2009 January | North Fork, Long Island, NY Real Estate Blog OptionsRealty.com

Archive for January, 2009

Closed Homes North Fork, Long Island January 2009

January 31st, 2009 category: Real Estate NewsNo Comments »

LI Map The following figures were obtained from the MLSLI (multiple listing service of Long Island) and are recorded closings of single family homes on the North Fork of Long Island from January 1, 2009 through January 31, 2009. While deemed reliable, figures may vary.

The figures in BOLD are the closed prices. These figures do not include mobile home closings.

Aquebogue, NY

Closed: 1; $485k/$450k

Baiting Hollow, NY

Closed: 2; $549,990/$549,990; $699k/$670k

Greenport, NY

Closed: 1; $229k/$192k

Riverhead, NY

Closed: 2; $350k/$300k; $398,999k/$345k

Southold, NY

Closed: 3; $400k/$375k; $420k/$395k; $750k/$705k

Total closed in January, 2009: 9

days on market average: 144

*if a town/village is not listed, it did not report a closed property.

Total closed on the North Fork of Long Island through January 31, in 2008: 27

Clearly, there is a major slowdown occurring on the North Fork/East end of Long Island. There was a 75% drop on the number of closed properties recorded from January 2008 to January 2009.

Towns/villages included in the search: Aquebogue, Baiting Hollow, Calverton, Jamesport, S. Jamesport, Mattituck, Cutchogue, Peconic, Southold, Riverhead, E. Marion, Orient, Orient Point, Peconic, New Suffolk, and Laurel, NY.

SOME GOOD NEWS (while not an improvement over 2008, activity is still occurring):

Homes put under contract from January 1, 2009 to January 31 2009 are consistent with 2008 figures in # of transactions:

2009: 20 homes under contract on the North fork;

2008: 23 homes under contract on the North fork

Without closed pricing, we are unable to indicate the % difference in asking/sold prices; each month, we will be providing the closed figures.

To check out available homes for sale on the North Fork / East End Long Island or condos on the North Fork of Long Island, click “north fork homes”, enter your area of interest and any parameters, and click “go”- properties for sale include Riverhead, Aquebogue, Baiting Hollow, Calverton, Jamesport, Laurel, Mattituck, Cutchogue, Peconic, Southold, Greenport, East Marion, Orient, and Orient Point, NY.

Seniors to Benefit from Reverse Mortgages

January 28th, 2009 category: Over 55 / Active AdultNo Comments »

According to a recent column at Inman News authored by Tom Kelly, there is a loan of interest approved for senior homeowners. According to Kelly,

“The housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 recently approved the HECM-FOR-PURCHASE program, allowing lenders to close the mortgages after Jan. 1, 2009. The move allows older homeowners to make a large down payment on a new home and then utilize the reverse mortgage as permanent financing.”

In order to better offer an understanding of reverse mortgages, we’re providing a link to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), where details of this program, along with several other available offerings, can be found. Click here for info.

In addition to several links offering details, there is a word of caution to homeowners considering this type of financing: BEWARE OF SCAMMERS.

Evidently, there are predators seeking to obtain payment for information- ALL information can be found, for free, at the HUD site.

If you have any questions regarding the reverse mortgage, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will provide an expert able to assist with your navigation of this exciting new loan program.

To check out all available homes or condos on the North Fork of Long Island, click “north fork homes”, enter your area of interest and any parameters, and click “go”- properties for sale include Riverhead, Aquebogue, Baiting Hollow, Calverton, Jamesport, Laurel, Mattituck, Cutchogue, Peconic, Southold, Greenport, East Marion, Orient, and Orient Point, NY.

Inventory of Ghost Listings are Hiding Out

January 24th, 2009 category: East End LI Foreclosures, Real Estate NewsNo Comments »

There seems to be a inventory of “Ghost Listings” or “Shadow Listings” that are hiding in dark alley ways and back streets.

CNNMoney’s post today titled, Flood of Foreclosures: It’s worse than you think by CNNMoney.com staff writer Les Christie. Some excerpts follow.

Banks are moving slowly to list repossessed homes for sale, which could mean that housing inventory is even more bloated than current statistics indicate.

The problem: Many foreclosed homes and other distressed properties that are now owned by banks have yet to be listed for sale. The volume of this so-called ‘ghost inventory’ could be substantial enough to depress already steeply falling prices when it does go on the market.

Lenders still insist they try to act as swiftly as possible. According to Tom Kelly, a spokesman for Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) Mortgage, their goal is to cut their losses on these homes, which are expensive to maintain, as fast as possible.

But banks might hold back listings in areas where they already have lots of homes for sale in order to avoid flooding the market, according to Michael Youngblood, a financial analyst and founder of Five Bridges Capital, an asset management company.

