Thoughts on North Queens Real Estate

2010-04-25T09:57:00.000-04:00

This week I learned a valuable lesson: that a goal and a vision are not exactly the same thing. Here's why..while a goal is something you plan to do, and in my case, goals are in writing, they are tangible, more immediately attainable than a full vision. A vision is like an image in a camera, seen with a high quality lens, but nonetheless, far away.This week, I reached my business goal, but I realize that exactly what helped me reach my goal at work, was what I had failed to do in my running plan. At work, I have been extremely focused, writing my goal down, sharing them, and breaking them down into sizeable bites,monthly, weekly, even daily. But ever since I signed up for the marathon (that mega-death feat), I have been overwhelmed by the idea of working that hard, and it seems too far away to be able to break it down in to a serious plan. Hence, this week, while works been good to me, my running has suffered. Oy vey, and the guilt..
So what have I learned? That I need to break down the next 2 months, before my formal training begins, as manageable bites, and be vigilant daily to achieve my daily and weekly goals. Again remembering lesson number 1, success, like life, is not a sprint, its' a marathon. I am learning, and this week, have learned through failure, that I need to take the discipline and focus I have cultivated in my real estate business, and apply the same principles to marathon training. I am not judged by the number of times I succeed, but by the number of times I can fail and keep trying.

Top Producers Event

2010-04-23T14:46:00.000-04:00

2010-04-13T11:44:00.000-04:00

Day 2
I am getting a lot of help from mentors in my race to complete my first marathon. LESSON #1- get great mentors. Carmen, a marathon runner and Coach for TNT, offered to create a training plan for me. Melanie Small from NYRR, teaches the Runner's Boot Camp on Saturdays that I will be committed to for the next 8 weeks. My close friend, Zahava will continue to clock miles with me, as she has for years. Finally, Sonia Sinfeos, a professional personal trainer from Whitestone, and a neighbor of one of my recent home sellers, works with me on strength and endurance training.
Most real estate agents make one of two big mistakes early in their career, and so they often have short careers. They either take the wrong mentors, people who have not done the work, average agents, who teach the wrong habits, don't take enough risks, and don't achieve enough. Or they never find a mentor; they go it alone and often don't even know what they don't know, so their learning curve is just too long, and they get discouraged. I am lucky. I embrace the "pay it forward" philosophy. I find great people to support, teach and challenge me to get where I need to be, and I do the same in my business by mentoring new and inspired (and inspiring) people to reach their goals in through success in selling residential real estate in our hometown. Realtor, Businessperson, Marathoner, get a mentor, be a mentor.

2010-04-12T10:01:00.003-04:00

Day 1 (April 10, 2010)
I am a mother, wife, business owner, and realtor. I am also a runner. On Wednesday April 7, at about 11:30 pm, my life changed. That was the moment I put my finger on the "send" button to register for the Marine Corp Marathon, a 26.2 mile race along the course of the Virginia neighborhood surrounding Washington D.C, and in fact passing through our country's national monuments. That in itself, is monumental. And so, now I am a marathon trainee.

The last time I was a real trainee, was when I first started in the real estate business, 24 years ago, in 1987. That was when I held none of the roles I mentioned in my first words here. I was a blank page then, just a girl, 24 years old, nothing to lose, everything to gain, by doing whatever it took to make more than a living, to make a life, something I did not really have yet. Now I try to tap in to the energy and discipline it took to become successful in business, in order to take on the challenge of completing the marathon that will face me in just 6 months. The first "ah-ha" moment came to me yesterday after my first "runner's boot camp" at 7:15 am in Central Park. My success in real estate, and in any business, is a lot like what I am undertaking now. It's no sprint; it's just like training for a marathon. This blog hopes to be chronicle of my fight to make it to, and complete the marathon, and how the lessons of business building, and selling real estate, help me achieve this newest goal. So on it's last day, this blog will close with, "mother, wife, business owner, realtor, marathon runner."

2010-03-24T09:28:00.004-04:00

Passion, dedication, friendship, loyalty, and family; normally these words would not describe a person’s job, however it does describe mine.

I have worked with Judy and The Energized Realty Group for over a year, as one of her buyer specialist, and I couldn’t be happier. The team embraced me and introduced me to the best possible way to sell real estate. Under their guidance, I was able to have my best year in real estate ever.

Judy teaches us not only to treat each other like family, but to treat our customers and our community the same way because this where we live, and this is where our potential clientele wants to live.

In 2010 I continue to grow and learn, as well as teach. Each client is a new and great beginning. I continue to cultivate current relationships, as well as create new ones. I wake up each morning knowing, today will be even better.
- Jessica Huang (The Energized Realty Group)

2010-03-03T10:42:00.002-05:00

The Winter Olympics is well on their way at Vancouver.
In this Olympics, Korea's pride skater Kim Yuna who is the epitome of grace and beauty on the ice, had feet that was swollen and bruised.
It was very surprising to me.
Her now 20 year old feet is covered with scars and it now takes a bizarre shape. It was then that I knew that her success did not come in one day.
Normal people try to do their best to what they are trying to accomplish.
And to keep that happy family we go through bitter moments while being patient when it is most difficult to be.
To get into that special school, sleep is sacrificed and other outlets of fun are gone. To buy that pretty outfit one saves their extra cash.
And to look our best in that outfit sometimes we give up food.
Goals and dreams come with a price. There is nothing free. All results are not coincidental. However, there are those who only wish and lean on others for their wishes.
Gold! silver! bronze! If I were to get a medal for my life, which one would it be?
To me, doing my best for myself and family and those I love is gold to me.
:)

2010-02-24T11:36:00.001-05:00

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN.

At about 10:30 a.m. last Thursday, a man was found hanging in his wardrobe on Green Street in London.
He was identified as Lee Alexander McQueen, a fashion designer, an icon, an one of my personal favorite designers in fashion.
I was really devastated to learn about his death. It is always a big shock when someone so young, so successful, suddenly takes their life away. When things like that happen I start to think “What is fame, money, beauty, talent???” Nothing matters if you don’t have the right state of mind. How many people, who had everything, took their lives away? We always think “if I could just have more money, or I would be famous or I would be 10 pounds lighter would I be much happier?”. That’s never the case! And the grass is always is greener on the other side. We need to learn how to be happy with what we have now, cherish every moment that is given to us, appreciate every person in our lives, and be good to others and they will be good to you. Most importantly, keep your mind clear and strong. That’s where everything starts. We create our own happiness, lets not focus on things we don’t have or on things that other people have.
It was written that Alexander McQueen took his life a day before the funeral of his mother who had just passed away. We must remember that in life, things happen that are devastating and hard to get through. However, there is nothing in life that we can not overcome. As long as we have internal strength and persistence, the possibilities are endless.

2010-02-12T14:58:00.000-05:00

Short Sales

It’s no secret that the economy is in tough times, and it’s also no secret that many homeowners are in very serious danger of losing their homes. Thankfully the North Queens area has managed, for the most part at least, to resist many short sales. However short sales are expected to increase, and there are still plenty of areas that are being hit.

A word to the wise for those planning on selling their home in a short sale – HIRE A COMPETENT REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY.

A short sale occurs when a homeowner can no longer afford to make their mortgage payments and the real estate is sold for less then the balance still owed to the bank on their loan. In the banks point of view it is advantageous to take a small loss on the property as opposed to taking the property into foreclosure. However the common misconception is the bank automatically relinquishes the homeowner from paying back the balance of the loan, and this is not always the case. In many cases the homeowner can receive a bill, even years and years after the house is sold, with the remaining balance owed to the bank.

What is commonly happening is banks are selling these accounts at a high discount to collection agencies. Now these collection agencies can take their time before deciding to collect, many times they even wait for people to build their net worth back up before claiming their money.

So please please please hire a trusted real estate attorney and make sure that your attorney works to get the bank to agree to release you from any further debt after the house is sold.

2010-01-26T09:34:00.000-05:00

So many lives have been forever changed by the January 12 earthquake in Haiti. Entire families were lost, homes and churches crumbled, and thousands continued to die due to lack of water, food and proper medical aid. Countless stories of tragedies and challenges were seen by the world, and continue to unfold. However, I wanted to share these stories of survival and hope:

· 3 days after the earthquake an 18-month-old girl was rescued by Australian television crews from near the bodies of her parents.

· 5 days after the earthquake a 7 year old girl, a 34 year old man and a 50 year old woman were pulled from the ruins of a supermarket in Port-au-Prince, with only minor injuries, by US and Turkish rescuers.

· 6 days after the earthquake, Nadine Cardoso-Riedl, 62, was saved thanks to a text message she was able to send from her cell phone.

· 7 days after the earthquake 70 year old Anna Zizi sang as Mexican firemen pulled her from the ruins of Port-au-Prince Cathedral. Her rescuers had been able to feed her water through a tube.

· 8 days after the earthquake, Elisabeth, a 23-day old baby, was rescued from the ruins of a house, trapped with nothing to eat or drink. Her condition is satisfactory. On the same day, neighbors dug an 11-year-old girl, Mendji Bahina Sanon, from the ruins of her house in Port-au-Prince.

· 10 days after the earthquake an 84-year-old woman, Maria Carida Roman, was saved by friends and family who heard her faint cries from the ruins of her house in the capital. Hours later Emmanuel Buso, 22, was rescued from ruins near the presidential palace by a team of Israeli military rescuers. He survived by drinking his own urine.

· 11 days after the earthquake, Wismond Exantus, 25, was saved from the wreckage of the shop where he worked in Port-au-Prince after surviving by drinking Coca-Cola and eating snacks. French, US and Greek teams rescued him.

I’m not a big believer in miracles, but the selflessness and coming together of peoples from all over the world, truly led to these miracles.

2010-01-22T09:19:00.001-05:00

Yesterday evening in the midst of a typical hair blowout, I was struck by the poise and social consciousness of one 16 year old girl. Her name was Alana, and she had decided to donate her beautiful long dark raven colored hair to "Locks of Love", so that a girl who really needed hair, lost to chemo and cancer, could once again feel pretty with a wig made of real hair from the heads of confident, giving girls like Alana. Alana's mother beamed with pride as she flashed photo upon photo, to memorialize her daughter's kindness and firm resolve to be part of the solution to making our world a better place, one selfless deed at a time.
Alana, a 16 year old young woman, told me she was a high school student at one of NYC's specialized high schools. She aspires to go to culinary school after she graduates, which is'nt for a couple years yet, but she's responsibly getting ready. I'd been done with my own blowout by now, but just could,t tear away. The hair salon,Never on a Sunday, by the way,the friendliest place in all of Flushing, hands down, was busting with community pride for this young woman, so full of quiet self knowledge. Hey, weren't we all mothers? Hadn't we at one time all been daughters? Wouldn't we all want one like Alana? She inspires hope in us all. There are so many caring young people out there. It's important to remember that, among all the talk of Gen Y's focus on just having fun, texting, social networking and "whatever", there are seriously good people out there, and they are our future. Cia and Kathy,( the owners of Never on a Sunday, located near the corner of 172 St and Francis Lewis Blvd.) were lucky witnesses and conduits for good. Alana was the protagonist, and she inspired us all. Some young girl who may have lost her own hair to cancer will soon have a beautiful wig made of Alana's locks. North Queens is proud of you Alana, very proud.

2010-01-18T18:12:00.004-05:00

On Saturday, I visited another terrific new business establishment put on this earth to serve the community. Apollo Yoga is a newly built out yoga studio simply designed to bring health and wellness to the area. It's a non-competitive environment, but still challenging enough to inspire your inner work(out) horse! The owner/instructor at the 10 am Saturday class is a business associate/client turned friend I have known since 1982! He is Mark Lilienthal, and I first met him 27 years ago, when I was in an entirely different business! At that time he was a very as far away from yogafied as anyone man could be, and then around 1994 I sold his first home. THEN about 2 years ago, he was good enough to let me help him sell another house for him, and find him the house he calls home today. Now in this venture, I am finally his client, and because of the nicely built out space, and his focus on his students (ME!) it is a welcomed turn!

Apollo Yoga is located at the Pan-Macedonian Studies Center at 149-14 14th Ave. Its the entire first floor, and the space is devoted to yoga at all levels. The class I took was an all level class. I took the class after a 4 mile run and it was challenging enough but manageable for all. Mark really focused on each student. I have taken a number of yoga and yogaesque classes, and sometimes there is like NO attention, and sometimes its just over the top. This was a perfect blend.

The studio has a host of well known instructors, Pam holds a great bootcamp class there, and Carmella Frattasi specializes in healing, restorative yoga. Jolie wants to take a teen yoga class beginning in March. I wish Mark and Apollo Yoga much shanti, and the best of luck in this venture, the location's great, parking is easy, and I urge us all to frequent our local businesses, to keep the chi and the money flowing locally and keep good businesses in our area. Successful businesses maintain good neighborhoods everywhere and like the Energized Realty Group and RE/MAX Millennium, here is another business that proves that they LOVE their community, and that means YOU!

Please visit their webiste apolloyogaftc.com

2010-01-18T17:30:00.001-05:00

I was going to blog about the many levels of customer service in an around our area, in all local businesses. Consumerism as a whole and the overall experience when buying goods and services. And then Haiti happened. And nothing else seemed to matter. So all I can say now, is here is a simple way to help: text 501501 and type Haiti, to donate 5 dollars to these very needy people. Don't wait, do it now.

2009-12-17T12:01:00.001-05:00

By Annie Moon

The calendar has only a page left of 2009.
It is at this time that many people become sad and lonely.
People need friends, love to bring in comfort to their lives.
In the relationship between people they need to have a mutual friendship in order to bring happiness and energy to one's life.
Having no one to talk to means loneliness.
To us we need only one person that we can be completely honest with.
Perhaps someone that you can tell things to that you cannot share with even your spouse or family.
A person who will listen and understand so I ask if you have someone in mind.
And if not, then ask yourself why you do not have someone like that.
If that is the case then one should not look for them to come towards you but look for someone as well.
Our lives are busy and stressful therefore getting sad and depressed is too easy.
Become someone that can open up their hearts so that the end of the year can be spent in happiness and fullness.

2009-12-15T15:36:00.008-05:00

By Jessica Dunbar, Marketing Manager

2010 is just around the corner, and so are those resolutions. Start 2010 with No Excuses, below are a few local health stores and fitness centers in our area.

Local stores that carry fresh fruits and veggies for those delicious smoothies:
• Marino Brothers 163-07 29th Avenue, Flushing, NY 11358
• Bayside Milk Farm 3515 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361
• Strawberry Farms 2411 150th Street, Whitestone, NY 11357

Health food stores in North Queens that will help keep you healthy for the rest of the winter:
• Queens Health Emporium 159-01 Horace Harding Expwy., Flushing, NY 11365
• Health Nuts 211-35 36th Avenue, Bayside, NY 11360
• GNC 153-29 Cross Island Parkway, Whitestone, NY 11357

Great Gyms to help you get rid of that holiday bulge:
• Power House Gym 34-09 Francis Lewis Blvd., Flushing
• Bell Plaza Sports Club 45-58 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361
• Sage Fitness 7-05 152nd Street, Whitestone, NY 11357

Don’t want to join a gym because part of your New Year’s Resolution was to save money?... No problem, if you have Time Warner Cable, turn on channel 1025, you will find Exercise TV on Demand.

Have a Happy and Healthy 2010!

2009-12-11T10:05:00.002-05:00

By Alice Ko, Buyer Specialist

The holidays are a wonderful time to spend with family and friends!
Here are a few fun things you can check out in our NE Queens neighborhoods:

Extreme Holiday Lights
Check out these houses! The whole family will get a kick out of seeing these amazing light displays.
· 212 Street & 32 Avenue, Bayside
· 33-24 205 Street, Bayside
· 166 Street & 23 Avenue, Whitestone

Crystal Winter: Discovery Lab
Hall Of Science (47-01 111 Street, Corona – 718-699-0005)
Explore crystals, ice and patterns with guided hands-on activities & experiments.
November 27 - January 31; weekends, 1:30 & 3:30 pm
http://www.nysci.org/visit/calendar-of-events

Meet Santa Claus and Horse & Carriage Rides
Bay Terrace Mall (26th Ave and Bell Blvd, Bayside)
Santa: December 5-6, 12-13, 19-20, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Horse and carriage rides: December 6, 13, 20, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Menorah Lighting
Bay Terrace Mall (26th Ave and Bell Blvd, Bayside) - December 13, 2009, 6 p.m.

The Nutcracker and Kwanzaa Beat
Flushing Town Hall (137-35 Northern Blvd, Flushing, 718-463-7700)The Nutcracker - December 13 & 19, 2009, 2pm
Bakithi Kumalo - A Kwanzaa Celebration - December 20, 2009, 2pm

Celebrate Kwanzaa
Flushing Library, Main StreetThe Ebony Hillbillies -- one of the few black string bands in America -- perform for the holiday.
December 19, 2009, 2 p.m.

Holiday Gifts on a Budget
Whitestone Library (151-10 14 Road)
Pamela Isaacs shows you how to get creative for the holidays in this crafts workshop that lets you create and design holiday gifts that won't break the bank!
December 19, 2009, 2:00pm

Jingle Bell Swing
Bayside Library (214-20 Northern Blvd)
Bring the family and your holiday spirit and join singer Richard Lanham for an afternoon of your favorite melodies and Christmas carol classics, from "Winter Wonderland" to "Silent Night" and so much more.
December 19, 2009, 3:00p.m.

Santa Meets the Wicked Wizard and The Nutcracker
Queens Theatre in Flushing Meadow Park (718-760-0064)Santa Meets the Wicked Wizard (December 26)
The Nutcracker (December 29 and 30).

Farm Fun -Holiday Open House
Queens Farm Museum (73-50 Little Neck Pkwy, Floral Park, 718-347-3276)
Celebrate the holidays with free Yule-time tours of the Queens Country Farm Museum, plus arts and crafts for kids and cider. December 26, 27, and 28, 2009 - noon - 4 p.m., free

Holiday Activities
Bayside Library (214-20 Northern Blvd)
Join in for an afternoon of crafts, games and other activities. For children and teens ages 5 & older.
December 28, 2009, 2:00p.m.

2009-11-18T13:09:00.002-05:00

It’s All About The Service!

