Everyone who knows me well knows that I love summer.  I’m happiest at the beach and have a soft spot for the Hamptons out on the eastern end of Long Island, where I met my husband 22 years ago on a sunny July 4th weekend.  I was thinking of this as I spent last weekend in Westhampton Beach attending the wedding of a great couple, who are close friends and clients. Even the rain couldn’t put a damper on festivities under a large tent in the private backyard of my friends’ beach home.

The next morning after breakfast, we walked up Main St. in Westhampton checking out the sidewalk sales of the local shops.  As I sometimes do when I’m away from home, I stopped into a local realty office on the street and asked about business this past summer, to which the broker replied, “Interestingly, it was our worst year, but our best month.”

Hmmm…What does that mean?  Could it be that, as Bill Raveis talked about in the video featured on my previous post, that the combination of low interest rates and significantly reduced prices make this an attractive time to buy relative to other recessionary periods, now that the summer crowds have gone? There are fewer buyers, thus less competition for attractive properties in areas that historically have held their value…like Westhampton, and, of course, Rye. Over the long term, home ownership still pays.

It is worth thinking about if you are serious about buying. Time will tell, but in the meantime I am going to enjoy the sunnier weather following “the summer that wasn’t”.  I picked up a current copy of the infamous Dan’s Papers while out east, where I read this amusing quote by CNN contributor and Southampton year round resident Robert Zimmerman ,… “Let’s get the record straight, after having the second coldest summer in 140 years, remember that October is the new August. The best part of the summer is just beginning.”

In my personal opinion, one of the most difficult periods of this current recession, from a local real estate perspective, was the stagnation we experienced earlier in the winter months of this year, with inventory rising and buyers on hold.  Although activity has picked up quite a bit since that point, market conditions- and the media- have ensured that current buyer clients have no shortage of reasons to site for sitting on the sidelines!  Many are renting in the greater N.Y.C. area and actively watching the local real estate market, but waiting for some sign of a “bottom”….

That being the case, I find this current video by Bill Raveis, President and CEO of William Raveis Real Estate, very timely and informative. Mr. Raveis explains in easy to understand language how this recession differs from other recessionary periods he has seen during his 35+ years of experience in the Real Estate Industry, and details how you can best take advantage of opportunities in this market.

Take A Look here at the Video- How To Buy a House in a Recession          

Please take a moment also to see how simple it is to run current local housing statistics on raveis.com for Rye or any local community you are interested in. Call or email me anytime for information on Rye area Real Estate.

• The story behind William Raveis Real Estate is a powerful one. The 6th largest independent brokerage in the country, they have experienced phenomenal growth over the past 35 years. They currently have #1 market share in the prominent Fairfield County, CT. communities.
• They began expanding their business outside of Connecticut only six years ago with their first office in Massachusetts, where they were ranked as the largest independent residential real estate company in that state in 2008.
• The Rye/Harrison Offices represent their first step into their expansion into New York, and plans are to develop an office network throughout Westchester County to Manhattan.
• Their award winning website, raveis.com, offers immediate live assistance, “real time” graphs for local housing data, mapping and mortgage features,and more in addition to MLS search.

There is an award winning author on staff at the Washington Post named Anne Hull. A Pulitzer prize finalist, she has written some very insightful human interest stories that I admire. She certainly struck a nerve with an article last weekend chronicling a divorced working mother of three in Harrison in  Struggling on $300,000 a year.  I posted the article to my personal Facebook page, which immediately gathered a slew of comments, and several women in town have mentioned the article to me in the days since. The piece has registered over 1000 comments on the Washington Post site since it came out, according to the local Westchester paper which ran a story on the WP article in yesterday’s edition, Hardship in Harrison- or not? .

I am not going to judge the family portrayed in the story and although I have the greatest respect for Ms.Hull,  I do not think that our area was accurately represented in that particular story.  From a real estate perspective, Rye and Harrison both have a variety of housing stock, large and small, and many families live here not particularly for the house per se but for good schools, recreational opportunities, and strong sense of community. There are plenty of bungalows near the beach, as well as ranches and split levels intertwined between the “tear down” mega mansions that developed over recent years.

