What's New at Marrano - 3/27/10

What's New at Marrano

Marrano earns 2010 ENERGY STAR Leadership in Housing Award

Marrano is proud to announce that we have been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a 2010 ENERGY STAR Leadership in Housing Award.  This award recognizes the important contribution Marrano has made to energy-efficient construction and environmental protection by building ENERGY STAR qualified homes last year.  Typically, these homes will save the new home owner approximately $447 on utility bills each year.

Everyone at Marrano is proud of this national honor as we strive to offer our customers the latest technologies for the ultimate in comfort and value. Our participation in the ENERGY STAR program is another way we can deliver more home for less money, as home buyers save through superior energy efficiency.

To earn the ENERGY STAR, a home must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  These homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20-30% more efficient than standard homes.

ENERGY STAR qualified homes offer home buyers all the features they want in a new home, plus energy-saving features like effective insulation systems, high performance windows, tight construction and ducts, properly-sized and installed efficient heating and cooling equipment, efficient products, and third-party verification of energy performance.

"Most home buyers focus on what's outside the walls," said Sam Rashkin, National Director for EPA's ENERGY STAR Homes Program, "but they also need to look behind the walls for the energy-efficient features found in ENERGY STAR qualified homes that help ensure comfort, quiet, improved indoor air quality, and low utility bills for years to come."

ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping consumers save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.

You can learn more about the advantages of an ENERGY STAR qualified new home by calling Steve Converse at 716-479-3378 or email me here.

What's New at Marrano - 3/20/10

What's New at Marrano

Marrano opens new home design at Princeton Estates in West Seneca

Marrano will hold a special first-time showing this weekend at Princeton Estates presenting a unique opportunity to own a completed new Marrano home in our hottest selling West Seneca community.  The new 4-bedroom design at 56 Caldwell is loaded with the features today's home buyer wants and will be open Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM. Situated on a private home site more than 220 feet deep, the home is available for immediate sale in the $250,000s. 

Feature for feature, this home is an unbeatable value in a family-oriented West Seneca neighborhood. It offers home buyers the added benefit of being able to take advantage of the Federal government tax credits before time runs out, up to $6,500 for existing home owners, and up to $8,000 for first time buyers.

We are showing a traditional design at 56 Caldwell with gabled rooflines and a covered front porch creating an appealing front exterior elevation set against the private backdrop of Princeton Estates. A large foyer welcomes guests with the stairs to the second floor set off to the side to create an unobstructed sight line to the large country kitchen.

The kitchen design is perfect for the busy family with plenty of cabinet and counter space including a center island with snack bar overhang. Convenience is the word for the walk-in pantry arrangement which provides additional storage while leading to the first floor laundry. A roomy dinette area features sliding glass doors to the rear yard and opens to the great room, sure to be a favorite gathering spot with large windows overlooking the yard and a cathedral ceiling creating incredible volume. The first floor plan also has a formal dining room from the kitchen and a convenient powder room.

The bedrooms upstairs are arranged for privacy and convenience with the master bedroom suite tucked on the back of the home. The master bedroom has double closets and a private master bath, while the remaining family-sized bedrooms are close to the main bath.

Visit the showing and learn about a new phase of building now underway at Princeton Estates offering home sites as large as 220 feet deep, accessible from a private entryway from Fisher Road just west of Orchard Park Road.

The arrangement of deep home sites along the winding Caldwell Drive enables Marrano to offer a wide variety of exclusive home designs, including 3- and 4-bedroom, 2-story designs and Ranch plans. The result is a diverse neighborhood of new homes, with each elevation different from the next.

While the setting is designed for quiet and privacy, the community's location is one of its strongest features. A short drive down Fisher to Orchard Park Road makes for an easy connection for residents to West Seneca's many features and amenities including shopping, entertainment, restaurants, parks and more. Families will enjoy the educational opportunities provided by the top rated West Seneca Central School District including West Seneca West High School and West Elementary School. Furthermore, the daily commute to work is a comfortable drive, whether to the City of Buffalo or other areas of Western New York, with easy connections to main routes.

