American Dad - My Wife is a Realtor
December 1st, 2007 | 2 Comments
Source: Hulu
Time for some weekend real estate humor.
Manhattan Real Estate is Family Friendly - More Families are Moving to the Big Apple
October 22nd, 2007 | Leave a Comment
More and more families are moving to Manhattan and raising families. Say what? It’s true. If you’ve been to Central Park lately, you know what I mean. Talk about a baby boom. There are strollers and kids everywhere. Is there something in the water?
No. But there sure is something about city living that is making families consider Manhattan as their primary residence. One of the greatest reasons families are moving back into the city is for convenience. By living close to work, parents can spend more time with their children instead of in the car commuting back and forth everyday. That’s a good thing.
The quality of life Manhattan living offers is quite extraordinary. You will never run out of things to do or places to visit. Parks and playgrounds exist in virtually all city neighborhoods. Although some need to be made more child friendly and safe, they do offer you with a quick outlet to meet other parents and children in the neighborhood. Museums and art exhibits are also abundant throughout the city.
The first Friday of each month, Target offers free admission to the Children’s Museum on the Upper West Side. Five floors of fun is sure to satisfy any child and parent. Who wouldn’t want to play on an entire floor of Dora the Explorer?
The Central Park Zoo and the Tisch Children’s Zoo are two child friendly zoo’s in walking distance from each other. You can feed the Sheep or Alpaca and even pet the bunny’s. Or how about watching the polar bears take a dip? If that’s not enough fun, one of the many playgrounds are sure to please. Don’t forget about the Central Park Carousel ride. A New York City classic.
So what type of apartments do families live in in New York City? Just like families, apartments come in many shapes and sizes. One of my past clients lived in 700 sf junior-4 co-op apartment with their two children until they were 6 & 8 years old. Space was tight but they managed fairly well. While a friend of mine lives in a 3 bedroom 2,000 sf condo apartment with his wife and 2 kids. It all comes down to economics. What can you afford and what type of lifestyle will that offer?
The answer really depends on you. You need to decide what things you are willing to sacrifice in order to live in the big city. What’s more important? Quality of life or convenience? Finding the perfect mix is tough. Deciding on a neighborhood takes some time as well. The best suggestion I have is to visit each neighborhood on your list on the weekend at various times. This will allow you to get a sense of who the locals are. It will also give you a glimpse of what living in the community might be like. Each neighborhood is different on so many macro levels. During the week a neighborhood may be busy with traffic and commuters, while on the weekend it may be serene. Do the homework, it will pay off in the end.
Everything in New York City is more expensive. Living here isn’t an option for most. The cost of living forces many native New Yorker’s to flee to the suburbs. The strong Euro on the other hand, is bringing many new overseas families to Manhattan. Not a bad thing. For those who can afford to live here, I can’t remember a better time to be in the city. The city is cleaner and safer then ever. Jobs are abundant. People seem nicer. I love New York.
More On Living in New York City:
AM | New York - City Lures Families back From ‘Burbs
Gotham Gazette - Paying the Price For Living in New York
Nanny in NYC - Family Friendly New York City
Technorati Tags: New York City, Manhattan, Homes, Family Friendly, NYC Real Estate
ResidentialNYC Goes Offline - Markets Itself To Consumers as The Ultimate Home Page
October 18th, 2007 | Leave a Comment
ResidentialNYC has started their offline advertising campaign in New York City. I found the ad in today’s Real Estate Guide in the New York Post. The ad is great, but is it accurate? Not entirely.
Although the idea behind ResidentialNYC is ideal, the reality is that it isn’t there - yet. Consumers and real estate brokers would love to able to search all of the active real estate listings in New York City in one central location. But politics always seem to get in the way.
REBNY, the real estate trade organization behind ResidentialNYC, has done something fantastic which I haven’t seen any other consumer facing real estate web portal do - place ads offline where real people can actual learn about them. That’s the good part. The bad part is without the support of the entire local real estate brokerage community - an incomplete inventory doesn’t satisfy the consumers need. The need to easily find a home in Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs. I won’t hold my breath.
As a side note - Can you imagine if sites like Zillow, Redfin, StreetEasy or Trulia took their online advertising efforts offline?
I really love the ad though. Kudos to Posner Advertising for sending a clear and concise message - although not a reality yet.
It was important for the portals name to say exactly what the service provides to the consumer, and we are confident that ResidentialNYC.com achieves that objective for our client, said Win Peniston, Vice President, Strategy and Development, Posner Advertising. Given that more than 80% of new home searches begin online and that consumers are frustrated by not being able to find them in one place, we believe that this centralized information portal will become the new go-to site for home-seeking prospects, Penniston continued.
Technorati Tags: ResidentialNYC, Rebny, Listings, Real Estate Listings
Priced to Sit - I Mean Priced To Sell
October 18th, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Priced to sell? Nah, this home is priced to sit on the market for months on end. The seller refuses to believe it is worth any less. Take it or leave it. The real estate broker just wants the listing and doesn’t care if it’s overpriced. Worse yet, they may not even know how to price a home. But it’s a really great deal - it’s priced to sell baby!
Come and view our lovely 2 bedroom 2 bath home. We haven’t bothered to clean it up or De-clutter at all. It just seems more realistic this way. We wouldn’t want to trick you into buying our home. We believe in Au natural. Now accepting highest and best offers.
Have you ever wondered why a home would be marketed as Priced To Sell? Join the club. Like the for sale sign wasn’t obvious enough. Does a consumer really have to be told that the home is being priced to sell? Of course not. It makes no sense. If anything, it’s a sign of desperation.
When I was a newbie, many moons ago, I was encouraged to use this terminology in some of my real estate advertising. Never did it dawn on me that those three words could be a disservice to my seller client. A savvy buyer could easily sense the desperation in that phrase. And, if my memory serves me correctly, that’s exactly what happened to me. On a few occasions, buyers would swoop in and offer low ball offers just waiting to get a desperate seller to counter. Luckily, my sellers stood their ground but what a learning experience it was. It’s not easy being green.
On top of the Priced to Sell advertising lingo, isn’t it amazing how many of these priced to sell homes are really messy? Dirty windows, cluttered rooms, messy kitchen etc… First impressions mean everything. If your seller client won’t tidy up, hire someone to do it - or just do it yourself.
Overpricing your home and not cleaning it up is a recipe for disaster. If your home is priced realistically from the beginning, you will never have to use those three dreaded words again - Priced to Sell.
Anyone out there still using Priced to Sell in your advertising? What are the pro’s and cons as you see them?
At least someone agrees with me:
The Gardyn - Priced to Sell!
Technorati Tags: Priced to sell, Priced to sit, Real Estate Advertising, Real Estate Marketing
Blog Action Day - Its My Park! Day
October 15th, 2007 | 1 Comment
Today is Blog Action Day. Thousands of bloggers will write about the same topic - Our Environment. This Saturday, October 20, 2007, New Yorkers are doing their part in saving the environment by supporting Mayor Bloomberg’s plant a million trees initiative called It’s My Park! Day.
Join thousands of New Yorkers in caring for and celebrating New York City parks on It’s MY Park! Day. Participate in clean up and planting projects, enjoy free events or just get outside to enjoy your park. There is a special emphasis on trees this It’s My Park! Day with large-scale tree plantings and tree related activities in all five boroughs. Supplies are provided for all projects.
Help make a difference by supporting our environment - plant a tree.
Technorati Tags: Blog Action Day, It’s My Park! Day, Environment, New Yorkers
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