To me, this seems really a story more about divorce than the economy we are in right now in that it focused largely on maintaining a large home. Yes, it may take longer to sell a $2,500,000 home right now particularly if it is not priced right. But in such a desirable area, it will sell. As time passes, I have watched more of my female friends and neighbors deal with divorce and widowhood- with varying success- and it usually centers on whether or not to keep the masterpiece of assets, the family home. Some recent evidence suggests that the wiser decision may be to sell this primary asset. Kelly Lise Murray, a Nashville Real Estate Agent and Harvard trained Attorney, writes that the remaining spouse’s ability to maintain the home is often drastically overstated in her book, Divorce This House.

Single women homeowners represent the fastest growing segment of homebuyers and in some ways need more support to make the right decision. I’ve been interested in this topic for a long time; my first sale way back when was a townhouse purchase (thank you, Donna) for a woman who had sadly lost her husband in the 9/11 terrorist attack. Over the years I have sold co-ops and rented apartments for Rye Singles, and helped several local women negotiate their home sale following a divorce or separation. For this reason, I recently became a member of the  Women Homeowners Network and will be talking about this more in coming months.  If any of you single female readers have an opinion on this topic, I would love to hear from you (especially the Facebook ladies!).

Rye Quick Stats:

128 homes currently listed for sale (including 8 with contracts signed awaiting mortgage commitment)

16 pending

Sixty four homes have sold in the past six months for an average price of $1,576,940, ranging from a low of $460,000 to a high of $6,400,000. Seventy seven homes sold during the same time period last year for an average price of $1,837,474. 

Rye Waterfront Home Sells in a week to an Online Buyer

A few months ago, a local attorney and I were having a conversation about internet marketing.  I was encouraged that I had recently met some truly viable clients online, and felt that it was representative of the type of internet marketing I had started working on.  My attorney friend felt that referrals from friends and past clients were viable, but that leads from internet sources usually resulted in “dead ends”.  I relayed the conversation to a blogging business collegue, who disagreed so strongly that he even wrote a post about it.

Some sources now say that in certain areas, as much as 97% of home buyers begin their search online. Print sources may direct a client to an internet source, but buyers (and sellers) tend to use the internet to keep track of trends, recent sales, and new postings, in real time.  More than once, I have heard a client say, “Oh, I remember that house now- it has been online for awhile!”

A common misconception is that the internet does not attract the premium “high end” buyers. Not so! Just this month, a 1905 Greenhaven Colonial on 4.5 acres of WATERFRONT property sold through a REALTOR.com lead in my office. This home, located at 3 Lane Way, has waterfront views from every room, a private beach, pool with cabana, tennis court and 4 car garage…that is about as high end as you can get!  Not only did the buyer contact the listing agent directly online for the $6,000,000+ sale, it was signed and closed within a week!

I think this is something for sellers in particular to think about right now: In this market of changing values, is your home being properly marketed online? Is your agent savvy enough about online marketing to help give you the maximum exposure you need to market your home to an appropriate, qualified buyer who is ready to act quickly? The majority of buyers today have been searching online long before they contact a real estate agent, so that by the time they see a properly priced home that fits their parameters, they are truly ready to buy.

*Source WPMLS RCSD & RNSD only, zip 10580, up to 8/15/09.

Thirty nine single family homes have sold in Rye in the past six months, compared to 73 during the same time period last year (and 92 homes in 2007 same time frame). Although June was a busy month for local real estate, and encouragingly, the 34 homes in contract represent a 100% increase from the 17 in our April 2009 Update, the sales posted so far are still off as may be expected in this recessionary environment. Nationally, pending homes increased for the fourth straight month and we are certainly in line with that. Of the thirty-nine Rye homes that sold over the past six months, 13 or roughly 33% were under $1,000,000 for an average price of $717,462, and 26 or approximately 67% were over $1,000,000 for an average price of $1,962,642.

*Information per WPMLS 7/6/09, zip 10580, RCSD & RNSD only.

Rye’s Annual Sidewalk Sale offers up to 75% off Savings

The Rye Merchant’s Association is sponsoring its annual Sidewalk Sale on PurchaseStreet Thursday, July 25th- Saturday July 27th. Like many others, I have been making cautious purchases this year, but I was able to pick up some great bargains on quality merchandise at two of my favorite area stores, Sportech and Dusty Rose, at the Rye Ridge Shopping Center Sidewalk Sale a couple of weeks ago and would expect the same on Purchase St. for the upcoming July sale.