To visit 56 Caldwell this weekend, take Fisher Road to Caldwell Drive in West Seneca. Marrano's fully decorated model at 1 Caldwell Drive will also be open and you can speak with a Marrano new home construction professional about the many opportunities at Princeton estates. The model is open daily 1 to 5 PM, closed Thursday and Friday. Call Steve Converse at 716-407-0647 for more information.

Western New York pending home sales, sale prices see gains

From The Buffalo News - 3/16/10:

Pending home sales, sale prices see gains

Numbers provide good news as closed deals decline

By Jonathan D. Epstein

NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER

Updated: March 16, 2010, 6:52 am / 
Published: March 16, 2010, 12:30 am

The revised federal home buyer tax credits are having their desired effect, as pending home sales in February soared along with prices, even as the number of transactions completed during the month fell to its lowest level in at least a decade.
The Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors on Monday said closed home sales fell 7 percent to 388 from 417 a year ago and were down similarly from 411 in January. That’s the lowest level for any month of the year since at least 2000.
However, closed sales, while widely watched, generally reflect home buying activity from two months earlier, during a slow part of the season. That’s also right after Congress extended its original $8,000 first-time home buyer credit until the end of April and expanded it to add a $6,500 credit for “move-up” buyers who have been in their home for at least five years.
Since then, those credits have brought out home buyers in droves to take advantage of the extra time and new benefits. As a result, pending sales, which show the level of buying more recently, leapt 38 percent to 783 from 567 a year ago and 565 in January. That’s the highest February in three years and the largest monthly tally since last September.
“The city remains very, very active. We’re swamped. We are really, really busy,” said Susan Lenahan, broker associate and head of the city office for MJ Peterson Real Estate Corp. “People are out there. Our numbers are up.”
Meanwhile, the median price rose 13 percent to $104,920 — the highest February median in at least a decade — from $92,516 a year earlier. That means half of the homes that closed sold for less, and half sold for more, and the increase indicates that many of the homes sold are higher-priced, likely for “move-up” buyers. The median was $110,000 in January.
“Given our average home price, a $6,500 credit has a good effect,” said John Leonardi, the Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors’ CEO. “For our marketplace, the $8,000 and the $6,500 tax credit really are driving these numbers.”
Even more, the average home price soared 16 percent to $127,369, although averages can be easily skewed by a few large sales. The total dollar volume of closed sales rose 8 percent to $49.4 million, from $45.7 million a year ago, though it was down 9.9 percent from $54.8 million in January.
“That’s really great news. Overall, everything is up,” Leonardi said.
New listings of homes in the multiple listing service rose 13 percent to 1,236 from 1,096 a year ago and 1,098 in January. However, total active listings rose 1 percent to 5,161 from 5,121 a year ago.
The Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors has been struggling to overcome reporting glitches with its closed sales data in recent months since the local multiple listing service, Western New York Real Estate Information Services, merged with several other local counties and formed an alliance with the Rochester and Syracuse MLS systems. The goal was to provide a unified and streamlined MLS from Central New York to the Pennsylvania border.
However, Buffalo’s system, where pending sales were automatically marked as closed after 60 days, operated differently than the MLS systems in Rochester and Syracuse, where real estate agents were accustomed to manually going into the computer system to convert their pending sales to closed. With the alliance, Buffalo agreed to adopt the manual method, but many agents locally didn’t adapt.
That wreaked havoc with the Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors’ closed sales numbers, which officials said were artificially low, prompting the group to withhold releasing the data twice in recent months.
This month, though, officials began calling every broker who had a transaction pending for more than 60 days, prodding them to manually convert the sales if they had closed.
“These numbers are as accurate as they can be,” Leonardi said. “It is what it is.”

What's New at Marrano - 3/13/10

What's New at Marrano

Marrano's Completed Homes program helps you take advantage of federal tax credits

With the deadline fast approaching for qualified home buyers to take advantage of federal tax credits, Marrano has introduced our Completed Homes program, offering a variety of new homes available and ready to move in before time runs out on the tax incentive. Marrano has something for everyone, including single family, patio homes, and town homes, in exclusive new home communities from Lancaster to West Seneca to Hamburg, with designs starting in the $150,000s.

We made the commitment early on to build new home designs in a number of areas that will help buyers meet the criteria for the government incentive. We understand that there are many home buyers who want to take advantage of the tax credit but may not have found the home they desire. Now, you have more choices, and best of all, you can own a new Marrano home.

