have to be unhappy about? OK – so our property taxes are a bit high in some areas, but look at everything we’ve got:

  • Close proximity to NYC – you can jump on a train and be at a Broadway show in 30 minutes to an hour, depending where you live.
  • Activities galore: golfing, biking, hiking, fishing, boating, swimming, skiing, horseback riding – are you getting the point?
  • Shopping – we have some of the greatest shopping in our area – no need to go to the city to shop!
  • Beautiful landscape – we are surrounded by beauty from Long Island Sound to the majestic Hudson river to the mountains up North and all the lakes and reservoirs in between. We have 4 beautiful seasons each year.
  • Restaurants – any type of cuisine you could possibly crave is right here – again, no need to go to the city!
  • Public Schools that have made the Top 100 list of America’s Best High Schools.
  • The New York Yankees – OK – so you either love them or you hate them but since they’re champs this year, what’s not to love?

So, let me hear some hand clapping because clearly there are a lot of reasons to be happy about where we live. What do you love most about where you live?

Getting Better With Age

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Due to its long and rich history, the Hudson Valley has always been sought-after for its splendid antique homes.

Many of these homes, some dating back to the Revolutionary War era, have been updated to modern luxury standards without sacrificing any of their period charm. Here is a  small sampling of the many lovely vintage homes we are currently representing for sale.

Remote

 

Remote – Cornwall-On-Hudson

Graceful 1907 Colonial-Offered at $1,475,000

A treasured estate owned by the same family for more than a century.    Near the Hudson River.

The Locusts Revise

The Locusts – Scarsdale

Late 1700s – Offered at $3,495,000

Home of Revolutionary War Hero, Major Popham. Approximately 6000 sf of living space plus guest house.

Orienta Manor Revise Orienta Manor – Mamaroneck

Circa 1847 Colonial – Offered at $3,395,000

One of Orienta Point’s grand period homes with a porch, terraces and pool.

Grande Folly Revise

Grande Folly – South Salem

1900 Queen Anne Victorian  - Offered at $2,595,000

Framed by magnificently planted grounds bordering the Waccabuc River with mature perennial gardens and pool.

The Lorillard House

The Lorillard House – Rhinebeck

1870s Italianate Colonial – Offered at $1,850,000

Once part of the vast Astor estate, Ferncliff, featuring 33.5 acres with a large carriage house and barn.

 

For more information on these listings, please visit our website.