Items tagged with 'homes'

Capital Region median home prices 2013

capital region median home sale price 2013-2005

Capital Region median home sale price 2013-2005.

The Capital Region housing market approached its pre-recession level in 2013, according to data out today from the Greater Capital Association of Realtors.

The median price for homes sold in the Capital Region was $195,000 in 2013, up more than 1.5 percent compared to the year before according to GCAR's numbers. And it's the first time the median sale price has risen above the pre-recession crest of $193,000 in 2007.*

The local market also posted 9221 closed sales in 2013, up almost 12 percent from the total in 2012. GCAR says 2013's total was the highest since 2007.

Another sign of a rising tide in the housing market: The average number of days it took to sell a house was 90 in 2013, the lowest number since 2008, according to GCAR. (That figure was 98 days in 2012, and 102 in 2011.)

(* That's not accounting for inflation. Depending on how you account for inflation, the price would have had to be around $216,000 to equal the 2007 mark.)

A more detailed look at the numbers is after the jump.

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A home where you don't have to turn on the heat

Passive Solar -via Dennis Wedlick.jpg

The Capital Region's first Certified Passive home.

By Siobhan Connally

Writer Susan Guthridge-Gould and her husband, photographer Chris Gould are a little passive aggressive.

Which is to say they are aggressive about passive. Their passive home.

The Columbia County couple is building one of the first certified passive dwellings in the region. They're keeping a record of the process on their blog, Newhudsonvalley.com.

What is a passive house?

Lets start with what it's not. It's not to be confused with a solar house - or any other practice of green-construction that uses a complex equation of sustainability and technology to reduce its carbon footprint.

A passive house has only to meet two main requirements:

+ Use 90 percent less energy than a conventional home

+ Achieve that goal through its design and construction rather than mechanical technology.

In other words the house has to rely on its placement in the environment and an air-tight construction to keep it warm in winter and cool in summer.

So... does it work?

AOACrisbroSmallV2.jpg

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A good real estate agent?

real estate sign porchIn the market for a house, Kelly emails:

My husband and I are hoping to buy a house in Albany this summer. We are looking for recommendations for a good real estate agent, particularly one who specializes in working with first-time home buyers. I'm hoping AOA's readers can help us out. Thanks for your consideration.

There are a lot of real estate agents out there. And from our experience, some are definitely better than others.

So, know of a good agent? Please share! And if you do, please include why you like that agent.

Don't judge a building by its cover -- the plumbing hall as living space

plumbing hall montage

By Akum Norder

It's an understatement to say that Will Vosecek has a vision for real estate. He sees a house through the lens of what it could become, with an eye for how to use a space to its best advantage.

As a realtor with Keller Williams in Delaware Plaza, he tries to bring that eye to helping clients find a space that fits their lives. And for his own residence? He turned a run-down Plumbers' Association hall into one of Albany's coolest homes.

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Help this house: Experience & Creative Designs

Wall-Going .jpg

The paneling had to go.

By Kasa Wahl

A few months ago, after getting sick of looking at a wall full of paneling and our 'blue cloud" carpeting, I decided it was time to remodel.

I'm okay at interior design, if I have a place to start. This space, however, was a design disaster. I had no idea where to begin and no budget for a decorator. Any of this sound familiar?

So I went looking for help and came across Experience and Creative Designs in Schenectady.

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Home prices holding steady, Jennings starts up re-election campaign, RPI center will focus on extraterrestrial life, family gets Oprah makeover

The median sale price of homes in the Capital Region is holding more or less steady, even as many fewer houses are being sold. The number of sales in October was down 16 percent over the same period a year ago. [Biz Review] [TU]

New York State comptroller Tom DiNapoli is predicting the state could lose 225,000 jobs during the next two years. DiNapoli says about 3/4 of the lost jobs will come from Wall Street -- which could take a big bite out of state revenue. About 20 percent of state tax revenue comes from the Street. [TU]

The Albany Common Council approved a 2009 budget for the city. The budget includes a tax increase of $96 for the average homeowner. [TU]

Saratoga Springs' finance commissioner has proposed a new 2009 budget that takes into account the proposed cut in VLT money from the state. The new budget includes a tax increase of 3.5 percent -- up from 2.7 percent in the previous version. [Saratogian] [Daily Gazette]

Jerry Jennings' 2009 re-election campaign is starting up, apparently with some haste. The Albany mayor's campaign will be holding a fundraiser at the Fort Orange Club in December -- $500/person for the cocktail reception, $1000/person for dinner. [TU]

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Paterson's top advisor quits, woman murdered in Schenectady, local home prices steady, gambling with sick days, upside to global warming?

