The rivertowns are a collection of small towns and villages situated on the western banks of the Hudson River. The rivertowns are among the most special and sought after locations in the lower Hudson Valley and include Palisades, Sneden's Landing, Piermont, Upper Grandview, Grand View, South Nyack, Nyack, Central Nyack and Upper Nyack. Located about 15 minutes north of Manhattan, the rivertowns are perfect for those looking to live in a beautiful, diverse and convenient location with easy access to Manhattan, Connecticut and Westchester.
July 2009 vs. July 2008 YTD - Single Family Homes
New inventory (the number of homes going on the market) decreased 9.4% (155 YTD 2009 vs. 171 YTD 2008). There was a 46% decrease in the number of sales (28 YTD 2009 vs. 52 YTD 2008). The average sales price of homes that have sold decreased 15% to $586,888. Overall, the average sales price for single family homes that have sold in Rockland County (inclusive of the river villages) was $441,116, down 15% over the same period last year.
July 2009 vs. July 2008 YTD - Condos
New inventory (the number of condos going on the market) decreased 16% (69 YTD 2009 vs. 82 YTD 2008). The number of sales decreased 4% (24 YTD 2009 vs. 25 YTD 2008). The average sales price of condos that have sold increased 7.4% to $473,750. Overall, the average sales price for condos that have sold in Rockland County (inclusive of the river villages) was $285,084, down 2% over the same period last year.
Visit my website at http://www.donnacox.com/ to see a wonderful selection of homes for sale in Rockland County and the Hudson Valley Rivertowns. Or, give me a call on 845-641-8613; I'd love to hear from you.
Donna Cox
Associate Broker
Prudential Rand Realty
The rivertowns are a collection of small towns and villages situated on the western banks of the Hudson River. The rivertowns are among the most special and sought after locations in the lower Hudson Valley and include Palisades, Sneden's Landing, Piermont, Upper Grandview, Grand View, South Nyack, Nyack, Central Nyack and Upper Nyack. Located about 15 minutes north of Manhattan, the rivertowns are perfect for those looking to live in a beautiful, diverse and convenient location with easy access to Manhattan, Connecticut and Westchester.
Here is a market update comparing the year-to-date statistics for the first two quarters of 2009 to the first two quarters of 2008.
2Q 2009 YTD vs. 2Q 2008 YTD - Single Family Homes
New inventory (the number of homes going on the market) decreased 8.8% (135 YTD 2009 vs. 148 YTD 2008). There was a 56% decrease in the number of sales (19 YTD 2009 vs. 43 YTD 2008). The average sales price of homes that have sold decreased 18% to $557,466. Overall, the average sales price for single family homes that have sold in Rockland County (inclusive of the river villages) was $438,084, down 14.5% over the same period last year.
2Q 2009 YTD vs. 2Q 2008 YTD - Condos
New inventory (the number of condos going on the market) decreased 18.4% (62 YTD 2009 vs. 76 YTD 2008). The number of sales increased 0% (20 YTD 2009 vs. 20 YTD 2008). The average sales price of condos that have sold decreased 1.9% to $466,500. Overall, the average sales price for condos that have sold in Rockland County (inclusive of the river villages) was $281,419, down 3.2% over the same period last year.
Following is the list of homes that sold in the Rivetowns during the month of August:
| Style | Location | Address | Bedrooms | Baths | List Price | Sale Price |
| Two Story | C. Nyack | 10 Central AV | 3 | 2 | 239,000 | 210,000 |
| BiLevel | U. Nyack | 303 Highmount Ter | 3 | 1.2 | 549,900 | 530,000 |
| Condo | Nyack | 3 Main St #801 | 4 | 4.1 | 1,100,000 | 960,000 |
| Condo | Nyack | 3 Main St #302 | 2 | 2 | 409,000 | 400,000 |
| Colonial | Nyack | 68 Summit St | 4 | 2.1 | 395,000 | 430,000 |
| Two Story | Nyack | 9 S Mill St | 3 | 1.1 | 329,000 | 310,000 |
| Contemporary | U. Grandview | 21 Tweed Blvd | 4 | 4.1 | 2,150,000 | 1,950,000 |
| Contemporary | U. Grandview | 1118 Rt 9W | 4 | 4.1 | 1,375,000 | 1,200,000 |
| Condo | Piermont | 50 Gair St | 2 | 2 | 479,900 | 450,000 |
| Cape Cod | Piermont | 405 Valentine Ave | 3 | 1 | 399,000 | 391,000 |
| Condo | Piermont | 28 Roundtree | 2 | 1.1 | 255,000 | 230,000 |
| Ranch | Palisades | 28 Horne Tooke Rd | 2 | 1.1 | 414,500 | 400,000 |
| Ranch | Palisades | 4 Indian Hill Ln | 2 | 2 | 390,000 | 420,000 |
Visit my website at http://www.donnacox.com/ to see a wonderful selection of homes for sale in Rockland County and the Hudson Valley Rivertowns. Or, give me a call on 845-641-8613; I'd love to hear from you.