A few weeks ago it became time to replace my Blackberry which was dying a slow and painful death but owed me nothing after two years. So I went to the Sprint Store in my neighborhood of College Point. Rueben is the manager there and I have never felt so accommodated, especially in a phone store. I know that when someone in my office changes phones I am the one who usually helps them change over all of the information, emails, contacts, etc. because the store sent them on their way with the un-programmed phone still in the box. Rueben backed up my Blackberry on his computer and transferred all of the information before I left the store. He worked on my phone for nearly thirty minutes until we were sure that each and every email address, application, and contact had been transferred and were working properly. By the time he was done, the store had been kept open 40 minutes past the scheduled time and never once did he mention that. It may not sound like all that big of a deal but for many people this process creates a lot of anxiety and can be extremely time consuming. So to get the kind of service that I received is what makes me want to send everyone I know to that store. In any business that involves sales, referrals are the life line. Great service is something that we at The Energized Realty Group strive to provide each and every person we touch. It was a true pleasure to be on the other side of that level of customer service. Thanks Rueben!

2009-11-06T13:24:00.005-05:00

Tax Credits to be Renewed! This is fantastic news for our North Queens market and should keep sales steady through the winter season.

Both the House and the Senate have passed an extension and an expansion of the homebuyer's tax credit. The President is expected to sign the bill Friday.

Key provisions of the bill are as follows:

Tax credit of up to $8000 is extended for first-time homebuyers whoare in contract to purchase a home by May 1, 2010 and close by July 1

A tax credit is also available to homebuyers who have owned theircurrent homes for at least five years of up to $6,500

The credit is available for the purchase of principal residencescosting up to $800,000 (the prior tax credit did not set a limit onhousing price)

Income limits for claiming the credit are raised to $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for couples.

Usually Judy wants you business, this time she wants FOOD!

This holiday season, Judy and the Energized Realty Group aren’t just selling homes...They’re making a difference.

Happy Thanksgiving! Please help feed the hungry this holiday season by donating non-perishables or canned foods to our Energized Food Drive.

When: Sat. 11/21/2009 from 9AM - 1PM

Where: Church on the Hill 167-07 35th Ave. Flushing, NY 11358

What to bring: Canned Goods such as Meats, Vegetables, Soups, Fruit, and Tomato Products, Cereal, Peanut Butter, Meal Mixes, such as Rice-A-Roni, Condiments, Baby Formula, and Legumes.

Join us for refreshments in the auditorium of Church on the Hill. We thank you in advance for your generous donation. All goods and donations will go to benefit local food pantries.Please remember for trusted real estate information,
call (718) 353-6000 to speak to Judy or any member of the Energized Realty Group.

2009-11-05T11:23:00.000-05:00

Top 5 Things To Do To Get Your Home Ready for Sale:

1. Curb Appeal. First impressions are important! Make the outside of your home as inviting as possible. Many buyers decide the interior of a home is not even worth looking at if the exterior does not appeal to them. Here are some simple fixes: mow the lawn and trim the hedges, plant some colorful flowers to brighten things up, replace the tattered “Welcome” mat and repaint your mailbox.
2. De-clutter. You may love your angel statue collection and seeing photos of your kids on every wall, but not everyone will. Too many personal items become a distraction to buyers when they are viewing your home. Since you will hopefully be moving in a few months, this is a great time to start packing. It’s also an opportunity to finally get rid of some of the junk you’ve accumulated over the years.
3. Clean. Yes, de-cluttering is part of cleaning, but I’m talking about putting on the rubber gloves and getting all your cleaning products out. Buyers like walking into a clean house….so scrub the toilets, vacuum up all the pet hair, dust, make the beds, clean the windows, etc. If you don’t like to clean or you’ve never been good at it, it’s well worth it to hire a professional cleaning service when you’re trying to sell a home.
4. Paint. Biggest bang for your buck. A $20 can of paint can give a room a whole new look and feel. Go neutral and make your home appeal to as many buyers as possible. Painting is something you can do yourself as a weekend project.
5. Minor repairs. If you have a TO DO list for the house, now’s the time to get it done. Fix the dripping faucet, tighten the loose banister, repair the hole in the ceiling, etc. Unfinished projects throughout the house lead buyers to believe the house, overall, has not been well maintained.

2009-10-27T09:47:00.002-04:00

DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE IS YET ANOTHER STATE TAX that has just been implemented that will affect Flushing, Bayside and Whitestone resident who are self employed? Its called the metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax, and in essence, it says that if you are a self employed individual with an annual net earnings of over $10,000, you will be subject to this tax. The tax rate is 0.34% of your net earnings from self-employment. That means another $340.00 for every $100,000 of earnings. The estimated tax payment on this tax is on a quarterly basis, the initial payment is due on Nov. 2 and covers a period from Jan 1, 2009 to September 2009. As Alice, a Barnard graduate, and an esteemed member of our Queens team so accurately explained, "I guess the government needs more money."
By the way, please be aware that this week is the city's blitz ticketing week. Traffic agents have been instructed to beef up their patrols and ticket an and all infractions to help pump up the city's revenues. So please be vigilant, do not double park, and if you need a few quarters, just jump in to my office at 27-04 Francis Lewis Blvd., Flushing and we will help you!! We have them all ready, to help you control your destiny over parking tickets at Flushing, Bayside, Fresh Meadows, College Point, and Whitestone meters! We love our community and that means you!

2009-10-22T11:41:00.000-04:00

From Starbucks to Champagne!

I know a lot of you out there think that selling houses is all about the money. And for a lot of sales people it is. What drives The Energized Realty Group is the people. Now don’t get me wrong we definitely enjoy EARNING a living. The key word is “earning”. There is no greater pleasure than knowing that you have just helped someone who really needed your help. Let me get to the point. About 6 months back we were hired by a family who had lost all faith in Real Estate agents. They had their house on the market for 6 months and it was a less than pleasurable experience. Failed offers, no communication and no real idea as to when their house would sell.

After meeting with us there were able to muster enough faith to hire us, but because of their past experience they were cautious to say the least. We LOVE to help people like this. They quickly realized that all agents are not created equal. In a short period of time they became a part of our team. Even going as far as coming to our weekly meetings to inspire us with Starbucks Coffee and anybody in sales knows we love coffee! They even took it a step further by bringing us Champagne left chilling in our office fridge to be opened upon a closing. I have to tell you that our team wanted to sell this house more than anything, and it wasn’t for a commission it was to help some good people move on. The team rallied and the house was contracted and closed yesterday. As promised our clients came in and celebrated our success with Champagne. They shared their previous experience in comparison with their current one and needless to say it was night and day. You could see that a weight was lifted now that hey had closed on this house that had been un-sellable by the previous agent. It was also nice to hear what they had learned from us, that when marketed properly the market speaks to you and that when it does you must listen, and that there truly is a difference. It’s nice to earn a living by doing the right thing. Oh and by the way, 3rd quarter home sale volume is up by 30%!

2009-10-12T15:07:00.000-04:00

Rent or buy?

No the sky has still not fallen yet on the Queens housing market, and no it never will. Prices of homes have not really fallen any further, and I think we are at the point when things are finally stabilizing. This means that now is the time to buy! Why wait until the prices have starting to pick up, would you rather spend more money for the same house next year?
If you are on the fence on whether or not you should buy or continue to rent, please hear me out on the benefits of home ownership.
When you rent, you are really throwing money down the drain. You are not building equity in a property and you are essentially helping your landlord pay off his mortgage on his property. Now if building equity in a home isn’t enough incentive for you as it is, hear me out just for a bit on a big tax write off advantage to owning property.
Working with first time home buyers I find that many people don’t know about the ability to write off the interest on your mortgage. Let’s make an example of a loan amount of 300k, on a 30 year fixed load at 5%. This amounts to a monthly payment of 1610. In the beginning most of your mortgage payments goes to interest, roughly $1250 a month (give or take a few bucks). This means that in that first year you can reduce your tax basis by about $15,000 dollars ($1250 x 12 months in a year). So if you make $50,000 a year, you only pay taxes on $35,000. Your tax savings will pay for a few months of the year’s mortgage payments!
Now is a great time to buy, and I’m waiting for your call.

2009-10-05T10:02:00.003-04:00

I just visited Jordan Schneider's new studio, SAGE, located near the water on 7th Avenue and 152nd Street. Jordan has a completely unique, one on one, total body concept, and personally designs a program for each client to help people like me, embrace what it takes to have the body, strength, and flexibility that you dream of having. The studio was incredibly designed as well, with stunning attention to detail, a huge outside balcony that will be used for workouts as well as relaxing by the outdoor fireplace Jordan installed to allow his clients to "chill" before or after their sessions. Go visit, just to see...and talk about his vision, it will inspire you. And he's got an amazing proposal as a sneak preview to his work....$240 for 10 private sessions that will KNOCK YOU OUT, in a good way! I start Tuesday....718-767-2659.

2009-09-30T14:44:00.000-04:00

Its amazing how the media really has such a direct effect on everything around us. Especially real estate. If we go back to when the market was going up in leaps and bounds.(2000 to 2005) It didn’t matter if it was TV, radio newspaper or internet. All we heard was that prices rising and if you didn’t buy now you wouldn’t be able next year. A lot of purchases were made more out of fear rather than a real need to own a home. When you spoke to people you would hear “when are the prices going to stop going up. My kids can’t afford to buy!” Well be careful what you wish for. Now if we jump to 2008 especially the last quarter all we heard and read was that the sky was falling on everything. Banks, cars and real estate were like the plague! It really did feel like the sky was falling. Many buyers tried to time a bottom and wait till it came so they could buy at that precise moment and by waiting it was causing it to drop even further. Now let’s jump to this year. We started to see a split in the media. Some negative news and some positive news. Almost instantly the buyers returned. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying prices are rising. I am saying that sales are. Don’t take my word for it, it been all over the news! However I do believe that the media and the buying public are now laying the groundwork for a foundation that we all can build on. In a few years we will all be saying we should have bought a house in 2009.

2009-09-23T11:55:00.001-04:00

By Jolie Libert

Having my mom who works in real estate is really cool. But being her daughter and working for her is confusing. When she is at work with meshe is my boss. When she is at home with me she is my mom, but we stiltalk about real estate! I love working for my mom and I think real estate is really interesting. I know most of my mom's buyers and sellers.When at work, I am focused. And when my mom works she wi so hard-working,focused, and helpful to her team. My mom's work compared to mine is a littlemore challenging. Mine is pretty much doing what the receptionist does. Mymom is more into selling houses, math, and dealing with customers. MyMom has a great reputation for selling in the neighborhood. Whenevermy mom sells a house her sign says "Judy did it again!" She has beendoing that for 23 years. I know -- VERY long time, right?!

2009-09-08T16:16:00.000-04:00

Yikes…Termites!

You found the perfect house. You were ecstatic when your offer was accepted. Here’s the BUT - the home inspection revealed the house had termites. It’s ok, don’t panic - termites are very common in New York because they thrive in moist and humid areas. One in every 3 home inspectors will discover termites (and the percentage is higher in certain areas). Even if there were no termites found during the inspection, it does not mean the house will not have termites in the future. Termites are constantly looking for new areas to start a colony!

So what steps should you take? First you should assess how extensive the damage is. Many times the termite damage is isolated in a small area and easily treated with a simple termite treatment which comes with a 1 year guaranty. Even if the damage is more severe, it does not necessarily mean you should not purchase the house. You can get an estimate of repair costs to determine whether it would be a project you would consider undertaking and the seller might also be willing to renegotiate the purchase price.

Here are also some preventative measures to keep these pests at bay:

Keep moisture out – make sure water is diverted away from the home foundation and gutters are not clogged.
Store firewood away from the home and make sure plantings/trees are not too close to the home.
Eliminate gaps and cracks in the foundation, attic & window vents and roof joints & eaves.
Schedule regular termite inspections.

So don’t worry…termites are a common and treatable problem. Don’t let them stop you from buying your dream home.

By Alice Ko

2009-08-31T16:30:00.002-04:00

WELCOME HOME :D
Having a house and furniture does not define a home.
A room full of laughter and love creates a home.
Sleeping and eating in a place does not make a home.
It is a place where understanding and warm hearts gather that make a home.
Rooms full of toys, television and other materialistic things do not make a home.
A conversation with children and learning to become a friend and teacher to that child makes a home.
Committing acts such as giving a wife allowance, or cleaning a husband’s shirt does not make a home.
Trust and love must be exchanged in all that they do to make a home.
A room full of people and having a party does not create a home.
Instead the soft lullaby from mother to child and precious moments create a home.
Places where hearts meet and people see eye to eye create a home.
Honest feelings, sincerity and helpful hands coming together create a home.
A family where children learn what love and trust is creates a home.
Overcoming sickness and heartache to follow into happiness becomes a home.
Eating meals while exchanging pleasantries, and true meaning. So that the lives of Kings are not envied and money does not create happiness but only enhances a life does a home become a home.
A person may succeed in life, but true success is succeeding with ones own family and surroundings and making a home. :D

2009-08-27T16:29:00.000-04:00

By Jessica Huang

Hi, folks, everyone said the real estate market is going down and the price will drop further. I don’t really think so. I’ve worked in real estate for almost 6 years. Per my experience, right now is the best time to buy a house. Interest rates are low, and house prices are still reasonable. This is most important for the first time buyers. In the Queens area, the market is still pretty hot and the prices are right.
I have an open house in Bayside Hill. In a nice location, the property size is 44x100 with 4 bed and 2 bth, asking price is in low $600k. The open house was on sat & sun, there were 50 parties that came to the open house. I received 8 offers on the spot, and they were pretty high offers. I have another open house in North Bayside, property size is 44x100 with 4 bed and 2 bth, asking price is under $600k. There were 6 offers on this house and the offers were all close to the asking price. I believe if the houses are close to transportations, in good school districts, nice locations and are in good conditions, they are desirable to many people.
Whether you are an experienced investor or a first time buyer, I can help you in finding the property of your dreams. I know how important it is to find your dream home or property, or get the best offer for your property. Therefore I will make it my responsibility to help you achieve those goals.

2009-08-11T17:24:00.001-04:00

Here are some helpful hints for when you discover how much you have accumulated over the years:

Now that you are in Contract…

Hints for Your Garage Sale

1. Allow adequate time to plan and prepare…several weeks.
2. Select the right date so it won’t conflict with holidays or special events.
3. Bigger is better.
4. Practical household goods such as appliances, dishes, furniture, and tools are good sellers. Clothing typically doesn’t have a high resale value with the possible exception of children’s clothing in good condition.
5. Items should be clean and if not in working order, labeled accordingly.
6. A classified ad in the newspaper listing some of the more desirable items can greatly increase your traffic.
7. Use well created, attractive signs to direct people to your home…the nicer the sign, the more attention it will attract.
8. You’ll need to have cash on hand to make change for customers.
9.
THE
Energized Reatly Group

Visit other garage sales to see what works well.
Good Luck!

If you are considering a tag sale instead,
don’t hesitate to call us for a referral.

2009-07-16T14:33:00.001-04:00

This blog was created by Amy Taylor, administrative assistant

10 steps to take before planting Judy’s sign in front of your home

In real estate, the “first impression is the lasting impression”. Taking certain steps to improve your home’s appearance can possibly help it sell faster and for a higher price. However, this does not mean that you should make plans for major home renovations to get your property sold. There is no guarantee that the costs incurred will be recovered once the home is sold. Here is a list of 10 cost effective things you can do to get your home ready to be placed on the market

1. GET OUT - To ensure potential buyers feel comfortable while viewing your home, you must leave the property. In order for buyers to visualize themselves living in your home, they need to picture themselves living in the space, how they would like to decorate, where they would put their furniture, and what bedroom would belong to each family member. With the homeowner walking around with the buyers, they will simply feel like guests in a stranger’s home.

2. RE-PAINT – Adding a fresh coat of paint can quickly spruce up any room in your home. Neutral color selections will appeal to most buyers and can allow your home to appear larger.

3. ADD/ENHANCE LIGHT – Another quick fix to brighten up your home is to accentuate light in each room. Clean your windows and take down any dark window treatments blocking out natural light for day time showings. For night time showings, turn on all lights in the home before the buyer arrives at the home. If there is a dark area in a room, add a lamp to open up the space.

4. LANSCAPING – Improve your home’s initial curb appeal to catch the eye of someone driving by or a buyer scheduled to view the home. A buyer’s opinion of the home begins from viewing it from the outside. Pull any weeds and mow your lawn, plant new flowers, and pick up any flyers from your lawn.

5. DE-CLUTTER – Your home will instantly become more eye-catching once you de-clutter each room. Not only will your home become more attractive to potential buyers, it will also make your home look larger. Remove, discard, or store any excessive decorative pieces, magazines, papers, and personal objects.

6. CLEAN OUT CLOSETS – Your closets need to look as over-sized as possible to the potential buyers viewing your home. When de-cluttering, don’t just throw everything into your closets. Cleaning out your closets will also benefit you. You will discard any extremities you don’t need before you move. You can sell items on E-bay, in a yard sale, or donate your belongings to a charity.

7. REPAIRS AND REPLACEMENTS – If you notice that something in your home will not pass an engineers inspection, fix the problem before it arises.

8. BE ODOR CONSCIOUS– Having your home smell like a pet or smoke can be unpleasant and a turn off for potential buyers. Air your home out before a buyer comes to see your home, have air fresheners throughout your home, or a candle lit to mask and odor. If you smoke in your home, clean your walls and possibly have your carpets professionally cleaned.

9. CLEAN – Try to keep your home as clean and tidy as possibly when buyers come to see your home. Clean bathrooms, your kitchen, and pick up children’s toys. This will help improve the first impressions of your home.

10. REMOVE EXCESS FURNITURE – Store or remove any furniture that does not add to the look or design of the room. This will make your space look bigger and create more floor space.

2009-07-09T16:01:00.001-04:00

It is so true when they say that a picture says a thousand words. Hello. My name is Joe and I am the listings manager for The Energized Realty Group. I am writing today about marketing homes on the internet. Statistics show that approximately 85% of all buyers begin their search on the internet and they want to know everything before they contact an agent.

One of my functions here is to photograph homes and create virtual tours for our listings to display on the internet. Would you want to go see a home that had really bad pictures or no pictures at all? Probably not, especially in the technological age we are in today. We take great pride in representing our properties for sale in the highest manner. In fact, we feel a level of pride which is about as strong as the seller’s pride of ownership. We want our sellers and clients to enjoy seeing their home online as much as consumers do. To achieve this goal I combine both still and “moving” photographs. Moving photographs give the illusion that the camera is “panning” the room.

I shoot anywhere from 25 to 75 photos for a property depending on how many rooms or amenities there happen to be. Once shot, each photograph must be edited, copied and resized for use on the web. And what about those pictures which pan around the room like a video? Those pictures are actually not moving, but are a series of still photographs “stitched” together to create the illusion of movement. Here at The Energized Realty Group, our virtual tours do also get converted to video streams and can be found on YouTube.com. Just search for “Judy Markowitz Real Estate” and take your pick of tours. We happen to think that’s pretty cool! How about you?