David Paterson's top advisor, Charles O'Byrne, resigned Friday because of the furor over him not paying taxes between 2001 and 2005. O'Byrne had been described as "the second-most-powerful man in New York" while working for Paterson. [NYT] [TU]

Police say a woman was murdered in her Schenectady home over the weekend. They say it appears Jaiwanti Mangar, a Guyanese immigrant, was killed after being struck in the head. [Daily Gazette]

Despite the stepped up police presence in the neighborhood following the nearby murder of UAlbany Richard Bailey, a man was stabbed four times at the corner of Madison and Ontario in Albany early Saturday morning. The attack was related to a fight over a woman, apparently. [Fox 23] [TU]

The president of the Pine Hill Neighborhood Association says there's been "an outpouring of outrage" in the neighborhood after Bailey's murder. APD chief James Tuffey says he's "certain" his department will find the murderer. [TU] [TU]

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Former police chief accused of drug ring involvement, Grandma's gets a new owner, UAlbany nanotech aims for another building, giant pink bike rider assaulted

Former Schenectady police chief Greg Kaczmarek is scheduled to appear in court today where he will reportedly face charges for his involvement with a drug ring. Kaczmarek's wife and stepson already face charges for being involved with the same operation. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

The media sale price for a Capital Region home was down 2 percent last month from the same period last year. Albany County median prices saw the biggest local drop -- 6 percent to $202,500. [Daily Gazette]

One of three developers pick to submit proposals for the redevelopment of the Harriman Office Campus has dropped out of the process. One of Harriman's board members says tightening credit markets and competition from other tech park developments could slow the project. [TU]

Grandma's Country Restaurant on Central Ave has been sold to the owner of Ralph's Tavern (also on Central). The new owner says Grandma's gift shop will be closing, but says everything else -- including the pies -- will remain exactly the same. [Daily Gazette] [Biz Review]

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Malta clears way for AMD chip fab, infamous Schenectady B&B sold, brewery scolded for serving too-big samples, the best milk in New York, horse to get key to city

The Malta Town Board approved zoning changes that clear the way for the construction of the AMD chip fab in Luther Forest. The company still hasn't officially committed to the project, though. [TU]

The infamous sex party B&B in Schenectady's Union Ave neighborhood sold yesterday at auction for $201,600 (just $33 per square foot). The new owner is a psychiatrist who will use the house for offices. The old owner is headed off to Florida in his party bus, which is equipped with a stripper pole. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

A Colonie police car was torched in the driveway of an officer's house early Monday morning. It appears some kind of flammable substance had been poured over the car's exterior. [TU]

The number of Capital Region home sales in July was down 20 percent from the same period a year before -- but the median sales price was up 2 percent to $210,000. [Biz Review]

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Governor seeing all sorts of red (ink), bids for Troy City Hall not so hot, home foreclosures up, brewery hopped up

David Paterson says the state is facing $20 billion in budget shortfalls over the next three years. As part of a plan to address the gaps, he's recommending that many local governments be consolidated. [TU]

Only two proposals were submitted to buy Troy City Hall -- and Harry Tutunjian isn't happy about it. The mayor says he's upset that the developer with whom he'd arranged the city hall for Verizon building swap didn't even submit a bid. That developer did send along a letter saying the fighting between Tutunjian and the city council over the plan made it "unwise" to pursue the project. [TU] [Troy Record]

The was a big jump in local home foreclosures during the first quarter of 2008. [Daily Gazette]

Decks of cards with the faces and profiles of missing persons are being given out in jails all over the state. The hope is the cards will generate leads on the cases. [CapNews9]

The main branch of the Schenectady County library system will be closed for a year-and-a-half for renovations. [Daily Gazette]

The City of Saratoga Springs is looking to build on a park on the shore of Saratoga Lake. [Saratogian]

Olde Saratoga Brewing Co. is expanding its capacity. In addition to producing its own beers, it also brews for other labels -- and it seems people can't get enough He'brew. [TU]