You can read the whole article here.

To check out all available homes on the North Fork of Long Island, click “north fork homes”, enter your area of interest and any parameters, and click “go”- properties for sale include Riverhead, Aquebogue, Baiting Hollow, Calverton, Jamesport, Laurel, Mattituck, Cutchogue, Peconic, Southold, Greenport, East Marion, Orient, and Orient Point, NY.

To get more specific local North Fork real estate information, fill out the form below with your questions/comments. We’ve been monitoring the area for a few years, and have learned how to find properties coming on the market, and available. If you’re looking for a foreclosure on any part of Long Island, we’ll help you find it also.

Who Does My Realtor Work For, Anyway???

January 20th, 2009 category: Real Estate NewsNo Comments »

The following document clarifies for you, either as a seller or a buyer of real estate in New York, agency relationships in a real estate transaction.

Know this: this form is required BY LAW to be provided to you, as a consumer, at “first substantive (read: any conversation in which you disclose anything related to real estate) contact.”

We’re putting it up again, as well as linking to it, with the hope that as a consumer you’ll read it, and understand that the box “checked” by your real estate agent is their disclosure of exactly who they represent.

The purpose of the form (and large accompanying fines, if a real estate agent does not present it and explain it to you, as a home seller or buyer in NY) is to avoid any confusion about what you can expect from the agent with whom you’ll be transacting a purchase or sale of magnitude.

Click Here for the entire document.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

To check out all available properties on the North Fork of Long Island, click “north fork homes”, enter your area of interest and any parameters, and click “go”- properties for sale include Riverhead, Aquebogue, Baiting Hollow, Calverton, Jamesport, Laurel, Mattituck, Cutchogue, Peconic, Southold, Greenport, East Marion, Orient, and Orient Point, NY.

Fair Housing Law on the North Fork

January 17th, 2009 category: Buyers, Real Estate News1 Comment »

Southold HS Recently, I read a blog in which the author (not a real estate agent) was discussing a housing possibility with a friend.

When the friend mentioned the area of interest, the author offered her own input, which was that this particular neighborhood had a crime issue. When recent crimes were provided to the homebuyer, they made the decision to look elsewhere, based on the authors/friend’s input.

The question posed by the author was, “Why didn’t their real estate agent tell them about the crime level”?

When you’re seeking a home with a real estate agent, fair housing laws apply; offering an opinion on crime, the make up of locals (race, religion, etc.), or any other effort to dissuade/encourage a purchase based on what appear to be simple questions can end up being in violation of fair housing laws, or viewed as “steering.”

Crime Level Here are some links to Fair Housing Laws and Community links.

Office of Fair Housing (HUD)

ZipSkinny.com

US Census

Trulia.com Community info

NY Sex Offender Registry

Newsday Community Profiles

As a real estate company, we offer links to sites offering crime statistics; many sites offer population data. Providing legitimate go-to’s for consumers is perfectly legal; offering an opinion is most definitely not.

These controls are in place to protect consumers from opinions that may or may not be valid, and offer fines to real estate agents that violate these laws, in order to minimize discrimination in any form with housing.

Information offering crime statistics, school “report cards”, the location of child predators, and general population info is readily available to ALL home purchasers, when considering areas of interest, and should be considered “due diligence” on the part of the home buyer.

Links or data sources are permitted by your real estate agent, so if you have an area of interest, request legitimate data before embarking on a search in which you might discover something contrary to your home purchase goals in advance.

Market Report, East End, Long Island NY

January 15th, 2009 category: Real Estate NewsNo Comments »

The following press release is a year end (2008) market report for the east end of Long Island (North fork, Hamptons). It was compiled by George R. Simpson, owner of Suffolk Research Services, Inc.

As the oldest research service available in the Hamptons, Suffolk Research Services provides data used by developers and real estate companies. They are located in Hampton Bays, New York.

In addition to market reports, Mr. Simpson offers seller consulting services, and can be reached at: 631-357-9502.

According to George R. Simpson, President of Suffolk Research Service, Inc. the real estate market on the East End of Long Island declined in Median Price, Unit Sales, and Dollar sales for the year 2008 vs 2007.

Mr. Simpson said that the Median Price of single family residences for East End Real Estate decreased 12.2% from $740,000 in 2007 to $650,000 for twelve months of 2008 — (Median Price is the middle price when all houses sold are listed in order of price).

2008 Median Prices for Single Family Residential Houses has declined from 2007 in the all the towns on the East End except in Shelter Island — to $799,900 in Southampton – (down 13.5%); $995,000 in East Hampton – (down 9.5%); $409,693 in Riverhead (down 5.3%); and to $500,000 in Southold (down 4.8%). Prices rose 1.3% to $962,500 in Shelter Island.

