Grant Braswell | This Braswellian Life

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Avoid the Boondoggle and check out ZOOMDOGGLE

July 6, 2010

A fantastic guide to NYC fun on the cheap. The real Night Court? Got it. Steinway & Sons tour? Who knew it was a top tour in the country? Check out all 314 tips and tricks for experiencing NYC.

Introducing Doug Sundheim’s Leading Ideas – Make a Plan B

June 30, 2010

The Blumstein Team has a go-to life Guru in the form of Monday morning emails. Doug Sundheim, an organizational consultant with Clarity Consulting, sends out pieces of valuable advice every week to the delight of everyone on our team. Often we bring a copy to the Monday morning meeting as his insights relate very well […]

Market Update: Year-Over-Year is UP on Average

June 29, 2010

While not prone to shilling US Housing Market statistics as law due to the location based nature of Real Estate, this MarketWatch article was able to add some cheer by saying on AVERAGE prices were up 0.8% in the last year, but then goes on to point out individual city changes. Biggest uptick in housing […]

Making the Apartment Wear its Sunday Best

June 24, 2010

I have been a fan of digital photography ever since I held my first 1MP camera back in high school. Since then I’ve gone through about 4-5 iterations of cameras, as new technologies come out and/or the most recent one left this world in a watery grave off a pier in Maine (sigh). Through relative magic, I have been able […]

Washington Square Park is Vibrant in the Summer!

June 22, 2010

Over the weekend Washington Square Park was filled with people relaxing and playing music. The ice cream stands along the edge of the park had steady lines and the fountain was in full effect! Spring melting into summer is a great time to be in the city – yet everyone leaves on the weekends!

Buyers in the Catbird Seat

June 17, 2010

A recent New York Times article has put into words something we have all been experiencing on both the buyer and the seller side. Buyers have motivated sellers by the throat as inventory stays high and real buyers, those that were able to get approved on a mortgage or have cash are harder to come […]

The Ebb and Flow: New Homes Are Getting Smaller?

June 15, 2010

Remember the Naughts (2000-2009) when not an ounce of care went into securing a reasonable mortgage and everyone and their mother was trying to make that cash off real estate? Well with a reality check in the market, developers have finally caught up. The average size of houses, number of bedrooms, bathrooms and even number […]

Manhattan Rental Vacancy Drops Below 1%

June 10, 2010

Citi Habitats, our sister company and largest rental firm in Manhattan has just released a report that shows that as of May, there are now fewer than 1 in every 100 apartments available to rent. In the West Village, a hot spot for rentals and sales alike, there is only 0.33% availability, or 1 in […]

Musings & Tips – Moving in with Someone for the First Time? Get a Dishwasher

June 10, 2010

A client had a most astute observation today as we were out looking for one bedrooms across the Villages: “We’re going to be living together for the first time. There are a lot of uncertainties that come with that, so I’m going to be damn sure we have a dishwasher.” While that may sound a […]

Even Flat Growth is a ‘Recession’ – When Prices Hit Bottom and Stay There, Lady Liberty Cries

June 9, 2010

The more I read about what is to come, the more it seems that there IS another housing recession coming. Or so I am told. FREEZE. This is not a dire warning, nor do I mean to infer that prices are heading for another dip. In some areas they will, and in others, prices should […]