Historic Homes Blog

As Meryl Strep entered her office in “The Devil Wears Prada” she is calling out orders and demands endlessly.  If you have ever thought you would love to have someone on the other end of this conversation taking it all down, your dreams have just come true. Enter www.JOTT.com

By simply dialing 1800-jott123 your message will be directed either to email or text instantly!! And the best thing is that it is all FREE!!  No more excuses for forgetting to call someone back or pick up something from the store; Jott has your ‘back covered’.

 Give it a try!! Jott even won an AT&T award for it’s innovation and ease of use!!  Try it; you’ll love it!!

When you think about Floral Park, you always think of the charm and ambience of the 20’s and 30’s and a “kinder, gentler” lifestyle.  And if you ever dreamed of living in a true Tudor, now is your chance.  This beautiful 4 bedroom 2 bath home has been beautifully cared for and loved and maintains the charm of yesterday.  Sparkling Hardwood Floors greet you as you enter the foyer; the expansive living room has beautiful ceiling details and an arched fireplace.  The Formal Dining Room is perfect for entertaining and has loads of windows.  The ceramic tile kitchen opens to the huge, sunny breakfast room.

The park-like grounds are exquisite and so inviting and have a brick patio and separate barbeque area. Upstairs the Master Bedroom has a private deck overlooking the back gardens as well an expanded walk in closet.  In addition to all this, there is a mammoth walk-in attic which provides for great storage and expansion possibilities beyond belief as it has high ceilings and skylights.  Let your imagination go wild!!

Lenders are sending out the alert! Now is the time to Lock Your Rate!! The Feds are on the move and we cannot expect these excellent rates to last!! Jeff Parks at Home Security Financial has been talking about this for weeks and Brian Brady of Mortgagerates.com posted a video yesterday on Youtube saying now is the time. See Brian at http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.com/long-beach-mortgage-rates-report-june-19-2008 in a one minute video as he explains the market in a capsule.

We are advising all our buyers who are looking at Historic properties in Floral Park and all other areas to Lock in the best rate they can today!!

Currently 9 listings in FLORAL PARK for sale - Average price is $841,877 and the Average days on market is 124 (Soon to be one more listing - stay tuned!)

Currently 18 listings in WEST FLORAL PARK for sale - Average price is $630,588 and the Average days on market is 93

Currently 32 listings in PARK SANTIAGO for sale - Average price is $558,288 and the Average days on market is 125

Currently 5 listings in FISHER PARK for sale - Average price is $740,560 and the Average days on the market is 58

In all 4 neighborhoods the Average price is $631,181 and the Average days on the market is 105. The range of Price in these neighborhoods is from $325,000 to $2,749,900.

In addition, there 2 spectacular Estate Homes for sale in Floral Park, one for $2.650,000 and one for $2,749,900 million! These are both completely unique and remarkable.

If you have been watching the interest rates lately, you have noted that they have been gradually creeping up. We did have a 1/4 point drop on Tuesday, but, by and large, rates have been on a consistent climb. As Laurie Manny has said, “Cheap rates may be a thing of the past” see http://www.longbeachrealestatehome.com/real-estate/Long-Beach-Mortgage-Information

Even with the new jumbo FHA, we are seeing buyers who just cannot qualify due to the interest rates.

If you or one of your friends are one of those who have been waiting to see the market “turn”, you might take note. The number of sales has been rising and the number of multiple offers is high and rates are rising. Sounds like a combination to push the prices up!!

Sales are really picking up throughout Southern California. We have seen this in Floral Park recently, and as I was reading Laurie Manny’s blog this morning, I noted that she also said things are really moving in Long Beach, see www.longbeachrealestate.com. Buyers have figured out that prices are at their lowest point in a long time and interest rates are beginning to rise. Those buyers who do not have their rates locked in may be surprised when they make a loan application.

Jeff Parks of Home Security Financial said he has seen a lot of volatility in the interest market right now, contact him at 714.809.3022 or jeffreyp@hsf.biz for more information rates and the mortgage market.

All that being said, this is the time to buy… before you miss the window of opportunity.

It was a delightful surprise to be asked to be interviewed by an Activerainblogger. Amanda was looking for veteran agents to comment on this market and real estate in general. It was amazing in reading it, some of the things that came to mind.

Check out this link to read the interview and I invite your comments. http://activerain.com/blogsview/526323/Interview-with-Sandy-De

The number of pending sales has increased drastically in the last month!! Stats and more information about this is noted in the CAR newsletter www.car.org article regarding the tremendous increase in “pending sales”. This is exciting news for sellers and also a little startling for buyers. It is almost commonplace now to have multiple offers with 3-4 offers on well priced homes. While a number of these are short sales and bank owned, the market is obviously changing and the investors coming back.

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Summer Carnival in Floral Park! Okay, so it is still officially spring until June 20th this year. But since it is supposed to be hot as summer this weekend, bring your kids or be a big kid yourself for this Mother of Floral Park yearly event in Fisher Park.

It is so much fun to see the kids faces light up with the excitement at this old fashioned carnival. According to the MOFP Newsletter some of the things you will find for the price of an $8 ticket per child (2 and under are free) are….

“GAMES, PONY RIDES, FACE PAINTING, CRAZY HAIRDOS, TATTOOS, SHOWS and more! The Yo-Yo man will be joining us this year and putting on a Yo-Yo demo and teaching you his cool tricks! The Crazy Hair Booth, sponsored by our friends at Salon reBelle, is the place to be for what else…wild and crazy hairdos! And don’t forget to visit the face-painting booth, sponsored by the National Arts Honor Society of Mater Dei High School. Of course we’ll have all of usual carnival games on hand that give the children a chance to win tickets and earn great prizes!” May 2008 MOFP Newsletter excerpt

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As temperatures were in the 90’s+ and the weather sizzled, nearly 3,000 guests found their way to gorgeous historic Floral Park for the annual “sizzling” Home and Garden Tour!!  Six incredible homes and three lovely garden were displayed as docents directed visitors in a walk through the beauty and peace of yesterday.  The flowers and gardens were bursting with color and we even had an herbologist speaking in one of the gardens regarding health and well being. 

Nearly 70 vendors displayed their wares, everything from custom ceramics to hand made jewelery and antique furniture and collectibles. The Mothers of Floral Park were serving up fresh lemonade made from the trees of Floral Park as well as fresh baked goods and pizza. We even had a hot dog vendor and snacks. Young entrepreneurs even sold avocados and iced cold water and sodas from their home-made stands and wagons which they pulled around. 

It was truly a day full of the joys and excitement of yesteryear as Floral Park strutted its stuff!  Everyone took a moment to “smell the roses” in the truest sense of the word!  And, all of this hustle and bustle under what were mid-summer skies goes to benefit the neighborhood and several local charities.

If you missed it, come next year on the last full weekend of April.  Mark your calendars now!