Westchester Real Estate Talk

The Westchester County, New York 4th quarter and year end market report and statistics came out today and some of the highlights are:

• Single family and condo sales volume was up 2%
• Co-op sales declined by 7 units
• Multi family sales declined by 38%
• 9022 units or 1.6% less than 2006
• Median sales price for a single family in Westchester is now $685,000
• Sales in excess of $1 million accounted for 25.4% and in 2006 24.7%
• 2007 year end inventory was 4,711 18% below 2006 

 To read the entire report:

  2007 Westchester County Year End Market 2007

"Stockton is a city of 280,000 people in the Central Valley; 80 miles east of San Francisco and 80 miles north of San Jose. In many ways, this is ground zero for the current financial crisis and a microcosm of everything that went wrong.

A few years ago, it was one of the hottest real estate markets in the country; today it is the foreclosure capital of America.

Real estate agent Kevin Moran represents 102 properties and says all of them are in foreclosure.

Moran gave Kroft a tour of the wreckage in one subdivision called "Weston Ranch," with block after block of vacant and abandoned houses.

"If you see a 'for sale' sign in this neighborhood, that probably is a sign of distress, right?" Kroft asks"

To read the rest of the segment and/or to see the video....60 Minutes

Over the past month a reporter for the New York Times has been commuting all over the tri state of New York to get a glimpse into what commuting in this area is like.  18 trips in the last month and he will do a few more over the next week.

He has found that some people find their commute to be the bain of their existence, some are ok with it so they can get a house they can afford in a school district and community they want to live in and some commuters use the time to relax and unwind after a day at the office.

Commuting to New York City from the New York Times.

We have a buyers market in Westchester County.  It is a stronger buyer's market in some communities than in others but a buyer's market none the less.  We are seeing price reductions, some large price reductions coming through.  More and more throughout Westchester County I see agents travelling with buyers all over.  With the internet, buyer brokerage, navigation systems, agents can get into their cars and travel. Over the past few days I have been showing houses to first time buyers, three couples, all with different issues and concerns.  I love this part of the job.  I have been doing this long enough to know the pattern that they will go through.  From beginning to end, finding the community, figuring out the commute, schools, and all of the other pieces of the puzzle that all first time buyers go through.  I really enjoy helping young couples figure this out by providing the resources they need so they can make their decision.

The best part is being busy again after the holiday's.  Sellers are usually new to selling as it isn't something they do everyday so here are some things to consider.  You need to be a little flexible in terms of showing your property to buyers.  Yes it is inconvenient.  Yes you give up a bit of your privacy because you may get a call at the the last minute, yes it is not fun to have stangers going through your property.

It is generally agreed that the more buyers, the more traffic, the more possibility of offers.  So a few tips if you are thinking of selling:

1. Work with the buyers and their agents in terms of showing.  This past weekend my buyer wanted to see several houses but had plans in the afternoon.  They wanted to see one particular house but early on Sunday and owner said that they could not possibly show before 11am.  While of course that is the sellers right it immediately sets a bad tone and makes the buyer think "they don't really want to sell"
2. When an agent walks in with a buyer don't say "have you been here before" it is irrelevant.  Agents who have been in the business and are experienced know what they are seeing and know houses.  We get it immediately.  There isn't an agent out there who has seen every house in their market.  Virtually impossible.
3. Don't help the agent.  You may love your house, but the buyers don't care.  They need to know if they love your house and then they want to know how much it will cost them.  Please don't tell them when you installed the ceiling fan in the kitchen and that the electrician had a problem doing it - no one cares.  It will not distract them from the illegal bathroom in the basement.
4. If possible, I know some sellers really need this, do not ask your agent to key the house.  This means that the agent has to open the door and there is no lockbox.  As a buyer's agent each time I call to show a house to my buyer's and an agent has to open the door I need to explain that my buyer wants to see the house with the agent they are working with.  They do not want a tour from the listing agent.  They will ask questions if need be.   There is nothing worse than having to listen to detail about a house that they know they are not interested in.  They don't care how old the roof is!  Nor will a new roof convince them to buy a house they don't like.
5. Buyer's agents take the buyer's lead.  Some buyers like an agent to point out every little thing as they tour a house, other buyer's like to look and concentrate, ask questions as they go.  Don't assume that if the agent isn't chatting away about your house that they don't know what they are doing.  Those are the agents that in tune with their clients.