2009-06-22T16:44:00.000-04:00

Did you ever hear the old line, that you need wiggle room in your asking price? Well I’m here to tell you that nothing can be further from the truth! In the internet age that we now live in it is absolutely critical to price your home properly. What do I mean by properly?

Well basically what that means is it’s smartest to price a home around or maybe slightly above what the house is appraised for. In other words if your house is worth $500,000 to $525,000 don’t price it higher than $529,000 or $539,000. The reason we say this is because the way people search for homes has drastically changed in the last couple years. The typical REALISTIC consumer who’s looking to spend $500,000 for a house will go to his/her computer and conduct a search with a criterion no higher than $530,000 or $540,000. So if you’re one of those people who believe firmly in the old saying that you need wiggle room and incorrectly price your home at $579,000 or $589,000 there is going be a huge portion of buyers who aren’t even going to know that your home exists!!! Now believe me when I tell you that no one wants to give your home away but it’s so important to price it in alignment with what it’s worth because doing it the other way means more days on the market, and the longer a house is on the market the more a buyer starts to ASSUME that something is wrong with it! When in fact the only thing wrong with it is that it was just priced a little bit too high. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve seen a house go on just a little bit too high and then when a minor tweak in the asking price is made all of a sudden the house that no one was interested in is now the house that EVERYONE wants to buy!

So folks remember, price it right and sit tight and don’t forget to call the Energized Realty Group!

2009-06-03T15:24:00.001-04:00

"Need a job done? Give it to a busy man" (unknown author)
Many people ask me,"how can you get so much done, if you sell so many houses?", "Won't I be just another number to you if I buy or sell my house with you?", "How would you have time to give me personalized service? " To this I say, with the right systems, and the right, dedicated staff, how could I NOT give you great service, and focus all my negotiating skills and experience on you?! My business, at this level, depends on repeat and referral business. I will earn my commission when you sell or buy, but I will only earn your referrals if you have a wonderful experience, if we make the transaction easy for you, and if you feel comfortable with what is going on. So at least for me, its not really about the numbers, but in order to really give great service, I have to list a lot of great properties, and I have to have a large funnel of buyers. Otherwise what good am I as a realtor to you? So to those less busy agents that say they will give you personal attention, I say, how much attention do you need to give if you have no houses in your inventory, how much service do I want from you , if you don't already have ready, willing and able buyers to sell my house to, if I list my house with you? It's like a patron in a restaurant that has no food; what good is it? Or a buyer in a clothing store, that has no clothes? What good is it? But now, take that same patron to a restaurant filled with happy patrons, and delicious food, well cooked, and served efficiently and with with the highest regard to your every need, and you are one happy consumer. Or go to the clothing store, where the systems are superb, there is an expert in every department, and the store owner/ manager (that would be me) comes by to say hello, and make sure you are getting everything you need, and that everything you like comes in your size, and you are one raving fan, and repeat customer waiting to happen. In this case the owner would spend as long with you as you need, but most importantly, you came to this shop to get good value, look and feel great, get what you want when you want it, and save time in the process. Welcome to the Energized Realty Group..

2009-05-26T16:00:00.000-04:00

Remember the line in the “Pina Colada” song where Jimmy Buffet sang “If you’re not into yoga…” Well, times have changed and yoga is very popular now. Feng Shui seems to be another Asian practice that’s developing a following. Even HGTV has a show called Fun Shui which explains the principles of the ancient Chinese art of positioning objects in the home or business to create a harmonious atmosphere.
Feng shui literally translates to “wind water.” Traditional feng shui required an extremely accurate Chinese compass to figure out the best area in a desired location for placing an object. We’re not experts and we wouldn’t even know how to use that compass. We just wanted to share some very basic feng shui concepts relating to real estate and interior design. For example, did you know…
· Houses situated at the end of a T-intersection are considered to have bad feng shui because cars will always be driving towards (“into”) the house.
· A staircase located immediately in front of you as you walk into a house is considered bad feng shui because the good chi (spiritual energy) will flow out the door.
· Circles are good design elements in feng shui because a circle represents continuity and it will enhance the flow of chi. Objects with sharp edges, therefore, are viewed negatively because they can cut the flow of chi.
· A tree or fire hydrant in front of the main entrance is also viewed negatively because it is blocking the path into and out of your home, which will cause blockages in other areas of your life.
· A bathroom located at the top of a flight of stairs is also not good because all the water and chi will flow down the stairs. And if that flight of stairs leads to the front door…ohh, double-whammy. (Not good.)
· Rooms that are uncluttered and open will help the flow of chi and create a more peaceful atmosphere.
· Mirrors can be used to block/reflect negative energies that might otherwise have bad effects.
At its most basic level, feng shui is based on the idea that our surroundings affect us. You might not buy the whole thing, but some of it definitely has merit. Please share any other feng shui concepts you might know.

2009-04-24T16:57:00.001-04:00

Looking to buy a co-op? Things you should know…

With affordability of Real Estate at a 37 year high and interest rates at a 60 year low, people have obviously started to come out of the woods and choose now as the time to purchase their first home. Like I explained in my previous blog, first time home buyers will also take advantage of an $8,000 tax credit. This blog isn’t to convince you how now is the time to buy though, I’m here to tell you what you need to know about Co-ops before making a purchase.

There are distinct differences between a Co-op and a Condo. The most important being that when you buy a Co-op, you are buying shares of a Cooperative. A Cooperative is a “distinct legal entity where the residents own shares reflecting their equity in the building’s real estate”. So in simplified terms, the apartment that you buy represents a certain amount of shares into that Cooperative, and when you buy that apartment you are purchasing those shares.

When working with people looking to purchase Co-ops, a question often asked is, “What exactly does it mean when the maintenance is 50% tax deductible?” Let me explain. One of the major tax benefits to owning real estate is your real estate taxes are tax deductible. Since a Co-ops real estate taxes are built directly into your maintenance, that amount is tax deductible. So if the maintenance is 50% tax deductible and $600 dollars a month, you can lower your taxable income when you do your taxes at the end of the year by $300 a month, or $3600 dollars a year.

Lastly, there are certain requirements that need to be met in order to be accepted into a Cooperation. Remember, getting the seller to accept your price isn’t the only obstacle, you still need to have a board interview and get accepted into the Cooperation. Each Co-op is different, but there are certain financial and down payment requirements that need to be met. In addition, Co-ops also require 2-3 years of tax returns to show that you have a steady income. These conditions are 100% not negotiable and if you are thinking about purchasing a co-op you should definitely reach out to a realtor to see if you qualify.

Owning a Co-op is the cheapest way to own real estate, and even though you may need to do some research I highly recommend now as the time to buy. So hopefully I helped out anyone who had questions on the matter and please let me know when you are ready to start looking =D !

2009-04-08T17:14:00.002-04:00

Stage Fright..

Let me start by introducing myself to you. My name is Jen Palazzola and I am the rental specialist here at The Energized Realty Group. I have been with Judy now for almost a year. When Judy and I first sat down to discuss if we would be a good fit for each other, we realized that a lot of people would be surprised to hear that Judy entered into the rental market.

Judy is the best at selling homes, so why would she take time out of selling homes to rent apartments? Well the best answer for that would be - she is not. Judy is not renting the apartments, I am!

You see, to rent an apartment is not a one, two, three thing on my end. This is something that takes months and months to cultivate. I have to "grow" my sources of landlords and create a large enough database so when a "tenant" calls, I can take them to see more than just one apartment. Hopefully, if the tenant meets the landlord’s criteria and fits the "mold", the deal can be sealed.

In a typical real estate office that does a lot of rentals, there will be a surplus landlords that trust the realtor to rent the apartments for them. At no cost to the landlord! The landlords become our clients, to whom we owe a fiduciary responsibility. We are providing the landlords with a service - they won’t have to advertise, we will do it. They won’t have to run the credit, we do it. They won’t even have to show the apartment, we will do it for them. When we offer to do these services for the landlords we can gain inventory. What a typical tenant will see when they look in the paper or online is about one sixteenth of the actual inventory that is available.
When tenants call me because they are in need of renting an apartment they have most likely searched and scrubbed the papers, the internet, and even local deli's to find out that what they are looking for they can't find. So the tenant “employs” the agent to help them search. But what the agent has done that a tenant has not, is they have built reputations and relationships with the landlords, their clientele.
Now let me just touch on this for a second. The landlords are our clients and the tenants are our customers. So how do we benefit customers (tenants)? We offer our customers the use of our inventory, the use of our negotiating skills and the ability to find that perfect apartment. Our job is to connect the landlords with the right tenants and visa versa. I will be honest with you - not all tenants are picture perfect. I always tell my prospective tenants that the landlords picture the worst. For example, if the tenant has a dog - the landlord envisions a 185 lb. Rottweiler even though it’s really just a Tea-Cup Yorkie.
So, I am going to leave the experts like Judy to sell your home and Judy is going to leave the rentals department to the expert – ME! If you have an apartment to rent or you are looking to rent or if you just have questions let me know!
Jen Palazzola of The Energized Realty Group,
718.353.6000

2009-04-01T09:47:00.001-04:00

Here is the news. Buyer calls are up significantly, from 88 in February, to 133 this month. That's a 50% increase in just one month. Our buyer specialists are as busy as they were last Spring, before the downturn, and almost as busy as we were in 2007. Buyers have woken up and smelled the coffee; interest rates woke them up, and March's surprisingly low supply of inventory is keeping them awake. I continue to negotiate vigorously to put solid transactions in to place, there are often many items to iron out, from price to terms, to the engineer inspection, to what the initial down payment will be( 5%, 10%, more, less..), even crazy stuff, like who's going to fix the light fixture, and can you buy me a dryer? (what?!)
This week alone, 4 of my sellers enjoyed multiple offers, and enjoyed receiving offers that reminded them of better times, which by the way, means we are in some better times. Prices may take a while to catch up, but the local market is turning.

2009-03-24T11:02:00.000-04:00

What do you do if you are in the process of buying a home, and you order an engineer's inspection, and problems with the home are uncovered? Who do you talk to? And which one of the players in the transaction is most likely to help get the issue resolved? In many cases, the agent is afraid to confront the homeowner with items of disrepair, and the attorney may not be interested in anything other than a letter to confront the matter. Seriously, that is not always the most effective way to get to the heart, and pocketbook of a North Queens home seller. I am reminded of the "Ghostbusters" theme song.."who ya gonna call?"...the listing broker! Why? Because a listing broker will invariably know the house more objectively than anyone else in the process, will have seen it frequently, heard the feedback from all those local agents and previous buyers, and should know the seller better than anyone in terms of how they view their home, their reason for selling, etc. Also, and this is just as important..the listing agent will be extremely impressed by your seriousness if you pick up the phone, in the interest of completing your purchase, if he/or she hears from you, either directly or on a conference call from your selling agent. They are likely to be compelled to help complete the sale with such an earnest buyer. Many Bayside, Flushing, Whitestone buyers think that the engineers report is a "my side"-"your side"deal, and it's not. Its just an objective look at the home the seller owns, and the one you'd like to own, so keeping a real line of communication open, to connect on the structural issues and major components, is paramount to a smooth transaction. One of my sellers, a criminal attorney (that may explain it!) recently commented "you know its a good sale when both parties(the seller and the buyer) are a little bit unhappy". I disagree .You know you have a good sale, when the seller and buyer feel like they got a fair shake, and the transaction, stays in the realm of cooperation, when it's a "win-win" for both seller and buyer.

2009-03-15T14:20:00.000-04:00

Finally, the agreement between the Federal reserve and the Banking Industry, for the banks to start really lending money to good, qualified people, who deserve housing loans, in return for the billions of dollars loaned to bail the banks out IS WORKING!!! Buyers are getting financing, as long as they have solid credit, good job history, and a decent down payment. I saw 8 reliable preapprovals this week..from guess what? 8 bonafide offers! If you don't believe me, come in to my office and see my goal board. Also, two of my VVIP clients (people who have bought or sold homes with me in the past, or refer business to me regularly, and therefore are invited to all my events, I remember their birthdays, anniversaries, etc.!) called me recently, concerned about finances, and wondering how they can hold on to their homes. I love them, like I said, so I suggested that they look in to refinancing to reduce their monthly payments, instead of stressfully selling now. And guess what again?? They were able to refinance, and can now stay in the home they love. That's because the banks have an obligation to keep money moving, so hard working people can regain confidence in the economy and in themselves. Things are getting better, even as early as now. Report on that CNN!
Judy Markowitz

2009-03-02T12:43:00.002-05:00

I admit, it's been a week since I have blogged. I have had family in from all over the country for a special family gathering. OK, enough said.
Now the market...we have been busy. That does not mean that prices are going up, they are not. But there is real movement. I will say this very clearly; a seller who wants to sell their property can absolutely accomplish that in North Queens. Prices are not as high as they were in 2007, but they are still higher than they were in 2006 and prior, and thats not bad, if you owned your home for over 10 years, given that from 1998 to 2006, most sellers experienced a doubling of their homes value, and in many cases even a little more! So even if your home is not worth more than it was in 2006, you still had an average of 10 percent annual increase in your homes value. There are very few investments today that give you that kind of return on your investment (unless you trusted Bernie Madoff, and you know where that woulda gotten you!). Buyers are out looking and offering on well priced homes, and sometimes even on homes that are not so well priced. In November, I had only 5 offers on my listed properties; now in February, I had over 14 offers on properties, and 11 listings sold.
Buyers know that the bottom of the market may continue for another 6 to 12 months, but it won't last forever. What makes our market so resilient, is the strong emphasis on home ownership for the cultures that purchase here, and the relative conservatism of the way our buyers spend money, other than on large purchases such as homes. Large down payments still exist, with strong credit credentials, and sellers should pay attention. Don't be offended by offers you think are too low. Keep in mind that the buyers of today, will never see 20 percent value increases annually. The way prices went up from 2004 to 2007 was a direct result of loosy goosey lending, over-leveraging of assets, and a profound disregard for actual affordability. Federal regulators and the banking industry won't let that kind of over inflation to happen again in such vastly short periods of time. So buyers now know that their property values will not increase significantly in the short run. It is what it is. Buyers are buying, and if you look around at the dearth of unsold inventory in Detroit, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Florida, the list goes on, BUYING IS A GOOD THING. Want to sell your home? You can. Want to buy a home? You can. Find each other. Need help? Find me.

2009-02-18T17:37:00.004-05:00

Great News for First Time Home Buyers

Despite all the incessant cries of a collapsing housing market, I’m here to tell how it really is the best time for some to finally take the leap of faith and purchase that first property. Now I’m sure you’ll get a different answer from every person you ask, but let’s look at the facts. No one will deny that prices have fallen, even here in Queens. Despite the obvious over quoted “Buy when it’s low and sell when it’s high”, we are talking about your HOME not your 401K. Nobody can predict what will happen to housing prices in the future, but the bottom line is prices have fallen. Sure, maybe prices might continue to fall a bit more, but nobody really knows. What I can tell you is that if you’re buying a house to live in for five years or more, you will make a profit. History has very clearly shown that, and you’d be hard pressed to find an argument there.

In my opinion what makes this market so much different, is that not only are prices down but interest rates are at historic lows. It is not out of the question for a well qualified buyer to get a mortgage rate at 5% or lower on a 30 year fixed mortgage. Just a couple years ago a good mortgage rate for the same loan was about 6.5%. In simple terms, on a $400,000 loan, the difference in rates is a difference of more then $137,000!!

As if this wasn’t enough, President Obama’s new stimulus package will give first time home buyers yet another reason to choose now as the time to buy. First time home buyers are now eligible for an $8,000 credit on their tax returns. In order to qualify for the tax credit a buyer must not have owned a primary residence home in the last three years and purchase before December 31st 2009. Buyers cannot earn an income of more than $75,000 for singles, or $150,000 for a couple. If buyers do not fit into that income criteria they are still eligible for a tax credit, but it won’t be for the full amount. Receiving the credit is as simple as claiming it on your tax return. Filled it out already? No problem, you can simply file an amended tax return.

An $8,000 refund is a huge chunk of change. Considering that this is $8,000 real money not to be taxed like your coveted checks from your employer, what better time is there to buy than when the government is just handing out checks large enough for a new Kia?

What affect, if any, do YOU think the stimulous package will have on the real estate market.

Blog written by Timothy Ho. Tim is the newest addition to The Energized Realty Group, and we are thrilled to have him.

2009-02-16T17:40:00.002-05:00

We received this question from an out of town consumer via our web site www.energizedrealtygroup.com. We felt that the question was both relevant enough and appropriate enough to make the answer into a blog. So here it is:

I have a question. According to many experts NY is lagging the nation in the housing downturn and still has another 20 - 30 percent downside potential. If I put down 20 percent won't I loose that equity?

You mention that you see the market adjusting another 20 to 30 percent here. While I really do respect your opinion, I really do not see that happening, and here is why...even in the two worst months of 2008 and today, we have not seen more than a 7 to 10 percent drop from last year. If you look at Flushing North, according to a very reliable real estate statistics analyzer, www.AccuriZ.com , the downturn overall of one family dwellings has been 6%, in Bayside it's 7%. And this was after the worst downturn in over 22 years. Now, with the new Stimulus Package, buying and holding real estate should be even more attractive, with the $8000 tax credit being offered to anyone buying between Jan. 1 2009 and Dec. 31, 2009. And remember the full tax credit exists for those buyers who hold their property for over 5 years, so even the government wants to induce you to buy and HOLD. No one has ever lost money buying real estate and holding it for more than 10 years, unless they have borrowed more money against their house than they originally mortgaged. So even IF the market continues to drop, and I think any drop would be incremental in comparison to the 7 to 10 pct, we have seen in the past 6 months, buying keeps your money invested, and longterm, it's hard to lose when you are not renting a/k/a paying someone else's mortgage. It's clichéd, but true, 'Don't wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait'! One more thing, if you have the down payment, ask yourself,"Where else (legally) can my investment make 10 to 30 percent over the course of the next 5years?" And that is considering overall, only a 2 to 6% increase annually for only 5 years. Even people who bought homes here in 2003, would see much better profits than that, from what they bought for in 2003 to what the values are now. Prices are only lower than they were in 2008, 2007 max. They are still higher than they were at any time in 2006. What's the bank giving in a non-risky investment now, 3% max? And most people aren't even bothering saving enough money to buy unless they really do buy, so isn't buying a home better than just spending the money on "stuff"? You betcha!

