• Build a park and they will come: The largest park built in Manhattan since Central Park – Hudson River Park – draws 17 million visits a year and has helped spur massive real estate development on the West Side. At least 20 larger high end condo’s have been developed from 24th Street south in the past 15 years adding significant real estate tax revenues, driving jobs and other economic activity!

• Childcare is a big consideration when buying a home. The cost is equally tough for many: Some 3.2 million kids risk losing child care thanks to $24 billion in pandemic-era funding Congress passed in 2021 that is set to expire on Sept. 30th. An estimated 65,000 child care jobs have been lost between February 2020 and August 2023, many due to the work-from-home trend. (CNBC)

• A recent WSJ article speaks to planning for a 60-year career. Yup the days of a 40-year career are waning. And many who extend their careers beyond the expected are doing so by choice, not necessity.

• Revised mansion taxes are being proposed in Chicago to pay for affordable housing. Mansion taxes for home sales under $1 million would drop.

• There are around 40 million acres of lawn in the US. Some homeowners are converting lawns into meadows with grasses and wildflowers that only need mowing twice a year, almost zero weekly maintenance, and are usually a hive of bees and eco-friendly insects and wildlife that fuel a healthy eco-system. More than 800 million gallons of gasoline are used annually to fuel the US’s lawn mowers resulting in carbon dioxide emissions, not to mention noise! They are both drought and flood tolerant too. I’ve been installing wildflower fields into my gardens for decades, and the look is incredible…. These fields also require no irrigation. (NY TIMES and WSJ)

• As of 2021, around 74 million people — nearly a quarter of the US population — lived in community associations, the majority in HOAs. Their ranks have increased 20% since 2010, and are expected to keep growing, in part due to migration to Sun Belt states where new developments are often HOA-run. According to the Community Associations Institute, the largest lobbying arm in the industry, 65% of single-family homes built in 2020 were in community association-governed developments. (BLOOMBERG)

• Carbon fiber is 75% lighter than iron and 30% lighter than aluminium. It is used to reinforce traditional building materials to improve their strength – bricks, reinforced concrete blocks, wooden structures – as well as to reduce the thickness of panels and, accordingly, lower their weight. Carbon fibre reinforcement for concrete also provides excellent thermal insulation. The only disadvantage that restricts its widespread application is the high cost.

CREDITS

Remember the last time you saw a blockbuster movie? You walked out of that movie theater marveling at the performance of Meryl Streep or Tom Cruise. Everyone in the theater bounced out of their chairs the minute the credits started to roll to head for the doors. Yes, those lead actor ‘stars’ certainly delivered quite a performance, but what about the other hundreds of people involved in making that movie? Yes, they did receive credit in those last few minutes, but did anyone even notice or care? We should!

Like almost all things in life, the most visible ‘actor’ in any big effort or success did not achieve that success alone, regardless of that Instagram picture posted with the agent posing on a sofa in the living room gazing into the distance, smugly exclaiming: “Look what I just sold!”….. Taylor Swift could never have done her recent Multi-Billion-Dollar tour without the hundreds of others on her crew, promoters, producers, technicians, managers, etc. Do you know any one of these people’s names? We all know Larry Fink the head of Blackrock that manages over $9.4 trillion, but do we know any names of the 19,000 employees? “No-one Succeeds Alone”, the title of Robert Reffkin’s book, is an important reminder to us all that we must celebrate and acknowledge ALL those around us who make what we do possible. Pause today for a moment to think about ALL the people who have helped you get where you are today….. who is making sure our AI, website and tech ecosystem are functioning – and improving – 365/24/7? Who is cleaning the office? Who is promoting our listings and stories to the press? Who is creating and processing photographs and floorplans? Who is syndicating our listings? Who is making sure our payments are processed fast? Who is attending to those pesky legal matters? Who is fueling brand awareness globally?

Curb Appeal Enhancements

1. Clean up the yard, rake leaves, and trim bushes

2. Consider repainting the front door for a fresh look

3. If your yard is bare, think about hiring a landscaper for fall plants

Seasonal Decor

1. Add autumnal accents like wreaths, pumpkins, and warm-toned accessories

2. Add lighting like candles and lamps for ambiance

3. Use throw blankets and textured cushions, like flannel, to add warmth

Interior Deep Cleaning

1. Clean windows, blinds, heaters, and chimneys

2. Dust and vacuum thoroughly, including hard-to-reach areas