Finding Foreclosed Homes for Sale on Long Island, East End & North Fork

January 14th, 2009 category: East End LI Foreclosures3 Comments »

For free.

That seems to be a legitimate question on the mind of value seeking homebuyers, and why shouldn’t it be?

“Regular” properties can be found in abundance on both local and regional mls’s; but to find a compilation of FORECLOSURES (particularly on the east end of Long Island- North Fork and Hamptons), the endeavor is more challenging.

After paying for Propertyshark.com , but discovering that (AT THAT TIME- I’LL RECHECK) their coverage area didn’t quite extend itself to our area on the eastern tip of Long Island, they graciously returned the payment for monitoring. If they’re out here now, a class act worth subscribing to- if they’re out here now, we will.

RealtyTrac, another huge foreclosure site, also didn’t offer the most current conditions on the east end of Long Island for foreclosures, although they are a huge go-to for good information, and worth the subscription (except we don’t, because we want daily updates).

There are several conduits to available properties. Wells Fargo participates in foreclosure.com, and as a player in foreclosures, this service provides alerts for properties (and automatic entry from the listing REO broker). We subscribe, because Wells Fargo has some lis pendens up there with other companies (**see below- the real estate report). It’s another paid service.

Work with a list of bank websites, and you’ll be directed to their inventory of homes for sale.

There are several companies that specialize in bank-owned only – visible is the status of their inventory. Some indicate “eviction”, which means that a property is upcoming, but not available. We keep an eye on those, watching for companies of substance popping up with foreclosed listings.

MLS’s include bank owned, and the description at the top of the listing is easily identified.

**We subscribe to a lis pendens list, the Long Island Real Estate Report, and they provide “lis penden” reports- properties for whom the bank has served notice of intent to foreclose (usually after three missed payments to the mortgage company).**

To get more specific sites that are free, or for any information, fill out the form below with your questions/comments. We’ve been monitoring the area for a few years, and have learned how to find properties coming, and available. If you’re looking for a foreclosure on any part of Long Island, we’ll help you find it.

Were there a more simple way to disseminate the foreclosure properties to those interested in buying them, we’d offer it. Unfortunately, for now, it’s a bit of hide and seek (and we’ve gotten good at it). Hopefully, the search for foreclosure opportunities will end soon, and the mlsli with regular offerings will return.

Buyer Agency on the North Fork & East End of Long Island

January 10th, 2009 category: Buyers, Real Estate News, Real Estate Philosophy, SellersNo Comments »

Teamwork on the North Fork If you purchased your last home without the assistance of a buyers agent (an agent hired by you to diligently monitor your best interests in a home purchase), here are some things to consider NEXT time around:

1. How long has the home been on the market?

We’re noticing that on occasion, a home that’s been on the market for an extended period of time is allowed to expire, and then re-entered by the listing company as a “new” listing a few days after the expiration. Tracking this is simple, if you have access to the history of the property, either through public records, or your own real estate agent digging for property history. The listing agent is unable to offer this insight; they represent the seller.

2. What is the history of the individual listing agent with respect to pricing?

Some listing real estate agents often have a listed/sold differential in excess of 15-20%- the property is initially overpriced, then dropped in fairly short order. Knowing the methods of the specific listing real estate salesperson on your property of interest provides insight that is of immeasurable value; if the typical effort includes overpricing, and then whacking off huge sums to reach market value, better to know this beforehand, in order to present an offer that coincides with both market value, and seller expectation. A buyers agent should seek out this info for you before an offer is considered. An agent representing the seller will NOT OFFER information detrimental to their seller, and we understand/respect that obligation.

3. What are the anticipated values in a declining market that should guide the offer of a property of interest?

In a market that is a “moving target”, it’s very important to review local trends. With a closing occurring 30- 90 days after a purchase, common sense based on historical data would suggest that things “can’t change THAT much”- not so in todays market. While there is no clear cut answer, a buyers agent can work with you to establish what the trends indicate, so that you don’t face a closing in which your property of interest runs into appraisal issues. While highly inexact in this market, a buyers agent is able to work from a “cautious, in the best interest of the buyer” angle, rather than a “get the seller the best price possible” angle required of the listing company (and any real estate agent that hasn’t committed to serving the buyers interest FIRST and foremost).