2009-02-15T11:21:00.001-05:00

THE ONE THING THAT MANY BUYERS DON'T KNOW BUT SHOULD AND COULD SAVE THEM (and their agent) a lot of stress and wasted time. This past Thursday, my buyer specialist team and I were having a meeting, and a discussion began about how buyers relate to us, and how we can continue to work really hard to help buyers find the perfect property with no assurance of earning any income if the the buyer walks in to an open house or happens on a property without him or her.
My marketing manager, who recently bought a home, but is not a licensed realtor, told us that when she was buying, she never knew that she could see virtually all properties with the one realtor she liked the most. The truth is that in a seller's market, with many exclusives that never make it to the Multiple Listing Service, there is some benefit to rushing to the listing agent. They may hold the proverbial "KEY" to get into THAT particular exclusively listed home, and going with the agent you really like and trust may be counterproductive. But be aware, you will not get much help in a seller's market. Either you buy now or the listing agent might kick you out of the house to let the next buyer on line come in! Luckily for buyers we are in a kinder, gentler market now. However, the common belief that if you want a house, you should go directly to the listing agent in this market, is likely to cost a good buyer stress AND money. Here's why: Most often, the listing agent got the listing by pleasing the seller with a high price and a low commission, so it's in the listing agents best interest to keep that game going for a while...any offer, even a respectable one, will probably be scoffed at and when the agent calls the seller, they will often agree that the offer is TOO LOW. In doing so, the listing agent endears themselves to the seller, until time lets them chip away at the inflated price that they bought the listing for passes. Once the house is on the market a flew months,the listing agent once again is in a weaker position to get you the home, because the seller may already be disappointed with them, either because the listing agent stopped communicating regularly with them, or they have figured out that they chose the wrong realtor, and everything the agent says is questionable. In so many cases, the listing agent, unless you are sure of their reputation for listing homes that are usually priced right, and their level of cooperation with sellers, buyers, and agents alike, may not be the one that can best serve your needs of buying the house at a price you can live with, in a hassle free manner. The listing agent is not interested in YOU! The listing agent will not care if you buy the home or if someone else buys it, and in this market, in the unlikely event that you are competing directly with another buyer, the listing agent will only be able to get you the house if you pay the most. While commissions have come down over the years, more sales fall apart because the agent just cannot make up the difference between what a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to take. An agent just cannot OWE money to a seller in order to make a sale. They have to make some profit, after all. BUT if you know that there is one agent that you like, and has been really focusing on you, calling you regularly with anything that comes on the market, and you choose to work with them only,whether you sign a buyer agreement or not, THEY WILL NOT STOP UNTIL THEY HAVE FIGURED OUT HOW THEY CAN GET YOU THAT ONE SPECIAL PROPERTY THAT YOU WANT! They will work harder for you than anyone else if they know you are loyal to them.
Many buyers come to me, or rather, to my buyer specialists, when they have already lost a house with another agent. Here are the facts; if that agent had a long established relationship with that buyer, that is unlikely to happen. You just get to know the people better, what they are looking for, how much is too much, and you as an agent are more vested. And you as a buyer, really can see everything out there with very little exception, with ONE agent that you choose, by referral, or by trying a few out for size. The key in ease of purchase, and a fair shake once you buy, is to SELECT AND AGENT YOU LOVE AND STICK WITH THEM. We can do so much better for you that way and our loyalty to your needs stays strong when we know that someday, when you buy, we will (finally) get paid. And after all, don't you want an agent who cares? I hope this clears things up for all buyers that think that if you see a sign for sale, that the only, or best way to get in to that house is to automatically call the number on the sign. We love loyal buyers. And as all my clients, customers, attorneys, and business associates know, and you know it too, if you have read any of my blogs, it's all got to be "win-win" for all parties to make a successful sale, or it's "no deal". Here's to all of your "win-win"situations! Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-10T17:06:00.003-05:00

Well, this is a new, old one...we have finally been busy enough negotiating with buyers and sellers, obtaining new property for sale, adjusting prices for our most serious sellers, and searching inventory for real (I emphasize the word "real") buyers, that I have not had the time to blog. And that, is precisely what this blog is about. With some form of the stimulus package, days away from being passed by Congress, and the promise of Spring ahead, we are beginning to get back to normal in the residential real estate market of North Queens. Its a new normal, not the normal of 2005 to 2007, but its day to day of finding buyers for our best priced properties and selling the community and it's conveniences day in and day out. One thing I personally like about this market, is that many agents are much friendlier, they value the customer more, and are even nice to me! There are those agents that just don't get it though...they think they live in a vacuum, never returning calls, and being disrespectful to other agents, a great detriment to their clients, the seller, who often suffers from the limited access that these "listing agents" provide to their homesellers, in an effort to make more money for themselves by "double-ending" the sale. We like to be both listing and selling agent also, and in fact, we do that about 60 percent of the time, but never at the seller's expense. Let's look at the positive though, at least the market is opening up, from November and December, and as hard as it may be to get your home sold on North Queens, there are still buyers out there, and if you work with them, and have a great realtor too, you are bound to get moved. Let me know your great and awful real estate experiences. We can learn from both.

2009-02-05T18:20:00.000-05:00

Proof that in any market a priced right house can and WILL sell-

I have been marketing a house that I originally appraised in April 2008. The seller became ready to put it on the market in late October 2008, 6 months after we discussed market value. I explained that the market had completely changed from sunny Spring to (no pun intended) to Fall. He/She still wanted to list it at Spring's inflated list price, even higher than what I had originally appraised it for, using comparable sales as the tool to evaluate market value.
MARKET VALUE IS DIFFERENT THAN MARKET PRICE. Why? Because market value estimates future price, and market price is what buyers are willing to pay for a specific property at a specific point in time. Past sales took place in a specific point in time, with different market conditions, interest rates, competition, and buyer pool than the specific property in question, so the only real way to know what a house is really worth is to put it on the open market and see what offers come in. That becomes "market" for any specific house, and only for that moment in time. Another day, another economic occurence, for better or worse, and "market value" is likely to be affected.

But lest I digress...so this seller's home goes on the market in October at April's price, and what happens?We get over 36 buyer showings, we get a number of offers but they are all much less than the seller expected. He/she just wasn't expecting that the change in the market actually meant his/her house would be affected and sell for less. Everyone else, yes, but not him/her! So all those offers were rejected, And the house remained unsold. So now he/ she (I cannot give any hints as to the identity of this seller) is getting frustrated and upset, maybe even at me, and we have a long, "Come to Moses" talk, and he/she agrees to change the price by 7 percent!! Not 20 percent....7 percent. All the various ecomomic reports show that the North Queens market is down between 7 and 15 percent, so we go the 7%...and voila! Today we set over 8 appts to show the house! Voila! excitement, interest, close to "ask" offers, and all of a sudden the owner has a saleable, exciting house.

Most likely this seller will not have to deal with the insult of extreme negotiation as many sellers who don't price right have to be subjected to. All sellers can experience the thrill of being a hot, sought after property, and feel like it's a sellers market even when it isn't if they would just look at their house as a commodity and take all emotion out of the equation. I know, its so hard. But once done, the whole experience gets turned around, and in to the right direction. Now if the seller lets the house get sold, it will.

My advice, decide to sell if it makes sense to you, price it right, condition it right, select a realtor if you want to, but when you do, ask yourself, is this realtor going to work hard for me, will he/she call me regularly, will he/she give me the best advice they can based on what is going on in the market, will they never abandon me, will they honor their commitment, and will they work hard? The realtor cannot control the market, they can only control their response to the market, and try to keep you informed so you can make the right decisions at the right time. The right decision at the wrong time is often a decision made too late, and the wrong decision at the right time, usually means less money later. Stay tuned to the conclusion of this story, when the seller makes the right decision for him/her.

2009-02-01T10:24:00.001-05:00

Thursday night's Community Board 7 Re-zoning meeting was informative to all of us here at the Energized Realty Group. Most of us own homes here in Flushing, Bayside North , and Whitestone, New York. I believe the plan will get approved by the city, and kudos to Tony Avella, for taking such vigilance in getting it passed to keep our area beautiful. An old time real estate broker whose father had been a well respected broker many years ago, had his say at the board meeting, and it sounded like he was venting on another real estate broker...not me, this time, thank goodness. I don't build and I don't develop properties, I just help sellers get 'em sold, and buyers buy! The buyers I sell to, frankly, just want to buy homes to live in, there really aren't too many developers ready to buy properties here in this market, as most are looking for multi house jobs and that kind of land just does not exist in most of these parts anymore. What's done is done, and cannot be undone (Shakespeare's MacBeth). In any event, even amidst the posturing of some, it seems clear that most residents favor the passing of the North Flushing Re-zone plan. Thursday night, it was said that if all the departments work together, the plan could be passed in 3 to 4 months. Aside from how it impacts my neighborhood of Broadway-Flushing, and Flushing North, I plan to have all this information ready to help sellers and buyers, so stay tuned.

Hey, did you know that according to a recent "Daily News" survey, 51% of Queens Residents are very satisfied with living in Queens. That is the highest satisfaction rate in all of NYC! Queens, and especially Northeastern Queens (College Point, Flushing, Bayside, Douglaston, Little Neck, Fresh Meadows, and Whitestone) rocks!!!

2009-01-28T12:50:00.002-05:00

Hey there Flushing, Bayside North and Whitestone area people! There will be a public hearing for Community Board 7, which covers Flushing, Bay Terrace, College Point, Whitestone, Malba, Beechurst, Queensboro Hill and Willets Point, New York tomorrow, Thursday January 29 at 7 pm at Holy Cross High School's Auditorium. The school is located right across the street from my office on 170th St, between 32nd Ave. and Francis Lewis Blvd. This meeting will focus on efforts to stop overdevelopment in North Flushing. There is a comprehensive rezoning package that should be introduced and explained to area homeowners, and anyone else that is interested. I sure am! As a Flushing North homeowner and business owner, I am committed to learning everything that is going on in our area, and how it affects buyers and sellers buying in North Flushing. If you have questions about the Community Board 7 meeting tomorrow, you can call them at 718-359-2800, or email them at qn07@cb.nyc.gov. If you have any questions, just let me know, I will do my best to get you the info you need, before tomorrows meeting. See you there! If you see me, say "hi", and I will give you a free fortune cookie for the Lunar New Year!

Judy

2009-01-25T16:52:00.001-05:00

Hey North Queens'ers,

The Energized Realty Group was out in full force this freezing Sunday afternoon, creating local awareness of the Chinese Lunar New Year, giving away FREE fortune cookies, FREE coffee, and raffling off 2 gift certificates, to 2 of our neighborhood's most cherished local vendors, Marino Brothers and Raindew! Special thanks to both of these shops and to the Waldbaums on Francis lewis and 35th ave, for letting us set up house and do something for our community on their turf!

Many of you commented that we must be good, if we are out in the frigid weather to do some good. You are RIGHT! We are sellling Flushing Bayside and Whitestone homes and have 8 pending this month with 4 more almost sold. If you are looking for a home NOW IS THE TIME. Rates are great, prices are affordable, and as long as you have saved your money, plan on staying put for 5 to 10 years, maintained decent credit, and they love you at your job, you should not be renting!

If you do need flexibility in your living conditions, we have a great rental department. Jaime Lizarazo and Jen Palazzola, our rental specialists have great inventory and we will help you find a great apartment, until you are ready to buy your own home. So let us know, we are here to help. Happy Chinese New Year, and may the year of the OX be your year for success and prosperity!

Judy and The Energized Realty Group

2009-01-20T17:12:00.003-05:00

A Tree Grows in Bayside Queens

Make that 25 trees so far. The New York City Parks Department has selected a few areas within the City to receive brand new trees and the first ones have arrived in the Treasure-Land community neighborhood. For a few months now, there have been “X”’s marking the spots where these trees were due to be planted, followed by The City coming around to create the cuts in the sidewalk. You can finally see the first round of trees planted on 34th Avenue. It’s great to see our area in Bayside getting a little greener.

Trees bring so much to the community they join – fresher air, esthetic beauty to our landscape and, once the heat of the summer comes in a few months, these now baby trees will have grown big enough to provide some much needed cooling shade. The recent cold temperatures have stalled further planting of the trees. Hopefully the ground will thaw out enough soon to resume this planting and further beautification of Bayside. As the weeks go on, we will continue to check in on these new additions to our neighborhood to see how they are growing into our landscape. Let us know how you feel about these new additions to our neighborhood. Do you have any plans for these trees once they are in full bloom? Are your kids looking forward to hanging decorations from its branches? Are you looking forward to planting some flowers at its base? Let us know. We’d love to hear your ideas.

By the way, if you already have some landscaping of your own, we have some tips on how to preserve your plants during these cold New York winters. Click here to see what you could be doing this winter to make sure that your property has a vibrant spring.

If your trees and plants are in our neck of the woods, —Bayside, Flushing, Whitestone and all surrounding areas -- we’d love to see how you are enhancing the beauty of our community. Please email photos of your trees, flower gardens, even herb gardens to judyd@energizedrealtygroup.com and if you have tips to share on keeping it green, we’d love to hear about those, too.

Along similar lines, here is another interesting idea:

Working with an arborist to maximize curb appeal during the Winter may help.

They work with realtors to assist homeowners to spruce up landscaping (even in the winter)
and make sure that the trees, shrubs and lawn are colorful and healthy for that first moment of spring!

Here’s how an arborist can help make a great first impression and accelerate a sale:

Step 1 – Provide immediate pop by rescuing the house from being swallowed-up by overgrown trees and shrubs
Step 2 – Clean up hazardous limbs and encroaching woods to reclaim precious yard space
Step 3 – Identify tree and shrub species to help you paint an in-season picture of the outside

If you are interested In trying this out by walking one of your properties with an arborist, simply call the Energized Realty Group at 718-353-6000 and we will be glad to recommend one.

You can also visit us at our web site by clicking here.

2009-01-15T17:35:00.004-05:00

Ask Judy and Jack!

As realtors we see a lot of things and giving back is a huge part of my team’s philosophy. I wanted to share this story with you, because it is a wonderful heartwarming story with a happy ending. Then I would like to open the blog to questions about whatever is on your mind in the world of Queens Real Estate so that we can get some cool dialogue going. Enjoy!
This past summer The Energized Realty Group had a listing in the Jamaica Estates neighborhood of Queens. It was a wonderful old Tudor style house with a cobblestone face. It was owned by an elderly woman who was once a well known actress who had been suffering from Alzheimer’s. She had a caretaker who passed away and left a little Jack Russell Terrier with her. Unfortunately, she was not able to remember the dog’s name and he soon came to be called “L’il Guy”. The owner was moved to a nursing home and the person who replaced the previous caretaker remained in the house. He told the owner’s son that he was caring for the dog. In truth, he was a squatter, of sorts, and we soon found that he was not taking care of L’il Guy as well as he said he was.
When our team went to the home to preview it, we opened the laundry room in the basement to be greeted by this sweet (but totally grungy) little dog. He was the sweetest little thing, especially for having been locked in what was the equivalent of a closet every day for goodness knows how long.
Joe Souza is my listings manager and a serious dog lover (especially Jack Russell Terriers). He and L’il Guy took quite a liking to each other. After speaking to the son of the owner and offering to help find the dog a suitable and loving home, Joe picked up the dog and took him home. We had him groomed and I insisted on a really long bath. Joe would bring him to the office and he would just hang out in the corner or under Joe’s desk. He sort of took on the role of team mascot for a while and he soon came to be known as “Jack”. Joe and his partner took wonderful care of Jack, but were not allowed to keep him in their coop so they had to find someone who would provide a good home.
Joe’s mother-in-law lives in Savannah, Georgia with her two sisters in a house that sits on two acres of land. Collectively they decided that Georgia would be the best place for Jack. So they booked a flight and headed off to Georgia. Joe’s partner was very upset that Jack had to ride in a kennel in the luggage compartment and when they landed made it up to him by treating him to a Wendy’s bacon double cheese burger and large order of fries (really!). Jack acclimated very easily, runs the house now, and lives in the lap of doggie luxury.
We are thrilled to announce that Jack just celebrated his first Christmas in Georgia and has become very good at opening gifts, even if they are not his.

2009-01-14T09:28:00.001-05:00

Judy Did It! Thanks to the support of my clients, customers (you are my V.V.I.P.’s), my family, and my friends, I completed the Disney Half-Marathon and thus reached my goal, while raising over $4,300 to find a cure for Blood Cancer as we know it.

The race took me 2 hours and 58 minutes which was just outside my 2nd goal to stay between 2:38 and 2:55. “Finishing trumps timing,” the first time out, say those who know my competitiveness. J

Thank you for your calls, texts, emails, and your support, I will never forget you and let’s keep in mind that running any race, like facing any business or economic challenge is nothing compared to what it takes to fight cancer. Let’s make sure we find a cure… now!

For more information please visit us at www.energizedrealtygroup.com

2008-08-31T09:55:00.002-04:00

The Market from a Lenders Perspective -- North East Queens Real Estate

We all know today’s mortgage environment is much tougher than it was a couple of years ago. But despite all the negative news there is still much positive news. Most people think that you have to put 20% down or more in the current environment. This is not necessarily true. There are many great programs available to buyers who are able to qualify by showing there income and assets. The government created a new economic stimulus package that has helped lending standards by increasing the loan limits temporarily to $729,750.00 for single family houses and that number is even higher for 2-4 family houses. This number is good until December 31st of this year. This has made money cheaper again for larger loan amounts. The stimulus also included increasing FHA loans which are insured by the Federal Housing Administration and you can go with as little as 3% down with a 6% sellers concession and have a loan as large as $729,750.00 for a single family house.( For 2 families $934,200.00, 3 families $1,129,250.00, and 4 families brings the loan limit to $1,403,400.00. Also with FHA people can get this loan with less than perfect credit. Now this current stimulus package is good until the end of the year. On January 1st, 2009 there will be an updated package in place and it looks to be very helpful as well on a permanent basis. When this is put into place we can give a real and accurate update at that time. There are some amazing opportunities out there still!!

As for some tough parts of lending the “stated income loan” has become much more limited. However, with strong credit this option is still available in some cases. Even in the tough times it is still very opportunistic. As I have mentioned above, there are still fantastic opportunities in the world of home loans, money is less expensive than ever to borrow, and the ability to get a great deal to buy a house has never been better!!

As for the local real estate market we are not affected like most real estate markets. The North East Queens real estate market is still such a highly desirable area to live in that we have our market continue to be strong in this area and our market is healthier than we have been hearing in the media.

All in all there is still much opportunity in lending!!