Thank you.

 Taking the global spotlight for its economic efforts, Westchester County has been named one of the Top Seven Intelligent Communities of the Year by The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), a non-profit international think tank that focuses on job creation and economic development in the broadband economy.


The Top Seven announcement which was made on Monday in Honolulu, Hawaii, is the second stage of ICF's annual Intelligent Community awards cycle, which garners hundreds of nominations each year from around the world.  Gaining a place among the Top Seven is a major achievement as well as a step toward even greater recognition for Westchester's efforts to successfully use broadband and information technology to attract leading edge businesses, stimulate job creation, and generate sustainable economic growth.

For the first time, the Top Seven included three American communities, plus three from the rest of the world that were named to the list a second time. The other finalists include Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom; Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada; Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea; Northeast Ohio, USA; Tallinn, Estonia; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.  For a more detailed list, see http://www.intelligentcommunity.org/.

http://www.westchestergov.com/news_top7.htm

I a sitting watching the Today Show and they are doing a segment titled "Cybersnitching".  A nice young man bought an apartment in New York City and discovered a bit too late that his neighers are rotten.  So he started a website www.rottenneighbor.com which is apparently getting loads of hits.

Barbara Corcoran felt that this site could be enormously helpful to buyers but could effect the value of your property if you post something negative about a neighbor.

The site is being monitored by this nice young man Mike.

The old way of checking out a neighborhood still works.  Take a walk and talk to the neighbors.  Drive around during rush hour, visit on a Friday or Saturday night.  Go into town and talk to the store owners.  Visit the Town Hall or Village Hall and ask questions.  Se if any additions, pools, decks are being added to adjoining properties.

Of course you can buy a property and the current owner who lives next door is great and moves.  The next neighbor ain't to great.

You can always move.

So, if a real estate company sells lots of homes and has a market share does that make the company a better company?




Or is it that the company has the most amount of agents. Companies are always recruiting and invest quite a bit in training. Studies show that 80% of agents decide not to continue after the first year. Companies get bought out, managers change, people retire, new agents come in and start to learn and experienced agents decide it is time to try another company. This is the cycle in all companies. There is a lot of agent movement from office to office. There are wonderful agents and not so good agents in all company's.

Why do agents move from company to company? Some offer lots of free training, some make it mandatory, some charge for training and it is up to the agent whether to attend or not, some have wonderful experienced managers/owners, some have managers in training, some let the agent keep a larger percentage of their commission, some pay for office supplies, some will provide advertising for listings weekly some won't and so it goes. Agents interview different office's and try to find the best fit. Every agent has different ideas about what will work for them. There is a certain pattern to agent movement. New agents learn and after a couple of years want to see what else is out there in terms of what a company can offer them. After 15 years I decided that I would prefer to control my own business, make my own marketing and financial decisions and not be subject to corporate shifting and changing. I went to RE/MAX prime properties. The corporate support is there as is the owner/broker experience I need if an issue arises but I control my business. The education that is available is superb, on the internet 24/7 or on the RE/MAX satellite station. This was what I thought at this point in my career would work best for me.

Real estate company's make money by keeping a percentage of the commission that the agent is paid. Some franchises also make money by charging for marketing materials that they provide. There are lots of different models.
Different companies do things differently. Does any of this make one company better than the next? I have been in both small independent firms and larger franchises. I have been in two different offices within the same franchise and things are vastly different from office to office. Buyers and sellers really don't have any contact with the company and it does not matter which company has a home on the market because we can all show any house through the MLS.