Federal tax credits of up to $8,000 for qualified first time home buyers, and up to $6,500 for existing home owners, must be taken advantage of before April 30, with closing on the home taking place before July 1, 2010.  The Completed Homes program was specifically created to meet these criteria with up to 25 new Marrano homes completed or about to be finished, to appeal to a broad audience of buyers.

As an example, in Lancaster, Marrano has a number of completed town homes ready to move in at Central Square Villas, an exciting new community off of Pleasant View that features a community center, pool for residents, walking paths and more. A new town home at 6 Hanover is available with an open floor plan, first floor laundry, full basement and more for just the $150,000s. 

A new Ranch design is ready to move in at our Hickory Grove community off French Road in Cheektowaga, priced in the $170,000s. The completed home at 40 Hickory Grove features a wide open plan with large kitchen, great room, master bedroom suite and more in a private neighborhood bordering West Seneca. Visit the Hickory Grove model this weekend from 1 to 5 PM or call 608-7674 for more information.

One example of several completed single family homes available from Marrano is 6506 Pincherry at Deer Springs in Hamburg. Situated on a cul-de-sac lot in this family oriented neighborhood, the home features a 2-story foyer, vaulted great room, loft area, first floor laundry and more for just $207,900. 

These are just a few examples, with many other opportunities available in Hamburg, Lancaster, West Seneca and Cheektowaga. Marrano offers the services of mortgage professionals who can assist you in qualifying for a mortgage. The historically low mortgage rates now available are an added bonus for home buyers who take advantage of the tax credits.

For more information on these and other Marrano Homes, feel free to call Steve Converse at 716-407-0647 or send me an email.

What's New at Marrano - 3/6/10

What's New at Marrano

Marrano grand opens new model at Deer Springs in Hamburg

Following a survey of architects and community planners, the National Association of Home Builders defined the all American neighborhood as a place where kids can play and ride bikes; where diverse home designs create appealing streetscapes; and residents have a shared sense of community with private, quiet surroundings and limited traffic. Visitors to Marrano's grand opening at Deer Springs in Hamburg this weekend can see that very definition and more as the we introduce a new model design and a new phase of building here.

Deer Springs is one of the most popular family neighborhoods in Hamburg and Marrano's new model serves as a cornerstone for a new phase that promises to carry on the all American tradition with a choice of home designs ranging from $210,000 to $280,000. Driving into the community off Southwestern Boulevard, there is an immediate sense of the character of Deer Springs -- minivans in the driveways, pools and swing sets in the yards, even a community playground for residents.

Following the winding roads to the new model on Hobblebush Lane, the diversity of home designs stands out, with one home different than the next, including the brand new elevation Marrano shows with the model. With a partial brick front and traditional rooflines, the home is warm and inviting, a feel that continues inside the open floor plan.

There is a real charm to Deer Springs that we aimed to capture in the model, showing many new touches and features available to today's home buyer. You might say we want to show how the American dream can be fulfilled, with all the amenities you want at a price you can afford.

Showing approximately 2,300 square feet of comfortable, well-planned living space, the new model can be structurally reproduced at Deer Springs starting at just $269,900. For a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath design, home buyers will recognize that as a great value. It will seem even greater the moment they step into the wide open floor plan. Marrano has set an open staircase to the side, allowing a clear sight line from the hardwood foyer straight back to the great room. The plan has an uninterrupted flow, starting with the den/study off the foyer, a flexible space that can also serve as a formal living room.

With new colors and decorator finishes around every corner, the eyes are drawn to many focal points in the model. However, you can't help but be drawn to the great room/sunroom combination. It features a partial cathedral ceiling over a cozy gas fireplace which is flanked by large windows overlooking the rear yard.

The room unfolds effortlessly to the large kitchen, making for a true lifestyle space where casual meals easily transition to family time. Marrano demonstrates our flair for innovation with a new kitchen design including a snack bar peninsula and enough cabinet space to satisfy any need. Hardwood floors add warmth to the dinette area, featuring a sliding glass door to the rear yard. The plan adds more form and functionality off the kitchen with a convenient mudroom area with large closet and half bath, perfect for the kids coming in from an afternoon of playing outside. They can kick off their shoes in the large corridor, and if the clothes are dirty, the first floor laundry room is right down the hall.