Patrick Avram-Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
718-310-4309

2008-07-10T15:32:00.000-04:00

Happy Summer to all our Loyal Clients and Customers.
If you attended our 12th Annual Ice Cream Event on Thursday June 26th, you know that the spirit of Summer is in full play. This event was our best ever, and we were thrilled to give out over 2,100 ice cream cones, 1,000 congratulatory end of the school year tee-shirts to our community's children, and the same amount of re-useable water bottles to our grown up clients to help you keep cool this summer. Most of all, we were glad to see and re-connect with all of you, see your children get another year older and catch up on the year's events. THANK YOU for keeping us in your lives!

Just a few items I would like to share with you about the direction the Energized Realty Group is going in this summer...in addition to continuing with our goal of selling 200 homes in 2008 (we are on track with over 93 homes sold so far), we want to continue show you that we LOVE our community, so the Energized Realty Group is going "green". In July, we will be going all out to distribute FREE environmentally friendly, reusable shopping bags, to make packing your groceries easy and eco-friendly. If you want to make sure you get one while supplies last, please just stop in our office at 27-04 Francis Lewis Blvd, and we will be happy to give you one before we go public! (one per valuable client please). In addition, we have created our very own "50 Ways to Stay Energized" refrigerator magnet, to bring a little "energized" values to all our neighborhood households. Call us at 718.353.6000 and we will be happy to send you one.

Now for the question everyone is asking; "HOW IS THE LOCAL REAL ESTATE MARKET?" Well the operative word here is "LOCAL". The local market here in North Queens is really much healthier than national, and even Long Island and Tri-state trends indicate. While according to MLS statistics, prices have dropped as much as 20% in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, our neighborhoods of Flushing, Bayside and Whitestone have experienced no more than a 10% adjustment in prices since July 2007, and in most neighborhoods locally, prices have not gone down more than 7%. NY Newsday recently named Bayside, one of the best communities to raise children, and is currently compiling a compelling article about the trend for young homebuyers who have decided to make their home purchases within city limits instead of moving to Long Island as a backlash against gas prices, heightened fuel and home maintenance costs, ever-increasing property taxes, and unpredictable school quality, due to the annual budget changes in Long Island's townships. Look for this article in the next two weeks, for even more accurate facts pertaining to your sound investment of homeownership in North Queens real estate!

Another optimistic fact is that homes have begun to sell faster and closer to their asking prices in our area in many cases. This is probably due to new programs beginning to roll out from the major lenders as part of The Economic Stimulus package as well as the traditional time for buyers and seller's to come together and close on homes before the start of school in September.

Rentals are also moving in the right direction, with a typical 2 bedroom apartment going for about $1500. The area's buyer pool often comes out of happy neighborhood rentals and it is a known fact that the largest percentage of buyers live within a 7 mile radius of the home they buy, so the rental market is as much a predictor of the future of real estate as anything else. If you are thinking of renting a legal apartment, whether it be a studio, a one bedroom, a large 3 bedroom, a whole house, or want to rent out your property, please call our Rental Specialist, Jen Palazzola. We are proud to have Jen running our rental department, and rounding our mission to provide full-service, specialized, and personalized real estate to our valued clients and customers.

By the way, did I mention that the Energized Realty Group sells A LOT of houses? And that we work as a cohesive, winning team to get the best prices for our seller clients, and the best homes for our buyers, in a time frame that values YOU and your goals. If you are ever thinking of buying or selling a home, please give us a call. Once you do, you'll know why our entire community knows us as The Energized Realty Group! View the Ice Cream Event's photos at energizedrealtygroup.com/2008icecreampics.

Energetically,

Judy Markowitz
Broker/Owner
The Energized Realty Group
RE/MAX Millennium

2008-04-28T15:59:00.001-04:00

About a week ago, I had the opportunity to meet someone who had all the components in commercial real estate that we value in our own residential North Queens Real Estate Market.
His name is M. ‘Wazi’ Wazihullah, a man with a unique name, and an even more unique concept in Real estate. His concept and goal: to take commercial real estate to its highest level by providing superior and specialized service with personalized attention to the investment needs of buyers and sellers of commercial property ONLY: no jack of all trades here.
Though he is humble and would never say so himself, Wazi has become a commercial real estate guru after only about three years with a large commercial firm and only one year operating his own company. The majority of big buck commercial agents who I have met in the past have seemed hyper-focused on Manhattan and trendy areas like Brooklyn but Wazi remains focused and committed to his specialization in Long Island.
As the “rainmaker” and managing partner for Commercial Realty Hub, located in
Carle Place, Long Island, his group has already outsold every other real estate firm designated commercial in North Shore Long Island and Queens and is fast approaching the same in Brooklyn. Wazi's system includes a database of over 2000 commercial buyers and hundreds of listings, as well as access to legal expertise from a league of attorneys, with whom he shares his offices.
Do I sound impressed? I am! Until this meeting, I'd never met a commercial realtor who wouldn't dabble in the residential market to make some bucks or one who had even the slightest commitment to the investment goals of Long Islanders. Now I have, and I am thrilled to make such a quality connection with someone I can confidently refer business to. I am certain that this one meeting will turn out to be extremely lucrative for the many clients I have who will need Wazi’s services as they build their own investment portfolios.
If you wish to contact Commercial Realty Hub you can do so by calling 516-334-5400.

2008-03-26T15:18:00.001-04:00

The Truth about Short Sales

During the last few months, the media has overwhelmed us with negative news about the housing market and sub-prime mortgages. As a result, more buyers are asking about foreclosure properties and short sales, hoping to find that “really good deal.” Buyers in the North Flushing, Bayside, Whitestone and adjacent North Queens real estate markets are no exception.
Most people are familiar with the term “foreclosure property” - a property repossessed by a lender due to a borrower’s inability to make his/her mortgage payments. The property is then auctioned off or put on the market for sale buy the lender. Short sales are not as well known. A short sale happens pre-foreclosure and means a lender is willing to accept less than the loan amount owed to release an existing mortgage. There are pros and cons to both sellers and buyers looking to engage in a short sale.

An owner wishing to start a short sale would hire an experienced short sale agent and attorney in hopes of getting the property sold before the bank initiates foreclosure, which would seriously damage the seller’s credit history.

To buyers, a short sale may be an opportunity to purchase a property for less than market value. However, purchasing a short sale property is not a simple process and is not for everyone. Buyers should work with an experienced short sale agent to navigate the involved complexities. Here are some things to consider before making an offer on a short sale.

· A seller may accept your offer, but that does not mean the lenders will. You need to get a written consent from all the lenders who have been asked to accept a reduced payoff amount. That amount must be sufficient to not only pay for the reduced loan balances, but also other costs such as attorney fees, title charges and brokerage commissions.

· Everyone involved in a short sale needs to understand it is going to take weeks, maybe months to get a response from a lender. If there is more than one loan, it’ll take even longer. A great deal of paperwork needs to be submitted and each lender has very specific steps which need to be followed to obtain an approval. To get a short sale to closing takes an indefinite amount of time. Do not expect the usual 2 or 3 month closing time of a regular home purchase. The term short sale is a misnomer because it often takes quite a long time.

· Buyers may incur other costs such as loan application, appraisal and home inspection fees which they will be responsible for even if the lender rejects the short sale. In addition, in a short sale, the property is usually sold “as is,” so the buyer will not be receiving credits of any kind even if problematic items are discovered during the home inspection.

· Some lenders reserve the right to last minute renegotiation of terms of a short sale.

After taking all the above into consideration, if you are ready to take the necessary steps to sell or purchase a short sale property, first hire an agent and attorney who has had experience handling short sales. They will help you expedite the process and make sure to get all the details right. This will save you a great deal of time, money and definitely, aggravation. If you’re looking for a property which you do not need to purchase or move into right away, a short sale may turn out to be a great bargain.

2008-02-05T17:24:00.000-05:00

Walkability and Neighborhoods like Flushing, Whitestone, Bayside, and others

Many people -- count us among them -- are excited about the vibrant street life in downtown cities. In fact, we've been known to say, tongue only partially in cheek, that the noise and bustle of the urban street has become a luxury good, only to be afforded by the wealthy property owners in Manhattan.

We go to Europe and rejoice in walking around Naples, Barcelona, Paris, Rome -- the list seems to go on forever -- and then return to our homes and go back to our automobile-centric lifestyle.

Yet at least one expert (John B. Jackson) has turned that notion on its head. After extolling the wonders of urban walking -- strolling, gossiping, etc.-- he then says:

"You know why whose people are out there? Because it's hot and crowded and uncomfortable inside. They go into the street for relief."

He believes that whenever housing conditions improve, with more space and better temperature controls, street life goes into decline. This is anywhere in the world. As much as people may romanticize the virtues of an urban life lived in the streets -- even seek it out on vacations -- they don't choose it for themselves at home when they have a choice.

That's quite a shock, and it turns out to be true. But is it a law of society or just a phase in its evolution?In fact, cul-de-sac suburbia keeps spreading, despite gas prices, New Urbanism, and the doctrine of higher density. But in the last couple of years, we are starting to find people who used to be pro-suburbia starting to moderate their positions and starting to talk the language of walkability. Developers, realtors (ahem), and chambers of commerce are realizing that market forces are sending signals that they cannnot afford to ignore.

Here's one signal: go to the area around Wall Street and Ground Zero on a Saturday morning. Ignore the hordes of tourists; they're always around there. Instead, look at the number of children's strollers. The streets are dense with families out for a walk, going to the park, going to the park. You would think that Lower Manhattan is becoming a residential neighborhood.
And you would be right. Since 2001, there's been a massive increase in residential units, some just built, others from conversions. Residential population has grown from 15,000 in 2001 to 50,000 now. It's not unreasonable to predict that in ten years, this area will be essentially all residential with a modest residual presence of financial corporations.

Maybe, maybe not. But all around the country similar things are happening. In Atlanta, the poster-child for suburban sprawl (it has the longest automobile commute in the country), Midtown and Downtown are being transformed by residential construction. This was in part triggered by Atlantic Station, a huge mixed-use development that will eventually house 10,000 people. Similar stories are unfolding in suburban-oriented cities like Dallas, Phoenix, and Denver. Whenever major transit projects are brought to the voters for approval, more than two-thirds of them pass.

The value of living in "walkable urban places" instead of "drivable suburbs" in the same metropolitan area can be shown in costs of comparable homes. In Denver, a home in a downtown section sells for $487/square foot while a similar home in the suburbs goes for $195/square foot. Similar ratios are found in all metropolitan areas.

Two major roadblocks must be removed before walkable neighborhoods can really take off. One is density. There are still many laws and many people which echo the notion that less density is better than more. Certainly, housing patterns in North Queens reflect that belief. These beliefs will need to be brought into public dialogue so that people can see the consequences -- good and bad -- of different levels of density, and then choose the one that's right for them. But even here we find great density as well: try walking around downtown Flushing at rush hour and you'll see what we mean.

Another obstacle is lending. Banks and lending institutions do not have much experience with walkable projects, and what they don't understand they try to avoid. However, if demand persists, they'll come along; it's called capitalism.

Other signals:

Toll Brothers, one of the largest developer of suburban luxury housing, has created a "Walkable Urban Housing" division.
o A new website -- walkscore.com -- allows anyone to type in an address and get a walkability score. What's especially interesting about this site is not only that it's getting a lot of hits, they're coming from Realtors who use it to show potential buyers that a home has the financial advantages of a walkable location. (We at the Energized Realty Group are starting to use it ourselves.)

There are certainly lots of reasons why urban walkability is gaining traction. But what's really great is that millions of Americans will be given choices about where and how they live that they haven't possessed in a generation.

That's got to be a good thing.

2008-02-01T10:19:00.000-05:00

Mortgage Debt Relief -- Does it apply to you?

It's February, which means it's time to start thinking about filing your taxes. But you may need extra tax help this year, because in late December the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 was signed into law. This provides tax help for homeowners facing foreclosure or who sell their homes in a short sale.

Previously, if the value of your home declined and your bank or lender forgave a portion of your mortgage debt, the tax code treated the amount forgiven as income that could be taxed.

In other words, if your lender forgave $20,000 in mortgage debt because your house was worth $20,000 less than your mortgage balance, the IRS treated this debt forgiveness the same as income that you earned from your job -- and required you to add $20,000 in phantom income to the amount of your annual income and pay tax on it at your marginal tax rate.

So instead of getting tax help at a time of great need, you were getting a kick in the pants the following April 15.

Under the new rule, taxpayers can exclude up to $2 million of mortgage debt forgiven in 2007, 2008 or 2009 on their principal residence. (The limit is $1 million for a married person filing a separate return.) Mortgage debt reduced through restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, both qualify for the tax exclusion.

This applies only to principal residences, not second homes or investment property. (A principal residence is where you live the majority of the year, but there are other factors as well. For authoritative information, check the IRS web site or the forms, or have your Accountant do it. The IRS doesn't make it easy. You may need some additional tax help to be sure you're filling out the forms correctly.

When a lender forgives mortgage debt, the lender sends the taxpayer Form 1099C or 1099A. The form should state the fair market value of the home. In the case of a short sale, that would be the sales price. In the case of a home that's been foreclosed upon, the lender may just put the value of the loan in the field where the fair market value of the home should be listed. Or the 1099C or 1099A form might not include a fair market value at all.

In the two latter cases, you have to work harder. You'll have to get an appraiser to determine (and document) the fair market value and then compare it to either the amount of debt forgiveness or the sale price in a short sale. What the IRS will allow is the difference between the fair market value and the other amount.

Here's an illustration: Let's say someone buys a car for $10,000 and has a loan for the full amount. And let's say on the day the car is repossessed it is worth $8,000. The lender might put $10,000 as the loan forgiveness amount, even though the car is actually worth $8,000. The IRS will limit the amount of loan forgiveness to $2000, since the fair market value of the car ($8,000) has to be subtracted from the lender's stated amount of $10,000.

Got that?

Once you've wrapped your head around that, here's another point. The loan forgiveness (up to $2 million on a primary residence only (see above)) is limited to what is called "acquisition indebtedness." That covers your purchasing costs plus costs for making substantial improvements to your home.

If you got an equity line loan for the purpose of making these substantial improvements, then you're ok. But whatever cash you took out of that equity line for something else, like college tuition, is not covered.

So if you took $50,000 out of your equity line for college tuition and at foreclosure or restructuring the lender forgave you $50,000, this law will not help you and you will have to declare that $50,000 forgiven as income.

You always had to keep receipts and cancelled checks from home improvement projects. Now here's another reason to do so.

Contact us (or call 718-353-6000) if you want some more info on this. Although we are not accountants and are not authorized to give tax advice, we have assembled, over the years, the names of people that we recommend in all sorts of fields. So we can help you find accountants, appraisers, or others to help you with this.

2008-01-29T09:19:00.000-05:00

More reasons to look again at North Queens homes for sale (North Queens meaning Flushing, Whitestone, Bayside, Beechhurst, Little Neck, College Point, Malba, Fresh Meadows).

Manhattan apartment prices rose 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter, boosted by sales at two new luxury developments, the Plaza Hotel and 15 Central Park West.

Apartments at the Plaza Hotel and 15 Central Park West, which accounted for 7 percent of total condo sales in the quarter, sold for an average $6.95 million. The median price of a Manhattan apartment, including condominiums and co-ops, was $850,000, compared with $799,000 in the same period in 2006.

The gains defy the housing market nationwide, mired in the worst downturn in 27 years. Foreign buyers have taken advantage of a weaker dollar to buy bigger homes in Manhattan such as those available in the two new luxury buildings.

Up to one-third of the condo sales in Manhattan were to foreign buyers as a weaker dollar made properties more affordable. The U.S. dollar declined 10.6 percent in 2007 against the euro.

Manhattan has devolved into a second-home market for wealthy Europeans and Asians, who are not just living in hotel rooms but buying apartments to live in. A year ago, a Manhattan apartment at the median price would have cost 605,303 euros. Today, the price would be 582,192 euros, a decline of 3.8 percent. Even middle-class Europeans are getting into the act, snapping up lower-priced condos as investments.

Excluding sales at the renovated Plaza and the 201-unit 15 Central Park West, the median price of a Manhattan apartment grew 4.9 percent to $838,000, Miller said. The average sale price grew 11.8 percent instead of 17.6 percent, he said.

The Plaza and 15 Central Park West have both sold apartments for more than $6,000 a square foot. The average price per square foot in Manhattan in the fourth quarter was $1,180, an increase of 18 percent from the same three months in 2006. Excluding the two luxury buildings, the price per square foot grew 12 percent to $1,120.

The greatest gains were in three-bedroom apartments, with the average price rising 40 percent to $5.08 million from the same period in 2006. The median sale price of a co-op apartment rose 3.8 percent to $675,000.

2008-01-28T14:44:00.000-05:00

Due diligence provider will tell all in N.Y. probe

The nation's largest provider of due diligence reviews of mortgage loans packaged up for sale to Wall Street investors has agreed to cooperate with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's sweeping investigation of industry practices.

Cuomo's office is investigating whether investment banks and other companies that sold securities backed by mortgage loans failed to disclose to investors and rating agencies warnings from due diligence firms that some loans did not meet minimum underwriting standards.

The New York attorney general's office's yearlong investigation into the methods used in packaging mortgages into securities sold to investors during the housing boom first made headlines on Nov. 1, when Cuomo's office announced a lawsuit against First American Corp. and its subsidiary eAppraiseIT.

The lawsuit accused the companies of providing inflated property appraisals after they were allegedly pressured by Washington Mutual, which was not named in the lawsuit. All three companies deny wrongdoing.

2008-01-03T13:54:00.000-05:00

New survey article on Bayside, New York from the Queens Courier

Every now and then the community newspapers publish an "evergreen" article on slow news days. Here's one about Bayside, New York that was recently (12/26/2007) published in the Queens Courier.

http://baysiderealestate.net/baysidearticle12-26-07.htm

We added a few comments ourselves to the text.

2007-12-27T17:17:00.000-05:00

In the New York Times today (Dec 27, 2007), a remembrance of Flushing's importance for religious freedom.

A Colony With a Conscience

By KENNETH T. JACKSON

THREE hundred and fifty years ago today, religious freedom was born on this continent. Yes, 350 years. Religious tolerance did not begin with the Bill of Rights or with Jefferson’s Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom in 1786. With due respect to Roger Williams and his early experiment with “liberty of conscience” in Rhode Island, this republic really owes its enduring strength to a fragile, scorched and little-known document that was signed by some 30 ordinary citizens on Dec. 27, 1657.

It is fitting that the Flushing Remonstrance should be associated with Dutch settlements, because they were the most tolerant in the New World. The Netherlands had enshrined freedom of conscience in 1579, when it clearly established that “no one shall be persecuted or investigated because of his religion.” And when the Dutch West India Company set up a trading post at the southern tip of Manhattan in 1625, the purpose was to make money, not to save souls. Because the founding idea was trade, the directors of the firm took pains to ensure that all were welcome.