Do agent's who invest in their careers bring more to the table? Does more real estate education and experience mean anything? Does an agent with an individual website, perhaps even a blog bring more to the table. Studies show that the answer is yes. Does that mean that an agent who does not have their own website or blog or continued education is not committed to their career? No, it doesn't, there are wonderful agents who have not yet embraced the internet.

If you are buying or selling it is the agent, not the company that will be in charge of your transaction. Hire the agent, not the company.

This article appeared in the New York Times this morning.  In the past when market declines have occurred real estate agents/brokers had been working for the sellers in real estate transactions.  This is the first decline where quite a few agents represented the buyer.  So, a couple out in California who bought during the past sellers market feel that their agent misrepresented the value of the house they bought, didn't show them all similar properties in the development they bought in and they feel that they overpaid and that it is the agent's fault. This is quite interesting.  Is it the agent's fault? In this case the agent also worked as their mortgage broker and had a lot at stake.

This buyer has spent more on legal fees than the perceived difference between what the market value at the time was and the value now.  This brings up a lot of questions.  First and foremost real estate agents/brokers are not appraisors.  We, at least in New York State, can give price opinions, but can not appraise a property.  The couple that are suing are not first time buyers.  They were relocating to be with their children and took their time to find a property.  They backed out of two deals and fired one agent. 

Buyers who search for properties develop a sense of value as they go from property to property.  The more they see the more they can compare and discuss.  Eventually they arrive at prices they are comfortable with when making offers.  The great majority of buyers that I work with  develop a sense of what they will pay for a property based on viewings, putting offers out and getting a counteroffer, comparing one house against another such as this house has four bedrooms and that house only has three bedrooms so I will pay more for the four bedroom house, etc.

While real estate agents may have opinions as to value it is ultimately the buyer who has to decide what they want to pay for a property.  They can accept or reject the opinion of the agent.  In a declining market it is also hard for agents to know the value.  Last spring a lot of us across the country had to chase prices down.  Houses listed and valued in March at $700,000 could see a multitude of price reductions sometimes  significant before a sale occured.  Would the agent be responsible if a buyer bought during a declining market?  Would the buyer buy and stay and the market would increase and decrease over time.  Are buyers responsible for their own decisions.  Do agents give their best professional opinions at the time?  If I have a buyer that buys in June and the market further declines, am I responsible to know that it will decline and how much it will decline? Some interesting questions.

From the New York Times, click here.

One of the school websites I have had on my site and blogs has been the one form Standard and Poor's.  You could look up school district statistics, data on test scores, student-teacher ratios etc.  The public requested more information, not just statistics. So, Standard and Poor's partnered with our local newspaper, The Journal News, which has for the past five days run a series that is all encompassing about the school districts in Westchester County, New York.  Lot's of videos and interviews around the county with teachers and administrators.  There is a discussion of what you get for your tax dollars, district to district.  There is a discussion about living in the wealthier districts and is it worth the larger tax bills.  This report gives insight that previous statistics didn't address.

• Day 1:  Value
• Day 2:  Risk Factors
• Day 3:  Money Matters
• Day 4:  Better Buy
• Day 5:  Debating Values

To read the entire report from the Journal News,  Our Schools, Our Money. To visit the reconfigured Standard and Poor's School Site, click here.

The increase in home heating costs across the country has given rise to  a new industry and profession, the Home Energy Audit performed by a Professional Energy Auditor.  At this point anyone can call themselves an auditor but there are two non-profit organizations that are working with the EPA and US Department of Energy to develop a certification standard with ethics and training.

In the past utility companies would provide free energy audits and some may still do so.  Those are mostly eyeballing the house and an actual audit from a professional auditor is more sophisticated.  The cost is in the range of $300-700.

In CT. 4400 customers were audited last year.  You should check with your utilitiy company to see it they have any incentives if you do an audit and implement any of the suggestions to reduce your fuel useage.

In MA. the Senate passed the first State Regulation that have sellers provide buyers with an audit scoring and several other states are considering the same.  Links and further info below:

Residential Energy Services Network, (RESNET)

Building Performance Institute, (BPI)

Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA)

US Department of Energy