4. Who pays the buyers agent?

As with the typical transaction, payment to Options Realty buyer agency agreements are paid by the seller upon closing (although because the cost of real estate fees is included in the purchase price- it can be argued that commissions are paid by the buyer, as well, just paid out by the seller). The seller, if they are a listing company that utilizes the MLSLI, will stipulate the fee paid (just as has been historically done under all other agencies). While there are a handful of companies that indicate non-payment for buyer agency, it’s our job to “collect” from the listing company- as a buyer, you can either avoid properties in which the listing company indicates payment only for seller representation (not recommended) or we’ll establish UP FRONT for you any issues created by a listing company not well versed on the value of buyer agency. MOST REAL ESTATE COMPANIES on the North Fork of Long Island today COUNSEL SELLERS TO PAY THE FEE TO A BUYERS AGENT, so the likelihood of any issue is greatly diminished. A good thing for sellers.

North fork homebuyers (and likely, New York homebuyers overall) have discovered over time that their interests have been ignored in favor of both real estate agents (listing and selling) representing the seller.

As a result, there is a knowledge level gained by prospective home buyers that often creates the certainty that having someone in their corner is an unnecessary endeavor- they can “represent” themselves- real estate agents are simply a conduit.

In the current real estate market, sellers, buyers and real estate agents are playing with a new deck of cards, and the hand dealt is not always a “winner”- elements outside of the real estate industry control are wreaking havoc.

Viewing buyer agency/seller representation as a simple acknowledgement that in fact, two sides exist in ALL transactions is simply common sense, to the benefit of both parties.

If you’ve sold a home in the past, and wondered WHO your real estate agent “really” worked for, or bought a home and wondered the same thing, you’re likely clear about one thing: IT’S BEEN AS CLEAR AS MUD.

At Options Realty, we seek to provide clarity for ALL parties in a transaction- fiduciary to our primary client (whether it’s a seller or a buyer) with fairness offered to the second party in a transaction, including encouragement for both parties to have full fiduciary from their participating real estate company. Two represented parties = one transaction of integrity for ALL.

It’s our job to permit you to clearly see where we stand, so that the choices that you make MAKE SENSE to YOU.

Options Realty. Defining Lines, Providing Clarity.

Selling a Home on the North fork of Long Island

January 9th, 2009 category: Real Estate NewsNo Comments »

If you’re thinking of buying, or selling a home on the east end of Long Island, the idea of purchasing a home warranty is a mutual benefit, if entered into correctly.

I found the following article on EstateofThings.com of interest, as it highlights some “trouble spots” often encountered with some home warranty companies, in addition to providing some things to look out for- specifically, an identification of those items that are “pre-existing” as opposed to new issues discovered after closing.

Home warranty loopholes, don’t be fooled

Options Realty, servicing the North fork of Long Island.

On the East End, the North Fork of Long Island. A Dog-Gone Find.

January 8th, 2009 category: People and Places4 Comments »

Our bulldog, Oliver, became VERY ATTACHED to a very specific dog toy. It was an amazing toy: a rubber ball attached to a string.

IT NEVER OCCURRED TO ME THAT, WHEN IT FINALLY (after seven months) EXPIRED, locating the same toy would be a search…resulting in a REAL FIND!

After looking through several stores known for having dog toys, and realizing that a generic variety, rather than the REAL DEAL, would last no more than a few days with our somewhat…exuberant family member, it occurred to me to try a NEW place on the North Fork of Long Island. While calling itself a dog ”daycare”, surely they’d also carry some dog toys…

Not only does DOGTOWN, located at 40385 Rt. 48, Southold NY 11971, carry dog toys, they carry QUALITY dog toys. Sure enough, a container holding my sought after “Oliver toy” was right there in abundance.

Much to my delight, the owners offered me a tour of their new facility. All the while, my mind considered what was once unthinkable: FINALLY, A GREAT PLACE TO LEAVE THE DOGS!

For those of us that travel, even if it’s a visit to see relatives in Westchester NY or Connecticut, such trips never included the luxury of an overnight- to the contrary, plans always revolved around, “What time should we leave to get back to the dogs”?

While bringing Oliver and Greta would be terrific, dogs aren’t always a welcomed appendage (particularly if they’re a bit excitable in a new environment).

For those visiting the east end of Long Island, whether it’s the North Fork or the Hamptons, DOGTOWN is a place where not only will you feel comfortable leaving your best friend for a day (or ten), the convenient location makes it absolutely perfect for frequent “hellos” (if they’ll bother saying “hello” back).

As the pics demonstrate, this is a HAPPY CREW at DOGTOWN- that it’s impeccably clean is just an unexpected bonus.

That the owners are clearly DOG LOVERS is evident in their planning of this luxe dog daycare.

While rates are subject to change, I’ll include their handout (effective 1/09)- along with a phone # to call for reservations. 631-765-8844.

Based on what we’ve seen, this is a place that could end up being “the” place for both locals with beloved dogs, and visitors finally able to comfortably accommodate their four legged friends, so call early!

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