For example, while the Massachusetts Bay Colony was enforcing Puritan orthodoxy, there were no religious tests in the Dutch colony. So open was New Amsterdam that at least 16 languages were being spoken there by the 1640s; by 1654, the first Jews in what is now the United States had been able to settle there peaceably.
But religious tolerance had its limits in New Amsterdam, especially when it came to Quakers, who then had a reputation as obnoxious rabble-rousers. Peter Stuyvesant, the provincial director general and a Type A personality if ever there was one, was not going to tolerate a Quaker presence in his domain. To make his point, he ordered the public torturing of Robert Hodgson, a 23-year-old Quaker convert who had become an influential preacher. And then he issued a harsh ordinance, punishable by fine and imprisonment, against anyone found guilty of harboring Quakers.

Almost immediately after the edict was released, Edward Hart, the town clerk in what is now Flushing, Queens, gathered his fellow citizens on Dec. 27 and wrote a petition to Stuyvesant, citing the Flushing town charter of 1645, which promised liberty of conscience.

As Hart and his fellow petitioners so elegantly wrote, “We desire therefore in this case not to judge least we be judged, neither to condemn least we be condemned, but rather let every man stand and fall to his own master.” Their logic was impeccable: “the power of this world can neither attack us, neither excuse us, for if God justify, who can condemn, and if God condemn, there is none can justify.”

The Flushing Remonstrance was remarkable for four reasons.

First, it articulated a fundamental right that is as basic to American freedom as any we hold dear.
Second, the authors backed up their words with actions — they did not whisper their opposition among themselves or protest in silence. Rather, they signed the document and sent it to the most powerful official in the colony, a man not known for toleration or for an easygoing or gracious manner.
Third, they stood up for others; none of the signers was himself a Quaker. The Flushing citizens were articulating a principle that was of little discernible benefit to themselves.
And fourth, like all great documents, the language of the remonstrance is as beautiful as the sentiments they express. “If any of these said persons come in love unto us, we cannot in conscience lay violent hands upon them, but give them free egress and regress unto our town,” its authors wrote in the conclusion. “For we are bound by the law of God and man to do good unto all men and evil to no man.”

So what was the result? As expected, Stuyvesant arrested Hart and the other official who presented the document to him, and he jailed two other magistrates who had signed the petition. Stuyvesant also forced the other signatories to recant.

But the door had been opened and Quakers continued to meet in Flushing. When Stuyvesant arrested a farmer, John Bowne, in 1662 for holding illegal meetings in his home, Bowne was then banished from the colony. He immediately went to Amsterdam to plead for the Quakers. There he won his case. Though the Dutch West India Company called Quakerism an “abominable religion,” it nevertheless overruled Stuyvesant in 1663 and ordered him to “allow everyone to have his own belief.” Thus did religious toleration become the law of the colony.

The Bowne house is still standing. And within a few blocks of it a modern visitor to Flushing will encounter a Quaker meeting house, a Dutch Reformed church, an Episcopal church, a Catholic church, a synagogue, a Hindu temple and a mosque. All coexist in peace, appropriately in the most diverse neighborhood in the most diverse borough in the most diverse city on the planet.

Kenneth T. Jackson, a professor of history at Columbia, is the editor in chief of The Encyclopedia of New York City.

2007-11-05T10:16:00.000-05:00

Buying a home in North Queens (Flushing, Bayside, Whitestone, Beechhurst, College Point, Little Neck)? Read on!

Real estate, like politics, is local, and many of the forces that drive the local market are out of a buyer or seller's control. But there is one thing that can be controlled.

Once a contract on a home has been accepted and the buyer is pre-approved, the buyer should do . . .absolutely nothing!

Freeze. Don't switch credit cards to other cheaper ones, like those with no-payment- until-next-year offers. Don't open new lines of credit in preparation for remodeling the new purchase. Don't buy a new car, truck, van, motorcycle, RV, go-cart, etc.

Once a buyer's application for a mortgage has been approved and the lender has agreed to finance the purchase -- the buyer's financial situation is in the middle of a balancing act. Don't tip it. Even if it looks like a good move -- don't do it. Even if it might make sense personally, financially, the move could cause a financial traffic jam.

A case occured recently where a buyer thought he would offer a larger down payment amount to make his application stronger -- a few days before settlement. Not a bad idea, no? Put another $10K down, save $100 per month -- that's $1,200 per year. No. Don't do it. By the time the earlier loan was canceled and the new loan opened, the closing had to be rescheduled.

Another purchaser decided to get ready to redecorate her new condo by opening lines of credit for decorating, home improvement, etc. Opening those little lines of credit tipped the scale just enough to delay her home purchase for several months.

The mortgage "purification" we've recently experienced has been good for real estate. At least we know now that when a buyer walks in with a pre-approval, they really do qualify. Just don't be one of those who has a good income and great credit but comes up with a hare-brained idea that could possibly ruin your chance for a great home.

(adapted from RealtyTimes)

2007-11-01T11:13:00.000-04:00

ANOTHER REAL ESTATE VOICE HEARD FROM

At the Energized Realty Group, while we specialize in North Queens real estate (North Flushing, Bayside, Beechhurst, College Point, Auburndale, and surrounding areas), we also think about Real Estate issues in general, as we hope our blogs have shown. We don’t always think or speak in unison, though, so we thought it only right that we start getting some thoughts from others on our team.
Here is a contribution from Joe Souza, Buyer Specialist:

People are always asking me – or more often telling me -- about the market, so I want to give you my opinion from a professional point of view. First of all, keep in mind that when the news tells us that the national housing market is dropping, remember that we are still in New York City. The Real Estate story here is not like the stories of dropping home prices in the news.. Yes, it’s true that our prices have softened to a more realistic range and that is great news. What makes that news even better is that the interest rates are at an historical low so it is a really great time to buy.

What I am finding is that people aren’t aware how the prices of the homes have changed to adjust to the market, and they are trying to make low-ball offers. When I ask them why they are doing that, they say “the market is going down”. It certainly has gone down some, but not nearly as much as other areas of the country. There may be more room for negotiation of the asking price than formerly, but houses are still selling at 95% to 98% of that asking price.

So my advice on this is that if you see a house and want to buy it, make an offer that you and your agent agree is somewhere in the neighborhood of what you think the house is worth. Trying to game the system rarely works, because even though it is basically a “buyer’s market”, a good house will rarely have just one bidder. If you are negotiating, and another offer comes in, then that house is now in a “seller’s market.” A bidding war may begin. A respectable offer at the start can prevent that from happening. So if you see the home of your dreams, take a deep breath, offer a respectable price, and you can buy the house before someone else does!

Joe Souza, Buyer Specialist, Energized Realty Group
http://energizedrealtygroup.com

2007-10-22T14:44:00.001-04:00

DON'T SETTLE FOR HIGH INTEREST RATES WHEN BUYING IN NORTH QUEENS! (POINTS, BLENDED RATES, as part of your North Queens homebuying strategy).

Housing prices are coming down for North Queens Real Estate, although not as drastically or as precipitously as in other parts of the country. Still, prices remain strong, and the cutoff amount for "jumbo" loans remains as it has for years: $417,000 -- which was a reasonable demarcation several years ago but is now inadequate for many would-be homebuyers.

The rub is that interest rates have gone up for jumbo loans but have come down for so-called "conforming" loans -- those less than $417,000. For example, a little while ago a 30-year fixed-rate conforming mortgage could be had at 6.25% while at the same time the rate for a jumbo mortgage was 7.25%.

Each of those loans required 1 point in addition. (1 point = 1 % of the loan amount). Points are tax-deductible for borrowers who itemize, so one strategy would be to increase the points you pay up-front in exchange for a lower interest rate. The longer the term of your loan, the more worthwhile the trade-off of points for interest rates.

If a borrower can't afford to pay the points, it can't hurt to ask the seller to pay the points instead. The way that would work is that most lenders allow the seller to credit cash to buyers at closing for nonrecurring closing costs -- and points are a nonrecurring closing cost. Check with your lender to see if it's possible and what its guidelines for it are -- usually no more than 3 to 6% of the purchase price.

There are a few more possible "gotcha's" with this, so do check with your lender before deciding anything. If you are planning to re-finance once mortgage rates come down -- and you believe they will come down -- then forget everything I said about points. Take the higher rate with no points and refinance later.

If you need to borrow an amount greater than a conforming mortgage -- and you're paying at least 20% down, have a good credit score, and a verifiable income -- you can get a 2nd mortgage at the same time as the first mortgage. For example: you need $800,000 for a $1,000,000 home. You have $200,000 for a down payment. With this strategy, you could get a first mortgage for, say, 6.25% and a second mortgage at 7.4%. This would give you a blended rate of 6.8%, essentially getting a jumbo loan of $800,000 for under 7% when normal jumbo loans are over 7%. (This works only if the second mortgage is $500,000 or less).

Talk with your lender about a blended rate, if it seems to make sense for you, and make sure that there is no prepayment penalty on either mortgage so that you can pay down principal to avoid any balloon payment after 15 years (on a 30-year second mortgage).

2007-10-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

IS A CO-OP IN FLUSHING OR BAYSIDE A SUBSTITUTE GOOD FOR A MANHATTAN CO-OP?

Regular readers of this blog -- and you know who you are -- will have noticed that we throw around the economic term "substitute good" pretty freely.

Aside from the benefit of making us appear educated, it is a shorthand way of saying that when the price of something goes up, the price of something that is cheaper but can be used in its place also goes up.

Take our favorite topic: North Queens real estate. We have noticed little in the way of the National trend of falling resale prices for real estate in our area. While we would like to think that's because Flushing and Bayside are wonderful places to live, it's really because a home here is a substitute good for a home in Manhattan.

Everyone knows how Manhattan real estate prices keep going up and up, indifferent to subprime market crises, credit crunches, and the falling dollar. Depending on the neighborhood and whether you use the median or the mean to measure average pricing, prices have gone up by almost 30% in the last few years. Pushing prices upwards are the amount of wealth in the city (and wanting to move into the city), the mind-boggling bonuses of financial sector workers, and now, the dollar's fall against other currencies. Remember, even before the recent lows of the dollar, New York was only the tenth most expensive city in the world. Now it must seem an incredible bargain to our European and Asian cousins.

So what happens when people are priced out of the Manhattan market. A few years ago, Brooklyn was an option. (You may remember the New Yorker cover from 2003 shown at the beginning of this post). Now, however, for many people, home prices there are almost as unreachable as Manhattan homes.

North Queens is still affordable. You can get a Treasure Island (Bayside) home in good condition for less than $500,000. You can barely get a decent studio apartment in Manhattan for that amount of money.

But noticed that we compared a house (semi-detached, to be sure) to an apartment. What about apartments, co-ops and condos, in North Queens? Are people who have been evicted from the real estate Garden of Eden buying apartments here instead?

A part of the definition of a substitute good is that its price rises in lockstep with the good for which it's a substitute. One reason for that is that the rise of the first good prices people out of the market and forces them into the substitute market, increasing the buyer pool -- and thus the demand -- for the substitute good. Increased demand + no change in supply = rise in price. More people chasing a fixed supply of North Queens real estate would cause a rise in prices here but . . .

Real estate prices are affected by many variables. So we wouldn't expect to see a lockstep rise in North Queens real estate prices because we are less insulated here from the sour National Real Estate market. Without the "substitute good" effect, prices would go down here as well.

But what about those Flushing and Bayside co-ops and condo's? Here's where it gets a little tricky. If you have $500,000 available to you as a combination of loan and ready cash to buy an apartment, are you then going to Queens to spend it on an apartment here, where the prices for equivalent units are as little as 1/3? For example, we offered a wonderful 1-bedroom apartment in Flushing for less than $200,000. We maintain, without exaggeration, that such an apartment in a similar neighborhood in Manhattan would cost more than 3x as much.

There are certainly apartments in Queens that are priced more similarly to those in the borough on the other side of the East River. But these apartments tend to have a different style of amenities than a Manhattan buyer may be looking for: in gated communities, with panoramic views and assigned parking for residents and guests. (We have one like that offered ourselves).

Our answer is that the would-be Manhattan buyer would not consider similar apartments in North Queens because the price difference is so great. Great apartments at such low prices are not believable to someone used to "the high-priced spread", as the old margerine commercials used to call butter.

So what does that mean to you? If you are thinking of selling a Queens co-op or condo, don't expect to be able to exploit Manhattan pricing easily. If you are thinking of buying a Queens co-op or condo, you will get an incredible value, but don't expect to make a killing when you re-sell. We always advise buyers to buy a place because you love it, not because you expect to make money on the resale.

That goes double for North Queens co-ops and condos.

2007-10-09T09:08:00.000-04:00

SOME COMMON SENSE ADVICE ON BUYING A NEWLY-BUILT HOME

Here at the Energized Realty Group, we sell mostly homes that have been lived in for some time -- from a few years to decades. Homes that have stood a long time have developed whatever problems they're going to have. They've either been fixed or require fixing; either way you know what you're dealing with.

Not so with new homes. We came across some common sense advice for those interested in a new home and would like to share it with you:

In some parts of Florida, Arizona, California, Nevada and a few other states, the new-construction industry is in trouble. Developers are having a hard time selling homes and are doing everything they can to attract buyers. They're offering discounts, free upgrades and even flat-out dropping the price. Looking for a deal? See about buying a house that the developer has already built, with an eye toward getting the best deal possible.

For protection, hire a real estate attorney to review and negotiate the purchase agreement with the builder. Make sure the builder is on solid financial footing and that there haven't been any complaints filed against him or her with the local municipality or state authorities (such as the attorney general's office or the department that regulates contractors and builders).

But there's nothing like getting a little first-hand feedback to help the new home buyer (not to be confused with the new home-buyer) understand what this developer is all about. So spend a weekend or two trolling around the neighborhood. Walk up to the residents and ask them how they have liked living in the neighborhood. Ask them if the developer was responsive, if he built a good product, and if he came back quickly to fix punch-list items or other problems that crept up in the first year.

Also look at turnover. Are a lot of people who bought recently now trying to sell their homes? If so, find out why -- did investors buy lots they are now trying to sell? Some movement is normal, but if a good part of the development is now selling and leaving, know why so a bigger problem doesn't rise up six months from now.

Before closing on the property, be sure to hire a professional home inspector to do a thorough inspection of the property. Make sure the home has been built to the newest building codes. Many people wrongly believe that a new house can't have problems. In fact, many new homes are built too quickly, and some items get missed or don't get put together correctly. Get an inspector to make sure the electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems have been installed correctly and are working the way they should be. If the inspector comes back with some issues, have the builder correct those before closing, or follow up on any other problems with further inspections or tests.

And, don't forget to buy an owner's title policy, in addition to the title insurance policy issued to the lender. Although it seems unlikely, title problems can creep up, even with a new home in a new subdivision, and the lender's title insurance policy won't be any protection.

All this doesn't mean there won't be any trouble with the new property or the developer. But it makes it far less likely that something big will be missed.

2007-10-08T11:50:00.000-04:00

A little break from serious thinking . . . take this quiz.

Just for grins, look at these questions that were posed to prospective home buyers throughout the country about what buyers are looking for in homes. You'll find a link to the answers at the bottom.

1. What single home feature do buyers say they want most in a new home?

Walk-in closet in master bedroom
Central air conditioning
Backyard
Fully finished basement

2. What’s the median size of homes purchased between late 2005 and early 2007?

2,230 square feet
1,840 square feet
1,450 square feet
1,000 square feet

3. Repeat buyers tend to be choosier than first-time buyers. In particular, repeat buyers place much more emphasis on these home features:

Fireplaces and air filtration systems
Bay windows and finished basements
Oversized garages and master bedroom walk-in closets
Backyards and proximity to entertainment

4. Within three months after buying a home, nearly half of all buyers remodeled or made improvements to which part of the house?

Master Bathroom
Backyard
Kitchen
Home office

5. Which home feature saw the biggest jump in buyer popularity since 2004?

High-speed Internet access
Media room
Eat-in kitchen
Oversized garage

6. What three features did buyers say they’d be most willing to pay extra for in a home?

Proximity to work, a wooded lot, and a backyard or play area
Whirlpool baths, proximity to schools, and a deck
A corner lot, a lawn sprinkler system, and high-end kitchen appliances
Central air conditioning, walk-in closets, and hardwood floors

7. A home’s energy efficiency is most important to which segment of buyers?

Repeat buyers
Second-home buyers
New-home buyers
First-time buyers

8. Where do first-time home buyers tend to purchase a home?

Rural area
City or urban area
Suburb or subdivision
Small town

9. What’s the most common type of home purchased?

Single level
Split level
Two levels
Three levels

10. What did new-home buyers most wish their home had more of?

Storage
Bedrooms
Kitchen space
Bathrooms

Click here for the answers:

2007-09-26T18:27:00.000-04:00

OVERWHELMED BY REAL ESTATE OPINIONS?

So are we. We are in awe of writers who can go over the same things again and again in presenting real estate issues to their adoring publics.

It's really not that tricky.

Here are ten points we've made over the last several months that apply to just about any real estate discussions. Impress your friends and intimidate your enemies by knowing these simple points:

1. Buying and selling residential real estate to make a profit is not an enterprise that mere mortals like you and us can successfully accomplish. We have had success with it, but there are no guarantees, especially for the short term. Short term investment profits depend on timing; timing is really, really hard.

2. Buy a home because you love it. Sell a home because you have to move on.

3. All real estate in the New York metropolitan area is based on Manhattan real estate.

4. Every time the dollar falls against the Euro and other foreign currencies, Manhattan real estate gets more expensive. This makes Queens real estate more expensive (see (3) above) because real estate here is a "substitute good" for Manhattan real estate: buyers priced out of Manhattan come to Queens and bid up prices here. What prevents this upward pull on prices from being overwhelming here is large inventories and increasing foreclosures.

5. We have been in a steady real estate climb for so long that many of us have never even seen a market go down. They do.

6. An article that came out March a year ago was eye-opening. Real estate pundits sometimes talk about the "long view" meaning 10-20 years. This article examines an Amsterdam house's price changes over 400 years! The conclusion: home prices in terms of purchasing power have stayed remarkably stable for centuries. If that relationship gets too out of whack, corrections occur. Based on that, the author suggested over a year ago that the overheated real estate market was due for a correction. Read the full article at http://energizedrealtygroup.com/nytimes03052006.htm.

7. When you buy a home, borrow as much money as you can get and for which you can still make the payments. That way, your house payments -- which otherwise would go to rent -- build equity, so that the asset -- your home -- appreciates courtesy of other people's money.