Housing market stable, pork off-limits, manhole cover mystery continues, dramas over water and hot dogs, warm weather beats Rats like a rented goalie

The median sale price for houses in the Capital Region rose in March compared to the same period last year. The number of sales was way down, though. [TU]

Even as the state goes looking through the couch cushions for extra cash, the money assigned to legislative member items -- you know, pork -- is still off limits. [TU]

National Grid still isn't sure what caused the manhole-cover-shooting underground explosion in Troy. [CapNews9]

A full-on political soap opera has emerged among Clifton Park Republicans over... the water board. [TU]

Speaking of melodrama... Saratoga Springs is watching one of it own. The center piece of this plot: hot dogs. [Saratogian]

The city of Schenectady says it can't afford a Big Brother, so one resident says he'll do it for free. [Daily Gazette]

Seniors riding scooters and their "accident-prone" behaviors have prompted Saratoga officials to get the word out about safer scootering. Among the tips: slow down, don't scooter while sleepy. [Daily Gazette]

In a face off with sunshine and warm weather, it seems the River Rats lose almost every time. [TU]

Convention center money sought, home foreclosures up, Colonie Center movie theater nears completion, horses back at Saratoga

The Albany Convention Center Authority is looking for the state to help pay another $190 million in expenses for the project. The price tag for the convetion center has almost doubled from its original projection. [TU]

The number of Capital Region home foreclosures continued a year-long upward swing. [TU]

Uri Kaufman, the guy who turned Cohoes' Harmony Mills into luxury apartments, has proposed doing the same for a former knitting factory in Amsterdam. Kaufman is also currently involved with a plan to convert the old Victory Mill in Saratoga into lofts. [Daily Gazette]

Public filings indicate that Feldman Mall Properties, which owns a piece of Colonie Center, has spent $110 million renovating the mall. The project was originally slated to cost about half that, but the cost of building a movie theater on the mall's roof has ended up being much expensive than originally projected. And what about that much delayed theater? The planned opening date is now May 16. [Business Review]

The parent company of The Saratogian and The Troy Record is being de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange today. Journal Register Company is straining under the weight of debt and some analysts are projecting the company is headed for default. [AP/TU]

About a third of shoppers at Railroad Avenue Price Chopper in Saratoga Springs walk there, according to a company survey. So, what? There have been rumors the Chopper at that location might close, which has prompted concern the city would no longer have a supermarket to which people could walk. [Saratogian]

Training season has opened at Saratoga. [Daily Gazette]

Appeal for Albany mosque members, more about Paterson's past, lawsuit over Great Escape illness, house prices up, a big bag of cash

The lawyers for Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain argued in federal appeals court yesterday that their clients were convicted with "prejudicial evidence." They're also pushing to have a secret court order from the case made public. They allege that order will show that the NSA illegally spied on the two members of an Albany mosque. [TU] [NYT]

David Paterson past-filter: he may have used state funds on a trip to South Carolina with his former lady friend to work for Hillary Clinton. And he says he used cocaine and marijuana decades ago. Oh, and he's apparently a fan of the 74 State hotel. [TU] [Newsday]

The body pulled from the Hudson near Troy over the weekend was apparently weighed down by concrete blocks and a lawn mower. [Troy Record]

The Great Escape reported illness count is up to 388. The norovirus has been confirmed as the culrpit. And now four of the people who got sick have filed suit. Their lawyer says the suit is "about keeping kids safe." [Saratogian]

The median sale price for homes in many parts of the Capital Region rose compared to the same period last year. But the number of houses sold was down. [TU]

A state supreme court has ruled that a bag with hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash does in fact belong to the owner of the house in which it was found. Despite all the money involved, the five-year case seems to have left a lot of people poorer. [TU]

Housing market still cool, AMD plan sort of going forward, retired race horoses get task force, man has to sell his tigers

The local housing market continues to stumble and plod along. The number of single-family home sales in January were down 20 percent from the same period the year before. And the median sale price in January increased one percent to $191,750. [TU] [Business Review]

AMD still hasn't committed to building that chip fab plant in Malta, but it says it would like to get all the necessary permits together so that it could starting building next January. The proposed plan also now includes about 250 more jobs, bringing the total to 1,465. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

