Joe Rand, our Editor-in-Chief and lead contributor is the Chief Creative Officer at Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty.
He is the founder of the “Client-Oriented Real Estate” (“CORE”) school of real estate education, based on the idea that real estate agents should build their business by learning how to be great at the job of helping clients buy and sell homes.
He has been a featured speaker and moderator at Real Estate Connect, the RIS Media CEO Conference, the Women’s Council of REALTORS Annual Conference, and many other industry events.
He is a regular contributor to Inman Media, writing about industry issues mostly relating to agent education and client service.
He is a graduate of Georgetown University, Georgetown Law Center, Stanford Law School, and a former law professor at Brooklyn Law School and Fordham Law School.
He lives in Nyack, New York with his wife and two children.
The Dutchess County housing market continued to strengthen in the third quarter of 2016, with a moderate increase in sales coupled with an eye‑opening spike in pricing. Sales. Dutchess single‑family home sales were up again in the third quarter, rising 8% from last year. This marked the eighth quarter in a row with year‑on‑year sales increases, closing a rolling year where sales were up over 17%. With over 2,400 sales over the past 12 months, Dutchess is now closing homes […]
Read MoreThe Putnam County housing market surged again in the third quarter of 2016, with sales way up and prices stabilizing after a summer spike. Sales. Putnam sales were up again in the third quarter, with single‑family home closings up over 12% from last year and now up almost 22% for the year. The market is just sizzling, with transactions up in nine straight quarters and 17 out of the last 18. Similarly, condo sales were up almost 12%, and have […]
Read MoreThe Orange County housing market surged again in the third quarter of 2016, with sales up dramatically and, more importantly, the first signs of meaningful price appreciation since the 2008-09 financial crisis. Sales. Orange single‑family sales were up yet again, rising over 18% from last year and now up over 25% for the rolling year. This continues a trend we’ve been watching for over four years, with Orange sales now up eight quarters in a row and 17 out of […]
Read MoreThe Rockland County market surged again in the third quarter of 2016, with a dramatic increase in sales finally driving a meaningful yearly increase in prices. Sales. Rockland single‑family sales were up yet again, rising almost 13% from last year’s third quarter and up 20% for the rolling year. We’ve now seen sustained rates of growth for over four years, with transactions up for eight straight quarters and 16 out of the last 17. Indeed, we eclipsed 2,000 single‑family sales […]
Read MoreThe Westchester housing market softened in the third quarter of 2016, with sales flat and prices continuing to weaken even in the face of falling inventory. SALES. Sales activity was up, but not at the pace that we’ve seen over the past few years. Single‑family home sales rose, but only by about 2%. Similarly, coop sales were actually down by almost 3%, and condo sales fell just a tick. Transactions are still up for the rolling year, rising 11% in […]
Read MoreThe housing market in Westchester and the Hudson Valley in the third quarter of 2016 defied the standard economic laws of supply and demand. Sales were up and inventory was down, but prices were flat across the board. Why? Maybe buyers are just leery of making a move during a tumultuous presidential election year. Sales activity continues to increase throughout the region. Sales were up compared to the third quarter of last year in every county in the Report, ranging […]
Read MoreAre home prices in the New York City suburbs on the rise? We’re not seeing it in the data just yet. Even with home sales up pretty robustly for the past five years, home prices in the Manhattan suburbs have been relatively flat since their financial crisis correction back in 2008-2010. At some point, you have to think that increasing demand with a flat supply is going to drive prices up — just basic Economics 101. And here’s another theory […]
Read MoreThe Sussex County housing market surged again in the second quarter of 2016, with sales up significantly even while prices continued to struggle. Sales. Sussex sales were up sharply in the second quarter, rising 23% from last year and finishing the year up over 26%. This continued a trend that we’ve been watching for the past four years, with year‑on‑year sales up almost every quarter since 2012. Indeed, Sussex closings are now reaching levels that we have not seen since […]
Read MoreThe Essex County housing market stalled in the second quarter of 2016, with sales up slightly but prices continuing to struggle. Sales. Essex activity was a bit disappointing in the second quarter, with transactions up only 4% after a robust beginning to the year. Any kind of increase is a good sign for Essex homeowners, of course, but sales were up much more sharply in all of Essex’s neighboring counties. On the positive side, this did mark the sixth straight […]
Read MoreThe Morris County housing market surged again in the second quarter of 2016, with sales up sharply. Despite increasing buyer demand, though, prices still disappointed. Sales. Morris County sales were up almost 18% in the second quarter, marking the seventh straight quarter of year‑on‑year sales growth. The long‑term trend is also encouraging, with sales up almost 10% for the rolling year. Indeed, we nearly crossed the 6,000‑transaction threshold for the rolling year, which would be the first time we hit […]
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