Long Island, NY Real Estate and Homes For Sale

Mortgage Applications Up for Second Consecutive Week

Mortgage aplications in the U.S. rose for a second straight week, a sign that falling home prices are attracting some buyers. The Mortgage Bankers Association's index of applications to purchase a home or refinance a loan gained 7.5 percent in the week ended July 4. The group's purchase index increased 6.7 percent and its refinancing gauge climbed 8.7 percent. 

-- "U.S. MBA's Mortgage Applications Index Increased 7.5% Last Week," by Shobhana Chandra, Bloomberg News, July 9, 2008.

First-Time Buyers Impacting Housing Market 

First-time buyers dominated second quarter sales activity in many U.S. housing markets by accounting for an estimated 54% of existing home purchases, according to HouseHunt's latest Current Market Conditions national survey of about 2,000 member-agents. This is an increase of 15 percentage points in the past six months.

-- "First-Time Buyers Dominated Second Quarter Sales Activity in Many Markets," RISMedia, July 9, 2008.

The key player in any recovery scenario is the first-time buyer. The housing market operates with a pronounced laddering or ripple effect. When entry-level buyers flood the market, they not only stimulate production of new homes, they purchase existing homes. Those purchases, in turn, allaw the sellers to move up to bigger houses.

-- "On the Path to a Housing Rebound," by Shawn Tully, Fortune, June 24, 2008.

Some Markets Showing Price Gain

One bright spot in the (S&P/Case-Shiller) report was that more cities showed a gain in prices in April compared with the previous month. Houses in eight areas rose in value, compared with just two in March. Month-over-month gains were led by Cleveland and Dallas.  There may be "some surprises in the next few months that would indicate we are at or near a bottom in probably one-third to one-half of the country."

-- Karl Case, an economics professor at Wellesley College, "S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Fell 15.3% in April," (video) by Shobhana Chandra, Bloomberg News, June 24, 2008.

Great Time to Buy for Retirees

This might be the right time to find a bargain, especially for buyers approaching their retirement years who can afford to take their time. Of course, anyone looking to buy can also find good reasons to take a wait-and-see attitude, like the fact that good deals may not exist in every location, and no one really knows if prices will continue to decline. "It's like missing the top of the market - it's the same thing with the bottom. Generally you know it's happened because you're looking in the rearview mirror and it's passed you by."

-- Maurice Veissi, president of a Miami agency, "Retirees Find the Time May Be Right to Buy," by Susan Stellen, The New York Times (registration required), June 27, 2008.

Falling Housing Starts a Positive Sign for Recovery

The news that housing starts have fallen to their lowest level in 17 years sounds like one more reason to be depressed about the shrinking value of your home. In fact, it's an almost certain sign that the path to a housing recovery is finally in sight. If prices are going to stabilize, let alone rebound, the United States needs to produce far more first-time home buyers than new houses. "For the recovery to begin, builders need to eliminate the standing inventory of finished, unoccupied new homes."

-- Mike Castleman, founder of Metrostudy, "On the Path to a Housing Rebound," by Shawn Tully, Fortune, June 24, 2008.

100 Daly Blvd, Oceanside, N.Y 11572

The good life tops your list of priorities.  You belong at the Oceanside Cove.  This Unique cooperative (co-op) on Long Island's fabulous south shore offers the very best quality of living.  Oceanside Cove is your chance to achieve your desired lifestyle with a, pet friendly, 24 hour secure gated community.

For the young, and the young at heart, there is no better location.  You have easy access to all the pleasures of south shore waterfront.  The Reynolds Channel marinas are moments away.  Neighboring Long Beach is renowned for one of the finest beaches of the east coast.

At Oceanside Cove you will enjoy your own beautiful residence.  The setting, open, beautifully landscaped, park-like some units located on the pond (see picture)

 Every aspect of gracious living provided.  Oceanside Cove's superior construction and amenities make this community unique.  And with its appealing recreational facilities and terrific location- affordable prices- it is incomparable.

Oceanside Cove gives you all the pleasures of the season:

In spring and summer, you can play a hard game of tennis, cool off in the pool, and relax on the sundeck.  It's all part of you Oceanside Cove recreational facilities. In the cool of the evening stroll about the spacious grounds.  Wander through the extensive, untouched foliage and wildlife of the Oceanside Nature Study Area, or play golf at the local 9-hole course.

Visit any of the 18-hole golf courses, just a short drive away, including the exclusive Middle Bay Country Club.  But don't forget to visit the Oceanside Park recreation facility, with its playing fields, swimming pools and children's play facilities.

Come autumn and winter and the need for indoor pleasures, exercise and relax with  your friends in the exquisite Oceanside Cove Clubhouse.  If you feel like going out, partake of fresh seafood at any of Oceanside's fine restaurants.  You can enjoy your choice of shopping- The Sands Shopping Mall, Waldbaums Plaza and Lincoln Plaza are moments away.  Not to mention many fine boutiques.

There's plenty of community activity, including on-going programs for both adults and children.  Oceanside boasts one of the most highly regarded school districts on Long Island.