The retrial of Warren Powell starts today in Hudson. The Halfmoon man was convicted in 1997 of strangling his pregnant wife and dumping her body in the Hudson River. An appeals court overturned the 1997 conviction because of problems with jury selection. [Saratogian]

New York State has formed the New York State Task Force on Retired Race Horses, which will look for ways to keep the horses from ending up in slaughterhouses. [Daily Gazette]

Now that he's been convicted of forging insurance documents, the owner of a private zoo in Greenwich won't be allowed to own leopards, tigers, lions or ligers. But he can keep his bears. [Saratogian]

Mare Ristorante in Saratoga is up for sale. List price: $550,000. [Business Review]

The period piece you can live in

mid-century modern house in Albany

It's a time capsule. It's a house. It's both.

Check out this sharp mid-century modern house up for sale in Albany. Not only does it have a low-profile modern exterior, but the decor inside is straight out of the 60s (in the good way). Weichert, the listing agency, has a few interior shots on its page, but the best pics we've found are on RealtyUSA's site.

And how much does period-perfect mid-century modern cost you? The list price is $399,000.

College fund for girl has money -- but no girl, Northern Lights files for bankruptcy, The Police will play here, return of the flamingos

In 1997 a three-year-old girl saw her mother murdered in Troy. Shocked by how sad the case was, the Troy Police Benevolent Association started a college fund for her. The good news: the fund now has about $50,000. The unfortunate news: the PBA has no idea where the girl is now. [Troy Record]

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation is buying a big chunk of land in the Adirondacks from the Nature Conservancy. The preservation group bought the land last year from a paper company for $110 million. [Post-Star]

The hot amenity for new condos: indoor parking. (By the way, the Mooradian Lofts project -- which didn't have indoor parking -- has been put on hold.) [TU] [Troy Record]

Northern Lights has filed for bankruptcy. The Clifton Park music venue filed Chapter 11 (that's the "reorganization" bankruptcy), so presumably it will try to stay open. [Daily Gazette]

The Police will play a show at SPAC on August 1. The message in the bottle: send money. The cheapest ticket will be $93. [Saratogian]

The carousel has re-opened at the New York State Museum. Four-year-olds voice approval. [Daily Gazette]

The flamingos have returned to Schenectady's Stockade. [Daily Gazette]

The UAlbany men's hoops team topped Maine 74-60 on the road. [TU]

Local info on Zillow, now with more zest

zillow_logo.gifBack during the real estate boom, it seemed like everyone was having fun voyeuristically browsing the home data of their neighbors on Zillow. Everyone, that is, except for us. For a long time Zillow only had the most basic info about this area. But sometime during the last few months it seems to have gotten the scoop on a lot more data, or at least enough to start publishing the always controversial Zestimate home values for this area, and their derivative, the Zindex (the median of all the Zestimates).

So, according to Zillow, here are how a few local cities stack up on the Zindex:

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The oldest house in Saratoga Springs

the oldest house in Saratoga Springs

When we heard that the oldest house in Saratoga Springs was for sale, we had to check it out. It looks very much like... a yellow house. In fact, if you didn't know this was the oldest house in Saratoga (built in 1815), you'd probably never realize it as you walk down Franklin Street.

Home prices up just a little, a bathroom for the women of the Saratoga police, RPI rakes it in, a million dollar winner

Area home prices were relatively flat last year, with the median sale price up 2 percent from the year before. Saratoga County actually saw home prices fall 1 percent. [Daily Gazette]

The Long Island pharmacist at the center of the Soares steroid investigation has apparently killed himself.[AP/TU]

The 121-year-old headquarters of the Saratoga Springs police department is finally getting a women-only bathroom and changing area. [TU]

RPI's endowment grew more than $130 million last year. Now at $813 million, the Institute has the largest endowment among area schools. Union college is second at $370 million and Skidmore third at $287 million. [Business Review]

Saratoga is getting a Don Shula's -- sort of. The chain of high-end steak houses is opening a "Shula's 347," which is a mid-priced version of the restaurants named after the football coach. [Saratogian]

A retired woman from Stillwater bought a $5 scratch-off lotto ticket and won a million bucks, face-time with Yolanda Vega. [Record]

The Scoop

For a decade All Over Albany was a place for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. It was kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who could help you find out what's up. AOA stopped publishing at the end of 2018.

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