No real estate bubble: JPM, Starwood, Morgan Stanley pros | Cross River Real Estate

Big names in real estate investing don't believe there's a market bubble.
Despite high valuations, homes, office buildings and other types of real estate remain attractive today, especially in comparison to other asset classes and given low interest rates, according to some deep-pocketed pros.
"We don't think there's a broad-based bubble in the real estate market today nor do we think there's one coming in the next year or two," said Chris Graham, a senior managing director at Starwood Capital Group, a $37 billion real estate investment firm.
"There's still room for upside here," Graham added during remarks Wednesday at iGlobal's Global Real Estate Private Equity Summit in New York.

"While these assets are fully priced, in my view, we are not in a bubble as that would require an extensive expansion in debt," Paul Vosper, co-head of the Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners Real Estate Fund, said after the same event in reference to prime markets like New York City and London. "While the debt markets are expanding, there is still discipline in the credit underwriting of that debt."
Mike Kelly, director of U.S. real estate commingled Funds at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, agreed there was no bubble.
"It's certainly a competitive market," he said, but noted that real estate remains attractive compared to other asset classes.


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http://www.cnbc.com/id/102091518

How to Design a Garden for Native Bees | South Salem Real Estate

Most people are aware of the honeybee crisis, but honeybees aren’t the only ones in trouble. Other pollinators are also in decline. Since becoming aware of the honeybee crisis, researchers have put more emphasis into studying all pollinators. They have learned that native bees not only pollinate crops alongside honeybees, but also improve the efficiency of honeybee pollination. And some native bee species are even more efficient at pollinating than honeybees.

Nurturing a garden habitat for native bees gives them a place in which to live, eat and raise their young. Creating a habitat for bees is creating a wildlife habitat for all, because it attracts other wildlife, such as butterflies, birds, hummingbirds and other insects. See how and why you should design your garden for native bees below.

Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Why should I care about pollinators? Pollinators provide important services to us and the ecosystem. Bees, birds and bats pollinate more than a third of our crops. From our morning coffee and evening wine to our lunchtime pear and sandwich mustard, the foods on our table owe their existence to pollinators. Most pollinators are insects. Butterflies, moths, beetles, European honeybees, native bees and even flies and wasps are all part of the parade of insects that pollinate our homegrown vegetables, our orchards of apples and other flowering plants around the globe.

What can I do for pollinators? Pesticides, habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and habitat degradation have had the largest negative impact on pollinators. We can help by simply providing a pesticide-free habitat. Any home gardener, with even the smallest garden, can make a difference. Besides, it’s great fun.

Pete Veilleux, East Bay Wilds

Features of a Native Bee Habitat

1. Diversity with blocks of color. This large block of orange California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) with another large block of deep blue ceanothus will attract native bees better than a few of each plant placed here and there.

The Xerces Society promotes planting a diversity of flowering plants for pollinators in large blocks of color. Like a flashing neon light, diverse plants in blocks point all the pollinators to the party. The Xerces Society says to provide:

• Several different plant species flowering at the same time
• A combination of flowering annuals and perennials
• Flowers of different sizes, shapes and colors
• Blocks of color: patches of about 3½ feet by 3½ feet of a single plant species and flower color
• Year-round food: flowering plants in all growing seasons

Pete Veilleux, East Bay Wilds

Many of our home gardens can’t have that much diversity, but you’d be surprised how many pollinators you can support in a small space. Do what you can with the space you have. This new garden has been designed so these Clarkia and poppy (Eschscholzia californica) annuals will be replaced by flowering perennials as the year progresses. As the garden matures, some of the annuals and perennials will be replaced by flowering trees and shrubs.

Debbie Ballentine

2. Native plants for native bees. The UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab has been studying native bees and their food choices over the past decade. Through The Urban California Native Bee Survey, the researchers discovered that local native bees prefer local native plants over nonnative ones four to one. This isn’t surprising when you think about the millennia that insects and plants have been evolving together.

Native bees need both nectar (carbohydrates) and pollen (protein) to feed themselves and their young. Some plants provide one or the other, while plants in the aster family, such as Pacific aster (Symphyotrichum chilense), provide both pollen and nectar.

In my opinion, the aster family is the single most important family of plants for insects, not only for the one-two punch of pollen and nectar but also because the central “disk” of each flower is actually many flowers. Here you can see the many flowers on the central disk of a seaside daisy (Erigeron glaucus). This disk provides pollinators with a high concentration of food on a single landing pad.

 

 

 

 

 

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http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/32351570?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u724&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery4

Your October Home Checklist | Katonah Real Estate

With the air turning crisp, leaves falling and farmer’s markets overflowing with squash, gourds, apples and potatoes, October is a time to celebrate the harvest — and button up the home and garden for the winter ahead. From raking leaves to sharpening knives, see which of these 13 to-dos make your list this month.

Facelifts Home Improvement

1. Rake leaves. Clearing away leaves from lawns is hard work, so be sure to choose a rake that feels good to you. Plastic rakes don’t last as long, but they are lightweight — which helps if you get fatigued easily (or have a lot of leaves to contend with). Instead of bagging all of the leaves you collect, try chopping some with your mower and using them as mulch in flower beds, or add them to a compost pile.

5 Ways to Put Fall Leaves to Work in Your Garden

2. Clean gutters and downspouts. Schedule rain-gutter cleaning for after most of the leaves have fallen. Inspect gutters and downspouts for cracks and loose parts, and make repairs as needed.

3. Put up storm windows and doors. If you use storm windows or doors and haven’t put them up yet, now is the time.

Techo-Bloc

4. Decorate outdoor spaces. Fall flowers, pumpkins and gourds are versatile enough to work throughout the season. If you enjoy decorating for Halloween, get out that frightful decor.

