New York

World’s Most Beautiful Cities

Choosing the world’s most beautiful cities is a subjective enterprise. To identify urban areas where the architecture and the locale are both stunning, Forbes magazine turned to world-renowned architects. Here are their top choices:
•    Paris
•    Vancouver, Canada
•    Sydney, Australia
•    Florence, Italy
•    Cape Town, South Africa
•    San Francisco
•    Chicago
•    New York City
•    London
•    Cambridge, England
•    Tokyo

Source: Forbes, Tim Kiladze (01/22/2010)

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Elliott Robinson, JD – Associate Broker
Keller Williams Realty Metro Atlanta
315 West Ponce de Leon Ave., Ste. 100
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 431-2117
Web: www.elliottyouragent.com
Blog – www.elliottonrealestate.com
Twitter – http://twitter.com/elliottrob

New York

Home Price Reductions Level Off

The share of homes on the market with price reductions declined to an average of 21 percent as of Feb. 1, according to Trulia.com, which has been tracking the information since April 2009.

This is a significant decrease compared to November 2009, when 26 percent of homes had at least one price reduction

The total dollar amount cut from home prices dropped to $22.6 billion as of Feb. 1, down from $28.1 billion in November, a 19 percent decrease.

The average discount for price-reduced homes is holding steady at 11 percent off the original listing price.

Here are the cities with the largest decrease in listings with price reductions between last November and this month, according to Trulia.
•    San Francisco, -46
•    Oakland, Calif., -43
•    Sacramento, -42
•    San Jose, -40
•    Indianapolis, -39
•    Seattle, -37
•    San Diego, -33
•    New York, -33

Source: Trulia.com (02/16/2010)

New York

Single Life Rules in the Big Apple

The majority of Manhattan residents—50.3 percent—live alone, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics. New York first passed the 50 percent mark in 2007.

High-paying jobs, the expense of raising a family, longer-lived widows and widowers, and an appreciation of the single lifestyle are the factors making Manhattan a singles community, says William Helmreich, deputy chairman of City College’s sociology department.

There were 376,916 single households in Manhattan in 2008, making studios and one-bedrooms the most popular rentals, says Stu Greenberg, owner of Fireside Realty in Manhattan.

But Manhattan is no singles paradise, particularly for women. There are 212,000 single female households compared with 165,000 single male households.

Source: New York Post, Chuck Bennett (10/30/2009)

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Elliott Robinson, JD – Associate Broker
Keller Williams Realty Metro Atlanta
315 West Ponce de Leon Ave., Ste. 100
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 431-2117
Web: www.elliottyouragent.com
Blog – www.elliottonrealestate.com
Twitter – http://twitter.com/elliottrob