Archive for the 'New York Real Estate' category

Bed bugs are back, and may even be living in Luxury Buildings in Boston!

1. Receive a thorough inspection by a qualified exterminator, who will confirm the identity of the pest.
   
   
2. Seal cracks & crevices in walls and floors.
   
   
3. Secure loose wallpaper and eliminate other areas of insect harborage.
   
   
4. Properly treat or remove infested furniture.
   
   
5. Mark infested items that are thrown away so others will know not to bring them into their home and spread the infestation further.
   
   
6. Frequent laundering of bedding and clothing during extermination process.
   
   
7. Frequent vacuuming of carpets and steam cleaning of furniture and mattresses during extermination process.  

 

1. Never pick up free roadside furniture (it may be tempting, but it isn’t worth the risk).
   
   
2. When traveling, make sure to keep your clothing in your luggage and your luggage in the bathtub (this may sound strange, but bugs have a hard time crawling up slippery surfaces).
    
3. Bed bugs like warmth, they have even been known to enter laptops and DSL ports.
   
   
4. When looking for bed bugs pay more attention to wood and upholstered furniture. Bed bugs seem to prefer wood and fabric over plastic and metal. Pull back the sheets from the mattress and look for bugs along the seams or tiny blood spots on the mattress.  Also look along the edges of the box springs and in the seams of the bedding.  You might also smell a strong musty smell. 
   
   
5. Many pest control services employ the trained nose of a rescue dog (often a beagle) to sniff out live bugs and viable eggs. Make sure that you check out the dog’s credentials, however. There have been a few instances of people trying to pass off the family pet as a super-smeller. 
   
   
6. Bed bugs are not known to transmit any infectious disease. The bites look very similar to that of a mosquito or other blood-sucking insect. Some bites may be unnoticeable while others might turn into larger sores. 
   
   
7. To treat a bed bug bite, treat the area with antiseptic soap to reduce the infection. Don’t scratch!  If it becomes infected, contact your health provider.  

 

Why do they call these the dog days of summer I wonder? Could it have anything to do with consuming hot dogs perhaps? 

I read somewhere or maybe heard it on a radio talk show Howie Carr or NPR or somewhere that in 2009, consumers spent more than $1.6 billion that's BILLION with a B on hot dogs and sausages in U.S. supermarkets. Gosh if you think about it that's alot of dogs! Or could it be they call it dog days of summer simply because someone once noticed a correlation between a hot day and their lazy dog just laying around in the shade doing nothing.  Just resting.  Could it be that simple I wonder? Interesting. 

Well it seems we sure are experiencing some pretty serious dog days so far this month!  100-105 degrees oh my! And I'll tell you it affects me. Not just the way the heat makes me feel slow but it affects work. While I can lay in the shade and rest any time I want in the type of work I do...that would be real estate sales.... unfortunately I can't do it for long.  As a REALTOR I'm pretty much self employed and often host open houses on Sunday's to meet prospective buyers (a small part of the marketing I do to reach out to prospective clients).  In the Real Estate world Sundays it seems is the traditional day to host open houses.  It sounds logical because most work from Monday to Friday however is it really practical? Does it make sense to host open houses on a weekend in the summer time? The dog days of summer time.

Hosting open houses hasn't been so much fun these past few weeks.  I assume if you're a sales agent or know one (and most of us know someone who is one) you know what I mean.  I really don't mind giving up a hot day at the beach or laying by my brother's pool to stand instead in a beautiful air conditioned home for a few hours.  Especially these days it's more important to me that I build my business and a future retirement.  God knows I've done enough bathing, lounging and BBQing to last a life time. As I said it's not so bad hosting an open house during these hot dog days. So I do it for myself and for others I work with at my company.  I stand there in the comfort of an air conditioned unit with iced coffee in one hand and listing sheet in the other.  Then someone enters!!!  And I've got to say how exciting it is when that sweaty, drained and tired home seeker happens to finally come through my door! Can you imagine how excited I am?.!?# I smile at them and offer a hand shake.  Some catch their breath while kindly shewing me away with a grin not interested in talking with me and others engage in a little kabitzing then off they go.  These days it seems there are fewer and fewer visitors.  Maybe I should consider offering lemonade or something thirst quenching...hmmm...

Seems many a Sunday has passed with only a few to none pay me a visit at my air conditioned listing.  Other than offering an iced beverage we're doing all the right things. Advertising. Marketing. Could they all be enjoying themselves at the beach on these dog days of summer? Or perhaps basking in the shade under a tree drinking their ice tea?  Yeah I'll bet they are hanging out being handed a beer and a grilled dog somewhere fun. 

Well we all work hard and deserve to enjoy dog days off especially on the weekend when all of our freinds are doing the same thing.  Enjoying themselves that is..  And who really wants to walk around 105 degree Boston touring open houses sweating bullets all over the place when they could be sprawled out with their face planted in a blanket on Carson Beach in Southie or sailing the Boston Harbor with friends or throwing a fishing line out to hook one of the many thousands of yummy striped bass swimming our waters right now!!