8. Don't try to outguess the market. If you like a neighborhood, chances are a bunch of other people do as well, and prices will reflect that.

9. If you are so wired with connections that you can find out about deals before everyone else does, our hats are off to you! Otherwise, remember the old saying: if it seems too good to be true, it may very well be!

10. A home is a good investment because, unlike Apple stock, you can live in it and because your investment is multiplied by other people's money (see (7)). But, looking at percent appreciation, the stock market does better.

Principles are one thing; practice is another. For most people, putting those principles into practice occasionally doesn't make you good at it. Real estate professionals, like those (ahem) here at the Energized Realty Group, do it every day and have gotten really good at it. Taking care of what is for most of us the most important transaction of our lives requires someone who is competent, whom you can trust, and who will be with you every step of the way.

20 years in the business is a good indicator of having those qualities.

2007-09-14T14:44:00.000-04:00

QUEENS HOME PRICES DOWN FOR AUGUST

What a difference a few days makes! It seems like only yesterday (well, September 4th) that we were smugly reporting that July home sales for Queens showed a modest increase in home prices. Well, that certainly is no longer the case!

A recent article in Newsday (to see the full text, navigate to http://energizedrealtygroup.com/newsday091207.htm) is one place you can find the bad news. We like this article because Judy Markowitz is quoted in it!

Median home prices in Queens dropped to $434,300 in August, compared to $472,000 in July and $480,000 last August. This is backed up by our own experience. As Judy says in the article, "Homes that sold last year for $715,000 are now going for $675,000. " She attributes that to the interest rates of so-called Jumbo mortgages, where the mortgage amount is greater than $417,000.

If you go to the link above, you will see another article in which the National Association of Realtors (NAR) -- a typically over-optimistic organization -- reduced its home sales forecast for the ninth time this year! It sees a continuing drop in home prices till the first quarter of 2008.

The NAR predicts an 8.6% drop in existing home sales this year, but new-home sales are in even worse shape. They see that market declining by 24% this year.

The NAR does predict an increase in prices and home sales in 2008, however. We'll see if that holds up as we move forward.

A few years ago Alan Greenspan characterized the tech sector bubble as being fueled by "irrational exuberance." We wonder if some of the hits that the economy is taking are the result of "irrational pessimism", since, as we noted a few weeks ago, the size of the "subprime mortgage" problem is miniscule compared to the rest of the money out there.

Interesting times.

2007-09-10T12:40:00.000-04:00

NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLES ON WHITESTONE AND "APPRECIATING DEPRECIATION"

We're always happy when North Queens is in the paper. We're even happier when we're mentioned in it.

You can find the complete text of the New York Times' September 2, 2007 article on Whitestone at http://energizedrealtygroup.com/nytimes90207.htm

Just yesterday (Sept 9, 2007) the special Real Estate magazine was included in the New York Times Sunday edition. A thoughtful real estate memoir by Jon Gertner about his suburban home reinforced an idea we have mentioned on several occasions: don't try to make a profit on your home; buy a home to live in it!

You will find the complete text of the article here: http://energizedrealtygroup.com/nytimes9907.htm

2007-09-04T10:20:00.000-04:00

JULY HOME SALES DATA FOR NEW YORK STATE JUST IN!

Sales of existing single-family homes in New York state in July held steady compared to the previous month and July 2006, according to preliminary single-family sales data accumulated by the New York State Association of REALTORS. The statewide median sales price increased slightly compared to the previous month.

The July 2007 sales total of 9,459 represents a 0.4-percent increase compared to the June 2007 sales total 9,418. The July 2007 total represents a 2.5-percent decrease compared to the July 2006 sales total of 9,701.The July 2007 statewide median sales price of $252,000 represents a 0.8-percent increase compared to the June 2007 median sales price of $250,000.

Queens real estate showed a decrease in number of sales from June to July, from 464 to 410 or a decrease of 11.6%. Comparison with the same month in 2006 shows an even more dramatic drop, from 598 to 410, for a decrease of 31.4%!

While numbers of sales is an interesting statistic to gauge the health of the real estate market, it is sales price that is more important to anyone interested in buying or selling real estate. Here Queens is in better -- or at least more stable -- shape: From June to July of this year, the median sales price for single-family homes dropped only 1.3% (from $592,500 to $585,000). Comparing July of 2007 to the same month in the previous year actually shows a modest increase of 2.6%, from ($570,000 to $585,000). This is far better than the correction New York State as a whole experienced from July of last year, where the median sales price dipped from $265,000 to $252,000, which represents a 4.9-percent decrease. So, by that measure, we are doing 7.5% better than New York State as a whole.

Follow this link for the detailed data:

http://energizedrealtygroup.com/dataforjulyhomesales.htm

2007-08-31T16:57:00.000-04:00

NY POST ARTICLE; August 16, 2007

CRUNCH TIME: Buyers find themselves scrambling to close

Those close readers of our notes here are familiar with our pointing to articles with different takes on the current mortgage (choose one): crisis, problem, issue, anomaly, situation, unpleasantness, dysfunction, breakdown, or non-issue. Last time was a worst-case look by Jim Cramer (http://energizedrealtygroup.com/jamescramer0807.htm); the time before a rosier view by Ben Stein (http://energizedrealtygroup.com/benstein2007.htm).

A recent article in the New York Post wrote about the effect of this (use word chosen above) on real buyers and sellers in the local New York City real estate market. We were quoted in the article, and a buyer of one of our properties was prominently featured, including pictures! We have reformatted the article for the web and it can be found at: http://energizedrealtygroup.com/nypost_8162007.htm

Ah, fame. Nothing like it!

2007-08-20T11:07:00.001-04:00

ANOTHER COUNTY HEARD FROM . . .

We've been looking over the last few months of these occasional notes and realized that perhaps we've been too optimistic about the "subprime" mortgage problem.

So we went looking for a more pessimistic take on it, and found this column from New York Magazine by James Cramer, whom you may have seen on MSNBC as a stock picker. We were pleasantly surprised by his ability to reason and write well, and you can find his article on our web site at http://energizedrealtygroup.com/jamescramer0708.htm

It's a complicated argument he makes. Here's our attempt at the major points:

1. Cheap financing and exotic mortgages were a creation of Alan Greenspan to help the economy recover from 9/11.

2. The housing market responded and heated up so much that lenders got careless. Buyers too were cavalier about the terms because everyone believed that real estate could only go up, so, if the mortgage payments ballooned, a home equity loan could take care of the payments on the first mortgage or the homeowner could sell at a profit.

3. Wall Street aggregated these mortages and merchandised them as high-yielding bonds.

4. Then Greenspan issued seventeen interest-rate increases in a row. This brought the payments up on Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) and other non-fixed home loans such as teasers and piggybacks to the point where people couldn't afford them. They couldn't refinance either, because of the high interest rates, and no-one was interested in buying their houses at the prices they needed to extricate themselves from their accumulated debt.

5. The bonds noted in (3) above were bought by big Wall Street firms and gradually lost value, until the crisis came in June 2007. These bonds were priced too high because nobody thought that people would walk away from their houses rather than pay the interest. In fact, the bonds were considered to be as good as cash until then.

6. Hundreds of billions of dollars of mortgage bonds are now worthless. Brokers that lent money to firms in order to buy these bonds now essentially foreclosed on those firms. Bear Stearns had two funds: one it let go down the drain, the other it tried to keep alive. But both, in fact, were worthless.

7. There are no buyers now for mortgage-backed bonds because no-one knows if they're worth anything.

8. The Wall Street firms were supposed to buy the bonds that finance leveraged deals like buyouts and mergers and then turn around and sell the bonds to their usual fund-manager clients. But those clients don't have the cash they thought they had, because so much of their assets were based on these mortage-loan bonds. So these deals are on-hold.

9. For New York, this will have a depressing effect on home prices because the hundreds of thousands of jobs in the mortgage-bond, private equity, and hedge fund departments of major brokerages that were added in the last six years are in jeopardy. Cramer estimates that 30% of these people will be released, and the ones remaining will not get bonuses. New York thus stands to lose billions that these people's disposable incomes spent in the city.

10. The Federal Reserve seems to think that the non-financial economy -- that part not associated with home building or lending -- is thriving and that the losses can be contained to those who work in and around the credit business. It also seems to be totally clueless or totally heartless -- or both -- since it's not interested in pressuring Fannie Mae into helping.

12. Cramer believes that as many as 7 million homeowners who bought in the last few years could lose their homes.

Pessimistic enough for you? He does offer some hope that someone like a Warren Buffet or a Chinese conglomerate could buy up some of the troubled brokerages or buy some of the bonds backed by good collateral, which right now are being painted with the same brush as the ones that the crises have made worthless.

We're not competent to refute Cramer point-by-point. But we promised you a less optimistic viewpoint and, as in the real estate business, which we do understand, we try to exceed your expectations.

2007-08-17T11:27:00.000-04:00

TURMOIL IN THE MORTGAGE BUSINESS?

Are you as tired of seeing headlines like this as we are? We have not seen so many think-pieces about an economic issue since the dot.com bubble of several years ago.

Why? Because nobody can figure it out, that's why!

Like in the old fable of the blind men and the elephant, everyone seems to have a piece of the explanation. A recent article we read by Ben Stein (yes, that Ben Stein of "Ferris Bueller" and "Win Ben Stein's Money") in the New York Times was refreshing in its candid admission of confusion. (You can read the whole article on our web site, http://energizedrealtygroup.com/benstein2007.htm).

Stein's exploration of why the usual reasons are out-of-whack is extremely helpful. As we noted several weeks ago, the actual number of defaults on subprime loans is quite low, counting either individuals or total money involved.

Forgive us if we don't get too upset about the hedge fund operators whose complicated algorithms are breaking down. Let's hope for their sake that they've banked some of their million-dollar bonuses from last year so they have a source of pocket money.

The people who will really be hurt are those who need reasonably-priced loans to make their home purchases. With everyone tightening up credit, they may not be able to stretch their resources to make those transactions happen.

In the meantime, the mortgage brokers we recommend are telling us that the major effects are in the so-called "jumbo" mortgages, where the mortgage is greater than $417,000.

But this is a fast-moving story and all these words may already be obsolete as we type.

Stay tuned!

2007-08-02T12:31:00.000-04:00

CATCHING UP (AGAIN!)

In the midst of the summer, with a tremendous amount of activity (good), we didn't get to make a new blog entry for several weeks (bad). So we're devoting this edition to miscellaneous subjects:

We've been writing off-and-on for several months about how, despite the depressing nationwide effect of the failure of the subprime loan market, the local real estate market remains sound. To paraphrase Gilbert and Sullivan, we like to have our opinions backed by competent authority.

- Two articles came across our virtual desktop the other day. One, from the National Association of Realtors, details that total existing single-family home sales for the United States declined 3.5% from May to June of this year and are 12.1% less than the June of last year. For the Northeast, existing home sales (of all types) fell a whopping 7.3% in the same period and declined by 7.3% as well from the June of a year before. (For the complete article, go to http://energizedrealtygroup.com/recentnews.htm.
- At the same time, the New York State Association of Realtors, reports that for New York, sales of existing homes increased 17.8% from May to June and represents a 14.7 decrease from June of a year ago. (See http://energizedrealtygroup.com/recentnynews.htm).
- We don't have New York City's stats readily at hand, but our experience suggests that the numbers here are even better. Manhattan real estate is in demand by people from all over the world, and Queens real estate, as a classic "substitute good" for Manhattan real estate, is in demand as well. (For those who think Manhattan real estate prices are crazy, remember that New York is only the 10th most expensive city in the world. Moscow is first, go figure. So, for Europe and Asia, we look like a bargain.)

Judy Markowitz has been active this summer helping our community. In May, she raised $5,282 for the fight against women's cancers in the Revlon Run/Walk. In June, the 11th Annual Ice Cream Event took place at the Carvel near our office (27-04 Francis Lewis Blvd.), with free ice cream cones for everyone. And this month, Judy donated $500 for a commemorative plaque at the Veteran's Memorial Mall in Bayside. (For the Bayside Times article about this, go to http://energizedrealtygroup.com/911memorial.htm)

In the "imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but this is ridiculous" category, we have discovered that a certain real estate agent in our area has hijacked a URL similar to energizedrealtygroup.com (The Energized Realty Group, by the way, is our legal name) and pointed it to his web site. Type in the copycat URL http://energizedrealty.com/ in your browser and see where it takes you. I don't think that we have to state the obvious point that a real estate agent with such a slippery grasp on ethical behavior is not one to whom you should entrust the sale or purchse of a home.

And finally, a little shameless self-promotion. In the first six months of 2007, the Energized Realty Group sold 87 homes, for an average time on market of 20 days and at an average of 95% of the listing price. Not too shabby . . .

2007-06-29T14:38:00.000-04:00

FREE PHILHARMONIC CONCERT IN CUNNINGHAM PARK

Yes, the New York Philharmonic will be playing a free concert in Cunningham Park (Union Turnpike and Francis Lewis Blvd.) on July 12, 2007 at 8:00 PM. Selections include Berlioz's Le Cosaire Overture, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, and Tchaikovky's "Pathetique" symphony. Fireworks will conclude this two-hour concert. Here's a map.

Please enter the park at 193rd St., near 81st Ave. or Union Turnpike. The concert itself is at the 193rd Street Field.

Note that the Philharmonic is sponsoring a food drive for the Food Bank for New York City. So please bring a non-perishable food donation to the concert.

Sounds like a great evening!

2007-06-14T15:41:00.000-04:00

Consumer confidence (excerpted from the InmanBlog of June 10, 2007)

At the Energized Realty Group, our motto is "Peace, Love, and Homeownership." (No, The Gap doesn't own that phrase; if anything, the Gap stole it from a noodle shop in Atlanta, GA. But we digress.)

So we agree with the statement of the writer that homeownership "provides three compelling benefits: investment leverage, freedom from landlords, and shelter. " We would add a fourth: it's the only investment you can live in.

Studies have shown that, over the long haul, real estate prices stay even with inflation. But since you are paying into your increasing equity instead of to a landlord each month, the result, after living in your home for awhile and selling, looks really good!

Choosing a home based on only those four benefits puts the decision entirely within your control. You are not at the mercy of the markets. You will not suffer excessively from "buyer's remorse" after buying your new home, because you will get exactly what you expected.

So with that in mind, here is this interesting summary of where the country is in real estate. As usual, we remind you that we in New York City are blessed with a world-wide demand for Manhattan real estate. North Queens real estate is a classic "substitute good" so we too are insulated from the some of the impact of the factors described below.
___________________________________________________________________

In May, consumer confidence took another hit (see AP story below). High gasoline prices and drooping housing prices were blamed. In different ways, these two factors deflate consumer perceptions about their personal finances, one measure of consumer confidence. Rising gas prices create routine sticker shock and an immediate cash-flow predicament. Declining home values in many areas of the country aggravate more fundamental concerns about long-term economic well-being. For a few years, rising house equity was an antidote to uncertainty about the instability of Social Security and corporate pension funds, dramatized by the Enron and airline industry pension fund disasters. No longer.

Except for New York City and other lucky areas (let's hear it for North Queens!), the real estate mood has soured dramatically. Property investing has swung from being the sure thing to an uncertain investment. This is why booms are never a good thing -- they lead to speculation, flipping and unrealistic expectations -- creating an aura of invincibility. At the peak, the average homeowner was doing equity spread sheet analysis; making plans for the future that were not rooted in reality. When these gains are lost, people lose confidence in the investment vehicle itself.

Homeownership is a heavily subsidized investment (federal and state government) that provides three compelling benefits: investment leverage, freedom from landlords and shelter.

Homeownership, however, is not a good investment unless there is long-term inflation in house values. That is because of the costs associated with homeownership: transactional fees, maintenance expenses, insurance, taxes and mortgage debt. Homeowners carry a large financial burden including expensive entry and exit fees. Plus, many of these costs are paid through mortgage debt, increasing the expense. Without home price inflation, the investment is risky and more so if it is financed by an adjusting mortgage payment. Long-term ownership and fixed mortgage costs evens out the investment picture, even without excessive inflation.

Consumer attitudes are important in this mix. A bust like some local housing markets are experiencing sours the general population on buying more real estate. At the peak, people were buying record levels of square footage in multiple locations. Resort memberships, fractional ownership and TICs were also common. This activity is quickly cooling as people rethink their real estate holdings and re-examine their debt in a market absent inflation. Euphoria ends, examination begins. That is why declining consumer confidence is a good thing.

Saturday, June 9, 2007 3:32 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Consumer confidence tumbled to a 10-month low as gyrating gasoline prices and persistent problems in the housing market gnawed at people's sense of economic well-being.
The drop shown in the latest RBC Cash Index was surprising given the healthy state of the nation's job market, which is usually an important factor coloring consumers' perceptions of how the economy and their own financial fortunes are faring.
But worries about gasoline prices, the yearlong housing slump and the sluggish economy are taking a toll on confidence, economists said.
"There is too much uncertainty. That is the mind-set of consumers right now," said Brian Bethune, economist at Global Insight.
The RBC Cash Index showed consumer confidence dropped to 81.4 in June. That was weaker than May's 87.1 and was the worst showing since August, when fears about record-high energy prices gripped consumers. The index is based on the results from the international polling firm Ipsos.

2007-06-13T10:46:00.000-04:00

NORTH QUEENS BOASTS MUSIC TEACHER OF THE YEAR

Not everything we write about has to be interest rates, subprime mortgages, etc. etc. Sometime we'd like to be reminded about why North Queens is such a special place. Here is a first-hand report about the Music Teacher of the Year award:

Yesterday (June 12, 2007) our correspondent went to the Queens Center Mall for the presentation of the award for the Queens Music Teacher of the Year award. Four years in the making, this project finally came to fruition this morning with 65 Frances Lewis High School (in Fresh Meadows) students singing out their hearts for their beloved music teacher, Richard Hyman. Talk about beloved! You should have heard them cheer! Mr. Hyman has been on the faculty of the Francis Lewis High School for the past eight years. In those years, his chorus has grown from 30 students to—unbelievably—over 700.

A few years ago, the Fund for Public Schools, the New York City Board of Education, the parent company of the Queens Center mall, the Macerich Company, and New York’s (Astoria's) own piano company—Steinway & Sons—got together to find a way to help offset the terrible cuts in arts programs that have been ubiquitous throughout the United States, New York City no exception. They came up with the idea of awarding the best music teacher in the borough of Queens as the Queens Music Teacher of the Year. Members of the administration of the New York Philharmonic, the Queens Arts Council, the New York City Board of Education, the Fund for Public Schools and the Kupferberg Center of Queens College decided on the winner. The result was the prize presented this morning: a brand-new Boston vertical piano from Steinway & Sons and a generous check from the Macerich Company. And Mr. Hyman’s response? “It made my year!”