While the floor plan is family-friendly, it also reveals a certain sophistication with a formal dining room off the kitchen, and features such as 8-foot ceilings, six-panel doors, and an open staircase to the second floor brightened by a large window. The upstairs arrangement is all about convenience for the family. The master bedroom suite is tucked back for privacy, showing a master bath with ceramic tile floor, walk-in shower, and double sink vanity. There is also a large walk-in closet to handle any wardrobe.

It is worth the visit just to see Marrano's professional interior decorating of the remaining bedrooms -- a bright, pre-teen, girl's bedroom; a space for the dog-lover; and a room that will capture the eye of any Buffalo sports fan. The bedrooms are arranged conveniently to the main bath which has a double sink vanity to accommodate those busy mornings.

Be sure to ask about our limited time, grand opening program at Deer Springs that offers $12,000 in free features to use as you choose. You can take advantage of the free features in the newest phase of building where Marrano has introduced 23 new home sites, some as large as 310 feet deep, in a private, quiet setting.

Deer Springs combines convenience and outstanding natural beauty, located away from high traffic areas. The new phase introduces an entryway off Heltz Road, enhancing the country-like surroundings. The neighborhood features numerous cul-de-sac arrangements, wooded areas and man-made pnds.

At the same time, the location is exceptional, off Southwestern Boulevard and just 4 minutes from the NYS Thruway for easy commuting. Plus, Hamburg's many conveniences are minutes away including private beach rights for residents, restaurants, entertainment and the many attractions in the quaint Village of Hamburg. There are home designs available for everyone at Deer Springs, including 3 and 4-bedroom plans and Ranch designs.

Come see it all this weekend at 2322 Hobblebush. Take Southwestern, just south of Schultz Road to Deer Springs. The model is open daily 1 to 5 PM, closed Thursday and Friday. Call Steve Converse at 716-407-0647 for more information or click here to send an email.

New York State home sales jump 11 percent from 2009. Median sale price leaps over 30 percent.

January 2010 New York State home sales up 11 percent from year ago

Albany – February 26, 2010 – The New York state housing market posted an improved start to 2010 compared to the beginning of last year with sales increasing by 11 percent compared to January 2009, according to preliminary single-family sales data accumulated by the New York State Association of REALTORS. The statewide median sales price jumped more than 30 percent compared to January 2009.
“We are encouraged by the improved start to the 2010 housing market,” said Duncan R. MacKenzie, NYSAR chief executive officer. “Despite the fall off from a very strong December market, the 11-percent increase in sales from last January and the median price gain are good signs for the continued recovery of our housing market into 2010.”
MacKenzie noted that the flurry of buyer activity in October and November as the previous federal tax credit deadline approached likely drove the market higher in December. “Once the deadline pressure was released by the extension and expansion of federal homebuyer tax credit, many of those buyers became homeowners in December and January,” MacKenzie said, adding that buyers are expected to again flood the market in March and April as the new deadline approaches.
“The combination of the federal homebuyer tax credit, the SONYMA Tax Credit Advance Loan program and historically low mortgage interest rates make the beginning of 2010 a great time to buy a home in the Empire State,” said MacKenzie. “Consumers began to recognize this as 2009 progressed and undoubtedly many will become new homeowners between now and the April 30 tax credit deadline.” MacKenzie noted that buyers must be under contract by April 30 and close before June 30 to be eligible for the federal tax credit.
New York REALTORS sold 4,468 existing single-family homes in New York State in January 2010, an 11-percent increase compared to the January 2009 sales total of 4,024. January sales did lag behind the stronger than usual December 2009 market, when 7,403 homes were sold.
The January 2010 median sales price in New York State of $242,750 represents an increase of 30.5 percent compared to the January 2009 median of $186,085, and is 13-percent above the revised December 2009 median of $213,800.
The New York State Association of REALTORS is a not-for-profit trade organization representing more than 54,000 of New York state’s real estate professionals. The term REALTOR is a registered trademark, which identifies real estate professionals who subscribe to a strict code of ethics as members of the National Association of REALTORS. These REALTORS are also members of the New York State Association of REALTORS as well as their local board or association of REALTORS.