Donna Cox
Associate Broker
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate | Rand Realty
This post from AgentGenius.com showed up showed up on my Facebook page yesterday (with permission to share!). I found it to be a powerful reminder of what it takes to be - and to remain - a top agent. This was a well-timed message for me personally and I hope for you, too.
originally published May 19, 2008
In this 2.0 versus 1.0 world of disruption, confusion, chaos, I want to lead my business forward. Even though I am a great agent, I must continue to find new ways of demonstrating my greatness to consumers both on and offline. I do not want to become caught up in a stereotype, nor do I want to become the far left, or far right fringe. I want to appeal to as many opportunities as possible, I want stand out in a sea of repetition, and most importantly I want to do it effectively, and efficiently- I am by all accounts "The 1.5 Agent."
In my practice I will
My list is ever growing, expanding, adapting, and adjusting, I am the 1.5 Agent. I want to be the best agent, not the agent disruption says I should be. I am in a constant state of evaluation- I will repair only what is broken, strengthen what is weak, revitalize what is worn, and will always be openminded to change and the desires of my consumer- they are what matter most.
To see a list of all the wonderful homes for sale in Rockland County, NY, visit www.DonnaCox.com or give me a call at 845-641-8613; I'd love to hear from you.
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Understanding the $8,000 Tax Credit |
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Published by Joseph Rand on Wednesday March 11, 2009 3:16 AM |
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The federal economic stimulus package passed in February 2009 provides for an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers. The program defines a "first-time home buyer" as someone who has not owned a home in the three years prior to his or her purchase, so even if you have previously owned a home you can still qualify if you haven't owned your principal residence for the past three years. If you're looking for an explanation of the more recent Refinance Program and Loan Modification Program, we've discussed it here. Also, there's a great summary on the ABC News website of all the housing recovery programs. Who qualifies? The financial qualifications are a little complicated, based on your modified adjusted gross income, or MAGI. The MAGI is defined by the IRS as your income after certain deductions but before itemized deductions or personal exemptions, but if you're close to qualifying you should absolutely talk to your accountant. The simple answer is that you are not eligible for the tax credit if you are filing singly and your MAGI is above $95,000, or if you are filing jointly and your MAGI is above $170,000. But you can get the full $8,000 tax credit if you are filing singly, and your MAGI is less than $75,000, or you are filing jointly, and your MAGI is less than $150,000 You can get a partial tax credit, on a sliding scale, if your MAGI is within $20,000 of the full tax-credit thresholds. That is, if you are filing singly, and your MAGI is between $75,000 and $95,000, or you are filing jointly, and your MAGI is between $150,000 and $170,000. The partial tax credit requires a little math, using the $20,000 gap between the full tax-credit threshold and the ineligibility threshold (i.e., the difference between $75,000 and $95,000). Let's say that you filed jointly, and your MAGI was $160,000. That means your MAGI was $10,000 above the threshold. You divide the $10,000 overage in your MAGI by that $20,000 gap, and get a multiplier of .5. Take that .5 multiplier and apply it to the $8,000 tax credit - you get $4,000 (i.e., $8,000 times .5). For a list of all homes for sale in Rockland county, give me a call on 845-641-8613 or visit my website at www.DonnaCox.com. I'd love to hear from you. |
Understanding the Government's New Refinance and Modification Program Published by Joseph Rand on Saturday March 7, 2009 8:47 AM If you think you qualify, or would like to know more, contact your mortgage service provider. You can find the contact information on your most recent mortgage bill. If you want to apply, you'll need the normal documents for a refinance: two recent pay stubs, your latest tax return, information about any second mortgages, and information on other debts. The Refiance Program is running from now until June 2010. 2. The Modification Program Here are some of the eligibility requirements: Also, to get help under the program, you have to be "at-risk", which has been defined by the government as follows: suffering serious hardships, such as declines in income or increase in expenses; facing an interest rate hike; having high mortgage debt compared to income; owing more than their house is worth; or demonstrating other reasons for being close to default. News Coverage Links For a list of all homes for sale in Rockland County, give me a call at 845-641-8613 or visit my website at www.DonnaCox.com. I'd love to hear from you.
