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Top 10 Trends re: Real Estate & Lifestyle Trends for Manhattan and NYC area Investors,Buyers, Sellers, and Renters
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Real Estate Life Trends
2010
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10
Lenders
Stand
Their
Ground
According to the Federal Reserve, fewer banks tightened their lending standards in the third quarter of 2009. However, that doesn't mean lending standards have gotten looser, either. In 2010, banks will continue to keep the subprime mortgage debacle in mind and require extensive documentation and stellar credit from borrowers. If you plan on applying for a loan in 2010, take steps now to get your finances in order and boost your credit score.
PURSE STRINGS
ARE NOT
GETTING ANY
LOOSER
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BUYERS
MARKET
Stable Home Prices &
Low Interest Rates in
the City
Bring More Buyers
Back into the Game
9
STILL A
Home prices in Manhattan fell in the fourth quarter of 2009, but the markdown pushed buyers into the market, according to several reports released in Jan 2010 by New York City's biggest brokerages.
Manhattan's median apartment price fell between 10 percent and 15 percent from the same period last year, reports by the biggest brokerages put the fourth quarter's median sales price at $810,000
But data also shows price drops moderating and even reversing between the third and fourth quarters amid a spike in sales activity. Prices have fallen 20 percent from their pre-Lehman peak, enough to lure those buyers who survived the financial upheaval back into the real estate market.
Buyers realized that if the didn’t get back into the game and kept sitting on the fence, all they'd get is splinters.
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TAX
Tax-Credit
Extension Leads to
Increased Activity
in the First Quarter
CREDIT
EXTENDED
APRIL 30th
8In 2009, the federal government's $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers was a huge topic in the real estate world. The credit gave thousands of on-the-fence buyers the nudge they needed to finally purchase their first homes. The National Association of Realtors, for example, estimates 350,000 homes nationwide were sold to first-time buyers who probably wouldn't have bought a home if not for the credit.
Hoping to continue the recovery of the housing market, the federal government extended the credit –The $8000 Homebuyer Tax Credit was extended for first time home buyers who sign a binding contract by April 30, 2010 and close on the purchase by June 30, 2010; and expanded for home buyers to include a $6,500 credit for current homeowners who purchase a new primary residence. Under the terms of the legislation, "current" homeowners must have used the home they have sold, or that is being sold, as their primary residence consecutively for five of the past eight years. In addition, other eligibility requirements apply, including income limits.
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CASHIS
7
KING
If you plan on buying a home in 2010, especially a low-priced foreclosure or short sale, be prepared for
competition. Demand is high for these properties, so it's not uncommon for bidding wars to break out over them.
Real estate investors are particularly tough for regular buyers to contend with: Many investors are making all-
cash offers, and banks -- who are often more concerned with making a speedy sale than with getting the highest price possible -- are accepting these offers over higher-
priced offers where loans are involved. To stand out from the competition, make your offer as attractive as possible. That means saving up a sizable amount of cash for a down
payment and making an offer that's close to -- or even above -- asking price.
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WAYS NYC IS
GOING GREEN
4. ENERGYFOR MORE than 75 years, the George Washington Bridge has been a critical link between New York City and New Jersey, with more than 100,000 vehicles crossing the stretch each day. Yet with 156 lights stretching across its necklace -- the giant cables that support the famed suspension bridge -- and hundreds more illuminating the structure, the span has turned out to be an energy hog. Until now.Since February, the bridge's dedicated team of electricians have been climbing bouncy, windblown steel cables to rewire the lights, swapping the power-slurping old-fashioned gas mercury fixtures for LEDs (lighted electric displays).Drivers speeding up the West Side can see the new dazzling eco-lights fluttering on the northwest corner of the overpass. This bit of 21st-century green technology will save close to $50,000 a year and reduce carbon emissions by 220,000 pounds.
5. RECYCLINGEach day teams of unsung heroes, dedicated New York City sanitation workers scoop up nearly nine tons of paper waste in their White Elephant, one of hundreds of those big, loud garbage trucks dedicated to recycling. The paper -- from newspapers to magazines to cardboard boxes -- is loaded onto a barge off the West Side at 59th Street and makes its way to Pratt Industries, a colossal recycling plant on Staten Island. Once there, massive machinery (a metal claw that grips 15 tons per grab and a house-size washing machine are just part of the enormous process) cleans, chops and pulps the waste into fresh, 10-ton rolls of brown paper.A factory at Pratt then takes the rolls and converts them into nearly 250,000 pizza boxes every day that are then shipped to more than 7,000 pizza joints in the five boroughs.
6. BEESTo bee, or not to bee. New York City is secretly buzzing this week -- with about 3 million new honeybees imported from Georgia.The city's newest residents are expected to turn up in gardens, vest-pocket parks and rooftops from The Bronx to Brooklyn and produce what beekeepers call the best-tasting honey in the world. "Honeybees are not concerned with humans at all; all they are focused on is nectar and making honey."Honeybees, which pollinate hundreds of flowers and vegetables, are vital to our ecosystem. Albert Einstein allegedly claimed that humans would die in four years if bees went extinct. They're essential for the production of billions of dollars worth of agricultural crops. And although some of these crops are pollinated by bee species other than honeybees, honeybees are the only ones that can be easily managed and moved around.
6
1. FOODBy joining a neighborhood CSA -- Community Supported Agriculture -- urban dwellers don't merely share in farming without getting their hands dirty and get fresh produce. They also are helping the environment.Through local CSAs, participants buy a seasonal share in a farm within 250 miles of the city before the season begins. Once the harvest starts rolling in, members pick up their weekly bounty at a local neighborhood location starting in June.