But isn't touring open houses important to some of you who recognize property values and interest rates are at the lowest they have ever been in a LONG time?  Touring open houses gives buyers AND sellers a better perspective of what a certain square footage can buy them in a particular neighborhood of interest.  It's an opportunity to investigate, talk to the agent and learn details they wouldn't if they just read about the unit.

So how about attending an open house on a weekday?  Perhaps after work when the sun is going down and it's more convenient for you?  Attending an open house on a week night for example promises not to interrupt your dog day summer afternoons especially the weekends!  And if you happen to spot a home that isn't open on a week night BUT wish to see it you can always call a qualified experienced AND helpful person like myself to set up a showing for you!  Happy Dog Days of Summer!

Vivian Zottola # 617-721-8025  617-721-8025 vzottola@bradvisors.com 

Boston Realty Advisors www.bradvisors.com

More stories about Styyvesant Town...great article in The New York Observer about the listing broker who sold the property to Tishman.

http://www.observer.com/2010/real-estate/selling-stuy-town

AND, more stories about the Peter Cooper transaction fall out.

http://www.observer.com/term/peter-cooper-village

I am the Founder and Principal of Boston Realty Advisors. Please check in weekly to review my blog entries. I value client/reader feedback!

Sources from this research are from Public Tax Records supplied by The Warren Group and data compiled by MLSPIN.

The disappointing job report (please see WSJ article from today)  was quite surprising...we thought that job losses would be flat, not negative for December.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126298709380022037.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

With the gains in asset values over the last year (equities/commodities--see the Economist Leader Story this week!), and general consumer confidence improvement, you would think that unemployment would have leveled off. Our firm is representing certain firms that are still in downsizing mode---cutting space and jobs, but we feel a sense of optimism from many organizations that we are working with. The leaders of  these companies "seem" quite bullish and optimistic on growth. The published indicators have a "lag" affect on actual reality. Where I have always been a believer in the Theory of Rational Expectations, if industry leaders and decision makers are positive on growth prospects, employment and capital spending will improve.

BUT as long as unemployment numbers grow, the commercial real estate market will be challenged. As the "debt maturity" default risk isn’t bad enough, commercial real estate owners still have to contend with deteriorating rental cash flow fundamentals. See the NY Times article below. Its a good read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/08/nyregion/08commercial.html

Watch our blog later in the week for a review of 2009 Boston Residential Real Estate Stats...

I am the Founder and Principal of Boston Realty Advisors. Please check in weekly to review my blog entries. I value client/reader feedback! Also, please email in questions and discussion topics.

Retailer's Runway: 2009
This year's participants in the ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers) Retailer's Runway were:

Auto Zone
Dollar Tree
Game Stop
Haloween Venture
Hobby Lobby
Kiddie Academy
Muscle Maker Grill
Planet Fitness
REI Sporting Goods
Rosa Mexicano Restaurants
Shoprite
Sonic
TD Bank
Wingstop Restaurants

The growth oriented segments in retail this year are value focused shopping, and appropriately so.  This line up is extremely reflective of this trend.

Retailer, Dollar Tree reporting opening 240 new locations in 2009 at the runway, having a total of 3,800 stores nationwide.  Their focus in
2010-2011 will be urban, in contrast to their typically suburban stores.

Sonic, the retro-future drive-in fast food restaurant reported opening
141 franchises in the 2009 fiscal year.  While this is down from their
2008 169 number, it still represents promising expansion.  Their current focus is on penetrating the northeast market.  Their new Peabody, MA location set the record for opening week revenue by more than 4 times the prior record holder.  With almost 3,600 locations across 42 states, the current #1 drive in chain in the U.S. shows promise.

TD Bank and Gamstop were amongst others with impressive growth statistics and substantial presentations.

For more information on retail real estate, please contact Jason Weissman here.

Stay tuned for more ICSC LIVE updates!  

New York Update:  Manhattan Real Estate

Manhattan residential real estate has been experiencing a significant downturn in values in the past year.  Since 2Q 2008, average co-op and condominium prices on the island have fallen a staggering 21.4%.  This negative momentum has remained constant with the 28.1% decrease in average prices since last quarter.

It’s not all bad news, however.  The number of transactions in the Manhattan marketplace has increased by 28.2% since last quarter.  This spike indicates a glimmer of hope; although, transaction volume has fallen over 50% since 2Q 2008.  With such a drastic depletion of activity in the market, some argue there is nowhere to go but up.

In commercial news, retail rents in Manhattan have decreased overall in the past year.  As indicated in the above table, all major New York City retail submarkets have experienced a decrease in rent with the exception of Times Square.  These rent decreases have actually allowing existing retailers to enter into markets they previously could not afford.

Commercial retail investment sales year-over-year price growth remains to be seen as transactions continue to close.  Thus far, however, average retail property investment sales prices have fallen approximately 56% as of 2Q 2009, as indicated in the graph below.