5. Shut off exterior faucets and store hoses for winter. Disconnect, drain and roll hoses before storing them indoors for the winter. Shut off the water supply to exterior faucets to prevent frozen pipes.

DIY Halloween and fall decorating ideas

David Sharff Architect, P.C.

6. Sharpen knives. The holidays are around the corner — be sure your knives are ready to take on all of that cooking by having them professionally sharpened now.

7. Launder and iron holiday linens. Get ahead of the holiday crunch and prep your linens — roll up the freshly laundered and ironed linens on old wrapping paper tubes to prevent wrinkles.

Bardes Interiors

8. Decorate with layers of warmth. Get toasty indoors with cozy throws, thicker curtains and soft rugs. If you haven’t done so yet, swap out your bedding for thicker blankets and fluffy duvets.

Barker Freeman Design Office Architects pllc

9. Check safety devices. Test all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the house, and replace batteries as needed. Check the expiration date on the kitchen fire extinguisher and replace it if needed.

10. Swap seasonal clothes. Depending on where you live, September can be a fickle month — but now that October has arrived, it’s time to settle into more predictable fall weather. Gather up stray sandals and lightweight clothing that you don’t plan to wear again until spring, and pack it away. Also look over your fall and winter clothes, and note anything you will need to replace this year.

Shelley Gardea

11. Start an art wall for all of those school projects. Corral those stacks of paper coming home from school with a dedicated space for display. A large bulletin board or magnet board makes hanging art and papers easy. Or you could try art wire with bulldog clips, or simply tape art to the wall with colorful masking tape.

You Could Do So Much With This $1.7M Deco in The Gables | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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This charming art deco house on Coral Gables' picturesque De Soto Boulevard was built around 1938 and retains loads of original details on the exterior, including glass block, decorative pilasters framing the front door, and that cool, collected air of knowing you've got style. The interiors of the $1.7 million dollar house, meanwhile, are pretty literally a blank slate, although it has been updated with new appliances and impact-resistant glass windows. Wooden beams on one of the ceilings (Dade County Pine perhaps?) as well as original-looking floors throughout, and the gorgeous original staircase, are swaddled in a sea of white. The possibilities are endless.


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http://miami.curbed.com/archives/2014/09/22/you-could-do-so-much-with-this-17m-deco-in-the-gables.php

Say Hello to High Line at the Rail Yards, the Park's Final Leg | Bedford NY Real Estate

12 images

The third and final stretch of the High Line will open to the public tomorrow, marking the end of a 15-year development saga, and availing to pedestrians a seamless 22-block stretch between Gansevoort and 34th streets. Known as High Line at the Rail Yards, the park's final portion stretches from 30th Street and Tenth Avenue, cuts west, and curves north to 34th Street near the West Side Highway. Just one portion of the 1.45-mile-long park, the Tenth Avenue spur, is inaccessible and will remain closed until construction of 10 Hudson Yards is complete in 2015


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http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/09/20/say_hello_to_high_line_at_the_rail_yards_the_parks_final_leg.php

Merv Griffin's Rehabbed Carmel Valley Ranch Returns for $6M | Pound Ridge Real Estate

The former Carmel Valley estate of the late entertainer and media mogul Merv Griffin is back on the market. The radio and big band singer-turned-talk show host—you might recognize the set of his eponymous show from an unforgettable Seinfeld episode—added the 57 acres to his hefty property portfolio in the 1970s. The hilltop estate consists of what the listing calls a "collection of private cottages and guest suites surrounded by lawns and entertainment areas," along with vineyards and an accompanying ranch. The asking price for the Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune creator's former summer retreat is $5.975M.

                      

That's down from the $6.2M it was shopped around for in 2007, shortly before Griffin's death, when the Real Estalker reported he was putting it on the market because he didn't use it enough. This time around, Hawkridge has been "lovingly restored and updated by Merv's friend and former CEO of the Griffin Group into an extraordinary family compound and private retreat." The buildings on offer include a 2,180-square-foot main house with a combined living-dining room and kitchen (but no bedrooms), a two-bedroom (converted?) pool house, a four-bedroom guest building, a one-bedroom guest cottage, and the two-bedroom cottage that Griffin stayed in. With the caretaker's unit and recently added "entertainment center" thrown in, there's a total "livable area" of 9,378 square feet, which doesn't include a garage with an attached area for wine storage, and a combined barn and workshop.




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http://curbed.com/archives/2014/09/18/merv-griffins-carmel-valley-ranch-for-sale.php
 

Remembering the Grand Spectacle of the 1939 World's Fair | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

All photographs were taken by Harold Webber and printed by Henry Webber. A selection of these photographs is now on view until October 11th at The Civil Service Café and Gallery, 279 Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn.

"You should've seen it at night," my late grandfather, Harold Webber, used to say as he wistfully described to me the grand spectacle—with its massive architecture, state-of-the-art exhibits, and millions of visitors—that was the 1939 New York World's Fair.

 

At the time of the Fair, my grandfather was a 25-year-old amateur photographer and railroad enthusiast from the Bronx. He had attended Stuyvesant High School and Fordham University during the Depression, and he was about to embark on his 40-year career as a design engineer for Bell Laboratories. He and his younger brother spent their spare time photographing steam locomotives around New York and New Jersey. Through his charter membership in a train hobbyist's group, the Railroadians, my grandfather was asked to volunteer at the Fair's railroad pavilion. In exchange for his help, he received an unlimited admission pass to the Fair's 1939 and 1940 seasons, which granted him expanded access to the grounds and a unique vantage point from which to photograph the event.




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http://curbed.com/archives/2014/09/17/1939-worlds-fair-photos.php