Going to Manhattan?  Its only forty scheduled minutes to Penn Station by Long Island Rail Road, or an easy drive by convenient parkway.  Oceanside Cove, just forty minutes to Manhattan with the bright lights, glitter, music, theater, and fun of the world's greatest cultural center.  

However, for your enjoyment, Oceanside Cove by itself, provides you with a healthy, pleasurable lifestyle.  It's your chance for the secure good life.  It's your Oceanside Cove.  "A well run ship"

Managed by Alexander Wolf & Co. Inc 
 

Features:

Building:

•  Custom designed contemporary fascades
•  Individual front entrances
•  Private rear patios
•  Professionally landscaped and sodded with sprinkler systems
•  Sanitary and storm sewers
•  Decorator designed color coordinated bathrooms
•  Ceramic tile floors and walls over the shower and tub
•  Kitchens with furniture crafted cabinetry, fully equipped with oven, range, dishwasher,
•  Unusually spacious rooms with an abundance of closets
•  Thermostatically controlled central air conditioning and heating

Energy Features:

•  Double glazed Thermo break insulated glass windows
•  Insulated weather stripped steel front doors
•  Insulated Thermo-Break sliding doors to rear patio
•  Fiberglass insulation in roof and ceilings
•  Full thick fiberglass insulation in exterior walls
•  Energy efficient glass-lined hot water heaters
•  Perimeter insulation on all exterior foundation walls
•  "Green" Energy effecient electric CAC/Heat system (no gas or oil carbon emmissions)

Recreation Features:

 Exquisitely furnished community clubhouse/recreation center with fully equipped exercise rooms, men's and women's saunas, locker rooms, showers and lavatories, magnificent lounge with cathedral ceilings, equipped paerty kitchen, 3 pools 1 for babies, 1 for adults only, 1 for everyone

(see picture)

Just listed 2 Bedroom duplex w 1.5 baths on the pond waterfront/waterview located walking distance to the clubhouse and mailboxes, with attached garage $449,000.00 US Dollars

Call Listing agent Erik Reilly for more information and appointments 516-764-6200 or email reillyerik@aol.com

Where they grew up and where they call home now: rags to riches celebrity real estate stories

Rags to riches stories of hollywood celebrities - fid out how much the house they grew up in cost and how much the one they live in now costs.

Eddie Murphy, See Home

Beverly Hills, CA - Eddie Murphy built a Mission-style $20 million mission in 2005.

Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe-, Screen Actors Guild Award-winning Americanactor, film director, producer and comedian. Murphy ranks as the number one grossing film star in history, having a total of 33 films to date, his films grossing over $3.4 billion in the US alone, averaging $104 million per film.^[1] He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984, and has worked as a stand-up comedian. He has also enjoyed a minor singing career.

Murphy was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in the 1960's where the median home price was $75,400.

Oprah Winfrey, See Home

Oprah resides in a $55 mil home in Montecito, CA with 14 bathrooms and 10 fireplaces.

Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954), often referred to simply as Oprah, is an Americantelevision host, media mogul, and philanthropist. Her internationally-syndicatedtalk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, has earned her multiple Emmy Awards and is the highest-rated talk show in the history of television.^[2] She is also an influential book critic, an Academy Award-nominated actress, and a magazine publisher.

Oprah was born in rural Mississippi but grew up in an inner cityMilwaukee neighborhood in the 1960's where the median home price was $60,600.

J.Lo, See Home

Los Angeles, CA - J.Lo lives in a seven bedroom and fourteen bathroom, 12,217 sq. ft home in

Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969),^[1] popularly nicknamed J.Lo, is an Americanactress, singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, fashion designer, and television producer. She is the richest person of Latin American descent in Hollywood according to Forbes, and the most influential Hispanic entertainer in America according to People en Español's list of "100 Most Influential Hispanics".^[2]

Jennifer Lopez was born in the South Bronx, New York and grew up in the 1970's where the median home price was $86,400.

John Travolta, See Home

Ocala, FL - John Travolta built this $2.5 million dollar Florida house at the end of a private runway in Ocala, Florida, which includes parking for his Boeing 707 and Gulfstream jets. Oh, and a 16-car garage.

John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning Americanactor, dancer, and singer, best known for his leading roles in films such as Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Pulp Fiction, Hairspray, and Battlefield Earth.

Travolta  was born in Englewood, New Jersey and grew up in the 1960's where the median home price was $76,900.

Billy Joel, See Home

Miami, FL - Billy Joel's $35 million dollar, 7 bedroom modernist Miami mansion sits on a private island.

William Joseph Martin "Billy" Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an Americanpianist and singer-songwriter. He released his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973. According to the RIAA, he is the sixth best-selling recording artist in the United States.^[1]

Born in the Bronx, New York, Joel was raised in Hicksville, New York during the 1950's where the median home price was $61,500.

Will Smith, See Home

Los Angeles - The Fresh Prince renovated this Calabasas castle, worth nearly $20 million. It has its own lake. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have their own full-sized basketball and tennis courts too!

Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968) is an Americanactor and rapper. He is one of a small group of people who have enjoyed success in three major entertainment media in the United States. Newsweek has called him the most powerful actor on the planet.^[1] Smith has been nominated for a Golden Globe, two Academy Awards, and has won multiple Grammys.

Will Smith was born and raised in West Philadelphia and Germantown in Northwest Philadelphia during the 1970's where the median home price was $52,200.

Halle Berry, See Home

Malibu, CA - Halle Berry's owns an $8 million estate in Malibu, CA. Nearly every room has a coastline view. 

Halle Maria Berry (IPA:; born August 14, 1966)^[1] is an Americanactress, former fashion model and beauty queen. Berry has received Emmy and Golden Globe awards for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge,^[2] and an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2002 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming the first and still only woman of African-American descent to have won the award for Best Actress.

Halle was born in Cleveland Ohio and grew up in the 1970s where the median home price was $67,600.

Brad Pitt, See Home

Malibu, FL - Brad Pitt's cliffside crib in Malibu, just $4.5 million.

William Bradley "Brad" Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an Americanactor, film producer, and social activist. He became famous during the mid 1990s after starring in several major Hollywood films.^[1] Pitt received a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination for his role in the 1995 film Twelve Monkeys.^[1]

Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma and grew up during the 1970s where the median home price was $42,600.

Ryan Seacrest, See Home

Los Angeles, CA - Ryan Seacrest recently purchased Kevin Costner's Los Angeles home for $11.5 million.

Ryan John Seacrest is an Americantelevision/radio host and television producer.His first big break after college was him hosting a small radio station called Star 94. Then, He rose to fame as the host of American Idol, and he has since gone on to host E! News Live, Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, as well as such radio shows as On Air with Ryan Seacrest on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and American Top 40.

Ryan Seacrest was born on Christmas Eve in Dunwoody, Georgia and grew up during the 1980's $73,000.

Sylvester Stallone, See Home

Beverly Park, CA - Sylvester Stallone's owns a $10 million 15,121 sq. ft. mansion in Beverly Park.

Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone^[1] (born July 6, 1946) is an Academy Award-nominated Americanactor, director, producer and screenwriter. One of the biggest box office draws in the world from the '70s to the early '90s, Stallone is an international icon of machismo and Hollywood action heroism. He has played two characters who have becomea part of the American cultural lexicon: Rocky Balboa, the boxer who overcame all odds to become a champion, and John Rambo, a sensitive soldier who specialized in violent rescues and revenge.

A Tale of Two Houses

House #1 A 20-room mansion ( not including 8 bathrooms ) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool ( and a pool house) and a separate guest house, all heated by gas. In one month this residence consumes more energy than the average American household does in a year. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400. per month. In natural gas alone, this property co nsumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not situated in a Northern or Midwestern "snow belt" area. It's in the South.

House #2 Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university. This house incorporates every "green" feature current home construction can provide. The house is 4,000 square feet ( 4 bedrooms ) and is nestled on a high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat-pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground.
 
The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summe r. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas and it consumes one-quarter the electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000-gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the hou se. Surrounding flowers and shrubs native to the area enable the property to blend into the surrounding rural landscape.

Now, for the clincher:

HOUSE #1 is outside of Nashville , Tennessee ; it is the abode of the "environmentalist" AlGore.

HOUSE #2 is on a ranch near Crawford ,Texas; is the residence of the President of the UnitedStates, George W. Bush.

Is this an "inconvenient truth?"

You can verify it at: http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/house.asp

Empire State housing sales up from February

Albany - April 23, 2008 - Sales of existing single-family homes in New York State in March increased by more than 10 percent compared to February, but lagged behind March 2007, according to preliminary single-family sales data accumulated by the New York State Association of REALTORS.

New York REALTORS sold 5,035 existing single-family homes in March 2008, a 10.1-percent increase compared to the 4,575 sales recorded in February. The March sales total represents a 29-percent decrease compared to the March 2007 total of 7,094.

The March 2008 median selling price of $210,000 represents a 6.7-percent decrease from the February median of $225,000. The March 2008 median selling price represents a 14.7-percent decrease compared to the March 2007 median of $246,150.

In March 2008 sales gains were reported in 31 counties compared to February, while just four experienced growth compared to March 2007.

Thirty-one counties reported gains in median selling price in March 2008 compared to February 2008, while 20 posted gains compared to March 2007.

"With a more than 10 percent increase in sales of existing single-family homes in March compared to February, the New York State housing market is performing better than the national housing market," said Duncan R. MacKenzie, NYSAR chief executive officer. "While changes in the median selling price fared better on a national level, New York's median price continues to remain above the national median." 

The New York State Association of REALTORS is a not-for-profit trade organization representing more than 61,000 of New York state's real estate professionals. The term REALTOR is a registered trademark, which identifies real estate professionals who subscribe to a strict code of ethics as members of the National Association of REALTORS. These REALTORS are also members of the New York State Association of REALTORS as well as their local board or association of REALTORS.