2. SHOPFrom energy efficient elevators in Midtown office buildings to waterless urinals in downtown nightclubs, eco-friendly tactics are being embraced all over our urban landscape. But for those on the hunt for a one-stop green-shop, look no further than Orchard Street: On a small stretch of this not-quite-Lower-East-Side-block between Grand and Broome, a handful of stores are offering everything from cruelty-free footwear to recycled leather handbags. The best part about this eco-chic block association? They found themselves neighbors organically. Kaight - 83 Orchard St.; 212-680-5630, kaightnyc.com
3. REUSETalk about functional fashion!At Hackensack University Medical Center's Sarkis and Siran GabrellianWomen's and Children's Pavilion, the building walls are insulated with, well --recycled jeans!That's right. 117,000 pairs of denim, to be exact."We opted to go with the jeans because it was a way of diverting waste from landfills," says Suzen Heeley, director of design and construction at HUMC, one of the 10 Top Green Hospitals according to the independent media service The Green Guide."The jean insulation is also healthier for our patients and staff. It eliminates the formaldehyde that's in traditional fiberglass insulation, helping us lessen any possibly of unhealthy exposure," says Heeley.
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INTEREST
RATES
WILL RISE
5
In 2009, the Federal Reserve bought up a massive amount of mortgage-backed securities, keeping mortgage rates at historic lows for much of the year. However, the Fed is scheduled to end those efforts in March 2010, meaning mortgage rates could jump as much as a full percentage point this year. If you're considering buying a home, now would be the time to take advantage of historically low interest rates. If you're a current homeowner thinking about refinancing, act now.
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Mint.com is by far one of the flashiest, sleekest, most-web-2.0-ish personal finance applications to hit the market in quite some time. Will it revolutionize your personal finances? Read on and see for yourself.How Much Does Mint Cost?Mint.com is free. I won’t say you get what you pay for, because you actually get some very nice functionality.A Few Things to Know About MintThere are a few points you must be made aware of before using Mint.com:It is all about synchronizing with your bank and other financial institutions. I have every reason to believe that Mint.com has crossed and dotted every ‘i’ as far as security goes (the business risk would be far too great not to do so). However, if you just have a general problem with your bank login information (and all of the security answers, secret questions, etc.) being stored with a third party, then Mint.com will definitely not be for you. To that end, neither will any other financial aggregator.Mint tries its very best (and comes as close as I’ve ever seen) to do absolutely everything for you.
www.mint.com
4
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HEALTH IS NOT A
LUXURY IT’S A
PRIORITY
3
Health has definitely become a huge priority in the lives of New Yorkers. With our busy lifestyles, sometimes it is hard to
stay on top of it all. One of the best websites I have found recently is www.carlorieking.com. It can tell you the calorie
content of just about anything with the click on a button. Completely eliminating the notion that you don’t know how
many calories you consume in a day.
Calorie Kings - FEATURES50,000+ food database- Largest and most comprehensive available! Incredibly easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface. Food and Exercise Diet Diary - Tracks what you have eaten, and how much more you can eat, each day. Intelligent personal profile works out exactly how many calories you need to eat. Set goals and targets for calories, carbohydrates, fat, protein, and fiber. Make regular check-ins and graph your progress.Great printing of reports, graphs and diary entries. Sync your diary entries to and from the CalorieKing Handheld Diet Diary for Palm OS. Now you can keep track of your intake at your desk or on-the-go!
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WHEN STAGING A HOME TRY TO HIRE
A PROFESSIONAL
2
AFTER
BEFORE
Staging an empty space has become really important in a market where sellers need to stand out among their neighbors
S T A G I N G
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1
GENERATION
GENEROSITY
GENERATION G(ENEROSITY). It was big in 2009, and it will be even bigger this year. In
particular all things EMBEDDED GENEROSITY. It incorporates all giving initiatives that make giving and donating painless, if not automatic (after all, pragmatism is the new religion ;-). On top of that, with collaboration being such an integral part of the zeitgeist, expect lots of innovative corporate giving schemes that involve customers by letting them co-donate and/or co-decide.
So check out these innovative, corporate EMBEDDED GENEROSITY examples that are worth copying or improving::
Australian Baby Teresa manufactures and sells a variety of 100% cotton onesies for
babies, and, for each one purchased, donates another to a baby in need somewhere in the world.
IKEA’s SUNNAN LED desk lamp is powered by solar cells. The product retails for USD 19.99, and
for every unit sold in IKEA stores worldwide, another one will be donated to UNICEF to give to children without electricity in refugee camps and villages in remote areas.Still going strong, Procter & Gamble and UNICEF have joined forces for the fourth year running, in an effort to raise money for tetanus vaccines. Each time a pack of the Pampers or Fairy brands bearing a "1 Pack = 1 Life-Saving Vaccine" logo is purchased, P&G will donate the cost of one vaccine to UNICEF.
TOMS Shoes donates a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair they sell online. As of
August 2009, TOMS has given over 150,000 pairs of shoes to children in need. TOMS shoes plans to give 1 million shoes by 2012.
Give a Day, Get a Disney Day aims to celebrate and inspire volunteerism. Disney is
working with Hands On Network to highlight a variety of volunteer opportunities with participating organizations across the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. Starting this month (January 2010), those who contribute their time can have it verified by Hands On and they'll receive a voucher from Disney for one day admission to a Walt Disney World or Disneyland theme park.
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