From My Desk to Yours December 2019
Neither winter’s frost nor shortened daylight hours can dampen end-of-the-year holiday parties, with the first Chanukah candle at sundown on the 21st, Christmas on the 25th and Kwanzaa on the 26th. With flutes of champagne and mugs of hot chocolate, we’ll bid goodbye to the last month of the decade to welcome 2020. Merry New Year one and all!
Why Wait?
Attention real estate shoppers! Like August, December is an excellent time to negotiate for a home, especially for one that’s lingered on the market awhile. When new properties are listed in January as in September, competition among sellers heightens. A strong equity market and increased consumer spending have mitigated some buyer uncertainties. Confidence is further boosted by the likelihood of a strong bonus season. Mortgage interest rates, which have been dropping since early 2019, continue to remain enticing. A December deal delivers definite value.
Coming Soon
188 East 64th Street, 3903
If you’re looking for views and 3,000 square feet, bring your sunglasses as the views dazzle in three directions from the 39th floor of the white glove Royale Condominium. The current configuration comprises a grand 48’8” Living Room, open bar, airy kitchen, three bedrooms, three full bathrooms and a powder room. The double Master Bedroom suite, located on the southeast corner, stretches for 31’ and features his and her baths and closets to spare. Two additional bedrooms are on the northeast end of the unit. Every room opens to outdoor terraces that trace the perimeter of this luxurious home. An oversized laundry closet with side by side washer/dryer and deep sink complete the picture. Asking $5.495M. View the listing here.
Did You Know?
According to the nonprofit Global Wellness Institute, real estate is the newest frontier to be radically transformed by the wellness movement. Wellness real estate was a $134 billion industry in 2017, growing by 6.4% annually since 2015. It is projected to reach $197 billion by 2022. The nascent industry recognizes that homes can be built to enhance health and wellbeing. Their website proclaims: “Our homes, communities and surrounding environment directly affect our daily behaviors and lifestyles, and together these determine up to 80–90 percent of our health outcomes. Since our homes are typically our most important personal investment and expenditure, it is only logical that they should also be an investment in our health and wellbeing.” The multibillion-dollar wellness real estate industry offers smart home solutions and monitors pollutants and allergens, changing how homes and entire neighborhoods are designed, developed and maintained. Air purification systems, pollution sensors, water filters and more natural materials herald a whole new world. https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/what-is-wellness/what-is-wellness-lifestyle-real-estate-communities/
In Good Company
Meet Dr. Meghan O’Brien, a board-certified dermatologist specializing in comprehensive medical and cosmetic dermatology. A cum laude graduate of Harvard University, she’s highly skilled, treating adults and children for skin conditions ranging from acne to melanoma as well as nail and hair disorders. Kind and caring, Meghan is our family’s go-to doctor for all things dermatological from cosmetic therapies to complex skin diagnoses. Supremely talented, she’s as beautiful within as without.
Shirley Hackel, NYRS®
shirley.hackel@compass.com | (914) 980-0371