Welcome to our weekly update page. You will find a summary of significant updates and news concerning our lisitngs, including price changes, website developments and significant news for the week.

 

Are you somewhat mystified by looking at a CMA, aka Comparable Market Analysis? Since this packet can be lengthy and contain lots of information (and can be a bit tedious) we wanted to sit down and go over it with our viewers.

So what is a CMA? Essentially, it is a list of properties comparable to yours- we usually call these "comps." Comps should be located in the same neighborhood and share many of the same traits- square footage, number of bedrooms, garage or basement, and property condition to name a few. Comps should also be sold fairly recently since the real estate market is always changing. Your own home's price today is probably not the same as it was 4 years ago, so you should not be looking at comps that old in a CMA.

When a…

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The New Year is here- welcome to 2019!

Our latest RealEstateSINY.com Facebook live video tackled the topic of real estate market changes we anticipate in the coming years, some of which we will be hopefully seeing soon.

We talk about the limitations faced by national value platforms, and some ways we expect the web to change in order to better suit sellers.

Expanding on current drone technology, we discuss the potential advancements in this field too. Could we potentially be seeing advancements in movement sensors that allow a buyer to virtually tour a property via video drone? This type of drone would be able to navigate physical obstacles and allow a buyer to move through the home and see every nook and cranny through an attached…

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"The real estate market is changing."

It's a phrase we have been uttering for many months now, drawing in leading indicators to do so. But what does that mean for a seller? A homeowner who is unsure what to do when the wisdom learned over the past few years are suddenly invalid because everything is in a state of flux?

That's the topic of our latest live video discussion with PR Director Hannah Jay and RealEstateSINY.com Broker/Co-Owner Anthony Licciardello. This talk is designed for either someone getting ready to sell in a changing market, or somebody who has already struggled to generate interest in their home because the market is changing too fast to keep up.

We get into some of the reasons the market could be changing- largely,…

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Welcome to 2019! It's hard to believe we just finished off another year. Our year covering real estate and local events in Staten Island has taught us a few things, and we cover the past month and year in January's market discussion here via Facebook Live!

Now that we have December's numbers in, a clear price drop of about $10,000 was observed since the previous month of November's average. Current data for December puts the average sale price at $588,613. Up in the air was the question of whether or not average home sale prices on Staten Island WOULD top $600k by the end of 2018. Ironically, the adjusted average for November (numbers always fluctuate a little after the initial stats release) ended up being $599,999- the irony is real.

In…

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What are your shopping habits for the holidays? Do you shop mostly online, or do you still love the traditional experience of shopping in person? In our latest Facebook live video, PR Director Hannah Jay and Broker/Co-Owner Anthony Licciardello get into large-scale developments happening right now in Staten Island's retail sector.

First, the elephant in the room is the Empire Outlets. Just this development alone is slated to house 1.1 million square feet of retail- including a 33,000 square foot H&M and 30,000 square foot Nordstrom Rack!

Also on the horizon are a total of 4 new movie theatres, including an IMAX and dine-in cinema and brewery. Currently, we have just two movie theatres. While two might be too few, is 6 more than we need?

…

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This real estate market seems to get stranger and stranger. With prices reaching an all-time high yet again, sales are down and inventory is up. Days on the market are also up. This appears to contradict supply and demand- if homes are selling more slowly and inventory is fairly high, why then is the average price going up?

November's average home sale price came in at $597,426. This makes it very likely that sold prices will reach (or top) an average of $600,000 by the end of 2018.

Inventory is a different story though. It has remained basically unchanged for seven months in a row now at roughly 2,000 homes on the market. And sales are also down about 5% since last year. Just 360 homes sold on Staten Island last month. So why the high prices?

…

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We're back on the horse for our monthly real estate market discussion for Staten Island! This month was an odd one. Inventory was up but prices were also back to record highs. Normally the supply/demand curve should push prices down when supply is up, so what gives?

To lay things out: the average sale price in October was $582,619, on par with the record high price of $583,210 from June 2018. Yet inventory has plateued for six months straight around the 2,000 mark. Fewer homes are also selling each month compared with new listings, and sales are way down from last year. New and active listings are up even higher.

It's difficult to make sense of these numbers. But we have to keep in mind that the sample size (377 homes sold) is small- and…

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Now the most recent home sales data for Staten Island is in! It is clear that while real estate prices are still very high, market activity is slowing down.

July's average home sale price was $586,155. While this is almost neck in neck with June's average sale price, the price is a trailing indicator since it takes 90 days to close on a typical home sale. The more important figure to look at is the active listings. With active listings at a 2 year high, this means homes are getting harder to sell.

There are certain aspects of the market slowdown that are harder to measure such as expired listings and price reductions. Anecdotally, our realtors have been noticing more price reductions on their listings and less interest in showings, resulting in…

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What historical trends shaped the landscape of Staten Island, including the home you live in right now? From colonial to ranch-style to art deco, we go into our own architecture here in Staten Island in this interview broadcast live via Facebook!

Every day, the buildings you take for granted actually conceal an interesting history. We start when the island was first settled in the 1600's by the Dutch, and the abundance of Dutch colonials we still see today inspired by our Dutch history. We also see our Dutch history in our names, like Arthur Kill and Great Kills- "Kill" meaning river in Dutch!

The major driving factor of change in Staten Island has been The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. This shaped the borough in a major way by urbanizing it. During…

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Staten Island's real estate market is not slowing down. Prices hit an all-time high again in June. But are the fundamentals really there?

Based on the data we just received for the month of June, things are not robust in the seller's favor like they were last year. Active listings have slowly crept up, now at a two year high of 1,931. But closed sales lag behind last year, at just 383 homes closed on last month.

The average home sale price in June was $586,941. This is the highest we have ever experienced in the Staten Island market! And also about $20,000 higher than last month. However, prices are actually a trailing indicator. Because it takes around 3 months to close a home sale, this is more indicative of where the market was in March.

The…

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