After Mr. Hyman thanked his principal, the corporate sponsors of today’s awards, the Board of Education and the Fund for Public Schools, he said this:

I have been teaching music for close to thirty years, and I’ve seen how the subject of music has been marginalized and diminished in our schools. For many in our educational establishment, it is enough to merely “expose” children to music.

I think it’s time for a national dialogue about the purpose of education. Do we teach merely to fill jobs and create monetary wealth? Or do we teach so that our students can have rich intellectual, emotional and creative lives? If we decide that it is the latter then music should be recognized as the academic powerhouse that it is; for there is no subject that comes close to music in the quantity and variety of skills that are developed by a comprehensive music education. Unfortunately, though a number of educators understand this, educational policy is shaped by politicians, not educators. That is why we have as many as fifty students in each music class in this city. And there is no public outcry.

This award means a lot to me. It represents tangible validation for my work in music education, and I am grateful to those who have selected me for this honor. I am also grateful for the privilege of teaching these beautiful and talented human beings.

Well done and well said, Mr. Hyman.

2007-05-23T11:07:00.001-04:00

Our apologies for not checking in sooner. However, we are working so hard (we now have 23 active listings), that we couldn't pick our heads up to take a longer view.

However, an article recently came out in the Real Deal which featured our very own Anthony Testani. If that isn't enough to make it a valuable article, it actually makes a sound assessment of Queens real estate.

You can read it on our web site at: http://energizedrealtygroup.com/realdealapril.htm

We'll try to get back to a more regular rhythm on this blog so that we can get the news about North Queens real estate out to you in a more timely manner.

Thanks for hanging in there with us.

2007-04-05T12:07:00.000-04:00

Let's hear something good about subprime loans!

With all the heavy thinking in the news and opinion columns these days that basically characterize subprime loans as the devil's spawn, it's refreshing to hear a few words on the other side.

James Surowiecki writes an occasional column on economics in the New Yorker, and his insights either perfectly encapsulate the issues of a subject or come up with a new slant on them -- and often both. His latest column is terrific as always and is called "Subprime Homesick Blues" (a Bob Dylan reference that may be lost on people below a certain age). It can be read on our web site at: http://energizedrealtygroup.com/newyorkersubprime.htm.

He notes that since so many subprime lenders are going belly up, calling them "predatory lenders" must mean that they are as successful as predators as Wile. E. Coyote was. Instead, the fundamental part of the problem is really the overconfidence and overoptimism of borrowers.

These borrowers were betting on being able to flip homes at a profit in a very short time period, since, as everyone "knew" at the time, housing prices were going to go up forever. They really didn't care if they could make the payments since they were intending to resell immediately. These are the people who couldn't make the FIRST payment or at least one payment during the first 90 days.

Another class of people who fueled what we are now calling the subprime lending crisis were victims of their own "consumer myopia." They focussed on things that were near at hand: low initial payments instead of total debt over time. For them and others with similar motivation, the benefits of owning a home in the short run outweighed the uncertainty of what could happen in the long run. They, like many of us, were convinced that owning their own home was an unmitigated good and that rising real estate prices would always be greater than what they owed. Remember "negative equity" that happens in car sales -- where the car depreciates faster than the loan is paid off? Something like that happened in the subprime market.

But with all that, almost 90% of recipients of subprime loans are making their payments and living in their homes. Many of them would have not been able to do so had credit requirements tightened up as some are recommending. So, if we think that homeownership is a good thing -- and at the Energized Realty Group we believe in "Peace, Love, and Homeownership" -- then eliminating subprime lending is a classic case of throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

2007-03-27T15:16:00.000-04:00

The Spring 2007 issue of New York Times Real Estate magazine just out.

The most interesting article in it and one which speaks to the concerns we've been writing about here, is called "Pop Psychology", by Roger Lowenstein. If you don't have a Times Select account, which enables you to read archived articles, you won't be able to read it. But as a loyal reader of our North Queens real estate blog, you can read it on our website: http://energizedrealtygroup.com/poppsychology.htm.

Mr. Lowenstein makes several basic points that bear repeating, even if you've heard them before. (The fact that he writes in graceful and appealing prose is a plus.)

The concern about a real estate "bubble" is founded on the analogy -- mostly false -- to the dot.com bubble of a few years ago. He quotes Robert Shiller and Karl Case as saying that we are under the spell of mass psychology, that "lemming-like, people are buying homes merely because they expect prices will rise."

While this is certainly true of speculators, second-home buyers, and, in our market, purchasers of multifamily homes with expectations of making a profit from rentals, residential homeowners see things differently. They may be expecting housing prices to go up, but they realize that they have to live somewhere and if they cash out at a higher price they will then have to buy or rent at similarly increased prices. In addition, home prices are remarkably stable over the long haul. Stocks easily outperform housing, short term and long.

But what we keep forgetting is that comparisons between stocks and homes as investment vehicles neglect to mention that with your home, you are working with someone else's money.

The example Lowenstein gives is a prospective purchaser of a median home. She takes $50,000 from savings as a down payment and borrows the balance, which, for illustration, is $500,000. Looking at the $50,000 investment, if she were to put it into the stock market instead and then pay rent rather than loan payments, her stocks would easily appreciate at near 10% while the house would appreciate at 5%.

Would she be better off with the latter strategy? Absolutely not! Remember that the house is appreciating at 5% on the value of the house, which is $550, 000, a far greater return than 10% on $50,000. (In other words, the stocks would appreciate $5000 a year while the house is appreciating $22,500 a year, an almost five-fold increase!)

Homeowners may not have these numbers at their fingertips, but they know this implicitly. Furthermore, a crucial difference with the dot.com boom is that, facing falling prices, investors sell their shares to avoid further losses, thus creating a selling frenzy that feeds on itself.

What do homeowners do when faced with falling real estate prices? For the most part, nothing. They have to live somewhere, and they know that, in the long run, they will not be losing anything.

This does not mean that pressure on the housing market will not reduce home prices. But asking prices so far have declined only about 3 or 4 % (and that is generally across the country, while in the New York area, prices are going modestly up) because of the structural "problems" in real estate. People will forfeit their real estate "shares" not because they paid too much for them, but because they can no longer make their house payments because of job loss or illness.

Another way to look at the "bubble" is to compare it to the commercial real estate market. The main difference between that market and the residential market is you can quantify the guiding metric from the rents that are received. And here, prices of office buildings have increased from 12 x rentals to 20 x rentals. So speculation is definitely a factor in that market.

But people think of their homes as dwelling places, not as potential rental property. As we noted above, we can see that, in North Queens, speculation has caused increased prices in multi-family homes and the relation between prices and the ability to make a profit from rents has been severed. But any imbalance in the market is limited to that area.

It takes a lot of time, energy, patience, and professional help (real estate agents like the Energized Realty Group, lawyers, mortgage brokers, etc.) to sell a house. This causes home prices to be much "stickier" than commercial real estate prices.

We encourage you to read the whole article; it's good stuff!

2007-03-15T11:01:00.000-04:00

More thoughts on the subprime mortgage crash

We've all seen the statistics on the dramatic increase in delinqencies and foreclosures on so-called "subprime" loans during 2006 up till now. A metaphor we've seen is that the foreclosures are the earthquake. And now we will see a credit crunch tsunami.

Various actors -- Federal bank regulators, legislators, and consumer advocates -- are proposing ways to decrease the availability of "exotic" loans such as hybrid ARMs, payment-option ARMS, and interest-only loans. Milder proposals are being floated to tighten up on disclosure requirements so that consumers know more clearly what they are getting into with these loans.

The lending industry is resisting many of these proposals, arguing that these kinds of loans have increased the rate of home ownership, that consumers are responsible for knowing what loan instruments are appropriate for them, and that market forces are sufficient to curtail excessive practices.

As we noted in our last blog entry, structural problems exist in the mortgage lending market. Established banks don't like taking risks that undermine their long-term financial soundness, so that they shy away from risky loans such as these sub-prime instruments. But short-term lenders resell their mortgages and so are focussed on profits from "flipping" these loans. They're the ones who underprice their loans in relation to their risks. Everything is copacetic when times are booming, but when the inevitable correction occurs, prices decline further than they would otherwise. One study shows that, in a given area, for every one percentage pont of additional market share held by ARM loans at the top of the market, all home prices in the area decline 1.3 percent further.

Lenders who have been underpricing loans have been taking away business from the more conservative lending institutions. So the latter have had to follow along to preserve market share. Eventually, everybody is selling risky loans at inappropriately-low interest rates, at least in the initial years of the loans.

Another structural problem is that if everything comes crashing down, the government will step in to ameliorate the situation, as in the savings and loan disaster of several years ago. Lenders know this and are thus further encouraged to offer these loans.

But things are tightening up, and, as we noted, in most of the country, we will see home prices declining as fewer would-be buyers qualify for mortgages that they can initially afford.

North Queens, though, with its special New York City market factors, is poised to remain strong. Our experience backs this up, as we see fewer homes, not more, come on the market, and more, not fewer, buyers making serious offers.

We're just a bunch of contrarians here in North Queens!

2007-03-07T16:41:00.000-05:00

Another view on the real estate "bubble"

We've come across an especially downbeat view online of where the real estate market is heading. (Dean Baker: The Housing Bubble Starts to Burst). His point is that there were too many high-risk mortgages issued by mortgage companies, mortgages that had low "teaser rates" in the beginning. When they would reset later at a significantly higher rate, the homeowners were only able to make the payments by borrowing on the increased equity that came with rising home values. That's why foreclosures and delinquencies remained low during the "go-go" real estate years of 2004 and 2005.

But with National housing prices declining by 3% in 2006, so did equity values. Thus, delinquency rates soared. So lenders are tightening up, and the least credit-worthy 40% of potential home-buyers are having trouble getting credit. Nationally, the inventory of unsold houses is 25% higher than it was at this time last year. With more inventory chasing fewer buyers, a serious decline in real estate prices is inevitable.

Whether he is right about real estate nationally is debatable. But here in North Queens, he is clearly off-base. First of all, we are near the strongest seller's market in North America -- Manhattan -- with extremely limited inventory and what seems like the entire world in the buyer pool. In economic terms, North Queens real estate is a classic "substitute" good for Manhattan real estate, so we share the same market dynamics.

Plus, our professional experience of the current real estate market is exactly opposite to what we're hearing about the National scene. Unsold inventory is low, and houses that do come on the market are getting snapped up quickly, often with multiple bids.

So we hope, for the sake of our fellow-citizens across the country, that any corrections to the real estate boom nationally will not be too painful. But we are totally confident that the local market will continue on its stable path.

2007-02-28T17:12:00.000-05:00

Dow down more than 400 points -- long term mortgage interest rates react

Tuesday, February 27, saw mortgage interest rates drop in concert with world-wide stock markets. The benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield tumbled to 4.51 percent.

The 30-7ear fixed rate mortgage average dipped to 5.71%. and the 15-year fixed rate was downto 5.48%. The 1-year adjustable rate slid to 5.35%.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield declined to 4.63%.

These figures come from Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states.

We'll check tonight (Wednesday) and see if the slide continues or comes to a halt.

Stay tuned.

2007-02-16T12:36:00.000-05:00

North Queens bucks 4th quarter Nationwide downward trend in Real Estate prices

Prices for single-family homes fell in more than half of the nation’s 149 biggest metropolitan areas in the last three months of 2006, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The New York area, including Queens and Long Island, however, was stable or in some instances showed a slight increase. (see chart on right, courtesy of the New York Times).

This decline in many of the areas comes on the heels of a similar decline in the 3rd quarter of 2006.

The declines seem to be caused by two factors. In formerly booming Sunbelt coastal areas, the price drops are a correction, particularly for condos. In the Midwest and Northeast, the continuing loss in manufacturing jobs seems to be the culprit.

Another trend that we see Queens bucking is an increase in inventory of unsold houses. In resales Nationally, the vacancy rate was 2.7% in the last quarter, which is the highest it has been since this statistic started being compiled in 1956. However, we are finding that inventory is getting smaller, not bigger, in the North Queens area.

A word of caution for those who see this as proof of a bubble bursting: not all sources agree with these numbers. For example, the NAR only looks at the gross numbers, so if the mix of homes sold has a greater proportion of more affordable homes than it did before, the result will be reported as a decline. However, the Fed's numbers do consider types of homes, and their results reported for the 3rd quarter show rising prices. We don't have their data for the 4th quarter yet.

So we'll wait for the Fed's numbers for the 4th quarter and then revisit the statistics to see if any other trends are supported.

2007-02-15T10:02:00.000-05:00

Sales are trending up both nationally and locally.

Pending home sales are higher, affirming the stabilization that is occurring in home sales, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed and the transaction has not closed, but the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.

Based on contracts signed in December, the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), on a National basis rose 4.9 percent to an index of 112.4 from an upwardly revised level of 107.2 in November, but is 4.4 percent lower than December 2005. The PHSI in the Northeast jumped 8.1 percent in December to 89.9 but was 4.8 percent below a year ago.

The monthly gain Nationally was the biggest increase since March 2004 when the index rose 6.9 percent.

A steady narrowing from year-ago readings has been observed since last July when the level of unsold housing inventory peaked at an all-time high.

David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said a moderate rise in existing-home contracts is a welcome relief for the real estate markets. "Some of the monthly gain may be weather related, but it appears buyers are becoming more comfortable, sensing the timing is good and that their local market has bottomed out," he said. "I expect modest sales gains throughout the year, with what I believe are sustainable levels of activity. 2007 promises to be the fourth best year on record."

2007-01-30T10:21:00.000-05:00

This past December, REALTOR® and Remodeling Magazines jointly published an article, "Cost vs. Value Report", which compares construction costs by project and region and the value added at resale from these projects. (Click here for the link.)

We provided copies of this report, with the extra-cost New York City data, to many of our clients recently. Additionally, we introduced it in an email blast to people who are interested in North Queens Real Estate. (To see the content of this blast, click here.)

Here, we wanted to emphasize something that may get lost in all the comparison of spending and returns on investment.

The bottom line question for yourself is this: Should you decide among remodeling projects in your home based on your expectations of returns on them when you sell? Our answer is "Maybe a little." Too many variables, such as when you sell, your home's value in relation to your neighbors, and many others, are out of your control to be able to predict with confidence what you will get when you sell. A wise use of the cost vs. value estimate is as a tiebreaker, when two projects are otherwise equally attractive.

We all have learned that when we buy a home, we should pay attention to the most important question of all: Will we be happy living here? So too, in choosing among remodeling projects, ask yourself: Which project will make us happiest to live with?

Your greatest returns from your remodeling project will be the enjoyment you receive. Anything beyond that, like getting a higher price for your home when you sell, is just gravy.

But gravy can taste so good!

2007-01-16T09:12:00.000-05:00

December DEAD in real estate? NO WAY! This December boasted strong sales and a lot more continued negotiations than November. Offers stayed on the table longer, very possibly because the Fed fanned the flames of homeownership desire by keeping rates down for the 4th time in a row.

Also, with lots of inventory from the Fall months, there really were great values to be had, and buyers knew it. Many buyers last month understood the importance of patience in this market and those that did benefited by winning the home of their choice. While 168 1 and 2 family
Bayside, Beechhurst, College Point, Flushing, Fresh Meadows, and Little Neck homes sold in November, 170 homes in those neighorhoods sold in December. The only caveat here is the high end market, which continues to soften.

So December sales, which historically dipped in previous years, kept pace with October and November this time.

January looks equally promising. Multiple bids are back in vogue though not often at full list. A recent unique property listed on the market on a Wednesday and by Friday had 48 showing requests, almost a dozen offers, and a shockingly favorable, no contingencies, accepted offer by Saturday.

Here's to a Happy and Market-Healthy 2007!

2006-12-06T10:04:00.000-05:00

Great and surprising real estate news for the holiday season: Housing sales, in volume rather than price, are actually up in North Queens. It seems that the stalemate of sellers' being unwilling to accept more realistic prices for their homes and buyers' being unyielding in their decisions to bid lower and lower, has finally subsided. Now, sellers are adjusting their expectations of price, and buyers have figured out that once a good price has been established (along with really good interest rates), there is often another buyer just as interested in the home as they are. It's a great game of "Fish or Cut Bait" with the lowballer losing.

Why? You might ask. Here's why: Sellers of homes that are part of estates, vacant houses where the sellers have already moved, and new homes whose builders are anxious to reinvest their money have been driving the market. These sellers create the new market values which eventually affect all sellers that follow. In the months of Aug thru Oct, that reality became apparent, when only sellers that HAD to sell found buyers for their homes.

Here are some actual contracts from July to Sept. that have already closed, and alongside, a similar property in the same location that sold several months before:

Bayside: Semi-detached frame 3 BR, 1 1/2 baths
201-04 33rd Avenue:
Contract Date . . . .Days on Market . . . . . Sold Price
6/5/2006 . . . . . . . . . 41. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $510,000
200-15 33rd Avenue:
Contract Date . . . .Days on Market . . . . . . Sold Price
10/18/06 . . . . . . . . . .36 . . . . . . . . . . . .. . $465,000
-9% change in Sold Price

Flushing/Auburndale: Semi-detached 2 family, 3 BR 2 baths.
42-40 194th Street:
Contract Date . . . . Days on Market . . . . . . .Sold Price
5/20/05 . . . . . . . . . . 18 . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .$600,000
43-45 194th Street:
Contract Date . . . . Days on Market . . . . . . .Sold Price
4/18/06 . . . . . . . . . . 66 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$588,000
-2% change in Sold Price

Flushing: Detached brick Colonial, 3 BR, 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 baths
27-24 165th Street:
Contract Date . . . ..Days on Market . . . . . . .Sold Price
8/25/2005 . . . . . . . . 47 . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .$700,000
169-14 29th Avenue:
Contract Date . . . . Days on Market . . . . . . .Sold Price
10/19/2006 . . . . . . . 106 . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .$668,000
-4.57% change in Sold Price

So, while prices have declined, homes, even in December, continue to sell. Joy to the world, we may be on even ground once more!

2006-10-18T15:49:00.000-04:00

We at the Energized Realty Group have a lot to say about what's going on in real estate in the area where we work: Northeastern Queens, New York.

Judy Markowitz, our broker/owner, is encouraging us to get these pearls of wisdom into virtual print. Hence this blog.

We'll be writing as individuals, contributors identified, as members of the Energized Realty Group. We welcome readers' observations and thoughts on this subject as well.