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The Treasury Department released its plans this week to address instability in the housing market by providing relief to certain homeowners who might be having difficulty with their mortgage payments.
The government announced two separate types of programs -- (1) a Refinance Program, and (2) a Modification Program -- which have different purposes, guidelines, and eligibility. We thought these programs were a little complicated, so even though the government has set up a very helpful FAQ on them, we wanted to break them down and provide links to the various resources to help you understand them.
1. The Refinance Program
The Refinance Program is not designed for people in default, or facing foreclosure. Rather, it's aimed at homeowners who are current on their mortgage, but simply need to refinance a home that has gone down in value since they purchased it. Many of those homeowners can't refinance right now, the loan amount is more than 80% of the home's value-- ie., they made a down payment when they purchased the home, but now the value has gone down and they can't refinance because there is not enough of an equity cushion for the bank. This plan allows them to refinance that loan up to 105% of their home's value, so long as the loan is owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
The purpose of the Refinance Program is to help people who are NOT in default, but might fall into default if they cannot refinance their mortgage. Here are the eligibility requirements, and you can also do a self-assessment at the government's site:
The Modification Program is a much more aggressive attempt to help homeowners avoid foreclosure by incentivizing (and in some cases requiring) banks to re-work the loans. Under this plan, you can modify the terms of your mortgage with your lender, who will receive incentives from the government to reduce your monthly payments so that they are no more than 31% of your monthly income.
How will the lender reduce your payments? By reducing your interest rate (to as low as 2%), extending the loan for up to 40 years, or writing off some of the principal of the loan. If the lender absorbs some of those costs, the government will provide financial incentives and assistance, including bonuses to the service provider if you stay current with the loan after modification. Your loan rate will be significantly lower than today's rates, will stay fixed for five years if you make the payments, and after five years will be capped to be no more than the rates on the day you did the modification.
This is a much more powerful program for helping struggling homeowners. Contrary to some reports on the program, you do NOT need to be in foreclosure, or behind in your mortgage, in order to qualify for the Modification Program. You simply need to be in a situation where you are "at risk" for imminent default -- for example, you are not behind, but your loan is about to re-set to a much higher rate that will make payments unaffordable.
The program is voluntary for lenders, except that (1) lenders accepting TARP funds must participate, and (2) any lender that participates has to review ALL of its loans for eligibility. Some reports indicate that banks will take a few weeks to get their systems up and running for doing these reviews, so you should contact your loan company and be patient.
We will clarify some of the eligibility requirements below. Because we've seen confusion with people mixing up the two plans let's first clarify that for the Modification Plan, unlike the Refinance Plan, your loan does NOT have to be owned or guaranteed by Freddie or Fannie, and there's no requirement that your loan amount can only be 105% of your home's value.
If you want to find out more, contact your mortgage service provider -- just look for a phone number on your most recent mortgage bill. You'll need to provide the normal documentation (pay stubs, tax returns) along with the affidavit. According to some reports, the bank HAS to allow you to perform the Modification if the costs of modification would be less than the cost of foreclosing.
Avoiding Foreclosure
Finally, one last thing. If you are having difficult with your loan, and you would like to talk to someone, go to the FREE foreclosure avoidance counselors provided by the government. In other parts of the country where the foreclosure problem has hit harder, we have seen predatory companies provide "counseling" services that are mostly a scam to get you to give them money. The government has resources for this, so use them. You can find a list of New York HUD-Approved foreclosure avoidance counselors here. And if you're interested in some other materials, we have a host of videos from a foreclosure avoidance workshop that we conducted a few months ago here.
If you want to read more about the program, some links (we will update as we find them):
New York Times overview of the program.
NYT piece about how homeowners with higher-value homes are not eligible.
Times-Herald Record overview on the impact for struggling families.
Times Herald Record report on how the programs could help Orange County homeowners.
US News and World Report overview of the program: Seven Things You Need to Know.
I hope this is helpful.
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