This is the third in our new blog series titled "Neighborhood Sales Update." In this edition, we'll be giving you all the statistics on the homes sold in both Grymes Hill and Rosebank in May of 2015.

Grymes Hill

This may there were a total of 4 homes sold in Grymes Hill. This number is the same as the amount of homes sold in the neighborhood last May.

The highest selling price was $700,000, while the lowest was $117,000. The average price of homes sold this month in Grymes Hill is approximately $382,892.

Here are the addresses and prices of each home:

1. 755 Narrows Road N #912 - $117,500

2. 755 Narrows Rd N #608 - $195,000

3. 473 Howard Avenue - $700,000

4. 70 Cedar Terrace - $519,070

Rosebank

Last May there…

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Did you attend Fleet Week and watch the ships approach the Harbor at Alice Austen House?  Have you put air in your tires and hit any of the bike paths on Staten Island?  Just in case you missed the bike maps, visit the following site:  http://www.nycbikemaps.com/maps/staten-island-bike-map   Some of the highlights of the Forest Avenue BID Spring Stroll: Afternoone’s, Café Milano, Pastosa Ravioli, Fab Cup, New York Finest TaeKwonDo, Nucci’s, Edelman’s Financial Services, art work by PS 45 school children on the windows of many of the store fronts. Photos below, Mom juggling baby and enjoying pizza from Café Milano and our hosts at Afternoone's.


It was a beautiful afternoon, and my family had a lot of fun tasting the food, meeting friends and making…

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This is the second blog in our series called "Neighborhood Sales Update." In today's edition, we'll be giving you the stats on the homes that were sold in May of 2015 in both Clove Lake and Graniteville. 

Clove Lake

In May of last year, there were 8 homes sold in the Clove Lake neighborhood. This may, there was only 1. 

The house sold at $170,000 and was located at 1100 Clove Road. 

Graniteville

This year, there were a total of 5 homes sold in Graniteville during the month of May. This is a 25% increase since the number of homes sold last May in this neighborhood. 

The highest selling home was closed at $336,000, while the lowest was closed at $180,000. The average price of the sold homes in Graniteville for this May is approximately…

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Check out my new listing in New Brighton - 91 Franklin Avenue!

This beautiful, well-kept raised ranch on the North Shore of Staten Island is situated on a large corner property--42' x 150' and has had only one owner.  This house has three bedrooms, an L-shaped living room/dining room, eat-in kitchen, newer bathroom, attic storage and basement. 

It boasts a two-car built-in garage with new garage door opener, central air conditioning with a new 3 ton condenser and coil, new 40 gallon water heater and 2-year old dishwasher. 

With two means of egress--front entrance as well as side entrance--it is perfect for entertaining in the spring and summer.  The back yard patio leads to another level of yard that can accommodate additional seating…

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This is the first update in our blog series called "Neighborhood Sales Update." We will be providing you with statistics on the homes sold in the neighborhoods around Staten Island at the beginning of every month!

In May of last year, there was 1 house sold in Castleton Corners. In May of this year, however, there were 4 houses sold. Castleton Corners is definitely an up and coming neighborhood! 

The highest price any house in the neighborhood was sold for in May was $475,000, and the lowest was $320,000. The average price any home in the neighborhood goes for is roughly $379,625.

Here is a complete list of all the properties sold in Castleton Corners in May of 2015:

1. 8 Sommers Lane - $321,000

2. 41 Josephine Street - $320,000 

…

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How many of you actually know the meaning of Memorial Day?  It is a federal holiday wherein the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces are remembered. The holiday, which is celebrated every year on the last Monday of May, was formerly known as Decoration Day and originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service.  Many people visit cemeteries and memorials.  Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national and local cemeteries.

When I was a child, Memorial Day meant attending the parade on Forest Ave. and having a barbeque…

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Today, we start a new blog series titled "Neighborhood Spotlight." In this series, we will dedicate a blog post to highlighting some of the neighborhoods around Staten Island and talking about some fun and interesting things to visit there!

In today's "Neighborhood Spotlight" we will be talking about the south shore neighborhood of Annadale. 

History

Annadale was originally the location of a seaside post office and has it's own location on the Staten Island Rail Road. It's was given it's name in honor of Mrs. Anna S. Seguine in 1860. The Seguine's were of French descent, and one of the oldest Staten Island families. Joseph Seguine was a fifth generation Huguenot who worked as a farmer, shipping merchant, and industrialist. His home on 440 Seguine…

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Have you begun polishing your communications skills at the “New Day Toastmasters” at the Regina McGinn Education Center?  The group meets on Thursday at 7.  John’s Pasta Party was a blast with much support being shown for a great cause—to help students with cancer stay in school during and after treatment.  If you would like to contribute to the John Dressler Scholarship Fund, make checks payable to the South Shore Rotary Foundation, with a note “for the John Dressler Scholarship”, and send to the South Shore Rotary Foundation, P.O. Box 061068, Staten Island, NY 10306-0011.

As a middle child, I would invariably get my sister’s hand-me-downs.  Sometimes I hated it, but most of the time I cherished whatever my older sister had—books, clothes, toys and a…

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Did you enjoy “In the Heights” at Port Richmond High School?  Have you planted a fruit tree in your yard yet?  How did you celebrate “Cinco de Mayo”?  What exciting events did you attend this past week?  I am excited about the warm weather teasing me every few days and the cool nights at bedtime.  My azaleas bloomed overnight.  You can hear me singing, “These are a few of my favorite things…” in the garden as I pull weeds.  Life is grand!

Do you cringe or begin to sweat when you are asked to speak in public?  Working in Corporate Real Estate for many years, I interacted with landlords and tenants and corporate types on an everyday basis.  Sometimes I questioned whether I was an effective speaker.  I took a Dale Carnegie course where each attendee had…

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Today in our Market Updates series, we're going to talk a little bit about the cost of buying your home, versus renting it. Our friends at KCM (KeepingCurrentMatters.com) have provided us with an excellent infograph to help illustrate the situation. 

The graph above shows the percentage of your monthly income you can expect to pay on your housing costs when renting or mortgaging your home. Historically, you could have expected to spend 22% of your monthly income on a mortgage payment, and 25% on a monthly rent payment. However, today we can see that the percentage of your monthly income that would be spent on a mortgage payment has dramatically decreased (bringing it down by 6.3% to a total of 15.3%), while that of a rent payment has dramatically…

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