It is encouraging to see some of the newer stores on Purchase Street doing well. I bought my new favorite pair of jeans – a very high end pair that I bought for only $50 – at the new consignment shop, Rhythm in Rye Too, at 85 Purchase St. and I’m a big fan of Andy’s Pure Food at 46 Purchase St. One stop at the “salad bar” at this vegan food establishment and you’ll have energy all afternoon. I think we were all happy to see Le Pain Quotidienopen up in the vacant space formerly occupied by the Gap (still can’t believe that is gone!). Business is steady, according to the servers, and the comfy atmosphere makes it a great place to meet a friend for coffee or lunch.  Like at Ruby’s Oyster Bar down the street, the communal table is a hit. My only complaint – my latte was .65 more than the same size at Starbucks- and I thought that was expensive!

Don’t forget also that every Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. until November 22nd, the Rye Farmer’s Market sets up in the parking lot behind the Purchase St stores rain or shine. Also sponsored by the Rye Merchant’s Association and the City of Rye, this is a great place to pick up not only fresh fruits and vegetables, but baked goods, hand made soaps, wine and more.

Please support our local merchants: every time I purchase a book from Patrick Corcoran at Arcade Books, a gift from Catherine Parker at Parker’s or gourmet take out food from Chris Colacucci at Rye Country Store, just to name a few, I am reminded of how special it is to live here and not sifting through a bunch of chain stores (or more banks!).

The big news on the Rye Real Estate market, in my opinion, is the upsurge is consummated agreements. More homes in Rye have signed contracts this past month than in several months prior. Buyers are looking, and are willing to take the plunge if the sellers are willing to accept more realistic prices. Half as many single family homes sold in the first six months of 2009 in Rye City as during the same time period of 2008 (30 vs. 60) but with this recent uptick in activity, that may start to change. A particularly encouraging note is that quite a few of these homes have list prices north of the $2,000,000 mark, and there have been several competitive bidding situations, again a turnaround from recent months.

*Information per WPMLS 12/10/08-6/10/09 compared with previous period 2008, RCSD & RNSD only, zip 10580.

Rye & Sound Shore Community Come Together through a series of “Lives In Transitions” Seminars

One of the most significant factors affecting the real estate market – locally and nationally – is obviously the rising unemployment rate. Many are losing their jobs, dealing with considerable downsizing or taking on additional responsibilities in their current positions, in some cases prompting some stay at home parents to reconsider a return to the work force, not to mention newly minted college grads saddled with loans struggling to find their first job during the recession. A group of local business professionals from the greater Rye community have generously come together to address all of these issues during a series of no cost seminars on a series of Thursday nights in Rye.

The LIVES IN TRANSITIONS team describe themselves as “an effort spearheaded by business professionals to bring members of the Rye/Sound Shore Community together to meet the challenges these times offer. We are executives and entrepreneurs with expertise in such areas as finance, human resources, coaching, sales, technology,and marketing”, according to the Rye Presbyterian Church, where the seminars are being held.

I am so impressed with this collaborative effort and recently spoke with Rye resident David Severance, President of the Executive Coaching firm Advanced Development Services, after the initial seminar held at the Church assembly room on May 28th. The expected enrollment of 40 blossomed to group of 70+ from as far away as New Jersey! The idea is to ultimately break out into a series of smaller more focused groups that will appropriately address the all of the varied concerns of the group as a whole. If you know of anyone who could benefit from these informational seminars, please spread the word!

• Thursday, June 11th, 7:00-9:00 p.m. Changing your Job Search Strategy During a Recession. led by Executive Career Coaches Bob Sloane and Tucker Mays of Optimarket, who will discuss six proven methods to find a next job faster.
• Thursday, June 25th, 7:00-9:00 p.m. Technology Tools.

Child care is available with advance notice, sessions are held in the assembly room at Rye Presbyterian Church at 882 Boston Post Road, and are open to all at no cost. Please RSVP via email to: livesintransitions@gmail.com.

There was a great article in this weekend’s N.Y. Times Real Estate Edition, titled, “New Yorkers Miss Refinancing Spree”. 

• The lowest rates are for mortgages up to $417,000, generally low for our area.
• N.Y.S. Mortgage tax generally needs to be paid each time there is a new mortgage, even to the same owner, making the cost of refinancing higher than other states.
• I am finding that nearly all banks are now requiring that you escrow your tax money.  It used to be a general rule of six months in advance but I have seen 9 months upfront…that is a lot of extra money to come up with at closing!
• The other various fees (appraisal, etc.) seem to have increased, making the process more expensive.
• The article states that that there was a 92% rise in mortgage refinancing transactions nationwide in the first 3 months of this year compared to the same period last year, but New York State experienced only a 6% jump.